Oh, sure, it's easy to make light of the arrest of Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov on charges he masterminded the whole ice dancing/pairs skating fix in Salt Lake back in February. The more callous among us might use it as an opportunity to make fun and be cynical.

Those people are not our concern, for we know the truth: The charges against Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov are grave in their potential consequences. They grab and pull at the very seams of our sporting fabric, threatening to take something pure and beautiful like figure skating/ice dancing and infect it with … well, with horrible stuff we'd prefer would stay in back alleys and on our televisions.

	Where will the children be without ice dancing?

This guy, this Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, is dangerous to everything we hold dear. He's Arnold Rothstein with a sequin fetish.

And the reason it's so serious is, of course, the children. The children are the ones who are really hurt here. They are innocent and defenseless and rely on you to provide the moral compass necessary to navigate the treacherous waters of today's sporting world.

So sit down with your children. Discuss the harsh realities of figure skating and ice dancing. Be firm. Be patient. They will ask many questions, so be prepared. There is no such thing as a stupid question, but stupid answers cannot be tolerated.

Remember, children always respond better when they are not shielded from the truth. Explain to them that there are bad people out there, and sometimes they get their dirty little hands on something we hold dear. Sadly, in this case, that is exactly what happened.

We know it's hard, but it is your responsibility as a modern-day parent to tackle the tough subjects of our increasingly decomposing world. Children need to know what to do when someone offers them the opportunity to fix an ice-dancing competition. Remember, avoiding the subject will not make it go away.

You don't want to wait till the next Olympics and find yourself squirming on the couch with your teenage son and preteen daughter as they announce the Russian pair. Who knows what horrible misconceptions regarding ice dancing might be running through the heads of your young children.

Don't be caught unaware.

Talk with your children about ice dancing. Before it's too late.

This Week's List

Unnoticed deadline deal: The Dodgers managed to go out and pick up a new third baseman -- a productive Adrian Beltre.

Here's what Cardinal fans must be thinking right about now: The playoffs are no longer good enough, not by a long shot.

Just in case you don't subscribe to the lone gunman theory, you might want to know that Bud Selig greased the sale of the Red Sox for John Henry, set up Jeffrey Loria in Florida and is ostensibly the one running the orphan Expos: So, what do you think of Cliff Floyd's Griswoldian summer -- Florida to Montreal to Boston?

And they were really, really close on a few things they absolutely hated: During the Giants' radio broadcast Wednesday, GM Brian Sabean said, "We were close on a lot of things we didn't like."

Introducing Part I of "One Man's Emotions: The Livan Hernandez Story," brought to you by the San Jose Mercury News: In which our untradeable hero wakes up Aug. 1 to the headline, "Hernandez happy to stay after hearing trade talk."

And now we present Part II of "One Man's Emotions: The Livan Hernandez Story," brought to you by the Contra Costa Times: In which our untradeable hero wakes up Aug. 1 to the headline, "Distraught Hernandez would have liked trade."

Just for the heck of it (reader entry division): Razor Shines.

This is why, at some point in the next 10 years, even the most rabid NFL followers will start questioning what they're watching: Former Dolphin All-Pro guard Larry Little, on today's action on the line of scrimmage, tells the New York Times, "There is no technique. I call it a lot of belly-bumping … They're not as athletic, not as quick. That's why you don't see linemen pulling anymore. They're not fast enough."

Not to get too philosophical, but that gets to the main difference between baseball and the "non-crisis" major sports: In baseball, the management is so screwed up nobody seems to notice the game is still great, while in the NBA and NFL the management is so smooth nobody bothers to cast a critical eye on the games.

Don't know about you, but the very second I heard the news I was on the phone ordering a whole slew of season tickets: L.A. Sparks coach Michael Cooper says Lisa Leslie's dunk will spur interest in the WNBA, because, "It's going to make people come out to the arenas to see, because you never know who can do it and when it's going to happen."

A personal favorite from the historic moment: The announcer saying, "Lisa Leslie has dunked … and the game continues."

And finally, that's another problem with baseball these days -- nobody has a sense of humor: Don't you think it was incumbent upon someone to figure out a way to include Bruce Chen (four teams in four months) in a package involving Cliff Floyd (three teams in three weeks)?

Tim Keown is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at tim.keown@espnmag.com.