Last week, the Mitchell Report plunged a dagger into the heart of every baseball fan when it listed which Major Leaguers have used steroids.

The report, commissioned by Major League Baseball’s commissioner Bud Selig and released by the committee lead by former Senate Majority leader (and current minor-share interest holder in the Boston Red Sox) George Mitchell, named more than 70 current and former baseball players believed to have taken steroids at some point in their playing career.

While the sports world remains fixated on the two most-shocking names on the list, pitching greats Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, everyone named in the report visited San Diego at some point; players from storied franchises including Los Angeles, New York and Baltimore, have matched up with our Padres. Some have even worn a Padres uniform.

Former Padres third baseman, Ken Caminiti, whose history with steroids is documented by his own admission and a cover-story on Sports Illustrated, leads the list of former Padres named in the report – but other names, including that of a current player, raise eyebrows.

Former All-Star first baseman and current Padres batting coach Wally Joyner is on the list. Joyner’s name was first linked to steroids in a November 2005 article titled “Who Knew?” in ESPN The Magazine. According to the article, Joyner asked teammate Ken Caminiti how to get steroids, and Caminiti obliged.

Along with Caminiti, Joyner was a member of the 1998 Padres World Series team and remains a popular local figure. Ace pitcher Kevin Brown is another player from the ’98 Padres World Series team also named in the Mitchell report.

In 2006, the Padres called up a big-hitting farmhand, outfielder Jack Cust, who last year tore up American League pitching for the Oakland A’s. His name is also on the list.

Former Padres All-Stars Gary Sheffield (92-93), Benito Santiago (86-92), Rondell White (1993), and Gary Matthews, Jr. (1999) are also implicated, either through the Mitchell report or through other, independent investigations, as are former pitchers Ron Villone (95-96), Matt Herges (2003) and Ismael Valdez (2004).

Other former Padres named in the report are catcher Gary Bennett (2003) and infielder Adam Riggs (2001).

Though the Mitchell Report is thorough, few believe it is close to comprehensive. As sure as the sun will rise, you can be just as certain there are more current players who are “juicing.” Only a serious day of reckoning can clean up America’s pastime and rid it from performance-enhancing drugs.

Despite the fact the MLB Players Association has vowed to vigorously defend its players from the accusations levied by the report, however, the future for the Boys of Summer looks awfully bleak.

The San Diego Hoops have cancelled the 2008 Hillcrest Classic, an annual basketball tournament held during the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend in January.

Though the tournament is popular, this year it conflicts with a new event sponsored by the National Gay Basketball Association (NGBA).

The NGBA is hosting a large tournament in Los Angeles during the holiday weekend, and has made a concerted effort to advertise and recruit teams. Unable, or more likely unwilling, to compete for attention, San Diego’s tournament organizers have graciously decided to “join them” instead of to try “beat them.”

According to the league’s Web site (www.sdhoops.net), the board of directors has decided to send two teams to the tournament and the league will pay the teams’ entry fees, while the players will take care of their own transportation and lodging.

What about next year?

The Hoops Board has said that it will evaluate the response to the Los Angeles tournament and decide later to either hold an “off-season” tournament here in the summer, or commit to holding the Hillcrest Classic in 2009, regardless of any other scheduling conflicts.