It's a fight!

I thought people made too big of a deal about the fight the other night between Los Angeles and Detroit. Anytime you have heated competition between athletes, there's a chance there will be some sort of altercation.
It's not that uncommon to see fights in football, hockey, baseball. Pretty much any sport that involves physical contact can turn into a melee. I know I've only been in a few fights in my life but most of them came during football or basketball games at recess or in the backyard.
What disturbs me was not what happened on the court, although that kind of stuff is never good for any league. What bothers me is the aftermath.
I've watched the same replays WNBA commissioner Donna Orender must've seen. I have yet to see Detroit assistant coach Rick Mahorn maliciously shove Lisa Leslie to the floor. In fact, it appears that he was actually reaching out to try to help her up.
Still, Mahorn was hit with a two-game suspension. Sparks' Delisha Milton-Jones and Murriel Page each hit Mahorn in the back after Leslie fell. There is no debate about whether they threw punches at Mahorn yet they got one-game suspensions apiece.
What the?
I'm not sure what message the league is trying to send with this. Obviously, male coaches should never raise their hands to female players. If Mahorn had shoved her down on purpose, he should be suspended for at least a year or perhaps permanently.
Since he wasn't banned forever, obviously Orender didn't believe he was trying to shove Lisa Leslie down. So why does a man who is trying to be a peacemaker get two games while players who balled up their fists and hit him in the back of the head get one?
I don't get it. Somebody explain it to me.

Summer camp at PC

I must say I did enjoy getting back into the gym last week at Parkers Chapel's basketball camp. All I did was watch from the sideline but, just being in a gym is at least a start to getting some exercise.
I think the PC coaches were a little disappointed with the low number of girls. But, that didn't stop them from giving quality instruction. I've seen other coaches put on camps and the amount of effort they put in depended on how much money they figured to make.
Coach Young and Coach Laymon didn't have a whole lot of kids so they spent extra time working with the ones who were there. Those 20 girls got more than they bargained for for their parents' money.
A few Lady Trojans (Savanna Langston, April Barker and Lauren Morgan) helped out along with OBU's Marandalynn Parker. It was an interesting week, apparently for Marandalynn, who talked about majoring in accounting or business or something when the week began. On Friday, she said she is re-thinking about being a coach.
A word of warning though, it's a lot easier teaching little kids who think YOU'RE a goddess than it is coaching teenagers who think THEY are.
It was also fun talking basketball with the two coaches. Coach Young is still trying to figure out his roster for next season. It might not look like he envisioned before the summer started but it might turn out to be a lot better than he thinks, right now.
As for Coach Laymon, the older I get the more I start to think like he does. That's not necessarily a good thing.
Speaking of not so good things, Matt Jones' arrest on drug charges has half the state in shock and the other half amused. I must admit to being a bit surprised. I thought he enjoyed hunting and fishing in his spare time. Apparently the country boy has a few big-city problems of his own.
I was hoping he'd get his under-achieving rear-end in gear this season in Jacksonville. He's been a bust of a first round draft pick for the Jaguars. I know the fans in Jacksonville aren't Matt Jones believers these days.
They were blasting him on the team message board. According to one Jags' fan, when Jones was told by the police to put his hands where they could be seen, just like when a football is coming his way, he only put up one hand.

Kiss and makeup

I saw this article Tuesday night by the Associated Press and I was surprised how sad it made me.

NORMAN, Okla. (AP)—Oklahoma basketball player Jenna Plumley (right)was arrested and charged with trying to steal makeup from a Wal-Mart store.
Plumley, a starting guard, was stopped by security personnel Monday and signed a ticket that will require her to appear in municipal court, police said. Police spokeswoman Jennifer Newell said the petty larceny charge is a misdemeanor involving theft of items worth less than $500.
Plumley has five days to schedule an arraignment. If convicted, the charge carries a fine of $50 to $750 and up to 60 days in jail.
Coach Sherri Coale will handle any punishment internally, Sooners spokesman Jared Thompson said.
Plumley started all 31 games last season and averaged 7.8 points.

I watched Plumley play a lot last season. I'm not her biggest fan but she is a feisty little point guard with incredible shooting range. She stood out to me because of her heritage as a Native American.

But, I guess the reason this seems so sad to me is I'm imagining this young woman, who probably doesn't come from a wealthy background. How much does makeup cost in Wal-Mart?

Makeup is probably a fairly essential item for a college girl. If she tried to steal it because she couldn't afford to pay for it, I don't know why I find that so sad.

She should've borrowed some from her coach, who is the most dolled up coach in the country.

Anyway, I'm sure they will go easy on her. She committed a crime but then again, isn't it also a crime when a college girl can't afford makeup?

You go Lizzee Babee

The very first time I met Elizabeth Wells, I liked her. Even as a sixth or seventh grader, however old she was when we were introduced, there was something about this golfing phenom that made me smile.
Maybe it was her swagger.
I like confidence. It's something I never really had but it's a trait I do admire in others.
Lizzee Babee Wells has confidence. She believes in her heart she's going to win every tournament. She felt that way the very first time I ever talked to her and she still feels that way today.
As Liz was preparing to leave for Denver last week to compete in the U.S. Women's Amateur Sectional Qualifier, I did my usual pre-tournament interview.
This tournament was a big deal for Liz, who was trying to qualify for the U.S. Women's Amateur for the second time. In the interview, she had her usual confidence. I asked if she knew who was going to be in the field.
"I have no idea," she said. "I'm just going to walk up to that first tee and ask them, 'who's going to finish second?'"
I love this kid.
Well, Monday the tournament didn't go as planned. Unfortunately, Wells fell one stroke short of her goal, losing out on the final spot on the sixth playoff hole. What's worse, she would've qualified easily but she three-putted on the 18th hole in regulation.
She texted me on the phone her results. I texted her back and told her, if she didn't want to talk about it, I understood. She texted back and said she would talk, she just needed to get herself composed.
Sure enough, a few minutes later the phone rang. It was Liz calling in for her post-match interview. Her voice was still shaky, almost quivering at times, but she answered every question I asked. With my limited knowledge of golf, no doubt some of the questions were quite dumb. But, she patiently gave me the information I needed to write my story.
Liz admitted in the interview that this was the worst loss of her life. Yet, even in her darkest moment, my girl came through like a champion.
I know a lot of coaches, full-grown men and women, who don't have the guts or heart to call in after a loss. This girl called in after a bitter, heart-breaking disappointment. And, she's done it before. In fact, every time I've asked her to call after a match, she has called.
I told you there was something about this girl I liked. It's not the swagger. It's not the bold quotes she provides.
I love the way she carries herself. The first time I saw her, Liz walked through the door with confidence and class. She will carry that confidence and class with her to SMU this fall.
I've got a funny feeling she'll still have the swagger, too.
Keep doing what you're doing, Lizzee Babee. No matter what the score says, they're all playing for second place.

Missed it by THAT much

In the world of professional athletes, what's the difference between great and good?
Not much. But, the fine line divides two worlds that are miles apart.
El Dorado's Amanda McCurdy might be the best women's golfer ever from the state of Arkansas. She was a college All-American at the University of Arkansas and is currently in her second year as a professional on the Duramed Futures Tour.
Stacy Lewis, McCurdy's former teammate at Arkansas, was also an All-American in college.
McCurdy put women's golf on the map in Fayetteville. Lewis, who won the NCAA championship this spring, took the program to a different level.
On the golf course, these two players aren't separated by THAT much. In college, Lewis won some and McCurdy won some. Lewis won more but McCurdy wasn't far behind.
How big was the fine line that divided the two?
Well, Lewis made her professional debut last week, finishing third Sunday in the U.S. Women's Open. Her paycheck was a tidy $162, 487. That's a comma folks, not a decimal point. She made one hundred and sixty-two thousand dollars.
Meanwhile, McCurdy was in Hammond, Indiana on Sunday competing in the Horseshoe Casino Classic. McCurdy finished 27th, pocketing $713. She probably used most of that for gas money.
While Lewis is getting first class treatment on the LPGA Tour, McCurdy is toiling away, driving from state to state in pursuit of her dream of earning a living as a golfer.
Truth is, she's probably coming to a cross roads where she will have to decide if it's time to give it up and get a job.
This season, McCurdy has earned $4,649 in 10 tournaments. Half of that came in two events. She was 10th in El Paso, winning $1,299 and was 12th a week later in Kansas City, cashing a check for $1,088.
Unfortunately, she missed the cut at her next three tournaments. When you miss the cut, you don't get paid.
In her 29 career tournaments, McCurdy has earned $13,391. To keep you from scrolling back up, I'll repeat, Lewis won $162,487 on Sunday.
And the thing is, she's not THAT much better than McCurdy. But, in the world of professional sports, THAT much makes all the difference.