It’s time for me to accept the truth about one of my personality traits: I guess I’m not as open-minded as I once thought.I’ve been told on more than one occasion that when it comes to change, I don’t roll with the punches very well.Personally, I think the people who accuse me of being unable to change are nuts. After all, I’ve evolved into an almost completely different person in the last 13 years, a period in which I was married and became the father of two children.Like it or not, being a parent changes your priorities, and my lifestyle is nothing like it was in my carefree bachelor days.In my mind, I’ve rolled with the punches pretty well the past 13 years. Yet, there are certain co-workers who still say I don’t embrace change. And, when I read through the 2006 Spring Bulletin published by the Minnesota State High School League two weeks ago, I’m beginning to see that those co-workers might have a valid point.I’ve long considered the MSHSL, the governing body of high school sports in our state, as a group of individuals who make some decisions without thinking about the repercussions.For an entity that is supposed to care about student athletes, some of their recent decisions contradict that stance.In the past five years, the MSHSL has decided to extend the length of hockey (two minutes each period) and basketball games (four minutes each game).Since a lot of these games are played on weeknights, keeping the students away from their studies for longer periods of time didn’t seem to enter the minds of the officials who form the governing body of high school sports in our state.Not only that, they decided a few years ago that playing more basketball and hockey games during the course of the regular season was a good idea.Never mind the fact that some out-state schools are struggling with their budgets. Let’s let the hockey and basketball teams play up to 26 regular season games (up from 21), they decided, and we’ll let the state’s school districts eat up the extra expense.I could bore you with more of what I thought were incompetent decisions the MSHSL has made in recent years, but I won’t at this time.Instead, I’ll share some information with you on what has to be the most incompetent decision they have come up with yet.Starting in the 2007-08 basketball season, home teams will be required to wear white uniforms during games.When I read this piece of information, my jaw dropped to the point where it almost made contact with my chest.To avoid the obvious question (Who has enough time to care about such lunacy?), another thought entered my mind.What could have prompted such an inane decision?Now, unfortunately, that has become a question I wish I wouldn’t have asked.According to Adrian girls’ basketball coach Randy Strand, the uniform code was changed for one reason: Apparently, some teams have too many different colors on their home jerseys, and this is causing some officials to become confused.What?I don’t care how many different colors are on home or visiting uniforms.Is someone trying to say the officials are becoming confused when they are trying to identify who they are whistling for a foul?I’ve seen questionable calls made by officials before, but I’ve never realized it was a result of color blindness.Right or wrong, officials know who they are whistling for a foul. And, even if they don’t know who was responsible for a rules violation, doesn’t that mean the whistle shouldn’t have been blown at all? And yet, acting upon a recommendation from the National Federation rules committee, the mental giants that form the MSHSL have come to a decision. The Ellsworth Panthers can no longer wear their maroon and gold uniforms in their own school after next season.Maybe I should lighten up a little and accept this as another change I’ll just have to cope with.Strand already has.On the negative side, the Dragons will need to buy new white uniforms for their home games. On the positive side, they have two different types of jerseys (blue jerseys with gold numbers they used to wear at home, and gold jerseys with blue numbers they used to wear on the road) to choose from before embarking on road trips.Apparently I’m not as forgiving as Coach Strand, and maybe some of you won’t be when you consider this.When the Luverne Cardinals are involved in a close home game two years down the road, don’t be surprised if one of your motivational cheers sounds a little different.How does "Go Big White" grab you?It’s just change. Embrace it.