Barry Bonds did the near-impossible in HRs

San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds accomplished what most thought was impossible for many years to come:

He broke Mark McGwire's home-run record.

Bonds hit 73 homers to outdo the St. Louis Cardinals slugger's 70 home runs hit just three years ago in 1998.

The hype was there the day that Bonds smacked No. 71, but it wasn't nearly as exciting as when McGwire set his record three short years ago.

McGwire, after all, had broken the record of 61 homers set by the Yankees' Roger Maris in 1961.

It shows that in the sports world records become more hallowed the longer they stand, but that isn't to underestimate the Giants slugger's accomplishment.

Now there's a new record to be broken.