When sports, death mix

People turn to sports to escape the trappings of everyday life. They tune in for drama that is not contrived or scripted. They tune in to see, as the old ABC Sports catch-line says, "the joy of victory and the agony of defeat." \nSunday we were reminded of the agony as Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap of the Daytona 500. Even someone who is not familiar with the world of NASCAR has heard of the "Intimidator" and his black Chevrolet with the No. 3 emblazoned on the roof. He made a living by doing things with his car that everyone else wanted to, but could only do with a go-cart or in an empty parking lot.\nAuto racing is dangerous. It is more or less inevitable that each year racing will see a fatality. But it is not supposed to happen to the man that tied the all-time record by winning seven Winston Cup titles. And certainly it is not supposed to happen on the final lap of NASCAR's premiere event. \nThough losses like this are always shocking, death is not relegated to the fast-paced and dangerous world of auto racing. Last month, we were reminded something as simple as transportation to and from sporting events cannot be taken for granted. A plane carrying 10 people associated with the Oklahoma State basketball program, including two players, Nate Fleming and Daniel Lawson, crashed on the way home from a game at Colorado, killing everyone on board. Not only was the crash a shock, but it reminded universities around the nation that they might need to reevaluate the safety of their teams' transportation.\nThe Oklahoma State plane crash is not unique. In 2000, Payne Stewart was supposed to defend his 1999 U.S. Open title. But the golfer, who became a fan favorite through his affable nature and unique wardrobe, never made it, as he perished in a bizarre plane crash en route to a tournament in Texas. \nIn 1970, the grief now expressed by the Oklahoma State campus was felt by Marshall University. On the way back from a game at East Carolina, the plane carrying the Thundering Herd football team, the coaching staff and some supporters crashed into the mountains of West Virginia. All 75 people on board died.\nThe sporting world has also seen its share of on-field fatalities. In the history of the NHL, two deaths have been attributed to action on the ice. The first death occurred in 1937. The 1920s and 1930s were considered the golden age of sports, and one of the first great hockey stars was Montreal Canadien Howie Morenz, who had earned the nickname "The Babe Ruth of Hockey." Skating on Jan. 28, 1937, he was 34 and his better days were behind him, but Morenz was still a star. Both his career and life were cut short in an accident. Morenz was checked into the boards by Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Earl Siebert. But Morenz's leg caught a crack in the board and snapped. He died six weeks later in his hospital bed.\nIn 1968, Minnesota North Star Bill Masterton collided into two players from the California Seals, and his head crashed to the ice. Though he tried to get up, Masterton collapsed and soon lapsed into a coma. He died two years later, and the NHL saw that it would soon be mandatory for all of its players to wear helmets.\nEven a sport as seemingly docile as baseball has seen a player die on-field. In 1920, baseball was trying to overcome the taint left on the game after the Chicago "Black Sox" scandal of the season before, in which eight White Sox players had been banned from the games for fixing the World Series. What happened next did not help at all.\nIn a game against the Yankees Aug. 16, popular Indians shortstop Ray Chapman, whose team record for stolen bases stood until 1980, came to the plate. He was struck in the temple by a pitch from submarine-baller Carl Mays. Chapman had to be carried off of the field, and died 12 hours later of a skull fracture. Though the Indians would go on to win the World Series for Chapman, his loss was a blow to the game. \nYet it would be four decades until batting helmets gained widespread use. And while batters are protected from accidents now, how safe are pitchers? It seems to be only a matter of time, in an era where players keep getting bigger and stronger, before a line drive comes back to the mound and causes something much worse than a season-ending injury.\nWhile the sporting world might seem like a fantasyland of fun and games, we are often served a reminder that sports cannot avoid the ultimate agony -- the death of an athlete.