I don't hate Barry Bonds. I love Barry Bonds! I want Barry...

[joeybee12]

to live in truth to see the light, to come to repentance so he can live in freedom -- which it the only way to live. O8)

(Any longer, and I'm gonna get sued for copyright infringement).

[Forkboy]

1. I actually wish the government never got involved in the first place.

The whole thing should have been handled by Selig and MLB, yet they wanted to pretend the problem didn't exist. It was too obvious though when McGwire and Sosa did what they did in the same year, and when the League didn't address it someone else did it for them.

But I hate government getting involved in any of this stuff, regardless of which sport it is. There really is so many more things they should be tackling instead of this. The people who cheated don't deserve jail time for taking steroids, so only the perjury charge seems like a valid reason. The cheaters will dealt with by history. Who still says good things about McGwire or Sosa or Palmiero? Maybe a few knuckleheads, but that's about it.

This doesn't excuse anyone who broke the rules at all, I just wish the whole thing had been handled differently. MLB has really brought any repercussions they suffer on themselves.

[joeybee12]

2. Yeah, but only when the government got involved did Selig and Fehr

even have to face up to a problem...they never would have addressed it at all. Both need to go.

[nickgutierrez]

3. I mostly agree.

I still see a bit of hypocrisy in the media in the way they treat baseball players who use performance enhancers vs. football players in particular who use the same stuff, but that's for another thread.

It'll be interesting to see how A-Rod's treatment changes - or doesn't change - as this year goes on. If he plays well, will it be perceived as a rebound from a controversial episode, or another thing to be skeptical about? If he struggles, does it become a sympathetic thing, or is it a Raffy-style pile-on until hes's out of the league?

Also - if more names leak from the list of 104 players who tested positive in 2003, will they immediately receive the same level of scrutiny that Rodriguez did, or will it be perceived as an unfair attack on that player's character if it happens to be somebody the media tends to treat in a positive light? Craig Biggio, for example - how would it be seen if it was suddenly leaked that Biggio tested positive for steroids?

I'd love to see this steroid/PED story go beyond the hysterics that always seem to accompany it, but that would require a serious, honest, and public debate. That doesn't get ratings.

[Onceuponalife]

4. No! They all should pay!

Line them all against the wall and have Gaylord Perry hurl spitballs at them, I say! That'll teach 'em.

[Redbear]

5. Bonds was not part of the govt investigation into baseball

He was in the BALCO investigation which included athletes from MLB, the NFL, Cycling, Track, and Boxing.