This Has To Be A Typo

That's a great example for the losers. Next time my daughter gets whooped in a wrestling match I will explain to her that her opponent shouldn't have respected her or treated her as an equal, but instead should have treated her like a "little baby" and let her win. That would have been the progressive thing to do!

I think a better solution would be a rematch where the other teams wins 100-0. I don't know how to accomplish that except to tell the team that won to "suck really bad". I guess it is worth it if we reach our desired goal of "Equal outcomes".

If I were coacing I would have done more...perhaps 200 to 0. In sports there is no place for compassion...it's either beat or be beaten...there's no shame in either.

Americans really do have a twisted society...they demand excellence and when they get it they like to destroy it.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/012609dnspocovenantnu.2781526.html

The link goes to the South Park article.

This seems like good foreshadowing for the Damon vs. Kristol throwdown.

not stirred

It reminds me of the New England Patriots last year. They were being criticized early for running up the score on opponents; then, when the were winning by small margins the same critics were asking "What is wrong with the Pats".

Could you imagine if we criticized boxers who are great finishers (ie Roy Jones Jr.) for not letting up when they are dominating their opponents? The whole thing is ludicrous.

Thanks, Kyla. My best cut/paste intentions are sometimes thwarted.

Would you have your kids run up the score? Against a team of kids with learning disabilities that has reportedly never won a game? This is supposed to be a Christian school?

Hats off to the school for saying this is wrong. I coach kids and play myself in several sports. I can't imagine what this coach was thinking, he must be so proud, what a jackass.

When I heard this story on the news I think they said something about the losing team having a lot of special needs kids who have never won a game. I think that was the reason for the controversy, not just the whuppin'. I notice the story doesn't mention this, maybe i got it wrong.

Typical lefty BS.
Lefties would have made Donovan Bailey run the 100m with 50lbs on his back lest his superior physical prowess cause the other runners to suffer damage to their self esteem.

Indiana,

You hit the keyword. An athlete or team either dominates or is dominated...that's the definition of sport. A team that starts to let up puts itself in the dangerous position of going into an unstoppable lethargic funk.

Sports pundits are the biggest losers going...I couldn't care less about what they say or think. They actually take the enjoyment out of sport with their nonsensical nattering.

Who was the idiot that set up the match in the first place? They are the ones that should be fired.Do the Dallas Cowboys play high school teams? NO! Besides,Dallas has better cheer leaders making it doubly unfair.

Here's the apology.

http://www.flightbasketball.com/100-0-Texas-Game-Response-From-Coach.html

"Typical lefty BS"

How in God's name does this have anything to do with socialist political philosophy? Anyone who has participated in team sports knows that humiliating the opponent is not the object. You play hard. You do what you have to to win, because winning matters, but you don't dishonour your team by making a show of your opponents. That's a very unconservative thing to do. Anything goes, honour and decency and tradition don't matter - aren't these typically qualities that are supposed to be associated with the "lefties"?

Meh.

We have an autistic child.

I'll beat him at a game on the Wii and then tell him he has to practice and earn his wins.

Shortly after he'll whip my butt.

I could care less. He learned the valuable lesson about life.

FWIW, the other coach could have forfeited when it was getting obviously lopsided.

I'm with the turtle. In a game against a team of kids with learning disabilities? Where was the coach's class? Pretty sad to see a coach being that self-centered.

Seems to me they should have switched up the teams after it was 30-0.

"you don't dishonour your team by making a show of your opponents"

To me it would be far more dishonouring if the other team started taking it easy one my team. Plus the only way you can get better is to go up against those who outmatch you. That's why I prefer chess against stronger opponents. Also it feels really good when playing someone who is master level or higher and you manage to pull out a win after a long string of losses! One victory against a strong opponent feels so much better than a string of victories against mediocre ones, even if you had to endure a string of ignominious defeats to get there.

Sports is supposed to help teach character. When you're playing an exhibition game against a team of special needs kids and you win by 100 points to zero I'd would say you don't have much character. I loved playing sports and I understand the concept of winning and losing. Practicing everyday. The struggle to be the best. I get that. I agree whole heartedly with it. But you have to be able to resist putting the boot in just because you can.

Nice examples, folks.

Running a full court press in the fourth quarter while you're up by a ridiculous amount is not only counter to all aspects of sportsmanship, it's embarrassing.

This isn't the Olympics. It's highschool sports, in which a team of undermanned learning disabled girls took to the court against a much stronger opposition.

The proper thing to do would be to win, but win graciously.

To sum up, a lot of you would rather the kids at the small school quit playing intraschool sports rather than the winning team let up a bit and show some respect for their competitors as human beings.

For the record, I'm a former high-level baseball player, highschool basketball and volleyball player, baseball and basketball coach.

If one of my kids (or teammates), up by 60-odd points, were to throw up a three-pointer or put on a fullcourt press, I'd chew them out in public.

I'll ask all you who support this embarrassment one question:

What *positives* can the winning team take away from this game after their 100-0 win?

"FWIW, the other coach could have forfeited when it was getting obviously lopsided.

So, you don't believe in sportsmanship, but instead you'd have the other team quit. Little upside-down, don't you think?

Why are these teams even in the same division? Perhaps the honchos at the losing school need to take some responsibility for putting their kids in position to fail so miserably.

This item is all over the news down here at the Center of the Universe.

My position is that the trustees of the school exercised their freedom to run their PRIVATE school as they see fit. If you aren't funding the school's operation, it's none of your damn business. End of story.

Here is the losing team's schedule:

http://www.hsgametime.com/dfw/schoolinfo.htm?propertyId=1&sportId=7&schoolId=1113&infoType=schedule

Sp far, they have lost each game they have played by a huge margin:

55 - 6
66 - 4
49 - 7
100 - 0

Should the other 3 winning coaches also be fired ?

That was exactly my thought Saskatoon Guy.

There are reasons that one legged sprinters compete in their own games and not against fully able runners. The primary reason being Common Dog.

If you can't swim, stay out of the water. If you drown don't blame the fish.

The coach was rightfully fired.

Running up the score, in high school sports is wrong.

Why are these teams even in the same division? Perhaps the honchos at the losing school need to take some responsibility for putting their kids in position to fail so miserably.

"Covenant, which plays larger out-of-district schools, is 6-3 this season and undefeated in its Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools district."

Utopia is built by one imaginary brick at a time.

If you lose by 100 to nothing on the scoreboard, you win.
Covenant forfeit the game!?
Dallas gets their first win in four years because.... they really really really suck.

I predict the Dallas team goes on to win the championship without ever scoring a point.
Hell why even show up for games, just hire a blind chimp for a bus driver, a kleptomaniac equipment manger, and a leftard for media relations.

You might be a leftard if you find yourself rooting for a Harlem Globetrotters' tie.

I have a good friend who is both an exceptional chess player and an incredible pool player. I'm neither. When he offers to take his queen off the board or play me left handed, I refuse and say "bring it on". In terms of skill, I'm Dallas Academy. If you asked those kids if they wanted the other school to let up on them, what do you think they'd say?

Couple of points...

First. There are not many schools around that are purely for disabled kids. So if a group of disabled kids wants to play a sport and compete against another school, they are typically going to be against schools with teams that are much better than them. Yes, you will lose every game...BIG. But can you teach the kids how to play a sport and learn something about sportsmanship along the way? Sure. The disabled team played several other schools, and those schools played restrained defense and managed to only win by about 50 pts, while actually allowing them to score a few points. The winning team got to learn something about being good sports to an obviously overmatched team, and the losers weren't humiliated.

Second, the objection in this case was not to the final score, but to the way the winning team played the game. Apparently a very disproportionate number of the points scored were on steals by the player defending the disabled school's point guard as the PG was bringing the ball up the court, that resulted in layups. They never even gave the girls a chance to play...just steal...layup...steal...layup. Dialing back the aggression of the defense would have changed the whole tone of the game, without changing the final outcome. It would have been very simple for the coach to tell his own guards to not go for the steal when the PG was bringing the ball up the floor, but to just defend passes and shots. It wouldn't take away the competitive nature of the game, but it would have slowed down the scoring and given the disabled girls a fighting chance to at least score a few points.

Think about it this way...when you play 1 on 1 with your kid in the driveway, you could beat him or her 100-0 easily right? But you don't...why? You sandbag a little...you let him score a few points, you let him get off shots that you could easily have blocked. Why? And after you answer that, then go back and try to convince yourself that the winning team shouldn't have had the same motivations in not going out and humiliating a bunch of girls with disabilities.

How in God's name does this have anything to do with socialist political philosophy?
[...]
Anything goes, honour and decency and tradition don't matter - aren't these typically qualities that are supposed to be associated with the "lefties"?
~Occam's Carbuncle

Socialist political philosophy is all about equality of outcome regardless of merit and hard work. Socialists want a classless society after emphasizing a class struggle.

If the opposition was outclassed, too bad, they have a sports program but shouldn't have a basket ball team.

The winners merited their win, the losers deserved their loss. Having learning difficulties isn't the same as being mentally handicapped. This has nothing to do with Christianity or Christian values.

It's unfortunate that in the "feel good" environment that exists around disabled kids, the disabled kids themselves are overlooked. Can you imagine what it would be like to be one of the disabled kids and have to read the stuff about how bad the team that beat you was because they didn't let you make more plays? It's like the people that discuss children with them in the room, that somehow the kids in the room can't hear the conversation. Makes me gag. Like the people don't exist.

Talk about fueling the fire of insecurity and self doubt.

Thx, Tex.

It's unfortunate that in the "feel good" environment that exists around disabled kids, the disabled kids themselves are overlooked.
Posted by: Pat

The children at Dallas Academy are not disabled.
They have learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

My wife has dyslexia, is one of the most intelligent women I have ever met, and earns a six figure income.

Yukon

My basket-ball team is 2-8 but that's a different story.

For all we know the score could have been 130-0. This coach was in a no win situation. Would 85-0 be better? Probably, if it was 99-0 this wouldn't have been an issue, but like the 100th Canadian troop fatality there is the perception of something more than the previous 99. I personally don't think that the winning team is under any obligation to let the other team have open shots. You let the pedal off the metal offensively but you never relent defensively. You can change from press to passive or from man to zone but you still have to try. It is much more insulting to contribute a half-assed effort because of superiority. My 9 yr old daughter demands a 100% effort from me when we play chess and she hasn't won yet.

IMO if the blame(which I don't think is necessary) must fall somewhere it should fall on the league and or the losing teams coach. In our soft-ball league a team forfeits if they fall behind by 15pts and the coach "throws in" the towel if their athlete is being dominated. Looking at the record these kids shouldn't be competing in this league. There has to be a minimum standard so innocent people don't have their careers and reputations ruined because of some arbitrary unwritten code.

PS, my parents made me let my little brother win when we were kids so he wouldn't be discouraged. I obliged, but I would always bring my A game when there was a wager (ie dishes).

Anyone think of the girls on the winning team? I've played sports against teams that had no right being in that division, and no matter what you did, you still ended up winning huge....and feeling like crap. Oh yeah, big win, but you feel sorry for the other team having to go through that. The league here is at fault, not the coach, not the players....the league should have stepped in and said something. (ie at halftime, you win, and now we mix up the teams and play for fun for the second half).

Robp.

A good plan.It would have put the kids with the "learning difficulties" in contact with kids that didn't, they would have been a part of a few good plays and all in all it would have been a learning experience for both teams, one that would have been endorsed by both teams, had it have been suggested.

I remember one of these games from high school.

It wasn't fun for us, it wasn't fun for the other team.

1/2 way thought he first 1/2 we were up like 30-4. The coach wanting to be fair instituted the standard protocols... everyone touches the ball before ya shoot, no fast breaking, etc etc.

We got tired of it before 1/2 time. And with a few mins left in the half dropped 15 points in 3 mins.

1/2 time. Coach praised us for how well the fast break and the defense was doing... then chewed us out for doing it.

So we went back out after the half... and tried not to embarrass the other team... for a while.

It got to the point of the globetrotters game. We all stood around the outside of the 3 point line and passed it back and forth for 20 secs. A few cheers from their coach at how well their defense was at keeping the ball out even tho we didn't send in a post man of any kind. Then someone drove the lane and threw in an easy layup.

We were very bored, the other team wasn't having fun and couldn't defend against even a single man drive.

We asked ourselves what we were doing out there in the first place, it wasn't worth anything at all.

It was embarrassing to us to stand around and it was embarrassing to them to have us try to play so bad that we didn't blow them out.

It was somewhere near the point when their coach was cheering their defense that we weren't bothering to test and around the point where coach told us to cease shooting/miss easy shots that we crossed the line.

The rest of the game went like this: Steal the ball.. throw it out of bounds. Steal the ball,... dribble down to their key and hand it to someone. Steal the ball, lob it to one of the coaches. One of us after getting the rebound dribbled to the sideline and dropped it in the referees hands. We played 3 man D and 2 outlets on the center line... fast break and see how hard you can throw it off the backboard. It was straight time.... we through it out the door and down the hallway to kill time.

The game ended. We finished up more than 80 points. I think the opposition got to double digits. Coach couldn't stop yelling at us. We ran laps for most of practice for the rest of the season. We forfeited the next game against them.

But I have to ask. What was the point?? how did having them in the league and playing us benefit us, the league or them? Us versus them in football was a complete 180. It wasn't worth our embarrassment to pick up a pigskin.

So what is the benefit of playing a game with such a gap between skill levels? I have to say I am somewhat embarassed about blocking a shot by grabbing it out of the air turning around and dunking it in my own basket for the shooter. But the game should never have happened. But like I said, it put them into double digits before the game ended.

In retrospect I think a 100+ -

I think the coach,.. the one that got fired handled things relatively properly, and can only condemn the conglomeration of schools and officials for putting him in the position where the only courses he had was to embarrass the other team AND his own.

I've been playing sports all my life. I've been on the both sides of a lop sided loss more than once... and the one loss that sticks out and bothers me the most is when the team that was beating us 13-0 in hockey started coasting and not trying hard. Shooting with opposite sticks. I would have much rather they kept playing hard and beat us 26-0 than insult us by not trying hard anymore.

This reminds me of another article where the opposing team gave a "Rudy" type player a free touchdown by getting out of the way and not tackling him. Sure it makes some people feel happy but how can you be proud of something that was handed to you that you didn't earn.

Props to the Coach and To his players for playing the game how it was meant to be played.

Well I for one get the arguments on both sides.
Competition is ruff and if you are a team competing for a championship, possible college scholarships in the balance there is no room for letting up.

However the losing team had a choice they knew it was going to be tough to win maybe impossible, however it takes guts to come and play. They were sorely over matched do they aquire greater skill maybe maybe not.

In the world of possible NCAA sports and I imagine the players on the winning team were dreaming of playing for one of those teams, names like Crimson Tide, Hoosiers, or maybe the Buckeyes
any backing off on striving to improve your game is unthinkable.

The losing coach and the folks that make the schedule may want to rethink what they are doing.

Pursuit of excellence is unrelenting the losing team placed themselves to be cannon fodder so be it.

robp : I was thinking of something along that line too. Turn the second half into a coaching clinic, or yeah mix it up and play for fun. I would have to be there in that situation to see what I would do.

And Americans are way more competitive.
When I was in high school, we played a half dozen times against Seattle schools, either travelling there, or in our gym. They would crush us every time with scores like 100-50. However, we kept going back for more for the opportunity to play against really good teams, and try and step our own game up to match. They played hard right to the end

I am sure we would never ask one of our Olympians -in -training to let up for one second in their pursuit for excellence.
I will bet the farm that there is no place in their agenda for consideration for the loser until they have won.

I agree with those who have stated that this in not a right/left thing. I am as right wing as almost anyone as well as being a basketball coach and I can't support the coach here.
My issue is with the 100, not the 0. If the other kids can't score a basket you are under no obligation to let them. However, I think that , as a coach, you are under an obligation not to run up the score in lopsided conditions like this.
Tex hit the nail right on the head. You lay off the press, you play a less agressive defense.
My daughter's school team was in a tournament last year on a team that was very clearly superior to the other teams. The coach, after about 10 minutes of the game told the girls that they had to make three passes before they could shoot. This way, there was a benefit for their team, they worked on their passing. The side benefit for the other team was they weren't humiliated. I supported that coach 100% then and now. The comparison to the New England Patriots is ridiculous. How do you compare grown men playing a game for large sums of money to a high school girls team?

If the winning coach didn't adjust his teams tactics partway through the game to keep things interesting, he was in the wrong. You don't learn anything from beating a team 100 - 0. He ought to have switched up positions, ran drills, given bench warmers more time, etc. Maybe he did all those things, but from the sounds of it, his team was cutthroat to the bitter end.

Funny but not something I'd like to be a part of. It's no fun winning without trying, and it's no fun losing without being competitive on any level.

Loosing all of the time is boring, as most 5th or 6th born kids in the families of my day will tell you..but..a victory over the one(s) with the age/mental/physical edge is sooo sweet! 'Keep trying' is the motto the loosing school should hang on to; a major BIG loss like 100-0 is not demoralizing for most kids, it is fodder for the 'team joke' when they start winning.

Learning disabilities should never be used as an 'excuse' in sports. It belittles the people on the loosing team.

When I was a teenager, the 'pee wee' boys team challenged their big sisters (who wore figure skates) to a hockey game. We thought we'd win in a landslide; the little boys out shot, out-skated and outlasted us and they won in a landslide!! They were good sportsmen too - they did not trip or 'check' us (even helped us up when we fell down) and they announced (after their big win) that we had played 'very good', for girls!

Their was some pretty humiliated big sisters after that game and my little brother has never forgotten how good that team of his felt on that day. The bonus - those boys earned a fan club of big sisters who went to their games and cheered them on into a provincial challenge.

It is all in the attitude, IMO.

religious nut cases

Lots of good comments on both sides of the issue. I tend to agree that running up the score is in bad taste, but how else do you finish the game? Is it possible to forfeit in basketball?

I coach my son in amateur boxing, and he had to fight his friend in a major tournament last year. I noticed he was holding back, and between rounds explained that his opponent wasn't holding back. He pulled it together, and ended up winning the tournament. His friend didn't hold it against him, and my son learned a life lesson.

I realize highschool team sports are different than combat sports, but the last thing a coach needs to do is ask his team to play poorly so an opposing team can feel better about themselves. The losing team should have thrown in the towel, if that's allowed in basketball.

In a mismatch of this proportion, any easing up by the winning team would be embarrassingly obvious. If the Dallas team had any competitive spirit (and I'm quite sure that they have or they wouldn't be playing) they would be more humiliated and angry if the opposition was to back off the throttle. The ego gets a bigger bruising when you see your opponent coasting because of pity. To me, this is more disrespectful than getting a good whuppin'.

In any contest, I would much rather have my opponent hand me my ass than to lay off for fear of hurting my feelings. Of course, this type of thinking does not apply to a fight, for example. I would prefer to have my ego battered before my nose or teeth.

One of the few games that I vividly remember as a kid was a bitterly painful loss at a tournament in Red Deer. It wasnt a medal placement, it was the first of the medal rounds, and we were matched with a team that outpowered us in every way. I dont remember the final score anymore, but I remember three things about that game.
1. We lost, miserably, the other team never let up just because they were ahead, they kept pushing and pushing and we struggled to push back.
2. Every single girl in the dressing room after the game cried, it was a truly painful loss for us, we desperately wanted that win.
3. It was the best game I've ever played in my life, I learned more in it than I did in all my wins combined. I skated faster than I ever had at that point in my life, one of my teammates made the most beautiful underhand pass, and our goalie stopped some spectacular shots. It was a good loss, and it was an honorable loss, we had nothing to be ashamed of in that game and we worked that much harder afterwards. For our final months we worked harder than we ever had, and when it counted, we came back to play the same team in the Gold Medal round of provincials. I still have my gold medal from that last meeting, no victory has ever been sweeter.

Sports is about revelling in the joy of victory and biting back the pain of defeat. You can only experience one per game, and you have NO right to take away that joy from anyone who earned it. The fun-fun scoring in sports destroys the competitive nature of the game, takes away the desire to excel, the ability to learn from loss and just creates more unearned fluffy feel good moments and doesnt help any kid learn grace in defeat or honor in victory (and honor does not mean letting up when you're ahead, because that is patronizing and far more offensive than a large score difference, it means telling the other team good game, even when they lost).

If this team didnt belong in the league, I'm sure there are other leagues they could belong to, even if the drive to get to the game is an hour longer than before.

Sports in High school or the minor league venue has one objective in mind. Turning Pro. It may not be stated it may not be advertised but that's what it is.

99.99% are not going to come any where close to achieving that. Nevertheless the game is on once you set foot, skate, or cleat, whatever onto the field of battle. Make no mistake that is what it is.

As time marches on it becomes painfully obvious that your Johnny or Susy isn.t the next A rod or Sue Bird. The mantra then becomes well we have to make this fun for everyone. Dumb down the game as it where. For those competing and now I'm just talking about moving up not turning pro it becomes tedious.

Your only thought is push to the next level practice never give up never stop never never relent. Drive through the pain. Push harder. PUSH HARDER.

Jethro

I'm simply saying you can't win for losing.