In his column Wednesday, Carpenter, the op-ed columnist for the paper, addresses our obsession with youth sports, in the wake of the tragic death at the Speedway of a 13-year-old motorcyclist, Peter Lenz. (I still shudder, writing those words...13-year-old motorcyclist).

Says Carp:

"Some kids want to be rock stars, some aspire to the NFL and some have horsepower in their hearts, the rationalization goes. Who are we, the old and timid, to stand in their way?

"The truth is, of course, that getting out of the way isn't the half of what we do to ensure American youngsters don't lack for wishes come true and 'passions' (can't we retire that cliché?) fulfilled.

"We buy the hundreds of dollars' worth of hockey pads. We form the pee-wee football leagues with their executive staffs. We fly to Disney World for AAU basketball tournaments sponsored by Nike....

"Dreams in an affluent, advertising-driven society are elevated to a birthright. Sports in such a society take on an urgency and a grandeur that can consume childhood almost as if in imitation of the poverty and military/religious fervor of the Third World.

"In the latter, kids are put to work and subjected to risk to degrees young Americans cannot imagine. But how often are young Americans regimented, overburdened and physically injured for causes whose artificiality mocks the fight for survival that is reality for their peers in Iraq and Sudan?

"In the same edition of the newspaper that conveyed the tragedy of Peter Lenz, an article noted a steep rise in emergency room visits by school-age athletes with concussions. It is in no way a judgment of any family's decision, or a trespass on their grief, to ask that we rethink this pursuit of anything and everything that stirs a childhood longing for glory."

Carp showed respect for the family of young Peter Lenz; he did not go arrogant or preachy, although I personally could have lived without the Third World parallel, because this instance stands on its own, and not everything in the West has an alternative universe.

At any rate,  Carpenter said in the Star what needed to be said...

First there was the jingoistic story in Saturday's Indianapolis Star, with the egregious lead: "It's going to be a super Sunday for Indianapolis hotels and Downtown merchants."

Talk about iniviting disaster...

Woe to the reporter (Tom Spalding) and woe to the editor (unknown) who allowed this mush to pass muster; it's a horrible lead, on so many levels, that it should heretofore go down on the books as trampling on about as many toes as one can imagine.

Focusing on the financial aspect of a weekend expected to be crowded with tourists is entirely a different matter than slapping together what is essentially a PR piece. Spalding, obviously,chose the latter.

Alas, it turned out NOT to be a super weekend, in the sense that a 13-year-old child was killed competing in a motorcycle race at the Speedway. One can presume that some of the parents of other children, and fans of this sport, were staying at Downtown hotels, and in fact did not enjoy a "super Sunday." What a foolish, foolish approach the Star took to their banner story Saturday....

But on to the more important topic: the young person's death.

Sports columnist Bob Kravitz subtly nailed this issue Monday when he quoted "Momma" and her offspring in his column on Page 1A (same placement as Spalding's); "Momma" is the mother of another young motorcycle competitor in the MotoGP race. Says Momma: "He's been doing this since he was 8 years old, and every time the inside of my mouth is bloody from biting my cheek," she said, which should tell her something. Then "Momma" is quoted about how this is the kid's dream, etc.

Kravitz quotes the young man himself, Ben Spies, who, at age 14, lost a friend in motorcycle wreck.

"For about two days, I thought, 'What am I doing? Should I be doing this?'" Kravitz quotes Spies.

"And my mom told me, 'If you want to quit, don't worry about us being in debt. You go ahead and quit and we'll survive...."

Wow. Talk about the money quote.The guilt trip. The whole megillah.

Bob Collins, the late great but very alcoholic sports columnist, who also covered motorsports, once explained why he never used a notebook; it intimidated some of the drivers, who tended to clam up at its sight, and plus, when you hear a great line, you won't forget it.

Kravitz got the great line; this should be fuel for all sorts of discussions about the safety of these sports, and the sanity (and greed?) of parents who permit and encourage young kids to participate and compete. What, exactly, is the motivation? Who is calling the shots?

Admittedly, Kravitz took a different tone in his column; he made it all about the passion felt by Peter Lenz, 13, who was killed. At least, he gave us something to think about. Which is what a newspaper should do.

cutting jobs in radical overhaul. Will the Indianapolis Star go this route, asks Hendy?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/26/usa-today-layoffs-radical-overhaul_n_696501.html

Thanks to him for sending this our way.

From a knowladgeable source, the second person today to contact me about the death of Joe Miller:

"He owned a company that made a legal drug popular in the gay community, ;Poppers..' Amyl Nitrate...sold in gay bars and in head shops as 'tape head cleaner,' outlawed in a few states...he made tens of millions off it, and had a lifestyle that was very fast, expensive, and, in some folks' eyes (maybe mine too!) illegal. He had a penchant for, shall we say, younger men.  Expensive younger men.

A known contributor to Dem causes, Joe Miller, a gay man, has died. By his own hand.

Tragic.

Here is a portion of an email from a source:

"You've probably heard that Joe Miller died late last night.  Joe was a controversial figure in the gay community---I'm sure you've heard of his travels and tribulations.  He made lots of money and spread it around.  Rumors about his lifestyle are rampant, and always hahve been.  Yet, he was largely a recluse."

Again, tragic. I did not know the gentleman. Weigh in, people...