Everyone is getting into the business of celebrating the Baltimore Ravens.
My colleague Andrea Walker at Picture of Health reports that Sinai Hospital will give away a $3,000 savings bond to the first baby born after the kick off at the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots.
Good luck to all expected mothers who are due this weekend at the Northwest Baltimore hospital.
Liz Atwood talks about the example parents set for their kids when it comes to sports in this week's Tween Tuesday:
This weekend I watched my 9-year-old son’s soccer team lose (again). I believe they have won just one game all season. They have had several ties and a couple of losses.
I tried to reassure my son that he was not to blame for the loss, even though he was the goalie when a couple of the points were scored. It's always a fine line to walk—supporting your child without disparaging anyone else, encouraging competitiveness but at the same time sportsmanship.
Fortunately, most parents I’ve seen at my sons' sporting events have handled both wins and losses graciously, but that is not always the case. Did you catch the video of a brawl that broke out last after a fifth-grade football game in Wisconsin? Both coaches were fired, as I think they should have been.
We're often quick to judge professional athletes for failing to set good examples for our children (think Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisberger), but we parents shouldn't forget that the example we set is far more important than that of a big-name athlete our kids will never meet.
(The Associated Press)
The NFL season has begun in full force, and I am looking forward to tonight's Jets-Ravens game.
While E. and I enjoy watching football, it's a whole another issue when it comes to letting baby J. play. Football is one sport that E. has declared off-limits for J. if and when he wants to participate in sports.
Injury is an obvious reason. While playing any sport is a risk, E. argues that football, in particular, can be brutal.
Concussions have become a major concern for the NFL recently, while parents and other groups are working to reduce sports-related injuries in general.
Is there other sports that your son or daughter is not allowed to participate in?
Here's the latest installment of Tween Tuesday by Liz Atwood, who muses about summer baseball:
It’s been another disappointing season for Baltimore Orioles fans, with the team spending all summer at the bottom of the league. Attendance is down as well, with an average of just 21,723 fans turning out for each game, according to The Sports Network.
Twice this season, attendance at Camden Yards dropped below 10,000. I’ll have to admit, I’m one of those to blame. I’ve never been a huge sports fan, but I always enjoyed taking in a few baseball games each summer. When my older son was five or six, we took him to his first baseball game and he loved playing when he was younger.
But now summer is almost over and there are just a few more weeks left in the season and we haven’t been to a game this year. In fact, I’m ashamed to say, we’ve never taken our 9-year-old to an Orioles game, although he has been to see the Baysox. Is that heresy?
Is there some kind of punishment meted out to parents for raising a boy in Baltimore without ever taking him to see a baseball game? One reason we haven’t gone is that he isn’t that interested in baseball, preferring instead soccer, basketball and football.
Of course, if we took him to see a game, maybe he would become more interested in the sport. Then again, with the way the season is going, maybe not.
How about you? Are you going to as many games as before with your kids?
Here's Guest Dad Joe Burris on Father's Day Friday:
For years I’ve told folks that my favorite sport is college basketball. Not anymore. I’m proud to say that instead I have discovered the finest, most practical sport ever invented, one that any parent would be senseless not to embrace.
It’s called kids’ soccer!
I could practically genuflect before the inventor of this panacea of outdoor activities.
I took my 4-year-old daughter to her first practice last week, and though she initially did not warm up to the sport, within no time she took to it with passion.
What fueled her excitement? The same reason why parents like me love it.
Kids run!
And they run, and run and run. And then they take water breaks and run some more. They chase after balls that are knee high. They plop on the soft ground and get back up dashing again. They chase after each other. They frolic joyfully even when they fail to kick the ball.
And all the while, they are surrounded by parents who are all but salivating at what all that exercise will lead to:
Have you read about the 17-year-old autistic boy in Chicago who picked the first two rounds perfectly in the topsy-turvy NCAA tournament?
March Madness this year has been filled with upsets, but Alex Hermann picked every game correctly so far, NBCchicago.com reports. (Here's video of a Today report on his picks.) The bracket was entered in a CBSsports.com contest, NBCchicago.com says. But CBSsports.com can't confirm the entry.
Here's the bracket, according to NBCchicago.com.
Some are questioning whether the teenager or his family can prove he really picked the bracket. Deadspin says a perfect score can easily be faked on the CBS bracket manager. This blogger on Guyism has gone so far as to insinuate that this might be the next "balloon boy" hoax.
For the record, Alex picks Purdue to win.
Just in time for spring sports, the National Athletic Trainers' Association has issued guidelines for parents for keeping your young athletes safe as they participate. It's the subject of today's Monday Consult.
Here are the tips:
Continue reading "Tips for keeping youth athletes safe during sports" »
Guest Dad Joe Burris is thinking about 13-year-old quarterback David Sills, who has given a verbal commitment to play football for the University of Southern California -- while still in middle school:
The latest news dominating sports circles involves a 13-year-old quarterback from Delaware who has been offered a football scholarship to the University of Southern California, one of college football’s premier programs.
Seventh grader David Sills has verbally committed to USC (though he can back out of the commitment at any time) after reportedly being offered a scholarship by USC head coach Lane Kiffin, a 34-year-old mentor.
Now, I don’t know how talented Sills is (as an 11-year-old he was hailed as being one of the best prospects ever in a Sports Illustrated piece) or whether that talent or his body will ever blossom into anything worthy of major-college football potential .
And keep in mind, until he signs a letter of intent (which comes much later), he is not legally bound to attend USC.
But at an age when it means so much to be popular among one’s peer groups, this kid must be having the time of his life right now. Even the most modest youngster would struggle keeping his ego in check.
It makes you wonder what frame of mind he’ll be in a couple of years from now -- particularly if he’s a good, even great, quarterback, but not the phenom that would warrant a scholarship offer at 13.
I don’t know who this kid has in his corner advising him against the dark side of major college sports -- be it his parents, guardians, coaches or whomever.
But here’s what I do know: In the 18 years I spent as a sportswriter, I witnessed some of the greatest NFL quarterbacks in history _ including Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Steve McNair. And I don’t recall any of them receiving this much attention as seventh graders. That’s because at that age, none worthy of it. It’s just way too early to know.
Former Ravens kicker Matt Stover -- now with the Indianapolis Colts -- is the subject of a nice piece by our Ken Murray today. In it, Stover talks about his dual life -- kicking for the Colts while still living in the Baltimore area, where he tries to carve out family time with his wife and children who are 14, 13, and 6.
The mention of the 6-year old made me smile, because in 2003, the Stovers were in a childbirth class with us at Greater Baltimore Medical Center.
It was one of those "refresher" courses -- all of us had had at least one child already -- so the class was as much about helping siblings deal with a new arrival as it was about the mechanics of childbirth.
What struck me about the Stovers, and what still strikes me, is how they didn't call attention to themselves. I remember that when we went around the room to talk about ourselves, Stover said something about "not working right now." Well, it wasn't football season, so I guess that was right.
It wasn't until the second or third session of the class that my husband figured out who Stover was. "That's Matt Stover," he whispered urgently to me as we took our seats that day.
Of course, not being a huge football fan, I was clueless. My husband had to explain to me who this was.
"Go get his autograph," I said. (I know. Stupid. Now, I plead pregnant.)
My husband took umbrage at this. "No way," he said. "We're gonna be cool."
So we treated the Stovers like all the other parents in our class, and didn't say a word. Neither, apparently, did anyone else. And then we went our separate ways to give birth to our babies.
So I'm glad for any news about 6-year-old Joe. I'm sure my 6-year-old Sam wishes his dad well on Saturday, even though he's playing for another team.
(Photo by Baltimore Sun photographer Kenneth Lam)
Guest Dad Joe Burris writes about a less-than-shining example for his sports-loving daughter:
When my 12-year-old daughter Nyaniso recently asked permission to play girls ice hockey, she was surprised at how readily I approved. That wasn’t the case among some other parents, she said. Yet while I did have some concerns about the sport’s physical nature, I could see her passion and interest and decided to allow her to give it a try.
“Just remember to protect yourself should you get checked,” I said.
“What does it mean to get checked?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
I’ve thought back to that moment often recently in wake of the controversy surrounding University of New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert, who has been suspended for rough play during a recent tournament game between New Mexico and Brigham Young.
Among Lambert’s most violent actions that day was grabbing an opposing player by the pony tail and pulling her to the ground with a force that could have caused a whiplash.
Taped footage of the incident has drawn millions of hits on video-sharing Web sites, featured on ABC’s Good Morning America and ESPN’s SportsCenter. It has been the talk of chat rooms and message boards everywhere.
One of the concerns I have about coverage of the Lambert incident is that it is by far the most attention given to a women’s team sport in a long, long time. In the absence of it, few of us would know -- and even fewer would care -- about Lambert or either team involved.
And that means that for plenty of young girls interested in playing sports, this might have been the first time they’ve seen women’s soccer in the mainstream media.
Imagine trying to get your son interested in playing baseball, and the first game he watches on television is Game 3 of the 2003 American League Championship Series, where the two teams staged one of Major League Baseball’s ugliest brawls ever.
What Lambert did on the field that day was despicable (she has since apologized) regardless of gender. The same could be said for the recent actions of University of Florida football player Brandon Spikes, who was caught trying to gouge the eyes of an opposing player during Florida’s contest against the University of Georgia.
The difference is that the Spikes incident barely stands out amid the plethora to time devoted to college football. The same goes for the 2003 ALCS with baseball coverage. Lambert’s incident stands alone.
I hope that there are enough girls playing sports -- particularly soccer -- to know that most have a physical side, and that the Lambert incident was an aberration.
They also should know that unless another player allows her emotions to get the best of her, women’s soccer probably won’t garner more national attention any time soon.
Here's Guest Dad Joe Burris with musings about girls, sports, and role models:
Kim Clijsters just won a victory for moms everywhere -- with her win in the US Open, she's unbelievably the first mother to win a Grand Slam championship since Evonne Goolagong's Wimbledon victory in 1980.
Yes, Virginia, moms can come back to the workplace and succeed.
"The fairy tale goes on - some how, I'm in the US Open final on Sunday beating both Venus and Serena along the way... am i dreaming???" the Belgian tennis star wrote on her Twitter page -- where the picture is not of Clijsters playing tennis, but of her holding her toddler daughter.
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
My colleagues Jill Rosen (of Unleashed fame) and Joe Burris (of Charm City Moms fame) are working on a story about folks who are preparing in some interesting way for football season to start up again in Baltimore.
We were sure there's probably a young fan -- or two -- out there who's going to the game for the first time, or who has dyed his hair purple in honor of the Ravens, or done something else to express his or her great excitement.
If so, Jill and Joe would love to hear about it and possibly interview this fan and his proud parents. You can e-mail them at jill.rosen@baltsun.com or joseph.burris@baltsun.com.
Photo by Baltimore Sun photographer Karl Merton Ferron
I'm struck by two stories on our new parenting page right now (even though it was I who put them there). One talks about schools asking parents to pony up more money so their kids can participate in sports. The other has families who are able shipping kids to Grandma's instead of paying for camp.
Meanwhile, we're trying to sort through what lessons, sports, etc., the kids should take part in next year. They're interested in new things -- soccer, piano, drama -- as well as the old things (gymnastics, dance, swimming....).
Where do you draw the line?
David Haase stands at the soccer field where his 11-year-old daughter Morgan plays in Knoxville, Tenn. Morgan works the ball in the background. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
I understand that our partner, WJZ-TV, is running a story about Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora and his quintuplets tonight. Mora and his wife, Gisel, conceived the children after she had fertility treatments. They're now in second grade. The Moras also have an older daughter.
The WJZ piece will look at the busy routine this family has to keep up with Jada, Genesis, Rebecca, Christian and Matthew. Their older sister Tatiana apparently helps the quints with their homework.
Michael, Michael, Michael. Instead of celebrating you as our hometown hero (as you might remember our family did after his Olympic triumph), I am hiding the newspaper because of you.
I quietly ask my husband what he thinks of your trangression with a bong. (Now the authorities are considering criminal charges.) I don't want my 7-year-old to hear because a) I don't want to explain what a bong is, yet, and b) I don't want to have to explain why someone who has the discipline to win eight gold medals would make such a mistake. Because I can't, really.
Though it's more of an issue because you're a local icon, other moms are talking about this, too. Here's the take from 518Moms in New York.
(Associated Press photo)
Our Guest Dad today is David Nitkin, a political editor here at the Sun.
He's writing about how to view youth sports when your main goal is not necessarily to build a world-class athlete. Here's his post:
Continue reading "Father's Day Friday: Sports and teamwork" »
Today's tips come from the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, who want to see your kids' feet and ankles stay free of injury during the fall sports season. The organization sent along tips from Kansas City foot and ankle surgeon James Good, who says kids who play football, soccer, and basketball are most likely to suffer sprains and broken bones.
Here are his tips:
"Have old sprains checked by a doctor before the season starts. A medical check-up can reveal whether your child's previously injured ankle might be vulnerable to sprains, and could possibly benefit from a supportive ankle brace during competition.
"Buy the right shoe for the sport. Different sports require different shoe gear. Players shouldn't mix baseball cleats with football shoes.
"Children should start the season with new shoes. Old shoes can wear down like a car tire and become uneven on the bottom, causing the ankle to tilt because the foot can't lie flat.
"Check playing fields for dips, divots and holes. Most sports-related ankle sprains are caused by jumping and running on uneven surfaces. That's why some surgeons recommend parents walk the field, especially when children compete in non-professional settings like public parks, for spots that could catch a player's foot and throw them to the ground. Alert coaching officials to any irregularities.
"Encourage stretching and warm-up exercises. Calf stretches and light jogging before competition helps warm up ligaments and blood vessels, reducing the risk for ankle injuries.
Today's Guest Dad is Mark Hyman, a Baltimore resident and BusinessWeek contributing editor for sports (and a former colleague here at the newspaper). Mark's book about impact of parents, coaches and other adults on youth sports, "Until It Hurts," will be published by Beacon Press next April. Meanwhile, he blogs about youth sports at Youth Sports Parents.
Now that fall sports are starting, it's time for Mark to sift through his family's equipment -- and to make some interesting discoveries in the process. Here's his post:
Continue reading "Father's Day Tuesday: Sports-gear creep" »
This sounds like fun for young baseball fans who don't have school and are free around lunchtime tomorrow:
The ESPN Zone, 601 E. Pratt St. will host a question-and-answer session with left-handed pitcher Garrett Olson noon-1 p.m. (Doors open at 11:30 a.m., according to the web site.) He will sign autographs after the session.
Visit espnzone.com/baltimore. Free.
(Photo by Nick Wass, Associated Press)
Goucher professor and writer Madison Smartt Bell has a post on the Open Society Institute-Baltimore's Audacious Ideas blog today, suggesting that community martial-arts schools would help grow better kids in Baltimore's trouble spots. He mentions that children and teenagers from middle-class families have been flocking to martial-arts classes.
What do you think about his idea? Have your children benefitted from martial-arts training? How do you think it has helped them (or not), and which schools do you recommend?
(Photo of Chinese athletes performing martial arts routines for visiting U.S Olympic athletes in Beijing last year by Stephen Shaver/Bloomberg News)
KQ Mom asked the other day about where to find a program to sign her 5-year-old up for spring soccer or lacrosse, and I've been meaning to answer her question.
It appears that the most efficient way to explore kids' sports in your area is to go through local recreation councils. This Baltimore County site has links to a number of local councils with various activities, and a phone number to call if you don't see yours listed. In Howard County, you can download a schedule of spring and summer activities (including youth sports) here. Anne Arundel County has links to its councils here, and you can download a Baltimore city program guide here (look for it along the right rail of the site). Links to Harford County's councils are here, and Carroll County's are here.
I'm sure there may be some groups not covered in these guides or through these links. If you're part of one that is still signing up spring players, please post information in the comments section below.
(Photo of helmets courtesy of the Los Angeles Times)
