Wouldn't it be nice if the top sports story of the year involved, you know, sports?

So the Kobe Bryant rape case was chosen by members of the AP as the top sports story of the year. Clearly, this was a big story this year. Bryant used to be perceived as near squeaky clean, especially compared to some other NBA players. And this has, how do you say, tarnished his reputation.

But it's a sad indication of media coverage of sports are covered in the media. I'm not trying to argue that sports should be covered in a vacuum, that the only story that matters is what happens on the field, court, etc. (Though, I have to admit, I could do without some of the pappy human interest stories that are foisted on viewers so often.) Nor am I saying that only feel-good stories should be remembered. Rather, if we're going to be talking about big sports stories, we should be talking about stories that matter the most to sports fans. The Bryant case has pretty much become for widespread consumption; you don't hear (or, at least, I haven't heard) groups of people that typically talk about football or baseball now talking about Kobe Bryant. Because, frankly, he doesn't matter.

If you ask me, it's hard to find a better story in sports this year than the baseball playoffs. The Cubs and Red Sox both suffer heartbreaking losses. The wildcard Marlins somehow defeat the juggernaut Yankees to win their second World Series in seven years. Now that's excitement.