I Have A Better Solution For Not Getting Beaten 100-0: Don't Suck So Badly

As happens once in a while, a score in a high school athletic contest is making the rounds as the current thing we should all say is just "poor sportsmanship," and shake our heads about, etc. Well, bullsh-t, I say. That's just stupid. The fact that Convenant School is now asking to forfeit their 100-0 win over Dallas Academy is just ridiculous. Why even keep score? Why even have a team? If you're going to have to apologize for pummelling your opponents, then don't even effing play.

If you didn't yet hear about this (lucky you), Covenant pounded Dallas Academy -- a school that hasn't won a game in four years, mind you -- by 100 and then backed off. Should they have been pressing and keeping on the pressure into the fourth quarter? Well, maybe not. I suppose there's an "honor" in being reasonable to your opponents. And the school's chairman described the win as "victory without honor," "shameful" and an "embarrassment."

However, if Dallas Academy wants to field a team and Convenant is in your district, then, well, guess what? You need to take your medicine or else disband your basketball program. Sorry, that's the way the cookie crumbles. At least it used to be.

I remember playing on a traveling team of what were loosely described as "All-Stars" from my town (I say loosely because, hey, I was on the team). We played other towns all-star squads, many of which were, let's just say, a bit better than we were. I distinctly recall a road game in which we had a total of two points after three quarters. TWO! We were down something like 50-2. I don't remember the final but it was something like 66-8 or something like that. And I don't remember ever a word being uttered about it being "wrong" that we got shellacked like that. We got run out of the gym, plain and simple. And we lost. And then we went home. And on Monday we went back to school. And life went on.

Convenant also won games this year by scores of 66-7 and 77-27. Why haven't they forfeited those games? Is winning by 50 honorable but winning by 100 is not? Where is the line? I'm just curious.

I just don't agree with all this apologizing and the ludicrous notion of forfeiting the game to the lousy team. It is what's wrong with athletics right now. These are high school girls -- they're not 8-year-olds. The next level is college. And do you know what happens in college? Sometimes you don't succeed -- and I'm not even talking about basketball. Sometimes you get your ass kicked by a biology midterm. And if you get a zero on it and look pathetic doing so, your professor isn't going to decide that you should actually get 100 because failing you wasn't "honorable."

This whole story is so idiotic and it makes me angry.

Cowboys Lay Down and Play Dead

I never did understand why the Cowboys were such a chic pick for the Super Bowl this year. They had the same cast back as last year -- with the addition of alcoholic criminal Pacman Jones -- which couldn't win even a single home playoff game. They are in the best division in football, which also includes the defending champs, who didn't get worse or anything. And yet everyone on any major network seemed to be picking the Cowgirls go all the way.

And now, here they are, sitting at 5-4 and quite possibly not going to the playoffs. They're 2 1/2 games behind the Giants at the moment and while I don't necessarily feel that that's safe enough, it's a nice position to have your favorite team in. And around here at BS, with the Colts scuffling along at 4-4 and the Browns starting Gaydy Quinn, I'm definitely in the best position. (Not that kind of position, Brady.)

My absolute favorite moment from the Giants rumble over the Cowboys on Sunday, though, was one that Troy Aikman pointed out immediately and which is currently featured over at Fan IQ.

In the third quarter, I think the Cowboys had quit (did they really think Brooks freaking Bollinger was the answer?) and nothing said that more clearly than Michael Jenkins (#31) simply not wanting any part of Derek Ward.



That's quite hilarious. And sad, if you like the Cowboys.

Yep, Pat Knight Is Definitely Head Coaching Material

I think the caption for the accompanying picture should be something like, "Doy-uhh... what ha-ha-happened?"

I don't know why I take such delight in Pat Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders getting absolutely dump-trucked by Kansas last night 109-51.... oh, no, wait... I do know! Because he doesn't deserve his job!

I know Pat's team knocked off Texas over the weekend (I saw some of the game -- hooray for living in Texas) and that's a fine victory... but the mark of a good coach/team is the ability to not suffer a letdown after a big win. That victory means pretty much nothing now after the steamrolling the Red Raiders took last night.

See, I imagine that Pat allowed his team to feel absolutely wonderful about that win over Texas instead of reminding them that they had a huge game on the road against Kansas coming up. And sure, I understand that it was senior night at KU and that KU is a far superior team... but, he lost by almost sixty freakin' points!

Can you imagine if IU lost by 58 points? Or UCLA? Don't you think there would be immediate calls for Dakich's or Howland's jobs? I do. I think the Universities would be embarrassed and would be looking for someone to take the fall.

Of course, Patrick showed glimpses of his father's classiness during his halftime interview when he said, "Nobody showed up to play tonight."

Got nothing to do with you, though, right.... "Coach"?