Sports are supposed to come back by the end of the month.   No fans… but athletes will sweat for our amusement.. starting July 24th for baseball.  July 30th for the Jazz.

Almost forgotten in the rush to return… is the ref.

What happens to the in-your-face fits coaches throw at refs?   a 6 foot socially distant freak out won’t be the same - nor as effective.   And another thing that might not be the same… is the ref’s whistle.

Think about it.  A dude blowing hard into a whistle in the middle of a pandemic.  What could go wrong?

Everything.

Which is why… a lot of refs are looking at electronic whistles.  Hand held electronic whistles the ref blows…  by pressing a button.  Some hockey leagues are moving to the e-whistle.  But there’s no decision from the professional leagues… amid concerns about how loud or soft the whistles are.  For football… do they work in the rain and snow?   And the biggest concern by refs…. is the biggest embarrassment a ref can suffer.   The inadvertant whistle.  Oops sorry… didn’t mean it.  

A slight wiggle of the finger and you stop play by accident.  It’s too much to consider.   But the particles unleashed by a whistle blast… might be the bigger concern this season.

Okay time’s up!

That’s electronic.  Works just fine.

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