I need more details here.

When I played high school football, back when dinosaurs ruled the earth, the clock would continue to run if a thirty point spread existed in the fourth quarter. The game didn't stop, but it sped up. If such a spread existed before the fourth, the clock ran as normal, unless both coaches agreed to running it unstopped.

Now that my sons play high school football, I see that the same rule applies, with one minor change. The point spread is now thirty five points.

Personally, I don't have a problem with the rules as stated above. Blow outs aren't prevented, but the agony time gets diminished.

Disappointment feeds improvement. Improvement feeds self-esteem.

it is wrong, losing to what ever degree is all part of growing up.

That's pretty stupid,but I don't see how it's a threat to the country.

As a career educator, I feel this is not that big of a deal. Most coaches with integrity, I'm a former coach, don't allow the score to get too far out of hand.

In middle schools where there are by and large no barriers to entry for the sport, you're going to have some lopsided teams. High school is more competetive - that's a different story - but in middle schools, kids are supposed to be having fun and testing the waters. And heck with the kids for a minute - what parent wants to sit around and watch a baseball game with a score of 32-1?

Which begs the question, "Do they actually understand the meaning of competitive sports?" Either do it or do away with it entirely. How lame can you get?

Ah, ladies and gentlemen, here we see the philosophy of people not taking responsibility of their actions come. It may be subtle, but it is just as dangerous. Sometimes, in life, people lose. Some people are just not as good as others. If you suck at playing the stock market, you will lose eventually. If you don't work, don't research, don't do anything, you deserve to lose you money, because frankly, you are an idiot. It is the same in sports, but now we say you don't have to work. We don't want your tender feelings hurt even though teams that don't work deserve to be creamed. You see, in sports, if you work your tail off, most of the time you won't get creamed, unless you REALLY suck and then a very embarrassing defeat can be a favor in the way of a wake up call, however if you don't work, you will get creamed and you deserve. Let's give high school athletes some responsibility and some respect, because these rules are just an insult. We are telling our athletes that they are immature enough to take defeat, and for the most part this just is not true. Ludicrus, I tell you.

Instead of creating artificial rules to insulate young people from reality, school athletic departments should instead be instilling in youngsters essential life lessons as there is absolutely nothing wrong with losing by ANY score whatsoever, so long as one gives their all from beginning to end and never quits. Young people must understand that no one athlete or team is unbeatable; everyone loses and it is an important lesson in life to learn how to do so with the proper deportment of grace and dignity...as few in our society respect a poor loser or arrogant, pompous winner. Further, losing by a wide score or margin at least gives the losing team a specific idea where they actually stand in regards to both their competition and how much they still need to improve. Fiddling with the rules to make the scores sound close(r) is merely an unfortunate example of politically-correct dishonesty and not a good lesson for any child.

I don't think this is very helpful; in fact, fixing the score makes the other side look worse. Now how is that good for their self-esteem? Sports is something which is supposed to build character and also a sense of fair competition. Many times that happens through losing, regardless of the score! Many times in life you can't fix the score and get away with it, unless if you get into politics!! Letting the clock run down faster is okay if the difference between the teams is large, but what's the point of doing this?

I pretty much agree with Planetary the most, but I ALMOST kinda wish they considered this long ago and in the pros too, before the horror of the 2003 Tigers, 62 Mets, 73 Sixers, etc...

I personally think this should be left up to officials ( i.e., umps, and referees ) who preside over the games in question, and not some school-board-implemented rule. Sometimes a thick slice of humble pie can teach a youngster a valuble lesson, but there does come a point where piling it on becomes an exercise in absurdity, and that is where I think it is perfectly reasonable for an official to call a game after a certain point. This happened to my little league team some 25 years ago, we were getting whooped 33-0 and the on-field officials made the right call to stop the game in the 5th inning - I honestly believe the game would still be going on today if the umps hadn't of made that call. TO CLARIFY: I was applying the points I made in my original post to baseball. Games in which a clock is involved ( football, basketball) , I would say let the little buggers ride it out.

I remeber that a basketball league I played in did that once... we were leading them Twenty to zero at the half, they reset the scores, and we still be them by a wide margin. It's rather pointless I mean a 10-2 loss is the same as a 15-2 loss, ya still lose, and besides you could make a comeback... Update: Yeah a handicap in bowling is nice, but it's hard to catch a team that has a 200 pin head start over you...I got swept by a team like that last night.

I don't see why it should be mandated even if kids are that fragile (which they aren't). Most coaches will cool their team off after awhile anyway, and if they don't, the losing coach will explain that the behavior is about the other team and not them anyway. Updating: Well, I'm all for a handicap, based on average scores or something. They do this in bowling leagues. Make it a challenge for both teams. But that's a little different.

How are these kids going to learn to deal with life when they grow up? Life is all about going through setbacks.

This one really isn't the fault of the school administrators per se. The crusading by activist parents (whose sons and daughters, undoubtedly, had had their butts kicked too severely for their tastes) is the cause of this debacle, which is simply a set of rules in an area where administrators should have the guts not to tread. They have no real contribution to make here, they are inserting their capricious authority where it does not belong and denying the participants the lesson they are entitled to. Having coached at nearly every level, from T-Ball through the varsity level, I've seen both ends of this problem. When I was at the talent-short (or coaching-short) end, and the (basketball) ref called me over to instruct me on the mercy-rule he was about to impose, I declined. Somewhat profanely. My logic: a team at our level doesn't get to play against this level of opponent very often. We stand to learn a lot today and you're not cheating us out of it. Explaining this to the parents was key, but your team always plays much better after a butt-whipping like this. Kids, today we're learning what competition is. Does it build character? No, not the least bit. It reveals character, on both sides. Is it fun? No. Not on either side. Sports contests like this are the pure revealer of truth. Someone's feelings were hurt? What?! It's called a contest for a reason.

I've been on both sides of high-school beat-downs. . .I don't mind the 10-run mercy rule in baseball. . .but I can't see a mercy rule in basketball in football- for some reason I can't think of a logical reason why. I learned more from defeats than victories. . .

Hyper-sensitivity is one of the hallmarks of American society in the early 21st Century. Often times to the extent that the truth or, in this case, life lessons and valuable learning experiences are ignored, averted or subdued.

Getting your ass kicked teaches a valuable lesson. Down 77-0? Let the little bastards suffer. It builds character.

The "wussification of America" is riding strong. I could not believe this when I heard it at the season kick off meeting from the mouth of the head coach. No team would continue to play no matter what if an 18 point advantage had been reached. The game would be forfieted!! Sure and why dont we pick up the boys and suckle them too!! Dont we all have to know how to deal with bad defeat to appreciate a tough win?! There must be a balance in life to make us whole. This just aint it! Theres an old saying, you win some, you lose some. It never said your only supposed to lose or win by a "reasonable amount". This way of thinking is not helping one young man in any way that I can think of other than to weaken their spirit!