FanSpeak 1/5/02

Questionable selections

I WOULD like to comment on the all-tournament team from the Christmas tournament. I think the team should consist of players who show good sportsmanship and are good role models. This year's team consisted of players who tried to fight with other players during games and some who did not get to play because of disciplinary reasons. What kind of examples are they setting?

Think before you yell

ENOUGH ABOUT the mothers. How about those dads? I go to a few games a year, and one thing I've noticed in every gym is that there is at least one dad whose son can't hit the basket, yet these dads always yell "Shoot it! Shoot it! Shoot it!" The kid shoots it and misses time after time. Is that team play? Listen next time you go to a game and see what I mean.

Let the coach coach

I'M A coach talking to the "fans." I know you think you can do a better job with your kids than I can. However, please refrain from leaving messages in my locker room. My advice to you is to go back to school, get your coaching degree, then come and apply. I'm sure the school board will hire you.

Hitting a wall

AFTER WATCHING the Christmas tournament, it seems to me that when faced with competition, the guys that can't miss when beating up on weaker teams turn cold and frustrated when the game gets a little tough.

Brains over brawn

THE WOODLAND Tournament has started naming an academic team along with the all-tournament team. How about the Cape tournament doing this? Which do you think is more important, grades or first place trophies?

Make the change

I WENT to the Christmas tournament for two nights and enjoyed it, but I also heard talk about the format. People are tired of the blowouts. They should consider a 32-team tournament like the one in Springfield. They get big crowds, and if our tournament doesn't want to lose fans, they should start listening to them.

Officials blew it

I THOUGHT high school sports were supposed to be about fair play and sportsmanship. If you saw the Notre Dame-Bell City game, you know that's not the case. The referees were horrible, to say the least. I felt so bad for the kids who work so hard to get to these games and then get it all taken away from them by a referee.

Three's better than two

AS A follower of high school sports, I'd like to make a few observations on the seMissourian Christmas Tournament. I don't know the details of the rift between the Show Me Center and Southeast Missouri Officials Association, but this needs corrected. The teams, players and fans deserve the top basketball officials during the tournament and go back to three-man crews. There are reasonable ways to change the format. This should be considered.

Blowing the whistle

I AM a true basketball fan, but after watching the game between Bell City and Notre Dame it almost turned my stomach to watch the refs. Just because you're from a small school you should still be treated with respect. One of the refs made a remark to one of the players, and that's not right. What's happening to the people who are supposed to be our leaders?

Want to make your voice heard? Write to Southeast Missourian, FanSpeak, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702, or e-mail sports@semissourian.com, or fax to (573) 334-7288. "FanSpeak" appears each Sunday.