So the much ballyhooed Mitchell Report landed on the world stage with a resounding thud heard ‘round the world, my apologies to Lexington. The question left on everyone’s mind: now what?

Now what, indeed. Barry Bonds has got to feel some small measure of satisfaction right now as it dawns on him that he is no longer front and center of the steroid debate… no worries Barry, that perjury charge will makes things difficult enough.

But the two — Bonds and the report — make for an interesting clash. For as long as anyone can remember, people have said that an asterisk needs to be placed next to Bonds' name in regards to any record the man breaks. And so we’re back to "now what?"

Do we put an asterisk next to Roger Clemens' name as well? If we do that, does baseball need to figure out some way to adjust the averages for every hitter Clemens, and any other pitcher caught juicing, faced for the entire period he took steroids and human growth hormone? For all we know, the names listed in the more than 400-page omnibus is just the tip of the iceberg. So, how many of the players that Clemens dealt his blistering fastball to were also on the juice? Do you put asterisks next to their names? And if so, for what?

As noted all over the place, only a handful of the names listed in the report were of superstar caliber athletes. By and large, the majority of those named were nobody you’ve ever heard of unless you are an ardent baseball fan. It’s not like these guys all of a sudden become monster ballplayers after having some trainer stick a syringe in their keister and pump them full of the stuff. Sorry, Jason Grimsley, even with the help of steroids and what not, you’re still just a journeymen pitcher trying to find a place to hang your cleats.

All in all, the Mitchell Report really seems only to have confirmed what everybody’s known for a very long time – athletes will do whatever it takes to give them an edge, real or perceived, legit or not. Anyone remember Wade Boggs and chicken? And lets not even get into spitballs, nail files, pine tar, and corked bats.

So, again, now what? Where do we go from here? Will the fans really care? Probably not, as 79.5 million fans showed up last year, another record setting year for MLB. You know who probably will care? The writers who vote these guys into the Hall of Fame; ask Mark McGwire how he’s faring in their eyes and where he's at in Cooperstown.

And of course, anyone in any level of power and authority will make the statements about the changes needed, the programs implemented and so on and so on. And you know what then? Players will find some other way to get that edge.

Face it folks, millions of dollars are on the line here and sports is in the business of entertainment. Those who entertain the most get the biggest contracts. And on it goes. And will continue to go until we, the fans, stop showing up for the spectacle. But it's like a train wreck isn't it? No matter how hard you try to avert your eyes, you just can't help but get in a glimpse. And so it goes, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.