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Tuesday Boys Hoops — Corning at Las Plumas, 7 p.m. Girls Hoops — Gridley at Corning, 7 p.m. Soccer — Mercy at Hamilton, 3:30 p.m. NBA — Warriors at Mavericks, 5:30 p.m., CSNB PRCA— National Finals, 7 p.m., ESPN2 NCAAHoops — Michigan State vs. Syracuse, 6 p.m., ESPN Sports 1B Tuesday December 7, 2010 Call it what it is South wins All-Star Game Sounds like I missed a great finish Sunday night. Troy Polamalu and his talking hair forced a fumble to set up an Isaac Redman touchdown with 2:51 remaining to give the Pitts- burgh Steelers a 13-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens and control of the NFL North. I missed it, because I used the control part of my remote control. I was watching the game in the second quarter when Baltimore’s Donte’ Stallworth caught a 67- yard pass on third-and-six. It was a big play. I jumped out of my seat. Rich Greene Then NBC announcer Al Michaels decided the catch needed to be put into a larger perspective. It was just Stallworth’s second catch of the year and Michaels wanted to speak about how remarkable this was since the Baltimore wide receiver had missed the entire 2009 season through suspension. But while Michaels wanted to play up the comeback angle of the story, evidently he didn’t want to go into the details of why Stallworth was suspended. Michaels simply stated it had to do with an accident in Florida where someone died. Is that how we’re describing DUI caused fatalities now? If you’re not aware of what happened the only Stall- worth statistic that should have mattered March 14, 2009 was the .126 blood alcohol level he was sporting when he hit and killed a construction worker, Mario Reyes, with his car. Stallworth served 24 days in jail, received two years of house arrest, eight years of probation and the NFL suspended him for the entire 2009 season. The night before the crash, Stallworth earned a $4.5 million roster bonus. Maybe he just didn’t have change for a cab. I don’t mind Stallworth playing in the NFL again — he served his time and paid his fines. I don’t even mind the ridiculous money he’s made. What I do mind is an announcer trying to draw out sympathy for what he’s overcome as if it’s a great accomplishment Stallworth is still fast and can catch a ball after having sat out a year. Maybe, I was a bit over sensitive and put my morals above entertainment value, but I turned the game off. If Michaels felt the need to talk about the situation, perhaps he could have used a word more appropriate than accident. In the English language, we have such a word that sounds heinous enough and actually means exactly what Stallworth did — manslaughter. The word accident should be saved for when your dog gets too excited and knocks over a glass of cherry Kool-Aid on your rug. I don’t expect the NFL and its coverage to be at the forefront of social issues, but I know it wants to be. The league does have a long history of using its influ- ence to reach beyond the sports world from it’s decades long connection to the United Way to its more recent Play 60 campaign. Getting kids to exercise more is a worthy cause, but the NFL does have the clout to tackle tougher issues. For an entire month the NFL and every announcer who called a game referenced viewers to the pink acces- sories players were wearing to raise awareness for breast cancer. The campaign worked. It also showed how high schoolers follow suit to what their Sunday heroes do. Throughout October I saw more and more prep foot- ball players start to wear pink as the month wore on. Whether it was to imitate the NFLers or actual sin- cerity in their own beliefs to raise awareness, it was a positive example of what influence the NFL can have. Why can’t drunk driving be treated the same? While the war with cancer has been rebranded to speak about tales of fighters and survivors — there is no way to put a positive spin on drunk driving. So it’s simply not talked about. There is more of a connection between football and drinking than there is football and breast cancer. This should be an easy thing for the NFL to get behind and not just in the form of beer companies ending their com- mercials with a ‘Drink Responsible’ title card. Even though it’s happening no one wants to talk about high schoolers who are starting to drink or soon will be when they go off to college. Teenage drinking isn’t going to go away. Not driving drunk should be a message hammered home by everyone in their lives, not swept under the rug. A lot of times teenagers would rather drive home or hitch a ride home from a party with a drunk friend so they can avoid having to call their parents and admit they were up to no good. There’s not many of us who can beat an NFL defen- sive back on a streak pattern for a 67-yard pass play, but all of us have the ability to have honest discussions with our loved ones and take keys away from friends. A few weeks ago a pair of Corning drivers were arrested for DUI manslaughter in the span of a few hours. After they serve their time, they’ll re-enter the work force, except Al Michaels won’t be there to hype up what a great accomplishment it is. Michaels dropped the ball with his commentary, Sun- day night. There was an opportunity to raise awareness to a real issue. Instead he chose to err on the side of not embarrassing Stallworth or the NFL suits. In situations like that it might be better to err on the side of not embarrassing the actual victim or his family. Pink gloves and chin straps have been a successful, so would a scarlet letter on Stallworth’s name. Being able to root for a player for what he does off the field as well as on it, in these days, that would be a mir- acle worth hearing Michaels call. Daily News Sports Editor Rich Greene can be reached at 527-2151, ext. 109 or sports@redbluffdailynews.com. Courtesy photo The South knocked off the North 25-13, 25-18, 29-27 at the 10th Annual North vs. South All- Star Volleyball Match sponsored by Club Chico Volleyball and Thunder Volleyball Camps.The South team featured Red Bluff middle hitter Stevie Boone, Corning outside hitter Catherine Kinkle and Los Molinos outside hitter Kiersten Seaman. Tehama Tracker BOYS HOOPS Argonaut Tournament The Spartans began their new season, like they ended their last — playing in close games. Red Bluff opened the year at the Argonaut Quar- terback Club Tournament and fell 55-49 to Amador in overtime. The Spartans rebounded in their second game to knock off West Campus 55- 50 thanks to a 13-3 first quarter run. Red Bluff’s tournament ended with another heart- breaker as they fell to Union Mine 56-55. Red Bluff travels Thurs- day, to the Arcata Invitation- al. Pierce Tournament The Cardinals are now 2- 0 against teams not named Willows, but 0-2 against the Honkers. Corning won their first two games at the Pierce Tournament, but fell to Wil- lows for the second time this season 48-43. In a rematch of their sea- son opener, the Cardinals had Willows tied 33-33 entering the fourth, before the Honkers pulled away. The Cardinals defense held Winters to just 18 points through the first three quarters and cruised to a 48- 38 win. Corning knocked off Live Oak 69-39 as three Cardinals reached double figures. Tyler McIntyre had 16 points, Ryan Holland had 15 points and five assists and Anthony Monroe had 14 points. Ryan Howell made five steals. GIRLS HOOPS Pleasant Valley Tournament The Lady Spartans blew out Central Valley 64-30 to take third place at the Pleas- ant Valley Tournament. Lily Brose and Ashley Brown were named to the All-Tournament team. Red Bluff’s up-temp style forced 21 steals against the Lady Falcons and a 32- 17 halftime lead. Brose connected on five 3-pointers and finished with 27 points. Lottie Jones and Alana Hinkston cleaned up the boards. Courtesy photo Jones finished with 11 rebounds and six points and Hinkston recorded nine boards and eight points. Mariah Smith added eight points, Roxy Luppino had seven and Kaitlann Weber and Cory Schatz chipped in with four points each. Live Oak Tournament Catherine Kinkle’s four 3-pointers sparked Corning to a 54-49 win over Winters in the third place game at the Live Oak Tournament. Kinkle finished with 14 as did Brittney Garrett. Karlie Jennings added 13. Red Bluff’s Lily Brose drives to the basket, Saturday. Biggs Tournament The Lady Warriors rebounded from a 68-38 loss to Quincy to grab the conso- lation championship at the Biggs Tournament. Mercy defeated Chester 31-28 and then knocked off Williams 58-43 to take fifth place. WRESTLING Doc Petersen Tournament Red Bluff’s Dillon Reid captured the 171- pound title by beating out Corning’s Calvin Meister at the Doc Petersen Tour- nament in Orland. The host Trojans topped all 21 competing schools with 215.5 points. Foothill was second with 158.5 points fol- lowed by Paradise in third with 123.5. Red Bluff placed sixth with 116 points. The Car- dinals were ninth with 82 points. Corning had three wrestlers place at 215 pounds with Erik Miranda taking second, Daniel Welborn third and Raul Miron fifth. Red Bluff had a pair of third place wrestlers with Marco Gonzalez at 103 pounds and Bryce Eggert at 189. Corning’s Nate Fultz was fifth at 119 pounds.