Bonds Should Send a Message: Chin Up, Slugger

Around this time one usually wonders what the "best" sports story of the year was—the team that defied the odds, the player who set triple-double records, the scandal?

We tend to focus on the negative and perhaps, in the online sports world, there is a good reason—each reader has his or her own tastes, allegiances, and opinions.

If I told you the Colorado Rockies were the best sports story of the year, you might frown and point out that the Red Sox were almost as bad just a few years ago. Mention of the Golden State Warriors would elicit groans. Stanford beating USC? That kind of underdog isn't so unusual. And team meltdowns are likewise unexciting by virtue of their number, so college football is out altogether. And the Patriots? They're just good.

To pick one story is hard, not least because the latest is constantly coming down the wire. So let's get to the point.

Barry Bonds' indictment for perjury was surely the most devastating story of the year. For one thing, that bulky, should-be-over-the-hill frame was the last bulwark between the American public and the Mitchell Report, and when he goes back to court there will be no illusion about the integrity of baseball's stars.

Second, the coming years should be the biggest non-racial turning point in the history of this game that is so close to American's heart. Controversy over stars has consumed the nation's attention and taxes, but I'm pretty sure that though San Francisco fans like to see Barry slug, they're pretty tired of losing games. And if the Rockies and the Indians can make it to the national stage and Barry and Clemens can't, who wouldn't want to start watching small ball?

But I think Bonds' story will work out for the best, in a big way. You could say that Bonds made a good story because it was gripping, shocking, and scandalous—a thunderous end to a long, doubtful ride with the feds.

I prefer to think that his indictment will turn out be a good story because it will lead to a referendum of sorts , and better players who don't take drugs and lie, or stay silent on the matter, will be better appreciated. And after that, we can leave the bionic league behind.