Sportsmanship.

Many athletes pretend they have it. Everyone respects it. Not enough people practice it.

The sports world today is nuts. The desire to succeed at all costs has produced scam after scam, fight after fight, controversy after controversy and even congressional intervention.

Sportsmen, however, are the athletes &045; men and women, boys and girls &045; who remember that sports are only games. Victors should be humble. The defeated should give praise. Fans should be

respectful, and referees should be respected.

In that spirit, we can’t offer enough praise for the Hobey Baker Character Award. What a good program it is. One player from each high school varsity boys’ hockey team in the state of Minnesota earns one for excelling at sportsmanship. It’s a wonderful part of Minnesota hockey that encourages sportsmanship among the boys, and when you boil it down that’s what sports should be about.

The traits of solid sportsmanship are typically why high school sports are so great to watch compared to advanced levels.

Kudos to Albert Lea High School defenseman Alex Lair for winning the 2006 Hobey Baker Award.

Now imagine how better off NCAA, NFL, MLB and NBA would be if, instead of everyone wondering who would win the Most Valuable Player, the Heisman, the Naismith, or other &8220;best player&8221; trophies, it was considered a greater achievement to win the best sportsmanship awards.

In fact, the NHL awards the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy to a player displaying sportsmanship. It’s a major off-season honor. The NCAA has an award, but it’s not well-publicized and it goes to one or two student-athletes from all sports nationwide &045; not very effective. The NBA has the Joe Dumars Trophy, but not much is made of it.

That’s not much emphasis on sportsmanship, considering the wide realm of college and pro sports. It’s telling.