There's a clear causality between our excusing idolization of athletes and our idolized athletes excusing their immoral behavior to protect that hyperinflated status.

Columnist George Will, who has written a number of excellent books on baseball, once stated that, "Sports serve society by providing vivid examples of excellence." These days, it seems just the opposite.

It is impossible to erase what really happened. Lance Armstrong won those seven races. In the rewrite of Armstrong's records the sport of cycling would have you believe they are punishing the perfidy of their greatest rider, while what they really want is for the world to forget their own.

Are we desensitized to the scandals? Are the salacious storylines as much a part of our consumption of sport as when we ask how our team will replace seven starters on defense?

Sports fans have always been enthralled with miraculous come from behind victories, and Landis contributed a chapter to that lore with his fairy tale triumph in the 2006 Tour de France.