Thankfully, gratitude in sports seems to be in vogue

Obviously, it's good the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders hockey franchise has secured new ownership that will keep the team here.

 It would have been a kick in the city's backside if the 10-year-old franchise couldn't be retained, especially in these post-flood times.

 No moment in the RoughRiders' decade sticks in my mind more than the final image from their season-ending Game 5 playoff loss to the Indiana Ice on April 18.

 The Riders had just lost one of the most-entertaining hockey games I've seen at any level. Indiana scored with 15 seconds left in the third period for a 7-6 win at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

 It was as emotionally bruising as a game could be for the Riders, as evidenced by their body language when that dooming goal was scored. Cedar Rapids Coach Mark Carlson called a timeout to orchestrate one last rush, but I wonder if a single player heard a word he said. They were dazed by the realization their season suddenly was toast.

But the moment from that night that resonates five weeks later is this: Despite wallowing in their sorrow, the Riders still summoned the presence of mind to go to center ice and salute and thank their fans as they do after every other home game each season.

It's the same kind of thing the University of Iowa women's basketball team has long done.

Similar appreciation and connection with fans isn't always found in higher levels of sports, but that may be changing.

After winning Sunday's Indianapolis 500, Helio Castroneves refused to be denied his post-victory ritual of climbing the wire fence separating the fans from the front straightaway.

Race officials tried to steer Castroneves dispatch him directly to victory circle, but to no avail. He climbed the fence, and his crew joined him. The fans loved the acknowledgment.

“I want to dedicate my victory to the many fans who supported me during my troubled times,” Castroneves said shortly afterward. “The fans, along with my team, kept me alive and strong throughout.”

He was talking about his acquittal of federal charges of tax evasion and conspiracy in April. Had he been found guilty, he could have faced six years in prison. So, it was probably pretty easy for Castroneves to feel appreciative.

But there's nothing wrong with showing it, and auto racers have always been pretty good about doing so. Shortly after Castroneves' win, a similarly nice thing happened at the PGA Tour's Byron Nelson Championship.

D.A. Points, a journeyman on the big tour, made a birdie on the final hole Sunday to close a final-round 65 that propelled him to a career-best third-place finish.

“Hey everybody, thank you!” Points told the gallery surrounding the 18th green. “Thanks for coming! Thank you for supporting us.”

It's easy to pass around the gratitude when things are going your way, of course.  But Points was doing a very nice and smart thing.

Those people who bought those tickets helped put the numbers on the $442,000 check Points received Sunday. Maybe a few of them went home feeling like at least one of those players enjoyed and appreciated their presence at the tournament. Maybe a few television viewers saw or heard that and said that is a guy and that is a sport worth supporting because of it.

LeBron James gets it, too. The Cleveland Cavaliers superstar had this to say to Cavs fans after receiving the NBA's Most Valuable Award trophy before a second-round playoff game in Cleveland:

“Wow. You guys have done everything for me (since coming to Cleveland).”

The next day, he added “You guys have a big part in this MVP trophy also.”

Now, James made James. But maybe by telling those fans know their love for him bounces back to them, it only adds to the good feelings inside Cleveland's arena and really does make James a better player.

 What's certain is thank-you to fans never hurt. The love you take, as a band from England sang four decades ago, is equal to the love you make.