Some of the biggest names in the game, including Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and David “Big Papi” Ortiz, were the latest to be linked to performance-enhancing drugs, and the story received 800 points in votes from editors at U.S. newspapers which are members of the AP.
Not even the Tiger Woods sex scandal was considered a bigger story. Because voting had started before the Nov. 27 car accident that touched off Woods’ travails, editors were given the unprecedented option of submitting a new ballot, and about 10 did.
The Woods scandal finished as the fifth-biggest story of the year (617 points), following Jimmie Johnson‘s historic fourth straight NASCAR championship (690 points), Roger Federer winning his 15th Grand Slam title (639) and Brett Favre ending his second retirement to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a division title (637).
Even if only the votes cast after the Woods’ scandal broke were counted, editors still picked the steroid scourge as the year’s top story.