NCAA Football, 2016

[derspiess]

Re: the polls specifically, it does warm my heart to see that one AP voter in West Virginia continuing to cast a vote for WVU.  Because, you know-- people there probably know who he is and where he lives.

The thundering Turd is better.

I am having my post-practice cigar and am thus too chill to be triggered.

[Barrister]

Berkut and BB: it is all theoretically good to take significant blown calls against your team as an opportunity to show sportsmanship by not getting on the ref's back. However, that isn't how such calls are taken at higher levels in sports.

<boggle>

That is the point. This isn't a higher level. It is YOUTH football. These kids are 10-13.

And as spicey described the play("decorated")  the hit was possibly illegal by high school rules anyway.

I read all this as, "Berkut doesn't like it when people yell at him."

I don't see what is wrong with (within limits) a coach getting on the ref when he makes a bad call. The coach is an adult, and so is the ref. It is a part of the game. Who does it harm?

I think of this along the lines of badly outdated notions of sportsmanship. For example, at some levels you can't spike the football after a TD. It is "unsportsmanlike." But to who? If you watch pick up games, it seems everyone spikes the football (and then awkwardly chases down the ball). Lots of people dance. It seems in 1960 people decided those things were unsportsmanlike, and they don't change even though no one would take offense.

If we're talking pro or semi-pro, then sure.  It's part of the game, it's what you expect.

But 8 year olds?!?  I just don't know where to begin.

Man I sure hope Timmy's hockey this year isn't going to be like this.  His career is going to be pretty short if it is.

[derspiess]

I was about to say...anybody want to talk about NCAA football?

Houston is sure picking a good time to be awesome. Right when the Big 12 is thinking expansion.

I'm fine with Houston but Cincinnati damned well better get in as well.  Supposedly they made the first cut.  I heard Memphis actually hurt their chances by volunteering to take less TV money for several years

[Ed Anger]

Re: the polls specifically, it does warm my heart to see that one AP voter in West Virginia continuing to cast a vote for WVU.  Because, you know-- people there probably know who he is and where he lives.

The thundering Turd is better.

I am having my post-practice cigar and am thus too chill to be triggered.

WE ARE MARSHALL.




Ack. 

[derspiess]

If we're talking pro or semi-pro, then sure.  It's part of the game, it's what you expect.

But 8 year olds?!?  I just don't know where to begin.

Man I sure hope Timmy's hockey this year isn't going to be like this.  His career is going to be pretty short if it is.

Like what?  With yelling?  I have zero exposure to youth hockey, but with football at any level there's going to be a lot of yelling. 

[Berkut]

If we're talking pro or semi-pro, then sure.  It's part of the game, it's what you expect.

But 8 year olds?!?  I just don't know where to begin.

Man I sure hope Timmy's hockey this year isn't going to be like this.  His career is going to be pretty short if it is.

Like what?  With yelling?  I have zero exposure to youth hockey, but with football at any level there's going to be a lot of yelling. 

The question is not yelling, it is yelling at officials because you don't like a call.

Even that is relatively minor, if it was isolated. I've yelled at officials before.

But I've never thought that a game among 8 year old's was a good place to express my need to send messages to other adults, or that it is all in good fun to run up the score to make a point or that another adult concerned about a child's injury was reason to feel a need to "send a message" to begin with - especially when the means of sending that message is to use eight year old's against other eight year old's.

Clearly, this has nothing to do with the kids anymore. It is alpha ego against (perceived) alpha ego of the almost painfully stereotypical youth sports parent/coach. Which puts the going ballistic at officials on the field in perspective as well.

[Valmy]

I was about to say...anybody want to talk about NCAA football?

Houston is sure picking a good time to be awesome. Right when the Big 12 is thinking expansion.

I'm fine with Houston but Cincinnati damned well better get in as well.  Supposedly they made the first cut.  I heard Memphis actually hurt their chances by volunteering to take less TV money for several years

Cincinnati better be in. They are the only decent program East of the Mississippi that is not UConn and not in a major conference. WV needs an eastern partner.

The question to me was always who would come in with Cincinnati? BYU seemed a lock but they are just so goddamn BYU they look to be fucking it up.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Houston and Cincy.  If 14, those two plus CSU and UCONN. 

BYU is gross.

[PDH]

I'm sorry, if BYU is chosen then there is a taint for all times.

[alfred russel]

The question is not yelling, it is yelling at officials because you don't like a call.

Even that is relatively minor, if it was isolated. I've yelled at officials before.

But I've never thought that a game among 8 year old's was a good place to express my need to send messages to other adults, or that it is all in good fun to run up the score to make a point or that another adult concerned about a child's injury was reason to feel a need to "send a message" to begin with - especially when the means of sending that message is to use eight year old's against other eight year old's.

Clearly, this has nothing to do with the kids anymore. It is alpha ego against (perceived) alpha ego of the almost painfully stereotypical youth sports parent/coach. Which puts the going ballistic at officials on the field in perspective as well.

But you aren't thinking in the perspective of an 8 year old. I remember that mindset--in fact I still embody it. Let me share.

When I was in the 4th grade (I guess 9), we were down by 1 at the very end of a BB game. We hit a basket, basically a buzzer beater--we win! But wait--the ref called a very iffy foul on us, ball goes over to the other team, we lose. Our coach goes ballistic, has some really choice words for the ref, pulls our team aside, and explains, "You won that game, and the ref stole it from us. It is bullshit I hate that you kids have to learn this lesson now, but this sometimes happens. The refs blow calls. Keep playing basketball and this will probably happen again. Next time we need to work harder to get a lead so the ref isn't in a position to do this."

That really stuck with me, because I didn't hear adults use profanity very often, and he seemed as upset as we were. Maybe more. I got the sense he really cared about us and the team, and what we were doing was important. I thought it brought the team together. I thought that coach was the coolest guy ever - not just for that - but also because he used to have the whole team squeeze into his super tiny car and would drive around. Probably a bad idea, because as I later found out, he was coaching us because he needed to do community service after getting a DUI (he was an FSU student at the time).

[alfred russel]

Re: the polls specifically, it does warm my heart to see that one AP voter in West Virginia continuing to cast a vote for WVU.  Because, you know-- people there probably know who he is and where he lives.

Why not vote for them in the top 25? They beat an SEC team by double digits. A shitty one, but WVU are 1-0. Not many people are better than that right now.

[Valmy]

Hey you never know if somebody is truly a contender until they show what they can do against mighty Youngstown State.

[derspiess]

The question is not yelling, it is yelling at officials because you don't like a call.

Even that is relatively minor, if it was isolated. I've yelled at officials before.

FWIW it was isolated. 

But I've never thought that a game among 8 year old's was a good place to express my need to send messages to other adults, or that it is all in good fun to run up the score to make a point or that another adult concerned about a child's injury was reason to feel a need to "send a message" to begin with - especially when the means of sending that message is to use eight year old's against other eight year old's.

Our kids appreciated it.  Even the kids on the sideline felt vindicated.  And the "injury" was apparently minor enough for the kid to jump right up a few seconds before time expired and play the rest of the game.  Had they not called the "timeout" (time-in?) to run down the clock I might have been inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Clearly, this has nothing to do with the kids anymore. It is alpha ego against (perceived) alpha ego of the almost painfully stereotypical youth sports parent/coach. Which puts the going ballistic at officials on the field in perspective as well.

I appreciate your psychoanalysis, but we did what we did for the team.  Like I said, the kids appreciated it and everyone had a good day.  Ended up with the subs getting as much playing time as the starters.  Some of our first-year kids had never been on a winning team before, so they are getting their first taste of winning.

[Berkut]

You two exemplify everything that is right about youth sports, and if only there could be more of you, and less refs stealing games from kids, all would be right in the world.

[grumbler]

When I was in the 4th grade (I guess 9), we were down by 1 at the very end of a BB game. We hit a basket, basically a buzzer beater--we win! But wait--the ref called a very iffy foul on us, ball goes over to the other team, we lose. Our coach goes ballistic, has some really choice words for the ref, pulls our team aside, and explains, "You won that game, and the ref stole it from us. It is bullshit I hate that you kids have to learn this lesson now, but this sometimes happens. The refs blow calls. Keep playing basketball and this will probably happen again. Next time we need to work harder to get a lead so the ref isn't in a position to do this."

This makes a nice contrast to Harbaugh's approach when MSU got that punt-six by crashing over the center against the rules.  He didn't blame (or even mention) the refs or the other team; he just pointed out that Michigan's goal should be to handle the disappointment better than any team had ever handled such disappointment before, and to dedicate themselves to making sure they were never in a position to lose a game on a fluke play again.

Maybe that's why he makes $5 million a year and your old coach didn't.