As I woke up this morning to go to my job I saw a story on Rick Ankiel, the man many have called the Natural due to the fact that he went from pitcher to big time hitter.  I see he has 7 RBI last night and I am in awe once again of what this guy has accomplished.  Then, I see a story about how he got a years worth of HGH in 2004 from the Florida company that has taken the likes of Rodney Harrison and many others.  HGH was banned from MLB in 2005, yet we are talking about a man who got a supply of it in 2004, when he was recovering from elbow surgery.  To me, it looks legit, but even if it doesnt to you, why, WHY, do we keep talking about this stuff that happened so long ago?  My biggest problem with this story that the national media is blowing out of proportion is that it happened 1 year before HGH was banned from MLB.  Let me explain my train of thought here.  Lets say I find out that there is this special type of corn I can eat that will make me stronger and make me hit homeruns, and its not illegal in MLB therefore I wont get suspended for taking it.  I dont know about you, but I would take it.  I would eat stalk after stalk of that stuff.  But a year later after I hit 72 homeruns while on this corn, MLB decides that this corn is illegal.  Ok, I think to myself, its illegal, now, I will stop taking it and find another way to bulk up.  The difference is when I took it when it wasnt illegal, and now that it is illegal I wont take it.  Its about competitive advantage, and players of any sport will continue to look for that advantage to make millions of dollars.  Now some will still try to cheat, but who knows if Ankiel was cheating?  Was he taking it for his elbow with a prescription while it wasnt illegal in MLB?  I would say the answer is probably yes, but in the court of public opinion, or at least in the media driven part of public opinion, he will be considered a cheater.  Thats a shame because he has gone through a lot and he got HGH when it wasnt illegal in MLB.  I say lay off the guy and then if its found that he did use when it was illegal then he should be in trouble.