The summer of sports discontent
I love sports. Any sport, anywhere, any time. I feel that thisyear I can help add a new feeling to the sports section whichalready has a new look to it. My name is Tripp Whitesides, and withmy colleagues here at The Daily Campus, I will be trying to bringyou the best about sports from around campus. I’m fromWinnetka, IL., which is about 20 miles north of Chicago. I amhalfway through my junior year up on the hilltop, and beforeattending SMU, I attended Junior College in L.A. Sports are my wayof relaxing, and when I was given the opportunity to become thesports editor, I jumped on it. I love being involved, even if Idon’t play anymore.
Growing up, I lived north of Northwestern University, which hasa tradition of losing programs. Then one year, after a few years oftransition, they exploded and won a share of the Big Ten Conferenceand went to the Rose Bowl. While that might not necessarily be thesame here, I am confident in our football team. If we win the WACwe have a chance to make it into a bowl, the Humanitarian Bowl.
Basketball is another sport I can talk about for hours . Lastyear, our Mustangs almost made the NCAA’s for Men’sBasketball. I felt we should have made it in as a bubble team witha bunch of our “diaper dandies” as a team that couldcause some serious havoc. Sure, we beat Hawaii, who made it in, andwe almost beat the Golden Hurricane, who also got in. This year wereturn almost all of our starting five, except Q, who is out tryingto make it in the league with the Utah Jazz.
Despite my overwhelming love of sports, there were a fewunfortunate instances in the sports community this summer thatcaught my eye.
Another incident of high school hazing occurred at the end ofthis summer. This time, incoming 13 and 14-year-old students werehazed by their peers who used broom handles to “make theirteammates tougher” by shoving the handles in the kids, well,you know. Why is this so foreign to me? When does it occur to thehazers that this was not the right thing to do? In November, whenit’s 4 and 1 and you’re in the opponents red zone, dokids look at one another and say, “thanks for shoving thatbroom up my ass, it really helped me prepare for today”? Imean honestly, when are some people going to get it? Humiliatingpeople in this way is either going to land the victim in thehospital or the instigator in jail.
Another problem in the sports community is the Baylor Basketballprogram. Former head coach Dave Bliss really is a bad guy, noquestion about it. After it was released that Patrick Dennehy, hisroommate and accused murderer, Carlton Dodson, were receiving deaththreats from another student player, the basketball office deniedany knowledge of this whatsoever.
In the following days Dennehy’s girlfriend came forwardand told the press that her boyfriend was given money for a newChevy Tahoe by Bliss, and she received limo rides courtesy of thebasketball department whenever she came to visit Dennehy inWaco.
Bliss, fearing for his job, tried to convince other basketballplayers to say that they were sold drugs by Dennehy, andthat’s how he paid for his car. In a report on ESPN.com,Bliss said, “I think the thing we want to do — and you thinkabout this — if there’s a way we can create the perceptionthat Pat may have been a dealer. Even if we had to kind of makesome things look a little better than they are, that can saveus.” Recently it was exposed that Bliss, through boosters,paid off athletes in the SMU program in the late 80’s. DaveBliss is a bad apple, and now the students of Waco won’t haveMen’s Basketball this winter.
Stories like the previous two bring a bad name to sports.
Not to be overlooked in the past week is the sentencing offormer Cowboy Dwayne Goodrich. He is going to jail after hittingand killing two people last year in his SUV. The people he hit weretrying to pull another person from a burning car. Goodrichtestified he didn’t see the people or the burning car. How doyou miss a burning car?
Where is the justice?
On a different note, Kevin Garrett, a former SMU Cornerback lastseason, will be out of the St. Louis Rams lineup for at least sixweeks with a “fractured and dislocated wrist” accordingto ESPN.com. Best wishes go out to KG. Hope you feel bettersoon.
