Blog Entry — February 11, 2009
I was 12-years-old when Blink 182 released its album “Enema of the State.” Groundhog Day is 12 days before Valentine’s Day.
That was a terrible SEE-goo.
But being as late as it is in February, I need an excuse to talk about the wanna-be beaver in Pennsylvania that stole my first name and has spent the last — checking Wikipedia real quick — he’s spent the last 112 years jacking up weather predictions.
Apparently, Punxsutawney Phil — copy-pasted that — has seen his shadow 87-percent of the time. But he’s only accurately predicted the end of winter or six more weeks of it 39-percent of the time.
Thirty-nine percent.
Even with the new, expanded Fairfax County grading policy that’s an F. Or an E.
Or whatever over-sensitized way we’re to inform the youth of America they are not useful to the greater population.
I think that last sentence on a report card would be more incentive to succeed.
But the E?
Wouldn’t be more embarrassing to say you have that grade and, then, have to explain it?
Although, it definitely gives you more options in trying to make your grades spell something. “BEAD” is so much better than “BFAD.” “ACED” or “ACFD”?
I’m losing steam on this point.
Back to my glorified guinea pig friend in western Pennsylvania.
Six more weeks of winter this year, Phil? It’s been over 60 degrees for the last three days.
I spent the entire day today in a polo, cargo shorts and flip flops.
Ever since Blink 182 announced its reunion, I’ve been dressing like it’s 1997 again.
There were two big numbers in that last sentence.
Speaking of big numbers — segway — how about Mount Vernon girls getting called out in USA Today’s article on teams “running up the score”?
It’s not like it was national news. The 100-0 loss by Dallas Academy that cost the winning team’s coach his job was the story’s focus. And USA Today is based in McLean, remember.
But for me to have an actual opinion on something, brace yourself.
My second full-time year with DigitalSports was Doreena Campbell‘s senior year at Edison. The Eagles also had Division-1 juniors Adria Crawford (Georgetown), Chasity Clayton (Florida State) and Tamonica Brackins (Longwood). Current junior, and then-freshman, Myisha Goodwin came off the bench on that squad.
Edison was stacked, ranked in the top 15 nationally all year.
It won its National District games by an AVERAGE of 56.4 points per game. There was one home win against Washington-Lee, final score: 120-25. They scored 125 points in 32 minutes. It was 43-1 after the first quarter.
On paper, it looked like the Eagles ran up the score. But, in reality, there was no pressing after the first quarter, no starters played in the fourth quarter and the point total still continued to rise without much impediment.
At what point should a coach ask its players to not compete? Sophomores who played so little they messed up the protocol of checking in were scoring in bunches for Edison.
But that Eagle team — whose starters played maybe in 10 fourth quarters of its 20-something games until the Northern Region tournament — had conditioning issues in the state tournament.
In the state final against Forest Park, Edison blew a five-point lead in the final minute to lose by one. Its players were exhausted. Had the Eagles played the same level of competition as the Bruins — or simply had an eight-deep rotation accustomed to playing 32 minutes — it may have been a different outcome.
I understand the frustration of parents and coaches of teams who watch their team struggle to cross half-court in the second half. But I also understand when a team with serious playoff aspirations fine tunes its game and uses comfortable — insurmountable — leads to work on new schemes or try and improve areas that have cost it in games past against live opposition.
I played high-level club and high school soccer growing up. I’ve been on a team that lost a regular-season game 9-0 and I was on a team that once won 14-0.
Losing by that much is devastating and winning by 14 is exhilarating. The margin itself amplifies that emotion, but not to the point where it brought my self-esteem to its literal death.
Not nearly as much as Valentine’s Day does.
And no more than having a report card that says “DEAD ABE”
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
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