Quote of the Day

He who knows nothing is closer to the
truth than he whose mind is filled
with falsehoods and errors.



Thomas Jefferson

Synergy

Time to take on the Title IX Blog. Open debate? Exchange of ideas? Nope, it's not there! Read about it here.

When anyone asks me what our adversaries are like in the Title IX reform debate, I always tell them to take a close look at the Title IX Blog. The critical difference there: the authors don't allow any outsiders to leave comments on their blog posts. It's almost as if they're afraid of free and open debate about the law and the damage it's doing at colleges and high schools around the country.

Another site that's spouting misinformation is Chicago's Fair Shot. Seems these sites aren't afraid to show how out of touch their writers truly are. Title IX reformers are for equal opportunities for all.

Swimming is a shining example of gender equity, right?

Title IX has worked not only to protect female students but males as well. The law helps to demonstrate that America is committed to seeking equality in education.

How about it, guys? Did the Kutztown men's swimmers benefit from all that Title IX protection?

Lawyers keep pushing gender quotas as a measure of Title IX compliance. They push proportionality, even though they're well aware that it's a flawed, unfair concept.

Get the shirt here.

It's all about time for us, right? Start workout on time, get your time, leave on time, swim a best time, etc. Check out the trailer for In Time here. It's due out in late October.





The Ivy League will try to reduce concussions this year by limiting full-contact in football practices. Read more here.

Fitter and Faster - featuring Lacey Nymeyer and Peter Vanderkaay - is coming to North Texas. Info on the October 1 clinic at Southlake Carroll is here. Early athlete registration is just $55. Coaches and parents attend for free.

South Central Zone Masters Championships

MAC B & Under Champs

TWST Summer A Champs

FCST Summer A Champs

MAC BB

FA BB

Palo Alto BB Champs

Brownsville BB Champs

What's Aaron Peirsol been up to? Swimming World interview from Shanghai:



Times Higher Education has an annual "exam howlers" contest. Winners are to be announced next week. Read more here.

But after reading the statement that "American power is based on superheroes", Jason Dittmer, lecturer in human geography at University College London, lamented: "I clearly need to teach this material better."

Quote of the Day

Poverty can teach lessons that privilege cannot.



Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman

Quote of the Day

To endure is the first thing that a child
ought to learn, and that which he
will have the most need to know.



Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Quote of the Day

I know I'm not much on face value, but when
it comes to stage value, I'll deliver for you.



Emanuel Goldenberg, a.k.a. Edward G. Robinson

Quote of the Day

It's not denial. I'm just selective
about the reality I accept.



William B. "Bill" Watterson II

Quote of the Day

There just isn't any pleasing some people.
The trick is to stop trying.



Robert Charles Durman Mitchum

Quote of the Day

The hottest places in hell are reserved
for those who, in times of great moral
crises, maintain their neutrality.



Durante degli Alighieri, a.k.a. Dante

Quote of the Day

As I read the Constitution, the Congress writes the
laws and you get to decide what you want to sign.



John Andrew Boehner

Quote of the Day

I was kind of excited about going to jail the
first time and I learned some great dialogue.



Quentin Jerome Tarantino

Quote of the Day

I invent nothing. I rediscover.



François-Auguste-René Rodin

Take Yer Pick:

Major media outlets - along with Swimming World* - are picking up on the latest Title IX lawsuit.

Why?

Probably because it's over proportionality.

Not such a big deal, right? After all, we've see lawsuits over proportionality for years.

This one's a big deal because it involves high schools.

Fox News

ESPN

Wall Street Journal

Los Angeles Times

Sports Illustrated

Associated Press

Washington Post

ABC

Swimming World



*We're still buddies, right?

Can they do it again?

Half of that amazing Beijing '08 free relay:

Lezak, Weber-Gale, and the rest of Team USA are in Shanghai.

Follow GWG on Twitter here.

Swimming World's coverage of World Champs is here.

Granbury's Dana Vollmer:

Official site of Shanghai World Champs is here.

For Omega's Live Timing and Results, start here.

World University Games are just around the corner. Official site is here.


San Antonio's Annie Chandler:

Playgrounds too safe? Read more here.

After observing children on playgrounds in Norway, England and Australia, Dr. Sandseter identified six categories of risky play: exploring heights, experiencing high speed, handling dangerous tools, being near dangerous elements (like water or fire), rough-and-tumble play (like wrestling), and wandering alone away from adult supervision. The most common is climbing heights.

New pools built without diving boards. Existing pools taking out diving boards. Easy to make the connection, right? Thanks for nothing, insurance companies...


Very, very big news on the Title IX front. The College Sports Council is going to bat for high school boys' sports. They are changing their name to the American Sports Council. Official site is here.

Why the change? Start here.

According to the NWLC website, the complaints are part of its new campaign, “Rally for Girls’ Sports: She’ll Win More than a Game,” to educate schools, the public and parents about the “widespread inequities their daughters face in school sports programs, and to mobilize parents to press for change.”

The NWLC preceded complaints with the OCR in recent months from an anonymous source, alleging discrimination by dozens of school districts in the states of Oregon and Washington. Similar actions have been taken in other states as well.

“When we saw the NWLC complaint (against the 12 school districts), we knew there would be a tidal wave of complaints that will overwhelm schools across the country,” Pearson said.

As organizations like the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) and the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) make a strong push to bring proportionality to high school athletics, Eric McErlain and Co. realized that we need strong advocates to "push back".

WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 21, 2011 – The American Sports Council (ASC) filed suit against the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) today, alleging that the use of gender quotas to enforce Title IX in high school athletic programs is unconstitutional because it violates the Equal Protection Clause. Attorneys at the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of the ASC. The suit is entitled, American Sports Council vs. Department of Education.

In recent months, quota activists have been intimidating high school districts with charges that they are in violation of Title IX simply on the basis of the gender balance in their athletic departments. “Not only is this interpretation not supported by law, it has the potential of destroying much of what is so good about the uniquely American athletic system — one that produces the world’s best scholar-athletes,” said ASC Chairman, Eric Pearson. “This pattern of legal intimidation needs to stop.”

Nationwide, there are currently 1.3 million more boys participating in high school sports than girls. Using a gender quota to enforce Title IX in high school sports would put those boys athletes at risk of losing their opportunity to play.

Don't say you weren't warned. Many of us have predicted that gender quotas could be imposed on high school athletic departments.

Gender Quotas + Budget Cuts + Title IX Lawyers = Fewer Male Opportunities

Ready for roster caps, guys?

From Pacific Legal Foundation:

Okay, this will interest at least a few of you down in Austin. Your little fish is between prelims and finals. You've already gotten in your swim over at Deep Eddy. You'd like to relax, but all you can think of is what you must be missing out on in San Diego, right? Never fear! You can keep up with Comic-Con 2011 here. Oh yeah, real time TAGS results are here.


The NCAA is changing to a no-recall false start rule. They will also allow the use of track-style starting blocks. Read more here.

Can't get enough NCAA news? New president Mark Emmert has invited a bunch of heavy hitters to an August retreat in Indy. The list is here. Good news: Nancy, Billie Jean, and Donna didn't get invites. Bad news: Neither did Bob Groseth...

Latest issue of Champion is here.

Quote of the Day

Australia is an outdoor country.
People only go inside to use the toilet.
And that's only a recent development.



John Barry Humphries

Quote of the Day

Carnegie Hall was real fabulous, but you know,
it ain't as big as the Grand Ole Opry.



Virginia Patterson Hensley, a.k.a. Patsy Cline

Quote of the Day

My biggest weakness is my sensitivity.
I am too sensitive a person.



Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson

JUCO Title IX Issues

At the Independent Women's Forum, Carrie Lukas responds to a New York Times story on Title IX issues in community colleges. Read it here.

If Title IX's logic is out-dated and unnecessary for four-year colleges, it is ridiculous when applied to community colleges. Yet according to this New York Times story, two-year colleges are next up for additional scrutiny for failing to comply with the Title IX quota system that rules the rest of academia.

If opportunities for women are available, but the interest isn't there, why should males suffer?

If opportunities aren't available,...

...this is a BIG problem!

The New York Times published an article on gender inequities in JUCO athletics. Read it here.

Henry Washington has served as athletic director at Los Angeles Southwest College for 27 years, and each year, he said, women’s basketball faces the same challenge: the team starts out with a roster of 12 players only to dwindle to five or six by the end of the season.

“Sometimes they’re not motivated, they may have a child,” he said. “There are all kinds of obstacles that are getting in the way of trying to even keep teams.”

Pensacola State College is on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Brenda Pena, the softball coach, sent her assistant to Colorado in June to recruit at a tournament that drew more than 100 teams nationwide. Although her team finished last in its conference this year, she said, Pensacola has a reputation for fielding strong teams and for helping its students transfer to four-year colleges. As a result, Pena said, she is able to avoid the obstacle of attracting players from an older, less engaged student body by instead recruiting students straight from high school.

“We have plenty of people,” she said. “We have girls that are dying to play.”

Quote of the Day

However big the fool, there is always
a bigger fool to admire him.



Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux

Quote of the Day

The first and worst of all
frauds is to cheat oneself.



Philip James Bailey

Quote of the Day

When you absolutely don't know what
to do anymore, it is time to panic.



John van der Wiel

Quote of the Day

We're constantly being told what other
people think we are, and that's why
it is so important to know yourself.



Sarah Ann McLachlan

Quote of the Day

I always thought the point was to have
a bigger life, to meet more people.
So I don't understand Hollywood.



Mary Kathleen Turner

Quote of the Day

You can't ignore politics, no
matter how much you'd like to.



Mary Tyler "Molly" Ivins

Paranoia...

...the destroyer:


Use Step Where? Routes for your walks, runs, bike rides, and even open water swims can be mapped out there. If you've ever gone for an open water swim and wondered how far you actually went, it's a great tool. Thanks for the heads up, DJA!

Follow GWG on Twitter for updates on the Shanghai World Championships trip here.

Garrett and Kathleen Hersey looked great in their swims before the trip. Check out Senior Circuit Champs results here.

While he didn't quite get the cuts he was hoping for, Bobby had some excellent swims. He's really committed to the sport. Not bad for a kid with just :27 seconds of TAGS experience, right? Can't say enough about the team and coaches down there in Austin.


Got in a couple of swims at Deep Eddy last weekend. Cool, clear water was a very nice change. Never been? You don't know what you're missing! Check out a video here. Pic is an oldie via The Portal to Texas.

Back in the 80's, about one in nine high school swimmers continued their careers in college. Now, that number's around just one in fifteen.

No, it's not due to a lack of interest. Swimming at the club and high school levels is booming. These kids want to keep swimming.


The problem is the lack of opportunities. Program cuts and roster caps mean many of our kids will miss out on the college swimming experience. Thanks for the heads up, BG!


The Aggies have hired former Longhorn standout Tanica Jamison to assist Steve Bultman with the women's team. Read more here.

Read Cheers for Title IX, boos for lawsuit here.

Title IX true believers will tell you if schools made the effort, equal numbers of girls and boys would be participating. First of all, that ignores the football factor, but beyond that it doesn't pass the culture test. Whether the hardliners will admit it or not, sports appeal to a greater percentage of males than females. Statistics across the board back that up.

Quote of the Day

In diving to the bottom of pleasure we
bring up more gravel than pearls.

Honoré de Balzac

Quote of the Day

It is especially important to encourage
unorthodox thinking when the situation is
critical. At such moments every new word
and fresh thought is more precious than
gold. Indeed, people must not be deprived
of the right to think their own thoughts.



Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin

Quote of the Day

If my ship sails from sight, it doesn't mean my
journey ends, it simply means the river bends.



John Enoch Powell

Quote of the Day

Our mistakes don't make or break us -
if we're lucky, they simply reveal who
we really are, what we're really made of.



Rev. Donn Moomaw

Quote of the Day

When all else fails there's always delusion.



Conan Christopher O'Brien

Quote of the Day

The duty of a toastmaster is to be so
dull that the succeeding speakers
will appear brilliant by contrast.



Clarence Budington Kelland

Quote of the Day

I've only been doing this fifty-four years.
With a little experience, I might get better.



Harry Christopher Carabina (a.k.a. Harry Caray)

In other news,...

...it looks like 2008 Olympian Scott Spann is hanging up the Speedo. Spann is to be replaced on the Shanghai roster by Elliot Keefer. Read more here. Spann was Unattached at Santa Clara last month.

2004 Olympian Rhi Jeffrey is training in N.Z. Results in the recent Aukland Winter Champs (SCM) are here.

Timeline for S.C. #4 is here.

The 2011 Senior Summer Games are history. Swimming events were held at U of H. Read more here.

Reagan's Alexa Morris is headed for A&M. Read more here.

Time for a Title IX update:

Schools on the receiving end of the Title IX billy club don't know what hit 'em. They're learning it's not about opportunities. No, it's really about using proportionality to shake down public schools. Don't say I didn't warn you. Read more here.

The Newport News Times reports that the nearly 600-page complaint is over two months old and the school district had not heard of it until a reporter inquired.

The complaint noted that in 2006 Taft and Newport had a 7 percent gap between the number and girl and boy athletes, and that the Schools were padding their numbers by counting cheerleading as a sport.

The school district counters that they do not use cheerleading in their assessment of athletic programs and that they are in compliance.

The Department of Education has not named the filer of the complaint.

It's so nice that lawyers are helping high school kids get an early education on what Title IX has become. Now, they don't have to wait until college...

A guy with some common sense - Craig Cervantes - gets the last word:

Low participation in sports by girls is not discrimination

More boys participate in sports in high school than girls in the U.S. and Oregon. This is a fact.

After reading the June 30 article regarding 60 schools in Oregon not being in compliance with Title IX, I was scratching my head. What does the Office of Civil Rights expect these high schools to do? Have the coaches walk the halls and force girls to go out for sports?

After looking at the participation numbers for both genders of 10 of the 11 local high schools, it's a simple fact: Boys participate in more sports. It's just the way it is. To say discrimination is evident is ridiculous, and the local athletic directors would agree with me.

The girls in high school, and especially the women in college, have had a lot of sports opportunities offered to them since 1972. I think this is great and very fair. But if the Department of Education and the Office of Civil Rights want to observe actual discrimination, they can see that almost 400 college wrestling programs have been eliminated nationwide since Title IX in 1972.

Now here's a complaint worth voicing that needs to be changed for our young men.

Trouble in Alabama

If you're looking for a story on their NCAA secondary violations, it's here. Swimming is one of seven (7) Crimson Tide programs that wasn't involved. Good for them!

If you're looking for the Title IX issue their former cheerleading coach has with the school, read the Erin Buzuvis-filtered version here.

Debbie Greenwell was the head cheerleading coach at the University of Alabama for more than 24 years, until, she alleges, she was terminated from her position in a dramatic fashion in response to her advocacy for equal treatment for her student-athletes. She has recently filed a lawsuit in federal court, challenging the university's conduct as discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Equal Pay Act and Title IX.

We'll have to wait and see whether such additional factual allegations are forthcoming, or whether their omission is enough to warrant dismissal of her case.

That was posted yesterday. Two days earlier, a very different news story had been written on the matter. Read it here.

TUSCALOOSA A former University of Alabama cheerleading coach who recently filed a federal lawsuit against the school was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree theft of property and using her position for personal gain.

The charges stem from Greenwell’s tenure at UA and her handling of money generated by her annual cheerleading camp, a camp which also is at issue in Greenwell’s civil action against UA.

We'll have to wait and see? Wow!

Don't try to comment. The Title IX Blog doesn't allow feedback from readers to appear on their propaganda-spewing site...

via Laughing Squid

Quote of the Day

From nothing to everything is a long way.
From everything to nothing is one stop.



Wladimir Klitschko

Tying Up a Loose End

If you've been reading this blog long enough to remember the old (long since removed) "Where's Rhi Jeffrey" post, you really need to move on. The internet's loaded with great reading. What are you doing here?

Okay, back to the point. It's about tying up loose ends, right?

So, where's Rhi Jeffrey?

A little background:

Rhi Jeffrey was a relay gold medalist in Athens (800 F.R.). She swam for USC, but dropped out of school and instead prepped for '08 with David Wright (not the N.Y. Met) in Florida. She blogged a little about her split with USC and her current training. Not long before the '08 Trials, Rhi left the sport.

If you were reading swimming blogs back in those days, you may have also read the one David has. He'd share swim stories and occasionally rip into officiating. He's since left Florida and is back in New Zealand, coaching and blogging. Catch up here.

Fast forward:

Well, Rhi's back in the news. She's training with Wright in N.Z., but that's not the big news.

Seems a young guy down in N.Z. is "divorcing" his parents so he can continue his swimming career (oh yeah, and his relationship with Rhi) without their meddling in his affairs. Read more here, here, and here.

"It would be one thing if they had made their minds up after they met me," she said. "I am a very abrasive in-your-face kind of person and a lot of people don't appreciate that, but those people don't know me from the next person on the street.

"It was unfortunate that it came to this. I can understand their reservations about the age difference but I see myself as a big kid anyway."

No, this isn't a sequel to that star-studded block-buster North...

Quote of the Day

Then, in that hour of deliverance, my heart
spoke. Does not such a country, and such
defenders of their country, deserve a song?



Francis Scott Key

Quote of the Day

My father said there were two kinds of people
in the world: givers and takers. The takers
may eat better, but the givers sleep better.



Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas

Rule Change Proposals

The USA Swimming Rules & Regulations Committee looked at proposed rule changes and came out with their recommendations for 2012. View their work here.

Will Jerry be able to wrestle...

...the 2016 swimming trials away from Omaha?

Don't be surprised if he pushes to host the meet.

The Death Star has already hosted a variety of unusual events, including a few Dallas Cowboy football games.

This week, women's professional bowling was the "hot ticket" in Arlington. All but 74,000 seats were sold for the contest. Read more here.

Bowling took place on two lanes set up on each side of the blue star at the 50-yard line, and was broadcast live on the stadium video board. Roughly 100 fans from Ebonite International, the official sponsor of the event, sat near the right lanes where play was held. A few hundred more sat just in front of the lanes on bleachers. The rest sat in the stands that took up most of the seats in the first two levels on what would be the side of the visiting bench during Cowboys games.

Danny Woodard reported on future events at the stadium. Read his ESPN story here.

Although bowling may be a new spectacle at Cowboys Stadium, the venue has fielded much more than football. It hosted an NCAA men's basketball game between North Carolina and Texas in 2009, and the 2010 NBA All-Star Game there attracted a record crowd of 108,731. Manny Pacqiuao beat both Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito there, drawing 40,000 fans to each bout. More than 82,000 fans watched Mexico defeat Haiti during the 2009 Gold Cup, one of the best-attended soccer matches in the United States. Cowboys Stadium has hosted monster trucks, motocross, bull riding, yoga and even Zumba classes. And Cowboys spokesman Brett Daniels said there's talk of swimming, tennis and hockey coming to the venue soon.

Not a single mention of a shooting sport! Has Jones forgotten he's in Texas?

Quote of the Day

It is well enough that people of the nation do not
understand our banking and monetary system,
for if they did, I believe there would be a
revolution before tomorrow morning.



Henry Ford

Thank you, Nanny State! Part III

"It's alright to do extra."

Swimmer Joe talks with Eddie Reese & Reed Snyder:


Video streaming by Ustream

College Notes

Results for this year's Capital One Cup are in.

Stanford took the women's title. Read more here. On their heels was 2nd place Texas A&M, just nine points behind the Cardinal.

Florida was crowned men's champs. Read more here. The Aggie men tied with Auburn for 3rd place.

Complete results are here.

Trophies will be presented at this year's ESPY Awards.

If you haven't already voted for your favorite athletes (several swimmers have been nominated for ESPYS), you've got just over a week before the polls close on July 9.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup combines men and women scores for their rankings.

Stanford took the Division I title. Top Texas school was A&M (8th).

Division II champs were Grand Valley State. Abilene Christian finished 4th.

Williams took the Division III championship. Trinity was 53rd.

Azusa Pacific topped the NAIA rankings. Wayland Baptist placed 20th.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

College Swimming ranks Stanford's incoming class as the top recruiting class for 2011. The Longhorns are 3rd on the list. See the top 25 here.

California took the top spot in the women's rankings. Texas was 4th. Top 25 is here.