Why?

It's a simple question, really, and one with more potential answers than Shawn Kemp illegitimate children.

"Why?" was a question on my philosophy final exam in college. While my classmates were going through ink like Prince Fielder goes through food at a buffet, I simply wrote "Why not?"

It wasn't because I had a master stroke of genius — I just wanted to get out of there so I could see a Cleveland Indians game.

It turns out "why not" was the right answer. It's Occam's razor at its best: simple is good.

But some questions of why are not that simple to explain. Some questions have no easy answers, especially when it comes to sports.

Like ...

• Why does the NBA Eastern Conference stink with a capital P-U?

The Cleveland Cavs are the best the East has to offer? It wasn't nearly good enough.

LeBron James may be the best all-around player in the league, but one player a championship team doesn't make.

San Antonio is a championship team.

It can be argued that the Cavs would only be the fifth or sixth best team in the West. It's only going to get worse with the two best rookies in the draft, Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, heading west.

• Why did it take George Foreman 33 years to claim he was drugged before the Rumble in the Jungle?

Maybe he's been sniffing too many fumes from his grills.

• Why do we still listen to T.O.? Or Keyshawn Johnson for that matter. Now we will have to hear Johnson — ESPN hired him as an analyst.

• Why does the NFL make team apparel pink for women?

The last time I checked, the Steelers wore black and gold — not black, gold and pink.

• Why will anyone be surprised when the disaster train called Barry Bonds pulls into the station.

The rumbling has already begun and Bud Selig has no idea how to handle it.

Should Barry be an all-star, or should he get snubbed. That decision will go a long way in determining just how King Bud and baseball treats Bonds when he gets to within one home run of breakingHank Aaron's record.

The bigger issue is not Bonds, but what he represents: the dirty "S" word that everyone in baseball has tried to avoid like a Roger Clemens fastball to the ol' noggin.

But that issue isn't going anywhere, so ...

• Why not just call everyone out who has used and get it over with.

Bonds did. Mark McGwire did. Jason Giambi might get suspended because he all but admitted he did. Shouldn't baseball encourage guys to come out and say, "Sure, I stuck more needles in my body than Jim Morrison. Sorry."

Then we can all move on already.

• If the Pirates are so bad, why do people still go to the games?

Do you really need to ask?

Why not? It's still baseball.