Sportsmanship

• Dallas blanked by Covenant

As earlier reported on ESPN, two high school girls basketball teams in Texas played last night. Nothing out of the ordinary there. What was extraordinary, however, was the score:

Covenant School: 100

Dallas Academy: 0

That's not a typo. 100-0. Final score. Various outlets interviewed patrons of the game and apparently Covenant kept a full-court press going on into the fourth quarter, even though they were up 59-0 at half-time. They are also said to have still hoisted up three's well into the fourth quarter. Now Covenant is trying to forfeit the win. What?! Am I forgetting something here? Aren't sports and games in general played to win? The principal of the school claims that, "a victory without honor is a great loss." I'm not a genius, but I'm pretty sure a win is a win no matter how you slice it. Critics will say there is more to it than just winning and losing, that sports teach us values and good judgment. Let me pose this question: Are coaches hired and fired because they teach good values and solid judgment? No. Coaches are hired to win. There are things out there more important than winning and losing, but not in sports. That fad went to the wayside in the early 90's. Perhaps this is just a personal opinion, but if Dallas Academy didn't want to get run out of the gym, maybe they could have made a shot? Played defense? Something to keep the game from getting out of hand. Better yet, if there are only eight girls on the roster, why are they playing? I don't know of any team that only has eight players on a roster on any given night. And why did they schedule a game against a team like Covenant who, from what I hear, is a state powerhouse? This wasn't a good game to gauge how well the team plays, it was a cupcake game. My suggestion for Covenant is to drop the petition to forfeit the game. That kind of reaction is unfair to the players, to the team as a whole, and to the fans. They earned the win, they played well, now move on. In the immortal words of Herm Edwards, "We play to WIN the game."

• Edwards out, Shanahan in?

What a nifty little segue! When Scott Pioli was hired as general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, he said it was not a forgone conclusion that coach Herm Edwards would be fired. Less than two weeks after his hiring, Pioli fired Edwards. Edwards, a man with great character and moral fiber, went 2-14 in his last season with the Chiefs (See? It's not about values, it's about winning and losing), although it was mired by a myriad of injuries and attitude problems in star players (namely Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez). Now rumors are circulating that the Chiefs are close to a deal with former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. Shanahan is a good schemer, but has been unable to get back to the Super Bowl sans John Elway. Jon Gruden is a better fit here. The team needs some backbone, to play like they want to win, with some fire and passion. A young guy who can rebuild the team from the ground up. Gruden is that man. Shanahan deserves all the respect in the world for building the dominant Broncos teams of the late 90's and early 00's, but take a cue from Tony Dungy and retire. Don't take over a rebuilding job like George Seifert did with the Panthers, as it will only detract from your legacy. Go somewhere you can win and go out on top. There aren't enough years left in your coaching style to make that team a contender. 

I'm tired and hungry, not a good combination, so that's all for today. If I don't post again this weekend, have a good one.