 |
Readers' CornerOmbudsman Dave Mazzarella answers reader questions about Stars and Stripes. |
Who knew what and when?
Posted September 25th, 2007 by Dave MazzarellaThis is about that controversy, still raging in Europe, concerning the reporting of sporting event scores by DODDS coaches. See my recent blog, "When the score isn't THE score." A posting to that blog came from boosh6262, titled "What's really going on here?" (See below.)
Boosh6262 asks a legitimate question. If games involving the "mercy rule" have been reported in the pages of Stars and Stripes in past years, with the rule actually mentioned in the stories, how can the paper say it just learned about it now?
In response, the editors say, yes, the mercy rule as it applied to a number of practices were known. These practices included ending the game at 40-0 (with respect to football), pulling starters at that point, keeping the clock running, and other maneuvers. What they didn't know until last week, they say, is that coaches were instructed to change the score reported to Stripes if the margin of defeat was more than 39 points. Check out the box next to today's story.
Again, what's really going on?
Dave, thank you for your response, but I’m calling shenanigans on this one. You were right about that slippery slope. You seem to be back pedaling and are wise to distance yourself from your editors.
You mean to tell me they knew about “ending the game at 40-0 (with respect to football), pulling starters at that point, keeping the clock running, and other maneuvers” (AKA: the mercy rule) but decided to run with this story feigning ignorance? Why was this knowledge not mentioned? Amateurish journalism if you ask me. So, the editors at S&S truly believed that if the teams replaced their starters with second string and continue play with a running clock that no one would score? Hogwash, of course they knew.
Again I ask, what’s really going on here? Why the guerilla journalism? Did DODDS ruffle some feathers at S&S? Or maybe S&S would like to see the rule abolished so created this "controversy" to apply public pressure on DODDS. Well, if so, it worked. Congratulations. I hope you guys realize there were a lot of kids and parents (some deployed) who were hurt on Sunday when they didn’t have the opportunity to read about their accomplishments on Saturday.
Easy solution here
Put the REAL scores in the paper and play the entire game under normal rules.
If a DODDS coach wants to run up the score with his starters, he or she is only showing the lack of class they have. The opposing coach always has the option of forfeiting, but I don't think many coaches would run up a 40-0 score with starters.
The benchwarmers need some game time, too. Remember, Tom Brady was a pine-sitter at Michigan. That is what players practice for: game time.
This liberal, politically-correct 39-point nonsense is what is wrong with DODDS and educators in general these days.
Play the game, report the real scores, and if a kid comes off the bench and scores his team's only TD in a blowout, report it!
ALONG WITH THE 70 POINTS THE WINNERS PUT UP!