I have a sworn goal I want to make happen for as long as I’m the sports editor here. It was true when I was in Rusk, and it’s something I feel has always been important in sports coverage.
I want every school I cover to feel like they are being covered fairly. When a big thing happens in Hopkins County athletics, I want to make sure that you, the reader, know about it.
The size of the school does not matter to me. I went to a smaller school, so I understand how sometimes it feels like you’re a little lost in the shuffle.
However, each of the schools and their coaches and athletes are putting in the work to make their communities proud. That deserves to be recognized.
I haven’t had the chance to meet with every coach and athletic director in the county – yet. But that is something that is high on my list. Every coach that I’ve met so far has been nice and accomodating. They tell me that if I need anything, all I have to do is let them know.
The opposite is true, as well. My goal is to make everyone look good, win or lose. This is your sports section as much as it is mine. I want to tell your stories and keep you abreast of what’s going on in the sports world of the community.
If you have something going on that you’d like readers to know about, let me know! Email me when something is going on: quinten.boyd@ssnewstelegram.com.
KINGS OF THE NORTH
The Toronto Raptors won their first NBA title Thursday evening with a 4-2 series win over the Golden State Warriors.
I was happy for the Raptors – they took so much grief over the last few years for some of their playoff losses. I was happy for Kyle Lowry, the longest tenured Raptor and a player I’ve enjoyed watching since he was in college.
I was happy for Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, who have been productive for quite a few years and finally got a chance to lift the trophy. Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam look like they’re ready for the next level, and the entire squad could gear up for another run next year if everything breaks just right.
I’m happy for Canada, getting their first champion in one of the major leagues since the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in 1993.
Mostly? I’m happy for two players I’ve always liked in Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. I’ve been a Spurs fan most of my life, and I’m always going to be thankful to those two for their contributions to the team.
The Kawhi saga didn’t end as expected for various reasons, but I wished him well when he left. He took the leap in the playoffs – and he was already one of the best players in the league, in my opinion.
Sometimes, change is necessary for both parties.
I’m not the biggest fan of Golden State, admittedly, but I respect how hard they fight to hold on to leads. That team was well put together and was worthy of their plaudits. It’s going to be interesting to see how they bounce back with the expected loss of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson – both of whom will likely miss a large chunk of next season anyway due to their injuries.
Despite those injuries, Golden State battled in every game. It was a great Finals to watch.
13-0 AND OTHER SOCCER THINGS
I’ve spent a lot of my down time watching replays of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The games come on while I’m at work, so I have to catch the second run.
There have been some great games, and I’m drawn to underdogs in tournaments such as this. There are four teams making their World Cup debuts: South Africa, Chile, Scotland and Jamaica. All four lost their first games; Scotland also lost their second. But all four have been competitive through this point in the tournament.
There’s one game everyone in soccer circles can’t seem to stop talking about, however.
In their opening game of the tournament, the United States – the defending World Cup champions – started their defense with a 13-0 victory over Thailand. And some people were hot about it.
There were complaints the team scored too much. There were complaints the team celebrated too much or should have stopped after a certain number of goals.
I disagree with all of those thoughts. First of all, in pool play, the first potential tiebreaker is goal differential – subtract the number of goals you allow from the number of goals you score and that’s goal differential.
That can be important when you’re determining seeding for the knockout rounds. In short, it’s better to score often to make your potential quarterfinal seeding better.
Additionally, the U.S. couldn’t put in their backups because teams are only allowed three substitutions. The U.S. used all of them.
Secondly: the U.S. wasn’t celebrating in the faces of the Thai players. They weren’t out there rubbing it in. They were celebrating among themselves.
I believe it’s fine to be exuberant. You can’t say that sports are just a game and then get upset that people are having fun during them. I know some folks subscribe to the theory of “act like you’ve been there before.” And that’s fine – but not everyone is wired that way.
Besides, six of the players who started for the U.S. were making their World Cup debuts. Not only that, but Rose Lavelle, Sam Mewis and Lindsay Horan all scored their first goals in World Cup competition.
You can’t “act like you’ve been there before” if you literally never have.
You may not do it, but if I ever had the chance to play on the world stage and I make a big play or score? I’m dancing for at least a few seconds. If I don’t get a penalty? I’m good.
Perhaps most crucially:you know who didn’t seem to have a problem with the U.S. beating Thailand 13-0? Thailand!
I haven’t seen anyone associated with the Thai team upset about losing by that margin. They hate that they lost, but everything I’ve seen from their camp has been pretty positive.
Recently, Thai goalkeeper Sukanya Chor Charoenying got on Twitter and thanked U.S. forward Carli Lloyd for her encouraging words following the game.
“Your words that you told me make me strong,” Sukanya said. “I felt disappointment in (the) worst situation, but this is the biggest experience in my life.”
Lloyd responded, saying, “All you can do is give it your best each and every day. Keep fighting and never give up! Still (two) more games to play.”
If the woman who let in 13 goals – it was technically 14, but one was waved off due to an offsides call – doesn’t have a problem with losing that game in that way, then I don’t have a problem with it either.
I will be rooting for Thailand, though, for as long as they’re in the tournament. I do like a good underdog.