Letters to the Editor
J T
Published Letters: 249 Editor's Choice: 24
-
Overshadowed by the death penalty
[Read the article: The politics of injustice]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It seems to me that the cases that are the most troublesome are those people convicted on weak or contridictory evidence. As it is likely that the Fowlkes conviction would've been much more carefully reviewed if he had been assigned the death penalty, other cases that were decided on questionable evidence seem to suffer a simiar fate.
In cases with questionable evidence, courts seem reluctant to give the death penalty, which has the unintended effect of dropping the profile of the case and therefore the likelyhood that the case and evidence will undergo a thorough review. A similar case in Illinois would be the Alan Beaman case, which wasn't covered by Gov. Ryan's mass commutation, where a conviction that relied on shaky circumstantial evidence is still looking for a court to review the case.
-
ESPN premium content
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've been reading Easterbrook's TMQ column for a handful of years now, and he's pretty much worn me out. He has had some interesting ideas, but after reading him for a season, you pretty much know his main points, then it's just example after example of how those points are correct. After a few seasons, you'll be watching a game, see one of his pet peeves happen, and be able recite how it'll appear in next week's column.
I may keep reading out of habit, but if I'm lucky ESPN will help me break this habit by putting his column behind in their ESPN Insider section. They've been moving more and more columnists there over the last few years, and while I enjoy reading them, I just can't bring myself to pay for them. There are about 4 columnists there that I no longer read for just this reason.
-
Already covered by Salon
[Read the article: Going long for Jesus]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I remember this topic already being covered in Salon, and after much searching I found the "Tom the Dancing Bug" comic from 9-28-2000 that tackles the absurdity of religion in sports.
http://archive.salon.com/comics/boll/2000/09/28/boll/index.html
That comic, and this article remind me of being a little used player on a public high school football team in the late 80's. Prior to each game the coach would gather the whole team under one goalpost to have us all kneel down while he prayed for our best effort, that no one would be injured in the upcoming game, and that we could achieve victory. I always found the last part of the prayer odd, since I was pretty sure that the other team was doing exactly the same thing under the other goalpost.
Apparently my skepticism was not enough to stop us from winning almost all of our games, including the game against the Catholic high school in town. I figured they'd be much better trained prayers than we were. Maybe my limited playing time offset my doubts.
I wasn't exactly clear on what the point of this article was. I got that sometimes Christianity in sports can cause divisions and bitterness between fans, players, and others involved. Sometimes it can bring people together as a shared belief system, a common ground between people. It sounds exactly like the rest of society in that regard.
-
ghost investigation
[Read the article: The Pentagon's ghost investigation]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm sure that a perfectly comprehensive ghost investigation has already taken place, and those found responsible have already suffered their ghost punishment.
Really, with the transparency levels we've had thus far with this administration, I'd expect no less.
-
Offside
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm not sure I like the Offside rule or not, but I do think it's interesting how that this rule results in the offensive team being penalized for the defensive team not guarding their own goal. I'm trying to think of any other sport that has a rule like this, but I can't come up with one.
-
Another sport...
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]David from Raleigh wrote...
"Let's see, what sport can we think of where the offense can't run behind the defense until the play starts. Hmmm, I'm thinking, I'm thinking...nope, drawing a blank, there's no other sport like that...OH YEAH EXCEPT FOOTBALL!!! :D
Think of it that way...Steve Smith can't take off until the play starts. In soccer, every pass is a new "play." The "line of scrimmage" is the 2nd to last defender (which, when you count the keeper, means 1 field player.)"
I was trying to think of a sport where a team is penalized for the other team not defending their own goal, not one where a player can't run behind the defense until a "play" starts. A comparable play in football would be one where Steve Smith takes off on his fly route once the ball is snapped (a live ball, like that in soccer), Ronde Barber and the other Tampa Bay defensive backs let him go by , all stepping up for some reason or another (maybe it's a big blitz). Then the pass is thrown to Smith, who catches it and goes unobstructed to the endzone. In this case, is Carolina flagged for a penalty because Tampa Bay was not guarding their own goal? No, it's a touchdown for Carolina, even though he was behind all the defenders before the pass to him was let go.
Your comparison to American football only really comparable to the kickoff in a soccer match, where the ball is placed at the midfield line, and neither team can cross that line until the ball is put into play.
Other sports with offsides type rules tend to use a marked area on the field of play for enforcement:
- Hockey - Can't pass the blue line until the puck goes in
- Water Polo - Can't advance past 2m from goal until ball goes in
- Handball - No player other than goal keeper in goal area
In other sports, if the defenders let an offensive player between them in the goal, it's generally considered a poor tactic on the part of the defense, not a penalty on the team trying to score.