Minute Maid Park will serve as the venue for "Pride at the Park Night," a misguided attempt by the Astros to raise awareness of the GLBT community.

Sports provide an escape for many, a place where people of all different walks of life can congregate and unite to support the common goal of their team beating its opponent. While some view sports as trivial competitions, there are times when people attempt to use them to serve a higher purpose.

Some people, however, go too far and attempt to use sports as a catalyst to effect social change, which can distort their true purpose of providing entertainment to the masses.

On July 10, the Astros will work toward raising awareness for Houston’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community when they host “Pride at the Park Night” during a home game against the Cardinals. A portion of the ticket proceeds will be donated to six local non-profit organizations, and Mayor Annise Parker will even kick the night off by throwing out the opening pitch.

Tickets prices will be discounted for everyone who attends — not just members of the GLBT community — so no one will be singled out. At least that’s the way it seems.

The problem is that while the Astros feel they’re celebrating GLBT awareness, they are really doing more harm to the movement than good.

In the interest of full disclosure, let me say that I am not a member of the GLBT community; I will never know some of the struggles people of that particular background have had to endure.

That said, what I do know is that the way to gain acceptance for the gay community — or any group, for that matter — isn’t by celebrating its existence once every 365 days.

The GLBT community should always be embraced. It’s ludicrous for the Astros to say, “Let’s have Annise Parker throw out the first pitch of our GLBT event because she’s gay.” Parker should be a candidate to be involved in an Astros game by virtue of the fact that she’s the mayor of the fourth-largest city in the U.S., not because of her sexual orientation.

Everyone should be welcome at any Astros game, and in many ways, this night subtly demonstrates that members of the GLBT community are not. Hosting Pride at the Park Night sends a message that the team wants to celebrate the GLBT community, just not all of the time and only on its own terms.

What the Astros need to realize is that the best way to accept a certain group of people is by treating them the same way they would treat any other. Hosting an event that singles out a particular group of people is counterintuitive to our progression into an accepting culture.

While it may be naïve to think members of the GLBT community are accepted equally everywhere in the nation, it’s equally absurd to not realize the extent to which Houston already embraces the gay community. If owner Drayton McLane really wants to send a message of support, he and the team should sponsor a float in the annual Pride Houston parade.

The Astros’ front office has a long history of making mistakes when it comes to running their organization, but such blunders usually manifest themselves on the field instead of away from it. Unless the Astros’ next campaigns involve “Heterosexuals at Home Plate” or “Caucasians in the Crawford Boxes,” this idea will unfortunately go down in the “loss” column.

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Web site Revolution Muslim warned South Park's creators that their depiction of the Prophet Muhammad had made them targets for murder.

One of the great things about living in a free country is having the right to say just about whatever you want. Some people, however, can go too far with their comments.

South Park celebrated the airing of its 200th episode, “200,” on April 14 by bringing back almost every famous figure in the show’s history for one more lambasting. From Tom Cruise to Mel Gibson, no one was spared — not even the Prophet Muhammad.

After the episode aired, Internet blog Revolution Muslim posted a warning to the show’s creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, saying they made themselves targets for murder because of their depiction of Muhammad.

“We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo van Gogh for airing this show,” the posting said. “This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them.”

For those of you who don’t know, van Gogh was a Dutch filmmaker who was murdered months after completing a documentary about violence against women in certain Muslim cultures. His attacker, a Muslim radical named Mohammed Bouyeri, shot van Gogh eight times in broad daylight and stuck his dead body with two knives before attempting to decapitate him in a public street.

Fully grasping the gravity of the situation, Comedy Central immediately moved to censor out all images and references to the Muhammad in South Park’s sequel episode, “201.”

The administrators of the Revolution Muslim blog issued a subsequent post to clarify their stance on the issue, claiming they simply wanted to warn Parker and Stone of the severity of their actions, nothing more.

“Our intention with this explanation is only, Allah willing, to create the possibility that a deeper and more productive dialogue may be initiated,” the posting said. “We hope that the creators of South Park may read this and respond, that before sending hate mail and condemning us that we may partake in dialogue, and that the Western media’s degradation of the most blessed of men ceases.

“Otherwise we warn all that many reactions will not involve speech, and that defending those that insult, belittle, or degrade the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a requirement of the religion.”

The curious thing about the Web site’s claim is that although it purports to be merely sending a warning to Parker and Stone, the original post also listed several mailing addresses where people could contact them, as well as a link to a Nov. 9 story from the Huffington Post that talks about their retreat home in Steamboat Springs, Colo. Did I forget to mention the post also began with a picture of van Gogh’s dead body?

Anyone who sees this as anything but a threat is certifiably insane. The message is loud and clear, and it’s not one of peace.

Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee — the author of the original post — and the rest of the people responsible for the Revolution Muslim Web site need to be condemned for attempting to incite violence against Parker and Stone. Their behavior does not reflect that of most Muslims, but threatening to kill people has unfairly thrust the entire religion into the spotlight.

Free speech has very few limits, which can sometimes seem unfair. The best way to combat these cowards is by using words, too — words that show them their threats will never extinguish the flame of free speech.

It was so great, you should read it again at TheDailyCougar.com

Prairie View A&M is one of many universities that need to send a stronger message to discourage hazing.

Schools across the country deal with issues of fraternity hazing every year, but many choose to ignore the problem instead of working to fix it. Tuesday, officials at Prairie View A&M University made it clear that they take hazing very seriously.

Administrators at the school decided to disband the Prairie View chapter of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity after concluding that it had violated school hazing rules, resulting in the death of 20-year-old pledge Donnie Wade Jr. Officials also determined that members covered up the circumstances surrounding Walsh’s death.

The announcement was handed down one day after the anniversary of the birthday of Jack Phoummarath, a University of Texas at Austin student who drank himself to death at the encouragement of his fraternity during another bout of hazing.

It’s good to see Prairie View send a message to students that hazing won’t be tolerated, but the message needs to be stronger. The fact of the matter is, fraternities have been hazing pledges since well before Animal House, and no school yet has created an airtight policy to keep this tradition from continuing.

Fraternities don’t seem too worried about the consequences of their actions, as they continue to get away with breaking not only school codes, but also standards of human decency.

Universities need to update the rules. In fact, they really only need one: you haze pledges, you’re out.

No second chances, no letting students’ rich parents or benefactors influence a decision. If a student puts someone else’s life in danger, their academic career needs to come to an abrupt end.

Not sending a message this severe only serves to embolden fraternities to continue acting as they have in the past. After all, when the worst that can happen to fraternity members is losing the free house they and their friends get drunk in, why in the world would they be motivated to change?

UH and every other college in the nation needs to implement a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to hazing. Not doing so would only show a lack of caring on the school’s part.

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Jerry Rice will swing for the fences when he attempts to make a new career on the PGA Tour.

For many prominent athletes, retirement means riding off into the sunset never to be seen in the public eye again.

Others, however, find ways to remain in the spotlight, driven by a need to always be the center of attention.

After 13 Pro Bowl selections, three Super Bowl championships and a runner-up finish on Dancing with the Stars, Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice has made headlines yet again — by joining the PGA’s Nationwide Tour.

In an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday, Rice announced that he would be playing in Thursday’s Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward, Calif.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime here,” Rice said to the AP. “You know I’m a competitor. I don’t want to go out there and have those players who are playing on the Nationwide Tour think this is a publicity stunt for attention. It’s not … I have the opportunity to go out and prove to everybody I can play golf.”

Rice has been hitting the links since his days of catching passes from Joe Montana, and he seems to fully realize the amount of effort this endeavor will require.

“I got addicted to the game; I have so much passion for it,” Rice said. “These guys are really good golfers. They are one step below the PGA and a lot of these guys are going to go on and be part of the PGA. To line up against these guys, I’m honored … I’d love to make this cut in my debut.”

My family lived in the Bay Area up until I was 11, which meant I grew up with the Eddie Debartolo-era 49ers. I was a witness — long before any campy Nike ad campaign — to football played as close to perfection as possible.

I was spoiled watching Rice carve up defenses in Bill Walsh’s innovative west coast offense, making football look as easy as riding a bike.

When Rice signed with Oakland in 2000, it was clear that he had lost a step and was entering the twilight of his career. Following a trade to the Seahawks midway through the 2004 season, Rice retired after failing to catch a pass in Seattle’s opening-round playoff loss to the Rams.

Rice is the greatest receiver in the history of the NFL and has earned the right to do whatever he wants with he free time. He needs to consider, however, that he’s playing against golfers who are on the fringe of being professionals.

These are people who have been making a living off of golf for a long time — a living that doesn’t add up to much money, as they’re playing in what amounts to the PGA’s minor league. All the amateur golfers at the event are vying for their PGA Tour cards as well, and they won’t simply step aside to let a sports icon have his moment in the sun.

There’s a good chance that Rice could make a fool of himself and get embarrassed in his first Tour event, but he just might surprise everyone and get the best of the field.

Hopefully, this isn’t just another fading star’s attempt to stay in the limelight; Rice deserves more than 15 minutes of fame.

It was so great, you should read it again at TheDailyCougar.com

Romeo and Juliet may be the greatest romance of all time, but that doesn't mean we should romanticize the themes it represents.

When someone commits suicide, people close to the situation are eager to cast blame on what they perceive to be the most obvious cause. They attempt to justify the person’s decision to take their own life.

In that haste, however, people fail to look past the surface in examining every possible reason as to why the person made that choice.

On Jan. 14, Phoebe Prince of South Hadley, Mass. hanged herself in the stairwell of her family’s home. Prince allegedly committed suicide after suffering relentless bullying from several of her classmates at South Hadley High School. Then on March 28, 13-year-old Jon Carmichael of Joshua ended his life after being picked on for years, according to his closest friends. Sources said Carmichael had been stuffed into a trashcan by several students the day before his death.

Everyone in the media has been in such a rush to blame school officials and other students for both suicides that they haven’t taken time to examine who or what is really at the root of the problem. Bullies may be partly responsible for the actions of Prince and Carmichael, but the problem goes much deeper than just taunting.

We as a society are sending a message to today’s youth. We celebrate the Hemingways, van Goghs and Cobains of the world as superstars — martyrs who chose to die for their art — instead of acknowledging that they were simply people who failed to realize all the reasons for which they had to live.

The world’s most famous love story even goes so far as to romanticize suicide, as both Romeo and Juliet kill themselves at the thought of having to live without one another.

If the aforementioned references seem a bit dated, look no further than the popular Twilight Saga for something more current. The series’ protagonist, Bella, an isolated teenager who has problems adjusting to the rigors of moving to a new town and school, becomes obsessed with ending her own life to spend eternity with her vampire boyfriend.

It’s a sad statement for our culture that such icons are glorified and revered for their actions, because people’s reactions to suicide in real life are a stark contrast.

We’ve created a society that espouses the virtues of death over life, and it’s now taking its toll on people too young to see through the lie. Children need to understand that there is nothing romantic or noble about suicide, and the only way they’ll receive that message is if we deem it necessary to tell them.

Prince and Carmichael should be used as cautionary tales of what happens when life imitates art. More needs to be done to prevent future youth from emulating their actions.

Children need to be sent a different message, not that people who commit suicide are inherently bad or wrong, but that life is never so bad that it’s worth ending.

Everyone has a responsibility to put that message out. Any time someone considers suicide as an acceptable alternative to life, we have all failed.

It was so great, you should read it again at TheDailyCougar.com

Maybe a change in hair care products would help Brewers owner Mark Attanasio keep his tears in check.

There’s no crying in baseball. Well, unless you’re Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, that is.

USA Today published an article Monday about Major League Baseball teams slashing payroll. The piece ended with Attanasio taking a shot at the highest-spending team in either league — the Yankees.

“We’re struggling to sign (first baseman Prince Fielder) and the Yankees’ infield is making more than our team,” Attanasio said.

Yankees president Randy Levine took objection with the dig.

“I’m sorry that my friend Mark continues to whine about his running the Brewers,” Levine said in an interview with ESPN on Tuesday. “We play by all the rules and there doesn’t seem to be any complaints when teams such as the Brewers receive hundreds of millions of dollars that they get from us in revenue sharing the last few years.

“Take some of that money that you get from us and use that to sign your players.”

While the thought of siding with the most hated team in baseball on anything might make the bravest of people sick, it’s hard to argue with Levine on this point.

Since purchasing the Brewers in 2005, Attanasio has doubled the club’s total payroll to around $81 million. While that may be a far cry from the $206 million the Yankees are committed to this season, it’s significantly more than the $35 million the Pirates are paying to trot out Bobby Crosby and the Buccaneer Bunch in 2010.

Before Attanasio decided to lick his team’s wounds in public, he probably should have taken a look at some of the clubs that have had success during his time as owner so as not to embarrass himself.

In 2005, the White Sox swept the Astros in the World Series with a payroll of $75 million. The next year, the Cardinals cruised to a Fall Classic win in five games over the Tigers with an $89 million payroll. Then in 2008, the Rays, who had long been the laughingstock of baseball, played for MLB’s championship with a stunningly low $44 million payroll.

There are ways for teams to develop players and win without spending money.

From 2000 to 2006, the Athletics made the playoffs five times with an average payroll of $48 million. Part of the team’s success was due to luck, but a bigger factor was that the front office accepted its small-market status and looked for cost-efficient ways to assemble its club.

With more teams embracing sabermetrics as a legitimate way of evaluating players’ talent, every team with a competent front office has a chance to build a winner. Outspending everyone else the way the Yankees and Red Sox do may bring short-term success, but it does not guarantee long-term stability.

Factor in the money small-market clubs receive from MLB’s revenue sharing plan and there really isn’t much reason to complain. The Brewers need to concern themselves with winning the National League Central instead of getting into a shouting match with the American League East.

But if Attanasio really wants something to cry about, he won’t have long to wait; Fielder’s contract is up at the end of the season, which means it’ll be about six months before the Yankees make him the highest-paid designated hitter ever.

It was so great, you should read it again at TheDailyCougar.com

Chatroulette can be fun, but it can also be a haven for sex offenders.

For many, Chatroulette.com is a harmless Web site.

People of all walks of life can come together and kill a few hours shooting the breeze. Musician Ben Folds even serenaded people on the popular Web site during a concert in homage to the anonymous improvisational pianist known as “Merton.”

But some people seem intent on abusing the chat service by committing sexual acts while on camera with another person.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott released a statement March 8 warning parents about the dangers associated with using Chatroulette.

“An increasingly popular Web site poses a threat to Texas children by giving users – including dangerous sex offenders – an opportunity to conduct live video chats with randomly selected participants,” Abbott said in the release.

“An undercover investigation by the (Texas) Cyber Crimes Unit revealed startling results. Nearly half of the randomly selected users encountered by Cyber Crimes investigators immediately exposed themselves and conducted sexually explicit acts on camera.”

Chatroulette does not make its users to register, instead allowing people to chat anonymously. As Abbott pointed out, this makes the site a prime target for all kinds of sex offenders who can freely break the law without fear of repercussion.

Safeguards need to be put into place not just to protect children, but also to ensure that everyone who logs on has a pleasant experience. People interested in using Chatroulette should be required to register so that they can be banned or even arrested if they misuse the service in an illegal way.

Anyone caught exposing themselves in any situation should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law; people who do so on Chatroulette should be no exception.

Chatroulette’s administrators need to be more aware of what users are doing in front of the camera. Not just for children, but for anyone who doesn’t want that kind of surprise.

It was so great, you should read it again at TheDailyCougar.com

Texas risks losing representation in Congress if Texans don't complete the census.

The 2010 Census officially got underway Jan. 25 when Census Bureau Director Robert Groves flew to Alaska to count citizens in the isolated town of Noorvik.

Copies of the census were sent to every household in the country with the request that families take 10 minutes to fill out the paperwork and mail it back as soon as they finished.

One quick glance at the questionnaire is all it takes to realize that 10 minutes should be more than enough time to come up with the answers, as the toughest question is “What is your telephone number?” Yet as simple as it might be to humor the government by filling out the forms and sending them back in a timely fashion, many Texans have decided to either procrastinate or blatantly protest the census by refusing to fill their surveys out.

As of Tuesday, Texas was tied with New Mexico, Louisiana and Mississippi for the lowest household return percentage in the nation at 44 percent according to the Census Bureau’s Web site.

There is no good reason for Texans to not participate in the census. Citizens who think they’re being patriotic in some way by making it harder for the government to count them are only costing taxpayers more money. The Census Bureau will have to send census takers to all households that failed to return their forms in the mail, and at the current rate of return that certainly won’t be cheap.

But the larger problem is that states’ representation in Congress is determined from the Census Bureau’s population count. Texans who refrain from taking part in the census could end up costing the state seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Anyone who thinks they’re inaction is making a statement is misguided; the only message people who don’t participate in the census are sending is one of ignorance.

The census is ironically scheduled to conclude on April Fool’s Day, and the joke will be on Texans if we don’t do our part to ensure that our state gets fair representation in Congress.

It was so great, you should read it again at TheDailyCougar.com

The Daily Cougar has covered it all, but after Friday, the paper will be no more.

After nearly 76 years, The Daily Cougar’s run as the official student newspaper of the University of Houston will come to an end Friday.

Lack of revenue and declining circulation figures have forced the paper to close its doors after providing years of service.

Editor in Chief Ronnie Turner is expected to make an announcement and address all reporters and staff late today, but I wanted to break the news to all of you loyal readers first.

For the past decade, the Cougar has been attempting to deal with the same harsh realities confronting newspapers across the country; as media shifts more and more to the Internet in this new digital age, the business model our enterprise has used for decades is outdated and in many ways impossible to fix.

When the U.S. economy went into a recession in 2008, companies around Houston began spending less money on advertising — especially in print media — than they ever had before, sending the paper’s revenue into the red.

In 2008 and 2009, the Cougar posted annual losses of $3 million and $3.5 million, respectively. The paper struggled to find new sources of income, but eventually having to pay salaries and the cost to produce the paper every day took its toll.

Many print media outlets are still struggling as we so valiantly did to figure out how to make money from the World Wide Web. Unfortunately, our time to solve this dilemma is up, and we have no solution.

After Friday, The Daily Cougar will be no more.

I am telling you all of these things not because I am lamenting the paper’s insolvency, but rather because I’d like to send some message of hope to the world.

All print media businesses are struggling right now, but that doesn’t mean the print journalism profession is on its last legs. There will always be a place for newspapers and magazines in the world; people will always love reading stories.

Hopefully other student newspapers around the country (except for the Daily Texan at the University of Texas) will be able to learn from our mistakes so that they might have success where we found failure.

I have no doubt that some other publication will step in to fill the void left by our paper’s absence, because all UH students at least need access to campus news.

In its years at the University, the Cougar has been at the forefront of many prominent news stories on campus, but it has also been a watchdog of Houston journalism. From covering the Apollo 11 moon landing to reporting on the Enron scandal, the paper and its staff throughout the years have seen it all.

The world won’t stop simply because we are going away; someone needs to report the news.

Many notable individuals in the journalism industry, from Dan Rather to the School of Communication’s namesake, Jack Valenti, have passed through the halls of The Daily Cougar, leaving their marks on what has become an icon of collegiate journalism.

In closing, I would like to thank each and every one of you who picks up a copy of The Daily Cougar each day. You are the reason we staff members dedicate so much of our time to making the paper great.

Before I became the editor of the Opinion section, I served the paper as copy chief, and working here has been the greatest experience of my life. I feel that I can confidently speak on behalf of everyone who works here when I say that we will greatly miss doing this work that we love so much.

I am sorry that our time of keeping you entertained and apprised of campus news has come to end, but as the French are so fond of saying, C’est la vie.

Thank you for all of your support over the years, and we all wish you better luck and prosperity than we had in this endeavor.

Also, for those of you still reading this in disbelief, April Fool’s (FTW). See you tomorrow.

It was so great (and would have fooled you, too) that you should read it again at TheDailyCougar.com

Carlos Lee is a nice player, but he isn't worth $18.5 million per year.

The Astros are not going to win the World Series this year.

I know I’m not reinventing the wheel when I say that, but sometimes the most obvious statements are the ones in dire need of being said.

Since Houston’s magical run to the Fall Classic in 2005, a string of poor front-office decisions has turned the Astros from a contender to an afterthought in arguably the weakest division in Major League Baseball.

In 2006, 30-year-old outfielder Carlos Lee was signed to a 6-year, $100 million contract. The deal was back-loaded, netting Lee $18.5 million over each of the final four years of the contract and making him virtually untradeable.

General manager Ed Wade traded embattled closer Brad Lidge to the Phillies during the 2007 offseason instead of shipping him to the Red Sox. The move came as a bit of a surprise, as several months earlier the Sox had been offering what many baseball insiders considered to be a significantly better package for Lidge.

Next, the front office brought Jason Jennings and Randy Wolf through the revolving door of the Astros’ pitching rotation in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Neither set the world on fire, as both failed to crack 100 innings pitched during their tenures with the team.

The Astros desperately need to rebuild around youth and homegrown talent. Acquiring an aging veteran here and there is a savvy move for teams that are close to making a championship run—not clubs that struggle against the Reds and the Pirates.

While the team does have several intriguing young players, it hasn’t had a can’t-miss prospect in ages. That’s what happens when a team decimates its farm system, choosing instead to trade away youth in pursuit of that one elusive piece that will return it to its glory days.

If the Astros want to stay competitive year in and year out, they need to find a balance between developing young talent and bringing in key free agents.

With Wade signing a 2-year extension in February, however, it looks like the team is content with the status quo of mediocrity. Maybe the Astros can go after Ken Griffey Jr. when his contract is up after the season.

It was so great, you should read it again at TheDailyCougar.com