Ditto.

Speaking of integrity consider the statement of the Austrian swimmer Rogan made to the CBC when it looked like he would win gold on a technicality:<blockquote class="smalltext">Rogan spoke with CBC's Scott Oake after the race and said he hoped the American team would protest Peirsol's disqualification. "I thought the day I became an Olympic champion would be a happy day for me, but I can't be happy when a friend is hit below the belt like that," the Austrian said, adding that he thought Peirsol swam a fair race.</blockquote>...with that of US men's all-round gymnist gold medal winner when faced with a clear error that would have placed him in a shared first or even second:<blockquote class="smalltext">In a statement released at 1 a.m. Tuesday, Paul Hamm said, "I do understand and feel the disappointment that Yang Tae Young has been subjected to, and I hope he understands what I have been through as well." On Sunday, Hamm stated his opposition to sharing the gold, saying: "I'm a gold medalist. Once the meet is over, it's over."</blockquote>

If you can't score it, time it, or measure it, it ain't a sport. Period. Ever.

If you get points for pretty, it ain't a sport. Period. Ever.

If the judges - rather than the competitors - decide who wins, it ain't a sport. Period. Ever.

Ballet is incredibly athletic. It is not a sport. Few people are better athletes than those in Cirque du Soleil. They are not competing in a sport.

Gymnastics - whether the hula-hoop-ribbon-twirling-bouncy-ball-catching kind or the regular kind - are not sports. The competitors are athletes, as are figure skaters, divers, and synchronized swimmers. They're no doubt fine people, too.

But what they do is not a sport.

Period.

Ever.

Amen to that.