Barry Bonds became depressed in the late 90s as new athletes like McGwire and Jose Conseco were becoming more popular for belting homeruns. Bonds was a great athlete, but he was aging and just like his father was headed for retirement. Bonds and everyone else knew that Conseco and the others were taking steroids. It was inevitable that Bonds would start taking steroids as he was very jealous and had an insatiable appetite for being the leader, he could not stand being in second place to anyone and he saw the great results of McGwire and Conseco.

Barry Bonds started taking numerous types of steroids through his trainer Greg Anderson. His physique, career and baseball would never be the same. Bonds was better after the steroids than anytime in his career. The steroids had elevated his career and possibly made him the best player in baseball history as he has now hit 722 career home runs. Only a few of the greatest players in Baseball history have ever hit into this range. It is similar to what Tiger Woods has done in Golf and his chasing Jack Nicklaus with his 18 career major titles. The difference is that Tiger Woods is a real champion and does not use illegal enhancers or drugs like steroids or cheat in any way. Kids can look up to him as a real hero.

Tiger Woods worked and trained very hard, he is also human as he went through a lot dealing with the loss of his father. Tiger woods through his great game and ethics has elevated professional golf and its fan base to all time highs. Barry Bonds, on the other hand, has devastated major league baseball and its rich history. Records are not meant to be broken on a daily or monthly basis. Records are just that records of greatness, by actual heroes like Joe DiMaggio, Ruth, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle and Ty Cobb. They never used steroids and were great players both on and off the field.

What every professional athlete needs to understand is that our kids see them as idols, heroes and mentors. Its not about the money, its about the game. Ninety nine percent of professional athletes never become a great like Rod Carew, Michael Jordan, or Warren Moon, but they are all imprinted in our children. Everyone remembers the negatives like McEnroe and his emotional outbursts, Rae Caruth and O.J. Simpson whom have abused the legal system and their fame to commit murder, steroids, gambling and the expulsion of baseball legend Pete Rose. The leaders of these professional sports must soon realize that these players have tainted and in some respects ruined the future of sports like major league baseball.

To see immediate evidence of this all one has to do is look at the dwindling number of visitors to the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown, NY. It used to be almost every young boys fantasy to see the outfit worn by Babe Ruth, the Ball that was signed by Reggie Jackson and his Yankee teammates, the stories of greatness and great hurdles and obstacles that were overcome by some of the legends. Rare baseball cards by players with strict standards like Honus Wagner whom had his cards pulled as he did not want to be associated with cigarettes and tobacco. The meaning of baseballs rich history has greatly suffered and will continue until something drastic is done.

Athletes like Barry Bonds that cheat and use illegal performance enhancing drugs should be banned and immediately removed from baseball and other sports. They should receive punishment worse than Pete Rose and should be stripped of all records, titles, and history in the game. Let someone who worked hard, overcame adversity and great obstacles, and never cheated and had great ethics, standards and was a true hero be the one to determine their fate. Someone like Hank Aaron. Hank Aaron set records, great records, the hard way and they are being tarnished by the likes of Barry Bonds and others. Hank Aaron, like Herschel Walker, overcame a very poor upbringing, racism, lack of resources and through sheer determination became one of the greatest athletes ever.

It is time to stop the commercialism and get back to the basics of these sports. We have forgotten what the game really means. There is a reason why in Brooklyn they still remember the Brooklyn Dodgers. Lets not let the great game of baseball be ruined by people like Barry Bonds. They must be removed from the game, their history completely wiped out and start anew. This is the only way to retain or rescue the image of professional baseball.

McGwire admitted Monday that he used steroids for a decade, including when he hit 70 homers in 1998, but denied Canseco’s claims that he injected himself and McGwire with steroids in bathroom stalls.

“I’ve defended Mark, I know a lot of good things about him,” Canseco told ESPN 1000 radio in Chicago on Tuesday. “I can’t believe he just called me a liar. Umm, there’s something very strange going on here.

Canseco is now calling manager (Tony La Russa) a liar because he didn’t know that McGwire used steroids.

“That’s a blatant lie,” Canseco said. “There are some things here that are so ridiculous, and so disrespectful for the public and the media to believe. I just can’t believe it. I’m in total shock. These guys remind me of politicians that go up and just lie to the public and expect to get elected.”

Canseco, who blew the whistle on many players in his 2005 book, “Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big,” is still trying to stay in the spotlight, but for all the wrong reasons.

Why would a steroids offender try to upset the baseball world? IMO he needs the money and the spotlight.

Sorry to say, but Jose walk away!

Mark McGwire admitted to using steroids and his reason was to recover from injury faster which is what Winstrol V (Winny V – street name) does. It helps tendons to heal faster and also speeds up the time for muscles to recover. I know this, because I was a user for more than six months when I was working out. When you are in your 30′s and early 40′s, muscle recovery could take days. When you play 162 games per year, it’s hard to recover and perform at the highest level.

Steroids do not improve hand and eye coordination. It will not help a player hit a 90+ MPH fast ball. Big Mac had good games and bad games, even when he was using. The media has no clue on what certain steroids do and don’t do. They sit back and take pop shots at something they no nothing about.

Big Mac did the right thing regardless of the timing. He was hired by the Cardinals in October to be their hitting coach, and he knew he had to say something before the start of spring training in mid-February. He did just that.

During the home run streak in 1998, McGwire admitted using androstenedione, a steroid precursor that was then legally available and didn’t become a controlled substance until 2004. Again, steroids were not banned until a year after McGwire retired in 2001.

Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa saved baseball in 1998 and made every baseball fan locked into their TV sets to see the most exciting home run race in baseball history.

Let god be the judge and not the two face puppet pirates.

McGwire is bad for the game period! He hasn’t been honest with himself, Congress or his fans. McGwire has been unwilling to answer allegations about performance-enhancing drugs. Big Mac may have to answer questions now that he is back in the spotlight.

I am not a fan of any player that cheated during the steroid era. It is a shame that Mark McGwire was part of this era as he and Sammy Sosa in a way, saved baseball during the Home Run Derby of sorts.

La Russa must be dreaming or did he pass out in his car again? Stop hitting up happy hour Tony! Do you really want that kind of media attention considering that you have only named him and not introduced him publicly as your hitting coach?

Here’s what other writers had to say courtesy of Yahoo’s blog by David Brown.

• If McGwire did play, it would stop the clock on his Hall of Fame eligibility. N.Y. Daily News
• And, as Matthew Leach notes, McGwire’s support ain’t so good right now. MLB.com
• Jonah Keri is all for McGwire batting again, and not simply for the novelty. Such a move might circumvent BBWAA members who abuse their voting privileges. JonahKeri.com
• Ah, c’mon, McGwire’s not coming back, Tommy Craggs writes. La Russa’s just messing with reporters he considers anti-Big Mac. Deadspin
• You just never know with La Russa, though. Fans in St. Louis seem to be having a mixed reaction at this possibility. Cardinal Beat at StlToday.com
• While pondering McGwire’s comeback, check out the Cardinals roster broken down into awesome pie graph form. Mmm, pie graph. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Gwen Knapp wonders: If McGwire gets forgiven, what about Barry Bonds(notes)? S.F. Chronicle

Big Mac just needs to stay at home and hope he will be forgiven and maybe have a chance to be voted into the Hall of Fame.