First, some SSP–if you want to see the clip from 4 Quarters yesterday, please send me an email to first name at domain name dot com. Gotta have QuickTime 7, though. I also have it in iPod compatible format. Again, thanks for that goes to Rex.
(And it went better this time than last. Most importantly–my gear is fly as fuck, pimpin.)
Been busy the last few days, but here’s some of the priceless mail from the piece on nut shots.
The first is from Joseph. Try not to cringe.

I wrestled for 6 years and by the time I graduated i had caught my share of shots. Most wrestlers wear a jock and i even wore compression shorts to try to keep everything as pulled up as possible. Since you are grappling it’s a given that you will get hit/grabbed a few times if you’re around long enough. Most wrestlers though operate on the system of do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Example: you’re in a match and someone grabs you just go “you got me” real quick and the other guy knows what happenned and usually lets go. My senior at the region tournament i had a guy defy these rules on me. I was seeded first and the favorite to win the tourny and i was beating my opponent handily in the semi’s and he happenned to grab me. I was on top of him so i leaned forward and let him know he had me and needed to let go. The dude squeezed tighter! This is not the right move when you are loosing as bad as he was in the match. I got pissed and apparently my adrenaline was ahead of the pain and i leaned forward and i remember saying this, “you’re going to die motherf—–” I put him in a move that had been just been made legal again and about broke his ribs while he cried to the ref but i made sure that he would never again grab another man’s jewels again.

This is from Bryan in Alabama.

Loved your article. Don’t know if you’ll read this or not but in high school football one of my teammates was playing cornerback. He got steamrolled by a fullback on a sweep then got stepped on by the halfback. Who was about 200 pounds. And wearing cleats. My buddy actually was able to finish the game only missing one series (this was a small school, we all played iron man ball so he was also a flanker). After the game he walked up to the coach and said, “They’re swollen, coach.” In a scene right out of some sports comedy movie our 70 year old coach said, “Really? Let me see. Well I’ll be….” To the hospital he went and the rest of the team went to Wal-Mart to purchase the proper protective gear. He managed to recover in time for basketball season (where he was the only basketball player wearing a cup), but he was lucky. The doctors thought that they would have to do surgery.

Sean was more level about things. Or he’s just a sucker. One of the two.

Bomani,
I play soccer at a University and personally i think that crotch shots are part of the game. Unintentional ones that is. The intentional shots are inexcusable and i agree with you. The unintentional shots should be called as a foul but nothing more. Everyone cant keep control of their limbs at all times. The punishments should only be during the run of the game, these punishments that you have are too harsh and wont help people to keep from having unintentional crotch shots.
Thank You

Here’s Barry in Arkansas.

Sure enjoyed this column with some very personal interest. I was unlucky enought to receive two of
these shots [one unintentional and the other very intentional] in a two year period. Both were sorta
sports related as one occured during a military forced swim session and the other during an altercation after
an inter-unit baseball game. I can sum it up by saying your penalties may be a bit too light and nowhere near draconian. If you aint been there then you really cant know how debilitating such a blow can be. Loved the line about not having the strength to heave. Dead on accurate for sure. thanx again for a great column. Look forward to the
next one.

Again, join the movement, folks. Stop nut punching where it starts–in the hearts of suckas that shouldn’t be allowed to roam free.