The recent embarrassing ejection of Carlos Zambrano was a red-flag that “fishing” is getting worse. Unlike the sport Fishing, this term refers to people conducting inappropriate actions in response to controversial calls during a sporting event. Some such “fishing” examples are excessive lobbying or explaining calls, and unnecessary tantrums to get their point across. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with calls from time to time. I am a competitive person and I disagree with some officials from time to time. It becomes a problem when it hits an excessive level. My main concern is with players and coaching staffs, fans will be fans. There are just too many uneducated, biased, and hardheaded fans. I really don’t care about there opinions any more. I just love when a 400 pound guy, that can use his gut as a table, criticizes athletes and officials. Like other unsportsman like acts; fishing has become a problem.

Fishing does show up in a lot of sports. A recent example was an incident that happened in NHL. Martin Brodeur was bumped into by a Carolina player and then seconds later a game winning goal was scored. Brodeur was emotionally upset about the call. Instead of trying to discuss the call in a mature manner; he took the low road and threw and incredibly embarrassing tantrum. Screaming and throwing a stick may get the attention of the refs but it is not going turn back time. I'm sorry Brodeur but you need to stop that puck. If you were focused on the puck and not the contact, then the save would have been made. This is a HUGE deal because professionals are role models. This creates a problem because young goaltenders use Brodeur’s actions as an excuse for their poor behavior in their games." Why can't I make a scene? Marty did it the other night and got away with it." This kind of fishing sets a poor example and demonstrates to young players that this behavior is acceptable.

Players are not the only guilty parties involving fishing acts. Coaches are in the same boat and need to be monitored. Examples are MLB managers. How many times have you seen managers come out and yell at umpires? It happens all the time. This action has become tactical move and is used to get their team and fans motivated or to get the point a across that the umpires are not doing there job. Regardless of the reason, the behavior is inexcusable. If you need to get ejected to get your team motivated; you might need to choose a new day job. Managers being ejected in baseball games means nothing now a days. Ejections have become a part of the baseball culture. In the 2007 season there were around 224 ejections and approximately 104 of those were managers (Really!?) How does a manager like Bobby Cox accumulate 132 ejections in a career? It is getting better but not quite at the level it should be for a pro league. The amount of ejections should be below 20 in a season for the whole league. The best way to correct this type of behavior is to increase suspension from one game to multiple games and hold the whole organization liable for that behavior.