Proud to be your Bud.

That's the sentiment Hank Aaron must be feeling from his longtime friend, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig.

Selig is the former owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, while Aaron, who played as a member of the Milwaukee Braves from 1954-65, played his last two seasons with the Brewers (1975-76) under Selig.

The two have remained close friends over the years, but with Barry Bonds closing in on Aaron's all-time home-run record of 755, Selig has waffled on whether or not he will be in attendance if Bonds breaks the record.

I'm sure, in fairness to his friend, Selig does not want to attend, even with Bonds needing just two home runs to tie Aaron.

With all the accusations and a cloud of mystery about Bonds and the steroids issue, Selig might feel his friend's record is going to fall under suspect circumstances.

That's all well and good and certainly admirable.

However, as the commissioner of one of the bigger sports organizations in the world, Selig should be there.

I'll admit that Selig could fall back on the logistics of making the game. During a streak like Cal Ripken's consecutive games played, you knew when he would break Lou Gehrig's record. A 300-game winner? That can be determined, give or take a game each week.

But home runs? That's a tougher thing to determine. Bonds is two homers shy of the hallowed mark after going two weeks without a home run, then hitting two last Thursday.

He even missed three consecutive games and four out of seven road games last week.

Bonds has been a streaky hitter this year when it comes to home runs, so you can't expect Selig to show up when Bonds is still two home runs away, then keep showing up until he gets the record.

It's a little disturbing that Selig won't acknowledge that he would make the effort to attend.

When word spread last month that Selig would attend, he spoke out, saying he made no such comment and still wasn't sure what he would do.

What he would do? Hey, here's an idea. Try to show up. Make the effort.

As the top man in baseball, it's in your best interest to be in attendance and acknowledge the fact the record is broken.

Perhaps you're not a fan of Bonds, don't like what he's allegedly done to come close to the record or don't like his attitude.

The fact is, Bonds has not been convicted of any crime and I haven't heard anything from George Mitchell's committee that has given baseball a reason to suspend or punish Bonds.

Yes, there have been stories and they might be true, but baseball put itself in this mess several years ago by not taking the initiative.

Now, while the process to clean up the sport is improving, the sport is still going on. And Selig needs to be proactive in at least saying he will try to attend.

Maybe Aaron would be disappointed. But Aaron is not the commissioner. Selig is. Despite the notoriety, it could be a shining moment for baseball.

It would be a sad state if the commissioner is not there to acknowledge it.

Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.