Mercy Rules

A few of you original readers may recall I don't like running up scores on others - or having them run up against us!

Sometimes it's unavoidable. If you're in a tri- or quad-meet, your line-up may help you stay in a meet with one opponent, while running it up on a weaker one. You may also have coaches that won't agree to let you to swim your kids "exhibition" if the meet's getting out of hand.

Starting in the fall of 2012, the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) will have mercy rules for football and basketball. Read more here.

The rule calls for a running clock in the second half of TAPPS games if a team reaches a 40-point lead. If the lead gets under 40, the timing goes back to regular rules.

"It's to keep teams from losing games 80-2 or something like that," Burleson said. "It doesn't do anybody any good - not the winning team and not the losing team."