Bonds, tainted by steroids?, By: Chris Furnari

4/26/07

When Barry Bonds passes Hank Aaron on the list of all time home runs this season, where will the feat rank among the most memorable sports highlights of all time?

Bonds, who has the potential to break the record before the all-star break, will leave a mark on baseball unlike any other. He will forever be remembered as one of the most dominant baseball players of all time, but at what cost?

Bonds' name will also be synonymous with the ongoing steroid scandals of Major League Baseball. It will be nearly impossible to mention Barry Bonds without mentioning the words BALCO and steroids in the same sentence.

In any case, I find it extremely difficult to choose my favorite sports highlight of all time -- there are just too many. I found myself wondering, if I had to choose only one highlight to watch for the rest of my life, what would it be?

Would it be Bobby Thomson's 1951 "shot heard 'round the world?" Or how about Grant Hill's inbound pass to Christian Laettner, who beat both the buzzer and Kentucky in overtime during the east regional final of the NCAA tournament? And who could forget when the Cal Bears lateraled the ball five times and ran for a touchdown through the Stanford special teams and the Cardinal band with four seconds left on the clock?

These moments all share similar elements. The plays occurred in times of desperate need; they meant something more than just being a fantastic highlight, and they all can be remembered by the announcer's voice.

All of these images have been played and replayed. In fact, some moments were so unforgettable that ESPN made a video montage in 1999 displaying the most impressive accomplishments of the millennium. Hank Aaron can be seen trotting around the bases, fans beside him as he made his way to home plate where his team waited to congratulate him.

The Best Damn Sports Show put Hank Aaron's record-breaking blast at No. 8 on their list of most memorable sports moments.

Bonds may not be so lucky. While being baseball's home run king may be one of the greatest accomplishments in all of sports, it will not come without speculation as to how he got there. Cheating is never looked upon favorably in athletic competition. If Bonds did in fact take steroids, the legitimacy of his records will always be questioned, and his record-breaking home run will not find itself among some of the most memorable of all time.

Let's at least hope Mike Krukow is ready to call the shot that may or may not be "heard 'round the world."