Free Republic

LAST MONDAY, Sean Fisher of Waldwick collapsed while running drills. It was reported he may have had an undetected heart condition. Fisher died that day. It was his 13th birthday. On Tuesday, Douglas Morales of Cliffside Park died of injuries sustained during a football practice the previous week. He ruptured a blood vessel to the brain. He was 17 years old. Communities are in mourning, young athletes are unsettled by the untimely deaths of teammates and parents are trying to figure out what happened and how to prevent it from recurring. While each case is different and it’s too early...

A budding teenage athlete has died after 'overdosing' on a common topical muscle cream. The medical examiner announced on Thursday that the 17-year-old track star, Arielle Newman of Castleton Corners, N.Y., died from a toxic dose of sports cream, the Staten Island Advance reported. Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's officer told the Advance that the Notre Dame Academy track star's blood contained lethal amounts of methyl salicylate, the active ingredient found in muscle rubs such as BenGay and Icy Hot. Borakove said the petite girl used the topical medication excessively, allowing the poisons to accumulate in her...

Sep 19, 2005 10:57 am US/Eastern (1010 WINS) (PARSIPPANY, N.J.) A high school football game was postponed this weekend after a parent allegedly threatened a coach for benching his son. Parsippany police have charged 44-year-old Robert Stanel with making terroristic threats toward coach Gerry Moore. Moore benched Stanel's son for arriving five minutes late on Saturday, when the team was scheduled to visit rival West Essex. According to police, Stanel threatened to kill Moore. Stanel denied that, saying he told Moore he would -- quoting here -- ``come looking for him later.'' There was no physical contact between the men....

ROUTS FUEL SCHOOL SPORTS DEBATE By Mike Freeman Lakeshore Public Academy in Hart, Mich., has only 50 students and just a handful of sports teams. Academics, not athletics, are supreme. So it is a complete surprise that Lakeshore has become the subject of a debate on sportsmanship and fair play in high school sports. It began when the Lakeshore girls' basketball team lost to Walkerville High School early this season. Lost badly, in fact, 115-2. The blowout was perhaps the most troubling of what many coaches and educators say has been an increasing number of lopsided games across the country...