As a boy I was part of a street gang which terrorized patrons of the local Dairy Queen. We weren't actually that bad, but not for lack of effort. We would open napkin dispensers, write dumb messages on the paper inside, and watch gleefully as people pulled them out and read our witticisms. We would turn salt and pepper shakers upside down to watch people pick them up and spill seasoning all over the table. Illustrating divine retribution, my first job was at that same Dairy Queen, where my former friends continued their tricks, now on me. Payback is tough.

Sometimes we suffer for doing good rather than evil, whether we're a doctor or a basketball coach. First the medical news. As you know, angioplasty can be lifesaving in the early hours after a heart attack. But a new medical study concludes that opening a blocked artery with balloons and stents often does no good if the heart attack occurred three or more days before. As many as 50,000 patients in the United States could be affected by this news each year.

Now the sports news, actually a question: did Texas Tech coach Bob Knight slap a player? The famous coach with the infamous temper did whatever he did during Monday night's win against Gardner-Webb. Yesterday, ESPN replayed the incident repeatedly and blogs the world over debated the coach's action.

This morning's USA Today quotes Tech athletic director Gerald Myers: "I have discussed this with Michael Prince, his parents and Coach Knight. Coach Knight did not slap Michael. Michael came off the court with his head down, and Coach Knight quickly lifted Michael's chin up and said, 'Hold your head up and don't worry about your mistakes. Just play the game.'" Prince and his mother likewise defended the coach. The player said, "He was trying to teach me and I had my head down, so he raised my chin up." Most definitely.

When last did your attempt to help someone do more harm than good? Who hasn't been misunderstood somewhere along the way? Taken out of context? Misquoted or misrepresented? We know what we meant by what we said. It is human nature to judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions. When I was a Dairy Queen customer, we were just fooling around. When I became a Dairy Queen employee, I was abused by lawbreaking hoodlums.

Do you need to forgive anyone's intentions today?

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