I've written and spoken for years that sport, in and of itself, is just a game. Nothing more. Nothing less. Sport is a fabric. And, inside its borders are woven stories, situations, and experiences which touch virtually everyone.

Sport is, in my opinion, sometimes even the catalyst or basis for two opposing sides of non-sports issues to actually come together as humans. Sport is not a parochial blue collar topic, nor is it a non-news topic. Evidence the award winning front page ‘main news’ sports coverage of The Washington Post, The New York Times, and, yes, The Wall Street Journal. Sports stories span from the office water cooler to the corner of a neighborhood pub with its friendly pint of ale.

Just a game. Nothing more. Nothing less. The simplicity of "the game" is what makes it special. Any game. And, that's why I resent that it's occasionally defamed.

•  Defamed by ridiculous charges that a fan cost the Chicago Cubs an important game by going for a foul ball. Hell, I would have gone after the damn ball, too...

•  Defamed by an insane father who poisoned the drinks of his 16 year old son's tennis rivals - killing one of them...

•  Defamed by a man, furious over his major college football team's double overtime loss to an arch rival, nearly blowing the brains out of his son, who simply asked to borrow the car. The 9-millimeter shot missed...

•  Defamed by a lunatic who charges out of the bleachers to attack a coach or player, and yes, defamed by the coach or player who charges into the stands after a fan.

So what's wrong here? If, as I contend, "sport" is the "uniter" in a civil society, and "sport" itself hasn't changed, then maybe the civility of society has.

And that's a shame. Because it's just a game. Nothing more. Nothing less....