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Big play not reported

After 27 years in higher education, 16 of them as a college president dealing daily with public information media, I can vouch for the old saying, “You can never win a [squirt] fight with a skunk, and you can never get the last word with a public media person.” Still, I also strongly believe in the quotation, “The only way wrong can survive is for good people to do nothing.” I thus pen this letter of comment.

Some three years ago when Belfast High School was (as it usually is) in the running for the state swimming championship, your sportswriter wrote a rather condemnatory comment about the two boys contributing to the failure of the Belfast team to win the state meet. No comment to the point that at least one of the two had given up a sure gold medal to help the team. I considered then and consider now that the writer was about as sensitive as a dead frog. These are high school kids, no pros and not even college athletes.

Recently, another young Belfast student was hurt, this time by an omission. He has backed up his teammates in basketball all season. In a recent game with Maine Central Institute, in the overtime he went in to guard a young MCI player who was far taller than he and who had proven to be a good outside shooter. At the buzzer, the young Belfast player blocked the last shot of the MCI player. To say the least we are all proud of him.

No he did not score any points and had no fouls. Others on the team were in the same situation. He was unique, though, in that his name did not even appear in the summary of the game write-up. If this was because his coach left him off the called-in report, forgive me for having some ill thoughts concerning your sportswriters. I do have past justification for such. If the omission was the doing of your people, know that you wronged a young man who has stuck in the season and you have made any number of Belfast locals unhappy.

Charles L. Tyler

Belfast

No sports on Sunday

I read with interest the letter written by Donna Gilbert of Dixfield titled “God before sports” and I agree with her wholeheartedly.

The church I attend, Holden Congregational UCC, submitted a resolution to reclaim Sunday mornings to the Maine Conference, United Church of Christ, this past year due to similar problems that Donna writes about.

It is the fervent prayer, of many folks, that through writings such as these and with the support of parents we will be able to reclaim Sunday mornings as a time for Christian worship, spiritual renewal and religious education for families and children.

Donna is indeed correct, we do need to set our priorities for children, youth and adults. In my opinion, there is enough time to do all activities, if we really want to work at it.

Donna C. Hall

Holden

Keep ‘A’ games quiet

Can you explain to me why the Class A basketball games have to have a person on a microphone blaring every foul, etc. We are there watching the game and can see the scoreboard.

Classes B, C, and D must have higher education, their audiences can figure everything out without that blaring voice on a microphone.

Catherine Wallace

Bangor

Jumbled Jargon

I really enjoy listening to high school and college basketball games on the radio. I can’t get to many games these days so I appreciate being able to hear them on either WZON or WABI.

But I’m getting more and more confused by all the new jargon that’s been added to the play-by-play announcer’s lexicon. Certain old standbys such as “charity stripe,” “in the paint” and “off the glass” aren’t all that bothersome, but now we hear “drain,” “count it – and one,” “weak side rebound,” and now, “help side.”

Who’s staying up nights to create all these euphemisms anyone. (Maybe it’s Dick Vitale?) and how about “step up,” “get a good look” and “touch?” With all these buzz words, your average postgame interview with either player or coach goes something like this:

“Yeah, we had some real good looks and I’m proud of the way some of our guys stepped up to take care of business, but they (the other team) kept hanging around and all we wanted was to keep “so-and-so” from touching the basketball.”

Huh?

The BASKET-ball? Excuse me Mr. (or Ms.) play-by-play person, I think we all know what kind of ball they’re playing with and what the name of the game is, but you keep reminding us that the BASKET-ball went out of bounds or someone stole the BASKET-ball in the last 10 seconds of the BASKET-ball game! Please!!

Just call it “the ball” and we’ll understand. (Next thing we know, we’ll be singing: “Take me out to the BASE-ball game.”

Hal Wheeler

Bangor

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