Sports for Santa

Tis' the season for the annual Christmas-themed sports article, so here goes. . .

? The perfect gift

My daughter is eight years old this Christmas, about the same age I was when I got the greatest Christmas gift I've ever received — bar none. The sight of it sitting in front of the tree is indelibly etched into the recesses of my rapidly deteriorating long term memory bank.

What was this gift that so thoroughly captivated me, that dominated the succeeding three months of my after-school time, that made me feel like the luckiest kid in the world?

Don't laugh … it was a football, goalpost, and a kicking tee.

In retrospect, it was nothing more than a rubber football, a cheap plastic goalpost that stood roughly five-feet high, and an even cheaper plastic kicking tee. At the time though, it was the perfect triumvirate of football accessories and will never be rivaled.

I don't even know if I got another present that year, and truth be told it didn't matter. Within minutes I was outside in my yard (a white Christmas in Boise was a rarity) pretending I was Uwe von Schamen, Jan Stenerud, or Mark Mosely and that I was kicking game winning field goals in front of packed crowds. I even had a little brother to shag my shenks for me.

Life was good.

nGood cheer for the refs

A heartfelt Merry Christmas to all of the good folks who referee youth sports in the region. It's a praiseworthy and noble effort that often times is taken for granted.

I was reminded of this on Thursday night in Bonners Ferry while covering the Clark Fork basketball games. There was Steve Hudson — a Pac Ten football official who's on the fast track toward working NFL games, and a successful business owner, as anyone whose ever sampled a Hudson burger can attest — refereeing the boys basketball game. His slushy and rainy drive from Coeur d' Alene must have taken at least two hours — one way — and I'm guessing the check he got for his troubles probably covered food and gas, and not much more. The beauty of it all is that he was doing it for the right reasons, namely of a love of the game.

So the next time you want to yell at an official, remember that they are investing a lot of time and effort for very little in return. And the living truth of it is, no matter how well they do their jobs, somebody will find fault — call it the nature of the job if you will. I refereed football for four years, long enough to know full well the commitment it takes to do the job and the verbal abuse that can come with it.

Keep up the good work refs.

nM's sign Christmas gift

With the signing of Matt Lawton yesterday, the Mariners got an early Christmas present. Lawton is a decent outfielder, a good clubhouse presence, and a stand-up guy (although some would argue this last point).

Lawton will have to sit out the first ten games of the baseball season next year while serving a suspension for failing a drug test for steroids. So why is he being referred to as a stand-up guy when he was caught cheating?

Simple, because he owned up to his mistake, apologized for his error and made zero — yes zero — excuses. More baseball players than any of us want to admit have used steroids, and of the many players who've been caught, he's the only one who has owned up to his actions. The rest have made flimsy excuse after excuse after excuse as to why they tested positive for a banned substance (Rafael Palmeiro rings a bell).

It might seem strange, but such behavior is almost non-existent in today's multi-million dollar athletes. So much so that it seems almost refreshing when someone faces the music, takes responsibility for their actions, and doesn't take the spineless road out.

nThinking of Dungy

We would be remiss not to keep the family of Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy in our thoughts this Christmas. In what should be Tony Dungys' crowning year, he is dealing with the tragedy of losing his 18 year-old son, casting a pall over one of the greatest seasons ever for a coach. It's a safe bet that if you asked every person associated with the NFL for a disparaging word about Tony Dungy you would get nothing but silence — he's as well liked and respected as they come in the league.

Peace be with the Dungy family this Christmas.