Almost everyone in town knows Skinny. Some even know to call in Mike.

Most, though, probably don’t know his real first name is George. He is named after his father, who was my grandpa Bill’s brother.

That makes Skinny my cousin. Sometimes we even admit to as much.

Skinny has officiated youth sports in Butte and around the state for more than four decades. He is good at it, too. He knows the rule book inside and out, backward and forward.

Nobody knows the rule book better than Skinny, and nobody loves to argue more than him.

Since Skinny is a fan of the Lakers, Packers and Dodgers, we argue a lot. We don’t always argue about sports, either. Skinny would argue that the sky is not blue, and he would never back down or admit defeat.

Our biggest argument, which has literally gone on for decades, is about Roger Maris. I say Maris belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Skinny incorrectly says he does not.

We talked about debating that on this podcast. Since, I know it is impossible to beat Skinny in an argument — even if, as in this case, he is 100 percent wrong — I decided we’d focus on other issues.

So, we talked about the shortage of referees and the fact that we can’t get new officials to step up because people are afraid to get yelled at. We talked about Aaron Rodger’s divorce with the Packers, and we talked about how Skinny is never in doubt when making an argument.

We also talked a little bit about Roger Maris.