The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT September 4, 2010

I've never been much of a fan of games ending in a tie score.

Whether it's a football game or a soccer match - something just gets to me about teams playing a competitive game and nobody being declared a winner.

THIS PROBLEM began a couple years ago when the major league baseball All-Star Game ended in a tie after 10 innings at Miller Park in Milwaukee.

Something about that bothered me as fans that tuned in to see a winner, didn't get one.

The game has since been changed a bit, with the winning league earning home-field advantage for the World Series.

But when some players hadn't played and the game was still tied - why stop playing?

Fans pay plenty of money to come see a winner at games - so why not play until there is one?

Regardless of what happens from this point on, that bitter taste of a tie has spoiled the game for me for a while.

OVER THE past two weeks, seven such instances have come into the Press.

Soccer is a sport where the scores are supposed to be low - which is evident by at least five scoreless ties in the first two weeks of the prep season.

In the eight years of covering high school sports, I haven't had much of an exposure to soccer, but as the last four years have come and gone, the game is becoming something I am starting to understand.

If it came down to watching a game end in overtime or ending in regulation with a tie - play a couple more minutes at least.

At least with soccer, should a team force a tie, there is some honor to playing to a tie, even if nobody really wins.

With football, most players could agree that a game ending in a tie is as good as a loss.

In my junior year of high school, I watched along the sidelines as my alma mater, Wallace High, tied with rival Kellogg 20-20 at Teeters Field.

The game, which could be the only time the two teams have tied in a football series that lasted nearly 106 years. That series ended a few years ago when the North Star League began playing all league games during the season.

I haven't seen a tie in football since and chances are it will be a while before I see another on a football field.

SHOULD TEAMS that have a tie prevent them from qualifying for a state tournament, most coaches will admit they may have went for the win had the chance been there.

Don't get me wrong, those games coming down to the final seconds are worth the price of admission - but when they end in a tie, it seems to be a letdown.

If you're playing to win games, shouldn't there be one at the end?

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via e-mail at jelliott@cdapress.com.