All right, so let's clear something up. When a person blasts 73 home runs in a regular baseball season, that is very admirable and a great accomplishment. When a person reaches this plateau but allegedly does it using illegal substances, it is nothing to write home about.

There was a guy on my college newspaper that would always say "if you aren't cheating – then you aren't trying."

That's not right.

The only place where cheating is accepted is in professional wrestling and that's so they can sell tickets for the next pay-per-view.

In real athletics, no one should get away with cheating.

Over the past two days, the San Francisco Chronicle has reported that Major League Baseball mega-stars, Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds have taken steroids to increase their performance.

On the "stuff" they did just that.

Giambi was able to become an MVP and a Home Run Derby God, Barry Bonds proved that with age comes an increase in ability as he found the geometric equation responsible for hitting a home run in nearly every at-bat. Thanks to Bond's prolific bats, he did two things. The traffic in Pacific Bell Park's Harbor has increased 10-fold. He also has made every other pitcher's ERA fall because he drew so many walks during the regular season.

But, if sports fan will think back, both Bonds and Giambi were not that good throughout their careers, but then all of a sudden doubled in size, mass and strength and suddenly ascended to the upper echelon of their sport.

The thing about it is, that they did it using illegal substances.

According to information released by the San Francisco Chronicle, both Bonds and Giambi admitted to using two different substances to enhance their performance.

The two substances were called "the clear" and "the cream."

"The cream" is a rub-on testosterone formula that is rubbed onto the body.

Bond's admits to using this because he thought it was flaxseed oil.

The other is the "the clear" which supposedly allows athletes to enter into a deeper sleep that lets their muscles heal.

Bond's said he did this not knowing that it was a performance enhancing drug, but thinking that his trainer had given him something to relax his muscles and ease his aches and pains because of his age the stress on his body.

Giambi also admitted to using the two substances as well as anabolic steroids during the 2003 season.

Giambi missed the majority of the 2004 season with an "intestinal parasite."

"Intestinal Parasite?"

That's also known as what happens when the body eliminates years of toxins from its system.

Now the question is what will happen to these two athleteis careers?

Giambi is done.

He might as well try out for the new Washington Expos and they might be the only club interested in him.

As for Bonds, he will go on slugging home runs, rubbing on his "flaxseed oil" and be heralded as the greatest player of our time.

What a crock.

I don't like Bonds. I never have. But it will be such a case of poetic justice if he mysteriously develops Giambi's "intestinal parasite" and the game's greatest hitter becomes the game's greatest user.

Bud Selig has already shown he is useless as a commissioner, but if he wants to show that he has some salt about him, let him put an asterisk next to Bonds name in the record book.

For the footnote, put one word – cheater.

It's that simple.

Griffin Pritchard is the Sports Editor of the Greenville Advocate. He can be reached by phone at 382-3111 ext 122 or via email at griffin.pritchard@greenvilleadvocate.com