Is it wrong to run up the score in sports?

In youth sports, it's a great feeling to beat down the opposing team until they enact the mercy rule. While a greater feeling would be doing the same to equal competition, I don't see anything wrong with flexing your muscles a bit.

This is coming from a players standpoint.

When I played sports, honestly, I did it to have fun and win. I never once went out there thinking "I'm going to go out and play a game of football so I can show sportsmanship".

Now, IMO, it is one of the main responsibilities of a good coach to teach sportsmanship, but I guess it depends on the individual's definition of sportsmanship.

No, a kid's coach shouldn't "get off' on crushing the other team, but the player's should be getting off on scoring 8 touchdowns. It's not about demoralizing the other players. It's about feeling good about your own skills.

Hey, the Lions have lost by 40 but they also have won by...OK, bad example.

Exactly. The players just go out, play hard, and do what the coach tells them to do. The onus is on the coach.

I think that a good coach would use the garbage time afforded to him by a blowout victory to do some things to improve his team.

Things like(in order of importance):
1. resting his starters
2. developing 'end of the bench' guys
3. working on new offensive and defensive sets
4. teaching basketball (or whatever sport you're playing)
5. teaching sportsmanship

If the score increases while doing this stuff, so be it.