hen it comes right down to it, is officiating just officiating and can the skills learned in officiating one sport be easily transferred to another?

Or is officiating in each sport as different as night and day?

The answers are, of course, respectively, yes and yes.

Hey, if you're confused now, just wait until you read the rest.

My assignment: Compare and contrast hockey and baseball officiating. I've spent a lifetime working both sports, from the tykes to international competitions.

So, what's the difference?

Let's look at the differences first. Many of the differences are obvious; such as the fact one sport requires the official to be on skates.

You hockey officials, don't get lulled into thinking your sport is tougher to officiate because everyone moves so fast, including the referee, when decisions and judgements have to be made.

Continued...