Men in Skirts?

Should men be able to partake in women’s field hockey at the high school level? Each year in my home state of Pennsylvania this issue comes up. PA is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, states for high school field hockey. Evidence would be that 6 out of the 20 players on Ohio’s roster alone are from PA. Only two are from Ohio. But regardless of how good these young ladies are, it is still difficult for these girls to compete with the opposite sex. At my high school we had a guy who was a year older than me who played for the team. He eventually went on to be the only player on the US national team from the east coast. This guy was bigger than pretty much all the linebackers I faced in my high school career. When put next to a female it looked like Shrek and Princess Fiona. The safety of the girls is at risk when they collide with players of their own sex, let alone another. Also, the ball will travel faster when hit by males. It’s often controversial that some teams would field half or more of their team with males against schools that had no males at all. One local school, Antietam, does not boast a football squad due to being such a small school. They would usually field a field hockey team, consequently, with multiple males. Many schools would choose to forfeit their game with Antietam for the safety of their players (http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=59856). Others had administrations who wouldn’t hear the end of it from angry parents if they didn’t forfeit. There is only one right and clear solution in my eyes. Men should not be playing high school field hockey. They are physically overpowering and it is just not fair for the wellbeing of the young ladies trying to play the game.

Soccer, I mean football, across "the pond"

Should the Super Bowl be even considered to be played in London? (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3065254) That’s like asking if we should move the 4th of July to Asia for a year. The idea of the British stealing our biggest sporting event for a year is preposterous. I think Roger Goodell is doing a great job with the NFL. He is handing down fairly correct punishments, aside from the gaudy fines I argued against last week. He has run the league smoothly since he took over for Paul Tagliabue. But for him to have the audacity to decide to move the Super Bowl, a national cash cow, out of the country would be simply wrong. The host city of the Super Bowl is chosen and it is looked forward to in that area for a great deal of economic impact. I think it is great that the NFL takes the opportunity to expand their horizons by playing games each year overseas. I think the idea of a playoff game might even be lucrative to ponder, assuming the conditions are correct. The notion of going overseas is certainly spurred by the fact that the NFL could GREATLY expand its international presence if it elected to play the Super Bowl in London. And undoubtedly people would travel to London from the United States to attend the game. But the NFL is the United States’ league and the Super Bowl is the United States’ showcase for the game which it developed. It would not be right for the NFL to take its biggest game out of the states and overseas, at least not until a MUCH bigger international presence has been established and until they have the appreciation for football the way we do here in America.
Posted 10:11 PM Saturday.

The Fine-al Straw

I’ve noticed over the years that professional sports leagues tend to fine their athletes ridiculous amounts of money for petty actions. One example that sticks into my mind is from earlier this season when the NFL fined Terrell Owens $7500 for mocking the videotaping incident which occurred the week before in New England (http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10361315). $7500 for a little fun!?! I would like to say that I STRONGLY DISLIKE (my mom taught me to not say hate or I would) Terrell Owens. The way he left Philadelphia makes him like a living Satan where I’m from in PA. But the fact that the NFL is making fines like this just makes me laugh. They are not allowing players to have some fun and individuality out there on the field. I understand some actions need to be reprimanded but there also has to be room for these players to keep the game as a source of entertainment. $7500 is a ridiculous fine. Imagine if your boss at work fined you $7500 because you made a bad joke or snide comment. An even worse example would be that of Brian Urlacher at last year’s Super Bowl. Urlacher, one of the league’s best linebackers and not a boisterous player in any way, was fined $100,000 for wearing a hat that said vitaminwater on it and drinking the matching beverage (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2841997). Now I don’t know about you, but I find this fine to be OUTRAGEOUS! I mean the in season fine alone for this is $10,000 according to the article. I think the NFL and other sports leagues need to reassess their stance on fines and the amount levied against each individual. I wonder if Roger Goodell would be willing to take $100,000 out of his salary if he did something wrong. The fines are ridiculous. One final example is that players get fined if their shirt is untucked. You have to be kidding me. I’m not going to even discuss that matter, as I find it laughable. All I feel is that the fines need to come down and things will be more reasonable.

The missing of the three I's: Intensity, INTEGRITY, Intelligence

Marion Jones admitted this week to using steroids before her participation in the Olympics years ago (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21138883/). Her repeated denial of usage came to an end when she publically admitted to the usage of steroids. I think it is disgraceful that she chose to compromise the legacy of her sport and the integrity of the Olympics. More so, by lying to federal investigators, she in a way lessened the legal system of our country. All in all, her actions were embarrassing and uncalled for. I do, however, feel she should be applauded. I think that by coming forward and admitting to the wrong she did, she proved that she had some sort of conscience. Alot of people lie in the world. It is just a part of life, whether we like it or not. Though Jones' integrity is apparently minimal, at least it proves she has some traces of it. It is unfortunate too because Jones did not need the steroids to make her a world class athlete. She was able to win without the drugs. However, her intense hunger to win and set records drove her to sacrifice her moral standards and do something VERY regrettable. At least we now know the truth. Maybe if we're lucky some of our other premier athletes will come out and admit their usage of steroids as well (cough Bonds cough). Then, maybe then, we would feel as though we know the whole truth behind the BALCO scandal. Hopefully Marion’s admission will start a trend.
This post was posted at 11:03 on Saturday night. I say this to ensure that there is no confusion due to the problems with the timestamp that coincides with this website.