College Football or Professional College Football?

With "The" Ohio State debacle fresh in every one's mind, the rather large elephant in the room must be addressed now. Is it time to pay college athletes, especially football players?

I have always been a huge advocate of this idea of student-athlete because I feel athletics is a great classroom, and, if addressed properly, will contribute to the collective development of the student-athlete. But, and this is a rather large "but," today's student-athletes are being used like mules to rake in millions of dollars. Today, college coaches make millions of dollars a year, universities make millions of dollars from bowl games and conference TV deals and student-athletes still play by the same NCAA rule book from many years ago. This hardly seems fair.

Now, I am not absconding the student-athletes from blame; on the contrary, they must accept their responsibility as well. They do get a free education, room and board, books and all the food they can eat, but again, they are still merely kids, large kids, but kids, just the same. We tend to forget that those who play on Saturdays are 18, 19, 20 and sometimes even 21. Does the school and the NCAA not have a responsibility here to these kids? Is this not like putting a piece of meat on a hungry dog's nose and asking that dog not to eat the meat while you sit in front of the dog and eat meat? Again, we provide them the best equipment, the best dorms, the best food and countless other "legal" perks while flying them all over the country to play games televised to millions of people; we ask them to practice long hours and perform at high levels, and if they do not we fire the coaching staff that has become their segregate family. And, on top of all this, we get upset if their grades are average or failing.

Can we really call these players student-athletes during football season? Maybe a better name for them in season would be independent study athletes because that is what most do during the season. The university hires tutors who go to class and take notes and then tutor the players one-on-one when time allows. What is the solution? I do not know and am not pretending to know. But, I do know this: the room is too small for this ever-growing elephant! Blessings!

Sportsmanship

What is sportsmanship? One definition defines it this way: "expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors."

Have we lost our way when it comes to sportsmanship? Slogans like "Just do it" and "Whatever it takes" do not convey the idea of sportsmanship; instead, each conveys this idea of win at all costs regardless of the expense. I believe if sportsmanship disappears from sports all together then the idea of sports will disappear as well.

Athletic events are games; we play games for the sake of fellowship and entertainment. We pay to see others play games in order to see that game played at a higher level, a higher level than we are capable of playing. We pay for the excellence, the teamwork and to see that game at its highest level.

I would suggest that when sportsmanship disappears in a sport so too does its excellence, its teamwork and its high level. When the goal is only to win then standards drop because the goal is to win, at all costs. This attitude erodes away rules, standards, excellence and sportsmanship until the game we have paid to see is no longer worthy of our attention. Why? That game that we thought was played at such a high level may still be played at that high level or an even higher level, but our perceptions have changed because we see it played without rules, without standards and without sportsmanship.

I love athletics, but my prayer is that this idea of sportsmanship would make a strong come back in the professional ranks. We must recognize its importance in the development of our children before its too late because sportsmanship lies at the heart of competition. If it is lost then all athletic competition will be lost. Sportsmanship is what brings athletes back to reality; it is what screams loud and clear that this game we just played... it is only a game. It is not a battle and it does not go on for days. It ends at the whistle or the horn. Sportsmanship declares that someone won and someone lost... for today, but we will play again one day soon. We will play for the love of the game and the sheer joy of playing a game, but we will not let this "game" detract from who we are.

My prayer is that all coaches would understand that in the end it is not who won or who lost that really counts, but how each played the game. Some cliches have not been used enough. Maybe it is time to dust this one off. Blessings!

Hang Number 17!

Over the years, I have developed a distaste for professional sports, especially professional basketball, but, I must admit, tonight I watched a NBA game. As a kid, I loved the Boston Celtics and never missed a game. I loved Jo Jo White, Dave Cowens and Larry Bird and often imitated them on my backyard court, but as I grew older I fell out of love with the professional game for many reasons.

It seemed to me that the game had become a one-on-one isolation-oriented game with little or no defense. I seldom watched a game. Maybe it was because the Celtics became so bad or maybe the game had actually changed...for the worse.

Well, with the Celtics in the Finals...I just had to sneak a peak at a game or two to see how the Celtics would do. I did watch, and I saw some defense, some offense and the Celtics winning. Could it be? Could they win their 17th championship? Tonight they won number 17, and Red is lighting up another cigar. Congratulations to the Boston Celtics! Will this pull me back to professional basketball again? Sadly, it will not because there still is something missing. I would rather watch a college game of any sport instead of its professional equivalent.

Just the same, I still celebrate the championship with the rest of Massachusetts and New England as that is where I was born and raised. Congratulations Celtics!

Westminster Baseball

Today our varsity baseball team finished their season not the way they intended. WCA lost the third game of a three game series, 8-2, but along the way we made some people nervous. We played hard and fought long, and did it all for the glory of God. Each coach and player should feel no shame in walking off that field because they played the game the way it should have been played. Yes, we made some errors, yes, we walked some, yes, we got excited at times and yes we lost a game we maybe should have won, but we did it all the right way, and that is the way to walk off the field. I am so proud of our team! They have had a great year!

We, at WCA, play to win but never at the high cost of our testimony, our character, or the name of our Lord. We believe in process and product; both are important in life and in sports. Some forget that how you get there is as important as getting there. When I played baseball... oh so long ago...it was very much like golf. There were unwritten rules and lines that you just did not cross. The other day I was listening to one of the local radio talking heads criticize the two college girls who helped a girl from the opposing team make it around the bases. The girl hit a home run over the fence, as she rounded first she ruptured her ACL and was unable to make it on her own. NCAA softball rules prevented any of her teammates from helping her (an issue for another time) around the bases; the first baseman and the shortstop from the opposing team helped her the rest of the way, and this guy was saying that the act was wrong. Wow!

May our school never forget that playing a sport is a divine blessings granted by a Holy God, and it is another venue to the cross. At WCA we will always play hard, play fair and play to win, but we will always play for Our King, Jesus Christ first and foremost!

The Home Opener for the Sox

Today was the home opener for the Boston Red Sox! I was born and raised in Massachusetts, and being a Red Sox fan was almost required. My grandfather was a Sox fan; my mom and dad are Sox fans, and I am a Sox fan currently trying to convert my wife and children. As a Sox fan, I am not used to a home opener like today.

Today all was forgiven, as the Red Sox received their second World Series title in four years; they also welcomed back Bill Buckner. You remember Bill Buckner, he is the first baseman that most people want to blame for the collapse that occurred in the 1986 World Series. That collapse had everything to do with the lack of pitching depth and little to do with Bill. Today, Bill Buckner threw out the first pitch and got one of the loudest and longest ovations I have every heard. Click Bill Buckner, scroll down to the story and click the video portion to see for yourself. You may have to log in to the site; once you have done that go to the Red Sox section and look for the story. It will do your heart good...even if your not a Sox fan!