Good News/Bad News?

There is a truism in journalism that 'Bad news sells.' And it is often used as an excuse in sports reporting to focus on the more salacious and 'newsworthy' stories of players who have gone off the rails, done something outrageous or otherwise fouled the pool of genuine sporting endeavour.

We hear it all the time. 'Oh, Plaxico Burress makes a better story because he shot himself in a nightclub. That's what people want to hear.'

But that is such a horrible, feeble, inexcusable cop-out in modern journalism. No , it isn't what people want to hear. They HATE to hear stories of self-obsessed stars trying to prove they don't have to follow society's values and laws. They ABHOR reports of the privileged few flouting their tendencies of excess and disdain in our faces. And they positive RECOIL against notions that the utterly irresponsible somehow deserve greater news coverage than the many (the majority) who do things the right way, and don't seek publicity to stroke their own egos.

Case in point - a story buried in the depths of the totally compelling Sports Illustrated this week featuring Pittsburgh Steelers star Troy Polamalu and his (largely unreported) work to help kids with life-threatening illnesses in hospital. It's worth highlighting (and reading) in full just to counter-balance the sleazy side of sport (Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Donte Stallworth, Michael Vick and others).

Here is the full story by Sachin Shenolikar. My only complaint? It should have been given headline billing, not slipped among the 'sports shorts' of the magazine. We need MORE of this kind of story, not more of Burress and Co:

Heather Miller was being driven to the hospital for surgery on Jan. 26, but her thoughts were on a voice mail her mom, Wendy, had received three days earlier. Steelers safety Troy Polamalu said he had left something special at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh for his 10-year-old fan from Bedford, Pa. "The whole 2½-hour ride, instead of Heather dreading what was to come," Wendy says, "she was anxious about Troy's surprise."

When the family arrived, they found the jersey Polamalu had worn in the AFC Championship Game, autographed.

Polamalu met Heather—who is the guest editor of the July issue of SI Kids—last October, shortly after she was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a cancer of the bone. He stays in touch by texting, including one the day after the Steelers' Super Bowl win. "How about that, Heather? Hope we made you happy," it read.

Polamalu has developed similar relationships with half a dozen Children's Hospital patients and their families. He plays Rock Band or draws pictures with the kids and chats with their parents. "He spends hours here," says Mike Shulock, the child life specialist at the hospital. "I can't say enough about the impact he has."

You just KNOW there are plenty more stories like this. We just need - we WANT - to hear them.