_ September 3,1999, The Behrend Beacon, page ll ■ Sports —1 Don’t Get Me Started Teams battle courts for right to pray For many athletes, part of their pre game ritual includes a prayer asking their creator, whomever it might be, for protection during the game. Sometimes prayers are led by coaches or students inside the locker room or before the national anthem. But according to a recent ruling by the sth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, pregame prayers are illegal. In Texas, where high school foot ball is extremely popular, pregame prayers have become an integral part of the game. For years, students have led the fans and teams in prayer be fore the game begins. In Santa Fc, Texas, any student w ho leads a prayer Under a 7-year review, replay is back iy Curt Sylvester Cnight-Ridder Newspapers After a seven-year absence, instant eplay is back in the NFL. The new system - which is in effect for one season - allows coaches to challenge officials calls. The final decision will ie made by officials on the Held rather han in the press box. Each team gels wo challenges a game. If the chal enge isn’t upheld, the team will be charged with a time-out. During the ast two minutes of each half, ehal enges will be taken out of the hands of the coaches. During that time a re- Welcome Back We currently have openings for: General Kitchen Help Flex hours around your school schedule Come talk to us at our interview site: at this Friday’s game will be "disci plined as if they had cursed says su perintendent Richard Ownby. Under pressure Irom the superintendent, Stephanie Vega, who normally leads play official in the press box will de cide if a play should be reviewed. All replay reviews will be con ducted by the referee on a sideline monitor after consultation with the official who made the initial call. Only if the replay shows indisputable vi sual evidence will a play be reversed. Reviewable plays are those gov erned by the sideline, goal line, end /one and end line. That includes scor ing plays, passes, out-of-bounds de cisions and fumbles. In general, the system covers complete or incomplete passes, touching of a pass, illegal passes, runners not down by contact. Students! From, Line Cooks Bus People Competitive Wages! Econo-Lodge the students in prayer, has changed her mind. Vega says that, “she doesn’t want to get expelled for us ing the word God in a reverent man ner.” The ruling has prompted several schools across the country to ban prayer by the students or coaches be fore the game. For the most part, players and coaches pray so that no one gets hurt and rarely does anyone object to praying. Under the court ruling, coaches can no longer lead a team prayer before or after the game. If the coach does lead a prayer, that will say that he is showing preference towards one religion or another, touching of a kick and number of players on the field. The maximum time to be used in reviewing a play is 90 seconds. The other significant rule change involves handling of the footballs to be used by punters and placekickers. They no longer are allowed to break in new footballs by rubbing them up and working on them. Because some teams over- or un der-inflated balls or altered them in other ways, such as putting them in a dryer, the NFL ruled that only new balls - stamped with a K - will be used in kicking situations. which under the current interpretation of the law, is illegal for any school employee to do. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), claims that when a coach leads his team in prayer he is forcing his personal beliefs on the players. But the way I see it, is if a player is offended by the prayer, that player can refuse to take part in it. For many athletes, prayer is an im portant part of their preparation for the game. The prayer unites the team and helps them focus on the task at hand. To take away this crucial part of the game is an injustice. Now I will go along with the ab- New rules in college football: so long, do-rags by Curt Sylvester Knight-Ridder Newspapers Last year, the NCAA went after socks. The fashion cops wanted them visible - and matching for teammates. They made it a rule. This year, the fashion rules-makers addressed an other delicate issue - bandannas. They’re out in college football - at least if they are visible. So long, do-rags. “The theory of the coaches was that sometimes bandannas denote gang membership,” said John Adams, ran sept. SEPT. sence of prayer in the classroom, but this ruling has gone too far. Has our society been degraded so far that we now refuse to recognize religion? Apparently it has and it is time for the American public to lash back against these types of rulings that un dermine our value base. For years, coaches and players have said prayers before games, now all of a sudden it has become illegal. It should be ex pected from a court system that grants multimillion dollar settlements to people who spill hot coffee on them selves. The political correctness and “I can’t say that because it might of fend someone” envelope has been NCAA football rules committee sec retary and rules editor. "When you have a visible bandanna on the field of play, it’s a penalty. The penalty is a charged time-out. If a kid has a ban danna on and it’s covered by the hel met, it’s OK.” Adams has heard complaints that the rule is directed at black players, “but it’s not,” he said. “Coaches just thought it wasn’t part of the game. It doesn’t have anything to do with any thing racial.” yardage 2 mmm 16 DEEP BAHAMA BLACKOUT Two rules changes affect penalty pushed too far. We shouldn’t have to constantly worry about offending' someone if we really believe in what we say and it is said in good taste. To my knowledge these prayers only asked that no one got hurt and that the players gave 100% of their talent to the task before them. Nowhere do I see any phrases that would directly offend one person or another. It's time to get out of this "I can’t say that" mentality and back into reality. What’s next, they will say that we can’t wear jewelry that symbolizes religion. Oops I forgot the govern ment already outlawed that. Will the madness ever end? - Holding behind the line of scrim mage will be penalized 10 yards from the previous spot of the ball, not from the spot of the foul. This will elimi nate 14- and 16-yard holding penal ties, which occurred when a lineman was penalized for an infraction behind the line. - Intentional grounding will result in a loss of down from the spot of the foul, not a loss of down and a five yard penalty from the spot of the foul. If a quarterback is called for ground ing at his 43, the next play will start there. HAPPENS HUE
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