Beloved Kentucky umpire John Bloomer set standard for officiating

Pick a sport. Any sport. There is one constant.

An official's responsibility is to maintain a fair playing field by ensuring rules are properly enforced. Done well, an official will mostly remain out of the limelight. Done the John Bloomer Way, an official will set the standard by which all other officials follow.

John Bloomer officiated sports at all levels of play in Kentucky for more than 30 years. He spent hours running the sidelines of football and eyeing the white line of volleyball, but mostly he could be found waiting for the pitch in softball. Across four decades, he watched athletes go from little girls learning the rules themselves to successful women competing in the College World Series and beyond.

For the athletes, they found a beloved keeper of the game. That's what makes this next sentence so hard. On Feb.