The cardinal sin in sports, what could really wreck it, is not cheating to win, which has gone on forever, but cheating to lose. That threatens a fundamental aspect of sports appeal, which is their spontaneity. If games are fixed, theyre no different from movies theyre scripted. – Michael Mandelbaum
If architecture is, as is sometimes said, music set in concrete, then football and basketball may be said to be creativity embodied in team sports. – Michael Mandelbaum