prevent looting? NEW YORK, NY: The Barclay's Center at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) Sports are important to communities. They can be symbolic and inspirational, and bring some sense of normalcy during a disruptive time. New Yorkers of several generations know this well -- at least those who recall the weightiness of Mike Piazza's game-winning homerun for the New York Mets at Shea Stadium ten days after the September 11 attacks. When athletes or coaches suffer the loss of a family member, they often suit-up for the next game because they feel it is the best way to honor the deceased. When conditions make travel to an event impossible, such as the much-anticipated opening night NBA game between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets at the new Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, the event gets postponed. When a game is going to be played in a large stadium -- like the upcoming NFL game between the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers at the Meadowlands -- in the middle of gas shortages, traffic jams, sparse train service, and neighborhoods drowning in fetid sewage, then it probably ought to be rescheduled. Maybe a case can still be made for playing football. After all, people conserving gas by not driving to the game won't snarl the roadways; they might also still be able to watch it on TV. And aside from the possibility of the