Etiquette in Sports: 1. Chris Pronger of the Flyers has added to his reputation as a pest by pocketing the game puck at the end of the first two games of the Stanley Cup final, keeping the victorious Blackhawks from claiming the traditional souvenir. How does Pronger's actions compare with other breaches of sports etiquette?
2. Never a popular chap with his fellow baseball players, Alex Rodriguez incurred the wrath of A's pitcher Dallas Braden recently by running across the mound after making an out, thereby violating one of the sport's unwritten rules.
3. Another of baseball's unspoken rules is that you don't rip a teammate to the media behind his back. A pair of Mariners ignored this principle when they told a writer that Ken Griffey was sleeping in the clubhouse during a game.
4. Probably no sport has more etiquette rules than baseball. Another one states that you don't steal a base late in a blowout game. Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford (right) was guilty of this late last season against the Blue Jays, prompting a testy response from Toronto manager Cito Gaston after the game.
5. Stealing the other team's signs is OK in baseball, as long as you don't get caught. Phillies coach Mick Billmeyer recently made the mistake of being seen using binoculars from the bullpen to watch the Rockies' catcher give signs, but the team denied he was up to any wrongdoing.
6. Patriots coach Bill Belichick is despised by many, in part because he flaunts some of football's rules of etiquette. The most notorious example of this was 2007's 'Spygate' affair in which Belichick had the Jets' coaches filmed as they gave signals during a game with New England. Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team lost a first-round draft pick as punishment.
7. Belichick has often been accused of violating another one of sports' 'rules' by running up the score on his opponent. An example of this occurred in 2007 when Belichick's Patriots humiliated NFL coaching legend Joe Gibbs and his Redskins 52-7.
8. When a soccer team loses the ball because one of its players got injured, good sportsmanship dictates that the other team immediately give the ball back when play resumes. Well, Barcelona's Lionel Messi had a different idea when he took the ball and scored a goal in a recent UEFA Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk after one of Donetsk's players went down.
9. Sports' etiquette rules even extend to fans. For example, when a player changes teams, it's generally frowned upon if you keep wearing his old jersey.
10. Fans who interrupt games by running out onto the field get a lot of attention, but most people disapprove of such behavior.
11. And while interacting with other fans is usually part of the fun, it's never OK to go too far, such as Phillies fan Matthew Clemmens did this season when he intentionally threw up on a man and his young daughter at a game.
12. And finally, if you're a grown man and you catch a foul ball, find a little kid to give it to. You're sure to get a round of applause, and it's just good sports etiquette.
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