Poor Sports?

Booed at most stadiums across the country, Barry Bonds remains under a dark cloud of suspicion-- in the face of overwhelming evidence, most people now believe that he illegally used steroids during most of his career. On the verge of breaking Hank Aaron's home run record, he also faces the possibility of being indicted for perjury and tax evasion.

Michael Vick will be in court this week while the Atlanta Falcons begin practice for the upcoming season. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell ordered Vick to stay away from team practices while the quarterback is facing federal charges on illegal gambling and animal cruelty related to his involvement with dog fighting.

NBA referee Tim Donaghy is currently under investigation by the FBI. Donaghy faces charges that he gambled on games he officiated, as well as fixed the outcome of games via the calls he made on the court during those games.

The leading rider in the Tour de France is under suspicion for blood doping, and race officials are secretly hoping that he'll somehow lose his two-minute lead on the field. Rasmussen was dropped from Denmark's national team last week for failing to notify anti-doping officials of his whereabouts for drug testing before the Tour began. He also missed two drug tests by Denmark's anti-doping agency in May and June, and failed to respond to two warnings from the International Cycling Union since April 2006. A third infraction with either the UCI or the Danish agency would be considered equivalent to a positive test and lead to a ban.

In comments during a press conference at the British Open, Gary Player raised the spectre of steroid use in professional golf. The nine-time major champion was asked if steroid use by pro golfers would "surprise" him. Player then sent shivers down the spine of the golf establishment by saying, "I know for a fact that some golfers are doing it. … We're dreaming if we think it's not going to come into golf. I would say in the world tour today … there's 10 guys taking something. I might be way out. Definitely not going to be lower, but might be a hell of a lot more." Player says he knows this because "one guy told me." He confirmed it because "somebody else told me something." In each case, Player said he swore not to reveal the name of his source.

Maybe the time is right for U.S. fans to get more interested in the world's most popular sport-- soccer.