The time has come to present one of the most prestigious awards on the sports calendar.

Fool of the Year.

The week of April's Fools Day is the time to honor those in sports who have been, well, foolish over the past year.

A few candidates for the honor immediately come to mind:

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Gilbert Arenas. The Washington Wizards' best player not only decided to bring a gun into an NBA locker room and pull it on somebody — jokingly, of course — he opted to make further light of the situation by pointing his finger and "shooting" teammates during a pre-game warmup.For his efforts, Arenas was handed an indefinite suspension by NBA Commissioner David Stern.•

Marian Hossa. After coming within two games of winning the Stanley Cup with the Penguins, Hossa figured his chances of holding the Cup would be better if he signed with the NHL champion Detroit Red Wings.Indeed, the Wings returned to the Cup Finals, as did the Penguins. Only Hossa came up short again, this time by one game.The prolific goal scorer failed to find the net even once in the seven-game finals against the Pens.Oh, well. Better luck in Chicago.•

Pittsburgh Steelers. How can they not be on this list of fools after losing to Kansas City, Oakland and Cleveland in the same season?That's a trifecta nobody would have bet on.•

Colin Campbell. His continually inconsistent rulings on NHL discipline issues have every player in the league wondering what is and isn't allowed on the ice.Thank goodness the NHL owners and players figured out some legislation to get Campbell out of the soup — for now.And your winner is ...•

Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers quarterback sneaked in under the gun to pick up Fool of the Year honors.This guy had it all going for him.Still a relatively young NFL quarterback at 28, already owning two Super Bowl rings, No. 7 emerged as the face of Steeler Nation.If he told fans he could walk on water, they probably would have believed him.How many people are going to believe in him now?Whether Ben is guilty of any crime or not isn't the issue in terms of what his off-field decisions have done to the image of his employer — an employer that is paying him $100 million, by the way.Regardless of how the sexual assault accusations against Roethlisberger play out, he's damaged his reputation in Pittsburgh.He might win another Super Bowl or two. He might own the Steeler record book by the time he retires. He might even find himself standing at a podium in Canton one day.But he'll never be looked at the same way by football fans again.For that, he is Fool of the Year.Looking for a Fool of the Decade? Dave Littlefield.Aramis Ramirez. Matt Morris. Dan Moskos. Enough said.