Quick, name all the sports you can think of. I’ll guess your list may have fallen in this order: football, baseball and basketball, or some combination of the three.

If I was right, why didn’t competition chess or spelling come to mind? How about an ESPN favorite: poker?

While ESPN may send camera crews and announcers to events such as the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee each year, can these really be considered sports?

I think so, but that means we need to expand our definition of sports.

Sure, poker may not require the mind-numbing athleticism found in basketball or the brute strength of football, but doesn’t mind power count for anything?

Let’s establish some criteria. First, there has to be a level of competition. Certainly, poker, spelling bees and chess pass this test with nationwide tournaments, a few of which make it onto television in the championship stages.

Second, to be a sport, it must require a substantial level of skill to be successful. Sure, anyone can sit down in a park and throw around some kings and rooks in a game of chess. But if a player of the game can go toe-to-toe with a super computer and defeat it, well, that’s skill. Poker requires some luck, but also a great sense of playing the odds and other mental attributes. So they both pass test two.

As for spelling, when words like “succedaneum” and “appoggiatura” become commonplace, I’ll consider it a skill. Right now, in my book, I’ll call it a lucky ability. So spelling, for now, is out of the race, though I will admit that instant messaging is ruining our ability to spell, to the point that it is almost a skill to get it right.

Last, you have to be able to practice your event for it to be considered  sport. Obviously, the enormous amount of scenarios in chess require practice, to keep your mind sharp and see things on the board your opponent does not. When your opponent pulls the Sicilian Defense opening move on you, you have to know how to respond. Poker requires a steady hand, face and voice, which require practice, along with a good pair of shades.

So, I can officially call poker and chess sports in my book. As much as I may cringe while watching either of these on TV, I will say that they are deserving of ESPN coverage, being the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.”

This being said, I would still rather see a Lebron James dunk than a royal flush or a checkmate on the Sportscenter Top 10 plays.