JACK'S SMACK: The dirty side of sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Just when we thought this steroid era might be in check, two more baseball players have been busted in the past week for illegal drug use.

I bring this up because cheating by athletes still seems to be everywhere.

Tamba Hali of the Chiefs made headlines earlier this week when he was suspended by the NFL.

It's a confusing case where Hali and the Chiefs reportedly tried to cover up an earlier arrest for allegedly smoking weed.

It doesn't seem that serious, but it's still illegal. It's still cheating.

And it's going to cost the 28-year-old linebacker more than $1.3 million dollars in fines –- a heavy penalty for a stupid mistake.

Now comes the news that 39-year-old Oakland A's pitcher Bartolo Colon has been suspended for 50 games.

How smart can this guy be?

He received stem-cell treatments for a serious elbow injury, but where he screwed up was in using a trainer that had been banned from major league clubhouses more than a decade ago.

You talk about a red flag.

Baseball police couldn't wait to test this guy for high levels of testosterone, and they caught him flat-out cheating.

This comes after Melky Cabrera ruined his career for trying the same stuff and getting caught.

It's not just these big dollar, pro-ball players. Look what happened at the Olympics -- eight athletes were caught cheating and were expelled in London.

So, are sports really this dirty? Sure they are. Don't kid yourself.

Cheaters are everywhere, living on the edge. Some will be caught, but most of them won't be.

It's a sad price we pay for creating an environment where these athletes are coddled to the point they really do feel they're bullet proof.

That’s Jack’s Smack.