Sports: the Art of War

[Psalm 51:17]

Can't say I endorse this guy's ministry - but nonetheless he says alot of good exposes exposing the evils of sports.

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-suttle/was-god-urban-meyers-insp_b_6471180.html
Urban Meyer, God, and Running Up the Score
1/14/15

"Is there a bigger hypocrite in college sports than Urban Meyer?" - Mike Ozanian, Forbes

So asks Forbes' Mike Ozanian the day after the inaugural College Football National Title Game.

Leading 35-20 with 1:43 left in the game, Ohio State was set to go for it on 4th-and-1 from inside Oregon's 5-yard line. Before the snap, two Oregon defensive linemen jumped offside, giving the Buckeyes a first down and the ballgame. Tradition says you line up in victory formation, take a knee, shake hands and celebrate. Instead, Urban Meyer and his Ohio State Buckeyes kept running plays, scoring again with 28 seconds left. "I didn't even think about taking a knee... we play to win," Meyer said.

The move has some people asking questions. The Washington Post's Des Bieler asked, "Should Ohio State have taken a knee at the end of the title game?" Tim Brown of The Oregonian asked, "Did the Buckeyes need to score, or was the call meant to be an insult to the Oregon Ducks? Were Meyer and his players putting a final exclamation point on a big win, or were they simply running up the score and trying to embarrass an Oregon team that everyone thought would cruise to a title victory?"

Ozanian's question on Forbes.com was more pointed: "Was God Urban Meyer's Inspiration For Running Up The Score Against Oregon?" Like it or not, Ozanian gets to bring God into the conversation because Urban Meyer brought God into the conversation. Meyer, like many athletes and coaches, has been outspoken about his Christian faith. Ozanian also mentions Urban's involvement with the Christian leadership book, Lead... For God's Sake, which Urban Meyer called one of the most "powerful" books he's ever read, eventually penning the foreword for the paperback release.

Was it right? Was it wrong? Was it God? These are the wrong questions.

Running up the score has cultural meaning -- it makes a statement. The real question is what did it mean?

What does it mean to Urban Meyer, that he broke with tradition and piled on another touchdown? It's not the first time he's dealt with the question. Is he just a fiery competitor, or is he involved in the kind of competitive environment in which human beings have lost all perspective?

What does it mean to coaches and players who are so outspoken about their Christianity? Could it mean, given involving God in sports can so quickly devolve into an unhealthy dynamic (see also: "Tebowing"), that we had best not implicate God in the games we play?

What does it mean for Ohio State that in the championship moment, the adults surrounding these student athletes taught them that victors rub their opponent's noses in it?

What does it mean for college football, already a multi-billion-dollar a year industry?

Those two questions actually go quite well together, because Ohio State Football is a good example of why the question of right and wrong is irrelevant for college athletics. For college football, in fact, the lines between right and wrong have long since disappeared.

My evidence? Rewind the Ohio State vs. Oregon championship game to the coin toss where former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel -- also an outspoken Christian -- was looking on with the rest of the most recent class of inductees to the College Football Hall of Fame. This is the Jim Tressel who resigned after years of NCAA violations (alleged cash and cars and no-show jobs for players, memorabilia for cash and tattoos, and so on), resulted in three years of probation, and in Ohio State having to vacate all of their wins from the 2010 season. According to Sports Illustrated, the violations were wide ranging, involved scores of players including Terrelle Pryor, Troy Smith, and Maurice Clarett, and were part of a pattern reaching all the way back to his years at Youngstown State. That Jim Tressel is now in the hall of fame.

And, how about the impact of the three years of probation? Well, the sanctions were so devastating and effective that Ohio State wasn't able to make it to the national championship game until one month following the end of their probation (it ended Dec. 19, 2014, just 24 days before the national championship game).

Read more: Right and wrong no longer play a big role in the future of college football.

In the end, running up the score with your star players still in the game, in the final seconds of a game that was not longer being contested didn't even register to Urban Meyer. This may not be technically wrong, but it's lame. It's the punch that Ali never threw Sonny Liston. It's what the great ones never do. So, let's leave God out of it.

This much I do know. Running up the score has cultural meaning, and that meaning speaks nothing of the gospel to which Christians are committed. For me, as the father of two little boys who is working like crazy to raise them to be honorable men, it means I need to find ways to keep my little men from listening to these big men, because I'm not okay with what their actions are saying.

[Psalm 51:17]

FYI - here's another problem with Urban Meyer(the coach mentioned in the article above)...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_Meyer

Personal life[edit]

While studying at Cincinnati, Meyer met Shelley Mather Meyer, a freshman nursing student, at Sigma Chi's Derby Days philanthropy event and they married in 1986.[5][12] The Meyers have three children: Nicole ("Nicki"), Gisela ("Gigi") and Nathan ("Nate").[5] His two daughters currently play Division I volleyball: Nicki plays for Georgia Tech[71] and Gigi plays for Florida Gulf Coast.[72] He is a practicing Roman Catholic.[73]

[Psalm 51:17]

James 4:1  From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
Jas 4:2  Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Jas 4:3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Jas 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Jas 4:5  Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?


Matthew 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

[Psalm 51:17]

https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/the-riskiest-sports-for-head-injuries-105895374029.html
The Riskiest Sports for Head Injuries
1/3/15

T-ball, Pee Wee soccer, and hockey — kids’ sports start early and can quickly become a big part of family life. Of course you want to encourage exercise, sportsmanship, and team spirit, but keeping your child safe while he competes should also be a priority. “Concussion rates in sports are the result of a number of factors, including improper technique, ill-fitting equipment, and the amount some kids play, on both a rec team and in a travel league,” explains Elizabeth Pieroth, Psy.D., a neuropsychologist at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Chicago and the concussion consultant for the Chicago Bears, Blackhawks, Fire, and White Sox, and Northwestern University.

Before your child signs up for any kind of sport, make sure that the coaches have had concussion safety training and be aware of the symptoms of a concussion yourself: Persistent headache, dizziness, mental fogginess or confusion, and sensitivity to light and sound are some of the more common ones.

Many leagues now provide coaches with concussion training, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers an online course that’s free to everyone. Reassure your child that it’s fine — and even a good idea — to sit out if she’s injured. It’s also important to keep the pressure to play low and repeat the message: “It’s just a game.”

Here’s how each sport stacks up in the head-injury risk category, as well as ways to keep your child from sustaining one:

Football

The risks You might have guessed this would be number one. Football gets plenty of bad press due to its aggressive nature, but it’s still hugely popular. Another issue: A child’s neck isn’t as strong as an adult’s, so a blow to the head from a fall or tackle is difficult to absorb and can send the brain crashing against the skull.

Make it safer Some experts believe kids under 14 shouldn’t play tackle football; instead, flag football can be a safer way to practice the necessary skills and learn the sport. If your child does join a tackle football team, be certain the coach has been certified by Heads Up Football, a program created by USA Football to provide education on safer tackling techniques (keeping the head up, back straight, and leading with the shoulder), concussion management, and proper fitting equipment.

Ice Hockey

The risks Crashing against the boards, tripping over other players, and zipping around the rink make hockey number two on the sports concussion list for boys. Although fewer girls play ice hockey, concussion rates for those who do are high as well.

Make it safer Fortunately, many youth hockey leagues don’t allow checking — using your body to knock an opponent in possession of the puck to the ice or into the boards — until kids are at least in junior high school. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no checking by players age 15 or younger for good reason: Kids who play in leagues where body checking is permitted are three times more likely to sustain a concussion and other injuries.

Properly sized and properly worn equipment is key in hockey, and the most important piece of gear is, of course, a helmet: It should be approved by the Hockey Equipment Certification Council (HECC) and have a full face mask with a chin cup and a securely fastened chin strap. Players should also be taught “Heads up, don’t duck” — when crashing into the boards, another opponent, or the ice itself, they should try to make contact with the shoulders or the buttocks, never the head.

Soccer

The risks Repeated “heading” of the ball, colliding with fellow players, and crashing into the goalpost can cause concussions in this sport. Girls tend to suffer more of them than do boys who play soccer — in fact, soccer takes the number-one position for rates of concussion in girls — though the reason isn’t exactly clear: It may be that girls’ necks aren’t as strong as boys’ are or that girls are more inclined to report their symptoms.

Make it safer Goalies suffer more injuries than other players do, often resulting from collisions with the posts. Be sure the goals are securely tethered to the ground; ideally, the goal posts should also have four inches of padding. Coaches should teach kids the proper “heading” technique and encourage them to be aware of the other players when attempting this move so they don’t accidentally crash into an opponent or teammate.

Lacrosse

The risks Lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States, with ever-increasing concussion rates to show for it, especially among high school boys who are permitted to body check in a similar fashion to hockey. The ball is hard, it’s thrown with great velocity, and players can knock into each other at multiple points as they move down the field.

Make it safer Although boys’ lacrosse allows significant contact, unprotected hits have no place in the game. Helmets with full-face guards are mandatory, as are shoulder pads, padded gloves, and mouthpieces. The use of elbow pads and protective genital cups is also recommended.

For girls, who do not wear helmets, coaches, officials, and players must adhere to limited contact. Intentional body contact is not legal and stick checking must be directed away from an opponent’s head and body toward the pocketed end of the stick only. Protective goggles and mouthpieces are mandatory, with lightweight gloves and soft headgear optional.