An open letter to my friends.....

[Ralph Damren]

TO MY FRIENDS ON OUR FORUM.....

    Please understand that my posts here do not represent the opinions of the NFHS Rules Committee, the Maine Principals' Association or the Maine Association of Football Officials. They are merely the rants and raves of a grumpy, snowbound ole' duffer. My relationship to those organizations should not, in any way, be considered as supporting my comments. Thank all of you for reading and understanding this and keep up your thought provoking and enjoyable posts.

TO MY FRIENDS ON THE NFHS FOOTBALL RULES COMMITTEE.....

   For those of you that have visited Refstripes and feel I may have breeched the confidentiality of our committee, my sincere apologizes. It was purely unintentional and I have modified several posts that I felt you may have questioned. I have the utmost respect for all of you and fully agree that what was said behind closed doors should stay behind said doors. I will post with caution from herein and respect the professionalism and protocol of our committee.

                                                   - Ralph Damren 

[FLAHL]

Ralph,
Your posts have informed (and often entertained) us on this forum for much longer than I've been a member.  They are often peppered with phrases like "In my opinion..." or "In my experience..." or "I've seen or done..."  I've never assumed that you were attempting to speak for anyone other than yourself, or shared anything that wasn't appropriate.

[Curious]

Ralph,
Your posts have informed (and often entertained) us on this forum for much longer than I've been a member.  They are often peppered with phrases like "In my opinion..." or "In my experience..." or "I've seen or done..."  I've never assumed that you were attempting to speak for anyone other than yourself, or shared anything that wasn't appropriate.

  X 100

[AlUpstateNY]

Ralph, nobody's perfect and Forrest Guump was right (as right as a make believe can be) but you can be sure "Stuff happens".  After all, you're a loyal Red Sox fan.

[Ump33]

Ralph,

When I first joined refstripes, it did not take me long to learn when you made or replied to a post, I should take the time and read your comments. Not because there might be some "double secret NFHS committee information", I read them for the wisdom and entertainment they offer.   

Thanks for your help over the years

[bama_stripes]

I'm speculating that your colleagues on the RC were concerned about your reporting of the percentage of votes received by proposals that didn't pass.

IMO, those should be made public anyway.  That would allow proponents/opponents to more effectively lobby their state's RC member for next year.

And I STILL can't believe the RC passed a rule about a prosthetic limb, but didn't define the status of an airborne player.

[ALStripes17]

It does amaze me how protective and non-transparent the NFHS is in today's world. Ralph, your insights and comments were always taken as your own thoughts and I think the committee is closed off if they aren't participating in conversations in all forms... Including here on refstripes

[VALJ]

Ralph,
Your posts have informed (and often entertained) us on this forum for much longer than I've been a member.  They are often peppered with phrases like "In my opinion..." or "In my experience..." or "I've seen or done..."  I've never assumed that you were attempting to speak for anyone other than yourself, or shared anything that wasn't appropriate.

Ralph,

When I first joined refstripes, it did not take me long to learn when you made or replied to a post, I should take the time and read your comments. Not because there might be some "double secret NFHS committee information", I read them for the wisdom and entertainment they offer.   

Thanks for your help over the years

I'm with them. I've always assumed that you were speaking strictly as yourself, and not in any official capacity. I hope you haven't gotten yourself in hot water.

[Ralph Damren]

Ralph, nobody's perfect and Forrest Guump was right (as right as a make believe can be) but you can be sure "Stuff happens".  After all, you're a loyal Red Sox fan.

Hey, YankeeAl, it appears the Yanks are for real this year (I know the Sox are) ,could be an enjoyable season. -Ralph

[stevestod]

Just how petty are these people, maybe some of them have been there too long!  Ralph, you have always been above the board with any of your posts.  I have learnt a lot from them, please keep doing what you are doing.  I will have your back always.

Yankees have a big youth movement, they will surprise some teams.

[GA Umpire]

I hope you haven't gotten yourself in hot water.

Ditto. 

Keep up the good work, Ralph.  Your help and advice is always helpful to me.  Especially on GA and other states' quiz questions.

[AlUpstateNY]

Hey, YankeeAl, it appears the Yanks are for real this year (I know the Sox are) ,could be an enjoyable season. -Ralph

"Hope springs eternal", although it seems a little more distant (although that might be fading eyesight). You still have a shot at a Daily Double, if the Celtics get "it" done.  Good Luck

[Sumstine]

The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club. Good movie but bad NFHS directive.

[GAHSUMPIRE]

As others have stated, I hope you have not found yourself in hot clam broth- or water for that matter.

Your posts are always informative, and help clarify issues of the day. For what it's worth, I have never assumed that you speak for anyone other than yourself in trying to add much needed clarity\ transparency to a process that very much needs it. I also never felt that what you have posted here was not for general consumption

Even though I disagree with your rooting interests, It is somehow fitting that Super Bowl LI was won by a large collection of LIars (as they say in the south... "Forget,HECK"), I am always glad to read your posts.

EDIT: No, in the south they don't say HECK, but there seems to be an auto -correct function on this website that changed the wording- probably for the best.