what can you say these days?

[lapdoggy <lapdoggy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

$1 dollar ploy backfires for high school coach
By CHARLES RICHARDS, Associated Press Writer
March 25, 2003

DALLAS (AP) -- Earl Carson wanted his high school basketball team to 
play better defense, and he had an idea: Every time a player drew a 
charge he would pay him a dollar.

The team did play tough defense, but the ploy had other consequences. 
Carson resigned as coach, cited for violating amateur rules.

``It was a frivolous thing, poor judgment, and if I had it to do over, 
I wouldn't do it, obviously,'' Carson told The Associated Press on 
Monday night. ``It was foolish. I was trying to motivate them.''

  Carson was the coach at Denison High School, about 70 miles from 
Dallas, near the Texas-Oklahoma border. He has been coaching there for 
17 seasons, averaging more than 20 wins a year.

The 56-year-old coach began talking to his players after Thanksgiving 
about the $1 dollar reward for drawing offensive fouls.

``I said, `I'll tell you what. I'll give you a dollar for every time 
you take a charge,''' Carson said. ``I never really intended to pay the 
kids, to tell you the truth. I just wanted to get their attention. 
Well, we started keeping a chart on it. The kids started to focus more 
on defense, and we started playing better.''

After starting the season 3-10, Denison won 12 of its last 17 games 
before losing in the playoffs.

Carson said when the season was over he figured that he owed $23, 
divided among 12 players. Within two days, Denison athletic director 
Bob Brown told him there was a problem.

Brown checked with the University Interscholastic League, which governs 
athletic and academic competition in Texas public schools and was told 
the offer violated amateur rules.

Brown declined to say on Tuesday whether the players actually received 
the money. He added that Carson's resignation was voluntary.

Carson appeared before the Denison school board March 5 and presented a 
letter of resignation, which was accepted. He's teaching physical 
education until the end of the school year.

Carson hasn't applied for another coaching job yet, but is putting a 
resume together.

A district committee -- made up of athletic directors and 
superintendents or principals -- asked Carson to appear Wednesday. 
Brown said the committee could penalize or reprimand the school, or 
send the matter to the state body.

``I'm not going to try to fight anything on this,'' Carson said. ``I 
did the crime; I need to do the time.''