Juiced and pumped

Well, only the most naive fan probably thought Barry Bonds was entirely chemical-free during his amazing home-run explosion over the past few years, but now he may have been caught in the act. If the allegations in this explosive book, if true, will tarnish Bonds' standing in baseball history just as surely as Pete Rose's gambling tarnished his.

The authors, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, describe in sometimes day-to-day, drug-by-drug detail how often and how deeply Bonds engaged in the persistent doping. For instance, the authors write that by 2001, when Bonds broke Mark McGwire's single-season home-run record (70) by belting 73, Bonds was using two designer steroids referred to as the Cream and the Clear, as well as insulin, human growth hormone, testosterone decanoate (a fast-acting steroid known as Mexican beans) and trenbolone, a steroid created to improve the muscle quality of cattle.

I don't know what an appropriate punishment would be for this, but at a minimum, probably Bonds should have his home run record stricken from the record books, or at least given an asterisk, a la Roger Maris.

An argument could be made that pro athletes are going to use illicit drugs anyway, so perhaps the practice ought to be legalized, brought into the open, medically supervised, and recorded. I don't necessarily support this, but you could make a fair argument for it. Still, such a change in the rules would be in the future, and Bonds' cheating is in the past (and maybe the present) and if true, it should be punished.