"You know what they say when you assume..."

Living most of my adult life in a college town came with some advantages. Aside from the ease with which I could postpone real life - taking a leisurely twelve years to get my bachelor's degree - the town oozed with the bright-eyed audacity and recklessness that comes with eternal youth. But it was like Logan's Run. People in their 30s just didn't exist. Anyone showing some level of caution or reason was immediately marginalized. And liberal, oh was it liberal! And mostly not the good kind. The recent social engineering bent of the Chicago City Council is peanuts compared to some of the studies and surveys I saw in the political science/anthropology/journalism departments at the University of Iowa.

With that, here's a little number from the LA Times:

For generations it has been one of the great American axioms, accepted truth on diamonds, courts and gridirons everywhere: Sports builds character, instilling the values of teamwork and good sportsmanship.

But amid fresh headlines of alleged cheating in auto racing, continuing controversies over steroid use in baseball, track and cycling and ugly brawls among basketball players comes a nationwide survey suggesting a decidedly darker vision of sports.

"There is reason to worry that the sports fields of America are becoming the training grounds for the next generation of corporate and political villains and thieves," says Los Angeles ethicist Michael Josephson.

The latest two-year study of high school athletes by the Josephson Institute found a higher rate of cheating in school among student-athletes than among their classmates. It also found a growing acceptance of cheating to gain advantages in competition.

Josephson's report, based on interviews across the country with 5,275 high school athletes, concluded that too many coaches are "teaching our kids to cheat and cut corners."

And my favorite quote that made me spit out my coffee:

'When your coach has not gone through four or five years of college, does not have a degree in education, and is not involved in the kids' grades or classes, there's going to be an inherent amount of drop-off in the effect they have on the kids.'
— Barbara Fiege, commissioner of the CIF City Section in Los Angeles

The sports world is not exempt from anything. In fact, in many ways, it gets a free pass because nobody wants to take on the legion of mouth-breathers and idiot parents. But this kind of stuff is just getting really old. Given that, a study of this sort doesn't pass my bullshit meter, especially when the institute conducting the survey makes no bones about their preconceived notions. Dopes. I can just imagine the smugness and blather going on at that roundtable. You know, the kind of environment that is so insular that adjectives for the sports world fly with the same vitriol of a bigoted fuck talking about 'those blacks'.

In an age where laws can be proposed and drugs can be approved with scant evidence to their legitimacy, it's this kind of crap that makes me queasy. What law would be passed based on this survey? Probably none. But that "probably" is becoming shakier everyday. If you need further evidence as to how shit like this works, read this book and this book. Keep a warm bucket of water next to your chair.


Tidbits:

On Saturday, Sound Opinions had a great interview with Tommy Ramone. In a few days (once the broadcast is podcasted), listen to it here.

New favorite wine: Raventos i Blanc "Silencis" Xarel-lo, Penedes 2005. If you like cava, this is the backbone of the sparkler. Nice fruit, hint of vanilla and medium dryness. Just started appreciating whites. Tough to find. Buy it here.

I steered away from In America because it had that whiff of wholesome, feel-goodiness to me. If you haven't seen it, check it out. Not bad at all.

A table walked in twenty minutes before we opened yesterday. We sat them with the stipulation that our wood-fired oven won't be ready until the top of the hour but they were more than welcome to have a drink and wait. The wife gave a slight eye-roll and the husband an audible gasp. As they were walking to their table, a co-worker said, "Hi, how are you doing." They just ignored him. After sitting down, I went up to them and politely asked if they would like a drink and hear the specials. The wife looked at me sternly and said, "Oh, stop it. You don't have to pretend." This started our Saturday night.