By DENNIS CALLAHAN
For The Capital What do Peyton Manning and the coaches of the Arundel High girls' basketball
team have in common? Absolutely nothing! The most disgusting act of poor sportsmanship is to purposely humiliate an
opponent. Against the Ravens, Payton Manning not only had a chance to score another
touchdown for his team, but he could have broken a passing record for
touchdowns that many believed had been unattainable. Instead - out of
respect for his opponent and because it is simply the ``right'' thing to do,
he knelt down for three plays on the six-yard line and ended the game. Some
fans booed this act of good sportsmanship, wanting Manning to run up the
score and break the record - the Arundel coaches must have been in the
crowd. Last year the Arundel girls team beat a team from Baltimore 103-5. How
despicable! What did this accomplish for their team? Of all sports, scoring
in basketball is the easiest in which to control. Once the game is in hand-
you call off the press and put your defense inside the three-point line. You
don't allow any fast breaks and, finally, you make all five players on the
floor touch the ball before each shot. I called the assistant principal in charge of athletics at Arundel last year
to express my dismay and concern for the 103-5 score. She asked me who
scored the points. I read her the boxscore and she promptly stated that
several of the players could have scored more. Obviously, one of us doesn't
get it. Anne Arundel County is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Recreation and Parks
Sports Alliance. We represent every city and county in Maryland, Washington
and Northern Virginia. Our mission is ``to develop and communicate a
consistent message that organizations and their players, coaches and
spectators will be held accountable to a code of conduct that promotes
sportsmanship and keeps recreational competitive and non-competitive
sporting activities in proper perspective.'' I have used the Arundel score as an example of poor sportsmanship. Our
members were incredulous that this actually happened. Well, it happened again. Last week, Arundel girls won by the score of
100-21. This is with only eight-minute quarters. The apparent coaching philosophy of the Arundel team goes against everything
we try to teach children in our programs - sportsmanship, participation and
fun - respect for your opponent - winning and losing gracefully. This year, the Mid-Atlantic Recreation and Parks Sports Alliance will be
presenting at the General Assembly the Sportsmanship of the Year Award to
one player and coach from each county and city. We will also be publishing
the top five examples of poor sportsmanship of 2004 - it is safe to say the
number one example of the latter will probably be from Anne Arundel County.
Dennis Callahan is director of the County Parks and Recreation Department
and president of the Mid-Atlantic Recreation and Parks Sports Alliance. Published 01/16/05, Copyright © 2005
The Capital, Annapolis, Md. | 
