Strollerderby : basketball

Mom or Winning Division I Basketball Coach? You Decide

JeanneSager — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:01:00 GMT

Two guesses how I figured out the the coach of Arizona State University had to be a mother.

Something about the word "poop" just gave it away.

A video of Charli Turner Thorne screaming at her players in the locker room at half-time has gone viral in the past few days. Not because it's strange for a coach to yell or even because this is a female coach.

Her strong words for her players? "You played like poop!" Check it out:

Sorry Coach, even at top volume, it just sounds so, well, eight-year-old.

Which would make sense, as Thorne's son Liam IS eight years old. She also has a ten-year-old and a five-year-old, all boys. And I give her full credit - Thorne coached throughout all three pregnancies. She is also a well-respected coach who brought her team to the elite eight during March Madness this year. By the way, it was the team that ended the ASU run to the championship that had Thorne all riled up - the women were losing (and did lose) to UConn.

Because, apparently, they played like poop!

Hey parents, ever find yourself using your potty mouth outside of the house?

Image: TalkingProud

Morning News -- Layoffs and Vampires Edition

Brett Singer — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Friday, Friday, Friday! Let's get to it, people.

"Obama to Set Benchmarks in Fight Against Militants." So sayeth the New York Times. What's that conversation like? "Have we found Osama Bin Laden? No? Okay, what else you got?" Another headline from the Times: "Pakistani and Afghan Taliban Unify in Face of U.S. Influx." Oh goody. Sounds fun. Not.

Here in North America, it's layoffs, layoffs and more layoffs -- Google (200 people laid off), the New York Times (100 people laid off and most remaining employees taking a 5 percent pay cut), and the Canadian Broadcasting Company (800 jobs cut, hoping to sell some assets). Google? Really? That's not good.

Speaking of Canada ("C'mon, say 'about' one more time. Please?"), Garth Drabinsky was finally found guilty. Drabinsky was the head of Livent, the producer of the Broadway shows 'Ragtime' and 'Kiss of the Spider Woman.' I admit that I was somewhat giddy to read news of Drabinsky's legal demise; I used to work in theater and was fascinated by the brazen way he left the United States to avoid prosecution. Apparently Garth and his co-hort Myron Gottlieb pulled a Max Bialystock and kept two sets of books -- one fiction, one non. What I've never completely understood about schemes like this is why they keep them both. Wouldn't it make more sense to only keep the fake books? I don't want to give anyone ideas or anything. No word on whether or not Garth is wearing a cardboard belt. (I hope someone gets that reference.) Amazingly, Garth has been appearing on a Canadian reality show called "Triple Sensation" where he and some other people "look for young stars who can sing, act and dance." But not add. That's not needed. Despite Garth's conviction, there will be a season 2. I might need to find that show. (If you want to know the whole saga of Garth, click here.)

If you live in New York and ride public transportation, prepare to pay more. The MTA voted for a big fare increase and cuts in service. Hey, at least it's green.

Speaking of New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has resorted to quoting Popeye the Sailor. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

By the way, if anyone didn't know what I meant when I referred to funny car radio ads, here's an example. Except that this ad is for church. "Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!" Seriously. Check it out. Consider this your "Moment of Zen", Daily Show style.

And speaking of Comedy Central: I like Stephen Colbert, but naming a space station after him is stupid. The faux-conservative's fans "stuffed the virtual ballot box with 230,539 write-in votes, overriding the four official choices NASA offered," according to Wired.com. NASA can change their mind, but why did they put themselves in this position? Not exactly rocket scientists over there, are they? Oh. Oh! Never mind.

Finally, a fun little item from Gawker. Students at the Boston Latin School have been spreading rumors that the prestigious institute of pre-higher learning is infested with vampires. According to MTV.com, "The headmaster [had become] concerned that some students' safety might be jeopardized, particularly if they were accused of being members of the undead." (Maybe private school doesn't always offer the best education.) Police were called. Parents were alarmed. But school officials promised that it's not true. Then they turned into bats and flew away. (Note: They didn't really turn into bats. Although the rest of the story, as far as I know, is true.)

Thanks for joining me on Morning News the past two weeks. I'll be handing things back over to Madeline, but will continue to do a daily round-up of newsy goodness at DaddyTips.com. Have a great weekend, don't take any wooden nickels.

Image: SXC

Husband Loses Job, Wife Loses Respect For Him

UPDATE - Josef Fritzl Sentenced To Life In Psychiatric Institution

Oprah Gets It Right On Chris Brown

Soldier Gives Birth At Army Barracks

Heath Ledger's Daughter Gets His Oscar

The Dr. Phil And OctoMom Show

NBA's Eddie House and Son Hoop it Up at Cartoon Network

JeanneSager — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:59:00 GMT

Think being a celebrity gets you all the cool perks? Try being his son.

Jaelen House's dad Eddie is the back-up guard for the 2008 World Champion Boston Celtics. Like seven-year-olds everywhere, Jaelen is also a big fan of the Cartoon Network.

Now the two are coming together - Jaelen House is getting his own Cartoon Network show about being the son of Eddie House and living the day-to-day life of a sports superstar's son. One of House and wife Charlsie's three kids (including a set of twins), Jaelen is a regular on the sidelines at Celtics games, cheering for his dad, who serves as back-up guard to Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. House was a member of the championship winning team last year, coming off the bench to help boost the team. He scored nine points in the crucial game 4 comeback that helped the Celtics secure their victory.

According to Turner Broadcasting, which owns Cartoon Network, My Dad is a Pro is "the first series of the recently announced multifaceted partnership between Cartoon Network and the NBA." The channel will also be launching extensive basketball-related content on its Website.

The kid's eye view of the game sounds like it will help launch a new generation of fans, but we won't know for awhile what the Jaelen-Eddie dynamic will do for mini point guards everywhere. My Dad is a Pro will begin airing this fall.

Image: Boston Celtics

Morning News -- Twitter Makes Nothing But Is Worth Something

Brett Singer — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Welcome to Thursday! Yesterday I outed myself as one of the millions of Americans who knows zip about college basketball. I guess that's what happens when you go to a Division III school. On the plus side, I received a quality liberal arts education that allows me to do… well, this.

We'll start with something fun -- a Queens man played the lottery using the last three digits of Bernie Madoff's prison number and won $1500. The Daily News points out that this is a "16,000% return on his $9 investment - far more than even Madoff promised his bilked investors." It turns out that 501 other people hit a winner with those same three numbers (0-5-4, if you want to try it out yourself).

Back to the NCAA for a moment: Yahoo! Sports released a report claiming that the University of Connecticut violated recruiting rules in their contact with former player Nate Miles. Lots of people claim that the NCAA's rules are too confusing to follow, but I have an easy solution: hands off. Oh, but what about the shoe companies? They can contact the players. Well, under my plan, they can't. No one can. Amateur is amateur. If you want to play college ball, you can't accept any gifts from anyone at all. Ever. End of story. Of cause, its not that easy, but the solution isn't "make the rules go away", which is what some nudniks are saying.

Speaking of nudniks, somebody bilked Apple out of 9,000 iPod shuffles. What, you couldn't get them to send you a Touch? Piker.

A Chihuahua named Pebbles saved her owner from freezing to death when the two were stranded in the mountains of Wales. Beverley Burkitt is a dwarf, small enough that the little dog could keep her warm until help arrived. I still prefer bigger dogs, but this is a sweet story.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says that our "insatiable demand for illegal drugs" is partly to blame for all of the violence happening in Mexico. "I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility." Well, it takes a village.

Democratic Senator Benjamin Cardin would like to help newspapers survive by letting them "restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks." Since many of them are losing money anyway, sure, why not? The bill had no co-sponsors as of Tuesday. BusinessInsider thinks that there are some papers that will survive even without Cardin's bill. Personally, I like newspapers, but I'm forcing myself to read more news online beacuse that's where it's going, whether I like it or not.

Twitter is going to start trying to make actual money, although maybe they shouldn't bother -- despite having no revenue at all so far, the company was recently valued at $250 million, according to Julia Boorstin at CNBC. Potential sources of cash are "the ability to search what people are saying in real time", and since such searches are valuable, the ads placed next to them are also valuable. And Twittter CEO Evan Williams also wants to start "charging companies who use the site to reach customers, helping them better target and communicate." I know it makes me sound like a luddite, but sometimes I hate the new economy. Would somebody please go back to making money by making stuff that people want to buy?

Finally, Monster vs. Aliens opens tomorrow. If you have kids, you'll probably be seeing it. Let us know what you think.

That's all for today -- see you on Friday, folks.

Image: SXC

Husband Loses Job, Wife Loses Respect For Him

UPDATE - Josef Fritzl Sentenced To Life In Psychiatric Institution

Oprah Gets It Right On Chris Brown

Soldier Gives Birth At Army Barracks

Heath Ledger's Daughter Gets His Oscar

The Dr. Phil And OctoMom Show

Morning News - The Obama Bracket

Brett Singer — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Monday Monday… Can't trust that day…

Actually, you kind of can trust Monday. It's fairly reliable in that it always comes after Sunday. I don't think that's what Mama Cass and Co. were talking about, but then again, it was the 60's, so who knows?

Anyone make an NCAA bracket? I did. I know nothing about college basketball, and my picks are proving it, especially in the Midwest Conference. At least there's no money at stake for me. President Obama made one, which is being resoundingly mocked by many. Some were upset that he even took the time to make his picks, which is hilarious if you consider the amount of vacation time that former President Bush took while in office. (I know, it's a cliché, but it happens to be true.) Taking a few minutes to fill out a bracket is a pleasant distraction from the day's events for everyone, Leaders of the Free World included. If people want to complain about Obama's policies, fine, but his bracket? Let it go.

Damn those blasphemy laws -- a Pennsylvania man tried to register a limited liability company called I Choose Hell Productions, LLC but was told he had to pick another name because PA has an anti-blasphemy law on the books preventing such things. The laws were common the 19th century, but this one was enacted in 1977 when someone tried to register God Damn Gun Shop. The ACLU is suing the state. Heh heh. God Damn Gun Shop... (NYT)

A revival of "West Side Story" opened on Broadway with some of the songs translated into Spanish. Interesting idea but I can't imagine that makes the songs better. Frank Scheck of the Hollywood Reporter saw the show and agrees, as did many other critics. (Note: I haven't seen this production. I'll probably stick with the movie.)

The post office is in trouble. They lost almost 400 million dollars last quarter and are offering early retirement to 150,000 employees, in addition to staff cutbacks and location closures. Not enough people mailing letters I guess.

Susan MacDougal (remember her?) can't have the transcript of her own testimony in the Whitewater trial. She was hoping to use it for a novel or screenplay. Whitewater looks pretty damn tame compared to all the nonsense going on these days.

Some governors, including Nevada's Jim Gibbons, are turning down federal money to beef up their unemployment funds because they don't like the 'strings' that are attached. The thing is, those strings disappear when the federal cash runs out. (This according to a New York Times editorial.) Nevada will run out of unemployment money by the end of the year if they don't take the government cheese. (Nose, you don't mind if I cut you off to spite my face, do you? Cool, thanks.) You can't play games like this when people are out of work. And unemployment money gets taken out of your check every week for a reason. You get it back if you're unemployed. Hence the name. So it's not unreasonable for people to expect to receive that money if they lose their jobs. In other Republican Governor news, Alaska's Sarah Palin (perhaps you've heard of her?) is only accepting Federal money for projects that are truly "shovel ready." Alaska Democrats are not happy, saying that she is playing politics with state residents. There's definitely a shovel needed for what's coming out of the mouths of both Republicans and Democrats these days, but it's not the kind you use to fix roads.

Eliot Spitzer is talking smack about Andrew Cuomo. Hey! Here's an idea, Spitzy. Shut up. You have no credibility anymore. Sorry. You screwed up. Apologize and go away. Although maybe you can blog for Huffington Post like Gary "Monkey Business" Hart. ("G'head! Follow me! You won't find anything! Wait, you thought I meant that? I was only kidding! Aw, crap…")

Responding to Sheri's comment: I hadn't heard about what the President said on TV, so I looked it up. Seems that while being interviewed by Jay Leno on the Tonight Show, President Obama said of his bowling skills, "It's like the Special Olympics or something." He apologized to the President of the Special Olympics before the show aired. Comments at ABC News' web site range from "who cares?" to "see? I told you he was an idiot." (I'm paraphrasing.) I can't say I agree with those who say that this is somehow on the same scale as other "gaffes" spoken by Republican politicians, or even "gaffes" from Democrats. Personally, I think the President is a little bit too much of a regular guy, at least in the way that he sometimes speaks in public. It was a dumb joke but hardly the worst thing ever. He also invited Special Olympians to the White House to do some bowling. There's one Special Olympic bowler who has three perfect games to his credit, so maybe he can give the Prez some pointers. By the way, Sarah Palin weighed in on the President's comments, because she's not all about politics like some politicians. This issue really effects Alaska, hence her very public reaction. Also: the President of the Special Olympics is Tim Shriver, Maria's brother, and therefore Ah-nuld's brother-in-law. That has nothing to do with anything except that I think it would be fun to have Arnold Schwarzenegger as your brother-in-law. The Governator, by the way, supports Obama's stimulus plan.

Tuesday, Tuesday… I trust that day… Nah, doesn't have the same ring to it. I guess John Phillips knew what he was talking about. See you tomorrow.

Image: WhiteHouse.gov via Washington Post

Morning News - Natasha Richardson Dies (UPDATE - Autopsy Information)

Morning News - March Madness or March Sadness?

Morning News - Cheney, Duct Tape, Outer Space

Open Letter To The Woman Who Pushed Me While I Was Picking Up My Kid

Back to the Third Grade for This 71-Year-Old

They Say: Old School Lice Checks Are All Wrong

UPDATE: Did M.I.A Really Name Her Baby Ickitt?

Why Teens Are Quick to Blame Rihanna

Keep This Kid Away From The Dog

Morning News - iPhone Gets Feature Other Phones Already Have

Brett Singer — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Updating yesterday's Natasha Richardson story: an autopsy reveals that she died of bleeding in the brain and "she might have survived had she received immediate treatment." The thing is, people with this sort of injury typically feel fine at first. So sad.

NBC is launching a show to compete with "American Idol." Simon Cowell probably thinks this is a "horrible" idea. ("Horrible" is one of the words he uses a lot, right?) On "Idol", Alexis Grace went home. She was shocked. Shocked. Why are they always so surprised? I guess you have think you're a major talent to get on TV and sing like that but just once it'd be fun to hear someone say, "Yeah, I suck. It was only a matter of time before I got the boot."

Why is Steve Wozniak on "Dancing With The Stars"? Based on this quote from his website, I guess the reason is because people said he wouldn't be able to do it. I wonder if Apple fans will keep voting for him the way football fans did with Jerry Rice. Woz has definitely been keeping in touch with his audience, accusing "Dancing" producers of rigging the voting in order to goose the ratings, then apologizing, all via his Facebook page. If this keeps up, I might actually have to watch the show.

Speaking of Apple, the new iPhone software will include bleeding edge features like the copying and pasting of text. What's that, your phone has been able to do that for years? Mine too. The iPhone is nifty but certain omitted features prove that Steve Jobs could probably sell water to a drowning Apple fan if it had that logo on it. (Personally, until the iPhone has an actual keyboard, I won't even consider buying one.)

Financial news update: stocks tanked and it wasn't CNBC's fault. Are you happy, Jeff Zucker?

Austrian monster dad Josef Fritzl was sentenced to life in a psych hospital. Life in prison would be better, but even though he could be paroled in 15 years, it's not likely to happen. The speed of the trial was kind of impressive; in the U.S., these things seem to take a lot longer. I'm sure there's a reason for that but I don't know what it is.

And finally, there were a heck of a lot of babies born in 2007. Madeline points out that it wasn't Octomom's fault -- "she only gave birth to one baby that year."

That's all for now. Have a great weekend and we'll see you on Monday.

Image: Woz.org

New Baby Boom

Morning News - March Madness or March Sadness?

Morning News - Cheney, Duct Tape, Outer Space

Jimmy Kimmel And The Octomom

Morning News - Natasha Richardson Dies (UPDATE - Autopsy Information)

Brett Singer — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Starting on a sad note -- Natasha Richardson has died. UPDATE: according to this AP report, an autopsy revealed that "Richardson died from bleeding in her skull caused by the fall she took on a ski slope...The medical examiner ruled her death an accident, and doctors said she might have survived had she received immediate treatment."

She's one of those actresses that everyone seemed to absolutely adore on and off stage. I saw her perform in 'Cabaret' just before the show opened to rave reviews; she was amazing to watch. An appreciation of her life is here.

Pope Benedict XVI has folks up in arms because, speaking about the AIDS epidemic in Africa, he said, "You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem." Cathy Lyn Grossman at USA Today has an intriguing post in their Religion section titled, "Could choosing condoms mean choosing life?" Interesting idea.

The way everyone is carrying about the Jon Stewart / Jim Cramer kerfuffle (and really, what is it if not a kerfuffle?) you would think that their "feud" actually had some effect on the world at large. Or that more than 2.3 million people actually watched it. I'm not saying that's not a good number, but it's not exactly Earth shaking. Anyway, Jeff Zucker, the head honcho of NBC Universal, is all up in Jon Stewart's grill, saying that Jon is like, being unfair and stuff when he blames the financial crisis on CNBC's reporting. (That's not an exact quote; you can read Zucker's full quote here.) The thing is, that's not really what Stewart was saying. To me, the most important line from the interview he did with Cramer was, "It's not a f**king game, man." Cramer seemed to be telling Stewart that it was perfectly OK to say something under the guise of financial advice that wasn't entirely accurate as long as it was entertaining. Frankly, that pisses me of as well. For Stewart to question the worth of a network's reporting is a good thing, or it should be. Disagreeing with him is fine as well. Sing it with me now -- ain't that America, you and me… Also, if Jeff Zucker wants to yell at someone, it should probably be Cramer. He's the one who turned a bit on The Daily Show into something that has dominated news cycles for several days now.

Continuing with financial news, the Fed is doing more things that I don't entirely understand. This time they're buying "long-term U.S. government debt." (Someday someone will explain to me why anyone would want to buy debt.) This causes many things to happen, including wailing and gnashing of teeth. One possible good outcome of whatever-this-is is that mortgage rates will be vewy, vewy low for now, so if you need one, this is a good time to get it. Also on the good news front: fears of economic deflation have decreased! Why? Because the Consumer Price Index rose by .04%! Whoo-hoo! (Disclaimer: If you are getting your financial news from me, stop. Right. Now.)

Last but not least (if you're into college basketball), the NCAA Tournament, aka March Madness, starts today at noon. You can watch every game online at CBSSports.com, which is good for fans who will be stuck in an office all day. Of course, these people should probably be, you know, working. But who are we to judge?

That's all for today, back on Friday. Quick, fill out your bracket!

Image: Famecrawler

Morning News - Cheney, Duct Tape, Outer Space

GMA Tweets Details On Levi Johnston And Son

Jimmy Kimmel And The Octomom

Oprah Gets It Right On Chris Brown

Natasha Richardson Dead

Morning News - March Madness or March Sadness?

Brett Singer — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Apologies for forgetting St. Patrick's Day yesterday. I could make a culturally insensitive joke and say that I was drunk, but the truth is I just forgot. Apparently everybody was Irish on Tuesday, but today you're back to whatever it is you are the rest of the year.

Speaking of being culturally insensitive, it's a St. Paddy's Day tradition for the current Irish leader to bring the U.S. President a bowl of shamrocks. Faith and begorrah, laddie! Why doesn't he just dress up like the Lucky Charms mascot and dance an Irish jig on the White House lawn?

A group in Boston conducted a survey of local teens and asked them about Chris Brown and Rihanna. The results? Forty-six percent thought the beating Brown allegedly gave Rihanna "was Rihanna's fault, and fifty-two percent said it was both Rihanna and Brown's fault. Fifty-one percent blamed Brown." Wow. This story gets more depressing by the minute. I'm increasingly of the opinion that there are a lot of guys out there who think it's acceptable to hit a woman if she, you know, just doesn't listen or something. Scary thought.

In goofier entertainment news: Wow, Harry Connick Jr. got fat. I know that doesn’t really matter, but women are usually the target of this sort of nonsense, so I thought I'd share a pic of a famous guy who got caught lookin' chunky on the beach.

I'm not sure what it means when Judge Judy makes more sense than most of the people who talk about the state of our world today. It may be a sign of the apocalypse. Granted, anyone can look good next to Larry King, but Judge Judy sounds quite reasonable here.

There's a six-year-old boy out there with a 176 IQ. At that level, shouldn't he be able to move objects with his mind or something? (Oh, and I bet his father was young.) When you see a story like this, do you look at your own kids and say, "Why can't you be that smart?" Yeah, me neither.

February saw an increase in the number of new homes being constructed, aka "housing starts." Here's the headline, which is pretty typical these days: "Housing starts take surprising jump in Feb. / But can gains continue amid all the housing industry's woes?" It’s like giving a child a piece of chocolate cake and then telling him you might have dropped it in the sink. Or that the frosting is actually made with carob. (Remember carob? It was supposed to be healthier than chocolate. I think people stopped using it in the 1970's.) Just once I'd like to get a piece of good news without being told, "hey, it's good, but don't expect it to last."

Alex Rodriguez, whom I refer to as The Rod, has revealed his true talent -- being annoying both on and off the field. I mean, how is it that the highest paid player in baseball isn’t playing and is on the cover of Details magazine with the headline, "A-Rod: Confessions of a Damned Yankee"? Yes, the cover was planned before he had his surgery. But what the hell, dude?

And finally, March Madness has arrived. If you're like me and have no officemates to play with (let's call it March Sadness), you can make a bracket at NYTimes.com and compete against random people for an Amazon Kindle, which is a nice prize. And CNET has a list of several NCAA-related websites to choose from. The tournament starts tomorrow (Thursday March 19), so get your bracket ready if you want to play. It's like the stock market, only more fun and with less sweating.

Image: CNET

Half of Kids Surveyed Think Rihanna Had it Coming

6-Year-Old Boy has 176 I.Q., Bums out Entire Adult Population

GMA Tweets Details On Levi Johnston And Son

Jimmy Kimmel And The Octomom

Morning News - Cheney, Duct Tape, Outer Space

Teen Ball Players Throw Away a Win for Child of Cancer Victim

JeanneSager — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:33:00 GMT

Just when you think kids are done surprising you, they do it again. Take the boys of the DeKalb (Wisc.) high school basketball team - who showed this month that winning isn't everything, especially when it means hurting a boy who has just lost his mom.

A group of teen boys traveled two hours to play a high school basketball game in Milwaukee, Wisc. earlier this month, only to find the coach of the opposing team, the Milwaukee Madison High School team, wasn't there. Coach Adam Womack Jr. was at the local hospital with player Johntell Franklin, whose mom had died that day from cancer.

The visitors from DeKalb were eager to get home, but Coach Dave Rohlman told Womack to take his time. DeKalb offered to go home, to let the players from Madison have their time to grieve.

But Womack decided his kids needed to play, needed to get their minds off of their friend and onto the game. They took to the court. In the middle of the second quarter, Franklin arrived. He wasn't on the roster, but he wanted to play. It would mean giving up two free throws to DeKalb - official policy in high school basketball, substituting a player not listed in the official scorebook is a technical.

It would have given DeKalb an advantage. Instead they argued with the ref. They didn't want to take it. When the ref insisted, one of the team's best players went to the free throw line, and missed. Twice.

He purposely threw the ball out of bounds, and threw away a win. Madison went on to win a close game . . . and the two teams sat down afterward to share a couple pizzas.

Somehow, I seem to find a weeper to share here on the 'Derby at least once a week. This is no exception (and the fact that this story was e-mailed to me by my husband, who was touched in his own sports guy way makes this all the more moving). What's remarkable about this story are the attitudes of the kids and coaches from DeKalb, of course, but also the understanding of Coach Womack that his players needed to play - that Franklin could find catharsis on the court after losing his mother.

High school sports are hotly contested, and a win means far more to kids at that age than most adults realize. Giving that up - throwing that away - takes guts, heart and an incredible self-possession that most sixteen, seventeen-year-old boys (or girls) don't have. A letter from Coach Womack to the editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out an incredible job is being done in raising these kids.

"As a principal, school, school district staff, and community you should all feel immense pride for the remarkable job that the coaching staff is doing in not only coaching these young men, but teaching them how to be leaders," Womack says.

These are the kinds of sports stars we really need.

Source: Bleacher Report

Image: Journal Sentinel (Johntell Franklin)

Update: Coach Fired After Leading Team to 100-0 Victory

KeriF — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:30:00 GMT

Jeanne wrote this morning of the Covenant School girls' basketball team, which soared to a 100-0 victory over Dallas Academy last week. After the maelstrom of negative publicity, the school released a statement saying their team would forfeit the game and that the school in no way supported Coach Micah Grimes' handling of the game. Today it was announced that Coach Grimes has been fired from the school, perhaps in part due to his own statement posted on the team's website.

In his statement, Grimes defiantly defends his actions during the game. "I’ve always taught my girls to value honesty, integrity, compassion for others and to stand up for those values despite the consequences," he wrote. Yet most people feel that Grimes showed anything but compassion to the Dallas Academy team.

Grimes has been criticized for continuing to play his first string players into the second half, at which point his team held a 59-0 lead. According to Grimes' statement, however, he began substituting bench players after just 3 minutes into the game, when his team was ahead by 25 points. If the team continued to play as aggressively as they did those first 3 minutes, the game would have ended up a 500-0 blowout. So clearly the team wasn't driving the score up as much as they could have.

With just eight girls on the team, however, some of the first string players were playing the entire game.

Dallas Academy is a school for kids with learning differences. Covenant School is not. Is it really a fair contest to pit the two schools against each other? Apparently someone decided it was. So once the two teams are scheduled to meet, shouldn't they both play as well as they can? Does showing compassion mean letting the "different" kids win? Or does it mean treating them as equals?

If what Coach Grimes says in his statement is true, that he subbed in bench players soon into the game, then I'm not sure what else he could have done.

School Game Ends 100-0, Who Won?

JeanneSager — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:23:00 GMT

Remember when you lost your high school game and your mother told you to stop crying, "it's only a game"?

Let the record show, Mom was right.

Because a Dallas, Texas coach who left the first string in to bring the score to 100 to 0 against a team made up of children with learning disabilities, is nothing but a big loser.

Administrators from the Covenant School of Dallas issued a formal apology last week after the Christian school's girls basketball team wiped the floor with their opponents' dignity. They're forefeiting the game, and school officials promised they "have acted to ensure that such an unfortunate incident can never happen again" (no word on whether that means a coach will be fired or disciplined?).

The Covenant girls were up 59 to 0 when the first half ended, against a team of girls who have never won a game. There was no danger of losing. Still, the first string was left in the game. The benched girls never got their chance for Covenant, and the Dallas Academy girls never got a chance - period.

Jezebel tried to play the whole thing off as anti-feminist, accusing the girls of "being afraid to kick ass."

Puh-lease. These kids are in high school. They aren't supposed to be kicking ass. They're supposed to be learning about sportsmanship, discipline, teamwork. . . and getting some exercise.

Growing up in a sports-oriented (mostly football) school district, I found that too often the line between sports as part education and sports for sports' sake became blurred. There is an expectation in many of these schools that sports are there so the kids can play, get recognition from scouts and scurry their butt off to a Division I school with a fat scholarship.

Wrong. Sports belong in schools only as part of the well-rounding of children's education. It's one of the reasons I'd like to see more emphasis on intramurals and less money spent on sending kids two hours on a bus to play another big school, costing taxpayers more and taking the kids out of more and more classtime. Because, in school, kids are supposed to learn about how to get ready for the real world, and sports can offer part of that to the children who enjoy athletics. The teamwork, the discipline, and, in light of the childhood obesity crisis, a lifelong love of movement can go a long way in the real world.

So too can the ability to forge relationships with those you oppose. Because somewhere along the way, we have lost the art of civil discourse in this country. The Rush Limbaughs of the world won't say, "well, President Barack Obama won, and I don't think he can do it, but I hope he will." Instead, it's "I hope he fails." There is no meeting in the middle, no getting ahead only to reach back and help someone else along.

And our kids are taking up that mantra. They are running their opponents into the ground - figuratively, and, in this case, literally.

This isn't about feminism (could it be when you're talking about two girls teams facing off). It isn't about being "too wussy."

It's about common decency. It's about allowing your opponents on the court and in life a little dignity. Because who wants our kids to get ahead if they have to climb over everyone else on their way up?

Image: ABC News

Hey Obama, Give This Kid an Interview!

JeanneSager — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:02:00 GMT

Damon Weaver's stuck his mic in the faces of the likes of Vice President-Elect Joe Biden, future Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and possible New York Senate-seat-holder Caroline Kennedy. So what makes him any different from your standard political pundit? He's just ten years old.

And now the Florida fifth grader is gunning for the biggest interview of his TV news career: he wants to land President-Elect Barack Obama.

Weaver is an anchorman for KEC-TV news, the show produced by fifth and sixth graders at Canal Point Elementary School in Pahokee, Florida. His four-minute bid for the Obama interview has gotten more than forty thousand hits on YouTube, and he's got a second video with Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade and forward Shawn Marion putting in a few good words for the little man.

Marion says he'll play the president-elect one-on-one if he'll interview Weaver - although he can't promise he'll let him win. And Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin? He's a graduate of Weaver's elementary school, and he's chipped in some cash to help get the pre-teen to the inauguration. The school threw a carnival to help make it happen too; and the boy will spend an entire week in D.C. in January. That's when he hopes Obama will grant a few moments of his time for an aspiring reporter.

"I can interview you any time, any day of that week - just have your people call my people," Weaver says with a wide grin at the end of his YouTube message."If you want to be my homeboy just like Joe Biden, all you have to do is just let me interview you."

Well-spoken (especially for a ten-year-old), Weaver is polite, sweet and hopeful. He's got just the right mix of "I can do it" and "oh please, let me do it" that makes you want to root for him. And he's done his homework - his video has clips not just of the NBA and NFL stars but of the agricultural importance of his hometown and the classrooms where he spends his days. He might be "just a kid," but he's obviously got something to say about the country's future - and his own.

So what do you think? Should Obama give this kid an interview and help make a real reporter out of him?

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Do You Let Your Kids Stay Up to Watch the World Series?

JeanneSager — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:34:00 GMT

Now that the Red Sox are finally out of contention (yes, I confess, I'm a Yankees fan - pity freely accepted), I'm actually considering watching the World Series. Too bad my daughter won't be watching it with me. Game One will start at 8 p.m. tomorrow night, just as I'm preparing to hurry her into a bath.

I've always wondered why sports championships are played so late - at least for those of us on the East Coast.

Football ends with just one late night for kids, the Super Bowl is over and done after one long, junk-food filled night. Basketball closes out in June, when fewer kids are in school anyway. And unfortunately, soccer has yet to catch enough fans for the MLS Cup to break too many hearts.

When the Yankees won their last championship, I was passed out in bed. As hard as I tried to keep my eyes open, work the next morning beckoned along with my bed. I did a little cheer when my husband woke me up to tell me the news, then I rolled over and went back to sleep. Seven late nights were too much for the adult me, not to mention the little Bronx Bombers out there. Every sappy commercial meant to make moms blubber so hard they forget they don't need the product and buy it anyway features a dad and a kid playing catch in the backyard. Little boys might as well be handed a glove on the way out the door of the hospital in this country. Haven't you heard? It's supposed to be America's game, and games are for kids.

So why don't they split the seven games across the clock the way they split them between stadiums? I mean, I'm happy for the little Phillies fanatics out on the West Coast who are ready to cuddle up on the couch with Mom and Dad this week. And those Rays fans. . . if there are any? (sorry, I'm a fan of anyone who can keep the Red Sox out of the series!).

Maybe when my daughter's a little older, she'll be camped out on the couch with us too. Will you be keeping your kids up to watch the series?

Image: AllPosters

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Weekly Check-Up: Girls Get Hurt More Than Boys

Kelly Mills — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:02:00 GMT

I hope you caught the New York Times magazine article on Sunday about girls and sports injuries, because if I could just soapbox for a sec, I think we all ought to be concerned about this. There's lots to digest in there, but one of the things that stands out: Some experts believe that in sports that both sexes play, girls rupture their A.C.L.s (i.e. blow out their knees) at rates as high as five times that of boys. Girls are also more likely to suffer concussions in sports like basketball. And as more girls play sports, we'd better figure out what to do about it.

Some possible reasons include the fact that girls have more estrogen, which makes ligaments more flexible and likely to tear; wider hips may lead to being 'knock-kneed'; and smaller necks can contribute to concussion rates. There's talk of how the mechanics of boys in running and jumping are better for the body, and that girls need to learn to "jump like a boy." One possible aid for the problem comes from a program designed to build strength through plyometric drills and lunges--but the initial study showing effectiveness needs to be replicated in a more scientific manner. I will say that I fail to see the harm in this program, and we may want to do some quick implementation. If my personal training client base is any indication, in ten years some of those girls will probably be handing money over to a trainer to learn the same movements.

But I just can't help but add that we can't allow kids to play one sport year-round. It's wearing out the bodies of all our young athletes. We have to get parents and coaches on board, and basically stop the practice before our children are hobbled at age thirty.

Because Womenfolk Like Babies, Not B-Ball

Amy Kuras — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:02:00 GMT

Does this sound like a ridiculous barking dog to anyone else? Yes, Discovery Health's Baby Madness, billed as the mom's alternative to basketball's Final Four.

Because of course I would never want to watch basketball. Because I am a girl. And I like babies. Ha! Ha! Babies! Cute.

Not basketball. Not like my husband probably decided I was the one for him due to my excellent trash talk the first year we were dating, when my school met his in the first round (the same year, I might add, I won a statewide journalism award for a sports story I worked on). Not like I spent much of last year's tourney several notches ahead of my best guy friend in his own tournament pool. And I'm not even especially a sports fan.

No, I forget my place, I am a woman and a a mother and so of course I would rather watch babies do cute things on television (because hanging with my own cute baby and his cute preschooler sister all day long is apparently not quite enough of watching kids. Ha! Ha! Chicks! We can’t get enough babies!).

Not only do we ladies like babies, not basketball, we also like "celebrities" even if they are so D-list I can't even use the word without the snarky little quotes. Because this gem of counterprogramming also gifts us with advice and observations from "celebrity" moms of multiples Kate Gosselin (of "Jon and Kate Plus 8") and, wait for it, Michelle Duggar (on second thought, not even going there).

But still. Is it too much to ask that we stay away from stupid gender stereotypes? From assuming that because you're pitching a program to, say, mothers that we're all cute and fluffy and girly and baby-crazy would sooner get advice from Michelle Duggar (oops) than watch hoops?

Jewish Hoops Team May Be Forced To Forfeit Regional Championship

Amy S.F. Lutz — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:32:00 GMT

My congratulations to the members of Colorado's Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy basketball team on their successful playoff run. With one more victory, they'll reach the regional championships on Saturday, March 8th.

My condolences on the forfeit they'll have to make if they do reach the championships, since the Colorado High School Activities Association has already rejected the team's request to move the game to any day but Saturday - a day on which the players are not, by Jewish law, permitted to play sports.

Even the state senate recognized the blatant anti-semitism involved in the CHSAA's decision, and has asked the organization to revisit the issue. Senate President Peter Groff pointed out the underlying hypocrisy of the ruling, given that Sunday games are already forbidden by the CHSAA for the same religious reasons Jewish athletes can't compete on Saturdays.

The CHSAA's response? They'll just pick another team to play if the Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy team reaches the championships and forfeits. There's a great lesson in sportsmanship for Colorado students. I hope whichever team wins really enjoys that hollow victory.

'Retired' Tennis Star Returns to Court 6 Weeks Post-Partum

Madeline Holler — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:04:00 GMT

Tennis anyone? Oh, not me. I think the sport is as boring to watch and discuss as it is to play. But what I do love is sports talk that centers on motherhood. Obviously. I can't get enough of stories about women who not only continue to compete during and after pregnancy, but especially when the thrive because of it. Sometimes, kids do just the opposite of draining your aspirations. They turn it around an inspire them.

This is what happened to the 31-year-old tennis star Lindsay Davenport. She retired in 2006, pregnant with her son. But the retirement turned into maternity leave when a few weeks before giving birth, she got the strangest pregnancy craving yet: a return to the tennis court. Six weeks post-partum, she was playing in a doubles tournament.

Her boy, Jagger, is 7 months old now, and mom is making the rounds in the big tournaments. Serena Williams, for one, is in awe.

"I mean, I'm speechless because she looks better than me and she's seven months out of having a baby," Serena Williams said here at a pre-tournament news conference. "I'm convinced if I had a baby, seven months later I'd probably still be in the hospital trying to get over the pain."

Oh, Serena, it's not THAT painful. But the comeback is still pretty cool.

Having a kid has forced her to be selective and make difficult choices -- a refrain lots of mothers know. Baby Jagger's presence has changed her in more than one way. He helps to keep her temper in check -- or at least forces her to creatively manage it.

No matter what, win or lose, the presence of Jagger has changed everything for Davenport. She lost to Jankovic in Beijing and afterward told her nanny, who was with Jagger, that she needed a minute alone.

"I hit my racket on the ground, took a deep breath, and I thought, 'OK,' and we were all good again," Davenport said. "It took about hours less than it used to, to get the anger out. I didn't want him to see me do it.

"I was like, 'Would you mind walking outside for one second with him?' She did. [I] broke a racket. They came back in and it was fine."

With a mom on the court, I'm almost tempted to follow tennis. I mean, I won't, but I am tempted.

College Basketball Player, Mom Gets Back on the Court

Madeline Holler — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 14:39:00 GMT

I don’t know. That whole sports as a metaphor for life thing? Triumph over adversity? Getting back in the game. All that organized sports and ball club stuff. It just makes me feel weird. Like, bored weird. Like, who cares? But then you throw a young unwed mother in the mix and I’m all eyes and ears.

So I actually read this “sports” story, which is really, let’s be honest, more of a borderline-Hollywood gossip piece (also more interesting than sports writing). And it involves people whose names are vaguely familiar to me – Matt Leinert, for one -- but I don’t really know anything about. Still, the writer had me at “19, pregnant and scared.”

Summary: Almost two years ago the promising USC basketball player with a really good three-point shot and a full-ride scholarship, Brynn Cameron, got pregnant by Leinart, a Heisman trophy winning football player, who, at some point, became a professional (for a team I could have sworn played baseball), but wound up breaking his collar-bone.

She gave birth, a boy, and she and the football player had testy exchanges in the media, probably exacerbated by some battles about child support. That got settled, she’s back on the court, not quite up to her game, but now she and the baby daddy say really nice things about each other – “she’s a great offensive player and very competitive,” “he’s in a tough position … but we’re closer than ever,” that kind of thing.

And that’s all well and good and not all that sportsy, but of course, what I zero in on is how she gets tons and tons and tons of free babysitting from her family. Lucky. Wasn’t I just talking about how having a baby in college has its advantages?

Anyway, good for her. Because it looks like she’s staying on track with her goals and dreams, expanded to include her son, whom she’s raising without the help of Leinart (except financially). Here’s what he says:

"Not giving up on school, on basketball, that shows what type of person Brynn is," Leinart said. "It's very, very hard to do, and when Cole grows up he'll know his mom stuck it out and raised him."

Stephon Marbury's Basketball Shoes Sell For $15 not $150. Reason? The Kids.

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 17:04:00 GMT

NBA star Stephon Marbury's "Starbury" basketball shoes are selling like hotcakes. Every kid wants a pair and, according to Friday night's 20/20 report, it's not uncommon for a store to blow through two months' worth of inventory in three days. Why are they so appealing? It's not just that a famous basketball player has his name attached to them, it's also because they cost $14.98.

Marbury, completely turned off by the cult of $200 basketball shoes, took no upfront endorsement money. Considering that LeBron James recently inked an endorsement deal with Nike for $90 million, this is astonishing. Marbury gets paid if the shoes sell. And sell they are. According to 20/20, Starbury's are no different than the most expensive shoes on the market. The main difference is that his shoes aren't made of leather. Marbury wears his shoes for every NBA game saying, "Leather doesn't made you jump higher."

Marbury had enough of kids getting beat up or killed over shoes and hearing stories of families sacrificing grocery money to buy shoes. He says that growing up, $200 "plus coupons" would feed his family for the month. His mother wonders why no one thought of doing this sooner.

At a recent event, it was the mothers who approached Marbury to thank him for making his shoes affordable, and cameras caught him as he was overcome with emotion. He covered his face and let the tears flow. Go on, Stephon! You're doing a good thing!

Supermom: Woman has Baby Then Coaches Basketball Game

Karen Murphy — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 11:12:00 GMT

Carol Russell was late to coach an important game for University of Nebraska-Kearney. It was a big game, a huge game, the regional championships, and she was late. Which she never would have tolerated in her players. But they didn't just have a baby. And Carol did, only five hours before coaching the big game.

Whoa! I thought I was tough, driving the family home from the mall once while in labor (those stoplights were a bitch), but Carol! Wow! I don't know about you, but five hours after having any one of my four children, I was thinking about maybe finding out what it was like to walk again.

Carol, my hat's off to you. [UNK lost, sad to say.]