2008 Sports: MLB, NBA, NFL and The Rest.

Two-thousand-seven was the year we saw one of the most famous football players in the country go to prison, the most accomplished hitter of all-time get indicted on perjury charges, the most dominant pitcher since World War II implicated on steroid charges, an NBA referee busted for affecting the outcome of games and the most valuable NBA franchise found guilty of serial sexual harassment. The year also saw numerous pro athletes targeted in violent crimes, including the murder of NFL players Darrent Williams and Sean Taylor. And, of course, it was all brought to us 24 hours a day by a sports media quick to draw broad assumptions, as the push to put out opinions in the absence of facts has become an accepted hallmark of today's information-first age.This was a particular catastrophe after the tragic slaying of Taylor and the irresponsible assumption that his death in a botched robbery was the result of a thug life gone awry. William Blake may have said "the road of excess leads to the ... [link]