Sammy Sosa

On paper, Rafael Palmeiro is a sure-fire Hall of Famer. Unfortunately, in the real world he is not. He is the poster boy for the steroid era, and he in turn sullied the game the same way others like Rose and the Black Sox did.

Despite vehemently denying the use of steroids, he failed a steroid test, was named by Jose Canseco as a user and he was also named in the Mitchell Report. The amount of evidence against him is staggering, and because of that evidence, Palmeiro must be kept out of the Hall of Fame.

Cheating, betting, and scandals have been a part of sports ever since the beginning, whether it's to gain a competitive advantage over an opponent, rake in some extra cash, or a temptation that was just too hard to resist.

The only thing worse than all of those things, though, is lying about it. Sooner or later the truth will come out, and when it does, get ready.

These 10 sports figures lied to millions of fans, and are worthy of being named the top 10 liars in sports history.

The '90s were an interesting time for baseball. We saw the first Canadian world champion and a strike that devastated the game.

We saw the reemergence of the Evil Empire and one of the classiest men in baseball break the consecutive games started streak, and we saw a home run chase that made baseball America's pastime once again.

This was all fueled by the players themselves. I made this list based on many factors including stats, accolades, impact on the game, and my own opinion, among other things.

When the player's strike of 1994-95 ended, Major League Baseball began its 120th season of play. In the first 119 years, 50 home runs was a nearly unreachable plateau, reserved for the game's true elite: It had been done only 18 times, by 11 players. Cecil Fielder had last reached the lofty mark, in 1990. Before him, no player had smashed 50 since George Foster in 1977.

He just won't seem to go away.

Sammy Sosa said in an interview with Chicago Magazine his number should be retired in the Chicago Cubs organization.

"That number should be untouchable because of the things that I did for that organization," Sosa said. "That right there shows me that they don't care about me, and they don't want to have a good relationship with me."

The Steroid Era has officially left its mark in professional sports while tarnishing the reputation of America's pastime.

With the recent indictment of legendary hurler Roger Clemens, the next generation will be very confused about which players to look up to.

Players like Roger Clemens have forced parents to lie to their Little Leaguers and young baseball stars by telling them their favorite players are stand-up citizens.

The Vampire Baseball Players Union today released a scathing report about the rash of broken bats taking place at MLB games all across the country. It has reached near epidemic proportions in recent years, with multiple bats per game shattering into dangerous shards of wood.

Vampire Union president Randy Johnson spoke out against the troublesome bats.

I am a Chicago-area native and have been a fan of all things Chicago for years.  I was born in 1983, the year before the Bears won the Super Bowl.  While I do not remember the game as I was too young, I am just happy I was alive for the win.

In Chicago there are legacies that simply cannot be touched by any other team or city, when you put all those things together you get a city known for sports excellence and I'll tell you why.

1.  Chicago Bears

Listed below, are the points and counterpoints about if we should be as outraged about amphetamines as steroids:

Point: Yes, amphetamines are cheating just like steroids.

Counterpoint: No, steroids enhance performance while amphetamines enable performance. One makes you better while the other gets you on the field to play baseball.

P: Amphetamines do more than just get you on the field.

I love baseball movies.

Field of Dreams still makes me cry (don't laugh—I know you cry when Ray Kinsella has that catch with his dad). Bull Durham is that perfect Saturday afternoon dose of rivalry and sweetness. Then there are the historical dramas like Eight Men Out.

So, when the American Film Institute recently released its selections for this year's top films, and a baseball movie called Sugar was on the list, I went right to my computer and shot it to the top of my Netflix queue.