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What is Sports Appreciation Day? To understand the what, you need to grasp the why -- starting with an Onion headline from last July: Barry Bonds home-run scandal somehow becomes feel-good sports story of summer.
Funny -- and true. Barry Bonds' march into history, though under the cloud of steroid suspicion, seemed tame in the summer of '07.
Tim Donaghy's gambling ties cast doubt on the validity of NBA wins and losses. Michael Vick admitted funding a dogfighting ring. Pacman Jones continued his incarceration odyssey.
Wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife and son, then himself. Week 1 of the NFL season saw Kevin Everett sustain a spinal cord injury. The fact that he would walk again makes the image of his motionless body no less terrifying.
During this time, perhaps you asked yourself, Why did I ever like sports in the first place?
That's the why. As for the what -- S.A.D. is therapy. One year removed from an awful summer, it's a way of validating sports fandom by going back to when it all began. Therapy can be helped along by a support group. Ours is great: CBSSports.com columnists and staffers, CBS Sports broadcasters, athletes and you. So let the healing begin.
-- Lyle Crouse, Assistant Managing Editor
