Daily Dose of Common Sense

Cracked has a great post on eight adults who got a little too carried away at youth sporting events. And, by a little too carried away, we mean went completely NUTS.

The Texas cheerleader mom is there, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For instance, there’s the dad who fashioned his son’s football helmet into a secret slashing device. FIVE players suffered lacerations before the refs caught wise and started checking equipment. And, let’s not overlook the dad who used ipecac to poison his son’s nemesis, only to have it affect the entire team. Crazy, but not nearly as nutty as the volleyball coach who grabbed a cleaver out of her car to threaten everyone with. (Why, exactly, did she have a cleaver in her car?)

What is it about kids playing sports that causes some adults to become unhinged? Some parents think that their child should never lose. Ever. Even if it means spending a little time in the pokey. Whatever happened to the fun being in the game itself, regardless of the outcome? I hate that “everyone is a winner” mentality. Isn’t it better for them to learn that sometimes you lose? Life isn’t fair. Get used to it now, kids.

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I’m a big fan of going to baseball games. There’s nothing quite like sitting in the warm summer air with a hot dog and some Cracker Jack. Oh, and watching the game, of course. Imagine a dad’s horror when, during a family outing with his daughters to a Philly’s game this week, they were purposely barfed on.

Yes, barfed on. An unruly fan, Matthew Clemmens of South Jersey, put his fingers down his throat and threw up all over the man’s daughter. This was after Clemmens and his friend had been spitting at the girls.

The revolting display followed several innings’ worth of slurred curses, spilled beer and spit that Clemmens and another man directed at Vangelo, his two daughters and one of their friends, said Philadelphia police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.

Is this what our country has become? Where we’re spitting and vomiting on each other for laughs?

Then, the barfer had the nerve to physically attack the dad, who is a cop. Unbelievably, the dad didn’t fight back because he didn’t want to get arrested or detained anywhere away from his kids. This, of course, is the right, responsible thing to do, but I can’t say I would have been able to restrain myself. If anyone deserves a serious beat-down, it’s someone who spits and barfs on other people.

[Via the fine folks at Pat's Papers]

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Tiger Woods held a press conference today (that was streamed live on the Web, no less) to apologize to us.

In case you’ve been living under a rock with no TV, Woods has had some extramarital affairs. So, why do we need an apology in such a private matter? I’m not sure. Was it a PR move for his remaining sponsors? His wife’s idea? A dare? I would believe any of those reasons over just his need for the world’s forgiveness to get on with his life. Think about it… If a friend, co-worker, relative, or total (non-famous) stranger cheated on his or her spouse, would you get an apology? Absolutely not.

Tiger, go away and play golf. We don’t care about what you do in your free time. Really, we don’t.

Sometimes I envy the days when the media would look the other way on the transgressions of famous people (Einstein, Martin Luther King, Jr., JFK, FDR, etc.). There are things that are just none of anyone else’s business. Think of how many tabloids would be out of business!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc02ZEPJuF8

Think your lottery money is going to a worthy cause? Think again. In Texas, a portion of your scratch-off lottery ticket revenue might be going to the Dallas Cowboys. That’s not a middle school or high school, or even a non-profit company. No, it’s THE Dallas Cowboys of Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach fame. The professional football team stands to make about $4.2 million from the new scratch-off tickets.

Yeah, they really need your money. What about asking those overpriced players to take a pay cut? Other people all over the country have taken pay cuts, unpaid furloughs, and many have lost their jobs. Football players should be no exception, even with contracts in place.

There are 14 NFL teams who have sponsored lottery games this fall. I’m sure they are all feeling the economic crunch and need to supplement their revenue. But, the lottery? That’s just a way to pick on the people who can least afford it.

If you know statistics, you’re probably not a lottery player. But, if you are still hoping your retirement will be funded by the MegaBall Jackpot, you might feel better knowing where your money goes.

Or, maybe not.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: dherrera_96

Many parents are reluctant to let their children play intense contact sports, such as tackle football, for fear of serious injury. Now, new statistics have revealed that cheerleading should also give parents serious pause. It is the leading cause of catastrophic injuries in young women.

Most accidents are still the muscle pull, strained ankle variety. However, cheerleading accounts for 60-66% of all catastrophic accidents in high school and college-aged girls. This includes head and spine trauma, which can leave the patient with life-long disabilities.

If you’ve seen a cheerleading competition recently, this information should come as no surprise.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XQWWe5Yp_o

Yes, this is now what cheerleading has become: throwing girls up in the air plus a high level of tumbling difficulty on hard surfaces while trying to remember frenetic choreography and avoid a man wearing a super large hat. (In this video, even the announcer comments on the unforgiving surface.)

Take into account the statistics. Educate yourself on the risks and know what your daughter could be getting herself into. It’s one thing to sprain your ankle; it’s another to be paralyzed for life.

As the weather turns warmer, kids start breaking out bathing suits. And, sadly, this means a lot of kids will drown. In fact, drowning is the second-leading cause of injury-related death in the U.S., and 3/4 of all drownings take place between May and September. It stands to reason, then, that teaching kids to swim is an important safety skill.

However, parents might also be tempted to rely on water wings or floaties for the safety of their water-loving tots. It may seem like a good way to keep kids above the water, but this plan of action is not recommended:

Do not use air-filled or foam toys, such as “water wings”, “noodles”, or inner-tubes, in place of life jackets (personal flotation devices). These toys are not designed to keep swimmers safe.

Many experts believe flotation devices have no place in helping a child learn to swim and should be used sparingly, if at all. Most importantly, these should not replace close and constant parental supervision. Children need to experience their own weight in the pool (while being held or closely supervised by an adult) in order to feel the buoyancy of the water. Always having a floatie or water wings on gives kids a false sense of security: they think they can swim when they really cannot. One of the best floatation device policies we’ve seen, complete with explanation, can be found here.

On separate occasions, I have witnessed two children, recently removed from toy flotation devices, jump into the pool and then flounder underwater. The kids forgot they didn’t have their water wings on and could not swim back up to the surface. Both episodes ended happily, with caregivers nearby pulling the children to safety.

Teach your kids to swim safely. And stay nearby. Even if they know how to swim, they could still get in trouble and need help.