So, this evening I turned on the TIVO and got my daily dose of Pardon The Interruption, one of the best damn shows on television in my opinion, and they were having their Toss-Up segment. One of the questions was who is more historically significant, Barry Bonds or Tiger Woods. An interesting question, I thought. But to me, it’s no contest.

The two commentators — Michael Wilbon and Dan Le Batard — had opposing views on this one. Le Batard went with Bonds and Wilbon chose Woods. Le Batard made the statement that what Woods has done isn’t at the same level as Jackie Robinson, at which point Wilbon suggested that it could possibly be at the same level. Bonds, one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, the man who broke the most heralded record in the history of sports. Or Woods, inarguably the greatest golfer to pick up a club, a man who, with 13 major championships, will inevitably tie and surpass the number of majors (18) won by Jack Nicklaus.

Okay, let’s disregard the fact that Bonds pissed on most of the greatness of his career with steroid laced urine. When it comes to the most historically significant, it’s not even close. Bonds may have broken the greatest record in sports, but Henry Aaron broke the record under the most strenuous of circumstances. Aaron’s breaking of the record will forever be more significant than Bonds or even Alex Rodriguez’s if he makes it to that point. Though Bonds likes to play the race-card (and in some remote instances, he has a right to), what he had to go through, some of which he brought upon himself, and what Aaron had to go through are leagues apart.

Woods, on the other hand, had to do almost the exact same thing Jackie Robinson had to do. It may appear that the obstacles were not as high or that there were not as many, but there were plenty there. Woods basically stepped into a white man’s sport and was not only competitive, but dominated the sport in a way that no one could have ever imagined. Plus, he is still in his prime. With good health and a determination that doesn’t wither, there’s no telling how far he could go. Baseball was never a white man’s sport. It was a sport in which several rich white men came to an agreement to exclude black players. But there were black players. Many of them. They were never told they couldn’t play baseball. They were never told they were not good enough or smart enough to play the game. They were only told that they were not good enough or smart enough to play with white players.

Golf, on the other hand, was the sport of the elite, the affluent. It was and still is the sport of exclusivity. When I was in high school, a man was giving a speech to our math class. I can’t remember what he was speaking about because he was a droner and I was barely paying attention. At one point, I barely heard him say, “You really don’t see black people on golf courses — unless they’re caddies.” After making the statement, he looked towards the rear of the room where I was sitting and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He rushed up to me and began to apologize vociferously. He’s sorry. He didn’t mean for it to come out that way. I sat there in shock. Not because of what he said. It was because I hadn’t really heard what he said. It was only after his stringent apology that I reran the previous moments through my head. I ran them through my head over and over again. It was at this point that I found myself getting angrier and angrier. I don’t think I was angry because of what he said. I knew nothing about golf and to tell the truth, whenever I was flipping past it on Sunday afternoons on the T.V., all I saw were white men.

What made me angry about the man’s statement was the implication. To me he was implying that this was not a sport for black men. Black men carried the bags perhaps but they did not play the game. Why not? It was just a game like any other. Are we not good enough? Stupid golf. Who would want to play that game anyway? I stewed about that for a long time.

Then Tiger Woods came upon the scene and the sport was never the same. It wasn’t a white man’s sport after all. It was a man’s sport (and woman’s). And when the doors were opened and Tiger stepped it, it became his sport. The historical significance of a Barry Bonds pales in comparison to that of a Tiger Woods. Like Robinson, Woods had to endure the exclusion, the threats of death and violence, and like Robinson, Woods endured. Unlike Robinson, who is probably considered to be the most historically significant figure in sports, Woods will most likely be considered both historically significant AND the greatest golfer in the history of the game.

I wonder where that man is now. The one who said black men were caddies and nothing more when it came to golf. I wonder if it really flipped his wig when he saw Tiger sauntering down the fairway, scribbling onto his scorecard, his white caddy trailing behind him.

All I can say is…c’mon A-Rod!

This doesn’t appear to be on YouTube yet, so I will have to post the link to CNN, but after watching Wolf Blitzer’s interview with Bob Costas, I can’t find much to disagree with when it comes to Costas’ views on Barry Bonds as well as the case against Michael Vick.

When the Vick charges first emerged, I was sickened by the details of what was described of the dogfighting ring that took place on Vick’s property. But after stepping back from the articles and CNN and all other kinds of media outlets that have already seemed to put Vick in prison, I realized that at this point these are just allegations. Allegations that have yet to be proven unequivocally as fact.

Whether the exposure/over-exposure of this case is race related or not is hard to tell. I would like to think that it isn’t. Fact is, people in this country love their animals more than human beings. Not all people, but a lot of people would save a dog before a person. I honestly do believe that. A reporter was reprimanded for saying that Vick would have been better off raping someone than being charged with dogfighting. I’m not sure I would go that far. Because of the stereotypes branded onto African-American men in this country, I think the rape charge would have been just as bad for Vick as the dogfighting charge. However, if Vick had shot a man or been with his entourage when a man was killed, I don’t think he would be crucified the way he is being crucified now. I do think the reporter’s comments support my sentiments, however. Animal life in this country is often held as being equal and sometimes above the value of human life.

Don’t get me wrong. I love animals. I love them even more since I’ve gotten my cat. And I think that if the charges against Vick are true, he should be put under the jail. But until then, put down the “Neuter Michael Vick” signs. That is wrong on so many levels.

And regarding Bonds, I must agree with Costas again. Do I think Bonds belongs in the Hall of Fame? Begrudgingly, yes. Before he was a cheat, he was an astounding player, and I think his numbers before he started down the road of impropriety more than justify his being honored at Cooperstown. However, you will never, ever convince me that Barry Bonds did not cheat. Nor will you ever convince me that he was unaware of the fact that he was cheating. I will take that belief to the grave.

Why this whole Barry Bonds issue haunts me, I can’t explain. There’s something so disingenuous about it. Some people feel that this wasn’t cheating because there were no rules against it. But if men played a game the same way for over a hundred years — and when I say the same way, I mean, games were won and lost based on skill, strategy, and god-given talent — then, suddenly, a liquid in a syringe gives some of these men superhuman strength, whether there are laws written against it or not, it’s cheating. If you have to hide these needles in your locker and buy this crap on the sly, then you know what you’re doing is wrong.

I promise that I will eventually tire of this subject, but segments like the one below and the fact that a fraud is about the become a king keep me chomping at the bit, hoping that justice will eventually become the victor.

Barry Bonds sat out again tonight in the San Francisco Giants game against the Cubs. He claims his legs, feet and toes are swollen. So are your head, arms and ego, Barry, but that never stopped you before.

Barry hasn’t hit a homer since July 3rd. He’s in a hitting slump, batting 0 for 20, and I have to admit that there is a tiny sliver of me that hopes that the slump continues, at least until I make it out to San Francisco next month. Barry is four homers away from tying Hank Aaron and five away from breaking the record. If his slump continues or if he has a few more slumps in the upcoming weeks, I could actually be there when the record is broken. That excites me! Do you know why? Because I could actually tell my grandchildren — or at the rate that I’m going, someone elses grandchildren — about the time I was at the game when Barry Bonds broke the most coveted record in the history of sports. And how, as bulbous Barry made his way around the bases and the crowd ejaculated adulation and cheers, I stood stone-faced with my arms crossed and bile dribbling down my chin.

I would love to say that I would boo Barry as he circled the bases, but hey, I’m going to be in San Francisco, Barry’s red-headed step-child. I don’t want to come home singing, “I left my ass and a quart of my blood in San Francisco.” But I wouldn’t cheer. I promise you that.

Bonds, speaking about the Dodgers’ sweep of the Giants and his locker room explosion after the game, stated

“I did everything but bite myself and spit on myself”

Need help with that Barry?

I kid.

When asked about his problems at the plate Sunday, Bonds answered: “It’s an embarrassment for me to be wearing this (expletive deleted) uniform ’cause of the way I’m playing. There, that’s it. Now go away.”

Actually, it’s an embarrassment for you to be wearing the uniform for other reasons. You go away! But I digress.

He proceeded to flip over a laundry cart as he walked through the clubhouse.

Yelling, “Hulk smash!” along the way.

Sidenote: For a brief time today, the CNN website had a link to the N-Word/Ralph Papitto blog from yesterday. A little validation and fifteen minutes of fame. Like Elia Kazan said, “Now I can fade away.”