Like I said, it's an interesting philosophical question.

True, backstabbing and butt-kissing can be effective, but there are also sometimes consequences.

In PB, maybe someone wins by using game (rather than ball) knowledge and then his peers (i.e., other managers) think less of him, so winning could be less satisfying.

So, make your choices, does the end justify the means?

My argument is that in US sports and often in business, nice guys don't finish first, and sometimes the ***holes finish first.

So play the game and make your choices for yourself, but be careful about making assumptions or have expectations about others' behavior or motivations. You'll be surprised at how often you're wrong.