Sometimes, when the sports world becomes a bit too involved for our liking, we hark back to a simpler time... such as the 1900 Olympics and the story of Myer Prinstein.

Prinstein, a Polish-born New York Jew, competed in the long jump. The world record-holder, he entered the final round with a sizable advantage over his closest competitor, Alvin Kraenzlein. One problem: the final round was to be held on a Sunday... The Sabbath.

Oh, not the Jewish Sabbath, of course, but the ridiculously-placed Christian one. And Syracuse University, for which Prinstein competed, banned its students from participating on that day.

So Prinstein and Kraenzlein made a deal: to make it fair, neither would compete on Sunday. But when the day came, the goy backed out, and took the gold medal by beating his rival's mark by a single centimeter. Prinstein was so pissed off, he punched Kraenzlein. (You picked a wrong Jew to piss off, Alvin.)

Prinstein shrugged off the defeat and won his gold in the triple jump. He then returned to the Olympics four years later, and this time, won the long jump (not sure if it mattered by then, but the final was held on a Thursday), adding another triple jump gold for good measure.

As for Kraenzlein? He retired from sport after those 1900 Olympics. Some might say that he left on the top after winning his medal. But we'll say that he ran like a coward after being punched out by a Jew.

Absurd rules, nasty rivalries, lies, backstabbing, fights? Sport sure has come a long way in 100 years, hasn't it?