NFL allows Canadian Team to participate in USA Nationals-creates controversy
Posted on | November 28, 2008 | 1 Comment
WHats the purpose of hosting a national tournament if you allow other countries to participate? whats the world championships for? OK, so the USA is supposed to be the best and no other country will ever beat, yada dadada etc.. But what if a canadian team wins our national tournament? it almost happened in orlando at the NFL youth Flag Football Nationals. What do you think? should this be allowed?
Hamilton’s Buffalo Bills finished second in the girls’ 12 to 14 years old bracket of the National Football League Flag National Tournament of Champions.
Coming through preliminary round play at Disney’s sports complex in Orlando, Florida, undefeated after five games - including three shutouts - the Bills fell 14-7 to the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday (Nov. 22). Not only was it the first time the Buffalo Bills entered a team into this tournament, it was the first time a Canadian squad represented a Regional Team. Members of the 5-on-5 Hamilton team were Jaclyn Carbone, Faith Gallant, Breanna McIntyre, Julia Monaco, Andrea Petrina, Breanne Stramenga, Breanna Tilban, and coaches Vincent Carbone and Matty Hill.
In the championship game, Hamilton took a 7-0 lead scoring with15 seconds left in the first half. The Cowboys, from Cedar Park outside of Austin, Texas, tied the game with 7:38 to go in the second half. On their next possession, after intercepting a pass, the Cowboys scored the winning touchdown with 4:10 seconds to play.
The Cowboys ended Hamilton’s hopes of tying the game when they intercepted again.
Leading to the championship game Hamilton beat the Washington Redskins 13-0, Oakland Raiders, 20-0; Chicago Bears 27-26 in overtime; New England Patriots 19-0; and New York Jets 20-13 in OT.
Teams from three age division - 9 to 11 co-ed, 12 to 14 boys and 12 to 14 girls - who won their NFL FLAG Regional events participated in the Champions Tournament. Twelve regions were represented: Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams, NY Jets, Chicago Bears, Buffalo (Hamilton) Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, San Diego Chargers, New England Patriots, Washington Redskins, and Arizona Cardinals.
High School-Swampscott vs Marblehead-Girls wear helmets?
Posted on | November 28, 2008 | No Comments
This past Saturday, my wife and I joined several hundred other true-blue (in so many ways) parents at the annual powderpuff flag football contest between Swampscott High School and Marblehead High School. It supported a worthy cause and continued a terrific tradition, and we were more than happy to sacrifice a few toes.
But idiots continue to prevail in taking a harmless bit of nostalgia totally missing the point. Examples:
· A number of girls wore helmets, apparently to protect them from further head injury, since these girls had recently received concussions in practice. Did it not occur to the geniuses in charge (not to mention the parents of the kids involved) that perhaps it would be wiser to have these players sit this one out? (Of course then they would not be spotted by the national powderpuff league scouts, so perhaps the danger of permanent brain injury was worth it).
· Despite encouraging all senior girls to participate and attend after-school practices, the coaches saw fit to play only a small number of girls, leaving the vast majority of the players to stand around on the sidelines, getting no game time whatsoever. (Again, since so many potential athletic scholarships were at stake, perhaps this is understandable.)
I heard a few comments that the refs were clearly biased. Given the importance of the game and the huge compensatory benefits involved, this notion is totally credible and warrants further review by the media.
Have people totally lost touch with reality? Can’t something as innocent as a girls flag football game be conducted with a sense of humor and perspective? Let’s treasure our kids and the fun they can have and not reduce everything to shortsighted pettiness.
Jim Low
Atlantic Road
