ESPN conveniently held a Town Meeting so that Americans could somehow find a way to continue living if Bonds hit No. 756. Apparently global warming and bad schools are no longer serious problems.

Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly, apparently out of screenplays to plug, advised readers on how to deal with Bonds' record, as if it carried bubonic plague.

Deal with it however you like. But don't lump it with everything else that's happening in our Summer of Sin.

First, remember the core American value: presumption of innocence. Neither Bonds, Vick nor Donaghy have been convicted of anything. Some journalists, myself included, have skipped that principle at times. But the Duke lacrosse case should have cured that.

Speaking hypothetically, a referee who fixes games destroys the foundation of his sport and makes its side issues meaningless. Who cares where Kevin Garnett plays if you can't trust the charge-block calls?

A quarterback who organizes killer dogfights gives a sick new twist to the NFL culture of lawlessness, one that new Commissioner Roger Goodell is actually trying to reverse.

And a left fielder who takes steroids to catch Mark McGwire, the Ghost of Shady Canyon, who, lest we forget, was openly taking andro in the year he hit 70 home runs?

It's a stupid health decision and it's a loathsome message to the kids.

Slideshow   Week in Sports Pictures A boxing champ celebrates, a kicker regrets, fans mourn a hero, and much more. more photos

It also wasn't illegal in baseball until recently, and it has more in common with corked bats and spitballs than it does with fixed basketball games and cruelty to canines.

And corked bats and spitballs might just enhance performance more than drugs actually produce home runs.

Meanwhile, Bonds turns his lonely eyes to 3,000. Look on the bright side. With each day in the big leagues, he delays the Hall of Fame induction.

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