With a mighty blast over the right-field wall of AT&T Park Barry Bonds seized baseball's biggest record.

Never has a player in the middle of, by all means, a down season had so much publicity directed towards him. The 3-3 night juiced his average to a disappointing (at least for Bonds) .279, and the homer was only his 22nd of the year.

Countless articles will discuss the merit of the record and the lasting effect on baseball. What does it mean to a sport when it's most hallowed record is taken by a cheater*?

*if you still somehow believe Bonds did not use illegal substances, then I'm sorry

The main positive about the record finally being broken is the end of the annoyingly constant "Chasing Aaron: Bonds 0-1, 3 BB" lines scrolling through the bottom of ESPN, desperately trying to get me to care about the event.

The sad thing about Bonds is the fact he is clearly one of the most talented baseball players ever. Steroids don't create a batting eye leading to only one 100+ strikeout season in his 23-year career (his rookie season). Before his radical physique change, he had four 30-30 seasons, including a 40-40 season in 1996. At some point, he became a different player.

Bonds jacked 311 homeruns after he turned 35. That's over 40 percent of his career total. While the exact details of his steroid use aren't yet clear, that number is a little questionable. As is his record-breaking, 73-homerun season 2001. 73 homeruns is was a whopping 24 more than his previous career high (set just the year before).

Well, after all of the hooplah, the record is finally broken. Bonds is the new homerun king. Hank Aaron won't be forgotten, just as Babe Ruth wasn't when his career total was surpassed. Bonds' status doesn't mean a whole lot to most fans, other than the countdown to Alex Rodriguez taking the record for himself begins.

I just hope it never comes out that A-Rod has taken steroids, or baseball may not recover.

This is a new website, not much content yet but the blog is going pretty well so far.

Although it was nice to be cruising under the radar, between this story and the front page of the USA Today Sports section under the radar doesn't fit anymore, the Cougars are receiving some well-deserved respect for a great first half of the season. The Cougs have worked to the top of the nations best conference under new coach Tony Bennett.

Steelers at Falcons

Result- Falcons 24-17

Fantasy Star- Look for Willie Parker to have a good day against a defense that let Tiki Barber go for 185 yards. I don't see Parker being as successful as Barber was but he should easily break the century mark with a touchdown.

Jaguars at Texans

Result- Jaguars 41-20

Fantasy Star- Byron Leftwich, Reggie Williams, Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew. Leftwich to Williams should be good for one, maybe even two TD's before Taylor and Jones-Drew come in to clean up.

Lions at Jets

Result- Jets 24-21

Fantasy Star- Laveranues Coles should be good for a couple of long scores against a secondary lacking in talent.

Chargers at Chiefs

Result- Chargers 35-10

Fantasy Star- I can't decide on Rivers or LT. Both should do pretty well. I don't see 4 TD's again for LT, but I wouldn't be at all surprised by a couple.

Redskins at Colts

Result- Colts 27-20

Fantasy Star- Peyton Manning should pick apart this underachieving defense.

Giants at Cowboys

Result- Giants 31-28

Fantasy Star- Eli Manning may throw a pick or two, but he'll find some success in a game that should come right down to the wire.

Patriots at Bills

Result- Patriots 13-7

Fantasy Star- Laurence Maroney will get lots of yards and a touchdown against an overrated run defense.

Eagles at Buccaneers

Result- Eagles 38-6

Fantasy Star- If Brian Westbrook can play, he should get around 150 combined yards and find the endzone at least once.

Cardinals at Raiders-

Result- Cardinals 28-21

Fantasy Star- Anquan Boldin dominated against the Bears, he will double-dominate against the Raiders.

Panthers at Bengals

Result- Bengals 27-24

Fantasy Star- Look for the Bengals to emphasize Rudi Johnson enough for 110 yards and a TD, even without T Levi Jones and against a good Panthers D.

Packers at Dolphins

Result- Packers 31-10

Fantasy Star- Greg Jennings should again benefit from Brett Favre throwing darts all of the field.

Broncos at Browns

Result- Broncos 12-10

Fantasy Star- Kellen Winslow will be the only useful Brown on Sunday. Jason Elam should also be valuable in an offense that sometimes goes flat.

Vikings at Seahawks

Result- Seahawks 28-27

Fantasy Star- Deion Branch and Darrell Jackson should both benefit from a wide open offense once again without Shaun Alexander.

Tier I- USC, Cal, Oregon

Tier II- Washington State, Washington, UCLA

Tier II.5- Arizona State

Tier III- Oregon State, Arizona, Stanford

The situation has been muddied by USC coming down to the last play against Wazzu and UW in the last two weeks. So, is USC not as good as advertised? Or are Wazzu and UW better than expected? I think its a mix of both.

Police say that Stephen Jackson fired at least five shots into the air outside of a strip club early Tuesday morning. According to Larry Bird, Jackson "didn't expect this." Newsflash, firing a gun straight up in a crowd of people will sometimes result in police action.

This is a huge blow to the Panthers defense, as Morgan was their leader on the field. But, they do have enough other solid playmakers to remain a good defense. Morgan injured his head in the season opener and hasn't played or practiced since. This is the fifth concussion of Morgan's career, and the team hopes that he will be able to return next year. Chris Draft will continue to start in Morgan's place.

Charles Rogers is gone. Mike Williams finally got on the field and even had a pass thrown at him last week, but dropped it. So much for those picks. If Roy can't go, the Lions will rely on wr then safety now wr again Mike Furrey who has been lighting it up this year, for a guy named Furrey.

Johnson is famous for putting up amazing stats in college, and that's about it. The man is lightning fast without pads, but doesn't possess what some call great "football speed." He has been a pretty good kickoff returner (25.1 avg.) but unless he changes something, he won't do much for the Vikings.

This guy was a wanderer when he was in the NFL, CFL and NFL Europe, now he's a criminal. Even John Rocker never tried to run down a crowd of people with a car after an argument at a pickup game, what does that say about Lawrence Phillips?

Kelly Washington now finds himself third on the depth chart after Chris Henry was suspended by the NFL. WIth Antonio Chatman and Tab Perry sidelined with injuries, the Bengals find themselves lacking at wide receiver. The Bengals first signed Washington with hopes to trade him, but they are realizing that he is an important part of the team.

It was a weekend full of emotions as I watched my beloved Eagles beat a Cowboys team that looked very out of sync (come on Bledsoe, you're making the rest of us Cougars look bad). But then to my horror, was Larry Fitzgerald hearing a "pop" in his hamstring. You see, I am heavily invested in Larry the Great in pretty much all of my leagues. Hopefully, I can survive 2-5 weeks without one of the best wideouts in the game. Onto the fantasy notes.

Rising-

Maurice Jones-Drew: How is this guy possibly still available in some leagues? He is dominating with four touchdowns in his last three games. He's averaging 5.4 ypc and adds 91 receiving yards. After the bye next week he faces Houston and Tennessee in three of the next four weeks. Get him if you can and look for great numbers to come.

Lee Evans: He got 14 looks on Sunday to lead all receivers, and turned that into nine catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. After a slow start, Evans has come on strong with at least seven receptions and 90 yards in his last three games. Losman is improving and Evans is his favorite target, good things are coming. Start Evans next week as the Bills match up with a terrible Lions D.

Wes Welker: I'm not sure what to make of the whole Miami QB situation, but Welker seems to be pretty productive no matter what. He won't win a matchup for you, but he probably won't lose it either. With Joey Harrington in there, he got 12 looks and turned that into a good day of nine catches for 77 yards. He isn't likely to go crazy any week, but he should be solid every time out.

Reggie Williams: He has become the favorite target with Matt Jones out. Has converted his 39 looks on the year into 297 yards and four touchdowns. Coming out of the bye, he faces Houston, Philly (the only ouch in this stretch), Tennessee, and Houston again. You have to like that stretch.

Bryant Johnson: With Fitzgerald out, Johnson will step into the void. Teams are definately going to double team Boldin, and the Cardinals are going to be throwing from behind a lot. You might want to wait until the Cardinals are past the Bears next week, but after that Johnson will be a good start.

Falling-

Damon Huard: Sure, we all know that he's actually been surprisingly effective with five td's to zero int's. Look for this to change, starting next week he faces Pittsburgh, San Diego, then Seattle. He has a decent schedule after that, but keep him far away from your lineup for the next month.

Troy Williamson/ Antonio Bryant: Both looked like stars in the first two weeks, but have slowed way down as teams are making other receivers beat them. Start them only in a favorable matchup or if they start to become more consistent.

Hines Ward: 148 yards and one touchdown through four games has finally taken that smile off of Ward's face. Until Big Ben can stop completing more passes to the opposing defense, consider sitting Ward.

Drew Bledsoe- He's barely holding onto the starting job and only producing adequate numbers against bad defenses. He looked very old in the pocket as the Eagles forced him into mistake after mistake. He does have Houston next week though, so don't totally write him off just yet.

Well there you go. Good luck next week.

idriveablazer24@yahoo.com