Athletes Behaving Badly

Last week 2 of the 4 major sports crowned a new champion. But what quickly became more newsworthy were some of the athletes behavior before and even during their championship games:

The Miami Heat basketball team were already under a microscope stemming from celebrating a championship a little too prematurely. Before the season even began the 3 superstar free agents Bosh, Wade and Lebron, who concocted a plan of playing together in Miami and conquer the world, were touting the idea of winning 7 or 8 championships.

So the much "sports hatred" for this team was already riding high before their final match for the title against the Dallas Mavericks.This NBA Finals was a tale of two different teams: one team of brash cockiness (Miami) and the other a team of veterans who played with class(Dallas).

In game 4, Maverick's star player Dirk Nowitzki played with a 101 fever. He would play most of the game,score 21 points including the winning basket. A couple of days later before game 5, Wade and Lebron would mock Dirk's sickness in front of the media. And you know what happened next? The classy Mavericks would go on to win the next 2 games and win the NBA crown.

As for the other crowning champion, hockey's Boston Bruins came from behind in the series to win game 7 in Vancouver. And they did it with style and class. The Vancouver Canucks were touted as being the favorite because of the veteran leadership and talent on their team. They had come close to reaching the Finals the last 2 seasons only to see that goal come up short.

In game 7 and on their home ice, the Canucks were down 3-0 in the final period. Their frustration would boil over and they began to take cheap shots and make ridiculous penalties against the classy Bruins. The Boston Bruins coach would call a timeout during the middle of that period and instruct his team,

"Do not retaliate! Just stay within your game and you can win this."

And sure enough, the Boston Bruins would win the Cup, beating the Canucks 4-0.

To play like a champion simply means:

1. Do your best

2. Play within the rules of the game and play with humility

3. Whether you win or lose, go out in style with dignity and class.

4. Honor the other team whether you like them or not

So here's to the mighty Bruins and Mavericks,teaching us how to become victorious the correct way, the dignified way.