Letters To The Editor

In defense of Kennel Club

What some people call bad sportsmanship, we in the Kennel Club call love for the game and for Gonzaga University.

In a recent letter, we were accused of having poor sportsmanship. The writer recited phrases she thought she heard. She said the Kennel Club was calling the Pepperdine team “chia pet,” “ape” and “moron.”

First of all, I and many of the main Kennel Clubbers absolutely will not tolerate racial comments. When we chanted “chia pet,” we were referring to a player’s hair. We feel we have a duty to our basketball team to distract the other team within limits. Many times we pick out physical traits and use them in some way as a distraction. When we get a response from an individual on the court, we know that player’s mind, for a split second, is not on the game and we have accomplished our goal.

In response to “ape,” we were actually chanting “rape.” This is because we had information that (a player was once involved in a sexual assault). We do research on these players and we find out things about their pasts. To me, this incident seems a little worse than chanting “chia pet” at a basketball game. Another incident was another player had been kicked out of Notre Dame for smoking marijuana.

The next time Miss Pepperdine decides to accuse the Kennel Club of poor sportsmanship, she should look into the ethics of her own basketball team of which she is so dearly proud.

Last, in representation of the entire Kennel Club, I would just like to say we love our basketball team and we love to win, but in no sort of way would we resort to racial slurs to do this. Mark Puetz Gonzaga University

What’s up with that?

I don’t have a great deal of faith in awards voted by non-athletes and non-coaches. They take on the air of an Oscar-type thing; a lot of glitz and glitter, but no substance. So under ordinary circumstances, I wouldn’t have much to say about your selections (SWABs junior team, coach and athletes of year) this year. But after my son came home with some very disappointed U-Hi teammates for the third year in a row, I have to ask some questions.

What is the criteria for the voting in this thing? Is it based on popularity, as in vote for the coach you like the best? Is it perhaps based on personal prejudice, such as vote for the sport you like the best? Or maybe it just comes down to what school you like best. It doesn’t seem to be based on achievement.

Gonzaga Prep, without doubt, deserved to be recognized for its state wrestling title. But lets face the facts, this was its first state 4A wrestling title and its coaches’ first state 4A title. How can a group of writers and broadcasters, supposedly informed people, completely disregard U-Hi’s three consecutive cross country titles and two consecutive track titles? I don’t need to tell you gentlemen about the obstacles the U-Hi cross country team overcame this year in order to win its third consecutive state title. You wrote about it all year. I don’t have to tell you about the excitement of Sunfair when U-Hi beat the No. 2 team in the United States. You were there. So tell me now, how can three consecutive state titles, overcoming illnesses and season-ending injuries, and beating the No. 2 cross country team in the country not be enough to win coach of the year for Bob Barbero and team of the year for U-Hi cross country?

Based on a strong junior varsity team last year and the strength of returning runners, I think U-Hi will be in the hunt again next year. But if Bob does his coaching magic and the team manages a fourth consecutive state title, my advice to Bob and crew would be to ignore the award invitation and invest the time in something more profitable. Thanks for hearing me out. Dustin Stum Spokane

Unsung hero

I am writing on behalf of my good friend and former teammate, Travis Pascoe. Travis is known throughout the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene community as one of the finest athletes in its history. Travis has been a two-time Washington state wrestling champion, and an Idaho state finalist. He has placed as high as second and third in the prestigious Cadet and Junior national freestyle tournaments. He continues to be the dominant wrestler at every tournament in which he competes, and for the past three years in the Greater Spokane League has remained virtually “untouchable.” Moreover, he has demonstrated his outstanding athletic and leadership ability on the football field as well, winning all-GSL honors this year.

Through all this tremendous success, Travis has retained his utmost humility and is one of the finest role models that I have ever seen. Despite these accomplishments, Travis Pascoe has never been recognized in the Spokesman-Review as an “athlete of the week.” I find this fact not only unbelievably incomprehensible, but reprehensible. How can an area athlete whom college coaches consider the top wrestling recruit in the nation never be officially recognized by his own community? Just because Travis is the athlete of every week does not mean that he cannot be honored for just one week. I am writing now because your time is running short; Travis will most likely win his third state title in February and then you will have lost your chance. Travis’ week is long overdue. Sean Malone Spokane

Editor’s note: The Spokesman-Review doesn’t recognize high school athletes of the week. It publishes a Thursday feature titled “Prep profile.” Travis Pascoe has been photographed and profiled several times in lengthy articles during his stellar career at Gonzaga Prep.