All of recent activity surrounding the year's Super Bowl and Deflate-gate scandal has gotten me thinking. As long as there has been the act of sport (pretty much since the dawn of time), unfortunately has also been vast amounts of unsportmanship and cheating. I feel that cheating in sports is one of the most narcissistic behaviors possible. You see, if I looked over my more scholarly classmate's shoulder during a test for a couple of answers (which I do not condone of course), I am trying to get away with something dishonest which could also have repercussions. I may "succeed" in my cheating but the only person I may be harming ultimately is myself. Sure I am disrespecting the person I am cheating from, but likely it won't affect his or her grade. BUT, when you cheat in a sport to better yourself and become the proclaimed WINNER, the person/people that did not cheat and possibly could have earned that win honestly and fairly have now become the "losers". And this is why it is so narcissistic; not only are you cheating to claim your own victory but, more importantly, you are taking away another's success and that is the definition of egotistical to say the least. Do I think the Colts would have won with perfectly inflated footballs? Not even close, and that is why it is even more absurd. And when you cheat and win. . . does it really feel that rewarding?? Before I may land myself in hot water with some of you. . . .I would like to have fun with this column and remind you of some famous cheaters in sports history; and mind you these are the ones who GOT CAUGHT!

**One more tiny side note: Do you think if Luck and Pagano pulled the exact same thing on the Patriots and went on to win that game that Indy would be sitting with a Vince Lombardi trophy? HMMMM. . .

Rosie Ruiz: This one came to mind first because I remember my father mentioning it as a joke several times when I was a child. In 1980 Ruiz crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon in first place. Turns out however, during the race Rosie hopped off of the course, got on the subway and ran the last mile of the race to finish first. It actually took several days for the truth to come out. What a gutsy stunt!

Tonya Harding: Talk about "break a leg!" Tonya had her then boyfriend club Nancy Kerrigan in the knee in an attempt to take her out of Olympic contention. After being busted (pardon the pun) she was banned from competition.

Danny Almonte: This one has been dubbed the "Age-gate Conspiracy." In 2001 Almonte was known as a child prodigy pitcher at an apparent 12 years of age. However, turns out his coach (and obviously with his parents on board) falsified his birth certificate. He was actually 14 and playing with puberty on his side. What a great lesson for kids!

2000 Spanish Paralympics Team: After winning the gold medal that year, it was revealed that only 2 of the twelve members actually had an intellectual disability. Wow. This is about as narcissistic as it gets!

Tim Donaghy: The former NBA referee intentionally blew or made incorrect calls from 2005-07 in order to win bets on the point spread of games. Greed doesn't only affect players and coaches apparently.

Diego Maradona: This Argentinian soccer player "scored" possibly the most controversial goal ever at the 1986 World Cup. It looked as though Maradona went up for a header but he actually slapped the ball into the net with his left hand. He was quoted saying it was the "Hand of God" (um, more like the hand of Diego) to put the ball into the goal. The point was still considered "good" and they sadly went on to win the World Cup.

Mike Tyson: What a class act. . . After losing to Evander Holyfield several times before, during one certain fight Tyson realized he once again was outmatched. So naturally, he decided to bite off a chunk of his ear and spit it out. The fight was called off. Therefore considering it a "not win/lose" situation. Pretty cowardly (narcissistic).

Marion Jones, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Lance Armstrong, Mark McGuire, ETC!: Hundreds if not thousands of athletes have been found guilty of using performance enhancing drugs/doping to get an edge over their competition. So much that, it is hard to know anymore what is in fact "real" when someone excels at a sport. Sadly the bad scientists seem to always be a bit ahead of the good scientists and I have a feeling that $$ may just play a factor in this. What is astonishing is the ability to lie about doing it for years and years to the public's faces.

1919 White Sox Scandal: The White Sox, as obvious front runner, threw the World Series and lost to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from gamblers. Eight players were banned for life from baseball. Wow that must have been worth it. I'm sure it's awesome for their families to be infamously known for their grandfathers to have been involved in this one.

Probably enough examples of countless. Moral of the story is: Don't cheat; you are and look like a jerk. . . earn it the "old fashioned" way  HONESTLY!