Referee in critical condition after attack from teen player

A Salt Lake City man serving as a referee for a youth soccer game in nearby Taylorsville (Utah) is in critical condition after being punched by a 17-year-old player. Various news agencies are reporting that the referee issued a yellow card to the youngster after what he thought was a serious soul on the field. The young man responded by punching the 46-year-old in the face.

Initially, the man's injuries were considered minor, but his condition worsened after his arrival at a local hospital. He is in critical condition as of Tuesday with severe head injuries. The incident in question occurred on Saturday and the 17-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault.

It's usually my default position that all kids should be allowed to participate in sports. The alleged behavior of the young man in question goes beyond the pale, though. His being on a team with other impressionable teenagers sends the wrong message.

The sports environment has to be as safe as possible - for the kids, coaches, officials and fans. Let's hope the referee recovers and the young man gets the help he needs.

Read More

Brigade Night in America

Finally! Big Sol has come back...

Read More

Division I athlete shortens career to save a life

University of New Hampshire senior Cameron Lyle will donate bone marrow on Wednesday to a 28-year-old stranger who is suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Doctors have informed Lyle that the man has about six months to live without the transplant.

Lyle, 21, is a shot-putter at New Hampshire and was training to compete in the America East Conference championships next month. He will forego this opportunity for something far more important. It didn't start out that way, though. Lyle was no different than thousands of other college students across the country.

Health drives are held on campuses all the time. When Lyle was screened in the school cafeteria two years ago, he never thought it would lead to anything significant. That all changed when Lyle received a call earlier this year saying he may be a match for someone. He completed a battery of tests which confirmed him as a match for the would-be recipient.

As the realization set in that his senior season was over, Lyle kept things in the right perspective. "It's just a sport", he told ABC's Good Morning America. "Just because it's Division I college level doesn't make it any more important . Life is more important than that. So, it was pretty easy." Please take a moment to watch the Good Morning America segment below (email subscribers click here).

This story represents pure selflessness. Cameron Lyle is not donating bone marrow to his mom, dad, sister, brother, friend or teammate. He's giving to someone whose name he doesn't even know - someone he may never meet. Lyle gains nothing but the intrinsic reward of knowing that when someone needed him, and only he could help, he did.

Many of us have these opportunities and we choose not to act on them. Maybe yours isn't donating bone marrow. Maybe it's helping a kid with her homework, cutting your elderly neighbor's lawn or volunteering as an assistant coach on a local youth sports team this summer. Lyle's story may make you cry. I hope it also makes you think. How can we use our abilities - athletic and otherwise - to help someone else?

Read More

Parent shooting incident ends Little League season

The North Vallejo (Calif.) Little League season is over. I know. Spring has just begun. There's no way baseball is over. Well, it is for over 200 kids. Earlier this week, two parents who have kids on a tee ball team of five and six-year-olds were involved in altercation when one parent fired a gun at the other.

There is no need to go into a long diatribe about this situation. It speaks to the fact that adults can and do ruin sports experiences for kids. Watch the KGO-TV story below (email subscribers click here). Kids pay the price when adults are irresponsible.

Read More

Obama hosts local good sports

The Sportsmanship Brigade made its first trip to Barack Obama Elementary in North St. Louis County on Friday afternoon. It was also our first chance to see the kids in the America SCORES St. Louis program this spring soccer season. Obama entertained Walbridge Elementary in two games featuring third through sixth graders. The girls played the first contest with the boys taking the field after.

Both games were fun to watch and the kids had a blast. However, the actions of the Walbridge girls on the sidelines during the second game caught our attention. These young ladies gathered in a tight huddle about five minutes in. They broke with a handclap indicative of a team about to take the field. Instead, they became an organized cheering squad for the boys. The girls yelled, clapped and danced the entire second game.

No one told them to do this. They could have just ignored the boys and talked among themselves. We were impressed by their conscious show of solidarity with the boys. The Brigade turns into a bunch of softies when it comes to team unity. We couldn't help ourselves. Pizza for everyone! As for the title of this post, I couldn't help it.

The Sportsmanship Brigade is a group of Sports Commission volunteers who attend youth sporting events looking for acts of good sportsmanship. Athletes, coaches, parents, fans and officials who exhibit good sportsmanship are rewarded with a certificate of recognition and a gift card to a local business. For more on the Brigade, including scheduling and volunteering information, please visit sportsmanship.org or call 314-345-5130.

Read More

#BostonStrong: An emotional tribute to Beantown

The terrorist bombing of the Boston Marathon earlier this week has affected us all in some way or another. Stories of profound loss have saddened us. The reality that there are people in the world who would do such a thing frightens us. Sports, however, unite us. Sports have a lasting place in American society because they are a microcosm of who we are as a people.

They have a calming affect. Sports feel normal. When the games restarted after September 11, 2001, we began taking baby steps toward what would become a new normal. The same is taking place in Boston this week. On Wednesday night, the Boston Bruins hosted the Buffalo Sabres in the first major sporting event in the city since the terrorist attack.

In an emotional pre-game ceremony, Boston showed strength, unity, resolve, compassion and the first signs of healing. Frank Viverito, president of the St. Louis Sports Commission (and my boss), often says that sports are important because they bring people together. Frank's certainly right this time. Please have a look at the Boston-Buffalo pre-game ceremony below (email subscribers click  here).

And a special thanks to my good friend, Maria for sharing this video with me.

Read More

Kid hits buzzer beater from mid-court, both teams celebrate

Professional teams often allow youth teams to scrimmage against one another at halftime during regular season games. Such was the case earlier this month when the Toronto Raptors hosted the Washington Wizards at the Air Canada Centre. A consistent theme of this blog is that the essence of youth sports is fun. I'll repeat it. Kids play sports to have fun.

If you don't believe me, have a look at the end of the youth scrimmage below (email subscribers click here).



Both teams are celebrating with the kid who made the shot. These are 11 and 12-year-old kids and their natural impulse was to celebrate with the opponent. I wish I could say these kids have some advanced understanding of respect and civility. That may or may not be true. What is true is the fact that a kid just like them made a half-court buzzer beater on an NBA court.

You can't beat that type of sports experience with a stick! All of the kids will remember this moment forever. They'll be telling their kids and grand kids about it. Some may even insert themselves into the role of the shooter. Nevertheless, this is what youth sports is all about. This is the kind of experience we should strive to create for our kids everyday. While we may not have an NBA arena for them to play in, we can certainly treat them like all-stars.

Read More

Who drew baseball's color line?

Sixty-six years ago today, Jackie Robinson officially broke baseball's color line when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era. Please take note of the term 'modern era.' Robinson was not the first African-American to play Major League Baseball.

As a matter of fact, there were two before Robinson and they were brothers - literally. Moses Fleetwood "Fleet" Walker played for the Toledo Blue Stockings from 1883-1884. His brother, Weldy, also played for the Blue Stockings in 1884 as a mid-season call up. The Blue Stockings folded at the end of the 1884 season and both men went to the minor leagues.

Enter Cap Anson. Adrian Constantine "Cap" Anson is one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history. He played first base for three teams in the late 19th century. It has been 115 years since Anson played his last game, but he remains 20th on the all-time hits list with 3,081 and 11th all-time in RBI with 2,076. He was also a lifetime .334 hitter. Anson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

Unfortunately, Anson was as racist as he was talented. He had at least two documented run-ins with Fleet Walker and his brother, Weldy. On August 10, 1883, Anson refused to take the field when his Chicago White Stockings were set to play Toledo because he did not want to play against an African-American. Walker was the only one on the team.

Another incident occurred in 1884. Anson again refused to play against Toledo. He was beside himself because the Blue Sockings had two African-Americans this time as Weldy Walker had joined the team. Anson was quoted as saying he would not play with "chocolate-covered coons." Anson's intolerance did not stop there. In 1887, he refused to play in an exhibition game against the Newark Little Giants because they had an African-American starting pitcher.

Soon after, Major League Baseball owners entered into a "gentlemen's agreement" to not sign any black players. Make no mistake. The color line was meant to be drawn in black permanent marker - with an emphasis on black. The color line was aimed directly at African-Americans. Native Americans and Hispanics met with comparatively little resistance and several of them played during the time blacks were banned.

Anson's influence was no different than that of current players. Management often acquiesces to the wishes of star players and guys like Cap Anson carried a lot of weight. It's important to remember what happened then so it never happens again. This post is dedicated to Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby and their contemporaries. It is also dedicated to Fleet and Weldy Walker, George Stovey, Jimmy Claxton and Charlie Grant.

These men were either fired from their teams outright for being black or they had to endure masquerading as another race until they were eventually discovered.  Grant even changed his name to Charlie Tokohama. His secret got out when a bunch of his black friends came to watch his tryout with the Baltimore Orioles. What would have happened if men like Anson had used their celebrity and influence to draw people in rather than keep them out?

That's a good question for us today. Everyone has gifts. Are we using those gifts to help others? Are we building people up or tearing them down? Baseball no longer has a color line because of Jackie Robinson and all the people who helped him cross it. Life has many other lines, though. Who are you helping to push across?

Read More

Assumption vs. St. Ann for the Sportsmanship Championship

It's a rare occurrence when two teams of great character and great skill meet for a championship on any level. On Sunday, April 14 at 1:30 p.m. inside the beautiful Danis Field House on the campus of St. Louis University High School, Assumption-O'Fallon will play St. Ann-Normandy for the CYC Intermediate (8th grade) Closed Division Championship.

For those who are unaware, the Closed Division of CYC means the kids on a particular team can only play for that team during the season. This will be the ultimate matchup. Respect meets Civility. Sportsmanship meets Character. Fair Play will go one-on-one with Integrity. Ladies and gentlemen, we have the Irresistible Force vs. the Immovable Object!

The Sportsmanship Brigade had the opportunity to see both of these stellar teams on their way to this weekend's title game. We witnessed Assumption-O'Fallon win impressively over Sacred Heart-Florissant last Saturday. The crowd was very much pro-Sacred Heart and Assumption only dressed five players. Even with the numbers and crowd against them, the boys showed maturity beyond their years.

They helped opposing players up after tough plays. One Assumption player gave a Sacred Heart kid a pat on the back in comfort when a controversial call when against the Florissant team. We couldn't find just one deserving player. So, we recognized all five.

Brigade members with the Assumption team

St. Ann-Normandy met the formidable St, Mark on Wednesday night and before severe storms hit the St. Louis area, these teams nearly shot the lights out - combining for 105 points in only 28 minutes of regulation. Although St. Ann played hard, dove for loose balls and dribbled through a tough St. Mark defense, the young men never lost their composure.

St. Mark came back from a 12-point third quarter deficit to take the lead late in the fourth. Naton Smith of St. Ann would not let his team fold its tent, though. Smith rallied the troops with his play and his encouragement. Strength of will doesn't show up on a stat sheet, but everyone could feel Smith's presence as St. Ann held on for the victory. It's appropriate that Smith's teammates rallied around him for this photo as they did during the game.

Smith (center) and his teammates are on-point

No matter who you root for, these kids represent what youth sports are all about. If you have a chance to see the game, check it out. Admission is free and and seeing two teams of young people doing the right thing is priceless.

The Sportsmanship Brigade is a group of Sports Commission volunteers who attend youth sporting events looking for acts of good sportsmanship. Athletes, coaches, parents, fans and officials who exhibit good sportsmanship are rewarded with a certificate of recognition and a gift card to a local business. For more on the Brigade, including scheduling and volunteering information, please visit sportsmanship.org or call 314-345-5130.

Read More

Why don't youth hitters ever charge the mound?

In my job with the Sportsmanship Initiative, I get to see a lot of youth baseball. Kids have varying skill sets. Some field better than others. Some hit better than others. Some have really strong arms, while others would do better if they played right field with the help of a t-shirt cannon. However, there is one characteristic of youth baseball that's almost universally true: Kids are not very good pitchers.

The ball is literally all over the place. Youth batters need the athleticism of an Olympic gymnast to avoid some of this stuff. St. Louis Cardinals fans will remember this not-so fondly, but think of Rick Ankiel in the 2000 MLB Playoffs and you've got a pretty good picture of youth pitching. Walks are issued by the truckload and the batters are as dirty as Pig Pen from Peanuts fame before leaving the batter's box.

Youth batters get hit all the time and you know what I've never seen - a kid charge the mound to fight another kid. I'm sure it's happened somewhere, but the truth is that kids are so much better behaved than their professional counterparts. In the sixth inning of a game on Thursday night between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke hit Padres slugger Carlos Quentin on the shoulder on a 3-2 pitch.

Quentin gave Greinke the thousand-yard stare, took a few steps toward the mound and this happened (email subscribers click here):



Greinke suffered a broken collarbone in the scuffle and a lot of people are clamoring for Quuentin to be punished. He should be. Charging the mound is one of the most reckless and dangerous things a baseball player can do. Nothing is gained from fighting the pitcher. MLB should take a page from the NBA on this one and suspend players for even taking steps toward the mound. If a player charges the mound after being hit by a pitch, he should receive a 40-game suspension. Missing a quarter of the season would prompt hitters to take their base as the umpire instructs.

I know there are pitchers who throw at hitters intentionally, but that still doesn't give the hitter the right to step outside of his role and mete out his own punishment. Baseball has been known as America's Pastime. Well, it's past time for the sport to clean up its act concerning charging the mound. A good start would be to use kids as role models.

Read More

John Mitchell: The Freshman Professional

John Mitchell is a 14-year-old basketball coach and a pretty good one at that. The Sportsmanship Brigade dropped in to watch Mitchell's Herbert Hoover club team play the Arch Ryvals in a 7th grade boys basketball matchup last Friday night. Now, Mitchell is 14 and the players on his team are 12 and 13. At first, it was hard to determine who was in charge of the Herbert Hoover squad.

Someone was providing instructions and making substitutions, but he didn't look any older than any of the other kids. One of the parents in the crowd said, "I think a kid is coaching them." Sure enough, Mitchell was doing the job of someone many years his senior. The Arch Ryvals are a team that includes many select-level players and the Herbet Hoover team was overmatched early on.

Even as the score became more and more lopsided, Coach Mitchell's demeanor never changed. He did not yell at his players or appear frustrated. He encouraged his players and continued to give them sound instruction regardless of the mounting deficit. To borrow from ESPN's Stuart Scott, John Mitchell was as cool as the other side of the pillow.

We approached him and asked how he came to coach a team of kids basically his own age. Mitchell said, "Well, my uncle is the coach, but he couldn't make it. He asked me to fill in for him." I found out later that trusting Mitchell with a team of his peers was not as risky as one might think.

The sports director at the Herbert Hoover club is very high on Mitchell and sang his praises. According to the director, Mitchell coaches in the Pee Wee league, referees, helps maintain the facility and even works concessions - all on a volunteer basis. The Sportsmanship Brigade was impressed with the Herbert Hoover team as well as the Arch Ryvals.

The Arch Ryvals showed respect for their opponents and behaved like champions. They did not taunt nor insult the Herbert Hoover team. This takes a great deal of discipline and humility on any level. Kudos are also in order for the players on the Herbert Hoover team. Following the leadership of a peer is tough enough when you're an adult -  let alone in middle school.

Brigade members were very proud of these kids and decided to reward both teams for their collective show of sportsmanship and respect. One more word about humility - see if you can find John Mitchell is this picture. We tried to get him to take a more obvious coaching position, but he kept fading into the background. C'est la vie!

The Sportsmanship Brigade is a group of Sports Commission volunteers who attend youth sporting events looking for acts of good sportsmanship. Athletes, coaches, parents, fans and officials who exhibit good sportsmanship are rewarded with a certificate of recognition and a gift card to a local business. For more on the Brigade, including scheduling and volunteering information, please visit sportsmanship.org or call 314-345-5130.

Read More

The greatest 10-9 game ever played

On a Friday evening in late March, while most of our tournament brackets were disintegrating, something great happened. No, you wouldn't have seen it - only about 40 or so people did - including the Sportsmanship Brigade. You probably wouldn't have heard about it either because it involved two 5th grade girls basketball teams from St. Charles County.

The end of March means the end of the youth basketball regular season. Everybody's finishing up their schedules and getting ready for the playoffs or the beginning of baseball and softball. Hardly anyone expects a late-season youth basketball game to be any good. Oh contraire, mon frere. The game played on March 22, 2013 between St. Joseph-Cottleville and St. Peter was the greatest 10-9 game ever played.

St. Peter built an 8-3 lead through three quarters. St. Joseph played good defense, but couldn't get very many shots to fall. Coach Dan Stretch of St. Peter had only five players. So, he used his timeouts for strategic adjustments and well-timed breaks for his girls. He could be heard telling the girls they would need one more basket.

Coach Stretch was right. St. Joseph's consistent rotation always kept a fresh group of kids on the floor and the numbers game was catching up to St. Peter. They're only 10 and they were tired. Their little legs were starting to wobble after 45 minutes of full-court play. Shots started to fall for St. Joseph and what seemed to be a comfortable St. Peter lead started to fade.

St. Joseph closed the gap to 8-7 with a little over a minute to go. That's when St. Peter followed coach's orders and hit one more layup making the score 10-7. A three-point lead with about a minute left usually means dad can warm up the car at a youth basketball game. Not this one, though. It ain't over until the fat lady sings and St. Joseph seemed to have a muzzle and some duct tape.

The St. Joseph girls responded with a layup of their own and closed the deficit to 10-9 with 15 seconds to go. St. Peter turned the ball over on the inbound and St. Joseph called a quick timeout. There was time for one last play. Ball gets in. A St. Joseph player takes the shot with a St. Peter defender in her face...and misses wide to the left!

Game over. St. Peter wins. No one loses. The girls on both teams had a great time. Every girl played in this epic contest and the quality of play had every adult focused on the kids. The Brigade was in place to recognize someone and we could have very well recognized everyone. However, the evening's honor went to Coach Stretch of St. Peter.

His team played with great discipline, heart and respect. They didn't complain about being short-handed. They didn't complain about being tired. They were even smiling on the last play of the game. What a ride! What a season! Congratulations to St. Joseph and St. Peter on a fantastic game and good luck to all in the future.

Brigade member Donovan Lucas with Coach Stretch

The Sportsmanship Brigade is a group of Sports Commission volunteers who attend youth sporting events looking for acts of good sportsmanship. Athletes, coaches, parents, fans and officials who exhibit good sportsmanship are rewarded with a certificate of recognition and a gift card to a local business. For more on the Brigade, including scheduling and volunteering information, please visit sportsmanship.org or call 314-345-5130.

Read More

Heads continue to roll at Rutgers: Pernetti out as AD

Rutgers University athletic director Tim Pernetti has resigned. This comes in the wake of a growing scandal involving the physical and verbal abuse of players by former head men's basketball coach Mike Rice - who was fired on Wednesday.

Pressure mounted against Pernetti as more than 50 faculty members signed a letter this week calling for his ouster. Additionally, assistant coach Jimmy Martelli resigned on Thursday as he too was implicated in the poor treatment of players.

Staff changes may not be over as attention now turns to university president Robert Barchi and his handling of Rice's original discipline when the school found out about the abuse of players last December. New Jersey state lawmakers and Gov. Chris Christie have offered less-than-positive commentary thus far. Updates on this developing story will continue.

Read More

Chipper Jones offers dissenting view of Rutgers situation

Former Atlanta Braves infielder Chipper Jones posted his opinion of the Rutgers men's basketball situation on Wednesday via Twitter. Jones' stance is notable because he is certainly the highest profile athlete or coach of any kind with a different view of what happened between Mike Rice and his players. Rice was fired Wednesday by the university after videotaped evidence showing him verbally and physically abusing players during practices went public.

 Here are the tweets Jones sent out:

I got cursed at and called names by a ton of people growing up. Were they fired? Nope! Do I care? Nope! What's the big deal? Toughen up!
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) April 3, 2013

Yeah, been hit w/ bball equipment on purpose, been dragged around a football field by my facemask and ran suicides til I puked! I ain't mad.
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) April 3, 2013

Jones is certainly entitled to his opinion, but he is wrong and his stance is not helpful to kids. I'll address his tweets directly. Being cursed at and called names did not make him a better athlete. Talking to a young man that way did not help him make it to the major leagues.

Yes, those who cursed him should have been fired. The big deal is that Chipper Jones and the Rutgers players are human beings and should be treated as such.  Being able to absorb multiple curse words in a single bound is not a superpower. It's not a sign of toughness.

People curse when they have nothing constructive left to say. Coaches who curse have run out of things to teach. Being hit with baseball equipment doesn't make a kid better. If that's the case, I might be in the major leagues. I've been hit in the head with more fastballs than Charlie Brown. Ugh!

No kid should be dragged around the football field by his facemask. Does that make him a better blocker or tackler? Does it make him catch more balls or run better routes? Steve Nicollerat, the lead instructor for our Coach It Right! Baseball Clinic and Missouri Baseball Hall of Fame coach often says, "Coaches always have to know why they are doing something. And if the reason doesn't make kids better, stop it."

If your kids are running suicides until they puke, stop it! If you aren't making your kids better student-athletes, stop whatever it is you are doing. We have to fundamentally change the way we view coaching and the role of coaches. Despite the metaphors, sports are not the military. Coaches are not drill sergeants and kids are not soldiers.

As a matter of fact, even the military has changed over time. My brother-in-law is a Marine and we were watching the movie Full Metal Jacket one day. It's about a platoon of U.S. Marines being trained to fight in the Vietnam War. The drill sergeant is one of the most foul-mouthed, abusive and uncaring individuals I have ever seen on-screen or in real-life.

When he wasn't using profanity toward his recruits, he gave them effeminate or emasculating nicknames to break them down even further. My brother-in-law served in the Gulf War, the Iraq War and in Afghanistan. He told me drill sergeants are not allowed to talk to soldiers that way anymore.

He said they can receive a court-martial (military criminal charges) if they do. Our military's not weaker because of it and there's no reason to think our kids will be weaker if we treat them with respect. Go to sportsmanship.org and get involved. We can change youth sports - one organization at a time.

Read More

Former Rutgers coach reacts to firing

Reporters caught up with former Rutgers men's head basketball coach Mike Rice just hours after his firing. Watch the interview below (email subscribers click here).

Read More

Rutgers fires Mike Rice

ESPN is reporting that Rutgers University has fired head men's basketball coach Mike Rice. The firing comes on the heels of a video being released yesterday which depicts Rice verbally and physically abusing players. Please read yesterday's post about the situation by clicking here. Further updates will be available as this story develops.

Read More

Boiling Rice at Rutgers

While the title of this post is a play on words and may even be a bit cheesy, there's nothing funny about the behavior of Rutgers University head men's basketball coach Mike Rice. Fiery coaches are nothing new in sports. Some coaches get in players' faces. Others implement tough drills. Even the language is somewhat different. It's not optimal, but we all know it happens at the collegiate level and beyond.

However, Rice's behavior is over the top. He was suspended for three games and fined $50,000 last December for "inappropriate language and behavior" as cited by the university. ESPN's "Outside the Lines" recently obtained the video evidence of Rice's conduct which lead to his suspension. Please watch the ESPN report below (email subscribers click here). Warning: While ESPN does an adequate job of cleaning up the language, this video still contains material you and your family may find objectionable or offensive. Viewer discretion is advised.


This kind of behavior is not acceptable on any level. No one trusts their son to a coach for him to be treated that way. Grabbing, kicking and throwing basketballs would not be tolerated from a three-year-old and should not be tolerated from a collegiate coach. You can be a tough coach without being abusive. You can be competitive without being condescending. You can win without behaving like a loser.

The Sportsmanship Initiative and Coaching Coaches, LLC can help you make sure that your kids have the best experience possible. Make sure the people who work with your kids know who they're coaching and why they're coaching. For more information on our training program, please call 314-345-5130 or email me at salexander@stlsports.org.Our kids deserve better. It's time for us to do better.

Read More