Sports Today

We’ve heard all of the hoopla regarding Mike Vick and the heinous acts he committed against dogs with the infamous dog ring he conducted in Virginia.
While I do not agree with what he did and the choices he’s made, I do believe he has and still is paying his debt to society and deserves to play in the NFL, granted if he is in shape and if a team has the need or is willing to give him a shot.
Many have said he does not deserve to re-enter the league or that playing professional sports is a privilege.
I do agree with the sentiment that playing professional sports is a privilege just as whatever profession someone goes into, they are privileged to be in that chosen field.
The problem I have with not allowing Vick the opportunity of to restart his career is that so many others have made mistakes, some to greater proportion than others, but after serving their time or paying fines they have been allowed to resurface.
Case in point, St. Louis Rams defensive lineman Leonard Little was charged with vehicular homicide almost a decade ago, he spent 90 days in jail and did 1000 community service hours and was allowed back in the league.
That’s just one example and I’m sure there are many others – Ray Lewis comes to mind although he was not charged in a murder that happened several years ago during festivities surrounding a recent super bowl in Atlanta.
More recently is the case of Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth who killed a pedestrian in South Florida while driving under the influence, the case is still pending and many will watch closely for the outcome.
These incidents are not limited to the professional sports ranks, Hollywood has their actors and musicians who fall on the wrong side of the law and are allowed back to the big screen or stage.
Then there are politicians, attorneys, coaches or even sportswriters that fall and are allowed back so why not Vick?
I’m not trying to minimize any of the dog’s lives that Vick may have taken, but I still believe a human life is just as valuable if not more.
While I’m not a dog owner I love dogs too, but because of my wife’s fear of dogs from bad childhood experiences, I cannot coax her into getting one, although my kids and I have tried earnestly to no avail.
There will be some that say he’s a role model, but we all are role models to some degree and must try to make wiser choices – and at times we fail.
Is Vick’s problem more about the money he has made and will make if allowed back into the NFL?

It appears school sports has survived the initial budget cuts by the school board or at least until the next scheduled meeting set for March 23rd and that got me to thinking about the recent events surrounding former Clay High school graduate Cy Wainwright who won a wrestling national championship for Newberry College.
Wainwright had a stellar high school career at Clay that ended with state titles in 2003 and 2004 before taking it to the next level at Newberry and his national championship as a senior.
What if the current economic climate had happened years earlier and we faced the same tough situation of necessary budget cuts and they disbanded sports then?
Wainwright would never have had the opportunity to win this national championship because a wrestling scholarship more than likely would not have come his way.
The years of toilng on the mats in high school, along with the lessons learned in the classroom, and the discipline achieved through that must have paved the way for this remarkable feat for this young man.
Wainwright also played football at Clay where there was more blood, sweat and tears left on the field, but most off all, it taught him the lesson of hard work and the payoff for that would come later.
That payoff is not just the national title he won, but upon completing the educational side of things, Wainwright has said he would like nothing more than to teach and be a wrestling coach, following in the footsteps of the coaches' that has paved the way for him.
Kudos not only to Cy for the title, but those sentiments also goes to his parents who raised him, the teachers who taught him and the coaches who showed him the way.
Just another thought on why school sports must stay!

There has been talk of possibly cutting sports from junior high and high school programs, and an article will appear in Thursday's sports section regarding this, so I decided to post it here and see what kind of interest or comments it would generate.
With all the talk of stimulus packages, budget shortfalls and downsizing, how could we think it would not affect the sports world surrounding us? I don’t mean at the professional level; those guys are still getting their monstrous contracts and owners continue to make money hand-over-fist, but one day soon it will catch up to that level as well.
However, following the most recent Clay County School Board budget meeting on Feb. 19, both the junior high and high school athletics landscape may change as we know it. As reported in last week’s Clay Today there is a $43 million shortfall and the school board must inevitably make cuts. One cut under consideration is eliminating sports at all levels.
The next school board workshop where many of these decisions will be made is slated for Monday, March 2 at 4 p.m. at the Fleming Island High School in teacher training center.
I understand budgets, scaling back and making must needed cuts, the short term affect of cutting out all junior high and high school sports may solve some number problems. But it could have far reaching long-term effects.
Some student-athletes use sports as a springboard to college or success in life. I’m not talking about making it to the professional level because there are far more that don’t make it than do, I’m talking about learning life’s lessons through sports.
Athletics can teach camaraderie, diversity and pulling together for the greater cause for a team rather than one’s self. Furthermore, athletics give some kids a reason to hope, a reason to continue to come to school and a bigger reason to excel academically knowing that their time on the field or court is tied to the classroom.
Additionally, when colleges look at prospective students they may look for extracurricular activities one has participated and I believe one of the Florida Bright Futures requirements is tied to extracurricular activities. Sports also can give a kid confidence to try others activities like the debate team, glee club, etc.
It may be a sad commentary to some who might say sports should not drive kids to do well in school. But growing up in the inner city of Brooklyn, NY I know it can be true.
Sure Clay County is not a typical inner city hub it’s more suburbia. But remember we are just a stones throw away from the so-called inner city or Duval County.
We’ve seen the crime rate rise not only in Jacksonville but here in Clay County as well, and at times when viewing the weekly arrest report the perpetrators seem to get younger and younger.
This is not a blanket indictment on all kids in school – the point is, athletics can be a diversion or can keep kids out of trouble during those troublesome hours afterschool when parents are at work, 3 to 7 p.m.
Whether their sport is in-season or out, kids must show up to practice or travel to and from games, this takes up plenty of their time and remember some kids play as many as two, three or four sports.
This reminds me of an old quote relating idle-time or an idle-mind being the devil’s playground.
In closing, kids will not only be affected if athletics are disbanded, coaches who give up their valuable family to spend countless hours with their other family (team) will be too.
I know head coaches and some assistants are given a stipend for their time and sacrifice, but having been an assistant coach at a small Christian school (no stipend) for two years I know the time and effort these coaches give of themselves and the pay given really cannot compensate for the demanding schedule coaching takes.
However, for most coaches, the reward is watching a kid go off to college on scholarship or observing the growth of a child – many come back to follow in a coach’s footsteps too.
With all that said the numbers don’t lie. The School Board says it could save $1.3 million by eliminating sports, and with $43 million in cuts needed district wide for next year, it’s no wonder they are looking at all areas, including sports.
But there must be a better place to cut. Have you ever went to a football game to get the Friday night lights experience? Or were you able to venture in to Orange Park High School Gymnasium with the standing room-only crowd last season when their basketball team played three playoff games? Or maybe you traveled to Lakeland to watch two of Clay County’s own bring home state wrestling titles.
If you support sports in Clay County’s public schools, then you need to stand up and be heard.

With the recent revelations delivered by A-Rod or as some have called him A-Roid, we've come to find out that Barry Bonds or big-head Bonds is not the poster boy for baseball's problems with steroids.
Actually, we should have figured that out when Roger(I mis-remembered)Clemens paraded through the halls of Congress last year lying that he never took (or as many have said) knowingly was injected with performance enhancing drugs, steroids or human growth hormone (HGH) which is still not a substance tested for by the MLB.
Believe me, I am no big fan of Bonds, but he has been dragged through the mud like he's the only guilty party of the widespread steroid problem in baseball.
The same game that watched and cheered as a two blown-up players in Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa chased the single season home run record.
Bud Selig and the rest turned a blind eye, and then they exacted a witch hunt after Bonds (again I'm not a Bonds fan).
We all remember McGuire's stance in front of Congress, "I'm here to talk about the future, let's forget the past."
Or Sosa stance through an interpreter "I don't speak English anymore."
Now we have A-Roid, followed by Miguel Tejada who just yesterday admitted he lied to Congress and may face jail time (like we didn't know he was lying).
To be honest, I'm a Yankee fan, but I never thought A-Roid was part of the steroid team, however, now I'm starting to believe the real numbers will be staggering of how many players are on PED's.
I tell you who I am a fan of, it's trainer Brian McNamee and Jose Canseco.
When I initially heard their stories they had a ring of truth.
Come on MLB drop all the names playing on the steroid team!

Well, one of my worse fears came to realization around 10:30 p.m. Sunday night as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cardinals 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII to win their record setting 6th championship, but I must admit it was a great game with the wrong team winning.
After trudging through the first half, the Cardinals and Kurt Warner found a way to finally get the ball to all-world receiver Larry Fitzgerald who scored 2 touchdowns to give them a 23-20 lead and an apparent win.
However, Mike Tomlin, Big Ben and Santanio Holmes went to work in the final three minutes to rain on the Cardinals and my party.
As a long time Cowboy fan, I've never liked the Steelers and any sane Cowboy fan would agree with that sentiment, but as a avid sports fans, I have to give Steeler-nation their props, it was a great game and the best team won - to become the new America's Team.
Did I say that!
The only good thing for me was, by virtue of the final score I won 100 bucks in our box office pool.
Congratulations Steeler-nation!