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Scugog Citizen -- Tuesday, March 9, 1993 --9 4a BLT VIEWPOINT by John B. McClelland LETTERS TO EDITOR & r Ls THE MIGHTY i WHAT? It was my son, the 17-year old with the sense of humour who first broke the news to me one morning last week as he read the sports pages and | was scanning the business section of my daily paper. "Guess what, Dad? The new NHL team in Anaheim is really going to be called the "Mighty Ducks." "No way," I replied. "They wouldn't dare." "Says so right here, and in Miami, they're going to call the team the 'Wave' as in "Crime Wave," he chuckled By this time I didn't know if the kid was telling all the truth, part of the truth or none of the truth As it turns out, the Mighty Ducks are for real in southern California, but the Miami entry 1s still without a name, although the Wave would certainly be a logical choice My first reaction on hearing that the Mighty Ducks is indeed the name was -one of dismay. Danny Gallivan, that great voice of Montreal hockey for so many years, who passed away last week, must be turning in the grave He would have had a field day broadcasting a game between the Ducks and the Canadiens The Mighty Ducks! Good Lord, what a name for a hockey team. The headline writers are going to have a grand old time. Can you imagine thes red-blooded Canadian boys from the frozen hinterland with gap-tooth smiles and bruised knuckles sporting "Ducks" on the front of their sweaters. Can you imagine the way opposition fans are going to react" But it's only a name. The people at Disney who are behind the franchise obviously know a thing or two about promotion and marketing (Ducks sweaters and jackets are going to take over from the Sharks in merchandising) and if this is what 1t takes for the NHL to get network television in the States, so be it. This will enhance the well being of the sport at all levels. And besides, will it really matter what is on the front of the jersey when a young hockey player signs a fat contract to play for the Ducks? I doubt it. For the kind ofy money floating around, a hockey player will take a lot of snide remarks about the name of the team Chuckle, chuckle, quack, quack all the way to the bank. And that 1s exactly what it's all about. Still with hockey, but on another topic, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters want TV cameras to turn away from a fight when it breaks out on the ice. This is in response to a request from Keith Spicer, chairman of the CRTC which is trying to reduce levels of violence on the tube Talk about a bleeding heart issue Not showing hockey fights on the tube will reduce violence 1n society by one big zero. Why is it that fighting is the whipping boy for all societal 111s"? Are they going to fade to black when there's a dug-out clearing brawl in baseball" What about the brush hack pitch, a potentially lethal part of baseball strategy? Are they going to ban the WWF totally? For my money, pro "wrestling" has a far more negative impact on youngstets than hockey fights ever will And what happens when a six-year old who has only seen the "samtized" game on TV gets a chance to see a game hve at the Gardens and bingo, right after the opening face-off, there's a fight or a brawl. What kind of message will that kid get? It has always been "politically correct" in some circles to pick on hockey fights and blame them for all the ills of society. Now they're at it again. What a bunch of puppies Why doesn't TV tackle all the psychological violence that occurs in prime time on the tube seven nights a week? Are the broadcasters going to order their news cameras to pan away from violence on a picket line or at some demonstration? I doubt it I suspect this hockey fight issue is the result of somebody looking to generate a headline or two. When you need some publicity in this country, jump on that ancient bandwagon about the evils of hockey fights NAME THE DONKEY!! Ta She's getting bigger and she needs a name. Send in the name you have chosen along with your name and phone number and you could be a winner! March 12 is the final day. The winner will be announced in the March 16th edition of the Citizen. + Reader: Local monopoly charges excessive rates To The Editor: As members of the all too complacent silent majority, my wife and I, friends and associates seldom feel compelled to complain vigorously about many things. When we do howevef, 1t is typically motivated by issues where a strong sense of injustice or usery seems to prevail I am referring specifically to the rates charged for taxi service to the residents of Port Perry and surrounding area. We are a fortunate two car family with little need for third party transportation services; however my wife had the need for taxi service on March 4 from the Port Perry Medical Centre to Carnegie Beach The fee for this one way ride was $28.35 with the metre starting at $6.50, a distance of perhaps 12 miles I work in Toronto and have travelled on business frequently throughout the US and Canada. No where have | encountered such excessive rates for To the Editor: As you are aware, in the Scugog Area there is no League available for women between the ages of 20 and 25, and men between the ages of 20 and 30. I think this 1s the time in a young adults hfe that they would probably be at their best to play ball. With this in mind, 1 am trying to get a Slo Pitch League started this year for young men and women between the ages of 20 and 25 This would apply to anyone that 1s this age as of December 31, 1993 I would hike to run this league based on the OASA Slo Pitch Rules and Regulations. Each team will field 5 men and 5 women at all times and alternating at bat. Also, with both men and women playing on the same team we well be using the safe line at home plate. This 1s standard OASA Rules of Play Teams will be responsible for providing their own equipment and sponsors hike the mens and ladies leagues Each team will be charged a fee to cover the cost of baseballs, diamond fees and umpires fees. We would taxi service Toronto and Oshawa metres start at $2.60, and a ride from downtown Manhatten to LaGuaria Airport, a distance of 20 miles is only $17.50, or $20.00 at the most It seems to me with so much focus and public exposure given to the well publicized and apparent big corporate rip offs we've lost site of these issues on a smaller scale I am a firm believer of return on investment and applaud the entrepreneunal spint, but when a small local monopoly feels 1t necessary to charge rates in Port Perry far above those charged in the most expensive cities in North America something 1s very wrong the impact on certain members of our community Brian Blair, Port Perry, Ont ay ball encourage teams to try to get diamond time available for their home games. | am aware that in the Scugog area there 18 not much available in the way of diamond time during the evening, so some games may have to be played on a weekend dunng the afternoon I would appreciate it 1f anyone who handles this function could contact me and let me I can only imagine financial know what 1s available I realize that this 1s a large task to take on so | would appreciate any help that 18 offered. Anyone who would be interested in helping me get this league started A me a call before March 19 at 986-0653 If you would like to put together a team for this league, or are interested in playing but don't know enough people to put together a team on your own, please give me a call and I will refer you to someone whos looking for players Contact me before April 1 at 986-0653 Thank you for your interest and much needed help Bernice Avis Blackstock 986-0653 Deny knowledge? To the Editor Although I don't have children, I have been following the articles and letters regarding sex education and the demands by some parents for nothing but "abstinence teaching." It reminds me of the years when | was in school and sex education was offered as an option, depending on the parents My mother kept me out of all but the very vaguest of classes, and taught me nothing herself at home. The result was that puberty caught me by surprise and terrified me, and I later made several poor decisions regarding sex because I did not know enough about it. The fact is that people always make better decisions when they know all sides of the story, even those that might not seem relevant to them at the time. You can't know what's good if you don't know what's bad. I didn't and I blame it on the fact that knowledge was withheld from me Abstinence may well be the best way for children, but they have a nght to know about all forms of birth control and disease prevention even if they plan not to have sex To deny them knowledge, especially knowledge that can save a life, 18 irresponsible. Anyone who believes that a child will always say "no" simply because their parents insist on it might be interested in some swampland I have up for sale Parents might even find that if their children are thoroughly taught about lifestyles, sexually transmitted diseases and condoms, they might decide to use the wide range of knowledge they have been given and opt for abstinence simply because it looks better than the other options they know about. Jil McIntosh, RR 1, Oshawa.