Two cool items

[nickagneta]

The people I feel for are the girls who were playing.

First, being humiliated like that couldn't have been easy or good on the psyche of those Dallas Academy players. If they managed to develop something positive from the event then hats off to them and hats off to their coach, who obviously is a unique individual.

Second, the players at Covenant can't help what happened. As players they have to play the schedule given, the team in front of them and the manner that their coach coaches them to play. What are one of those players supposed to do if the coach is telling them to press and not telling them to pull back the offense? What are those starters supposed to do if after the first 4 minutes of the game they are up 26-0, they know they shouldn't be playing any more for the rest of the game but their coach leaves them out there? What are their options? Mutiny? Refuse? Purposely help the other team? Of course they can't.

I blame the Covenant coach for his careless exhibition and instruction of his players to humiliate the opposing team. It was a disgraceful display and he deserves to be fired.

[Redz]

The people I feel for are the girls who were playing.

First, being humiliated like that couldn't have been easy or good on the psyche of those Dallas Academy players. If they managed to develop something positive from the event then hats off to them and hats off to their coach, who obviously is a unique individual.

Second, the players at Covenant can't help what happened. As players they have to play the schedule given, the team in front of them and the manner that their coach coaches them to play. What are one of those players supposed to do if the coach is telling them to press and not telling them to pull back the offense? What are those starters supposed to do if after the first 4 minutes of the game they are up 26-0, they know they shouldn't be playing any more for the rest of the game but their coach leaves them out there? What are their options? Mutiny? Refuse? Purposely help the other team? Of course they can't.

I blame the Covenant coach for his careless exhibition and instruction of his players to humiliate the opposing team. It was a disgraceful display and he deserves to be fired.

It's a tough one. There's a fine line somewhere, but clearly this team crossed it. My little league team was pretty bad, but when all was clicking we could compete with the best teams...when the wheels fell off, they fell off badly though...One game we were down like 22-1 (pre-slaughter rules)...The other team started bunting.  Showing us mercy, yes, but it still sucked. We hated that the other guys were bunting on purpose.

[nickagneta]

The people I feel for are the girls who were playing.

First, being humiliated like that couldn't have been easy or good on the psyche of those Dallas Academy players. If they managed to develop something positive from the event then hats off to them and hats off to their coach, who obviously is a unique individual.

Second, the players at Covenant can't help what happened. As players they have to play the schedule given, the team in front of them and the manner that their coach coaches them to play. What are one of those players supposed to do if the coach is telling them to press and not telling them to pull back the offense? What are those starters supposed to do if after the first 4 minutes of the game they are up 26-0, they know they shouldn't be playing any more for the rest of the game but their coach leaves them out there? What are their options? Mutiny? Refuse? Purposely help the other team? Of course they can't.

I blame the Covenant coach for his careless exhibition and instruction of his players to humiliate the opposing team. It was a disgraceful display and he deserves to be fired.

It's a tough one. There's a fine line somewhere, but clearly this team crossed it. My little league team was pretty bad, but when all was clicking we could compete with the best teams...when the wheels fell off, they fell off badly though...One game we were down like 22-1 (pre-slaughter rules)...The other team started bunting.  Showing us mercy, yes, but it still sucked. We hated that the other guys were bunting on purpose.

Yeah, but in baseball a team just bunting is an obvious way of ending the game early and is easily detectable by the players. In basketball if you call off the press, put in the subs, instruct them to make 6 passes before putting up a shot and letting them no that fast breaking and layups weren't allowed, the players on the court will probably notice but at least it isn't nearly as obvious.

In baseball you are having you players bunt because just sending them up their to not do anything means getting tons of walks, which, in LL baseball is an offensive weapon. So you have them bunt, especially with 2 strikes to hasten the end of the game because baseball has no time limit. Basketball has a time limit and coaching in the manner I said will severely curtail the score and yet still give the appearance that you are trying to compete.

I see a big difference in the two. I've coached both and had to use both strategies. For fear of running up the score.

[Celtic]

How is that impressive Celtic?  It would be impressive there was some semblance of even talent level, but clearly there wasn't.  The winning team was toying with them.  If the Celtics beat Orlando 100-0 that would be impressive...

To me anytime you win a game 100-0, that's impressive, I also root for the bad guys in a lot of movies. Seriously, I feel like if I was in a game where I felt like my team could score 100, and keep the opposing team to 0, I would totally go for it. It's something that never happens.

Maybe impressive's the wrong word...  Unusual...absurd...extreme...

I'm an above average to excellent Scrabble player.  I just taught my daughter how to play, but we didn't keep score.  I'm pretty sure I could have kicked her ass and maybe broken the single best scoring record ever.  In fact, I probably could have challenged a bunch of the words she used on the basis of them being misspelled or placed invalidly on the board.

Admittedly, not an exact parallel example - someone did schedule the hoops game , and it takes two to tango, but you see my point.

I'm not saying the winning team should have stopped in the middle of the game and given the losing team pointers on how to shoot layups or anything, but displaying complete dominance over the meek doesn't strike me as "impressive".

I get the whole letting the other person win when they aren't on your level thing, I too am incredibly competitive, and have let younger relatives and children beat me in things just to make them feel better. This past summer I was playing table tennis (at which I am unbelievably competitive) and let my girlfriends 12 year old cousin, who was having a very very bad day, beat me, and I could have easily beat him 21-0. The difference here is that when you step out on the court you treat your opponent as an equal. Yes I can admit 100-0, with full court pressing may be a bit much, but I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of, but obviously I am very much in the minority.

I have a feeling if I was coaching that team, I would call the dogs off and definitely try to lighten the blow, but if it had still ended 100-0 I would be flippin stoked, and proud that I had taught a team to execute so well.

Having said all that, I don't have kids, and I have never sat by and had to watch a child of mine's team get killed, I can imagine that would be very frustrating, and probably would change my point of view. But I do feel that sports teach kids valuable lessons, and especially in losing, that we aren't all good at the same things, and things won't always go your way. Yeah 100-0 may be a little hard to swallow, however, I stand by my belief that every girl that one that game 100-0 should be proud of their accomplishment.