It was during that time in 1886 when Dr. William Martin published a suspected case of chloroform toxicity in the British Medical Journal. These days, the National Toxicology Program lists chloroform as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen."

Ah, how far we've come.

For better or for worse, medical science is in a constant state of flux.

For instance, treatments based on tradition and "how it's always been done" mentalities are now giving way to evidence-based decision making. What's more, less-invasive interventions are trumping more-invasive ones while improving rehabilitation plans continue to reshape recoveries.

Yet not all is coming up roses.

Performance-enhancing drugs continue to plague the news on a seemingly daily basis, and elsewhere, mandatory bench time for athletes following a concussion could deter players from reporting symptoms.

Unfortunately, the NFL is no stranger to such controversies.

As America's most popular sport, professional football is one of the most publicly visible venues at which the latest medical and pharmaceutical knowledge is applied—for both good and bad. Though stories of incredible injury recoveries abound, so do those of drug use. Players set examples, and recoveries set precedents.

Additionally, the speed at which medicine is evolving will only continue to increase.

The result? An ever-changing NFL medical landscape highlighted in several distinct ways—some obvious, some not so much.

Brain Injury Education and Safety Reform 

As the saying goes, knowledge is power. It can enlighten, but it can also burden.

Depending on one's point of view, new knowledge on the nature of concussions has the potential to do both.

For the NFL, sweeping changes started in 2007 when the league formulated its first concussion management guidelines (h/t ESPN):

(The) policy stated that a player could not return to a game or practice in which he lost consciousness and that a player must be completely asymptomatic and pass his neurological tests normally before returning to play.

The NFL also pledged to expand neurological testing for all players, particularly those who had suffered a concussion before. If a player suffered a concussion in the season, he would be required to undergo extra neuropsychological tests later in the year.

In 2009, the guidelines expanded to include any concussion symptoms—such as headache, nausea and dizziness—not just loss of consciousness. The athlete now also required clearance by a neurological consultant and team physician before returning to play.

By 2011, the NFL had bolstered its regulations even further (h/t Gary Mihoces, USA Today), and in Jan. 2013, the league announced the future placement of independent neurological consultants on the sidelines to assist with concussion diagnoses (h/t Curtis Crabtree, NBC Sports).

Last November, ESPN's Mike Sando described some of the most recent changes to NFL concussion policy in detail:

The process begins before the season when team doctors administer tests measuring orientation, memory, concentration and balance. They determine which symptoms associated with concussions might exist in the absence of a concussion.

According to Sando, after a suspicious hit to the head, teams ideally remove an athlete from play immediately. Using a standardized assessment tool to test memory and orientation, doctors and trainers then determine whether or not the player is concussed.

If the medical staff diagnoses a concussion, the concussed player must retire to the locker room to rest and cannot play again that day. He must also complete a standardized return-to-play protocol before taking the field once again.

As Sando discusses, that return-to-play process does not begin until concussion symptoms resolve entirely. The afflicted athlete must then complete physical tasks of steadily increasing intensity.

While the column doesn't mention precise details, the tasks almost certainly closely resemble the regimen described by the guidelines set forth at the fourth International Conference on Concussion in Sport.

In brief, a player needs to complete five phases of exercise and recovery before taking the field. The phases consist of, in order:

1. Being symptom-free for 24 hours
2. Performing light physical activity without re-developing symptoms for 24 hours
3. Performing sport-specific activities without re-developing symptoms for 24 hours
4. Participating in non-contact practice without re-developing symptoms for 24 hours
5. Participating in full-contact practice without re-developing symptoms for 24 hours

If symptoms recur, the player must rest for 24 hours before resuming the process one step lower than when symptoms returned.

A protocol, however, is only effective if followed properly. As the severity of the issue at hand becomes more apparent, the league could decide to implement formalized player education and even fine or otherwise punish players found hiding symptoms.

More Knowledge Creates More Responsibility

Why is such a strict concussion protocol necessary? Simply because the burden of knowledge is too great.

The medical community now knows that concussions carry not only short-term, but also long-term, consequences. The age of "shaking off" a blow to the head is forever over.

Though rare, Second Impact Syndrome (SIS) represents a potentially lethal consequence of a poorly managed concussion. In SIS, some believe a second blow to the head shortly after a first causes rapid and potentially fatal swelling of the brain—though the exact nature of the condition is controversial.

Despite that controversy, the possibility of SIS is frightening enough to warrant action.

As discussed by Bleacher Report's own Brian Toporek, many U.S. states already tout legislation mandating the proper management of concussions in student-athletes (h/t Education Week, access required).

Not only do the laws help players recover, they also help protect against lasting consequences.

For example, mismanaged concussions can linger for extended periods of time, hampering one's quality of life. Repeated concussions may also lower the force necessary to cause future ones.

Perhaps most frightening, however, is the potential for permanent brain damage in the form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Defined by Boston University as a "progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma," CTE gained infamy after doctors discovered it posthumously in the brains multiple NFL players—most recently following the suicide of former NFL linebacker Junior Seau.

CTE symptoms include depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances, leading many to believe the disease played a role in Seau's death.

To be clear, proof that concussions lead to CTE does not yet exist. In fact, the official position of the aforementioned international conference states:

(A) cause and effect relationship has not as yet been demonstrated between CTE and concussions or exposure to contact sports. At present, the interpretation of causation in the modern CTE case studies should proceed cautiously.

In other words, those in the medical and football communities must exercise caution to not over-interpret anecdotal evidence. Additionally, much remains unknown about both concussions and CTE alike.

Nevertheless, it is that degree of unknown that highlights what is truly important—proactivity.

As research continues to mount, the NFL will—or at least, should—stay current with the latest research and developments. It may also continue to expand on research partnerships such as the one it formed with General Electric Co. and Under Armour Inc. in March.

After all, there is much to do.

For instance, new methods to detect concussions may not be far off. University of Missouri sports medicine specialist and team physician Dr. Aaron Gray weighed in on the prospect of helmet sensors, a tool designed to measure forces delivered to a player's head:

Helmet sensors have the potential to give us large amounts of information about the direct impact and rotational forces of 'hard hits. Medical staffs will be able to be alerted when players have suffered high-impact hits during a game or practice. They can also measure the cumulative effects of multiple small-to-medium hits over the course of a game.

That said, helmet sensors are only one piece of the puzzle, said Gray:

One challenge for this technology is that it measures forces but doesn't actually diagnose a concussion. Individual players have different susceptibilities to concussions, and a hit that causes one player to suffer a concussion does not always cause another player to have the same brain injury.

Gray noted that players must receive individualized examinations and care for proper treatment. What's more, he added, sensors will serve only as a guide at best:

Helmet sensors will not reduce concussions by themselves. Hopefully, players that repeatedly suffer high impacts will be able to modify their tackling technique or playing style to decrease repetitive, dangerous blows to their head.

Potential for Future Anticipatory Neurological and Psychological Care

In addition to helmet sensors, the ability to detect brain damage at the microscopic level remains an active area of research.

In Jan. 2013, CNN's Stephanie Smith reported researchers employed a novel imaging technique to detect accumulations of a protein called tau.

As described by Dr. Ann McKee and colleagues in the journal Brain, researchers believe tau and CTE are closely related (h/t Pub Med). Moreover, the relationship between tau and Alzheimer's disease—a disease with some similar characteristics to CTE—is already well established.

Once again, it is important to not over-conclude. Detecting clumps of tau proteins only represents the first step of many. The relationship, or lack thereof, between accumulations of tau protein, hits to the head, activity in sport and the development of CTE remains very unclear.

Regardless, should researchers establish causal relationships in the years to come, a Pandora's box of research opportunities will open.

For example, experts could investigate new standards of care for those at higher risk of developing CTE. Then, detection of the disease before it psychologically or physically presents itself could follow. Doctors could also theoretically employ newfound knowledge to fine-tune medication regimens to help treat the symptoms of the disease.

That being said, a world where doctors identify and treat athletes with CTE early in the disease's course is years—perhaps decades—away.

However, the ball is already rolling.

Identifying Problems Before They Arise

In 2010, University of Southern Indiana's Jeron Lewis collapsed during a basketball game. Tragically, he did not recover, passing away soon thereafter (h/t Myron Medcalf, ESPN). Doctors later determined he died from complications stemming from an undiscovered heart condition.

Numerous conditions can lead to such a heartbreaking outcome, and while some are readily identifiable with proper investigation, others are not.

Dr. Jonathan Drezner—past president of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and current team physician for the Seattle Seahawks and University of Washington Huskies—actively researches heart conditions in athletes. He is the lead investigator of a study aimed at determining the feasibility of implementing electrocardiogram (ECG) screening to detect silent but life-threatening heart conditions in NCAA athletes.

Results are promising (h/t AMSSM.org). In the study, Dr. Drezner and his colleagues diagnosed seven athletes with serious disorders. While all seven had abnormal ECGs, only two had an abnormal history and subsequent physical exams.

In other words, ECGs hinted something was wrong in five otherwise normal patients.

In the NFL, standard screening is already in use.

"NFL athletes are screened yearly with an ECG to improve detection of silent cardiac disorders that often have no signs or symptoms but are at risk for (sudden cardiac arrest)," Dr. Drezner said. "Screening models that utilize ECG for college and high school athletes are becoming more common."

Dr. Drezner added that a standardized protocol is necessary for proper interpretation of potentially abnormal findings.

While electrical abnormalities aren't exactly common, they certainly do come up. This past season, Houston Texans running back Arian Foster left a game against the Minnesota Vikings with an irregular heartbeat (h/t Nick Scurfield, HoustonTexans.com).

In a somewhat different vein, screening echocardiography—or ultrasound of the heart—can identify diminished heart function that could otherwise go unnoticed. Usually identified as a low ejection fraction—the proportion of blood pumped outward with each beat—a weaker heart can lead to potentially life-threatening irregular heartbeats in and of itself.

However, as Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Star Lotulelei now knows, sometimes abnormal findings create much ado about nothing (h/t Jordan Raanan, NJ.com).

Using echocardiography, doctors measured Lotulelei's ejection fraction as 44 percent at the NFL combine—below the normal level of 55 to 70 percent. Details are unavailable, but his heart is now healthy—and perhaps always was save a temporary, minor condition.

"Echocardgiography has been used at the NFL Combine, but its routine use in identifying at-risk disorders above and beyond ECG is still uncertain," Dr. Drezner explained.

Unfortunately, certain findings that are normal for highly trained athletes—such as a slightly lower ejection fraction—can mimic disease states, and the overlap can make distinguishing between normal and abnormal hearts difficult. That may soon change with more experience and further research.

New Surgical Techniques: Advancing Knowledge, Quicker Recoveries

Just as screening for disease helps limit unnecessary medical testing, recent advances in surgical technique limit unnecessarily invasive operations. Houston Texans safety Ed Reed is the latest to benefit.

On May 3, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reported Reed underwent arthroscopic hip surgery to repair a torn acetabular labrum—a supportive ring of cartilage located where the thigh bone meets the pelvis. According to the Chronicle's Tania Ganguli, the Texans expect Reed back in action by the middle of training camp at the very latest.

Not long ago, such a timetable was impossible, as hip repairs usually required the complete opening of the joint.

Conversely, modern arthroscopic technique involves inserting a small camera and other tools through small incisions in an otherwise closed joint.

Depending on the procedure performed, patients can return from a hip arthroscope in as little as six weeks—though usually more time is needed. On the other hand, open surgeries often require several months of recovery.

According to an August 2011 article by Dr. Dean K. Matsuda, director of hip arthroscopy at Kaiser West Los Angeles Medical Center, the arthroscopic technique is gaining momentum when it comes to hip repairs.

Dr. Matsuda writes:

Supportive evidence is growing for hip arthroscopy, a procedure once held in low regard by many orthopaedic surgeons and considered by some as a challenging procedure without an indication. According to one source, the number of hip arthroscopies performed will double by 2013.

Even better? Hip "scopes" may help doctors better understand various hip conditions—both acquired and genetic.

Dr. Matsuda elaborated further:

The arthroscopic method not only is less invasive, but also permits detailed visualization of intra-articular pathology. . .Just as arthroscopy was instrumental in furthering the understanding of pathology and pathological mechanisms in the knee, it appears to be doing likewise in the hip.

As NFL players put their bodies through frequent, repetitive and maximum stress, further information about joint injury and degeneration could prove vital from both a preventative and therapeutic standpoint.

Expansion of the Already-Vital Role of Physical Therapists, Athletic Trainers

Equally as important as advancing surgical technique—if not more so—is modern day physical therapy. For proof, look no further than Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings.

Peterson's nearly incomprehensibly speedy recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) is just that—nearly incomprehensible. By no means does it represent the norm, and athletes sustaining similar injuries in the future will almost certainly not be able to follow in his footsteps.

What's more, athletes at the youth, high school and collegiate levels should not view professional athlete recovery times as a standard on which to base their own.

Nevertheless, the ability of physical therapists to help isolate and strengthen specific muscles is invaluable. Doing so not only takes stress off the injured ligament, tendon or bone in question, it also optimizes how an athlete regains any strength he or she may lose during a prolonged recovery.

Therapists, trainers and conditioning coaches can also help prevent injuries from occurring in the first place by helping devise a warm-up exercise routine uniquely suited to an individual athlete—especially given recent research questioning the utility of pre-game stretching (h/t Alexandra Sifferlin, Time Healthland).

Finally, just as every injury is unique, so is every athlete's rehabilitation. As individualized care continues to take more and more of a hold, the results and importance of both physical therapy and therapists should only continue to skyrocket.

The Developing Field of Regenerative Medicine

The brutal nature of professional football isn't going anywhere, and shoulders, knees and hips will continue to feel the brunt of it. However, new therapies may carry the potential to counteract the damage that inevitably occurs.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is gaining popularity as a way to speed healing. Last season, now-retired Ray Lewis used it with the goal of enhancing his recovery from a torn triceps (h/t Michael Silver, Yahoo! Sports).

Dr. Mark Niedfeldt—team physician for the Milwaukee Brewers and associate clinical professor of Family and Community Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin—described the theory underlying PRP:

"PRP contains a more concentrated amount of platelets than whole blood. These platelets contain powerful growth factors and are fully functioning, complex coordinators of coagulation, inflammation and repair. Concentrated growth factors within the PRP work to initiate a healing response within the injured tissue."

In other words, PRP uses large amounts of an athlete's own platelets, with each carrying within them proteins that stimulate growth and healing, to accelerate tissue recovery.

Does it work? The jury is still out, but early results carry at least some promise.

Dr. Andrew Blecher, a sports medicine specialist at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute, offered a positive opinion:

PRP treatment does seem to hold promise for providing faster recoveries from certain types of athletic injuries. Although the research is still lacking, there are numerous case reports of excellent outcomes, and this seems to be the case with my personal experience with PRP in my own practice as well.

Even then, PRP is likely just the first of many such treatments, added Dr. Blecher:

PRP is just the tip of the iceberg in the field of regenerative medicine. While PRP acts by recruiting stem cells to a site of injury to repair the damage and promote healing, we can now also directly inject stem cells themselves...Another alternative is Regenokine. Somewhat similar to PRP, Regenokine is designed to knock out the body's inflammatory receptors, ending the inflammatory response and improving pain and other symptoms.

That said, Dr. Blecher also agreed that much work needs to be done:

Unfortunately, the research in the entire field of regenerative medicine is still in its infancy, but as always, athletes are looking for any competitive edge they can get. We will continue to see the results of these treatments on the NFL football fields long before we see the research to back it up.

An Increasingly Complicated Battle Against PEDs

Regrettably, the desire for a competitive edge to which Dr. Blecher refers implies the fight against performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) is just beginning.

It may also get more complex than ever.

In 1994, both the Holton (h/t pubs.acs.org) and Nicolaou (h/t Nature.com, access required) laboratories artificially synthesized the anti-cancer drug, paclitaxel.

In addition to being an important step to combat cancer, the synthesis of paclitaxel marked a landmark achievement in the field of organic chemistry. Owing to its immensely complex molecular structure, the creation of paclitaxel from simple building blocks hinted at one powerful truth: With enough effort, chemists can make just about anything.

While such a feat certainly means better treatments for the most serious diseases are on the horizon, it similarly suggests the development of more-powerful PEDs—and possibly more-dangerous ones—may also loom.

Last week, Bleacher Report's lead writer for Sports Medicine Will Carroll described the use of "peptides," the most recent chapter in the PED story:

Why should peptides be getting everyone's attention? Because they work, because there are signs they are becoming more popular and because anti-doping efforts can't afford to lag too far behind doping efforts.

The story arose after investigations linked Australian rugby player Jon Mannah's death to peptide use (h/t Wide World of Sports).

To make matters worse, peptide use is very difficult to tease out.

"An effective, dangerous substance that's hard to detect?" Carroll posed. "That's a major problem for sports and for those committed to keeping sports drug-free."

After all, when it comes to PEDs, all that is necessary for their continued propagation is a market for them. At the rate medicine and athletic competition are changing, that market isn't going away any time soon.

Dave Siebert is a medical writer for Bleacher Report who will join the University of Washington as a resident physician in June. Medical information discussed above is based on his own knowledge except where otherwise cited, and quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Follow Dave on Twitter for more sports, medicine and Sports Medicine.

Read more Sports & Society news on BleacherReport.com

Yeah, THAT Louisville, Kentucky—home of the Kentucky Derby, Louisville Slugger and the 2013 NCAA men’s basketball champion University of Louisville Cardinals. 

When I received the press release from the Louisville Sports Commission that over 1,000 athletes on 85 teams were coming to the biggest wheelchair basketball tournament ever, my curiosity got the better of me.  I’ve seen nearly every sport imaginable but I had never watched an actual wheelchair basketball game.

Sure, I’ve seen video clips of celebrity games and brief bits of actual games here and there, but I had no idea what an actual game looked like.  Now was my chance, so I headed across the river to see the sport for myself.

An Introduction

I have to admit that this was one sport about which my store of sports knowledge was a total vacuum.  As I pulled into the parking lot at the Hoops facility in Louisville to check out some of the Junior action, I had no idea what to expect.

I noticed a man pushing his wheelchair down the sidewalk with another in tow, completely loaded down with basketballs.  He seemed to be coming from the back of the parking lot, and the most absurd question flashed in my mind: “who gets to use the handicap parking?”

Its absurd, you see, because athletes in adaptive sports only want to be treated just like any able-bodied athlete. 

One parent I talked to told me that this is the biggest obstacle faced by these athletes.  People tend to see them as just a curiosity and their sport as just a fun-time game, something to keep those poor disabled souls busy, bless their hearts.

Ho-ho, not so!  These folks take their basketball Very Seriously.  

Serious Athletes

I was there to see the Junior Division-Varisty semifinals, a one-seed/four-seed matchup between top-seeded TIRR Hotwheels and the Windy City Warriors. 

Not even two minutes into the game, the TIRR center reached high for a rebound, lunging so hard after the ball that he pulled his wheelchair off the ground and crashed to the floor. 

I instinctively started to stand up to help the sprawled out athlete in front of me when I noticed no one else moving.  I checked myself before doing something stupid and watched in amazement as the young man flipped himself over and pushed himself upright in two easy movements. 

Turns out that no one helps up another athlete unless they are hurt. It’s an unwritten rule, one parent told me, and one they are very proud of.

The semifinal is very physical and fast. The Hotwheels pick up full court and keep the pressure on all the way down the court.  The Warriors, however, pick up their defense at the top of the arc by forming their chairs into a line, literally blocking their opponent and forcing them to initially go wide to start their offense where the Warriors pick up man-to-man.

Some of the players are extremely fast and able to stop nearly on a dime.

Kyle Gribble, the leading scorer for the Warriors, pulled a WOW out of me in the first half when he split a double team near midcourt at full speed, rode a defender’s challenge by leaning into him on one wheel and then pulled a slick and quick s-curve before pump-faking and coming back underneath with a sweet finger roll—still moving at full speed. 

MJ would have been proud of the young athlete wearing his number.

The ball handlers have this nifty little move where they spin one wheel and change directions faster than any standing point guard could without tearing an ACL.  These teams were too good to fall for spin moves, however, and weak side help was always present.

And if you want to know just how seriously these athletes take their basketball, every kid on the court who could was wearing expensive basketball shoes. 

The Parents

Like any competitive youth sport, the parents can be as entertaining as the players. The referees were calling a physical game, letting the athletes play, which favored the bigger Hotwheeler team. 

This was met with a healthy dose of “what was that, ref?” and “would you open your eyes!”  And those were the nice things they said.  One Windy City parent left midway through the first half and when he returned at halftime he explained that he just couldn’t stand to see a game called like that.

My first thought was that he was concerned for his son’s safety. Nope. He was just ticked off that the refs were letting the top seed get away with playing a physical game that clearly favored their size advantage. 

John Ruiz, father of the Warrior’s Jonathan Ruiz, told me that they attend 6-10 tournaments a year and that his son would be playing for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater next year, a team that has won seven of the last 11 collegiate championships. Maybe he would one day play in a European pro league.

Chairs can cost more than $6,000 and feature all of the same exotic lightweight materials you see on Tour de France bikes.  Between the cost of travelling and equipment costs, a parent has to make a big commitment for their kids to play at the highest levels.

Sound familiar?

Another parent told me that all their kids need is an opportunity, that they “eat, breath, sleep and poop basketball” if given the chance to play.

Much like the effect of Title IX on women’s participation in sport, the more opportunities there are for these athletes, the more athletes there will be.

Not So Different

Wheelchair basketball rules are not that much different than for stand-up basketball. 

Before the game I ran into Chris Rathje, an assistant coach for the Warriors.  He was kind enough to explain some of the differences between wheelchair and “standing” basketball. 

The court has the same lane and 3-point arc and the basket is still 10-feet high.

They played with a 35-second shot clock, a player couldn’t stay in the lane for more than three seconds and a team had ten seconds to get the ball over half court.

A pick must be stationary and the principle of verticality applies.  If a defensive player is set with a stationary chair he or she can take a charge. 

The big men still dominate inside and the quick little guards still dominate on the outside.  There is plenty of passing and good hands are essential. 

The athletes are in phenomenal physical condition.  A stand-up player moves with her feet but shoots with her hands.  A wheelchair athlete does everything with her hands and I can only imagine what it must be like to try and shoot late in a game when your arms feel like rubber from pushing the chair around all game.

Obviously, there are a few differences necessary to accommodate the chairs which, for example, are considered an extension of the player’s body.  A player’s position relative to his opponent is based on whose wheel gets to the spot first.

Travelling was the one call I couldn’t understand before seeing it. A player must dribble at least once for every two times he touches his wheels.  Hypothetically, a player can roll all the way down court without dribbling, but no defender would let that happen and changing direction requires the player to touch his wheel. 

Without the use of the lower body, the shooting motion is all arms and wrists, and without jumping ability many passes are lob passes over the top of the defense, again favoring size.

I asked Rathje after the game if it was a particularly physical game: “well, you have two of the top-four teams in the country, so you kind of expect a physical game.” 

His Warriors were no match for the Hotwheels' size and lost the semifinal 70-48.

Come and See the Show

With the NFL draft a week away, baseball barely begun and college hoops over, there is probably a hole in your weekend sports TV schedule.  The NWBA doesn’t have a television contract (yet) but you can catch the championship games for each flight streaming on the NWBA website. 

Or if you’re in the neighborhood, drop by the Expo center and catch some of the action.  I’m headed to the elite divisions tomorrow and I can’t wait to see the three-time defending champs, the Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks.

Check back Saturday and Sunday for more game coverage.

Read more Sports & Society news on BleacherReport.com

However, what's even more tragic is the specific group which the responsible party targeted: marathon runners (and their families) that had committed endless time, finances and energies to prepare for one of the world's most respected sporting events in the Boston Marathon.

All acts of terror at home and abroad are extremely horrific, but the attacks at the 2013 Boston Marathon stand out as incredibly disheartening. While there's always a select group of marathoners competing to actually win the race, the overwhelming majority of entrants are simply running to achieve various personal goals in life.

Regardless of an entrant's true reason for entering the marathon, participants, their families and their friends become like one big race family.

Kristin Armstrong of Runners World suggested:

Today our running community, our family, was attacked. No matter where we live, what we do, how fast we are, what our dreams are, what we are running from, or where our miles lead—we are a running family. We mark miles, we ache, we try, we fail, we triumph and we endure. I don’t know if our family was the target, or if the splendor of the event or venue was the intended backdrop—but it doesn’t really matter. We are hurting. We are wounded. We are wondering. We fear. We grieve.

Not only did the act of terrorism strike race participants, but it also devastated the lives of race patrons. In fact, whoever was responsible understood when and how to inflict mass destruction amongst the crowd.

Time's Jay Newton-Small wrote about the timing of events:

The Boston Marathon is the oldest continuously run marathon in the world. This year it drew more than 26,000 runners from more than 60 countries. The bombs went off just at the peak average finishing time, when the crowds would be thickest. Unlike many other races, the Boston crowds stay and grow during the day rather than wane after the elite runners finish. The race is so revered it is run on a beloved Massachusetts holiday: Patriot’s Day. “It’s an amazing race to run,” says Terry Delaney, who traveled to Boston with Hill and Schlitt. “It’s the only time in our lives where we get to feel like rock stars. People 20-deep are cheering you on like it’s their job and they get paid to do it. It’s an incredible marathon.” The bombs that tore through the crowds on Monday appeared to be aimed more at the crowds than the runners. The blasts came from the sides of the course, among those gathered to cheer the runners on. Indeed, it was easier for the runners to get to safety. They had a cleared route down which to bolt — the street itself.

The saddest story to come from the bombings thus far is the passing of eight-year-old Martin Richard. Yes, an innocent eight-year-old little boy lost his life while simply cheering on runners. Further, his mother underwent brain surgery and his six-year-old sister reportedly lost a limb. As for the father, his medical status has not yet been made official.

Not too far from where young Martin stood, a pair of brothers, ages 31 and 33 (again simply cheering on runners), both lost limbs. While these two young men will have to live the rest of their lives without limbs, the tragedy extends to family members like the boys' mother.

Foxnews.com reported on how the mother was taking the news:

Norden (the mother), meanwhile, had braced herself for the moment when she would be allowed to see her sons, who were apparently standing next to the 8-year-old boy who died in the blast. As FBI officials and local police left the hospital late Monday, Norden sank her head onto the shoulder of her brother-in-law. A relative then approached, handing her Tylenol she had asked him to buy at a nearby pharmacy.

In reviewing the Boston Athletic Association's demographic data of 2013 Boston Marathon entrants, the following figures show just how many walks of life were impacted by the bombings:

Wheelchair Entrants: 54

Handcycle Entrants: 21

Countries of Residence Represented: 74

As video of the finish line bombings ran continually across television networks, I couldn't help but take close notice of the multitude of flags waving at the finish line. It was a stark reminder that this is much more than an American tragedy, it's a tragedy that citizens from all walks of life will be scarred by for the rest of their lives.

As if planting time-sequenced bombs to inflict mass casualty wasn't enough, the cowardly party placed their explosive devices at actual the finish line. That's one of the biggest ironies of the whole debacle in Boston. While 23,336 entrants started the marathon, only 17,580 actually got to finish the race.

Boston is a tough town with a lot of grit and personality, as are it's citizens.

They'll rise to the tragic circumstance, as will folks from around the globe.

In the meantime, just remember to cherish every moment in life and remember the myriad of victims.

Follow @SephAnderson

Read more Sports & Society news on BleacherReport.com

Details are still murky on this developing story, but the Boston Globe has announced these staggering figures:

WCVB in Boston is reporting that two more devices were dismantled following the first set of explosions:

A senior U.S. intelligence official said two more explosive devices were found near the area, and they were being dismantled.

According to WCVB, the explosions occurred around 2:50 p.m. ET on Boylston Street after most runners had completed the race. 

The network also passed along that the injured—some of whom had lost limbs, according to witnesses—were brought to the medical tents that were set up prior to the marathon. CNN has also reported that several victims are being treated at Massachusetts General Hospital. 

UPDATE: Monday, April 15, at 6:20 p.m. ET by Eric Ball

---End of update---

Though more details are gradually coming to light, plenty of confusion is still surrounding this incident. As of now, there is only speculation as to the cause of the explosions.  

Whatever the case may be, there is obviously great concern over the well-being of everyone injured in the blasts. 

Read more Sports & Society news on BleacherReport.com

We’ve known Landon through his early trials and tribulations in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen.

We groaned when he was loaned back to the nascent MLS league to play for the San Jose Earthquakes. Jeers turned to cheers when he led the Earthquakes to two MLS Cups. Confused and bemused we wondered how our best player could spurn the prestige of the European stage to slum for the LA Galaxy. 

He made up for it with his international play, becoming the U.S. all-time leading scorer and single-handedly taking the U.S. into the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

We shrugged when Donovan won multiple awards as the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year and the Honda Player of the Year.  He was the face of U.S. soccer, and we expect these things from our face men.

He won two more MLS Cups with two other iconic international players at his side.

After two successful trysts with the Everton fans at Goodison Park, we felt surely he would now seize the moment and show the world that American soccer wears big-boy pants.

Then he quit.

Went cold turkey and took a soccer sabbatical.

We were stunned, irritated and baffled.  What is our Golden Boy up to this time? 

How does our Main Guy walk off the field in the middle of World Cup qualifying? Can’t he see that we’re struggling to qualify? 

And what’s this nonsense about “desire”? Elite athletes ooze the stuff from every pore and orifice. They aren’t supposed to “lose” it, they’re supposed to have enough to go around and feed all of us a little taste. 

Maybe that’s the problem. 

We get so wrapped up in what our elite sport stars do for us that we forget that the heart of a champion is still a human heart—and human hearts can be broken.

Donovan’s heart wasn’t in it anymore. After playing the beautiful game literally nonstop for the past three years, Landon was struggling to find the inner desire to do it all over again.

Donovan played with Bayern Munich after the 2008 MLS season and with Everton after the ’09 and ’10 seasons.  In his spare time he captained the Nats to the finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup, qualified the U.S. for the 2010 World Cup and then made it the Landon Donovan show with goals against Slovenia and Algeria that got the U.S. to the second round.

Since January of 2009, Donovan has played 152 games.  That was also the year he separated from his now ex-wife.

What do we expect from this man?

His second appearance for the LA Galaxy after returning from his break was a second-half appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal against Monterey.

Overall, Donovan looked pretty good handling the ball in tight spaces.  He broke into space several times, so the speed is still there, and he passed his vision test as he delivered a few dangerous passes. 

The rust was just visible in the 65th minute, when Donovan fluffed a shot that we expect him to bury. The shot was a left-footed volley off a short chip from Robbie Keane—a very difficult shot to execute.

The TV commentator reacted with the assertion that if Donovan was 90 percent of his normal self the ball was as good as in the back of the net.  Comments like this are emblematic of the expectations and pressure heaped on Donovan’s shoulders.  He is expected to be perfect at 90 percent of his ability.

Maybe that play is indicative of why Landon took his mental break in the first place.  How can anyone live up to expectations like that?

Now that the prodigal son has returned, what can we expect from Landon after his sojourn?

We can expect him to be himself.

When Donovan bites into a competition there is no one more dedicated and more competitive than America’s soccer wunderkind. He came back to soccer, and that should tell us everything we need to know.

When Donovan puts on a team’s colors, regardless of the strip, you know he will leave it all on the field and carry his team on his back if necessary.

His back is well rested and his heart’s desire has returned. Who would be surprised if Landon Donovan saved the best for last?

Read more Sports & Society news on BleacherReport.com

The only indisputable fact that people agree on is that the great ones stand the test of time.

But which are the great ones?

MSG Network will attempt to clear up this timeless quandary as they roll out their third installment of the Emmy award-winning series The Lineup on Monday, April 8th at 10:30 p.m. ET.

The show will debut eight 30-minute episodes, each one guaranteed to have spirited debate on the following types of sports movies: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Boxing, Golf, Hockey, Horse Racing and Miscellaneous.

Charismatic host and veteran catcher who spent time with the San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees Fran Healy will be surrounded by a panel including Academy Award-nominated director, producer and actor Spike Lee, Emmy Award-winning actor and writer Robert Wuhl, Academy Award-nominated actor Chazz Palminteri and acclaimed film critic Jeffrey Lyons.

Healy was the voice of reason on the 1977 Yankees and now plays the same role on this show as he manages all the talent and opinions of Lee, Lyons, Wuhl and Palminteri.

The Lineup was originally created to generate interest and a lot of discussion, Healy said.

This series had a lot of discussion because even when we did the panel, in the middle of it, they'd say, "What about this movie?" We could have gone on forever—the show is outstanding.

I had a chance to speak to Palminteri and get inside the mind of the man behind A Bronx Tale. He spoke about why he loves sports movies and gave a little spoiler into some of his all-time favorites.

It's really about getting into what the movie is about—about them, about the people. The Pride of the Yankees was great. I love that movie and think that was a great movie. Somebody Up There Likes Me I really liked, and Raging Bull—I thought was a great movie too.

You may remember Wuhl as the creator and Star of the hit HBO show Arli$$ as well as his characters Marty in Blue Chips and Larry in Bull Durham.

Wuhl—who may be the most opinionated and animated of the group—gave a great insight into what fans can expect from him over the course of the eight episodes.

Jeffrey [Lyons] and I have known each other for 30 years, so we've been having this argument for 30 years now. Fran and Chazz are much more into the Hollywood endings, feel-good, romanticized world of sports. I'm not as much, I'm much more into the darkness side and underbelly, but love a good story.

I think the most under-appreciated baseball move of all-time is the original Bad News Bears. It's a great movie. It's about America, it's about competition, it's about capitalism, it's about suburbia—I think that's a great movie.

A big part into why this mini-series is sure to captivate fans is because the panel is likely to be saying the same thing you have been saying about your favorite sports movies for years.

Some of your favorite celebrities and athletes will be a part of the show as well, and to whet your appetite, here are just some of their quotes.

Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees

On The Natural:

I love the movie. I don't know about that ball exploding, though. I don't know about that. I haven't seen that happen.

Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks

On playing for Hoosiers’ Coach Dale:

It would be very difficult, because as a kid you don’t really understand the game…so to have somebody on you like that every second, every day, all day, it can be tough.

Billy Baldwin, Actor 

On seeing Field of Dreams for the second time and crying again:

There’s some girl that I’m dating and she wants to go see Field of Dreams, and I’m thinking, OK, I’m safe, I’m safe, it’s two weeks later. I said, "Let’s go see it." All of a sudden, we’re getting closer, and we’re getting closer, we’re getting closer, and we get to the moment where he says, "Hey Dad, will you play catch?" and his voice cracks again. And I go down in the aisle. I am sobbing, crying, snot bubbles coming out of my nose again, and I don’t know if this woman thought, "I’ve gotta marry this guy because he’s so in touch with his sensitivity" or "Is this the biggest wimp I’ve ever met?"

Marcus Camby, New York Knicks 

On He Got Game:

Great, great movie. I mean, even guys today still call Ray Allen "Jesus."

Joe Morris, Former Giants Running Back

On Rudy:

I can identify with his work ethic…when you're five-foot-seven and you play in the NFL, you've heard a lot of people tell you, "Not going to happen." My high school guidance counselor said to me, he said, "Not going to happen, Joe. You’re not playing in the NFL." It just shows you what perseverance can do for a player.

 

Joe Namath, Former Jets Legend

On North Dallas Forty:

Yeah, that was gritty, that was pretty close to a lot of things. Nolte was very good. I enjoyed that movie. I enjoyed it more 20 years later, because when you're a football player, at least this one, I have a tendency to critique everything that’s going on right now—"We wouldn't do that, we wouldn't be..."—so it’s distracting. But years later I looked at North Dallas Forty again, and I really appreciated it.

Steve Schirripa, Actor

On Raging Bull:

Everybody loved that movie, of course, with what DeNiro did, but it was also a history lesson. Not that many people knew about Jake LaMotta before that movie. Now everyone knows. Before that, who’s Jake LaMotta? At least for younger people. And you got a little mob stuff in there, you got boxing stuff, you got New York stuff. That movie had the whole thing.

PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

Monday, April 8 @ 10:30pm ET – The Lineup: "Best Sports Movies – Baseball"

Tuesday, April 9 @ 11:00pm ET – The Lineup: "Best Sports Movies – Basketball"

Wednesday, April 10 @ 11:00pm ET – The Lineup: "Best Sports Movies – Football"

Thursday, April 11 @ 11:30pm ET – The Lineup: "Best Sports Movies – Boxing"

Monday, April 15 @ 10:30pm ET – The Lineup: "Best Sports Movies – Golf"

Tuesday, April 16 @ 9:00pm ET – The Lineup: "Best Sports Movies – Hockey"

Wednesday, April 17 @ 11:30pm ET – The Lineup: "Best Sports Movies – Horse Racing"

Thursday, April 18 @ 10:30pm ET – The Lineup: "Best Sports Movies – Miscellaneous"

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Read more Sports & Society news on BleacherReport.com

No discussion in American soccer carries the enormous implications of this question.  Soccer fans figure it has to happen, eventually. The soccer haters take it as a sign of the sport's impotence that we're still asking the question.

After the 1994 World Cup shattered tournament attendance records, soccer fans were certain that the glorious rise of the beautiful game in America was imminent. 

Major League Soccer attempted to ride this wave of interest to re-launch professional soccer in the U.S.  However, MLS soon faltered as attendance dropped and the league was forced to close two franchises in 2001.

The national team's quarterfinal run at the 2002 World Cup once again created a wave of enthusiasm. This time the strategies of MLS and U.S. soccer focused on building a foundation for slow and steady growth rather than trying to ride the wave of a brief fad.

This strategy is paying dividends as MLS added nine teams and 12 soccer-specific stadiums since its 2001 contraction. The 2006 and 2010 World Cup finals drew larger T.V. audiences than Major League Baseball's World Series from the same year. 

Youth soccer is often held up as the best evidence of soccer's potential in the U.S.  While youth baseball's numbers continue to decline, youth soccer's numbers continue to rise.  Only basketball has more youth players than soccer. Soccer participation in high school has more than doubled.

Now that a successful foundation-building strategy is in place, the discussion can turn to how, or even if soccer can take the next step up the hierarchy of American sports.

Two caveats are necessary before we begin to examine this question.  First, among women soccer is already a preferred sport and attracts some of the best female athletes in America.  The success of our women's national team is a testament to that fact. 

So this question is really about men's participation in sports and that is what we will focus on.

A second caveat is that this discussion isn't new. Several well-worn tropes about soccer's image and its incompatibility with American culture bear some kernels of truth. We'll include some of these but hopefully acquire a little more insight into why these issues persist and what the future might bring.

Begin Slideshow

But behind the hype and the images that are routinely beamed into hockey households across North America, there are literally thousands of individual stories of players and families whose dreams never came true.

An effort to demystify the modern NHL dream is the subject of a new and important book by Ken Campbell, a reporter and analyst for The Hockey News.

Ken's research contains some startling findings, which should be closely examined by every one of North America's hockey parents. 

Ken was gracious enough to speak with us about his findings, and the lessons they hold for all those who love the sport and the children who play it.

Q:  Ken, the title of your book is Selling The Dream, which would seem to imply a focus on the business and marketing side of elite hockey pursuits.

Certainly, many of the stories you cover in the book hold lessons in that regard, but to start, perhaps you could talk about what you learned at the level of children and parents.

What was your most surprising find about how much time, energy and money many hockey families find themselves shelling out, in support of their child?

A:  Actually, there wasn't one that stood out, but it does become a little mind-boggling when you put it down on paper. For example, in terms of expenses and lost wages, Matt Duchene's parents spent more than $300,000 on their son's hockey career; and that's just the financial sacrifices they made. That will actually turn out to be a great "investment" on their part, but what about the families who make all these sacrifices, only to find out there's not a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

Q:  While there will certainly be stories in which a family's investments, no matter how large, will pay off, as their son signs an NHL contract, you also detail stories of many families whose sacrifices have serious consequences.

Was there one that struck you as, perhaps, the most heart-wrenching?

A:  I suppose the most drastic example was that of a young man by the name of Max Strang, a goaltender from the Pittsburgh area. He wanted to play in the Greater Toronto Hockey League (G.T.H.L.) so badly that his parents both quit their jobs and sold their house. For three years they lived on a boat, in 150 square feet of living space, in Port Credit Harbour near Toronto. 

Their son played three years for three different teams in the G.T.H.L. and is now playing at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., where he's getting more academic scholarship money than athletic.

The Strang family certainly stands out; but I think anyone who makes that kind of sacrifice, only to be disappointed like that, would have a heart-wrenching story.

Q:  As a hockey parent yourself, what do you think motivates parents to go to such extremes on behalf of children and what are some of the warning signs that things may have gone too far?

A:  I think a big part of it is not that parents necessarily want to get their sons into the NHL, but parents simply want what's best for their children. The only problem is that once they get caught up in the elite stream of hockey, things can spiral out of control very quickly.

I think there are a couple of warning signs. The first is when parents start spending money on hockey and they wonder where it's all going. Another is when they start maxing out their credit cards and credit lines to pay for hockey. The third, and the most important, is when parents begin looking at their child's investment in hockey as a financial "investment."

You often hear parents say things such as, "Well, if he can just get a scholarship, then this will all be worthwhile." That implies that parents are looking for a payback on their investment and I think that's where it gets dangerous.

Q: One of the other things you touch on in the book is the raw and unforgiving math of just how many young men go on to play at the elite junior or college level, let alone the NHL.

Exactly how small a target are these families and young men shooting at?

A:  A very, very small target. Regardless of the birth year, you're basically looking at about a 1-in-2,500 chance of playing one game in the NHL when it comes to the general population. When it comes to boys who play hockey, the chances are about 1-in-1,000 of playing one NHL game.

But even when you get to the elite levels such as major junior hockey, the odds are still against you. The fact is that players who play at that level basically have less than a 1-in-5 chance to play a game in the NHL.

When it comes to having a career of 400-plus games, the odds go down to about 1-in-20. So think about that. Go to a major junior game and look down both benches and you're probably looking at two or three players who will have an extended NHL career.

Q:  I have heard you talk about the phrase "10,000 hours of mastery," which comes to us from the psychologist Anders Ericsson and which is examined in Malcom Gladwell's book Outliers.

This line is often thrown around elite coaching circles and can often be understood to mean that, with enough practice, one can develop an elite set of skills.

Is this a trap hockey parents often fall into?

A:  Yes, and those who are selling the dream are the ones most responsible for propagating it. With theories such as the "10,000 hours" theory, we've been led to believe that if we're willing to work hard enough and make enough sacrifices, we can become part of the elite. Which is a bunch of rubbish that fails to take natural talent or physical gifts into account.

Those who are selling the dream are giving the impression that all that hard work can be bought.

Q:  This notion of the need for more hours of hockey training has given rise to a vast industry that caters to children seeking higher levels of elite training. 

What surprised you about the size and cost of all of these services that market themselves to hockey families with young children?

A:  Well, it's an enormous industry that is totally unregulated. Basically, anyone can sell himself as a skills coach. What is most surprising is how much money parents are willing to spend on their children and such a young age. Kids under the age of 10 are taking part in these things and their parents are spending thousands of dollars on it.

One parent I spoke to for the book was spending $20,000 a year on hockey for his kid, about half of which was for extras.

Q:  One of the things that you talk about, and something that stood out for me, is the notion that a pathway to elite hockey may be beyond the reach of most families, because of the costs involved.

What are the implications of cutting off so many children from their hockey dreams at such a young age?

A:  Well, first of all, I think you're cutting out an enormous number of children who might have as much passion and talent as other kids their age, but simply can't keep up because they don't have the resources. I worry about burnout and injury for those who play hockey 12 months a year.

I also worry about future fans and beer league players. If young people are being excluded from the game at a young age, will they have the passion to continue watching and playing the game?

Q:  Finally Ken, as hockey parent, what lessons can your research offer for your fellow parents, who are going to raise their hockey-playing child in this environment?

A:  I think there are a couple, and all of them involve having perspective. Parents, I believe, should think long and hard about the motivation behind their child's involvement in sports and if there is a perceived payoff at the end; that's the start of a very slippery slope.

In most cases, as well, I believe it's important that young people stay where they live to play hockey. So many families move around to chase the dream and, in almost all those cases, the player would have been just as well served by staying at home and playing with his friends.

That supporting a child in his or her aspirations to play elite sports is expensive will not come as a shock to most; however, Ken Campbell's research sheds light on the vast interconnected equipment and services industry that has risen up to market elite hockey to families with young children. 

For the average hockey parent, keeping up with the Joneses has never been more expensive, and, for the truly ambitious, pursuing an elite hockey dream has never been a bigger gamble.

Jeff Hull is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise stated, all quoted material was collected firsthand.

To follow the author on Twitter, click on the link below.

Follow @RugbyScribe 

Read more Sports & Society news on BleacherReport.com

Granted, stranger things have happened, and then there's the whole innocent-until-proven-guilty shtick, though South African law may be different. Suffice it to say, however, I'm part of the camp that's not holding its collective breath.

We've seen this story before: A sensational athlete whose feats in competition are so profound, he or she gets miscast as an incredible person instead of an incredible athlete as if there's a causal relationship between the two.

The snag, of course, is that no such relationship exists, which the individual inevitably proves—in technicolor.

The entire farce is driven by the idiotic notion that you can truly know people without ever actually meeting or spending time with them. Many of us don't even know what we, ourselves, are capable of, so the idea that you can sincerely know someone through secondhand sources, even a huge volume of them, is dubious at best.

The idea that you can sincerely know someone through carefully controlled secondhand sources? That's surely the product of a graduate from slip-n-fall school (explicit language).

The fallacy has been demonstrated too many times to list, but let's revisit a few recent examples just for kicks.

Everything we had heard about then-Penn State football coach Joe Paterno painted him as a saint until details finally surfaced of the serial sex offender operating right under his nose. Regardless of where you stand on JoePa's degree of culpability, everyone—with this beacon of humanity being a possible exception—can agree there's a disconnect between the idealized profile created in the media and the man who emerged in the scandal's wake.

You know, the man who could hear of an adult doing something of a "sexual nature" with a young boy in a shower, report it up the chain and go on his merry way worrying about the BCS instead of what's being done to stop the ex-coach from raping kids.

Lance Armstrong was a triumph of the human spirit over debilitating disease and astronomical odds. Until, oops, nope, he's a sociopathic liar and cheat who tried to go Sherman-through-the-South on anyone who got in his way.

Manti Te'o's public profile got so carried away by a convenient fantasy that it included a girlfriend who was injured in a serious car accident, battled leukemia, died, almost propelled him to a Heisman Trophy and then didn't exist.

Now, all three camps are deploying their resources to rein back in situations that exploded beyond their control.

The Paterno family just released their own investigation to rebut Penn State's investigation. Lance went the time-honored Oprah-couch route. For his part, Manti sat down with Katie Couric to get a theoretically less-humiliating version of the story out there.

None of this is done haphazardly or with altruistic intent. It isn't done to clear the air or get to the bottom of anything.

If I had to bet, I'd bet it was done with the exact opposite intent: to muddy the water and keep everyone jumping to vaguely supported conclusions that disappear almost as soon as they're hatched. What better way to avoid having a substantiated conclusion drawn that would be unfavorable and indelible? 

There is a reason these people pay significant sums of money to publicists. There is a reason Joe Pa's family paid for that report. Just as there is a reason Lance chose Oprah's limping network as the site of his confessional, and Te'o tapped one his publicist's other clients to lob him softballs.

The entire machine is set up to create an image, burnish it and profit from it. By its nature, then, the image is the best-case scenario of the individual's real character.

This is not a new phenomenon (see: Jordan, Michael).

Given the leverage these individuals have, the only reason a substantial public archive of his or her personal life exists is because the individual wants it to (note that a "substantial public archive" does not mean TMZ drivel and paparazzi shots). Logically then, he or she also works to limit the archive's contents to information he or she wants in it.

Everything released voluntarily is done so to produce a calculated effect.

Most people don't want the public to know he or she lies, cheats, steals, runs a dog-fighting ring, beats a spouse, does drugs or drinks excessively. So those things don't make the public record until an egregious error moves the situation beyond anyone's control.

And the media knows the drill.

As long as the public keeps taking the bait, there's no reason to opt for the harsh spotlight. The rose filter makes everyone's lives easier and more lucrative. The athlete gets to add some sparkle to his or her rep, while the media member and organization can sell the fruits of their intimate access and guarantee more. The public eats it up with a spoon and everyone walks away with a smile.

Essentially, we've traded limited-but-unfiltered access for unlimited-but-heavily-filtered access and the result is more propaganda than reality.

Which is fine—it makes good business sense and it's not like they're terribly clever about hiding the game. It's all there in the open, preserved by cyberspace for eternity or however long the servers last.

Yet in a few weeks, another one of these soft-focus stories will emerge, we'll get to back work creating another false idol and will be left wringing our hands again when he or she (or another) "shockingly" falls from grace.

So put your faith in the next inspirational athlete if you must.

But better to put it in someone you know.

Read more Sports & Society news on BleacherReport.com

The Westminster Dog Show is back for its 137th consecutive showing, an impressive feat, and a true testament to the grandness of this event.

Entries from all 50 American states, along with several foreign countries, comprise an impressive field of 2,721 dogs—the largest number in 15 years.

This year also sees the introduction of two new breeds—the Treeing Walker Coonhound and Russell Terrier—which brings the total number of types up to 187.

Here's a quick breakdown of when and where to watch the action, complete with some thoughts on why you'd be wise to do so.

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York City, N.Y.

When: Monday, Feb. 11 and Tuesday, Feb. 12

Watch: USA, CNBC

Live Stream: Westminsterkennelclub.org

TV Schedule

*The Westminster Dog Show will air on tape-delay for the Pacific Time Zone. Make sure to avoid spoilers if you plan on watching the taped feed at 8 p.m. PT.

Why You Should Watch:

The 2013 Westminster Dog Show kicked off at Madison Square Garden this afternoon, with 2,700-plus meticulous canines representing 187 uniquely different breeds. Many of you don't consider this relevant or newsworthy; you think the event is some sort of sideshow or joke. But if you're a member of that pessimistic faction, the only joke here is on you.

The annual pageant gets a bad stigma among certain sports fans for being too prim, too straitlaced and too proper. Some go so far as to call it a haughty display of opulence from America's most stuck-up class.

It's hard to argue with that, too. I mean, at its very core, this is a beauty contest for dogs—a group of stuffy judges get together to decide which pup is groomed and shaped most perfectly then award him/her a ribbon. If that's not haughty, I don't know what is.

But that arrogant adherence to decorum is exactly what makes this event so cool.

Whether we care to admit it or not, we live in times of rapid decadence. Especially in the sports milieu, where PEDs, recruiting scandals and God knows what else serve to damper the morality of our players. We live in a world where on-court tantrums are happenstance, and everybody has their own, choreographed, in-your-face way of celebrating every accomplishment.

Westminster represents a return to etiquette in a sporting community that desperately needs it. It's a place where the only thing more revered than a beautiful coat of fur is an elegant display of proper form. It's a place where manners and sportsmanship still exist in place of voracious, testosterone-driven competitiveness.

It's the kind of thing that draws so many sportsmen—especially those who some would call "old school"—to compete in Westminster every year. This year's star athletic participant is New York Yankees President Randy Levine. Or, more specifically, his five-year-old Labrador retriever, Mitch.

Of Mr. Levine's dedication to the show, Mitch's co-owner Tom Flaherty told The Huffington Post "I don't think Randy would be half as excited if it was the World Series."

Still think these guys are joking around?

The Westminster Dog Show is never gonna be a premier event on the sporting calendar. It's never gonna inspire any fantasy games (though, per BusinessWeek, it does see some action in Vegas), and it's never gonna warrant constant banter on Sportscenter. But ask anyone associated with the sport and they'd tell you they prefer it that way.

The further removed they are from the dissolute state of most contemporary competition, the better. This is a niche sport in every sense of the word; if you don't belong, or if you don't plan on following their rules, you best find yourself another vice.

I don't know if I have what it takes to follow the dog pageant circuit year round. Eventually, inevitably, my insatiable thirst for brutality will bring me back to football, basketball and hockey.

But for one weekend every year, I enjoy—nay, revel in—the opportunity to sit back and pretend I'm part of this rarified niche. After what I'm used to watching on ESPN, watching the pageant is like staring through the looking glass.

I highly recommend you give it a shot.

Read more Sports & Society news on BleacherReport.com