(the man on the left has absolutely nothing to do with this story. sorry.)

With such worthy candidates to choose from as Bud Selig, Ryan Howard, Shea Hillenbrand and Jimmy Leyland, Newsday’s Ken Davidoff instead opts for the Sultan Of Surly’s pal and strength guru, Greg Anderson.

I have no idea why Anderson has chosen jail time over ratting out his buddy Barry Bonds to the feds. But bless Bonds’ trainer for doing so. His surprising stubbornness has thwarted those who hoped to attain further glory by making Bonds go away. No such luck.

If Anderson had shared his knowledge of Bonds’ alleged (wink, wink) steroid usage, the government would’ve triumphed in its witch hunt of Bonds and charged the slugger with perjury. Instead, the IRS, which has led this investigation, is left to spin its wheels.

If only Anderson had cooperated, Selig could’ve begun to distance himself from the potential all-time home run champion. Now Selig might be forced to take part in the most fraudulent coronation since George W. Bush became our president.

We in the media, for that matter, will be forced to cover Bonds’ pursuit of Hank Aaron, and we deserve that for our complicity in the steroid era.

There will be karmic justice for Bonds, I’m sure. Perhaps he won’t prove physically capable of hitting the 22 homers he needs to pass Aaron. At the very least, he will be known more for his cheating than his greatness. So don’t worry. Ultimately, he won’t be getting away with anything.

But neither will the rest of us. Thanks to Anderson. Never has silence sounded so sweet.

The Lamentable Left-Fielder ranks highly on Straight Bangin’s list of “People We Saw Too Much Of In 2006” at , though the pundit saves truly harsh criticism for “Grey’s Anatomy.”

ABC promotes this show all…the…time, which wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t mean always hearing that one song about saving a life and playing the piano like some emo-rock dipshit. Sadly, that is what the constant pimping of Grey’s Anatomy means, and the world is worse off for it.