Why don't NFL players get asterisks?

The topic was the Mitchell report and illegal drug use in Major League Baseball. The question came on ESPN radio Friday morning from Sean Salisbury to Peter Gammons:

Should fans feel betrayed by the players mentioned in the report? Part of Gammons' answer -- do NFL fans feel betrayed by Shawne Merriman?

"It's a good point," conceded Salisbury. Yes, it is. Let's explore.

Merriman, the San Diego chargers linebacker, tested positive for steroids last season. The punishment for his crime? A four-game suspension. Merriman's team went 14-2 in the 2006 regular season. No games were forfeited, no league official took away Merriman's tackles and sacks. The Chargers went on to the playoffs. Merriman received Pro Bowl honors.

This season, New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison received a four-game suspension from the NFL for violating the substance abuse policy. Harrison played on New England's 2003 and 2004 Super Bowl winning clubs (and could be part of another this year). No one's talking about taking away those titles or stripping Harrison of his interceptions.

George Mitchell's investigation spent 20 months and $20 million and came up with information on 89 baseball players. Imagine if a similar investigation was conducted in the NFL with authorities taking months to track down shipments and canceled checks, talking with trainers, weightlifting coaches, and clubhouse assistants. I bet the results wouldn't be pretty.

But, of course, a similar investigation is never going to happen.

Major League Baseball airs some dirty laundry and gets pilloried. The NFL doles out information on a need-to-know basis and gets praised. Yes, the NFL has had steroids testing in place far longer than baseball but both programs have obvious loopholes (no blood testing in either league) and players know how to avoid detection.

Here's Al Harris of the Green Bay Packers on drug use in the NFL.

"There's some marquee guys out there. I guess it's like baseball. It's really not a secret; guys around the league know who's doing what. But maybe the organization doesn't know or coaches or media. But we know. There's some guys out there."

Harris told PackerNews.com this week he's heard stories of players spending up to $200,000 to doctors or chemists for designer steroids and HGH.

When Major League Baseball went before Congress in 2005, it generated a packed house and front-page headlines. When the NFL went before the same committee six weeks later, former player Steve Courson testified that he believed steroid abuse contributed to a serious heart condition.

Exactly one congressman was present in the room to hear the story.

Beyond the hypocrisy and the double standards, here's the real lesson of the Mitchell report. "You can't blindly believe Mitchell unless you also conclude that the link between steroids and performance is a wet noodle," writes Orange County Register columnist Mark Whicker.

It's true. As Whicker points out in detail, many of the players cited in the report were far less effective after taking illegal substances. "Steroids," says agent Scott Boras, "are a career ender."

A report that busted Gary Bennett and Cody McKay but not Sammy Sosa has generated all sorts of comments and criticisms, but no truer words were spoken than the ones by Professor Richard McClaren at the news conference on Thursday.

"Those who would enable athletes to cheat are constantly devising new substances which are difficult to detect."

And so it will always be. Like a dog chasing its tail, one will never catch up with the other.

Someone better tell that to the baseball establishment. Otherwise, Hall of Fame ceremonies at Cooperstown could go on permanent hiatus.