The Washington Nationals’ decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg has been highly criticized in the national sports media, yet it’s a decision made with Strasburg’s long-term health in mind, not a short-term chance to win. It’s a reminder that too often, we look for something to get angry about rather than look for the humanity in a choice.

After a fine start to the season, things could not have gone much worse for the New York Mets. An abysmal July has all-but-ended their season, and it’s now time for the team and fans to look to 2013. With the likely returns of R.A. Dickey and David Wright, things may not be so bad.

When a football team wins, many are quite to attribute the victory to one good play or solid drive courtesy of the quarterback. Yet, in some cases, like Michael Vick’s lackluster performance against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, the quarterback is given praise where praise is not due, and that’s something Andrew Bucholtz believes needs to stop.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates clinging to a Wild Card berth, there’s a very real chance that they could face the Atlanta Braves in the play-in game; the same franchise that was responsible for abolishing the Pirates from competitive play and damning them to 20 years of misery. Perhaps the Baseball Gods will step in and lend a hand.

The Colorado Avalanche announced this week that they’re replacing Milan Hejduk as with Gabriel Landeskog as captain of the team, making him the youngest full-time captain in NHL history. Is the 19-year-old ready for the responsibility, or is this just another example of a franchise trying to appease a star player’s appetite?

The 2012 MLB season has been absolutely packed with interesting storylines, but perhaps none moreso than that of the underdogs. Many surprising teams are challenging for playoff positions right now, and if you’re ready to hop on the bandwagon, Harlan Ambrose has everything you need to know about the top contenders for your newfound affection.

With another lockout looming over the NHL, there’s a very real threat that CBA negotiations may go sour and we could lose another season. If that’s the case, we’ll also lose our final chance to see greats like Teemu Selanne, Jaromir Jagr and Daniel Alfredsson finish their careers the way they want to, and that may be a greater shame than anything else.

The NFL plans on going ahead and starting the season without its regular officials. Recent history suggests this is a bad idea, as the NBA started the 2009-10 preseason with replacements. But the league doesn’t seem to mind, as long as you keep watching.