Cheating

For generations it has been one of the great American axioms, accepted truth on diamonds, courts and gridirons everywhere: Sports builds character, instilling the values of teamwork and good sportsmanship. But amid fresh headlines of alleged cheating in auto racing, continuing controversies over steroid use in baseball, track and cycling and ugly brawls among basketball players comes a nationwide survey suggesting a decidedly darker vision of sports.

Chinese officials who have mistresses, fail to financially support their parents or abuse and abandon their families could be out of a job, according to a new set of ethics rules released by the central government. The regulations, set to take effect June 1, cover a variety of other misdeeds, including corruption, beating up or illegally detaining citizens, using drugs, having sex with a prostitute and organizing "superstitious gatherings."

Fifteen cadets were expelled from the Air Force Academy in a cheating scandal and three others resigned, school commanders said. Thirteen others were placed on probation. The cadets, all freshmen, either confessed or were found guilty by an honor board of sharing answers to a test of knowledge about the Air Force. Officials at the academy near Colorado Springs said the cadets forwarded answers through an Internet social group and private computer messages.

Even when it's play money, some people can't help themselves. They cheat. CNBC may have to confront this reality, one of the risks faced by companies that sponsor games for customers and, more to the point, for people the companies hope will become customers. It happened to McDonald's several years ago with various promotional prize contests, and to Taco Bell in the late 1980s in its "Wheels, Reels and Meals" sweepstakes.

With defending winner Jeff Gordon and teammate Jimmie Johnson sent to the penalty box by NASCAR, Jamie McMurray won the pole position Friday for the Nextel Cup race at Infineon Raceway on Sunday. McMurray, driving a Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, posted a lap of 92.414 mph on the 1.99-mile, 10-turn course to earn the top starting spot in the Toyota/SaveMart 350. Robby Gordon of Orange was second at 92.399 mph in another Ford.

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR's two winningest drivers this season, were each docked 100 championship points Tuesday and their crew chiefs were suspended for six races for technical violations last weekend at Sonoma, Calif. The respective crew chiefs, Steve Letarte for Gordon and Chad Knaus for Johnson, were fined $100,000 each and put on probation until Dec. 31. Team owner Rick Hendrick was penalized 100 owner points for Gordon's car.

The British Broadcasting Corp. said Wednesday that it was suspending all phone-in contests and interactive quizzes after an investigation exposed several rigged competitions. The BBC, which has been battered by revelations about bogus contests and doctored footage, said an internal inquiry found that "a small number of production staff ... have passed themselves off as viewers and listeners."

LONDON -- On Aug. 2, as the world all but yawned over a drab second-round match in a fourth-tier tennis tournament along the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea, a single roomful of people in Hammersmith, West London grew rapt and concerned. Odd, because this room normally appears so very blase-financial-firm.

NEW YORK -- The ATP Tour's investigation into suspicious betting patterns involving a Nikolay Davydenko match this month in Poland will take "months rather than weeks," according to an official. "It's going to take time. We are determined to leave no stone unturned," said ATP spokesman Kris Dent on Saturday. His comments came as a mandatory player meeting was getting started at the final Grand Slam event of the season, the U.S. Open, which starts Monday.

The New England Patriots won three Super Bowl titles in four years, building an NFL dynasty in what otherwise was an era of unparalleled competitive balance. But did a franchise long considered a model of success and efficiency cheat to do it? That's the pressing question as details emerge about the Patriots' breaking league rules by secretly videotaping the defensive signals of the rival New York Jets on Sunday.