Barry Bonds getting lots of company

They were inspiring stories, for a short time. Tales of premier ballplayers extending their careers by performing at peak levels into their 40s. Barry Bonds still hammering the ball out of the park at midlife. Roger Clemens, as they say in baseball, "throwing bb's" at an age when many men can't see their feet for their stomachs. And everyone ate it up, at first.

Then the stories began to fray and the contention that you can actually be better at 45 than at 25 lost steam. All that stuff about nutrition and exercise and weight-lifting extending careers? Certainly they help.

Apparently so do injections of anabolic steroids.

The long-awaited Mitchell Report on baseball and performance enhancing drugs was released Thursday, and to no one's surprise, a slew of Major League Baseball players have been implicated. The most important: Barry-I-Thought-It-Was-Flaxseed-Oil Bonds, naturally.

But his involvement was nothing new. He's 43 and been suspected for years. Many believed him innocent until his ex-girlfriend ratted him out, reporters wrote a book and he was indicted on charges of lying to a grand jury.

Now he has the credibility of a carnival barker.

Thursday's biggest story, though, was probably Clemens. He's been suspected, but until now there wasn't much anyone could prove.

Now 45, the Rocket said he was outworking his peers to stay on top. But former Yankees trainer Brian McNamee admitted he injected Clemens numerous times with performance enhancing drugs. McNamee also said he aided Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte, now 35, with human growth hormone to speed recovery from an injury.

So at least now Bonds has plenty of company. In fact, 74 brand new best friends, hailing from all 30 MLB teams.

Nothing like the camaraderie of baseball.

For a few years, Bonds has been the lightning rod for the steroid debate. Some have said it's unfair to single him out. It's true he wasn't alone. But he was the all-time home run king, which put him in a category by himself.

Jose Canseco and Jason Giambi admitted involvement with performance enhancing drugs. But Bonds never did come clean. He merely denied everything, even when the grand jury came asking. He was reportedly jealous of the attention Mark McGwire — another suspected cheat — received in the late '90s, and wanted to be the record holder.

He wanted the glory.