Still Proud to be A Honker Mom!

Okay, so here is my soapbox deal of the day.

So much drama is going on today over an issue that happened last night at a JV Baseball game between my son’s school, Yuba City High School, and a local rival, Del Campo High School. Now, I’ll put this right out there, when I was in high school at Mira Loma, we didn’t think too highly of DC either. Them and El Camino HS. Rivalries Happen.

So, yesterday, game is progressing. The score is 3-3 in the 6^th inning. There has been a lot of back and forth trash talking between the teams. That happens. It’s part of the game. The next thing that happens, isn’t usually part of the game. The First Base Coach for DC said **something** (No, I have no clue what he said) to YC’s pitcher and dugout. It must have been a good one because the next thing you know, the pitcher is flinging the ball at the FB Coach. Huh? Seriously? Sigh. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on which side of this fence you are on, the ball missed the coach. However, next thing you know, the YC dugout empties and a brawl ensues. (I’ll link everything at the bottom for your perusing pleasure.)

Now, I wasn’t there. The HS baseball team was too cliquey for my son to get on so he went to performing arts. (Which he ROCKS at by the way!!) However, he’s be on Varsity by now anyway as a senior, but I digress. (I'll write a fun entry about Seussical soon.)

Here is my take on this whole nightmare. Trash talking is part of a game AND it is a game. Remember, game? Fun? Game = fun? (Just wanted to get that out there.) Rivalries happen. I had them in high school and as an avid sports fan, I have them now (hear that A’s fans!! Lol) But rivalries shouldn’t resort to violence. The comebacks and the comments shouldn’t be in good natured ribbing – no racial cracks, don’t talk about someone’s mother, etc.

Some little tart whipped out her phone and recorded the last part of the “incident” complete with her commentary (highly enlightening - NOT) and her excitement about getting to post it to YouTube. Personally, if that is your life’s ambition, you need to rethink your goals and priorities. In this video, we see the DC FB Coach chatting it up with people on the sidelines for DC. Talking about the incident. Now, honestly, insert brain filter. As a member of the coaching staff, and quite possibly the match to this fuse, he should have kept his mouth shut. This is a situation being reviewed by the respective teams and schools not onlookers. Do not discuss this outside the school offices. Highly unprofessional and definitely unsportsmanlike conduct. There are words and tones there that could be used against him.

I have a couple words that everyone on that field needs to review and permanently place in their memories. The first one is sportsmanship. Then there is compassion, responsibility, role model, and tact. No one involved, except for the referee’s as far as I could see, embraced any of these vocabulary words. Players, parents, onlookers, or coaching staff. Tempers flared and chaos ensued.

Seriously, take the ribbing like a man. It is what it is. Something to rile you up and get you off your game. If you are professional and mature about the whole thing, you’d let it roll off your back like water off a duck. Deal with it. If you let it get to you, they have won. There is no reason to start a brawl like that, ever.

Hopefully, the truth will come out, tempers will cool, and yes, unfortunately, a few boys are going to look back on this incident in 20 years and be very angry at themselves and full of regret as it may possibly ruin their baseball careers. If not just for the rest of their high school days, maybe their lives. Sad, that is. I am sure there will be suspensions and maybe an expelling due to this and I’m sad for them, but the choice was theirs: take it like a man, or act the idiot. The idiot won. Unfortunately, the idiot won for some parents, too. What an example you are setting. Wow.

I also hope that BOTH schools will dispense the appropriate amount of punishment. I am truly hoping that DC doesn’t brush this under the rug but instead, realizes the actual situation and the comments made and punish the coach adequately. While the brawl should never occurred, neither should a comment that could incite such ire have been said. I don’t know what was said and may never know, but I doubt it was appropriate.

Point is, we are all human. No one is more special than anyone else. No one is all that and a bag of chips. We all put our pants on one leg at a time and we are ALL a mirror of the school. As are the DC people. This does not shine a golden light on either school.

So, while I am disappointed in the behavior that represented YCHS last night, I am still proud to be a Honker Mom. I know too many other kids that attend that school and give it a bright and positive reputation every day. Maybe they aren’t as public as the athletic clubs. Maybe they aren’t deemed as important as the athletic clubs. But they are special, kind, amazing, intelligent, sweet, considerate, mature, and conscientious every day and that behavior makes me proud to be a Honker Mom.

http://www.advarsitysports.com/articles/city-3513-yuba-high.html

http://blogs.sacbee.com/preps/archives/2012/04/brawl-halts-jun.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46948126/ns/local_news-sacramento_ca/t/del-campo-yuba-city-baseball-brawl-posted-youtube/#.T3y8c_BQ69U

http://now.msn.com/now-plus/0404-baseball-brawl.aspx

Lots of articles all over the web…sigh…the YouTube video is embedded into one of the articles, but in case you want to just see, here:

http://youtu.be/RD0Vvk7jQT8

Places to Visit - Had to Share - Too Funny

I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots.  Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I've also never been in Cognito.  I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.  I live close so it's a short drive.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go and I try not to visit there too often.

I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenaline flowing and pumps up the old heart!  At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!

And, sometimes I think I am in Vincible but life shows me I am not.

People keep telling me I'm in Denial, but I'm positive I've never been there before!

I have been in Deepsh-t many times; the older I get, the easier it is to get there. I actually kind of enjoy it there.

So far, I haven't been in Continent, but my travel agent says I'll be going soon.

Personal Notes:

I have been in Cahoots. However, if I tell you about it, I'd have to kill you.

I've been in Sane so much that I have the t-shirt, key ring, and tote bag.

I've given up in Vincible - turned in my cape and mask.

LOL, hope you are smiling, too.

Smoochies, 

DL

P.S. This is to loosen you up to a more serious post later. Sigh.

Bunnies and Buses

I have some amazing friends. Yes, I know, I really have friends. Lol

But I have some really fun friends. They’re Monkeys. Well, they are Code Monkeys. They write games. Games for Facebook and in the future, maybe for Android and iPhones. Sweet.

Well, this last weekend they got together, Code Monkeys from different companies and different areas of expertise to participate in Moly Jam 2012. This is where a bunch of Code Monkeys get together and spend 48 hours crunching banana chips and writing code to make a new game.

In the span of 48 hours, they write a new game. A playable game. And my guys wrote a cute game involving little bunny clones from space. These maniacal little fur balls are seriously evil. They are trying to keep commuters from making their bus. Now, as a bus commuter, if some little fluffy cutey-pie bunny wants to keep me off of my commuter bus, I’d be all for it. But I digress.

Here’s a link to the Bunnies and Buses info page:

http://www.whatwouldmolydeux.com/display.php?GameID=76

Go check out what I consider the best game of the weekend. A group of very talented gentlemen worked on this game who are now exhausted but thrilled with their product. I can’t seem to get past level 5 but it’s just a blast. Place bunnies in the path of the commuters and watch them suck the carrots (the commuters’ payment to ride the bus) from the commuters. If the poor commuters don’t have enough carrots to ride the bus they can’t get on. Your Fur-Filled mission is to keep them off the bus. Now, as your carrots accumulate, you can upgrade your bunnies. Their circle radius of destruction gets bigger and they can grab more carrots.

It’s a blast. A total blast and my hope is that these busy men find the time to make it Android ready. Hell, I’d download it.

Have a great night. Code Monkeys…you guys deserve bunches and bunches of bananas. And hugs, lots of hugs. I <3 you guys!!

Smoochies

Hunger Games - Movie Review

Okay, so, we went to see the movie. I can see how those that haven’t read the book would have questions. AND yes, they did change a couple things, but I understand why they did it.

I thought they did a great job. The movie was entertaining, the actors were awesome, and the sense of drama was intense in places. There was a part where both my daughter and I knew it was coming, we read the books, and we still jumped. That’s pretty awesome when a director can do that.

So hard to describe the movie without giving anything away. Sigh. But I’d give it a 4 out of 5.