Life Lessons from the 100 Point Basketball Game

I just had to make a quick comment on the girls basketball game between the Covenant School and Dallas Academy which ended with a score of 100-0, and ultimately, the coach of the winning team being fired. My girls play on various sports teams and it has almost always been a fun, worthwhile, character-building experience for my girls. I have mixed feelings about the outcome of the blowout game in Texas. You have to admire the girls on the team that lost; they didn't quit and seem to have taken the loss in stride. They are learning the game and learning lessons about persevering, grace, and sportsmanship while they are learning to play the game. The Covenant School team is also learning some things. While I am sure it felt good, for a moment, to have scored 100 points, I have to believe that at least a couple of girls on the team had some feelings of mercy toward the other team and felt the need to maybe pull back a little. The coach of the team could have slowed things down; he had to have realized the skills of the two teams were mismatched. It would have been a good time for the girls on the Covenant team to get a lesson in good sportsmanship and gracious winning. The lesson for the Covenant girls appears to have been "crush your opponent" and "it doesn't matter what the score is". I'm not sure the huge, lopsided score and the unapologetic coach warranted his being fired (maybe there are other reasons). I'm not sure the win required an apology or a forfeit of the game. An attitude adjustment of the coach and team members is what needed to be done. Parents and educators are always told to be looking out for "teachable moments" in kids lives. This would have been a great opportunity to teach mercy, grace, patience, and kindness.

Olympics Worth Staying Up For

My eyes are a little puffy, with dark circles more noticeable this morning because I stayed up to watch the Olympics last night. After hearing the reports of the French men's swimming team talking trash about "smashing" the Americans, there was no way I was going to miss the relay race! The race was nothing short of spectacular and definitely worth staying up past midnight for. And, the other cool thing about the race is the show of great sportsmanship by Jason Lezak, who anchored the American team. It is his extra effort that is going to help his teammate, Michael Phelps move on toward his gold medal goal. It just makes the spectacle of the competitions that much more intriguing and makes me even more proud to be an American. Go U.S.A.!

Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Booing A 14-Year Old

I am so ashamed of my home state! What terrible, unsportsmanlike behavior they displayed by booing a 14 year old girl. I like the Colts and the team has generally been very upstanding, but the fans. . . that's another story. So and little girl wore an arch rival's jersey, big deal. No wonder people from other states think people from Indiana are stupid! Some people's behavior does not mean that all of us are boorish. The New England Patriots have had a super season, the booing from the Colts fans seems like sour grapes. The girl who got booed seems to be more mature than the idiots who booed her. She said that it didn't bother her, but it bothered other people. So all you New England Patriots fans, please know that not every Colts fan is so idiotic.