They're both still teenagers with huge smiles, and a sparkle in their eyes that you usually only see in couples. But are they a couple? Are they even gay? No one really knows, and maybe no one really cares because the only thing important is that they're good at diving and that's all that really matters at the moment.

Both have been diving for so long, been together above and in and out of the pool for so long, that each is as much part of the other. Like a beautiful young couple should be. David even remarked how close they were in interview, so close they finish each others sentences some of the time. When Thomas hears David say this on national television, he just smiles, they both smile. And then once again you see that twinkle in both their eyes.

Both are fluid, graceful, lean. Each is attuned not only to himself but, as well, to the ballet of the other in a sport in which precision is everything. Just like a perfect couple. Finchum, and only Finchum, counts the beats: "One-two-three, go." In a voice reserved for someone he really cares about: His partner.

The rhythm, the pace are always the same, never faster or slower, always calm. One-two-three, go -- and they are off, tumbling, spinning, falling and perhaps rising up and out of the water.

Thomas Finchum and David Boudia heralds a resurgence in American diving to revitalize interest in a sport most Americans know of dimly, and then primarily because of Greg Louganis, who came out as gay after his Olympic success. Are Finchum and Boudia waiting to do the same after their Olympic appearance? We can only hope so.

What a perfect example of young gay love they would make. Gay teens the world over would have someone to look up to, a couple for young gays to emulate as an alternative to the self-loathing gay teen that has no real role-models to look up to.

Perhaps it's because more and more, younger divers are home-schooled, as Finchum and Boudia among others, have been – to allow more hours in training, in and out of the pool. That allow David and Thomas to seem so close, so seemless and comfortable in their mannerisms.

Six days a week they're at it, six to seven hours per day – pilates, ballet, strength training, trampoline work and diving. You can't help wonder with this grueling routine they share day in, day out, that if they're not a gay couple then perhaps they're a hybrid of two straight guys that are as close as any gay couple can be. And there's not one thing wrong with that.

Thomas Finchum and David Boudia have known each other since they were tweens. They've been a synchro team for more than four years. "They think alike, and from a scientific standpoint they have the same mechanical movements. Just being n the pool doing everything has really contributed to their synchronized success." says Coach Wingfield of the couple.

Moreover, said Wingfield, "They look at each other as pushing each other to be the very best and that's very healthy – as opposed to say, being competitive and having them literally fighting for it."

Thomas and David mentor each other, challenge each other to become each other's best. Boudia said, "When we do somersaults or something like that, he doesn't have to count. We just know. "It's go on 'go.' "

"Even on our bad days," Boudia said, "our synchro clicks. On our good days, Thomas and I don't even have to think. He counts. I go. I do my own dive. And that's the way synchro should be."

Finchum, speaking a few minutes later with Boudia a few yards away across the pool, said, "There are definitely times when you're competing when everything is just flowing. Your routine is spot-on. Everything is working and you don't have to think about it. Those are the ones that are the best. Everything is in place."

Hopefully everything will be in place and they'll announce they're a gay couple. What an inspiration they would be for millions of gay teens all over the globe.

Videogames have become a way of life, a culture, and a powerful and economically successful one at that. Grand Theft Auto IV developed by Rockstar netted $500 million in its first week of release, that’s $150 million, more than Spiderman 3: The movie made domestically throughout it’s duration of being in theatres.

Videogames have come a long way since Pong; we’ve seen Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mickey Mouse, Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter, Scorpion and Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat, this list could go on and on. There have been roughly 40 consoles released since the Atari 2600(released in 1982). Surprisingly the most popular one being Nintendo’s Game Boy: selling roughly 120 million unites worldwide. The first game boy was released in 1989 and has been a force to be reckoned with ever since. One of the main factors for the amazing success that the Game Boy has been “back-wards compatibility” meaning that whenever Nintendo releases a newer version of the Game Boy older games are still able to be played; this technology has also been adapted most recently by Sony with their Play station consoles.

The technological and computer revolution has gone hand in hand with the videogame revolution and each has played a major role in the others success. The advent of the CD-ROM allowed game developers to create more intricate experiences via better graphics and making more expansive games simply because the discs could store more than the cartridge based technology that was previously being used. Today the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD based systems are doing the exact same thing. We have games that are designed to be played on HD televisions with 7.1 surround sound where the graphics are so crisp that they look real and sound so captivating that it’s as if the experience is real. Take a look at any new games and you will see realistic physics and graphics that people who played Pong or Street Fighter could only dream about.

Videogames have expanded past the regular console based systems and games and has exploded onto the computer scene over the past 10 years. The one game that could be held most responsible for this is DOOM, developed by id software. DOOM is one of the original 1st person shooters (a genre of game where the player plays from the first perspective and walks around shooting at things) and it spawned an intense cult following that had people wanting and demanding more. There were two other DOOM titles released and there have been multiple other 1st person shooters that have been widely popular, most notably Counterstrike and Unreal Tournament.

Most recently the MMORPG (Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Game) has been captivating gamers worldwide. The first to be truly successful was Ultima Online, developed by Origin Systems. The game balanced PVE (Player vs. Environment) and PVP (Player vs. Player) aspects of gaming while putting players from all over the glove onto a server where they could interact without each other and choose how they wanted to play the game. This was a totally new idea in regards to videogames, because no longer were players ordained to following a certain path, or developing their characters a certain way – now they called the shots and made all the choices. The freedom that inherently exists within MMORPG’s is one of the main reasons that they have experienced such wide success. Players can do whatever they want, they choose what their character is named, what they look like, how they fit into the game, what they do, what sort of skills they have, what sort of other players they want to associate with, they are in control of everything. The MMORPG that is taking the world by storm today; with over 10 million subscribers is Blizzard’s World of Warcraft: This is based on their already hugely popular strategy game series – Warcraft. There are a plethora of reasons why World of Warcraft (commonly referred to as WOW) is so insanely popular; the main one being that it is a full blown society. People can login and communicate with their friends; they can check their mail to see if any of their items were sold, they can create groups of people to go kill harder monsters or even to go kill other people. For the first time game servers can support users in the millions and people from all over the world can come together and choose to play cooperatively or competitively, or both.

There are new games being released constantly some of the most noteworthy upcoming releases are Street Fighter 4, Final Fantasy XIII, Warhammer Online, and AION. All of these games are using cutting edge technology and gaming ideas to draw attention to them. Street Fighter 4 will be the first game ever to incorporate hand drawn graphics and 3d animation, all while running at a frame-rate that is faster than any other fighting game before it. Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997 is responsible for some of the very first FMV Pre-rendered cut scenes the gaming world had seen – to this day the game is still compared with brand new RPGs because it melded story, game play and graphics in a way that had never been done before. Final Fantasy XIII looks to be just as graphically groundbreaking, sophisticated and stimulating as VII and has RPG fans around the world anxiously awaiting its release. Warhammer Online (WAR) is a MMORPG that is based on the popular strategy role-playing game Warhammer. WAR looks to bring very large scale PVP to the gaming population. It is a game based on war, and from the looks of it that is exactly what it will deliver: hundreds of people banding together in order to fight groups of other people so that the victor may establish dominance over a certain aspect of the server. AION is another MMORPG that looks to very promising. It is developed by the Korean based company: NCSoft which is known for their incredibly stylized graphics and intricate gaming environments. NCSoft’s new masterpiece pits two races, one good and one evil, against each other and also against the environmental monsters. From the initial videos the game is going to bring massive PVP as well as large scale PVE to the front and combining all of that with some beautiful characters designs and environment designs. Both AION and WAR look like they could potentially give WOW a run for its money in regards to the premier MMORPG.

Videogames and videogame culture has grown from being nothing more than what was perceived to be a passing fad into a multi-million dollar industry that is responsible for the way an entire group of people think and socialize. You don’t just have to be a nerd to play videogames. You don’t just have to wear glasses, you can be anyone and play games: you can be married, you can have kids, you can be a nerd, or a jock, and you can even be a surfer. This is because videogames connects people to the same thing that surfing does: fun. People want to do things that are fun, that’s why people surf and that’s why people play games, it’s a way to express themselves doing something that they love.

Although your new stronger body will bring benefits to your team, remember that it will also be a time of increasing concern over overuse injuries and the health risks of competitive youth sports.

According to a study released at the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine meeting in Orlando, Fla., 30 percent of the teen athletes who had elbow reconstruction surgery in 2006 were high school-age pitchers. In previous years it was only 12 percent. The difference? Teens are specializing in one sport and playing it year round.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends teens wait until after puberty to specialize in one sport, partly because their growth plates are not fully formed. Playing multiple sports helps prevent overuse injuries by developing different muscle groups Boston orthopedic surgeon Dr. Locher recently told the Associated Press, "A lot of the stuff teens used to do in free play was ACL (tear) prevention." Building down-time into teens' busy schedules is good for their bodies, families and social relationships.

You can't guarantee your teen won't get hurt playing sports, but you can prevent injuries by playing multiple sports, diverse activities and taking breaks. Don't forget, it's your job to help yourself stay healthy even as you strive to score.

We met on the freshman team when we were just little scrubs trying to make our name on the team and try to get some face time with the coaching staff. We both played pop warner football when we we're young but we lived in different communities so we never got to play on the same team before but since we both played offense I remembered his name from the games we would play in the playoffs. Justin has the body of a tight end, solid with strong muscles and the ability to take hard hits. I would watch him go for a post pattern pass and get clocked by both corners and still get up lickity split. It's like getting hit never even phased him and I guess it's 'cause his head and heart was in the game and that's why I was impressed by his performance.

We weren't really friends or anything like that before high school but we had a passion for football that kept us running in the same circles. We would see each other from time to time at games we played or came to watch and each time we had a great time and seemed to form some kind of bond we both didn't completely understand at the time. All I know is he was on my mind a lot and seemed to really be interested in all the dumb stuff I always brought up. Sure we talked football but that wasn't all, we talked about where football would take us and whether or not we really had it in us to go the whole distance. We talked about what teams we'd like to play for and where we'd end up living and how our lives would be. We never talked about sharing that life with a girl though and we never stopped our conversations for very long when girls would come up and try get us to talk to them and stuff. Nope, we were always in our own little world and for some reason we were both ok with that.

When we found out we'd both be going to the same high school we knew we'd finally be playing on the same team and we'd be seeing a lot more of each other. This was the first time in my life I got all tingly about something. Like I was really excited about getting to spend way more time with Justin then I had ever been with anyone else. I just don't know if he felt the same so I kept it to myself for a bit until we both met again after getting the news.

Football practice starts earlier then the school year. In fact, coach Lad encourages his teams to workout year round in the school gym and to participate in drills from spring through summer. Says he likes to keep his players sharp and I can't argue with that.

First practice I was already 16 and had my drivers license so I offered to pick Justin up and head to the field. He didn't live too far from me so I knew the area. Walking up to his house was like what it must feel like to other straight guys when they go pick up a date for the very first time. I was kind of nervous but I didn't know why.

Justin wasn't even close to being ready, and what I learned to find out later in life, was his M.O.: chronic lateness. He answered the door in his boxers and made apologies for running behind. He introduced me to his parents and his younger brother, a very handsome family, and I knew that Justin came from good genes.

That first summer practicing together was like our very first time to really get to know each other and become close. Even though the offense usually sticks together anyway, especially the passer and his receivers, but Justin and I started to hang out a lot and spend tons of time just being together even outside of football. Sometimes we'd just drive out as far as we could go until it was time to drive back, we loved road trips, we'd talk about a million different things and nothing at all. It was awesome.

Our freshman year we went undefeated in our league and made it to the playoffs. Our coaches were impressed and with a lot of seniors graduating, it was an easy fit for us to get on the varsity team as sophomores. Luckily we both grew the past year so we were both average sized for the varsity team but it didn't really matter 'cause coach says it's all about skill and execution not size. We believed him and kept it as our mantra.

During one of our varsity games the following year, we played a really tough team from one of the not so nice parts of the area. Coach reiterated that it wasn't about intimidation and more about who we see ourselves as that will win games. He was always more about building our character then focusing primarily on the game skills. He said those would come naturally if we believed in ourselves and he was right.

As we were introduced to the other players the coach and the entire team overheard some derogatory comments made by the other team as well as their coach. Trash talking is part of all sports especially high school but our coach didn't allow it. There was no grandstanding on our part, no jerseys worn outside of game day, no pep rally's and no banners on school grounds displaying our win record or who we'd be playing in our next game. We were a really civilized team, especially for high school football. Again, the focus was on building character.

When we spanked the other team in a convincing win, we all were on the team bus and coach talked about the game plays and gave credit to each and every single player and their contribution. I kid you not, he could call up a play for every player and his contribution to that play. Then coach got real silent, and he asked everyone to really think about all the trash talking the other team called out to us. He asked us to reflect on the pain it must feel like to be on that side of the insults. He asked us to look deep into our own souls and ask ourselves if that was the type of person we wanted to be, if we felt that bringing down another human being by attacking them with verbal abuse made them feel like a bigger person. We all nodded in agreement that no, that wasn't how we viewed ourselves. That we won games because we were better prepared and focused on the game not the win.

It was on that road game that the coach announced that he knew some of us on the team might be different then the others and asked us all if that would make a difference, and if it did, to stand up and let him and the entire team know why. He challenged us, he challenged us to face our fears and ignorance and to voice it publicly to the team instead of small talk in the locker room or in class. A defensive lineman got up, said he wondered about the friendship between me and Justin, said he never say us dating any girls and wondered if it was ok that we were all in the same locker room together naked.

Coach thanked him for having the courage to stand up and voice his concerns. Then he went into a conversation that was unlike any other. He told us about how in our minds if we're not supportive of each other then we won't be a team, that we won't win on the field, that we won't win our division. Then he came back at us with facts about how being gay was biological, that a gay person doesn't have a choice, just like the straight person doesn't have a choice that he gets all gaa-gaa for a girl. Then he explained about the locker room. That it shouldn't be all that uncomfortable considering it's just body parts and that he doubted any one there would have the gumption to put the moves on a defensive lineman anyway. The busload of guys laughed. Coach got through to them, nerves were put on ease. Then coach went on to add that maybe straight guys should look at gay guys that might be attracted to them as compliment. I mean if a gay guy thinks you're hot you must be doing something right! This got the entire bus going crazy. Now all of a sudden guys were thinking which gay guys on campus they were going to try and get attention from just to compete with all the other straight guys. See what coached did was take out the sexuality and place common attraction into the gay-straight equation. When he did that he got through to the players and the team loved him even more.

When the bus finally quieted down a bit the coach asked everyone for their attention once more. He looked at us all seriously and asked if any of the teammates felt they wanted to come forward and admit their difference so that we could get that all out of the way and not have to deal with any suspicions. Johnny, the right corner, got up and admitted he was a closeted Nintendo nerd, he got a laugh. Then Justin got up. He got in front of the bus next to coach and started tearing up. The bus fell silent. When he could finally speak, Justin said he was gay and that he hoped that announcing this wouldn't make anyone treat him any differently. He told about his struggles with his family and being Catholic. And he just left it at that. As he stood there in his courage, one person got up, the defensive lineman that had earlier voiced his concern about being in the locker room with gay guys. When he spoke there was a crack in his voice but no one kidded him, he was 6'5 and 325 lbs, he looked straight at Justin and asked "Justin, will you be my first gay friend?" and then proceeded to come up and hug Justin. I looked around the bus, I don't remember seeing a dry eye on there. It was a pivotal moment. It was the crowning glory in the coaches career on character development. It was awesome and I was a part of it.

As time went on there were other guys that came out on the team. I never officially announced it but just the fact that Justin and I had become boyfriends made everyone realize I was gay and they didn't have any problem with it at all. Hmmm, a gay high school quarterback... Who'd a thunk huh?

There's actually nothing wrong with all of us taking pride in how far we've come in terms of race in sports. But before we start feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, we should remember that we still have miles far to go before we can claim that we treat issues of homosexuality with the maturity we've started to develop toward race. And for that to happen we're going to need some star football athletes to come out while playing the sport and having full support from their entire team and coaches, just like blacks now dominate the sport of pro football.

That point has been made clear in recent days, with three stories that involve being gay. First one is the tale of a Snickers commercial played during the Super Bowl. In the commercial, two men eat a Snickers bar from opposite ends, working their way toward each other until their lips meet. Shocked at their accidental kiss, they each rip out a chunk of chest hair to prove to themselves that they're still men, the implication being that men who kiss other men are feminine.

Gay rights groups across the country objected to the commercial, and rightly so, causing Snickers to dump it. It's no surprise that gays would be offended by the commercial, but there was another message implicit in the ad as well -- that straight guys are like the two morons in the ad, freaked by homosexuality, so uncomfortable with the issue that they go all goofy spaz out when confronted with the subject. In a way, straight guys should be just as offended as gays by the commercial.

The 2 men in the commercial were actors, but ex-NBA player John Amaechi has real-life stories to tell. Amaechi, the 6'10 center who played 5 seasons in the NBA for Orlando, Cleveland and Utah retired in 2003, and will announce that he is gay in a new book about to be released. Rumors are already flying about what Amaechi has to say about living a closeted life in the NBA, but just knowing he had to keep his sexuality a secret while he was in the NBA tells you about the negative attitude he perceived toward gays in pro sports.

Amaechi assumed that he would be much more of an outcast than  other players in the league who have been accused of sexual assault and domestic violence, not to mention those who have fathered multiple children while single. And he's probably right.

Amaechi's went to Penn State, which hasn't exactly been the ideal example for dealing with gay-related issues in a sensitive manner, at least not in it's women's basketball program. Coach Rene Portland has been slapped with repeated accusations that she discriminates against those she believes to be lesbians. Jennifer Harris, sued Portland and Penn State in 2005, alleging that Portland cut her from the team because Rene thought Harris was a lesbian. Portland denies that she treated Harris or any other player differently, but in 2006, the school's Affirmative Action Office found that she was in violation of Penn State's anti-discrimination policy on the basis of sexual orientation, and she was fined $10,000 and ordered to undergo sensitivity training. $10,000? That's pretty much an insult. Way to go Penn State.

And so the sports world goes on stumbling, not quite sure what to do or how to act when it comes to gays in sports. In its attitude toward gays, the sports world is years behind its attitude towards race. Those two guys in the Snickers commercial certainly looked foolish in the way they dealt with the idea of them possibly being gay, but they are not alone.

DJ Mollica

Me and a few gay guys were in Huntington Beach to do a demo. There was this big superstar party afterwards with a bunch of surf stars and their whore groupies. I came outside to find my friend Jamie getting shit talked to him about being a gay surfer by some jock. He mumbles some shit as he walks off. Jamie takes his shoe off and throws it at the dude, hitting him in the back of the head. Dude rolls up to Jamie with a clenched fist like he's gonna punch him. I'm all, 'What are you doing? You're gonna sucker punch a gay guy.' He's like, 'I'll f cking punch that bitch.' 'What, you want to take him f ckin' apart?' I'm like if you want to fight me, let's do this.'

Dumb jock keeps backing up. And I'm stupid enough to follow this 200-pound jock. I didn't realize that the corner he was leading me to had nine of his friends waiting for me. I'm like 'f ck this!'. So I grab him by the shirt and I deck him in the nose. Now all ten of these bitches are beating the f ck out of me. One of the dudes has the audacity to f ckin' grab me by the ball sack and he's pulling down hard, trying to get me to stop swinging back. Some kid other gay guy I don't know goes into the bar and tells my friends Matt. So Matt grabs our team manager, Andy and he's wasted. They come out and Andy is so wasted that he ran up, tripped over his leg, and ate shit right next to me. That took about three of four of them off me because they started beating on him. So Matt gets me and pulls me up. This pro 'ho type chick we were with was freaking out saying, 'Stop beating up my friends!' This tiny little girl steps in between us with a can of mace. She's like, 'I said stop!' and sprays the biggest dude. Suddenly his anger turns into a f cking whimpering cry for Mommy. His face turns flush red, like he's devastated. The the girlie proceeds to mace all of this dude's friends at the same time.

Dr. Jackson: As a young child, DJ ate glass, thinking it was rock candy. According to DJ, he not only felt zero pain, his bowl movement looked like a chocolate rave, littered with fantastical, sparkly glitter. The 'Pro Ho' represents DJ's mother, whom comes to his aide. It's interesting that in DJ's story a gay guy starts the violence and a girlie ends it. Clearly DJ has an unresolved Oedipal conflict with his mother. NEXT!

Brian Summer

I had gone out surfing with Don, Joe, Jon and a few other gay guys. We were paddling in and coming back on shore when this bum comes over and starts invading everyone's space on the beach. He wanted us to give him 20 bucks for doing cartwheels or something dumb like that. Someone agreed. He didn't even cartwheel, he just rolled over forward a couple of times and then started really getting angry about his money. I was eating some candy and waiting for him to leave so I could just chill on the beach. I asked the guy to chill the f ck out and he told me he would beat me up. I just turned to walk away. He comes over to me and starts yelling at me waving his fists. He ran at me while I was taking a drink of monster and then I ended up stepping back and kicking him to the side and he fell back a few paces. He put his fists up, runs at me an tells me, 'that's it.' I actually to really bummed because I had both my hands full and wanted to go back in and surf. I was just going to try and move around a bit until he got tired. He charged me and I dropped my drink, I looked up and he was right there in my face so I stepped back and threw a punch at his shoulder. He fell on the sand and rolled around a bit and then jumped up to tell me he deserved it and didn't I think I could actually hit him and that he had never been hit like that. I felt really bad, but it was self-defense.

Dr. Dr. Jackson: Here Brian experiences a deep sense of shame and guilt. Guilt is Brian's unconscious need for punishment. According to Freud, "men are not gentle creatures who want to be loved, and who at most can defend themselves if they are attacked," but are, on the contrary, "creatures among whose instinctual endowments is to be reckoned a powerful share of aggressiveness." Understand and embrace your guilt Brian.

Darrel Stanson

My grandfather is a boxing trainer. He's been doing it for years and years. He trained Evander Holyfield and Sugar Shane Mosley. He's trained a lot of top fighters. He got me into boxing when I was a kid. He got me into it for discipline. I pretty much steer clear of street fights. About a year and a half ago I got into a fight. This gay guy was talking crap at a party and I let him have it. It was a little scuffle but I came out on top. Once again I am not a fighter.

Dr. Jackson: Darrel makes a conscious effort to let us know he is not a fighter. Though he did fight an individual for 'talking crap'. This could be a trait of a passive aggressive. This passive aggression could be a result of the grandfather's focus on discipline. If left unresolved these issue could prevent him from loving.

 

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