The Associated Press

Professional athletes have become masters of tasteful pranks and initiation

Lyle Morissette

Sports Editor

Rookie hazing is one of the most creative forms of initiation, including, cross-dressing, delivery service, and forced philanthropy.

Scanning through the history of sport, one would be hard pressed to find an instance when some sort of hazing or initiation was not a team—or league wide—ritual.

Gaining acceptance has made this age-old practice—like getting into a fraternity—a right of passage.

It most often occurs as a means of comical relief, but it also serves to keep many of these rookies, who are making a huge transition from being penny-less to being multi-millionaires in the blink of an eye, grounded and humble.

Some say it is a must, others say it is a disservice to sports, merely a media-glorified and barbaric practice.

While hazing is often gazed down upon by pundits and sports traditionalists, it does have its place and its history in sport—but only when done in a tasteful matter. However, the line between tasteful and distasteful is blurred.

This year’s entire New York Yankees rookie crop was required to dress up in the garb of the 1960’s Batman TV show: Batman, Catwoman, Penguin, Joker, The Riddler, Robin, and the Penguin. These rookies were even treated to dinner (in costume) by new ace pitcher C.C. Sabathia.

Dressing in drag is not off limits, and is one of the most common initiations. David Price, of the Tampa Bay Rays, experienced this first hand this past month. At 6’6, and with a full mane of chin fur, he looked like he belonged in the circus.

Dinner bills for the entire team can range anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000. San Diego Chargers rookie, Larry English, recently experienced this rookie obligation, forking over $14,508.67 for a team meal.

Whether advocates want to believe it is a part of sport culture or not, it is, hazing will likely always be a part of sport teams. And while hazing victims may lament the tasks and pranks when experiencing them first hand, the tables quickly flip in following years when they become the perpetrators of these acts, getting to repay the favour they previously received.

A quick respite from the seriousness and stresses of the job, is exactly what many athletes—even the rookies—need , in order to keep them grounded and functionable.

Nonetheless, sport hazing is seemingly deeply rooted and engraved into the DNA of sport.

The weekly sum-up of who’s hot, crazy, and just down on their luck

Lyle Morissette

Sports Editor

The Good

The Spanish National basketball team, Team España, led by Los Angeles Lakers star forward and tournament MVP Pau Gasol, finally captured their first European basketball Championship by defeating Serbia 85-63 on September 20^th. The next step: taking down the U.S. team that trumped them at the Olympics to win the Gold medal.

The Mad

Rookie NFL wide-receiver Michael Crabtree of the San Francisco 49ers, who is still holding out for a bailout-worthy contract. His last contract turndown: a five-year deal worth $20 million, including $16 million guaranteed. The 10^th overall pick expects money mimicking the top picks (around $30-50 million).

The Downtrodden

Plaxico Burress, the former Super-Bowl hero, was sentenced on September 22^nd to two years in prison for carrying a concealed weapon in public, and shooting himself in the leg. Burress left his pregnant wife and young son in tears.

Lyle Morissette

Sports Editor

At 26 years old (old in tennis terms), having recently given child-birth, and coming out of a retirement of over two years just weeks ago, no one would have pegged Kim Clijsters as a Grand Slam winner.

But, against all odds, she captured– in just her third tournament back– her second career Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open earlier this month. Silencing not only pundits, but many ranked players, including knocking off both William’s sisters, Clijsters has once again become a media darling.

In the process, she became the first unseeded player to win the U.S. Open and just the third mother to win a Grand Slam event in the Open Era.

To add to the Cinderella story, her perseverance and love for the game has sparked another former number one—Justine Henin—to come out of retirement and try her hand at a comeback sweep.

Women’s tennis fans (WTA) are ecstatic to say the least.

Giovanni Scalzo

Business Manager

When it comes to soccer, Argentina is a world superpower. With two world cup titles to her name, Argentina has been blessed with a number of world-class players, from Alfredo Di Stefano to Diego Maradona and up to the present day with Lionel Messi to name a few. However, despite her rich history and depth of current talent, Argentines are heart-broken to see their national team in such critical condition under the coaching of Maradona. And with only two games left to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, Argentines will be praying that Maradona, El D10s, can revive and resurrect life back into an ailing Argentine national team.

Maradona took command of the Argentine national team less than almost a year ago in early November, 2008. Since this time, Argentina has played eight qualifying matches, winning only three of them, while losing her last three consecutive games. This below-par performance has left Argentina sitting fifth in the South American World Cup qualifying zone with just two games left to play.

The top four teams of South America automatically qualify for South Africa, while a fifth place finish results in a two-leg playoff against the fourth placed team of North America. While Argentina can still place fourth in South America, they will need to improve on their past performances and hope that the currently fourth placed Ecuador cannot salvage many points in their next two games. However, if Argentina does place fifth, she runs the risk of entering a playoff round against North American competition that could end her run to South Africa.

While she does require some luck in seeing Ecuador drop points over their next two games, Argentina needs to focus on her next two games and improve as a squad, as these two objectives are the only ones that are within her control.

While Maradona has come under much criticism as coach for his lack of experience and Argentina’s poor performance under his leadership, he should be respected for the mere fact that he is willing to risk his prestige and divine status in Argentina where he is already worshipped for the benefit of his national team that was not performing very well when he replaced his predecessor either. But criticism followed Maradona throughout his career as a player and it is partially a contributing factor to his success in his playing days. He thrived under pressure as a player and so he now must find a way to replicate this as coach.

Hopefully, under-fire coach Maradona can select a solid starting eleven and motivate his squad to perform at a high level that reflects the ability and prestige of an Argentine national team looking to win the 2010 World Cup and emulate its last success of 1986 when El D10s, then a player, dazzled the world and lead Argentina to World Cup glory.

The worst cringe-inducing sport related injuries

Lyle Morissette

Sports Editor

Sprained ankles, broken fingers – ruptured testicles. Most athletes have experienced some sort of injury in their playing career, hopefully with the exception of that last one.

To be frank, injuries are an athlete’s kryptonite, their Achilles heel; as a hazard of the workplace, they are put into harm’s way more often than most professions. But how some of these injuries come to take place is another matter altogether. And the circumstances can range from anywhere between simply cringing to painfully gagging.

The sheer shock value of some of these injuries is astounding, and they can honestly only be (re)watched by the most emotionless or hardy of people.

So in the spirit of the beginning of the fall sports blitz, hit the jump to find out what could easily be the most painful injuries ever sustained during the modern sporting era.

These five injuries are so cringing and gruesome that you have to see them—or queasily look away—to fully understand their severity and life-long effects.

-Dave Dravecky (1989): After having a cancerous tumor and half his deltoid musculature removed from his left throwing arm, Dravecky made a triumphant return to baseball. In his second start back, his arm snapped in half while throwing a pitch. The diagnosis: the cancer had returned, and his entire arm had to be amputated.

-Joe Theismann (1985): This injury has somewhat become the poster child of sports injury infamy. This is simply one that must be seen to be understood, and one in which ended this Pro-Bowler’s playing career. Upon being sacked by Lawrence Taylor, the behemoth of a lineman landed directly on Theismann’s lower right leg, snapping both of the bones in his lower leg. Words cannot do this one justice, a YouTube look-up is a must.

-Napoleon McCallum (1994): This one also has to be seen to be understood. While going down to the turf, the RB’s cleat got stuck into the ground and his knee buckled in nearly every which way that it is not supposed to be able to. The result: a ruptured artery, three torn ligaments, and extensive nerve damage in his left knee. Additionally, his calf and hamstring muscles were ripped bare of the bone. Proceed with caution.

-Clint Malarchuk (1989): The former Buffalo Sabres goaltender may be the owner of the most infamous and unlucky injury of all-time: a slit jugular vein in his throat as a result of an errant skate of a teammate. While Malarchuk stayed conscious during the entire ordeal, nine fans fainted, two experienced heart attacks, and three players threw up. 300 stitches and four days later, he returned to practice. Talk about taking one for the team.

NBA looks to replacement refs to fill the void of striking referee union

Lyle Morissette

Sports Editor

Head-ache and frustration may be on the menu as the referee’s union recently rejected the NBA’s final contract offer with a stern and unflinching 57-0 rejection vote, consequently causing the impasse to come to full circle.

Countless fans will be screaming ‘Amateurs,’ and what many players will have to come to terms with, when the NBA tips of its 2009-10 season come October 31^st.

With the previous contract between the two sides formally ending on September 1^st, and with training camp expected to be opening on September 20^th, a new deal was a must. But negotiations have hit a brick wall, and the new reality is a lockout, and consequently, replacement officials.

The main and unresolved issue, according to lead union negotiator Lamell McMorris, is over referee retirement plans and severance pay, both of which have been lingering on for some time.

A severance package, which referees have turned into a long-standing practice, is expected in addition to their pension. The NBA opposes this practice and wants to eliminate this lump sum severance payment, but only for referees newly anointed, or with 10 years or less of service; consequently, the union is not budging.

A source close to the talks let slip the fact that there are other issues, including the use of WNBA and D-League referees in regular-season games, as well as salary, dental and medical coverage, and other pension issues to round out the formation of the gloomy situation.

McMorris, in regards to the lockout, states, “There are concessions they’re willing to make, there are changes they’re willing to make, we gave back an additional $1 million in concessions in the last 24 hours, but there are some things we cannot concede. I don’t know how you can lockout employees that are willing to continue to give back money, that’s just kind of beyond me. But the fall work schedule begins this weekend, and it appears that is not going to happen. It’s not going to happen with us, it’s not going to happen with the 57 active referees.”

The concessions that each side is willing to make—and not make– have thus become the linchpin of the situation. The league hopes to bridge the gap the economic crisis has stamped onto the league not only this year, but also in the foreseeable future. The union, on the other hand, is looking to protect all of its members, and its future.

The union also is chasing a two-year pact—the NBA has traditionally negotiated five-year pacts, which is a troublesome notion to a league that wants stability, and does not want to think about another possible fiasco occurring only a few years down the road.

“It is extremely disappointing that the NBRA has ignored the economic realities, rejected our offer, and left us with no choice but to begin using replacement referees,” executive vice president and general counsel Rick Buchanan (NBA) told the Associated Press.

With retirement bonuses of up to $575,000, on top of pension benefits that could top out over $2 million, and including annual salaries ranging from $150,000 (entry level) to $550,000 (senior), the NBA seems to have a strong case. However, union members have released a statement claiming those numbers are distorted.

The league will be, hopefully for fans and players alike, ready to handle and resolve this situation quickly and sufficiently.

Then again, maybe these “new” refs might actually call travelling.