Blanchard River Buzz

It just makes you shake your head

By Dave Hanneman

Wow. I guess in today’s world of over-zealous, entitlement-spewing jock parents, this was bound to happen.

I was scanning the Sports Journalist website recently and came across a link to a story that ran Monday in the Toronto Star.

Here’s the link to the whole story if you want to read it:

http://www.thestar.com/sports/gthl/article/829749--parents-sue-gthl-after-sons-cut-by-team?bn=1

Basically, the article is about the parents of two kids suing "the Greater Toronto Hockey League, one of its clubs and four coaches for $25,000 each because their sons were cut by the Avalanche Minor Sports Club midget junior A team during tryouts in April."

According to the complaint, cutting their kids from the team caused "irreparable psychological damage to ... an impressionable teenager and demoralized (the player) as an athlete and team hockey player with his peers." It went on to say being cut from the team "destroyed the dignity" of the 15-year-old young man.

One of the players did sign up with another team, leading the parents to claim, "Thank the good Lord that my son had the courage and strength to compose himself in his demoralized state."

According to the article, there were 17 available spots on the team. More than 70 players tried out.

The story reminded me of a situation that happened many years ago. A mother called and complained that we had not given enough coverage to her child (who was 12 or 13 at the time), after her kid, along with other young local and area athletes, had competed in a regional competition. We ran the results of all the kids who scored points, but while her kid had scored, their highest finish was something like a 10th-, 12th- or 14th-place finish.

I explained our policy, and said that our primary focus has always been on covering the 30 high schools in our area. I told her that as her child grew and continued in their chosen sport, they would likely get more print recognition on the varsity level.

That didn’t appease the caller one bit. She said (and I remember this like it was yesterday) that her child probably wouldn’t even compete in high school athletics because the kid was "at their physical peak right now!"

Kinda puts a weird perspective on things, don’t you think?

BGSU's Stroh Center on target

By Dave Hanneman

I see where construction of the Stroh Center, the new basketball arena at Bowling Green State University, is ahead of schedule.

That’s good news. Let’s hope they don’t get so far ahead of themselves they don’t overlook some crucial amenities.

Like rest rooms.

I loved Anderson Arena. I can honestly say in my 31 years in this business, I have enjoyed covering games in that venue as much as anywhere. The press facilities were not the best, situated way up under the west-side roof. And BGSU staff did not always do a good job with stats. At the Division IV regional championship this past season, they had no one keeping official stats the entire first half. They said the person supposed to do the job forgot and showed up late.

The great thing about Anderson Arena was the atmosphere. It was electric. The place was not that big by Division I college standards. Capacity was under 5,000, I believe. But the fans were close to the action, the student sections were close and the placed rocked.

It didn’t hurt that BGSU hosted a lot of Division IV and Division III regional games. And when it comes to small-school fan support, no corner of the state does it better than Northwest Ohio.

I like the fact that the new Stroh Center is keeping things in perspective. There will be seating for around 4,500, and that should allow the facility to maintain that tight knit closeness between the game on the floor and the fans in the stands. And that’s what it’s all about anyway. Fans want to feel like they have a connection to the game going on. Otherwise you might just as well be watching it on a 20-x-30-foot screen.

Back to the rest rooms, though.

Fans who have seen a lot of games at Anderson Arena know what I’m talking about. The place had only two public rest rooms. The men’s was to the right from the front entrance; the women’s to the left.

Doubleheader nights were a nightmare. If you had to make a pit stop at halftime of the first game, there would be huge lines snaking out of both rest rooms, mingling right through big crowds trying to get to the concessions stands. Add in the people trying to get in for the second game and you had a veritable mosh pit of humanity.

They had a walk-through of the Stroh Center a while back. I couldn’t get away that day, so I’m hoping my breath is the only thing I’m holding as I wait to make a final judgement.

Headed west

By Jamie Baker
By the time you read this I’ll be in the air and on my way to Vegas.
Yep, it’s the first time I’ve had more than two days off back to back since our daughter Elise was born late November.
We’ll be headed out west to a family reunion for my wife’s side of the family in California with a stop off at Sin City first.
Never been to Vegas before so I’m going to the sportsbook and place a $10 bet on the Browns to win the Super Bowl.
Long odds huh?
Anyway I’m going to be staying close to Visalia, Calif. so on one of the days I’m out there I’m going to head out to the ballpark and catch up with former Patrick Henry star Marc Krauss who’s playing for the Class A Visalia Rawhide of the California League.
Should be fun.
Anyway we’ll be back mid-week next week.
In the meantime keep me in your prayers, I’m not the most patient of souls so traveling across the country with a 7-month old may be an experience.
We’ll give Elise a little Baby Benedryl for the trip on the plane. And I imagine there will be a little Daddy Bourbon consumed as well.
See you all next week.

LeBron won't resign with Cavs

By BRIAN LESTER
I was disappointed to learn that Lebron James won't be going on a tour across the country next week. If only we could get Lady GaGa to do the same thing.
James, who said he will instead meet with potential teams at a neutral site when free agency starts, is still young enough to win titles and has said that winning is his top priority.
If that is the case, than he has to get it in his head that winning championships has to come ahead of making money on shoes, clothes and headphones.
It's fine for James to dream of being the first billion-dollar athlete, but he has to understand that no one is going to remember him in 20 years the way Michael Jordan is still remembered if he retires without rings on his fingers.
With that said, I don't think Cleveland is on his list of teams that can help him win a championship. The Cavs have tried to build a contender around him. It hasn't worked.
He has said he loves Cleveland and that it has in an edge in free agency. But he has to say those things. He hasn't said anything real to give fans a sliver of hope that he won't leave.
Maybe James will surprise everyone. Maybe he won't break the hearts of Cleveland sports fans who know the pain of disappointment all too well.
Maybe on July 1 he will come out and tell the world that he is staying home. It would be great for the loyal fans and huge for the economy of the city.
But while the Lebron James Tour Across America has been canceled, James is probably still going to hit the road and end up with another team.

No such thing as semipro

By Jamie Baker
Around the sports desk, I have a pet peeve.
It’s when I hear people throwing around the term semipro.
Actually it’s just one of many things that will send my head spinning but that’s a blog for another day.
I try to tell people there’s no such thing.
Either you’re a pro or you’re not. If you aren’t getting any money to play the sport, you are not a semipro.
I think we were talking about the Lima Warriors football team or maybe the old Tri-City Raiders football team out of Fostoria and the word was bandied about.
Baseball, either you are a professional at the major or minor league level getting paid to play or you are not. In football, you play in the NFL or one of the arena leagues and get paid. You are a professional. If you don’t get paid you aren’t.
Simple enough?
Anyway, I guess I just don’t understand the whole playing tackle football beyond college thing. If you aren’t training for the NFL, I don’t get why anyone would play in a full-contact tackle football league. There are just too many things that can happen to you playing football, and not many are good.
I would assume most players have families and full-time jobs. I’m not sure how understanding my employer would be if I broke my leg or blew out a knee playing tackle football.
Reliving your glory days on the gridiron just isn’t worth the risk.

Cheerleading a sport? The Feds will decide that

By JAMIE BAKER
It is or isn’t it?
That’s the question a federal judge will decide when it comes to whether or not cheerleading is or isn’t a sport.
Here’s the story from the Associated Press...

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — An expert in cheerleading has testified that cheerleading should not be a competitive sport, saying that making it so would threaten “classical sideline cheerleading.”
Jeff Webb, CEO of the cheerleading organization Varsity Spirit, testified Tuesday in federal court in Bridgeport, Conn., in a lawsuit against Quinnipiac University. Five volleyball players sued after the school decided in a budgetary move to eliminate women’s volleyball in favor of a competitive cheer squad.
Testifying for the players, Webb said competitive cheerleading is as much a sport as chess.
A federal judge is being asked in part to decide whether cheerleading can be counted as a sport by schools looking for ways to meet gender-equity requirements. He’s also considering whether Quinnipiac improperly manipulates the size of the rosters to comply with those requirements.

My take?
Quinnipiac already has cheerleaders and wants to save money and maybe skirt Title IX by calling cheerleading a sport. As much as I would like to see cheerleading ruled a sport by the federal court to help save men’s collegiate olympic sports like track and field, wrestling and swimming which have been decimated in recent years, it’s not a sport.
Although some states do sponsor a state high school championship for competitive cheerleading. I don’t think this move by Quinnipiac holds up in court.
What’s your take...Cheerleading a sport? How about golf or bowling?