The first thing you learn when you play a game is to be a good sport. I am here to tell you that is the biggest load of verbal garbage ever uttered.

Flash to the 2005 President’s Cup, where rules are not only meant to be broken but also supposed to make everybody happy. Apparently, the second largest team competition in all of golf decided to become tee ball where everybody goes home with a smile and a trophy.

The most recent sportsmanship problems are in golf. Justin Leonard hit a putt from Mars and went nuts, Sergio Garcia did everything but do a Spanish dance on every green and then there’s that annoying European Ole’ chant.

Sadly, we’ve decided it must be those with competitive spirits that ruin the idea of sports and make it into a contest with winners and losers. Damn them for acting like this stuff matters.

This year it was Mike Weir who nearly instigated a golf version of a brew-ha-ha on Friday. Weir was right and all of Canada should be proud. While paired with Trevor Immelman, the European team was down one heading to the 17th green where Stewart Cink had just knocked it stiff, essentially leaving Weir a 12-footer to extend the match. This is when things got confusing.

On the way to the green, Weir said “good shot” to Cink, which his partner Davis Love III heard “that’s good” (meaning the foot was a gimmee). Love immediately picked the ball up without marking it. Weir asked Love III what he was doing and asked for a ruling. Since we have to apparently make everybody happy, United States Golf Association director of competition Tom Meeks claimed that since it was a misunderstanding, the ball could be replaced without a penalty. This would be like saying we don’t know if it was a ball or strike in game seven of the World Series, so do-over.

Meeks even said he used Rule 18 of the USGA Rule Book, but the problem is it clearly states, “When a player’s ball is in play and is moved by his partner in match play that player incurs a penalty of one stroke and must replace the ball.” Weir ended up making his 12-footer. His team should have won the hole and eventually halved the match. Those who were in charge of this golf event completely fabricated a rule in order to not cause a controversy. Not only that, Weir was publicly booed for being correct.

Sports fans are getting tired of people being concerned with the idea of being good losers. If you’re trying not to lose, you’re playing the game right.

Flash to the Eastern campus where the Panthers were up 31-7 with 30 seconds left in the first half of its football game with Samford. The Panthers decided to attempt a fake punt that got them another field goal before the break.

I admit, the first thought that came into my head was the image it projects. I deemed it a worthy act of trying to win a football game anyway that is legal and that should be applauded. Samford head coach Bill Gray was not upset about the play because he understands the idea of winning become somewhat important to him continuing to be a football coach at Samford.

The difference between a good winner and sore loser is somebody was victorious and another person wasn’t. So Mr. Athlete or Coach, no he wasn’t trying to show you up or disrespect you. Let’s eliminate good loser, bad winner from our vocabulary. To quote New York Jets head coach Herman Edwards, you play to win the game.

If you think Stevens should stop worrying about being a good sport and just write a winning column you can let him know at [email protected].