This Was A Magic Year

And let's not forget the Summer Olympics. Florence Griffith Joyner, Matt Biondi, Kristin Otto, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Greg Louganis, Janet Evans, Naim Suleymanoglu—there was a host of stars in Seoul who glittered. But the tragedy of Canada's 100-meter sprinter, Ben Johnson, who won the gold and set a world record and then had it all taken away when he tested positive for anabolic steroids, left a pall over the Games. Something we wanted to believe was pure had been tainted, and suddenly it became a bit harder to trust great athletes wherever they're from.

Yet the cynicism has subsided somewhat. We're thinking about serious sports issues—steroid use, drug testing, free agency, "shamateurism" and more—and that's good. You can't solve problems by not thinking about them. This year gave us a lot to ponder. And a lot to cheer.