While the rest of the media chose to criticize the New England Patriots for their most recent NFL scandal, I have a different take on the matter.

Thank you, Bill Belichick — no, really.

Thank you for deflating those 11 footballs on Jan. 18. Thank you for once again (remember Spygate?) tarnishing your name and position as a football coach, the name of your quarterback Tom Brady, the Patriots organization and the NFL.

But most of all, thank you for reminding me why I get more excited standing on the sidelines of a high school football game than I do tuning in to Chicago Bears games on Sunday afternoons.

To say high school and college sports rarely fall victim to their own dramas would be foolish. We here in Powell are still discussing the recent dismissal of Powell High School volleyball coach Cindi Smith. But the issues that evolve from the lower levels of athletics often center around normal life occurrences: a person loses a job, a person is injured or killed, a disagreement between coaches and parents arises. These incidents are a natural part of life that leak into sports.

The circus-like list of events that have unfolded in the professional sports world in the past 13 months have no business in sports or life.

We spent several months analyzing the horrific domestic violence doled out by former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, current Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, the lies of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about that violence and now the Patriots cheating scandal — all brought to you by our sports media, with juggernaut ESPN leading the way.

Here’s a question I’ve heard a lot: what does ESPN stand for? It’s the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.

Great. Now that that’s solved, let’s ask this question: when did the antics, trials and tribulations of sports millionaires become entertainment? Who is entertained by this garbage? Was anyone entertained watching the footage of Rice sucker-punch — and knock out — his then-fiancee in the face in a hotel elevator last year? Thanks, ESPN.

This leads back to my earlier point: Amateur sports > pro sports — all day, and then the day after that. The only hitting I want to see in my sports involves football pads, a baseball and bat and a hockey stick and puck.

Yeah, there’s some boxing and MMA in there too, but you get the point. I don’t need all of the extra stuff. I only want and need the sports. When we begin involving the off-field happenings of athletes, sport’s shine begins to dim.

And this is where the lower levels reign supreme. I’ve been covering Powell High School and Northwest College sports for five months now. I arrived shortly after the passing of PHS head football coach Jim Stringer, I’ve witnessed Smith’s puzzling contract situation with the Park County School District No. 1 and we have dealt with other issues as well.

But you know what? No drugs, no alcohol, no violence, no cheating, no infidelity, no lights, no cameras — just action. And the right kind of action — the kind that takes place on a football field or gymnasium floor.

Early in my career, I had the privilege of covering the Bears’ summer training camp at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill. Illinois summers can be brutal, and in 2011 and 2012, I remember some particularly hellish days.

But I didn’t care — I was out covering players I grew up idolizing: Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman. Then, one day, Urlacher blew a bunch of us reporters off on his way to the locker room, Jay Cutler insulted a group of us gathered to greet him on arrival day and Brandon Marshall turned a cold shoulder on an interview request.

Now, I’m not naive — I get it — those guys are busy, and they don’t have to talk if they don’t want to. But that’s the difference between the pros and the amateurs I’ve covered for the majority of my career. Rarely do I have to chase down a high school athlete, or deal with a collegiate athlete who wants to be anywhere else than talking to me about the game they love.

Strip away the glitz and glamour, the million-dollar contracts, the endorsements and the television deals, and the professional athletes we see looping on the TV airwaves are people just like us. What’s great about prep and college sports is 99 percent of those athletes haven’t forgotten that.

And with that humility comes the ability to grow within the confines of your sport.

We’ve seen what happens when professional coaches and athletes out-grow those limits. When you become too big for the game, the game becomes too big for you.

So, for crying out loud, put the air back in the footballs, turn off the Rice video and learn to tell the truth. Oh, and in the meantime, try showing some appreciation for the sports you’re privileged to be participatning in.

Until that happens, I’m going to go watch the people who do.