barrybonds_baseball

'Control' Issues Sink Barry Bonds Reality Series

2006-06-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

ESPN has officially canceled its Barry Bonds reality series.
"Bonds on Bonds" premiered in March to middling ratings and criticism that ESPN had compromised its editorial independence by working with Bonds at the same time it was covering his attempt to break Babe Ruth’s career home run mark.
The show last aired on May 30, and the next episode was scheduled to offer a behind-the-scenes look at Bonds as he struggled to hit his 715th home run.
ESPN issued a brief statement on Friday saying "Bonds representatives wanted creative control for the final episode, which Tollin/Robbins Prods. and ESPN have been unwilling to give throughout the project."
A spokesperson for ESPN also stated the show would not air in reruns, and would not return, even if Bonds broke Hank Aaron's career home run record.
The 41-year-old Bonds, who has seven homers this year, is now 40 shy of Hank Aaron for the all-time lead.
A seven-time National League MVP and 13-time All-Star, Bonds rewrote the record books in 2001 by hitting 73 home runs, but much of the recent focus has been on the slugger's potential link to performance-enhancing drugs.
According to a published report by the San Francisco Chronicle in December of 2004, Bonds had told a federal grand jury he admitted to using a clear substance and cream provided to him from his trainer, but said he didn't know they were steroids. Bonds testified before the grand jury in December 2003, and according to the report, said that the substances were provided by his personal strength trainer, Greg Anderson.
The recent book "Game of Shadows" alleges that Anderson supplied Bonds with steroids on multiple occasions.
Victor Conte, the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, who had a role in providing several athletes, including Bonds, with undetectable banned drugs, was sentenced last October to four months in prison and four months' home confinement in a plea deal.
Anderson was given a three-month jail term and another three months in home confinement, and has reportedly been subpoenaed to testify before the federal grand jury investigating whether Bonds committed perjury.

Bonds' 715th HR heard by a few in S.F.

2006-05-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

The broadcast went dead at the worst of all moments, and thousands of Bay Area fans listening on radio missed Barry Bonds' 715th homer. They could not hear the radio account Sunday because the microphone of play-by-play announcer Dave Fleming stopped working at precisely the wrong time.
Fleming had begun the call at the beginning of Bonds' fourth-inning at-bat before his hand-held mike quit during the broadcast on the Giants' flagship station, KNBR.
"Three-and-two. Finley runs. The payoff pitch, a swing and a drive to deep cen …" that's all Northern California listeners got when Bonds passed Babe Ruth to move into second place on the career homers list.
"We apologize to the listeners on the radio," Giants executive vice president Larry Baer said. "We're as surprised as any of the fans listening. We have no idea what happened. Normally you have two calls of record television and radio. Duane Kuiper made a great call on FOX Sports Net and that will be the call of record, the call that goes to the Hall of Fame."
The listeners were left with only the loud reaction of the crowd. Fleming's partner, Greg Papa, immediately grabbed another headset and finished the call a short time later apologizing for the technical problem.
Fleming had no idea initially he'd gone off the air.
"I'm disappointed," Fleming said. "What can I do about it now? I made the call. It just didn't go over the air."

The Sports Column - Bonds

2006-05-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

By Kevin Rreavey
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

It’s been a good, bad and ugly kind of week for me.

I hit the trifecta at Pimlico--that’s good.

My Little League kids went 0-3 with Coach Reavy in attendance--that’s bad.

And Wednesday night, upon hearing of the reality demise of my “dawg,” Elliot Yamin, I was both sad to hear the news and disappointed in the realization that I had just watched 12 straight episodes of American Idol, spanning two months--that’s...well, you get the point.

Fortunately for me, however, the sports world is never without its good, bad and ugly moments also.

Here are the high (and low)lights of the week that’s passed.

The Good:

Barry Bonds’ 714th homerun ball--for Tyler Snyder, the guy who caught it. Surely the eBay--er, Bay Area-- faithful are proud of their slugger, and might even open up their checkbooks to make a bid for the historic blast. But, to me, nothing tells the story more beautifully than these four words uttered by Tyler, the soon-to-be rich Athletics fan (thanks to Bonds), after the game: “I hate that guy.”

The NBA playoffs. While the highlight of my basketball season is admittedly the NBA draft, I can’t help but marvel at the fantastic series that have been played up to this point. It really has made me forget that the NHL is on strike. (Editor’s note: Kevin doesn’t receive the OLN channel.)

After dropping five straight, the Phillies finally won.

The Bad:

After dropping five straight, the Phillies finally won.

Cubs catcher, Michael Barrett, punched AJ Pierzynski after a collision at home plate. This is a bad thing only because I think Barrett may have hurt his hand when delivering the blow.

NBC started airing episodes of the “National Heads-Up Poker Championship.” This might be a good thing had ESPN not decided to air roughly 300 episodes of World Series of Poker tournaments on a constant loop on ESPN channels 1thru 6. This would be cool if the World Poker Tour and Celebrity Poker Who Gives a Crap weren’t already force-feeding its addictive felt-and-clay-chip abundant allure down my throat. Instead, it’s overkill. Not because I hate watching poker shows on TV, but because I watch all of them. And I need my life back.

The Ugly:

Just one thing...
Kobe’s attire on "Inside the NBA" last Wednesday. Because nothing says street cred like a powder-blue sweater vest.

--
That will do it for this week’s edition of The Sports Column. If I can avoid the TiVo-limit hold ‘em barrage this week, I’ll try to keep an eye out for the top stories for next time.
Until then, enjoy the news as it happens.

Bonds, Giants welcome Cards

2006-05-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

The St. Louis Cardinals will try to extend their five-game winning streak tonight when they continue their road trip with three games against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
St. Louis won the last two games of a three-game set against the New York Mets, then posted three wins in a row at Kansas City to open the nine-game road swing.
On Sunday, Albert Pujols hit his major league-leading 22nd home run and Jim Edmonds hit a two-run single to highlight a five-run seventh inning in a 10-3 triumph at Kauffman Stadium.
Chris Duncan and Hector Luna each homered for the Cardinals, while winning pitcher Jeff Suppan allowed two runs on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts through six innings.
St. Louis, which is four games ahead of Cincinnati for the lead in the NL Central division, is 11-8 as the visitor this season. It will send veteran lefty Mark Mulder to the mound in Monday's series opener.
Mulder has won his last three starts and is 5-1 on the season with a 3.69 earned run average. In his last start on May 17 against the New York Mets, Mulder pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings and gave up four hits and two walks.
In eight career starts against Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants, Mulder is 6-2 with a 2.98 ERA over 54 1/3 innings. He has allowed three of Bonds' 714 home runs in 14 chances.
San Francisco, meanwhile, just completed a six-game road trip with a 5-1 mark and will now open a six-game homestand versus St. Louis and Colorado.
Bonds tied Babe Ruth for second on the all-time home run list with his 714th career blast on Saturday, then went 2-for-3 with a run scored in Sunday's 6-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
Matt Cain threw a one-hit shutout in the finale of the three-game interleague series at McAfee Coliseum and fanned five batters with three walks. Cain gave up a hit in the third inning to Jay Payton.
Jamey Wright will get his chance for the Giants in Monday's series opener and has won two straight starts after losing three consecutive outings. In his last appearance on May 16 versus Houston, Wright gave up three runs and six hits over seven innings.
In 14 career games against the Cardinals, Wright owns a 3-7 record with a 5.96 earned run average in 77 innings.
Monday's game between St. Louis and San Francisco is the first meeting of the 2006 season. The Cardinals went 4-2 last season after the clubs split the 2004 season series at 3-3.

No HR, but Bonds snaps 0-for-15 skid - MLB

2006-05-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

Then the San Francisco slugger made good on that statement, lining an RBI double to right in the third inning of the Giants' 10-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Monday night for his first hit in six games.
Yet Bonds' streak without a home run reached seven games and he remained stuck at 713 in the tiny section of Texas listing 713 as its area code. He remained one homer shy of tying Babe Ruth for second place on the career list.
Bonds' teammate, Pedro Feliz hit his fourth career grand slam and Randy Winn led off the game with his fourth homer of the year.
Bonds, 41, hasn't homered since a 450-foot shot to right May 7 at Philadelphia. He ended an 0-for-15 funk with the double - his first hit since a seventh-inning single last Tuesday night against Cubs left-hander Scott Eyre. Bonds went 1-for-18 during the Giants' last homestand.

Phillies beat Giants, win seventh straight

2006-05-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

Chase Utley homered and drove in two runs, sending the Philadelphia Phillies to their seventh straight victory with a 4-1 win over struggling Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants.
Ryan Madson settled down after a shaky start, pitching out of trouble to win his second consecutive start.
Booed all night by Phil-lies fans for the second game in a row, Bonds went 1 for 3 with a walk. He remains stuck at 712 homers, two behind Babe Ruth for second place on baseball's career list.
Bonds has not homered since Tuesday against San Diego. He snapped an 0-for-9 skid with a wind-blown popup that dropped between three fielders for a hit in the eighth inning.
Steve Finley then hit a sharp grounder toward first that struck Bonds on the right foot for an automatic out. Bonds walked off the field and tossed his helmet toward the dugout from the third-base line.

S.F. Giants' head trainer reportedly to testify in Bonds perjury probe

2006-05-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO The San Francisco Giants' head athletic trainer has reportedly been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury in the Barry Bonds perjury investigation.The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Stan Conte is scheduled to appear before the grand jury on April 27th.
Conte has also reportedly been ordered to turn over the team's training records on Bonds.
The grand jury is trying to determine whether Bonds lied in connection with the BALCO steroids case.
Stan Conte is not related to convicted BALCO steroid dealer Victor Conte.

Selig: MLB Not Planning Bonds Celebration

2006-04-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

Barry Bonds will have to wait until he passes Hank Aaron before baseball throws a party for him.
Major League Baseball is not planning any celebration for Bonds if and when he tops Babe Ruth's mark of 714 home runs, commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday.
"Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record," Selig said. "We don't celebrate anybody the second or third time in."
Bonds has been the subject of steroids speculation for several seasons. The recent book "Game of Shadows" detailed allegations against him, and a federal grand jury is investigating whether he committed perjury when he told another grand jury that he had never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.
Bonds hit his 711th homer Wednesday. His San Francisco Giants were off Thursday, and open a three-game series Friday night at home against Arizona.
Selig does not figure to be in San Francisco _ or in Milwaukee or Philadelphia, where the Giants play next week _ as Bonds nears Ruth.
"We celebrate new records, that's what we do. We're being consistent," Selig said during the Associated Press Sports Editors annual meeting with league commissioners. "There's nothing to read into that."
Ruth is second on the career home run list, trailing Aaron's total of 755. When Aaron broke Ruth's record in 1974, commissioner Bowie Kuhn was not in attendance. Kuhn's absence rankled many, including Aaron.
Bonds has been hobbled by bad knees, and missed most of last season.
"He's had a remarkable career. Whatever happens, happens," Selig said. "We're going to let nature take its course. Commissioners don't sit around and say, 'I hope this guy breaks it or not.'"
Selig said he had read "Game of Shadows" but not seen "Bonds on Bonds," the ESPN reality show about the slugger's life.
Selig said the book was among several factors that prompted him to launch a baseball investigation into steroids, headed by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. There is no timetable for completing the probe.
Baseball's investigation, Selig said, is "not affected at all by the grand jury" looking into whether Bonds committed perjury.

Bonds fans root from lion's den

2006-04-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

Need a new hobby to set off that adrenaline rush? Cruising through the lion's den with three flank stakes taped to each side of your body not doing it for you? Meet Justin Burnes, a 23-year-old pharmaceutical deliveryman (honest, you can't make this stuff up) from Fresno.
"I had a battery thrown at me (Saturday) night," Burnes said, his No. 25 Barry Bonds jersey, Giants cap and silver medallion with the intertwined "SF" all standing out in the Dodger Stadium sun like the home runs his idol used to hit. "They call me `loser' or `cheater.' But I just say, `Yeah, go Barry."`
They are out there, these brave souls who apparently like mixing gas with fire. Souls such as Kelsey Webber, a Sacramento native attending college in Santa Barbara, who apparently, to judge by his wardrobe Sunday, hasn't learned much about crowd control.
"We just wanted to see what we could to do show some love," said Webber, his T-shirt sporting a full-sized, black-and-orange "B" while persons "O" "N" "D" and "S" stood to his left. "Everybody's totally hating on him."
Well, not everybody.
Even here, in this place where card-carrying members take pride in being the most anti of the anti-Bonds faction, Barry Bonds is not 100 percent disliked. His supporters were scattered in clumps - safety in numbers, remember - around the bleachers and down the left- and right-field lines, some decked out like Burnes and Webber, others slightly disguised. Armando De La Cruz Jr., 13, for instance, wore an authentic Bonds jersey, too, but it was a No. 24, and said "Pirates" across the front.

Bigotry of low expectations of Barry bonds

2006-04-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

White liberals like Joan Walsh almost make a black man cry. Like many of her ilk, she excuses Bonds' misanthropy, misogyny and selfishness because he is a black man. So much like the eugenics folks of the 19th century, Walsh sees a direct link between personality traits and skin color? I hate quoting G.W. Bush but he is spot on when he says that liberals perpetuate a soft bigotry of low expectations when they assume blacks cannot achieve and be good citizens simply because they are helplessly black.
The most egregious offense is when she puts Bonds in the same sentence with Aaron, Mays and Flood, men who directly faced racism when they started playing in the 1950's and did so with class, dignity and grace. Moreover, Aaron, in his post playing career as an advocate for minority participation in management has stood for someTHING. And Flood stood for something also, facilitating the free agency that has made Barry millions. While these men, along with Ali and Bill Russell, stood for something, Bonds only stands for someone - himself. I suppose Walsh is the type who puts Al Sharpton in the same sentence with MLK, Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglass and Harriett Tubman.
Walsh also ignores the fact that back in 1998, McGwire had a strained relationship with the press, as he held them at arm's length. McGwire only warmed up when Sammy Sosa joined the chase after hitting 20 homers in the month of June. Had Sosa not come along to spice things up with his enthusiasm and unbridled joy, the race would not have gotten quite as much attention.

S.F. Giants: Team banking on veterans staying healthy and Barry Bonds staying focused

2006-04-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

With Opening Day around the corner, The Chronicle's Henry Schulman podcasts his assessment of the 2006 San Francisco Giants, whose fortunes depend on keeping an aging lineup as healthy as possible.
For example, Henry tells Chronicle sports editor Glenn Schwarz that 41-year-old outfielder Steve Finley played like a 31-year-old during the spring, but wonders how old he will look in the fall.
And Henry talks about the biggest question facing the Giants going into the season - how will embattled superstar Barry Bonds odds be affected by Major League Baseball's new investigation into alleged steroid use?