I voted asterisk.  Barry will unfortunately always have the stigma of steroids attached to his name.  As will Mark Maguire and others.  I have to say though, that Maguire dissappoints me more than Bonds.  When he broke the single-season record in 1998 (Bonds beat that in 2001) my son was 7 years old and our whole house was so wrapped up in the excitement and watching Maguire meet his son at home-plate.  

It is also true though that many athletes believe they must get that extra edge to compete in their league.  Some Agents believe this, too.  It is unfortunate because that stigma then attaches itself to the entire league or, in our case, profession.

Shelz, Excellent post and great analogy! I voted (b) asterick*. We're a baseball family too. Catz, I'm with you. Stay true to your game.

Inspiring, Shelly! Asterisks were always too tiny for me. I prefer an exclamation point!   :)  :)

Oh, and I vote C. Banish it. Make some new records!

Good morning Shelly,

(IMHO) I believe the professional sports world is so screwed up that "Hank" is probably rolling over in his grave at the outrageous money involved.

The whole Barry Bonds thing as with many things today has been such a fiasco that I really don't care what he does at this point. He has tarnished and left doubt in the minds of fans about this great accomplishment. Could he have done it without the steroids will always prevail in conversations forever. He probably could have but we will never know for sure.

Take the ball for what its worth and put it on display in the front room,

Sell it on e-bay or just give it back to "Barry" that would be the best thing to do with it.

In sports as in Real Estate the competitiveness of it makes people do things that maybe they would not otherwise do in an effort to get one up on the others.

Take a Real Estate agent who edits the photos on a property in an effort to make it look way better than it is, Or adds a statement like (needs a little TLC) when it really should be (needs a demo) so they can get people to come and see it. No this isn't quite as bad as steroids but it is none the less not what it appears to be, As long as people are willing to pay money and support there state or local teams we will always have those who try to be one up on the others any way they can. The same goes for Real Estate and any other competitive business. (IMHO)

Hmm, cheating, how to deal with it. When a kid cheats in school do we take that test paper and post it on the wall with the good grade received from cheating? No. It just doesn't count. Rules were broken.

I am all for expecting good character and not rewarding bad.

Could he have hit the ball without? No, because he thought he needed drugs. Can't do it if you can't think it.

Just my 2 cents.

Shelly, yes. Banish with capital B. Or yet, just give it back to him, let him know it means nothing to anyone else.

Mike, good comment.  But Hank isn't dead yet.  

Whoops lol.

Asterick*.

Vance

I actually had to check myself, Mike!  I recalled he recorded a message to Bonds and it was played at his record-breaking game.  But thought, Hey! I could have missed his obit!   I thought it was very telling that neither Aaron nor the commish were present for that game.  

Totally lost, not much into sports(ack, will I be banished now?)

But it is always so much fun to read all of your thoughts.*wink*

Yah but Vanessa this is about real estate! And shooting straight. With an exclamation point!  :)

Never banished, Nessa!

I don't really want to turn this into a sports commentary, but relate this to the incident with the Pats recently - caught recording other team's signals.  Many of us say "it's part of the game, gotta get the edge."

Is the steroids issue any different than that?  Is any cheating different that - whether it be sports, RE or life?  We can't have a double standard - punish one and not the other.

Asterisk all the way!

I like Mike's suggestion, keep it on display in the front room.  That is until all the evidence is in.  Isn't the drug issue still in court?  We are still supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.

But in RE we are looked at the same way, guilty.  You have to prove you are honest and trustworthy to your clients.  And the only way to do that is to take the highroad!  

Jana, I didn't know the details, so if we don't know yet, let's just hang on. No hangin for now.

Beez, the only thing I find questionable about the Pats thing is that those signals are being sent from the sidelines to the field.  Out there for all to see anyway.  This is what I don't get.  

If you signal from your sideline that your seller will accept, say $350K on a $450K house, and I intercept that signal, am I wrong for taking advantage of that on behalf of my Buyer?  You put it out there.....

I'm with you on it Cathy.  Playing devil's advocate...if they are going to punish Pete Rose for gambling, the Pats for taping signals, then...