The perfect is the enemy of the good, Voltaire famously said, and that was hundreds of years before the invention of spy cameras, steroids and sports record books that future generations would find impossibly and irresistibly enticing.
In 2007, sports fans saw the enemy rear its ugly head so many time that by December's end, they were ready to hoist the 409-page Mitchell Report and swat back in self-defense.
Barry Bonds, obsessed with becoming the perfect baseball player, broke Hank Aaron's home run record while America suspected fraud, then was indicted on charges that he lied to a federal grand jury about using performance-enhancing drugs.
Marion Jones, obsessed with becoming the perfect sprinter, had to return the five Olympic medals she won in 2000 after admitting she used steroids -- drugs that helped transform her into a track and field superhero: Man-Made Marion.
Floyd Landis, obsessed with providing the perfect encore to Lance Armstrong's seven consecutive Tour de France titles, was stripped of his 2006 Tour championship after he tested positive for synthetic testosterone.
Bill Belichick, obsessed with the possibility of completing a perfect NFL regular season, was fined $500,000 and his New England Patriots docked a first-round draft choice after the league found the Patriots guilty of illegally videotaping an opponent's sideline signals.
And when perfection wasn't possible, even with unethical outside assistance, too many in sports opted for the low and easy road to fame and fortune.
There were 88 players listed after George Mitchell completed his investigation into steroid usage in the major leagues -- Bonds, Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi, Eric Gagne, Miguel Tejada, Andy Pettitte and Gary Sheffield among them.
Michael Vick, who seemingly had it all and deemed that insufficient, is serving a 23-month prison term for his role in a dogfighting syndicate.
Tim Donaghy, a 13-year NBA referee, is facing a 25-year prison term after admitting he bet on games he officiated and pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and transmit gambling information across state lines.
Men's professional tennis, which today should be celebrating Roger Federer's near sweep of the four Grand Slam tournaments, continues to scrub but can't remove the stain of a match-fixing scandal.
On the women's side, Justine Henin split the Grand Slams with the Williams sisters, but those headlines couldn't out-volley the news that Martina Hingis was retiring from the tour after testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon.
