PREPNET / SPEAK OUT

Each week, Times readers have an opportunity to express their views in our PrepNet Speak Out column. This week’s topic:

Some sports have mercy rules. Should those rules be extended to other sports, like football and water polo? Why or why not?

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BROCK KYLER

El Modena, Basketball

No, at least not in basketball. You should just play until the game is over. I don’t even like the rule in baseball because you can still score 10 runs in an inning and catch up. Anything is possible; you don’t know what will happen. You should never give up and roll over even if you are losing. I’d want no mercy rule at all.

NICOLE HARRISON

Edison, Field Hockey

Yeah, I think there should be one because sometimes it starts getting sad for the losing team when they are getting beat really bad. Sometimes our coaches tell us to stop scoring so much, and that is really hard to do in some games.

MELISSA ESMERO

Mater Dei, Tennis

I don’t think it would work in tennis because all the players want to play [the match] out. A mercy rule doesn’t give the other players a chance to play their matches and get any practice in. I think a rule like that would irritate most of the players.

CHELSEA TROTTER

Brea Olinda, Basketball

I don’t think it’s fair to the better teams that they have to play only half a game because of the mercy rule--I think it punishes them. In sports where the game can be dragged out a long time, where there isn’t a time limit, the mercy rule is a good idea. But in games like basketball, where the game is 32 minutes, there shouldn’t be one. There’s only a certain amount of time, and it’s not really necessary; the game will end no matter what.