Two, four, six, eight, why can't we appreciate sportsmanship

? Failure by players at all levels, from high school to the pros, to shake hands after a game.

? A Sandpoint High School freshman football player getting beaten up after a recent game.

? A Washington state high school official getting head-butted to the mat a few years back by a wrestler upset over a call.

? Terrell Owens pulling out a Sharpie to sign an autograph after scoring a touchdown against the Seahawks a year or two back or grandstanding on the Cowboys 50-yard line to call attention to a play.

Unfortunately, they are just a few of the examples of poor sportsmanship which have made news over the past few years. If you were to add in all of the doping allegations, base-brawl slugfests and general surliness by some athletes, you have to wonder where our priorities are.

After all, only a small percentage of high school athletes win full scholarships to major programs (or any program, for that matter). An even smaller percentage of college athletes are drafted into the pros and only a small number of those folks "make it big."

According to VarsityEdge.com, a student-athlete resource Web site for high school players, parents and coaches, talent is only part of the equation. College coaches are increasing taking into account the athlete's character when deciding to whom to offer scholarships.

Sure, talent is important, but so is academics and sportsmanship. Colleges can't afford the headaches associated with a player who is going to make them look stupid. Even the pros are increasingly apt to trade talented but troubled players who want it to be all about them and not the team.

So why is bad sportsmanship tolerated — on any level? Why don't coaches (and parents) immediately put the player on bench-warming status until they can, as my mother would say, learn to play nicely with others?

Winning is great and yes, fun. But losing with style — and well as winning with grace — are lessons will serve you in more fields than just ones connected with sports.

Caroline Lobsinger is the managing editor of the Daily Bee.