People complain that they want to be able to believe what they see is natural ability. They want a level playing field. They want records to be "real" and not manufactured by utilizing performance-enhancing drugs. If you think this way, it will be very difficult to enjoy any sporting event for the rest of your life. Why? Because the truth is, every game you watch probably has some degree of "taint" to it.

Athletes in every sport that you watch will be doing whatever it takes to be the best that they can be. Some will stay within the rules, but many will bend or break the rules in an effort to be great and make millions. Some of these people will get caught and be dealt with accordingly. But basically, the result of any sporting event that you watch will have some "taint" to it. Whether you are a fan of football, cycling, baseball, horse-racing, hockey, etc...participants are doing what they can to win.

People focus on the home-runs in baseball as a target for performance enhancing drug abuse, but the fact is, sporting events are affected far more often in far more subtle ways. A baseball player may gain the speed to beat out an infield single and later score a game-winning run. An offensive lineman may be able to block for a split second longer, enabling a touchdown run. Were these plays made possible by natural ability or by the next undetectable steroid? Or maybe by HGH, which still isn't tested for in baseball or football. With people so up in arms about past records being broken, how can they tolerate the MLB games that are going on tonight? We can't know for sure what is going on. Not now, not then.

NASCAR race teams cheat every single weekend, but it's OK because it's "part of the sport". All cars are the same, so the teams that are able to cheat the best improve their chances to win. NASCAR reminds me of the NFL. Cheating is just part of the sport. Hardly anyone cares if NFL players get caught doping, mostly because we all assume they are on something to begin with. What's a positive steroid test result in the NFL to us? Page 2. Speculation of steroid use in MLB? Page 1. Steroids are part of the NFL culture just as car-tweaking is to NASCAR. Bruce Bowen is a master craftsman of defensive basketball. Some believe he cheats. I liken him to an NFL linemen that holds as often as he can get away with it. Sometimes they get caught and are given a foul or a flag is thrown. Are all these things actually "cheating" or are they just generally accepted parts of the sports?

90's baseball had a similar culture where many were doping and noone (teams, players, management, MLB itself) cared. It was part of the game until records started to be broken and people like Canseco (bitter over his black-balling) began talking. But should the steroid era be treated the same as cheating in other sports has been? Allow it for as long as it was generally accepted?

Some people believe that the steroid era in MLB is over just because testing is in place. In a way it is, but there will always be another era waiting around the bend. The next designer drug will be here soon, if it isn't already. And eventually, maybe in 40 years or something, players may have bionic implants to help them perform better. How ironic would it be if, in the future, people argued that Barry's record is legit because he used actual muscle mass to hit his home-runs? "These darn cheaters and their nanite technology! Back when I was young, people actually earned their records!"

So how are you supposed to believe anything you are watching? You can't, really. Unless, of course, you watch a Pro-bowling event.  But my point is that we need to take sports at face value. Don't focus on whether what you are watching is real or not real. You will never get enjoyment that way. Let athletes entertain us. Don't over-analyze. Cheer on the players that you like. Boo the players that you don't like.

But above all, enjoy the game.