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Adam Bender, Age 8, Plays Baseball on 1 Leg

Michael David SmithPosted Jul 5th 2008 9:48AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)

This is the best video you'll see today:

That's 8-year-old Adam Bender, who squats on his one leg while playing catcher, stands on his one leg while batting and hops to first base after he hits the ball. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports:
What makes Adam stand out is that he plays one of the toughest positions on the field with only one leg. Because of cancer, he had his left leg amputated when he was one. Adam doesn't use a prosthesis, and only uses crutches when he reaches base.
Adam's father says that after the amputation, "We didn't know how adaptable he'd be. But we got a glimpse of it 48 hours later when he started figuring out how to crawl."

Buzz Bissinger: Friday Night Lights Proves How Serious Sports Is in Our Culture

Michael David SmithPosted Jun 28th 2008 8:21AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)

We've talked a lot about the journalist and Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger in these parts the last couple of months, and for the most part it's been to say that his anti-blog rants are stupid and unbecoming of such an accomplished writer.

But in his long Q&A with Will Leitch at Deadspin, Bissinger made one point that's worth considering. After Leitch said he doesn't think sports should be treated with seriousness, Bissinger said:
We just disagree on a lot of fundamental things. Obviously, the biggest is that sports should not be treated with seriousness. I think Friday Night Lights proves the point of just how serious sports is in our culture. I think the point you do make, that there are too many articles in the print media that are cliched melodramatic tearjearkers that we have read a million times before, is well-taken. I don't like bloggers in general, but too many sportswriters just never get up off their butts and truly delve into subjects. And what comes out is tired autopilot journalese.
Friday Night Lights is a serious exploration of the impact that sports have on one town, and it's the best exploration of high school sports I've ever read. There's a place for sites like Deadspin that don't take sports seriously, but that doesn't mean no one should take sports seriously.

Teacher Really Loves Baseball, Sleeps With Eight Players on High School Team

Ryan WilsonPosted Jun 25th 2008 10:17AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)

People get into education for any number of clichés: they enjoy teaching, they want to make a difference, they can't "do", they like their summers off, or, if you're Julie Pritchett, it's all about sports. And sex. Especially sex. With the high school baseball team.

You see, Pritchett, a 34-year-old middle school teacher, absolutely loves molding young minds, and then, as part of an innovative (though not-yet-acceptable) educational philosophy, she has sex with the students to reinforce what was learned. Or maybe she's just nuts.

A teacher has been accused of having sex with eight members of a school baseball team. Pritchett began a relationship with a 15-year-old boy in February. The 34-year-old married teacher later approached other members of the team for sex. ...

[Police spokesman Sgt Christian] described her as a 'sexual predator'. 'When you have eight victims, all young people, all students, that she had great influence on, I don't think it's wrong to characterise her that way,' he said.
Me neither. Christian also added, "'It sounds like she has some serious issues to work through, but that will never excuse what she has done." I'd say so.

Shockingly, Pritchett resigned from her job when she learned she was under investigation. Apparently, she was a sponsor for the high school's Diamond Dolls, which I'm guessing wasn't created to serve as a sex-education tool for the baseball team. Whatever, it allowed her to come in contact with former students, which led to sexing up half the squad.

It probably goes without saying, but, yeah, this took place in Alabama.

[Deadspin]
[With Leather]

A Story Too Gripping to Be True

JJ CooperPosted Jun 4th 2008 9:55PM by JJ Cooper (author feed)

Over the last couple of months, SportsCenter has been making a much-needed change, Hot Seats and stupid music videos have taken a back seat to hard-hitting reporting, giving sports fans stuff they couldn't find elsewhere (the O.J. Mayo investigation being a key example).

And then there are stories like this one. If you were watching the story of the Summervile (S.C.) High basketball team as a movie, it would fail the reality test--it pulls at the heart strings too much. A coach tells his eighth grade basketball team that they will win a state title as seniors. Then the summer before their senior year, the coach, who is also a fireman, is killed fighting a fire. The team dedicates the season to winning a state title in his honor (something the school had never done before), and makes it to the state title game.

It almost seems too contrived. But since it's true, it's one of the more gripping features you'll see. A warning, the story is over 14 minutes long, but it's well worth watching.



When watching the story, it seemed like a pretty safe bet that we'll eventually be seeing it as a movie. Just a couple of days after the ESPN feature, a production company is already investigating taking the story to the big screen.

If you're interested in more on the story of Louis Mulkey and the Summerville team, the Charleston Post-Courier chronicled the team from before the season began to the state championship ceremony. There's a story on Mulkey's legacy, another on the team getting ready for the state championship game and the story on the state title.

Spelling Bee: 'Numnah' Sounds Like 'Numbnut'

Michael David SmithPosted May 31st 2008 10:32AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)

At last night's National Spelling Bee, 13-year-old Sameer Mishra provided some comic relief when he misheard the word "numnah":

For those who don't know, "numnah" is a type of sheepskin pad. When Mishra was presented with that word, he initially thought the pronouncer said "numbnut," an insult best known from the movie Full Metal Jacket, when Sargent Hartman yells at Private Pyle, "What is your major malfunction, numbnut?"

Mishra shook off any embarrassment and ended up winning the bee by correctly spelling "guerdon."

Newspaper Photographer Keeps Shooting Track Meet After Javelin Pierces His Leg

Michael David SmithPosted May 19th 2008 11:11AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)


A newspaper photographer named Ryan McGeeney was shooting the Utah state high school track championships for the Ogden Standard-Examiner over the weekend when he suddenly found himself to be the subject of the most interesting photos to come out of the track meet.

McGeeney was shooting the discus event on Saturday morning while the javelin event was taking place in another part of BYU's Clarence Robison track stadium. Unfortunately for McGeeney, the javelin wasn't quite as far away as he thought it was -- an errant javelin went straight through his leg.

McGeeney went down, but not out -- yes, he actually took that photo you see above of his own leg, with a javelin through it, being attended to by meet officials.

In the Standard-Examiner's article about the event, McGeeney, who served seven years in the Marines, is quoted as saying, "They don't have javelins in Afghanistan. That's where I'm lucky."

For his dedication to his photojournalism, McGeeney is my early favorite for Sports Media Man of the Year.
Continue Reading Newspaper Photographer Keeps Shooting Track Meet After Javelin Pierces His Leg

Texas High Schooler Wins State Track and Field Championship by Herself

Will BrinsonPosted May 13th 2008 10:30AM by Will Brinson (author feed)

The world abounds these days with versatile, young athletes. Some of them play multiple (nine) positions in one sport, and others just win state high school track championships. By themselves.

That's right. Bonnie Richardson, of Rochelle High School in Texas, won the state 1-A track and field championship all by her lonesome. She was the only athlete from her high school that qualified to appear, and she straight up rolled the competition. In fact, her feat was so amazing, she shocked herself.

'This totally blows me away,' the freckle-faced Richardson said while holding the trophy with a gold medal draped on her neck. 'This is amazing. I had no idea it was even possible.'

Richardson's title march began with field events on Friday when she won the high jump (5 feet, 5 inches), placed second in the long jump (18-7) and was third in the discus (121-0).

On Saturday, she won the 200 meters in 25.03 seconds and nearly pulled off a huge upset in the 100 before finishing second (12.19) to defending champion Kendra Coleman of Santa Anna. Richardson, a junior, earned a total of 42 team points to edge team runner-up Chilton (36).

The only thing that might top her story is the manner in which she trained; Rochelle apparently does not even have a track on campus, requiring her to either "watch for potholes" or to travel 10 miles. And, according to the AP, she also plays tennis and basketball. And football, if her parents would let her. In other words, Richardson laughs at Dan and Dave.

High School Football Coach in Trouble Over Racial Remarks, Tobacco, Dog Poop

Michael David SmithPosted May 7th 2008 2:58PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)

The Boston Globe offers a bizarre story out of Marblehead, Massachusetts, where the high school football coach, Doug Chernovetz, has been suspended for two games of the upcoming season because of a bevy of complaints from a former player:
The 39-year-old coach eventually was disciplined by the school district for having his dogs on school property, using improper language in front of students, making racially and ethnically insensitive remarks to players, and chewing tobacco during practice or at games ...

According to court documents, Tim Morris said Chernovetz often berated players using sexually explicit language, made disparaging remarks based on a student's race or ethnicity, and would make injured team members pick up his dogs' feces or stand by the spot the animals had soiled until someone could clean up the mess.
Charming. It's fascinating that a two-game suspension is all the coach got. Is there any company in America that wouldn't fire a boss who made sexually explicit, racist comments to his employee, and followed them up by telling the employee to go clean up after his dog? Why is it OK for a high school football coach to treat players worse than a boss can treat workers?

Via Fark.

More Than 7,000 High School Girls Wrestle; Concerns Remain About 'The Grope Factor'

Michael David SmithPosted Mar 9th 2008 11:15AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)

There are more than 7,000 girls participating in high school wrestling in the United States, mostly wrestling against boys, many of them beating most of the boys they face. ESPN had a report on the phenomenon today:

Asked what it's like to be a girl in a boys' sport, one of the girls featured said what just about all of the girls who wrestle seem to think: "I just deal with it. I don't think of it anymore."

But one boy interviewed said, "I really don't like wrestling girls because there's always the chance you could lose to them and it's kind of embarrassing." Another boy said, "My grandpa don't like it. Neither does my grandma." And some people don't think girls and boys should wrestle each other because they are worried about what's called "the grope factor."

I think those people are ridiculous. It's a competitive sport, and there's no reason that boys and girls can't compete against each other, especially in a sport with weight classes, like wrestling. Girls should be encouraged to wrestle, and increasingly, they are.

Utah Teenager Porter Ellett Plays Basketball, Baseball With One Arm

Michael David SmithPosted Mar 3rd 2008 10:01AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)

This is Porter Ellett of Bicknell, Utah, who plays high school basketball and baseball with one arm:

Ellett's arm was amputated after an injury when he fell out of a truck at age 4. He's a pitcher and first baseman on the Wayne High School baseball team, where he doesn't struggle to swing the bat or to quickly take the glove on and off, a la Jim Abbott. He's also one of the top players on the basketball team.

"I just do what everybody else does," Ellett said. "It's just different because I have one arm. ... I try not to let it slow me down."
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