THE WRITING ON (AND OFF) THE WALL COMMENTARY: AN INDELIBLE IMPRESSION.

Byline: Cecil Conley Staff Writer

The Tasmanian Devil tattoo on my left arm was a good and completely sober idea 12 years ago, but the time has come for a change because the ``Taz'' has seen better days.

Or maybe that's just my arm.

My first thought was to cover it with a tattoo of Lance Armstrong, a permanent tribute to the man who overcame cancer and on Sunday became the first six-time champion of the Tour de France. You have to admire a guy who is strong enough to be Sheryl Crow's boyfriend.

My wife is an Armstrong fan, so I figured she would not have a problem with the tattoo idea. I would have the tattoo, and she would have the bicycle that bears Armstrong's name and the logo of the U.S. Postal Service cycling team. The bike is yellow, the same color of the jersey Armstrong wore when he crossed the finish line as leader of the Tour.

But when I mentioned my idea to her, you would have thought I had just stuck a stick in her spokes.

``A dude getting a tattoo of another dude that's gross. Dudes don't do that,'' she said. ``I'm not going to roll over in the middle of the night and have to look at Lance.''

She's worried about seeing a tattoo in the dark? I'm not saying she's visually challenged, but my wife has glasses, contacts and a husband who will never be mistaken for Ron Burgundy.

How about an ``Anchorman'' tattoo? The problem is I would have that tattoo on my arm for the rest of my life, and motion pictures today have a shelf life shorter than the closing credits.

There would be no such concern with an Armstrong tattoo. His legacy is secure. Or so we would like to think. But in this day, there always is the possibility that he could be found guilty of doping. And I would be the dope with a tattoo of a cheater on his arm.

That is not a knock on Armstrong as much as it is on the world of sports. You would have thought the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative was competing in the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials given how often it was mentioned by media covering the event.

Suspicions of steroid use are swirling around Marion Jones, the Thousand Oaks High product, Barry Bonds and other athletes linked to BALCO founder Victor Conte and his associates.

Was it a coincidence that Bonds set the single-season record for home runs in the same year he began working out with personal trainer Greg Anderson, one of four men indicted in the BALCO scandal? Bonds hit 73 in 2001. Before that, he had never hit more than 49.

Along came Anderson three years ago, and Bonds began depositing balls in San Francisco Bay with record-setting regularity. I don't know about you, but that seems a little fishy to me.

Armstrong is not immune to such suspicions. He has ties to a sports doctor who has been accused of prescribing and administering banned substances. A book recently released in France quotes a former Armstrong aide as saying she helped him get rid of used syringes.

Why are Bonds and Jones facing intense scrutiny while Armstrong is hailed as an American hero?

The last time I checked, Bonds and Jones have not been diagnosed with cancer. They have not lied helplessly in a hospital bed and been given almost no chance of surviving. They have not started a foundation to raise funds for cancer research. The yellow wristbands you see people wearing around town are a testament to how Armstrong's message has reached the masses.

Armstrong is a hero because he battled cancer and lived to tell about it. He has inspired cancer patients, fellow survivors and those whose lives have been affected by the deadly disease.

I often have wondered how I would react to the news if Armstrong were found guilty of cheating. It's sad to say I would not be all that surprised given the get-ahead-at-any-cost world in which we live. I would be disappointed, though, because he did not need to win a single Tour de France, much less six, to prove that he has what it takes to become a champion.

Armstrong did that the moment he left the hospital. And I don't need a tattoo of him to admire that.