Students of bracketology, that college basketball selection ritual leading into March Madness, know that playing a game close to home can be a big plus for teams.

During the regular season, home courts are a great advantage as teams play off their loyal fan bases. Legendary sports palaces themselves are seen as a points advantage. Some have intimidating nicknames such as The Phog or Allen Field house, home to the Kansas Jayhawks; Cameron Indoor Stadium, home to the Cameron Crazies of Duke University; the Carrier Dome at Syracuse which is known as The Loud House; and The Barn or Williams Arena, home to the Minnesota Golden Gophers.Some older fans may remember those bandbox-sized older gyms while growing up which many of us simply referred to as "the pit."Recently, an inspiring story emerged out of Wisconsin where students at Lincoln Middle School in Kenosha decided to rename their gym "D's House," a name that has more to do with compassion than intimidation. It was named in honor of Desiree Andrews, an eighth-grade cheerleader at the school who has Down syndrome.Desiree was inspired to become a cheerleader through the television show "Glee," which included a character with Down syndrome. Although not always in sync with the other cheerleaders with her cheers and movements, Desiree became a favorite of the fans and team members. The introduction of the starting lineups also included Desiree.When team members heard Desiree being picked on and bullied by a few people in the stands during a recent game, they walked off the court in anger to protest. Miles Rodriguez, one of the players, went to the bullies and told them to stop because "that's not right to be mean to another person."Another player, Scooter Terrien, defended the action.He told an interviewer that it's not fair when other people get treated wrong because we're all created the same by God.Coach David Tolefree was proud of his team, saying that his players acted like big brothers in defense of Desiree. Although the players were angry, they protested civilly and within the rules.After the gym was renamed "D's House," students began wearing T-shirts as a show of school solidarity for one of their own.Laura Stone, cheer coach and a teacher at the school, feels Desiree's participation on the team, and at school, has helped her students grow.There's also a lesson here for the adults, even national leadership. In light of the ongoing racial tensions, heightened once again by the attempted police assassinations in Ferguson, Missouri, some of this nation's proclaimed civil rights leaders such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson could learn something about crisis management, deportment and race relations from the eighth-graders in Wisconsin.By JIM ZBICKtneditor@tnonline.com