756

[Taco]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/

[barbacoataco]

All of the hate towards Bonds is a little ridiculous, since ALL PLAYERS in ALL PROFESSIONAL SPORTS are right now under a cloud of doubt. Everyone wants A-Rod to break the record, but many experts on steroid use think that he is also a juicer. The Latin American ballplayers lead the pack in juicing, since steroids and HGH are not even illegal, and readily available in their home countries. People have been saying this for YEARS, yet somehow A-Rod is the second coming of Purity.

The scandals in cycling have shown that drug use is NOT an isolated, one athlete at a time thing. It is universal, coordinated and sanctioned. Promising athletes start juicing in HIGH SCHOOL. When a prospet moves from college to the pros, analysts say "he will be ready for the pros after he bulks up a little." What the mean is "he needs a couple of months with a trainer and the JUICE."

NBA fans are suprisingly naive when it comes to performance enhancing drugs. I've heard many say that it doen't exist in the NBA, and it wouldn't help a basketball player. As if basketball has nothing to do with strength, quickness, endurance and the ability to recover from injuries quickly.

[BeerIsGood!]

Thank God its over.

Lets all hope ARod doesnt have some injury that prevents him from (inevitably) breaking this damn record.

I'm almost positive A-Rod is using HGH. Look at him now compared to when he was 24 or 25 (about the time people stop growing), and he's not only getting bigger but is also getting that pronounced brow and big head. Since there is no blood test and only a blood test will detect HGH, who knows how many people are using it right now. Get used to drug enhanced sports from now on, because this cat isn't going back into the bag. All sports are using, and there are still so many enhancers undetectable by current league tests that people are using.

That said, I applaud Bonds as the new HR King and if A-Rod gets there I'll applaud him too.

[mardigan]

So Merrimans sacks arent tainted even though he actually failed a test, but Bonds record is? Just doesnt make sense to me

[BeerIsGood!]

That's the thing I hate about baseball is how stats driven the sport is. I can't imagine an NFL team sabotaging their season to let some QB get the all time TD record, or an NBA team doing the same to promote a new all time points leader. At this point, the run to the championship in baseball is a far, far second from who is leading what category. It's stupid.

[SAtown]

It isn't over yet. Just like they rubbed 756 in our faces for months and months, they'll do the same for every Bonds HR from now on.

[resistanze]

Ignoring that it's indeed part of this story wouldn't be responsible journalism.

Meh, I don't quite equate a decision to refrain from placing an asterisk instead of an O on Bond's uniform or writing "756" in syringes as ignoring the debate, nor do I see it as a genuine attempt to open dialogue on the issue. The SI.com headline doesn't even offer an explanation/caption under the pic regarding the asterisk.

I don't see it any different from the "Spurs Advance*" piece that ran a couple of months ago. Before even reading the article you already knew they were coming with a bias.

[barbacoataco]

The question is not whether Bonds used steroids and HGH. The question is whether this is "cheating" when most other players are also doing it.

If baseball really was trying to catch users, there would be positive tests every week. When the cycling organizations decided to really try to test riders, there were positives everywhere. They started testing riders in the off-season, when they are training, and at surprise moments. They also test for all kinds of drugs that the MLB, NFL, and NBA do not test for.

For those of you who say "so-and-so has never tested positive," remember that pro wrestling supposedly tests for steroids, and has almost no positives.

[monosylab1k]

So Merrimans sacks arent tainted even though he actually failed a test, but Bonds record is? Just doesnt make sense to me

every last one of Merriman's sacks are tainted, IMO.

DWare >>>>> Merriman off the juice