Everybody Hates A-Fraud

Chalk another victory up for that Woodward and Bernstein protege, Jose Canseco. Say what you want about the guy who recently faught Danny Bonaduce to a draw in a boxing match, but Canseco called this one long ago.

The Sports Illustrated report claiming that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003 is one more bean ball to Major Leauge Baseball's already concussion filled skull.

Does this really come as a surprise? It's like walking out of Notorious and having a shocked look on your face that Biggie got popped.

Pay-Fraud is arguably the most disingenuous athlete in sports history. He stands for greed, ego and the quest to accumulate the most awe inspiring statistics. He's Bernie Madoff in pinstripes (the Yankee kind, not the jail suit kind Madoff will be wearing)

While Pay-Fraud hasn't undergone a Barry Bonds 32-pound head transformation, there is a considerable difference between his physique as a rookie and his current Vin Diesel-esque biceps.

With his reputation and legacy forever tainted, the best thing Pay-Fraud can do is be honest. The absolute truth is the one thing that every single major figure in the steroids scandal has avoided. The truth could very likely put Barry Bonds, the game's all-time and single season home run king and Roger Clemens, formerly the winningest right-handed pitcher of the live ball era, in jail cells.

If Pay-Fraud were to come out and admit he's used steroids since 2003, be candid and remorseful, then offer to take weekly tests to clear his name from this point forward, that would be a good first step.

But we know Alex all too well. It's almost a sure bet that he'll either (a) deny he ever took steroids (b) challenge the validity of the positive test or (c) attempt to throw Derek Jeter under the bus and imply Jeter uses steroids too.

There was a time when baseball's legends loomed large over the sports landscape as true icons - Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron to name a few.

Now, that field is littered with broken syringes, inflated statistics and records that shouldn't belong to the record holders.

This isn't just another sad chapter in baseball's ongoing struggle to rid itself from steroids, it's a sad chapter for sports and a sad chapter for anyone who ever aspired to be "like" an athlete.