I agree it was the email that ultimately got him fired but it was the way he handled the game that resulted in following controversy and that includes the e-mail.Originally Posted by Razor Shines
I agree it was the email that ultimately got him fired but it was the way he handled the game that resulted in following controversy and that includes the e-mail.
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree here. I don't think the value of playing sports ends when you realize you're never going to be the best. In fact, most people will say one of sport's primary values is how it teaches people to deal with failure, to get knocked down and get back up again and keep trying. Let's be honest, in the big picture, very few high-school teams could be fielded if all the kids who didn't have a future in sports chose not to play. But they do. They strive, they try to be the best, they hurt when they lose. But there's something to it other than winning, some purpose in it other than separating themselves into Winners and Losers.
So when you ask why they bother fielding a team when they suck that bad, maybe that's why.
Reading comprehension is not just an ability, it's a choice
The fact that they called off the dogs with 4 minutes left makes this all the more galling IMO, I assume Texas HS is 8 minute quarters, so in 28 minutes, the team scored 100 points before slowing things down and not scoring again.
If that's the case, there's no way you can tell me the intent, when it was 59-0 at half time was to do anything other than score 100 points and complete the humiliation.
If they called off the dogs at 4 mins left in the game, why not earlier? The lead wasn't safe until it was triple digits?
What do you consider calling off the dogs? Putting the subs in?
I posted this on my blog listed in my signature. This pretty much sums up my thoughts on high school athletics.
Before I make comments on the Kentucky-Ole Miss game, I want to comment on the overall state of sports in general, mostly a high school girls game in Texas that has created a lot of controversy.
Covenant School in Dallas, Texas managed to hand Dallas Academy, a small private school that caters to students with learning disabilities, a 100-0 embarrassment of a loss. After refusing to apologize for running up the score, Kyle Queal, the coach of the Covenant school, was dismissed.
The losing team has received much affection from the public and the media and you almost have to wonder how much of it is warranted. In addition, the girls were given a luxury suite at a WNBA game. The winning team lost its coach and has come under intense ridicule.
For the record, I realize that some of the girls on the team may have been special needs children, but the fact of the matter is, this game should have never been scheduled or agreed in principle to start with. Before you get on your high horse and criticize Covenant, remember that it takes two to tango. Dallas Academy should have realized going in that they would likely have been in a situation similar to this before they decided to play a superior team. In addition, Covenant should not have scheduled Dallas Academy because there is no benefit to playing a team that you are going to walk all over.
Any time you look at high school sports, especially basketball, you always want to schedule teams early on that can give you a better chance to examine yourself and prepare ultimately for championships. I followed Rose Hill for the two years OJ Mayo starred and watched Rose Hill take on teams in-state that were powerhouses. They weren't overly successful, but it eventually led them to their first and only trip to Rupp Arena. This game did not serve a purpose for either team and it is unfortunate that as a result, we are led to debate whether or not mediocrity should be accepted in sports.
If you want further proof, just examine the divisions based on class sizes. In Kentucky especially, schools have been divided into public and private, and the divisions are divided based on the class sizes. For example, where I am originally from in northeastern Kentucky in the 16th region, Ashland is the largest school in the district and has been moved to a new district, playing teams all over the state from Tates Creek and Bryant Station to Pikeville. The famous Boyd County-Ashland inner city rivalry now doesn't have the same impact as it does every season.
Schools such as Rose Hill, Lexington Catholic, and the private schools in Louisville have paved the way to the cries of foul by public schools, and as a result it is now set up to where every child gets a trophy, and the true sports fans will never really know the true champion. If you look at college basketball, this is what March Madness is all about, as we get to see a Cinderella such as George Mason or Davidson shock the world. We like pulling for the underdogs, but now the way the system is set up, it eliminates that.
It's been said that high school sports was fine until adults got involved. Looking at some other cases I have seen personally, I would have to agree:
- In Kentucky, a story that will likely make bigger news in the near future is the death of a student due to overheating similar to Korey Stringer of the Minnesota Vikings. Pleasure Ridge Park coach David Jason Stinson was indicted for the death of 15 year old Max Gilpin. This could be a dangerous precedent to set, but I fully understand the reasoning. However, it will be interesting to see what else transpires.
- A story in Kentucky that I know all too well growing up. Former Greenup County basketball coach Randy Ward, after winning the first game in state at Rupp Arena during the semifinals, decided to take the team to Hooters after the game to celebrate. He then tried to defend himself by saying Hooters was a "family restaurant", which became a punchline for Jay Leno. The parents were up in arms over this, but not for the reason you might think. A lot of parents were dissatisfied with Coach Ward's style of play and decided to use "Hootergate" to axe the coach. However, Coach Ward was able to keep his job until he was eventually fired in a recruiting incident that landed Greenup County on probation with the KHSAA.
- Another story that is more disturbing that is similar, but happened here in West Virginia at Parkersburg High School. Former coach Marshall Burdette had allegations brought against him that he had propositioned some of the players that had played for him and as a result was forced to resign. As with Coach Ward, some of these players parents were unhappy with the way Coach Burdette was handling the team and wanted a new coach, however there is some question as to the legitimacy of the complaints. Burdette assistant Craig Farnsworth took over the team and led them to a state championship and decided not to take it, even with full booster support, over the way Coach Burdette was handled.
IMO, it's instituting a 10-pass rule before allowing a shot on office. Even if there's a shot clock, take 30-35 seconds before attempting a shot. If you get the rebound, repeat the process. Do what you can to shorten the game as much as possible. You can do those things and still play hard and try.
All models are wrong. Some of them are useful.
Yep. That's what my team did when I played high school ball. In baseball, once we were up by 10 we'd stop stealing (exception: unless we were playing a VERY good team that happened to be having a bad inning or two). Once we were up by 15 we'd stop advancing on passed balls/wild pitches.
These opinions are, IMO, the wrong way to approach a game and the wrong way to teach younger players. When I was in Jr. High and HS, our boys basketball team was stacked. We were good, we knew it, and we rarely lost a game. Our JV coach would always approach the games against weak teams the same as hard teams...except in the locker room before the game he would tell the team "Alright boys, let's get out there in the first half, blow them out, and get the bench guys a lot of playing time in the second half." That is the right way to approach a game, not "playing nice from the start." If you let your focus down and start bench players then you are leaving yourself mentally unprepared for the game IMO.
And as for letting the team take shots, I don't think ANY high school player would do that in a regular game. I have seen the game you spoke of and that's a special circumstance, but in a regular game that is just opening yourself up to ridicule from teammates IMO. If you were nice and let your opponent score on purpose and the final score was 100-2, guess who's gonna get made fun of on after the game? The girl who let her opponent score on purpose. When I was playing freshman basketball we had a game against our rival that was a severe mismatch. We were up 24-2 at the half and all we did the entire halftime (coach included) was poke fun at the guy whose man scored. It's just the team mentality and there isn't much you can do about it. HS kids don't think about being nice, they think about competing and doing their best.
I've been on both ends of scores like that. One game when I played traveling basketball growing up we won 72-10. Our coach was a good guy but against this team it was impossible not to pour it on. You just play hard and execute and don't give anything away and there is nothing you can be criticized for. Being on the losing end I would hate to be given anything.
One other point on this, by not running any offense, and just turning it into a layup line, you're robbing your own team of some valuable practice.
What did they learn by stealing the ball at half court and running to the other side? If they hold up and actually run an offense, the final score may be 76-0, 80-0, or 90-0 but it probably wouldn't have made the papers, and your team might have gotten something out it.
This seems like a complete no-brainer to me.
The coach was trying to get to 100. That was his goal, once he saw it was pretty much impossible to stop, and he did it.
He's a cretin, and I hope he never gets another opportunity to influence young minds.
We overcomplicate things sometimes.
Like AM and PM.
We'll go down in history as the first society that wouldn't save itself because it wasn't cost effective ~ Kurt Vonnegut
Amen to that.There is no mercy rule in girls basketball that shortens the game or permits the clock to continue running when scores become one-sided. There is, however, "a golden rule" that should have applied in this contest, Edd Burleson, the director of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, said last week.
Last edited by GAC; 02-02-2009 at 07:35 PM.
"In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)
Here's the flip side of this story
http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool...ory?id=3914375
That's a cool story and a nice gesture by that team, but I really don't see what it has to do with the original subject.
"I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings."
Hitters who avoid outs are the funnest.
As I said, it was the flip side of the original story. The original one was seen as unsportsmanlike and this story is seen as sportsmanlike.
No, I completely understand what you were saying and implying, but I don't think it's the "flip side". I don't think that they're related much at all.
Sorry if you thought that I was implying that you were attempting to take the thread or something, I wasn't. I just made a poor attempt to disagree with your point.
"I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings."
Hitters who avoid outs are the funnest.
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