SPORTS

A few weeks ago, my daughter lost her first basketball game. Ever. The loss was tough. As the seconds expired on the gymnasium scoreboard, a final Home 0, Away 0 was displayed. Sadly, neither was a malfunction.

My 12-year-old, playing basketball for the first time, had made her middle school basketball team. What she lacked in basketball theory, she made up for with effort. Her season opened against their cross-town rival middle school. The gym was packed and full of anticipation.

Then the game began.

Within two minutes, they were down 14-0. After one quarter, they had fallen behind 28-0. They hadn't even shot the ball yet. The second quarter was a literal repeat. As the half ended, they were down 56-0. The noisy gym fell silent.

At this point, you would assume the opposing coach would ease off a little. Throw the other team a bone. Maybe allow a bucket or two. Boost the kids' confidence and fill them with false-reinforcement. After all, 56 points is a pretty big lead. But she didn't. And her kids didn't ... hold back, that is.

The second half opened and ended with basket after basket, steal after steal and block after block.  As the ending buzzer sounded, the girls had no idea how bad they lost. Thankfully, the scoreboard was never used in the second half and displayed Home 0, Away 0. Unfortunately, the scoreboard was half correct.

My daughter's team had failed to score a single basket. No foul shots. No lay ups or jumpers. A big fat goose egg. As the dust settled a day later, it was official. Final score, 106-0. Now that's sportsmanship.

Eric LaFontaine

Moses Lake