For many years, the steroid problem in baseball was swept under the rug by both the league and media. Here’s another sleeping giant that eventually will rear its ugly head.
I’m referring to recruiting in high school sports.
It is everywhere, touching every sport, both girls and boys. It is one thing when a family picks up, decides to move their children into a different neighborhood, even if it is to give them a better chance at competing at a different school.
But the issue today is that kids are being moved all over the place just to play sports. Some are put in houses funded by school boosters, while others pretend to live with relatives in a certain school district. It is getting out of hand, especially with boys basketball.
Look at certain high schools around the metro area: Their basketball teams are in no way a reflection of their school’s makeup.
Because of the number of high schools, recruiting is tough to police and it would be nearly impossible to actually confirm that every student-athlete lives in a certain school district or with a parent or legitimate guardian.
I am not going to spend any more time on this subject for now but you can bet it will become one that is talked about all over in the near future. Some day, certain people will realize winning really isn’t everything.
LAY OFF FRENCHY
What is with all the criticism surrounding Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur? While he was hitting .246 with eight homers and 53 strikeouts in 301 at-bats going into Monday night’s game, young players always go through slumps. Jeff will be fine and, actually, I wish they would just put him in center field, let him swing the way (freely) he did three years ago when he came up to majors and stop filling his head with advice. Unlike many baseball players, Francoeur is a tremendous all-around athlete and those types of players just need to be left alone. Don’t try to make him a player he is not. I think what is happening is all the advice and instruction is getting inside his head. He does care deeply about what others think about him and has a tremendous respect for his coaches and manager. Just let him play.
AROUND THE HORN
790 The Zone is not going to run Fox Sports Radio anymore, instead putting on Sporting News Radio when they are not running their local shows. Already, the Zone’s 2 Live Stews are syndicated on TSN and you will hear a lot of their hosts overnight, including David Stein, who has relocated to Atlanta and will be using the Zone’s studios.
Let’s see, Michael Vick, with no criminal record before the dogfighting incident, is in jail for 23 months yet Pacman Jones is back on the field for the Dallas Cowboys despite being arrested six times and involved in 12 incidents where the police had to be called. And all this since being drafted in 2005 by Tennessee. Sounds like Vick’s lawyers may have dropped the ball while Pacman’s representatives pulled off some magic. By the way, Pacman is telling everyone he doesn’t want to be called Pacman anymore. OK, Pacman.
WSB TV’s Bill Hartman had this take on the fact that WNBA star Becky Hammon, left off the United States Olympic team, will play for Russia later this summer in Beijing. Wrote Hartman: “This is wrong on so many levels. Hammon is no more Russian than Chuck Dowdle. She grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota. I’m sorry she wasn’t good enough to be picked by the USA but accepting citizenship and a lot of money to play for another country isn’t the answer. Here’s what she told ESPN.com: ‘Will I be playing for Russia? Yes. But I’m absolutely 100 percent still an American. I love our country. I love what we stand for. This is an opportunity to fulfill my dream of playing in the Olympics.’ Hannon doesn’t love her country the way I was taught.’’ Hey Bill, it’s the money. It’s always the money.
Former SI back-page columnist Rick Reilly has an interesting perspective on the Stephens County incident in the Class 3A playoffs where their catcher said he accidentally missed a pitch that hit the umpire right in the facemask. Many feel the Stephens County catcher did it on purpose, upset with the umpire’s calling of balls and strikes. Reilly, meanwhile, took both the catcher and pitcher to task, writing that he hopes the umpire sues and “that the players have to pay in a way they’ll never forget: by being forced to umpire Little League games. They’ll be amazed how vile parental vocabulary can be, how far little brothers can spit and how many pitched balls wind up hitting them in the thorax. But at least the 8-year-olds won’t be doing it on purpose.’’
AND FINALLY
Sort of off the subject, but I saw where once-fellow AJC reporter David Ho was pulled off an airplane for dissolving a vitamin supplement into a bottle of water, which he took on the plane and drank at his seat. It seems like the lady a few rows behind him called the police and, next thing you know, the Jet Blue flight that was going from New York to Las Vegas was surrounded by authorities while two officers in body armor with automatic rifles pulled Ho off the flight, pushed him against the wall, and then had the nerve to complain about it being another false alarm. After a few minutes Ho explained that he had put an Airborne in his water and they let him back on the plane. Let’s see: Gas is at four bucks, our government is in disarray, the economy stinks and the Braves are in third place. Yet we are spending gobs and gobs of money sending the infantry out because we are worried about vitamins Ho put in his water. Pathetic. To read Ho’s full account of the situation, go to ajc.com and, like he ended his article: “How often does ‘see something, say something’ save lives? How often does it burn up jet fuel and cause nationwide air traffic delays? And how many people have this kind of disturbing experience but don’t get to tell their stories?”
Rosenberg can be reached at ijrosenberg@scoreatl.com and 404-256-1572.
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