now wait a minute

***let me preface this with the fact that I realize one of the things I'm about to discuss has been a big no-no for a long time, and the other is a more recent development.****

So Barry Bonds just got away with cheating and tied Hank Aaron for the most career home runs ever. There is pretty substantial evidence at this point that proves he did cheat despite the fact that he won't admit it.

Yet, when Pete Rose was in a similar situation regarding his having bet on baseball, they banned him for life. Did Pete deny it, yes. Did he deserve some kind of punishment, yes. Do his on field accomplishments still warrant an induction into the Hall of Fame, even though they won't let him in? I think so.

Bond's "dope man" at the chemical company is in jail. Why isn't Bonds? He wasn't even suspended or reprimanded. They just let him play and go on to tie another record and cement his place in the Hall of Fame, a place he hardly deserves to be.

Bonds and a host of others have cheated, yet many are still playing. Players before dealt with drug addictions and arrests and they got to keep coming back, some many times. As with the Black Sox of another era, there has to be a straw that breaks the camel's back and puts an end to this. Is Bonds it? I hope so. I'd really like to see some parity in this sport. I'd like to see Bud Selig make a decision on anything (his lack of commitment to being present when Bonds broke the record and his lack of reaction to his tying it last night were depressing....and highly reminiscent of the extra-innings All-Star game they couldn't resolve) I'd really like this whole thing to be over so I can stop hearing, seeing, and reading about it all over the media.

I'd like someone to take a stand and do the right thing. Is that so hard?

According to my youngest brother, Brian, who just returned from a summer internship in Washington DC, perhaps it is.

Scary thought.