Well, yep. 20 years old, and you found a way to make me feel old. Thanks.

Edit: But, you know, good for that kid. He's rooted on his hometown team and never known a winner until now. Reminds me of myself, way way back in the year 2000 when I was just 12 and the A's made the playoffs.


Except the Rays won in the first round.

Well, yep. 20 years old, and you found a way to make me feel old. Thanks.

Anytime, walkoff.

So did Gomes promise the kid he would get in the game?

So did Gomes promise the kid he would get in the game?

Gomes got the kid on the field for batting practice before Game 2 and got him a signed bat. And Carlos Pena wrote a note to the principal.

Rays outfielder and resident bouncer Jonny Gomes

Nice touch.

And Carlos Pena wrote a note to the principal.

I thought that was cool, too.

What kind of school gives out a suspension for THAT. That's ridiculous.

What kind of school gives out a suspension for THAT.

When I was in 11th grade, I got suspended for sneezing and then sniffling in my physics class. No lie. It wasn't even that loud, and I used a tissue.

But unlike Sammy Sosa, I was able to stay in school that day.

this is why all decent Americans are rooting for the Rays....

They give kids suspensions in my little brother's high school for using cell phones.

I was once suspended for being beaten up. I haven't yet heard that one matched.

In middle school (grade 8 I think) I rearranged the desks in one of my lesser-filled classrooms to make a fort and didn't get in trouble. I once brought a lawn chair to math class for a whole week in 11th grade and didn't get hassled. In grade 10 I had a mullet for 2 weeks, which IMO is much more offensive than a mohawk based on pure hideousness. Teachers merely laughed at that. Funny country you guys live in...

This kid's mohawk is 1000x more stylish than all the Rays ones combined. Gomes' looks like a beaver tail. They're all way too wide.

They gave suspensions at my school for bringing weapons to school. Fascists.

I'd like to think that even if I weren't rooting all-out for the Rays this postseason (see my quasi-suicidal maunderings in yesterday's game thread), this story would still hit me squarely in that squishy part of my baseball loving heart. Gomes may not be that much of a ballplayer, but he's the man for pulling this off for the kid. And the rest of the team was great too. Perhaps karma paid off for them somewhere around the 10th inning or so?

When I was in high school I brought a realistic looking bb gun and a genuine sword to school for a scene I was doing in theater, and didn't get in any trouble carrying them from class to class (since they wouldn't fit in my locker). No way that happens just a quarter century later. The only comment I had on it at the time was one teacher telling me I had to keep them under my desk during class.

I was once suspended for being beaten up. I haven't yet heard that one matched.

Robin Ventura got two games.

What kind of school gives out a suspension for THAT.

There is a reason Fark has a "Florida" tag.

I'm still saying there's a first amendment freedom of expression lawsuit to be had here.

I'm still saying there's a first amendment freedom of expression lawsuit to be had here.

I'm still saying this kid should recede back into social insignificance as soon as possible.

They gave suspensions at my school for bringing weapons to school. Fascists.

Not at mine.


You hear lots of criticisms of teachers - some justified - but, IMO, what has really crapped up the American school system more than anything else is the modern school administration. Common sense has little to do with how schools are run on a daily basis. And, yes, despite my repeatedly knocking heads with them, I'd say the guys running the show when I was in school did know what they were doing.

I'm still saying this kid should recede back into social insignificance as soon as possible.

Thank you. He's like that Puerto Rican brat that caused all that trouble in Miami a few years ago.

When I was in elementary and Junior High School, I can think of maybe three days in eight years where I didn't find some excuse to stay home and watch the World Series, on the days when the teacher didn't let us all go and watch it in the TV room. Of course it figured that the first game I missed completely was Larsen's perfect game, but I made sure I came down with a "nasty cough" in time to watch the last two games uninterrupted.

But dress codes, shlt....They'd send you home back then for not having your goddam shirt tucked in, or for wearing jeans instead of khakis. A f*ck*ng Mohawk would probably have gotten you four to six months in jail along with the child molesters.

I'm still saying there's a first amendment freedom of expression lawsuit to be had here.

How so? The school administration enacts a dress/appearance/conduct code before the school year, one that is understood (and often agreed to) by all students and parents. These codes are frequently subject to interpretation of the administrators. But if you violate the terms, you face certain discipline.

I think it would have been fair to withhold the ISS on the first day, since the mohawk wasn't specifically spelled out in the particular code. But one thing worse than the overreaction of the school administrators here has been the overreaction of those decrying the fascists.

The problem, as far as I can tell, is zero-tolerance policies, which are generally supported by parents/taxpayers until that moment when it becomes apparent that zero-tolerance leaves no room for common sense.

The kid got a haircut that the school determined was a violation of its code. You can disagree with the code, or the interpretation of it, but the idea that it's a matter that should end up in court seems ridiculous. Let the local school board hash it out.

I'm still saying this kid should recede back into social insignificance as soon as possible.

That's not mutually exclusive to what I said :)

My impression is that suspensions for getting beaten up are pretty common, because you are "fighting". It happened to a couple of my friends. Really, you learned not to rat on people under any circumstance. It's a lesson that will serve me well if I ever end up in prison.

one that is understood (and often agreed to) by all students and parents

Do you have the option of not agreeing to it?

Do you have the option of not agreeing to it?

Well, you have options, though they may not include your attendance at that particular school if you're not willing to abide by the rules established. If nothing else, you do have the opton to challenge the rules/regulations before the school year begins, or have school board members elected/appointed that are more amenable to your POV.

In grade 10 I had a mullet for 2 weeks

That's a neat trick. Was it a wig, or can you control the speed at which your hair grows?

Thank you. He's like that Puerto Rican brat that caused all that trouble in Miami a few years ago.

That one had a lot more significance to, say, the actual kid involved let alone a few other people, jeez. Not saying the coverage wasn't ridiculous, but it was more important than this kid's hair. Please, that's a pretty brutally unequal comparison.

Who is this Puerto Rican kid anyway?

Cuba is a suburb of P.R. Or it will be soon.

My first thought was Elian Gonzalez, but A.) He's Cuban, not Puerto Rican, 2.) That was more than a few years ago, as I define it, and D.) The situations are so completely dissimilar, there is no comparison to be made at all.

My first thought was Elian Gonzalez, but A.) He's Cuban, not Puerto Rican, 2.) That was more than a few years ago, as I define it, and D.) The situations are so completely dissimilar, there is no comparison to be made at all.

Oh, I thought that as well, Elian. I'm guessing that's what he MEANT, maybe, with lots of details wrong?

I thought Elian