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Winning isn't everything? Who knew?

BY TOM SEALS

The Wichita Eagle

There are a lot of things happening in the sports world that make you wonder about the future of the human race.

Thankfully, there are things that give you hope, too.

On April 26, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon hit a three-run homer in a college softball game, missed the bag as she rounded first base, then injured her knee when she stopped and turned to return to the base. She fell to the ground in pain, then crawled back to first. She was unable to go further.

Western Oregon coaches knew Tucholsky couldn't legally be assisted by teammates. An umpire ruled -- incorrectly as it turns out -- that if a pinch-runner were used, the hit would be reduced to a single.

As her coaches tried to think of a solution, two Central Washington players stepped in. They carried Tucholsky around the bases, pausing to let her touch each base.

Western Oregon won the game 4-2; the loss eliminated Central Washington from NCAA Division II postseason consideration.

"The umpires said a player cannot be assisted by their team around the bases," Western coach Pam Knox told The Oregonian newspaper. "But it is her only home run in four years. She is going to kill me if we sub and take it away. But at the same time I was concerned for her. I didn't know what to do.

"That is when Mallory stepped in."

Mallory Holtman is the greatest softball player in Central Washington history, her conference's career home run leader. It's a good bet she leads the conference in character, too.

Holtman asked teammate Liz Wallace to help her carry Tucholsky.

"We started laughing when we touched second base," Holtman said. "I said, 'I wonder what this must look like to other people.' "

When they reached home plate, the entire Western Oregon team was waiting.

"My whole team was crying," Tucholsky said. "Everybody in the stands was crying. My coach was crying. It touched a lot of people."

With good reason.

"In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much," Holtman said. "It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain and she deserved a home run...."

Holtman said sports have made her a better person.

I'm not sure there's a good way to write about the virtues of sportsmanship without sounding really annoying. Actions like Holtman's, though, say it all.

Costas moment -- The week's major news from the blogosphere was somewhat less heartwarming.

HBO's "Costas Now" program attempted to examine the changing landscape of sports media. One segment included as panelists Pulitzer Prize winner/"Friday Night Lights" author Buzz Bissinger and Will Leitch, founder of the Deadspin Web site.

If you like professional wrestling except you wish the rhetoric was real, then you loved Bissinger's four-minute pummeling of Leitch.

Calm, rational discussion? Not so much. Bissinger was determined to prove that all blogs -- and the entire Internet -- are hateful and profane. And really, what better way to do that than by being hateful and profane?

You'd think a Pulitzer Prize winner would be able to come up with a better approach than straight-out screaming.

Derby fever -- Maybe ESPN doesn't expect anyone to watch all six hours of its Kentucky Derby pregame shows. What can I say, I'm an overachiever.

But man, those silly, taped segments with Kenny Mayne that are meant to entertain... they're just really bad by the third time they air.

Run 'n' Gun is The Eagle sports staff's weekly look at the offbeat side of sports.