Having been suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs all the way back to her high school days, it is difficult to even make a fair comparison to what Marion Jones may have been able to accomplish if she was natural. The track star – who was recently released from federal prison after serving a six-month sentence – made an appearance on “The Orpah Winfrey Show” and claimed that she would have been as successful without steroids.

Not only is that preposterous, but goes against everything that has been previously proven. Jones may regret her decision to use PEDs, but to deny what they did for her performance makes her appear even more a liar than she already has.

Jones denying the usage of these substances when taken to task is understandable. She was hoping that the proverbial ‘smoking gun’ would not be found and she could talk her way out of it. But she got caught and later admitted to it. Not satisfied leaving well enough alone, Jones was obviously looking for sympathy and found the right taker in Winfrey, who may as well have been there swabbing Jones’ tears as the former Olympic athlete read a letter she penned in the slammer. It was addressed to her children and Jones tells them the reason why she lied to prosecutors was because she “didn’t love herself enough to tell the truth.”

Using the same ridiculous excuse that Barry Bonds did, Jones reiterates that she was under the impression that the substance given to her by her coach Trevor Graham was flaxseed oil when it was in fact the BALCO designer steroid ‘the clear.’ Graham has his own problems, being sentenced a week ago to one year of home confinement for lying to investigators.

Jones, 33, has only admitted to using steroids between September 2000 and July 2001. Since missing a random drug test during high school in the early 1990s, the specter of steroids have followed her. From her ex-husband C.J. Hunter testing positive two years before their breakup, every person that Jones has been involved with in the track and field world has had either the suspicion of or admitted the use of steroids. All of that can’t be coincidental.

During the show, Jones said, “I’ll ask myself, ‘Well, if you hadn’t been given ‘the clear’ do you think you would’ve won?’ I usually answer, ‘Yes.’ “

Whatever Jones did, she did. Trying to make up excuses now and use her own children as a way of gathering sympathy and support only makes her look more pathetic than she already does. Why did she lie to the investigators? Because she didn’t want to get caught. The nonsense about not loving herself enough is just that – pure nonsense.

Jones was a great athlete and even though she has been stripped of her medals and records, the majority of the playing field was even when she competed. If anyone believes that Jones was the only one out there using steroids, then you probably also feel that she meant what she wrote to her children.

On the heels of the state of New York changing its horse racing steroid policy, the upcoming Breeders’ Cup this weekend will have testing for the banned substances. The ‘Sport of Kings’ has always been accepting of the use of performance-enhancing drugs and the recent windfall attempting to connect misfortune with steroids has all of a sudden changed that method of thinking.

If anyone believes that the death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby and the hoof injuries to Big Brown have anything to do with steroids, then they will probably also believe that Barry Bonds felt he was only using flaxseed oil. Horses do have unfortunate accidents on the track, some resulting in their demise. Those incidents have absolutely nothing to do with steroids. It is simply another excuse to hang something on without finding out the true cause.

Starting January 1, new rules will be in place that will set limits on the amount of steroids that will be permitted, according to a vote passed by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.

With the upcoming Breeders’ Cup in Santa Anita, trainers will face a one-year suspension from the event if there is a positive test of any amount of steroids or EPO found. There will be a total of five horses chosen for testing after all Breeders’ Cup Challenge races – one at random and the top four finishers.

Now that the obvious has been admitted, will it mean that baseball’s home run king will return to the game? It was blatant that collusion took place last summer as offenses struggled and Barry Bonds was sitting home. No team had the guts to sign him or go against their brethren by doing so, even if the addition of his lefthanded power would have made a difference for a postseason berth.

If his case is proven, will that open the door for someone to give Bonds a look next spring? It will be difficult to admit a conscious group effort to keep a person out of the game and then have it happen again.

Recently, the Baseball Players’ Union has proven through evidence that teams acted in concert to leave Bonds without a job. They then reached an agreement with the commissioner’s office in delaying the filing of an official grievance, no specific date being set. One has to surmise that nothing will be done until after the World Series is completed.

By coming to the decision with the union, Major League Baseball didn’t exactly dismiss the charges, ones that their attorneys have repeatedly denied in all prior statments. Jeff Borris, Bonds’ agent, has claimed to have “numerous things that occurred” that made him believe that “clubs were acting in concert,” and he further stated that when he has the opportunity to testify, will “delineate each and every one of them.”

It’s an old ploy, used by a number of different agencies. If you don’t care about your own freedom, then we’ll start picking on your loved ones. Maybe their well-being means more to you, and then we can finally get what we want out of you.

Greg Anderson has sat in a jail cell because he refused to testify against Barry Bonds, who has – for some reason – become John Dillinger and Al Capone rolled into one. They will stop at nothing to get the goods on baseball’s home run king, even if that means going after his mother-in-law.

Both the New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle reported that Madeline Gestas is being investigated for possible tax violations, an obvious tactic to pressure Anderson into coming clean of what he knows of Bonds’ alleged steroid use.

We don’t know if Anderson and his mother-in-law are close, or even get along like Ralph Kramden and Mrs. Gibson did. Nicole Anderson filed a petition last November to have her marriage annulled, but it was never served. If that is any indication of his relationship with that side of the family, Ms. Gestas may have to handle this one on her own.

When the calendar shows that August is closing out in one week and your team leader in home runs has 12, it’s fair to say that small-ball is your style. In San Francisco, Aaron Rowand is the only player on the roster with a double-digit total in long balls, which is not easy to do at this juncture of the season. Even players that hit one out rarely approach the 10 to 15 total. With only 71 total at the time of this writing, the Giants are on an anemic pace for production.

In 2007, Barry Bonds hit 28 home runs, leading the way by a wide margin. The next up on that team were third baseman Pedro Feliz (20) and catcher Bengie Molina (19). Rowand, who played for the Phillies a year ago, hit 27. As a team, the Giants hit 128 during Bonds’ farewell season in town.

The Phillies lead the Senior Circuit with 173 home runs, with only two other clubs hitting in less than triple digits (Los Angeles- 99, Washington- 90). If the Giants finish at the bottom – which looks to be a good bet right now – it will be the first time since 1900 that they did so.

As far as wins and losses go, the Giants finished in last place in the NL West in 2007 with a 71-91 record. This summer, they are 57-72 and actually ahead of the hapless Padres by nine games.

Maybe hitting less home runs as a team did not make much of a difference as far as wins, losses and place in the standings go. But today’s game is a power one, and not replacing a threat like Bonds was a mistake.

When Barry Bonds grabbed the microphone last Saturday night during the Giants’ celebration of their former outfielders, his statement of “I haven’t retired, thank you,” should have been listened to intently as an offer for his services. The dog days of August are upon us and the races are getting tighter. With the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline behind us, it will be extremely difficult to obtain a potent bat to pad the line-up.

That is if you’re not looking at Barry Bonds as a short-term project. Down in Tampa Bay, the Rays are enjoying their finest season and current hold a three game lead over Boston in the AL East. But they have recently went through some injuries, including outfielder Carl Crawford and closer Troy Percival, two losses that may hurt them down the stretch. The Yankees are in third place and trail both the Red Sox (6.5 games) and Twins (3.5 games) in the wild card race.

It may be now or never for the Bronx Bombers, who today dumped Richie Sexson and sent down outfielder Melky Cabrera. They need to make up a lot of ground fast and their offense has been a problem all summer long. Losing Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui for long stretches definitely made a negative impact, and a veteran bat that can reach that short right field porch at Yankee Stadium would give them a solid boost, perhaps enough to make a legitimate playoff run in the last season of the original – well, almost original – Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees contemplated signing Bonds at the end of July, and his name came up in organizational meetings. Who’s to say that adding the home run king back then would not have given the team enough juice (no pun intended) to cut into and perhaps take over the wild card lead? They chose to go with Sexson, who has been abysmal for years and produced nothing (one home run, six RBI) in his short stay in New York after being picked up off the Seattle scrap heap on July 18.

The Rays were interested in Bonds during spring training, and not even the Amazing Kreskin could have predicted that the young club would have been this successful in 2008. They passed, and now that they have proven themselves to be a serious player, they should give Bonds a second thought.

Crawford underwent surgery on his right middle finger and is probably done for the season. Rocco Baldelli, who was the then-Devil Rays’ lone bright spot at one time, returned after battling a slew of injuries and has been playing right field. Eric Hinske and Cliff Floyd have been playing left field and designated hitter, respectively, but there is definitely room for improvement. Hinske, the former Blue Jay, is batting .253 with 17 home runs and 50 RBI, while Floyd – who is another player that always seems to be injured – has been more of a locker room presence than in the batter’s box with a paltry .261/8/22. Both may be lefthanded hitters like Bonds, but neither come close to the power the former Giant brings to the table.

If some team gathers up enough balls to sign Bonds, they need to act fast. For a player to be eligible for the post-season roster, he must be on the team by August 31.