Explosive New Book Details Barry Bonds Steroid Use

[Echo]

Book traces Bonds' steroids use to McGwire-Sosa HR race
- Ron Kroichick, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Barry Bonds began using steroids after the 1998 baseball season and came to rely on a wide variety of performance-enhancing drugs over the next several years, according to a book written by two Chronicle reporters and excerpted in this week's Sports Illustrated.

The excerpt offers the most comprehensive account of Bonds' experience with steroids, tracing his involvement to the off-season following the historic home-run race featuring Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

Bonds decided to use performance-enhancing substances after watching McGwire -- whom the excerpt says he suspected was "a juicer" -- gain national acclaim for eclipsing Roger Maris' storied single-season record.

Bonds has denied using performance-enhancing drugs.

The excerpt paints a sweeping picture of Bonds' thoughts about using steroids; the role of his weight trainer, Greg Anderson, in introducing him to specific drugs; how his choice of substances changed after he struggled with injuries and met Victor Conte, owner of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative; and Bonds' reaction as his once-supple body turned thick and muscle-bound.

Bonds is also portrayed as verbally abusive and profane to people around him, including Anderson, a childhood friend.

"Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports," co-authored by Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, is scheduled for publication March 27 by Gotham Books.

The excerpt says Fainaru-Wada and Williams based their narrative "on more than a thousand pages of documents and interviews with more than 200 people, many of whom we spoke to repeatedly."

From 2003 through 2005, Fainaru-Wada and Williams wrote nearly 100 stories for The Chronicle, lifting the BALCO investigation into an international story and eventually leading to congressional pressure that forced Major League Baseball to twice toughen its steroids policy.

The excerpt suggests Bonds was not truthful during his testimony before a federal grand jury in San Francisco on Dec. 4, 2003. Bonds testified that he used a clear substance and a cream supplied by BALCO, but he said he thought they were flaxseed oil and a rubbing balm for arthritis, The Chronicle previously reported. Bonds also flatly stated he never injected himself with drugs, according to a transcript of his testimony reviewed by the newspaper.

But the book excerpt in Sports Illustrated describes the way Bonds knowingly and meticulously used steroids -- including "the clear" and "the cream" provided by BALCO -- and even took control of his drug regimen when he disagreed with Anderson.

The excerpt also says Bonds "learned how to inject himself" and describes one conversation with Anderson in which Bonds says of starting another drug cycle, "I'll do it myself."

By pinpointing Bonds' initial use of steroids to the months following the 1998 season, the excerpt pushes back the date when Bonds is said to have first used steroids by more than a year. Former Bonds girlfriend Kimberly Bell said in her testimony before a federal grand jury in San Francisco in March 2005 that Bonds told her before the 2000 season that he had started using steroids, The Chronicle previously reported.

The excerpt spells out in vivid detail what attracted Bonds to performance-enhancing drugs: his intense jealousy of McGwire's 70-home run season and the national hero worship it created.

Bonds repeatedly made racially tinged remarks about McGwire to Bell, according to the excerpt, at one point saying of McGwire's chase of Maris, "They're just letting him do it because he's a white boy."

McGwire's historic season drove Bonds to wander into territory he had previously avoided, according to the excerpt.

"To Bonds it was a joke," one passage reads. "He had been around enough gyms to recognize that McGwire was a juicer. Bonds himself had never used anything more performance enhancing than a protein shake from the health-food store. But as the 1998 season unfolded, and as he watched Mark McGwire take over the game -- his game -- Barry Bonds decided that he, too, would begin using what he called 'the s -- .' "

Bonds' anger over the hoopla surrounding McGwire is clear throughout the book excerpt. His frustration spilled into the 1999 season, when Bonds walked onto the field before the Giants played McGwire and the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-game July series at Candlestick Park.

Bonds discovered the Giants had set up ropes around the batting cage to control the crowd that inevitably gathered to watch McGwire take batting practice. " 'What the f -- is this?' he demanded of the security guards. They told him the ropes were for McGwire. Furious, Bonds began knocking the ropes down. 'Not in my house!' he said."

Bonds did his homework before diving into the murky world of performance-enhancing drugs, according to the excerpt. He obtained medical advice from third parties before he began to use steroids, the excerpt says, and was told he shouldn't take them. Bonds, encouraged by Anderson, ignored the advice.

Anderson -- who later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and money laundering and served three months in prison -- originally decided which drugs Bonds would use, according to the excerpt.

Bonds began using Winstrol after the 1998 season, the excerpt says, with Anderson supplying the steroids and syringes and usually injecting Bonds in the buttocks.

Winstrol "eliminated the pain and fatigue of training," the excerpt says, allowing Bonds to relentlessly lift weights at World Gym in Burlingame in the months before the 1999 season.

Bonds added 15 pounds of solid muscle that off-season, going from 210 pounds to 225, and enjoyed standing in front of a mirror and laughing as he asked, "How do I look?"

When Bonds arrived at spring training in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 1999, the excerpt says, those around the Giants began calling him "the Incredible Hulk."

Team management wondered what exactly he had done to so strikingly reshape his body, but the excerpt suggests owner Peter Magowan and other Giants officials "had no interest in learning" whether he was using steroids.

"By pursuing the issue," the excerpt reads, "the Giants ran the risk of poisoning their relationship with their touchy superstar -- or, worse, of precipitating a drug scandal the year before the opening of their new ballpark, where Bonds was supposed to be the main gate attraction."

It was not the only time the Giants are said to have avoided confronting Bonds about evidence of his involvement with performance-enhancing drugs.

Soon after Pacific Bell Park opened in 2000, according to the excerpt, the Giants ordered unofficial background checks on Bonds' three personal trainers -- Anderson, stretching coach Harvey Shields and running coach Raymond Farris -- who regularly roamed the team's clubhouse so they could respond to any Bonds request.

Those background checks revealed that World Gym, now known as Diesel Fitness, "was known as a place to score steroids," the excerpt says, "and Anderson himself was rumored to be a dealer." But the Giants did not act on this information because they "didn't want to alienate Bonds on this issue, either," according to the excerpt.

As Bonds learned in 1999, Winstrol was not a magic potion. He sustained a torn triceps tendon in his left arm in April, requiring surgery and forcing him to miss seven weeks. Bonds and Anderson blamed steroids for the elbow injury, the excerpt says, "because they had made his arm muscles so large that the elbow tendon could not support them."

Bonds also complained of pain in his knee and back, leading Anderson to search for other drugs in 2000. Soon thereafter, Anderson put Bonds on Deca-Durabolin, the excerpt says, and later added human growth hormone (HGH). Bonds favored HGH, according to the excerpt, because it allowed him to stay muscle-bound and maintain his thirst to train while also feeling flexible. It also seemed to improve his eyesight.

Bonds mostly avoided injury in 2000, playing in 143 games and hitting what was then a career-high 49 home runs. But he wanted more, and the path unfolded before him after the 2000 season, when Anderson arranged for Bonds to meet Conte, the owner of BALCO.

Conte introduced Bonds to "the clear" and "the cream," the two then-undetectable designer steroids at the heart of the doping scandal that would also send Conte to prison; he is serving a four-month sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and money laundering.

According to the excerpt, doping calendars kept by Anderson also showed Bonds used testosterone; insulin, which had a significant anabolic effect when used with HGH; "Mexican beans," fast-acting steroids thought to quickly clear the user's system; trenbolone, a steroid "created to improve the muscle quality of beef cattle"; and Clomid, a female fertility drug that Conte believed helped his clients "recover their natural ability to produce testosterone."

Anderson apparently had easy access to drugs: The excerpt explains how he bought testosterone and growth hormone from AIDS patients who had obtained the drugs with a prescription.

Conte had Bonds take one blood and urine screening in November 2000, another in November 2001 and another before spring training in 2002 -- to make sure the drugs were working as planned and would not be detected on a steroid test, the excerpt says.

Bonds became a believer, especially as his power soared into new frontiers in 2001, the year he shattered McGwire's three-year-old record with a mind-bending 73 homers.

[Echo]

As the excerpt notes, the drugs helped Bonds become probably the best hitter in major-league history -- in his late 30s, an age when even the game's greatest sluggers and his own father, Bobby Bonds, saw their skills begin to erode.

As he began to work with Conte, Bonds leaned less on Anderson to make decisions about his drug regimen, the excerpt says.

"He could feel the drop of energy that came when he was cycling off the performance enhancers and was mindful of the distance of his home runs," another passage reads. "When his power started to decline he would tell Anderson to start him on another drug cycle, according to a source familiar with Bonds. Anderson kept the calendar that tracked his cycles. If he told Bonds he didn't need a cycle, Bonds would just tell him, 'F -- off, I'll do it myself.' "

Bonds' interest in this expanding menu of performance-enhancing substances continued in 2002, according to the doping calendars kept by Anderson and cited in the excerpt. Bonds was injected with HGH every other day during a three-week cycle, the excerpt says, and he used "the clear" and "the cream" between injections of HGH.

Conte's involvement may have increased Bonds' choices and boosted his power, but it backfired when federal officials raided BALCO's offices in Burlingame on Sept. 3, 2003. As The Chronicle previously reported and as the excerpt recounts, Conte cooperated with federal agents by implicating 27 elite athletes, including Bonds, as having received performance-enhancing drugs.

Conte said Bonds used the substances "on a regular basis," the excerpt states. Conte later denied naming Bonds to the government, but in their search for evidence at BALCO, the excerpt says, federal officials found file folders detailing the players' drug use, including a folder for Bonds.

The excerpt also offers a more explicit account of Bonds' relationship with Bell, a graphic artist whom he dated for nine years, and Anderson, the childhood friend who became Bonds' constant sidekick. They both learned the hazards of spending time around Bonds, the excerpt suggests.

"If Bonds told you to do something, you had to drop everything and do it," the excerpt reads. "If you were slow to comply, or if you tried to explain why it wasn't such a good idea, Bonds would get right up in your face, snarling, calling you a 'punk *****,' repeating what he wanted and saying, 'Did I (expletive) stutter?' You had to suck it up and take the abuse and the humiliation -- everyone did."

Bonds gave Bell money throughout their secret relationship, telling her it came from the sale of autographed memorabilia, as The Chronicle previously reported.

But the excerpt also paints Bonds as controlling, telling Bell, at various points, that she should spend the smaller sums of cash on a new big-screen television or a bed for her apartment. He also had the Beverly Hills Sports Council, his agents, send Bell a check in 1996, when Bonds decided Bell should have breast augmentation surgery, according to the excerpt.

In addition to telling the grand jury Bonds had confessed to her in 2000 about his steroid use, Bell also described the numerous changes in Bonds' physical appearance and behavior, the excerpt recounts. Those changes, consistent with steroid use, included his back breaking out in acne, his hair falling out and his head appearing to grow larger.

Bonds, the excerpt says, also "suffered sexual dysfunction, another common side effect of steroid use."

Bonds' lawyer Michael Rains has previously accused Bell of trying to extort money from him after their relationship ended.

Fainaru-Wada and Williams based the book on a wide range of material, Williams said.

"There are statements to federal investigators, sworn testimony, a secret recording of Greg Anderson and on-the-record interviews, and the gist of our story is all supported by material that we can point to the sources on," Williams said. "It's all going in one direction. There's not any equivocation on this that's compelling or believable. We also have relied on unnamed sources who have given us a story that's very consistent with what the public record says about Bonds and steroid use."

As for why the story matters, Williams said, "I think it's important for baseball to corral performance-enhancing drugs and not tolerate them, because the tolerance for those drugs will inevitably seep down into the colleges and the prep programs. We're already seeing it."

To read the excerpt online, go to www.si.com.

E-mail Ron Kroichick at rkroichick@sfchronicle.com.

URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/03/07/MNG90HJF4N22.DTL

[Maxt]

What the hell is this garbage doing here it is all a lie, didn't you know that? Have you ever thought about whether or not these writers are just trying to make money with a lot of re-cycled hearsay and bogus vendetta?

[Maxt]

OK, OK, I want to leave that first post up there to reflect my initial anger, but I want to deal with this controversy with a clearer head-so I took some anger management time to calm down. THIS WHOLE THING ABOUT BARRY BONDS HAS BEEN BREWING WITH THE BALCO SCANDAL and has been brewing for some time-sorry about the caps. I think it is not a good thing that on the one hand we may admire and respect women who are on this website who may be taking some kinds of drugs to advance their chances to win a competion in Fitness, Bodybuilding or Figure then at the same time punish Barry Bonds if he took some drugs to help him hit more home runs in 1999 and the few years afterwards when there were no rules against doing this. Now there are rules against drugs in Baseball and you can take what you have to the ballpark and do it naturally. I am a fan of Barry Bonds so I want to root for him to break not only Babe Ruth's Home Run record, but also the Home Run record of Henry Aaron-then get into the Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, New York with no asterisks... In conclusion, I couldn't complete my commentary on this situation without an observation that the quality of journalism and the conduct of these San Francisco Chronicle reporters is deplorable, so I really hate to see them glorified by seeing their words posted here, BUT I have to concede the spirit of free and intellegent speech reins here at Genex and FT Video. This subject may be not out of bounds-so OK, let's go with it even though I came here today in an attempt to escape the Barry Bonds controversy that is on ESPN's radio with Trey Wingo and Keith Oberman as well as the reporters that wrote this book themselves. I know that their truest motive for writing this book is to SELL, SELL, SELL and make a lot of money. It is capitalism, but it is not honest journalism.

[genex]

I haven't read it all yet but wanna check it out. Curious that I was just about to post a similar book review actually.

Here's the link to the book (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=ur2&tag=genex9combodybui&camp=1789&creative=9325&path=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2F 1592401996%2Fsr%3D8-1%2Fqid%3D1141767178%2Fref%3Dpd_bbs_1%3F%255Fencod ing%3DUTF8)

[Maxt]

I'll read the book. Well it is just out but although of course I haven't read it-not meaning to speak presumptuously, but I have heard these writers talk about their book non-stop on ESPN Radio all morning long. I feel for Barry right now. I wish everybody wiould just give him a chance to play baseball and hit home runs. I notice that you and Echo are from San Francisco whereas I am on the East Coast. Is that interesting as far as our feelings toward Barry Bonds? Are there no San Franciscans rooting for Barry because he plays for the home team, The San Francisco Giants? Does San Francisco love their Giants?

[genex]

I love our Giants!

[tighthat]

is barry bonds an fbb?

[Scott]

lol yeah cant wait for the nest ms o, bonds, mcgwire, sosa, palmeiro. My only question is will the wag the finger pose be mandatory?

Obviously your on the Net so you must not be Amish, but seriously you dont know who barry bonds is?

[jasons805]

In a sport like bbing whocares about roids it's part of the sport and always will be. With baseball your playing with the idea for the most part that they are not used(at least not allowed), and to find out that Bonds is breaking alot of records the same time he was using is just wrong in my mind. If he knew what he was doing he is a cheater and a lier so **** him. Again; nothing againt the use of them it's just the sport he is in says no. It's cheating so don't do it.

[Echo]

is barry bonds an fbb?

Obviously, Barry Bonds is not a female bodybuilder. But there are at least two things that Barry Bonds and female bodybuilders have in common:

1) Neither have any promotional or endorsement presence on behalf of businesses that advertise in print, radio, or TV.

2) Both are linked to anabolic steroids/performance enhancing drugs in the collective mind of the general public.

So, what does this have to do with anything? Well, everbody seems to be complaining that the "business" side of bodybuilding is a losing proposition with no mainstream marketing opportunity. Do you suppose that it might be worth a try to start imposing drug testing in bodybuilding contests and start "cleaning up" the sport so that we can attract a broader spectrum of new sponsors? Or do you prefer that the "sport" continue to tie its fortunes to the nutritional supplement industry, an industry which has been suffering diminishing profits and may soon be facing new federal regulations?

It takes little effort to take refuge in short-sightedness. Female bodybuilders may benefit from taking a clear view of the issues facing other athletes.

[jasons805]

I know that their truest motive for writing this book is to SELL, SELL, SELL and make a lot of money. It is capitalism, but it is not honest journalism.
When the balls where flying out of the park baseball knew what was going on. They didn't stop it because it made the game exciting. Either way you look at it it's all about money.

[Maxt]

In a sport like bbing whocares about roids it's part of the sport and always will be. With baseball your playing with the idea for the most part that they are not used(at least not allowed), and to find out that Bonds is breaking alot of records the same time he was using is just wrong in my mind. If he knew what he was doing he is a cheater and a lier so **** him. Again; nothing againt the use of them it's just the sport he is in says no. It's cheating so don't do it.No No No. Let us not be hypocritical here if it is possible to glorify women in a sport where the use of anabolic steroids is not banned then it would be hypocritical to call a baseball player who used anabolic steroids a cheater in an era when Baseball players weren't even to be discouraged from using anabolic steroids and they were not banned. Barry Bonds has to do what he can to be the best baseball player he can be, but it was most importantly the offseason training with weights and the purposeful mindset at the plate that may have given him the power and distance which transformed him from an all around hitter with a great batting average to a home run king. Finally Barry Bonds is not a female bodybuilder which is why I was initially shocked and angered to see this subject explored here? However if this is what everybody wants to discusss I'll hang with you. I am not shy with my opinions. I am supportive of Barry Bonds so let's play ball and step up to the plate. The haters can bring it.

[Scott]

I agree with Max this time, besides in 1999 he wasnt a cheater b/c there was no rules about the use of roids in baseball.

Now it would be nice if one of those guys (mcgwire, bonds, sosa, palmeiro, brett boone...etc) would be a MAN like Bill Clinton (remember Monica) just fess up to the choices they made and move on.

[Zennie]

Hi all,

That's the title of my latest blog at SBS Baseball Business Blog. It's a lynch-mob production designed to take down Barry because of his attitude.

Click >
http://bballbiz.blogspot.com/2006/03/san-francisco-chronicle-lynches-sf.html

[jasons805]

I say own up to it then if it's no big deal.

[electrolite]

Bonds cheated if he used a illegal anabolic steriod. Pitchers and hitters have used them? Who knows. Giambi admitted it and he is still playing. Female fitness and bodybuilding ladies and other professional athletes use them? It saddens me that folks who want their bodies to look so well and help them in the respective sport that they are in, will take a unatural synthectic that they have no idea what it may do to the body years down the road. Kinda of ironic.

[tighthat]

boy. i can think of all sorts of things barry bonds has in common with fbbs: hair, teeth, skin, a pulse, etc., AND they are both involved in sports where juice use is rampant. and in both sports there are a lot of shrill denials of the presence of "performance enhancing substances". i think the general public doesn't give a damn about bodybuilding as a whole and women bodybuilders in extra-special particular. the assumption will always be gear. with mainstream pro sports and their (as evident by the posts above) kung fu chokehold on people's lives, you have a lot of self-interested self-deception. a)you have a totally phony notion of a "level playing field" that states that drug use is "cheating". this is a societal given, along with drugs are bad. b)people's lives are governed by sports-hero worship. i'm from washington, and i have quite a few friends who feign disinterest but will for the remainder of their days be livid over the superbowl. how can anyone tolerate that their happiness is dependent on the performance of people that they don't know, but more importantly don't know them? it's appalling and disheartening. and as far as barry bonds is concerned, his denials, both vocal and in print, have set him in a position where the exposure of his lies will likely have some consequences. i think the whole thing is ridiculous. top pro athletes use drugs? *gasp* it is like that olympic snowboarder testing positive for marijuana. only a colossally naive person could legitimately be surprised. but that is what we got here on planet earth.

meddling people and their petty spitefulness.

[Billy Biceps]

It's all about the making MONEY yes, but all the Bonds haters and kiss ass Ruth lovers who don't want to see their deviant white boy lose his record, I say deviant, yes, alcoholic,womanizing, smoking idiot. Yes that is the icon I want to look up too!!
Now Hank Aaron is another story ;>))
LEAVE MY NuMBER ONE GIANTS PLAYER ALONE I SAY!!!!!! :finger: :banghead:
Oh yes and what about all those homeruns and hits and steals before 1999???

[Scott]

It's all about the making MONEY yes, but all the Bonds haters and kiss ass Ruth lovers who don't want to see their deviant white boy lose his record, I say deviant, yes, alcoholic,womanizing, smoking idiot. Yes that is the icon I want to look up too!!
Now Hank Aaron is another story ;>))
LEAVE MY NuMBER ONE GIANTS PLAYER ALONE I SAY!!!!!! :finger: :banghead:
Oh yes and what about all those homeruns and hits and steals before 1999???

Yep Ruth was the present day John Daly, Aaron was da man!!!

BTW Tight Daly is not a fbb either

[bigenginebb]

Can we really be back on Barry's back again. Oh thats right we are writing books based on the information provided by a two bit hooker. There's some solid evidence to continue to defame a man who is gifted and talented to be overshadowed by out of shape moron politicians and haters who believe that steroids make everyone a big, strong, homerun hitting phenom. Oh, that cant be true since everyone isnt out knocking homeruns everyday.
Tim Montgomery lost his world record based on a tricks word that was evading a 2 year suspension for dirty piss. man a world record taken away without a drop of real evidence.
Marion Jones wrecked based on the testimony of a fat, busted ex-hubby.
Let the athletic witch hunt begin.

[Zennie]

Can we really be back on Barry's back again. Oh thats right we are writing books based on the information provided by a two bit hooker. There's some solid evidence to continue to defame a man who is gifted and talented to be overshadowed by out of shape moron politicians and haters who believe that steroids make everyone a big, strong, homerun hitting phenom. Oh, that cant be true since everyone isnt out knocking homeruns everyday.
Tim Montgomery lost his world record based on a tricks word that was evading a 2 year suspension for dirty piss. man a world record taken away without a drop of real evidence.
Marion Jones wrecked based on the testimony of a fat, busted ex-hubby.
Let the athletic witch hunt begin.

What gets me is the SF Chronicle had to mention Bonds supposed sex dysfunction and how it gave him boorish behavior. Note, they didn't pepper their text with "reportedly" or any other word to protect them from the possibility that they could be wrong.

[Echo]

What gets me is the SF Chronicle had to mention Bonds supposed sex dysfunction and how it gave him boorish behavior. Note, they didn't pepper their text with "reportedly" or any other word to protect them from the possibility that they could be wrong.

I agree, Zennie. It is interesting to note that the claims of sexual dysfunction are coming from the same c*nt that is suing him for failing to keep his alleged promise to buy her an expensive house in Arizona. I ask you, Zennie, what kind of "lady" keeps a library of tapes of her "boyfriend's" messages on her answering machine throughout the course of the relationship....and for what purpose? Oh, and I guess we should also not forget that she was not reluctant to report Mr. Bonds to the IRS for accepting cash payments for signing baseball memoribilia

The Chronicle, has of course, disclosed all of this. But, still, you have to wonder why anyone would rely on the testimony of such a person. And this underscores the lack of public civility that you have described Zennie.

[Zennie]

I agree, Zennie. It is interesting to note that the claims of sexual dysfunction are coming from the same c*nt that is suing him for failing to keep his alleged promise to buy her an expensive house in Arizona. I ask you, Zennie, what kind of "lady" keeps a library of tapes of her "boyfriend's" messages on her answering machine throughout the course of the relationship....and for what purpose? Oh, and I guess we should also not forget that she was not reluctant to report Mr. Bonds to the IRS for accepting cash payments for signing baseball memoribilia

The Chronicle, has of course, disclosed all of this. But, still, you have to wonder why anyone would rely on the testimony of such a person. And this underscores the lack of public civility that you have described Zennie.

Wow. If she's taken those actions they seem to add up to extortion. If that's the case, then it taints the reporters book.

[Echo]

Wow. If she's taken those actions they seem to add up to extortion. If that's the case, then it taints the reporters book.

Go ahead and verify for yourself that she took these actions. As I understand it, Bonds has no cause of action for an extortion claim because she made these public statements after the suit was filed and after Bonds had filed a responsive pleading with the court denying her claims. Furthermore, there appears to be no evidence, at least at the present time, that she threatened him with these actions if he did not honor her money claim.

As for the reporter's book, I don't think that they are worried about perceptions that the book is "tainted" anymore than Jose Canseco was concerned that his book was tainted. The reporter's mission was a simple one: to get Bonds. The question that remains is simply this: Did they accomplish their mission?

[jasons805]

Bonds got himself.

[ricard]

An older gentleman I met a few yrs ago told me that they used to be able to get steriods very easily from Pharmacies in the 70's. It was not as strictly controlled and pharmacist would not be concerned with selling it.
The reason I mention this, is why does everyone assume that this is a problem of the nineties and never before that. Baseball players are under scrutiny because they also build up their bodies with weights these days....they did not really do that in the 70 and early 80's, so it is a bit more visible.
Also is it not cheating if you are a 10 Home run guy who barely belongs in the MLB, but you are using AS.???

[Venice_Bodybuilder]

I don't think it's responsible to either praise or flame the reporters until we look at the quality of their reporting. It's very hard to report a news story---I can tell you that from experience. If it's done sloppily, a lot of damage can be done. But at the same time, public records, interviews, and good hard work can produce truth. Look at Watergate. It's not like Nixon admitted anything. Woodward and Bernstein went out there and did good investigative journalism that has stood the test of time.

It isn't a journalist's job to promote baseball. A journalist's job is to report on good and bad. If baseball wants positive stories, they can hire people to do that. And they have---go to MLB.com...

Personally, I think that steroids are a very important issue in baseball because the sport is very history and stat driven. That's why they still use wooden bats. It will never be perfect but steroids definitely hurt that aspect of the game. And some might say that it's hurt bodybuilding too. We'll never really be able to compare Arnold with Ronnie because training, supplements and definitely drugs have changed so much. It's like apples and oranges.

[Maxt]

The quality of their reporting stinks. It is all based on anonymous sources. None of it was even acceptable for the newspaper. It has also been reported before. Nothing new. The San Francisco Giants are more or less sick of it all and just trying to play baseball. I also think it is a little bit suspicious that the book is coming out during spring training. Barry Bonds is going to play this out as long as his knee holds out, that is the issue. It is just too late for suspensions. Baseball wanted Home Runs to bring back the fans after the players went on strike and they cancelled The World Series.

[pict]

It's all about the making MONEY yes, but all the Bonds haters and kiss ass Ruth lovers who don't want to see their deviant white boy lose his record, I say deviant, yes, alcoholic,womanizing, smoking idiot. Yes that is the icon I want to look up too!!
Now Hank Aaron is another story ;>))
LEAVE MY NuMBER ONE GIANTS PLAYER ALONE I SAY!!!!!! :finger: :banghead:
Oh yes and what about all those homeruns and hits and steals before 1999???

The H___ with you and your number one player. You just HAD to turn this into a racial thing, didn't you?! Bonds treats people (including his girlfriend) like crap, he lies about his actions in front of a grand jury, and despite having been a probable hall-of-famer (and a wealthy one) even before he started juicing his ego and his racism were so out of control that he needed to start juicing AND be dishonest about it - putting his health, his reputation, and the game at risk. And THIS is your hero?

With respect to some of the other more reasoned reskponses to this thread. I really don't care if someone uses steroids - that is their choice. But when that steroid use is what enables their name to go down in the record books as having been the best home run hitter of all time - better than all those other players who did NOT resort to steroids - that is NOT right. Because THEY are NOT better. Does the fact that bonds juiced might hit more HRs than Aaron straight mean bonds is better than Aaron? NO, NO, NO!
So to all you kiss ass bonds lovers, don't complain when his "records" are taken away from him - they ought to be. But it is allright with me if, after his records are stripped and his career ruined, he continues to use.

As far as the comparison with FBBs who use, I don't have any good answers but I do have a couple of observations. These ladies are in a position where if they don't use, they don't get recognition. Also, their use does not really create a situation where they are setting any kind of records in comparison with non-users. Bonds did not need to resort to steroids to achieve wealth or recognition, but he did it anyway.

Personally, although I really like the look of a muscular female body (all other things being equal, the more muscular the better) I would prefer that the athletes be tested to ensure a "fair" playing field to those who choose not to cheat. Don't know if that's possible.
And I would like to see all pro athletes be tested as well, and if they are aknowledged users, they can still play but would not be eligible for any records, MVPs, batting titles...
Don't know if that's possible either.

[Venice_Bodybuilder]

Max, the reporting stinks because you don't like what they have to say? Isn't that really the truth of your argument?

There's nothing wrong with using anonymous sources. The issue is whether the sources are reliable and what level of confimation the reporters went through in doing their work. I spent an hour reading the SI excerpt yesterday and I found the reporting solid. And BTW, I say that as a native San Franciscan who has been skeptical of the piling on against Bonds.

The reporters conducted more than 200 interviews, reviewed thousands of pages of grand jury testimony and police reports--some leaked, others part of the public record. They reviewed audio evidence. They used grand jury testimony from Tim Montgomery who testified that he saw Bonds being injected at BALCO. None of this guarantees TRUTH, but these guys look to have spent a great deal of time and care doing their due dilligence.

As for them profiting off of this, why shouldn't they? If you spent two years of your life working full time on a project, wouldn't you want to be paid? Are you prepared as a taxpayer to pay journalist's bills for them so they can work for years on end without making any money?

[Scott]

An older gentleman I met a few yrs ago told me that they used to be able to get steriods very easily from Pharmacies in the 70's. It was not as strictly controlled and pharmacist would not be concerned with selling it.
The reason I mention this, is why does everyone assume that this is a problem of the nineties and never before that. Baseball players are under scrutiny because they also build up their bodies with weights these days....they did not really do that in the 70 and early 80's, so it is a bit more visible.
Also is it not cheating if you are a 10 Home run guy who barely belongs in the MLB, but you are using AS.???

As far back as 1969, their were rumblings of steroid usage, just check out this weeks SI, last year other than Palmeiro the guys that got busted were Pitchers and guys known for speed not power like Matt Lawton and Alex Sanchez. Pitchers have been juicing right along with the hitters to aid recovery in between starts or outings.

Another thing back in the 20's when the Babe was in his prime, lifting weights wasnt a big deal at all and i doubt it was to him but 2 places in America where gyms and muscles were popular they were Cali (Venice Beach) and NYC. Maybe i am just being full of horse crap saying this but ......How do you know for sure that Ruth didnt take something that gave him an unfair advantage over his counterparts in other major league cities? Babe Ruth was by no means a saint! Plus the fact Yankees pretty much cornored the market on power hitters back in those days...aka Murderers Row as they were famously called. Anyway just my 2 cents thats all :D

[Scott]

BTW Ricard my post wasnt really directed at you I was just sharing some thoughts, its almost like they (the media) are saying its wrong to hit homeruns but if your not a profilic power hitter we could care less!

As far as comparing fbb's go, think about which fbb's get the most scrutiny and criticism......Bev Francis back in the 80's, Nicole Bass, Renee Toney...etc The biggest of the big girl club right! Do message board flame threads get started over figure/fitness/lw fbb's who may be taking the same or similar stuff as Nicole Bass?

Alex Sanchez a scrawny centerfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays got busted, the only reason anyone knows his name was b/c he is the first to get a suspension but how many magazine and sport talk shows has he been the center of attention of??? Ryan Franklin a mediocre pitcher at best for the Seattle Mariners got busted last year....did anyone care? Did SI do a feature on him? the answer to both is NO!

Why the double standard!?!

For the record I dont consider myself a Bonds fan but i am not a hater and i think MLB would be foolish to even consider punishing him.

[Venice_Bodybuilder]

Both Sanchez and Franklin were suspended by baseball. Bonds hasn't been suspended, but in fairness, has also never failed a league drug test. Why the added scrutiny? Sanchez and Franklin are minor players. Bonds is poised to break one of the biggest records in the sport. I don't believe in assuming someone's guilt, but it's crazy to think this shouldn't be looked at. Do we really want to be a society where only happy news is reported? Is that the kind of journalism that's beneficial to sports, politics and society in general?

[Maxt]

There are good journalists out there but the ones you are merely defending on principle are scumbag profiteers struggling to decieve the public. This is what your parents sent you to college for?

[Echo]

.......Do we really want to be a society where only happy news is reported? Is that the kind of journalism that's beneficial to sports, politics and society in general?

Let's see, what are we getting now from the media? Pedophile priests, teachers having sex with students, homosexual scoutmasters, lying politicians, President recieving felatio from intern, corporate fraud, husband murders pregnant wife, mother kills her children, Vice-President accidentally blasts hunting buddy in the face with shot-gun, media fueled controversy over whether a seven year brain-dead lady can finally pass on with dignity,.....ad nauseum. And you think that this enriches and regenerates the culture?

I think I am ready to receive a heavy dose of the happy news, intraveneously administered, if you please.

[Scott]

Actually....yeah i am sick of hearing about roids and scandals.....some happy news once in awhile would be welcomed!

[Venice_Bodybuilder]

How are they "scumbag profiteers"? They worked for 2 years on a project and got paid for their work. They seem to have done their jobs thoroughly. If they had done the exact same thing, but come out with a story that cleared Bonds, would you still feel the same way toward them?

The idea of "the media" is an artificial construct created by people looking to whip up public sentiment. It's the same oversimplification as "Hollywood" or "Washington"--the ridiculous idea that there's a nefarious underground cabal who marches in lock step with one another. Put simply, "the media" is a business of thousands of individuals, some of whom report on crap, others who do work of true substance.

To throw "the media" tag on somebody because you don't like what they're reporting is to take the intellectually lazy way out. It's saying we should only give respect to the news we want to hear and should impugn the credibility of anyone who tells us something we might not want to know.

[Maxt]

They are terrible journalists and from what I have read in the ensuing days this entire scandal is to be minimized as just another publicity grab. Yes "media" is a plurality with a diversity of ethical concerns from existent to none. Just what are the ethical concerns of the reporters that have written this new book about Barry Bonds? None I am very sure.

[Venice_Bodybuilder]

Max, you keep saying they're terrible journalists but you never say why. Because they wrote a book? Why is that such an awful thing? If you think those guys were getting rich writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, you're sadly mistaken.

Jose Canseco went and wrote a memoir, which is just his recollection of things---unsubstantiated---and he's praised on this board. Meanwhile, two guys spend years researching a story, conducting interviews, putting a hundred times more effort into their book than Canseco did into his, and it's a publicity grab.

This is why I got out of journalism. Americans don't deserve good reporting because they don't understand the huge amount of effort that goes into it. Besides, they're only interested in being confirmed in their biases and bigotries. People just want to see on TV and read what they already believe. They're not interested in being challenged. They just want to be told they're right.

[Maxt]

I am definitely not interested in being challenged with all of this Barry Bonds/BALCO/Baseball baloney anyhow and anymore. When the Nationals come to RFK I think I'd like to see a game. With Bonds I think his biggest problem is going to be the knee. With the journalists: more of them, especially these fellows should follow your example and quit challenging the public with ghost writing. Why is it you only post on topics like Journalism? I'd say this topic has exceeded it's half life by now?

[Zennie]

I do agree with Max, and like Echo I live in the epicenter (excuse the pun) of the Bonds matter, the SF Bay Area. The two reporters, whom I've talked to on various occasions, get on KNBR and don't downplay the matter of Bonds' attitude.

Yet, when I talk to African American's who know Barry, I hear mostly great stories where he makes himself available to them for the smallest of deeds, but he asks that it not be reported.

I remain convinced this is a kind of witch hunt and personal vendetta on the part of -- yes -- white male media people. I would not think this but for the constant carping by them about "how Bonds attitude is to blame," or "How big a jerk he is."

Too much anger spoils many a good journalitic effort. As a former columnist, I learned to write with anger but I also noticed that some reporters use their articles to hide their anger behind "fact."

[Venice_Bodybuilder]

Ghost writing? Do you even know what that is because you're not using it in proper context, if you do. I think you should stick to talking about female bodybuilding---something you seem to know a lot about---and leave media criticism to those with enough understanding of how the media works to know what they're talking about.

Why do I post on topics like this? Because they interest me. I'll make you a deal, Max: You post on what interests you and I'll post on what interests me.

[Venice_Bodybuilder]

Bonds is not loved by reporters, there's no doubt about that. So yes, it wouldn't surprise me at all if much of the piling on is because personal attitudes have lessened his leeway with those who cover him. It's not right---I wouldn't defend it.

But I think you're giving these guys a lot of credit for their anger. Two years is a long time to sustain rage at someone just because he's rude and acts like a jerk.

It could be that they truly believe there's a story here. You might not, but that doesn't necessarily make it so.

[Zennie]

Bonds is not loved by reporters, there's no doubt about that. So yes, it wouldn't surprise me at all if much of the piling on is because personal attitudes have lessened his leeway with those who cover him. It's not right---I wouldn't defend it.

But I think you're giving these guys a lot of credit for their anger. Two years is a long time to sustain rage at someone just because he's rude and acts like a jerk.

It could be that they truly believe there's a story here. You might not, but that doesn't necessarily make it so.

No. No. I'm a lot closer to these folks than you, some are good friends, and I worked as the lead Columnist for The Montclarion from 1993 to 1996. Like most matters human, it's complicated. People can and do write "hit" pieces all the time. You seem to assume that because it took some time to write the book, it must be a "dispassionate" work and they have no feeling about the subject.

Very wrong.

Please learn to read critically. In other words, don't accept some news because someone else put it in black and white. In an Internet age, it's the number of people writing that filter information, and this is already happening in the Bonds case. Much of the evidence will be fleshed out and I'll bet much of it will not pass the light of scrutiny.

[Maxt]

Ghost writing? Do you even know what that is because you're not using it in proper context, if you do. I think you should stick to talking about female bodybuilding---something you seem to know a lot about---and leave media criticism to those with enough understanding of how the media works to know what they're talking about.

Why do I post on topics like this? Because they interest me. I'll make you a deal, Max: You post on what interests you and I'll post on what interests me.No man you are not a good message board poster here, you have got it all wrong. You should be more like Shadowman and Chris Brown, two of my favorites. How could you know more about Barry Bonds than me? I read it and hear it all day. I subscribe to Sports Illustrated. I took Journalism at school. I know plenty about Journalism and Baseball but I do not have the same opinion you do, this bothers you but that is your problem. I say again. The frauds that wrote the latest book about Barry Bonds that is excerpted in Sports Illustrated? They are the worst. They have no credibility. All you bring to this board is negativity and fights with everybody which is OK with me because I like to fight but what I think they want is something different. Happy news as you said before is what the public wants. Especially in the realm of Baseball since it is spring training. They want to see the teams come out fresh for opening day and enjoy the American tradition. All you are doing is pissing on it and you are defending your colleagues who do much the same?

[Scott]

Max just chill out, I took journalism in college and subscribe to SI too, No i dont not 'know' Barry and neither do you. Venice, Echo, and Zennie are posters that actually provide insight share their expeiences within their professions. So what if they dont get giddy over every pic of Sarah Dunlap that gets posted! That doesnt make them bad posters.

[jasons805]

I have a broadcasting degree and worked for my College paper. I am a know it all too lol. I like V BBers posts they seem fair and objective

[Scott]

I have a broadcasting degree and worked for my College paper. I am a know it all too lol. I like V BBers posts they seem fair and objective

So is working for the school paper, is that like a prerequisite to being a fbbfan? :banana:

[Maxt]

Max just chill out, I took journalism in college and subscribe to SI too, No i dont not 'know' Barry and neither do you. Venice, Echo, and Zennie are posters that actually provide insight share their expeiences within their professions. So what if they dont get giddy over every pic of Sarah Dunlap that gets posted! That doesnt make them bad posters.Scott, I agree in what you are saying. I agree that periodically through this thread I need to chill out at least once per page? What I will do is the Anger Management thing which is what I said I'd do earlier in the thread, but if I do come back to this, I am going to come back and stand up for Barry Bonds who I do not know personally, but I really think I have an idea of what he's going through: Character assassination from unscrupulous journalists who are making the most of their best oppurtunity to take him down because indeed it is a little bit personal with them. No I am not saying all Journalists are scumbags-no, I have a lot of respect for the profession and journalists with ethics. However anybody that wants to take up with these two from the San Francisco Chronicle and defend them and call them colleagues? Well then you are making a scumbag out of yourself and that is not my doing and that is not my emotion-just the facts.

[jasons805]

So is working for the school paper, is that like a prerequisite to being a fbbfan? :banana:
Yep I think it is on page five of the manual.

[ricard]

BTW Ricard my post wasnt really directed at you I was just sharing some thoughts, its almost like they (the media) are saying its wrong to hit homeruns but if your not a profilic power hitter we could care less!

As far as comparing fbb's go, think about which fbb's get the most scrutiny and criticism......Bev Francis back in the 80's, Nicole Bass, Renee Toney...etc The biggest of the big girl club right! Do message board flame threads get started over figure/fitness/lw fbb's who may be taking the same or similar stuff as Nicole Bass?

Alex Sanchez a scrawny centerfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays got busted, the only reason anyone knows his name was b/c he is the first to get a suspension but how many magazine and sport talk shows has he been the center of attention of??? Ryan Franklin a mediocre pitcher at best for the Seattle Mariners got busted last year....did anyone care? Did SI do a feature on him? the answer to both is NO!

Why the double standard!?!

For the record I dont consider myself a Bonds fan but i am not a hater and i think MLB would be foolish to even consider punishing him.

I agree 100% ..my thoughts exactly. You can take AS just dont do to well in yr sport. I like yr comparison with FBB and fitness. A few years ago in a South African magazine a fitness competitor admitted that she was taking as much as her FBB counterparts certain times of the year.
A side note ...in Lance Armstrong's book he details how he was hounded by the anti-doping authorities ..arriving at his doorstep at all hours for urine tests.

[Venice_Bodybuilder]

Thanks to those who thought my posts were insightful--whether you agree with them or not. As for Max, he just seems to like calling people scumbags and making judgements about them. Kind of hypocritical to be criticizing these guys for being judgemental when you're also judgemental and can't be 100 percent certain that you know all the facts.

As for the post about reading critically, it's a good point. Personally, I think I do read critically as I didn't come into the story with a sense one way or the other of Bonds' guilt. It's true these guys might have a vendetta. But it also seems apparent that they've conducted a lot of interviews and spent a lot of time going through the public record. That doesn't automatically mean their work should be trusted, but it shouldn't mean the opposite either.

[Echo]

Bonds lawyer sues over new book on BALCO scandal
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, March 23, 2006



(03-23) 11:35 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds' lawyer says he'll ask a judge to order that the authors of a new book detailing the Giants' slugger's alleged use of steroids turn over any profits they make.

Notice of the lawsuit came today in a letter from attorney Michael Rains' office to the agent for authors Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. They are reporters for The Chronicle and authors of the book "Game of Shadows.''

The book, published today, concerns the Bay Area laboratory known as BALCO and the athletes, including Bonds, who allegedly were illicitly supplied with performance-enhancing drugs.

According to the letter, Bonds' attorney will ask a San Francisco Superior Court judge on Friday to issue a temporary restraining order forfeiting all profits from publication and distribution of the book.

The suit is to be filed under California's unfair competition law against the authors and the publisher, Gotham Books, as well as The Chronicle and Sports Illustrated magazine, which have both published excerpts.

The letter does not describe the basis of the suit. But in response to past newspaper articles by the same authors, Bonds and his representatives have denied that he used steroids and have complained that the allegations were based in part on leaked grand jury testimony.

E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.

[Echo]

REVIEW
Chronicle writers expand our view of BALCO's Frankenstein regimen and the athletes who bought in
- Reviewed by John Freeman
Thursday, March 23, 2006


Game of Shadows

Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal That Rocked Professional Sports

By Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams

GOTHAM; 332 PAGES; $26



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They say 40 is the new 30, but in the world of professional sports, this became literally so at the turn of the new millennium.
In 2003, at 39, middle-distance runner Regina Jacobs became the first woman to break the four-minute barrier in the indoor 1,500 meters. A year later, Giants slugger Barry Bonds put up the third-best offensive season of his career -- batting .362, with 45 home runs and 101 RBIs, also at age 39.

According to "Game of Shadows," it was the steroids and related drugs given or sold to Bonds, Jacobs and many other star athletes by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, that made all this possible. Its proprietor, Victor Conte, wasn't a doctor or even a nutritionist -- he was a former hippie, Tower of Power musician and alleged drug dealer.

In December 2004, Chronicle reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada broke the story of how this shady start-up became integral to the performance of high-profile athletes, from American League MVP Jason Giambi to Olympic sprinter Marion Jones to NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski to Bonds.

Now, with "Game of Shadows," they have expanded their coverage into a book. Although most of the discussion about this superb read will surely be focused on Bonds -- who the authors make a damning case was BALCO's poster child for the power of steroids -- it would be a shame if the discussion stops there. For "Game of Shadows" turns the BALCO story into a window on the high-stakes realm of professional sports, where tenths of a second can mean millions in endorsement deals and so-called all-American athletes will do whatever it takes to succeed.

The story begins in the Central Valley, where Conte grew up a musician who nearly made it as a bandleader. When his dreams of music success crashed, he drifted before opening a holistic health clinic in 1983. When that, too, failed, Conte shifted careers and virtually overnight reinvented himself again, this time as a nutritionist to star athletes.

The food chain from snake-oil salesman to Olympian consultant is shockingly quick, and Williams and Fainaru-Wada, who are first-rate gumshoes, do the legwork to connect all the dots. Along the way, they remind us that steroids in sports have been with us a long time, from the doping programs of East Germany through the disgrace of Canada's Ben Johnson at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Steroids, they explain, do not directly make athletes faster or stronger -- they simply allow them to train harder, with fewer injuries, and often with no need for recovery time. (Editorial boldfacing by Echo)

Sophisticated drug testing has been developed to keep the Olympics clean (or somewhat clean, as "Games" would imply), but Conte focused on providing illegal performance enhancing drugs that would elude detection. Initially, steroids were a sideline for Conte, who made the drugs available to star athletes in exchange for their endorsements of his legal nutritional supplement ZMA. But over time, as the authors demonstrate, he was being sought out almost exclusively for his cocktail of undetectable drugs, which had to be injected, dripped under the tongue (the Clear) and rubbed into the skin (the Cream).

Obtaining these ointments and vials involved some complicated schemes, which "Game of Shadows" reports with true-crime flair. There were posts on Internet chat boards, FedEx packages sent with goofy names, trips to Mexico to purchase oral testosterone and steroids disguised as flaxseed oil smuggled into the 2004 Summer Olympics in Australia.

Reading the book, it is surprising just how many athletes signed on for this Frankenstein regimen -- and how, with the help of Conte's myriad drugs, they saw dramatic turnarounds in their careers. Sprinter Kelli White, according to the authors, felt them nearly immediately. "She could work out twice a day if she wanted to and get up the next morning and be ready for more. She gained probably 15 pounds of muscle." Bonds' results were even more startling. "Over the first 13 seasons of his career ... Bonds hit .290 and averaged 32 home runs and 93 RBI. ... But in the six seasons after he began using performance-enhancing drugs -- that is, ... between the ages of 34 and 40 -- Bonds's batting averaged .328, 39, and 105."

The evidence amassed here against Bonds' denials about using banned substances is overwhelming. Besides the obvious evidence of his hulking body and the unexpected spike in his performance, there are statements to federal agents about the drugs sold to him, the grand jury testimony of Kimberly Bell, his former girlfriend, and documents found at the apartment of his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, a former steroid dealer, all connecting Bonds to steroids.

On top of this, Fainaru-Wada and Williams portray the Giants star as a superbly talented athlete who developed into an indulged egomaniac, troubled by the shadow still cast by his father, Bobby Bonds, and eaten up with jealousy over Mark McGwire's success in breaking Roger Maris' home run record in 1998. Before that, Bonds had refrained from cheating, but after seeing a "juiced" McGwire break the record, he was fed up.

Eventually, though, someone would have to halt this one-drug bonanza in sports. After being tipped off by a track coach about possible Olympians cheating, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief Terry Madden was spurred into action, especially as he already knew the United States had a "reputation within the international Olympic community as the ultimate hypocrite," thanks to cover-ups of positive drug tests during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

But the real spark plug was IRS agent Jeff Novitsky. An experienced investigator, he went after the BALCO case with dogged determination. He searched through BALCO's trash and obtained a subpoena to fish through their medical waste, where he found empty vials of the blood-boosting agent EPO and traces of human growth hormone. He sought out the best in drug testing and educated himself on how steroids were detected -- and hidden from detection.

In April, Bonds will begin his race to top Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs. It seems probable he will. As to what he will say during his victory speech, or how it will be received, only God knows. But after finishing this important and disturbing book, it's hard not to feel it will be an empty accomplishment.

John Freeman is president of the National Book Critics Circle.

[jasons805]

The writers will be on Letterman in like 10/15 mins eastcost. I want to hear them.

[Echo]

Syringe Thrown At Barry Bonds In San Diego

S.F. Chronicle
April 4, 2006

San Diego -- San Diego fans are supposed to be laid-back. Downright soft, in many cases. Constant sunshine does that to people. It zaps the need to be overly intense. Down here, it's more favorable to lighten up than tighten up. It's the mood and the lifestyle, and people are proud it's the norm.

Well, if Barry Bonds continues to be treated as he was treated Monday by these fine folks, he and the Giants are in for a long year.

Opening Day broke into open season on the Giants' left fielder, who was booed with every movement and was the target of derisive signs and chants as he appeared in his first regular-season game since "Game of Shadows" was released two weeks ago and Major League Baseball's steroid investigation was launched one week ago.

"Hey, if that's what they want to do, embarrass themselves, then that's on them," Bonds said of Padres fans. "That has nothing to do with me at all. I just have to play baseball."

Bonds specifically was addressing an incident that occurred after the eighth inning -- an empty syringe, with no needle attached, was thrown onto the field as he headed to the dugout along the third-base line. He scooped up the syringe with his glove, transferred it to his left hand and tossed it into a photo well.

"I just picked it off the field so no one would get hurt," he said.

There were other examples. One fan held a sign that read, "BARR-ROID." Another: "Bonds is the greatest hitter of this era." Except "hitter" was crossed out and replaced by "cheater." Other signs simply had asterisks, a suggestion that Bonds was assisted by performance-enhancing drugs while hitting some of his 708 home runs, the third most in big-league history, ranking behind Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.

The noise was especially piercing in the sections around left field. Down in the corner, behind a see-through fence, dozens of fans normally are allowed to stand on a little field-level walkway and watch. But on Monday, things got nasty. Fans held signs with anti-Barry messages, in some cases grossly personal. Soon, security ordered the signs removed.

Fans in the area continued to taunt Bonds, who at one point waved and smiled. BALCO was the general theme of most chants. Eventually, fans no longer were permitted in the area. Just to make sure, Richard Anderson, the Padres' executive vice president of ballpark management, stood guard.

Only those who arrived early were allowed to stay, and nobody stopped one loud-mouthed guy who, while downing beers, constantly ragged Bonds from extremely close range.

The area will be off limits the rest of the series, a stadium employee said.

All the negative comments were benign compared with someone packing a syringe and heading to the ballpark with the intention of heaving it onto the field in full view of Bonds, one of the poster children of the Steroid Era who has refused to comment on the investigation.

"That's pretty stupid," said new Giant Mark Sweeney, a former Padre.

"That's a little bit much," said center fielder Randy Winn, who was unaware of the syringe episode. "If you want to heckle, that's one thing. But throwing something like that on the field, that's taking it a little too far."

Luis Garcia, the Padres' director of media relations, said stadium security knew nothing about the syringe.

Instead of a festive opener, it was ugly for the Giants and not simply because they lost 6-1. The whole Bonds mob scene was an obvious distraction, and teammates quickly lost patience over repeated questions about the team's reaction to the fans' reaction. It didn't help that ESPN camera crews dominated the clubhouse, shooting for Bonds' weekly show that debuts tonight.

At one point, a Giants public-relations official halted a group interview with Sweeney, requesting questions be focused on the game instead of on the Bonds situation. A reporter asked the official if he was editing interviews. The official later apologized.

If the fan abuse is this bad in San Diego, how will it be in New York or Philadelphia? Los Angeles or Pittsburgh?

"It's going to be like that everywhere," shortstop Omar Vizquel said.

Before the game, manager Felipe Alou offered a challenge to anyone intending to chastise Bonds.

"Those who feel clean, go ahead and throw the first rock," Alou said. "If you're clean, if you haven't done anything wrong or been accused of anything wrong, go ahead and start the show."

By the way, Bonds capped months of intense rehab by appearing as the cleanup hitter in the Opening Day lineup, and he blasted a ground-rule double on the first pitch he saw from Jake Peavy. Bonds scored on a two-out single by Lance Niekro.

"Luckily, I'm still playing," Bonds said. "Thank God I'm still out there."

It was a personal victory in defeat.

In the end, it wasn't the story.

E-mail John Shea at jshea@sfchronicle.com.

[Echo]

Bonds' doctor is subpoenaed
Grand jury looking into whether slugger's steroid denial was perjury

- Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, April 14, 2006

A federal grand jury has subpoenaed the personal surgeon for Barry Bonds to testify in its investigation of whether the Giants outfielder committed perjury in 2003 when he denied under oath that he had ever taken steroids, The Chronicle has learned.

Dr. Arthur Ting, the physician who treated Bonds for the knee injury that sidelined him for most of the 2005 season, has been subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury in U.S. District Court in San Francisco later this month, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.

The sources asked not to be quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the grand jury investigation.

Contacted by phone, Ting referred a reporter to his lawyer, Daniel Alberti.

"Dr. Ting always has been cooperative with the U.S. attorney's office, and Dr. Ting will continue to be cooperative," Alberti said.

The Giants organization declined to comment. Bonds was not available for comment, and his attorney, Michael Rains, said he was "not prepared to respond to that information."

The sources described the grand jury's investigation as an offshoot of the federal steroids case involving the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, a nutritional supplements concern in Burlingame.

Four men, including Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, pleaded guilty to steroid-distribution charges last year as part of what prosecutors said was an international conspiracy to corrupt sports by providing undetectable steroids to elite athletes. The drugs were distributed by BALCO and Anderson.

In the early stages of the investigation, a grand jury subpoenaed at least 30 elite athletes who had been customers of BALCO -- Bonds among them.

In December 2003, as previously reported in The Chronicle, Bonds told the BALCO grand jury that he had never used steroids.

But in his testimony, he acknowledged that his trainer had supplied him with flaxseed oil and arthritis balm -- substances that matched the description of "the clear" and "the cream," two undetectable performance-enhancing drugs distributed by BALCO.

The sources said federal investigators believed Bonds lied under oath in part because documents seized in government raids on BALCO and on his trainer's home included doping calendars that appeared to reflect Bonds' drug use.

In March 2005, a former girlfriend of Bonds, Kimberly Bell, told the grand jury that Bonds admitted to her that he used steroids beginning in 1999, The Chronicle has reported previously.

Since then, the government has continued to question witnesses regarding Bonds and steroids in its investigation -- which includes looking into whether he testified truthfully -- and a grand jury began taking testimony last month, two sources said.

Bonds' lawyer, Rains, said that last month he contacted the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco to find out whether it had completed any investigation involving Bonds.

"I got the typical federal answer: 'We're not going to say one way or another,' " Rains said.

Rains has maintained throughout the investigation that the government was out to get Bonds. "It's always been the U.S. versus Bonds, and they're always just gunning for the big guy," the lawyer said in March 2005.

Ting is of interest to investigators because he has visited BALCO with Bonds, the sources said. In September 2003, a BALCO employee told federal investigators that around that time, Ting had accompanied Bonds to the lab and had drawn his blood for testing.

The doctor has been Bonds' personal surgeon for much of the outfielder's San Francisco career. In 1999, when Bonds suffered a serious elbow injury, Ting operated to repair the damage. Last year, Ting performed three operations on Bonds' ailing knee -- two to repair torn cartilage and a third to combat an infection that had developed after the surgery.

Ting's patients include many elite athletes, and he is among the best-known orthopedists in the region. But public records show he has twice been disciplined by the state Medical Board.

In 1996, Ting was put on probation after he allegedly allowed a medical technician to diagnose injuries and write prescriptions. He ultimately admitted only to improperly failing to diagnose and treat a patient's elbow dislocation.

In 2004, the board put Ting on probation, this time after he was accused of prescribing drugs to friends and keeping inadequate records. Ting acknowledged he was "negligent in his supervision of subordinates" but denied wrongdoing on the other issues.

The probe of Bonds is the latest twist in a case that has grabbed headlines, mostly because of BALCO's celebrity clientele.

In a statement to federal agents at the time they raided his laboratory in September 2003, BALCO founder Victor Conte identified 27 stars of baseball, football, and Olympic track and field to whom he said he was providing designer steroids. Some of the drugs were created to be undetectable on conventional steroid tests.

Among the athletes Conte named were New York Yankees Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, track and field superstar Marion Jones and Bonds. Conte later renounced the statement, but his top assistant at BALCO, James Valente, also gave a statement to federal investigators in which he said Bonds and Giambi had been provided BALCO drugs through Bonds' personal trainer, Anderson.

Conte, Valente, Anderson and veteran track coach Remi Korchemny were indicted on steroid conspiracy charges in 2004. But steroid dealing carried relatively light penalties under federal law, and the cases were settled with plea bargains last year. Conte served four months in federal prison, and Anderson served three months. They are now under house arrest. Valente and Korchemny were put on probation.

But investigators continued to pursue the case, and in November, an Illinois chemist, Patrick Arnold, was indicted for allegedly creating one of the undetectable steroids that BALCO had distributed. After Arnold's indictment, the sources said, the investigators continued an inquiry into the truth of Bonds' 2003 grand jury testimony.

E-mail the writers at lwilliams@sfchronicle.com and mfainaru-wada@sfchronicle.com.

[Echo]

SUBPOENA FOR GIANTS ATHLETIC TRAINER IN BONDS CASE

- Mark Fainaru-Wada, Lance Williams, Chronicle Staff Writers
Tuesday, April 18, 2006

San Francisco Giants head athletic trainer Stan Conte has been subpoenaed to testify before the federal grand jury investigating whether outfielder Barry Bonds committed perjury in connection with the BALCO steroids case, The Chronicle has learned.

Conte, who is no relation to BALCO owner and convicted steroid dealer Victor Conte, is scheduled to appear before the grand jury at the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco on April 27, according to three sources familiar with the investigation.

One of the sources, all of whom requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the grand jury investigation, said the government also has demanded that Conte turn over the team's training records related to Bonds.

The subpoena of Stan Conte, who is in his 15th season with the team and seventh as its head trainer, represents the first time a Giants employee other than a player has been called to testify in connection with the government probe.

"We have a long-standing policy not to comment on this issue," said Staci Slaughter, the team's vice president for communications.

Conte, reached by phone, said only: "The Giants' policy for all Giants employees has been not to comment on anything directly or indirectly related to the grand jury. Therefore, I cannot comment on anything regarding this."

Conte's lawyer, Steve Manchester of San Jose, could not be reached for comment.

The Giants trainer is scheduled to appear before the grand jury on the same day as Bonds' orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Arthur Ting. The grand jury subpoenaed Ting's medical records related to Bonds in the spring of last year, according to two sources familiar with the probe of the Giants superstar.

Grand jury testimony

Bonds testified in December 2003, one of a string of elite athletes called as witnesses in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, steroids conspiracy case. The athletes were granted partial immunity, protected from prosecution as long as they testified truthfully, and then asked whether they had received banned drugs from the BALCO lab.

Ultimately, four men pleaded guilty to steroid-related charges. Victor Conte, the head of BALCO, served four months in prison and is currently serving four months under house arrest. Greg Anderson, Bonds' personal trainer, served three months in prison and is serving three months of house arrest.

In his grand jury testimony, Bonds denied using steroids but acknowledged using flaxseed oil and an arthritis balm that he said were provided to him by Anderson. Prosecutors believe the products were actually undetectable BALCO steroids known as "the clear" and "the cream."

Grand jury records reviewed by The Chronicle show prosecutors appeared to believe that Bonds' testimony was contradicted by doping calendars and other documents seized during raids on BALCO and Anderson's home in 2003.

Stan Conte's name has never before surfaced in connection with the BALCO case. Conte, 51, joined the Giants as an assistant trainer in 1992 and was named head trainer in 2000. He is "one of the top experts in physical therapy and conditioning in professional sports," according to the team's media guide.

In his job, he oversees the physical condition of Giants players, treats their minor injuries and consults with doctors when they suffer more serious injuries. He oversees a staff of two.

As trainer, Conte has known Bonds and monitored his physical condition since the outfielder joined the Giants in 1993. Conte also is familiar with Bonds' injuries, including the knee problem that sidelined him for much of the 2005 season and the torn elbow tendon that interrupted the 1999 season.

Bonds' personal trainers

Stan Conte also has encountered Anderson, the personal trainer whom Bonds began bringing into the Giants clubhouse in 2000 and who later pleaded guilty to steroid dealing in the BALCO case.

In 2000, the team checked on the backgrounds of the three personal trainers who had been attending to Bonds in the team clubhouse and learned that Anderson was rumored to be a steroid dealer, according to a team source.

Stan Conte urged Giants executives to bar Anderson and the other two other Bonds trainers from the clubhouse, according to a source familiar with the conversation, but the Giants took no action on the request.

The grand jury has been investigating Bonds and possible perjury at least since March 2005, when Kimberly Bell, Bonds' former girlfriend, was subpoenaed to testify. Bell told the grand jury that Bonds had blamed the 1999 elbow injury on his use of steroids, The Chronicle has reported.

Investigators continued to question potential witnesses after that, and a grand jury began taking additional testimony on Bonds last month, according to two sources.

Bonds' lawyer, Michael Rains, repeatedly has accused the government of having a vendetta against Bonds, saying his client has been singled out and set up. Rains told The Chronicle last week that he was convinced Bonds would never be convicted on perjury charges, and he described a possible indictment as "a bad P.R. stunt by the government."

E-mail the writers at mfainaru-wada@sfchronicle.com and lwilliams@sfchronicle.com.

[ricard]

Yeah I get my flaxseed oil from Walgreen's .....wonder if he was injecting the "flaxseed oil"
But who can blame the guy ? how can he tell the truth.

[Echo]

Consider this Ricard:

1) The athletes that were called to testify before the Grand Jury investigating Victor Conte and BALCO were told that they were not the target(s) of the investigation and that the questions would be germaine to the alleged illegal activities of Conte et al. In other words, they were not expected to provide details of their total life experience with steroids, only testimony pertaining to the steroid-related activities of the defendants in this particular case.

2) Barry Bonds is not a biochemist.

3) It took three months of investigation by a chemist/toxicologist and his team at UCLA to determine exactly what the active chemical was in the sample of "the clear" that was sent to the US Olympic Committee. If they did not initially know what it was, then how would Bonds actually know, with certainty, what it was.

4) The active chemical found in "the clear" was allegedly created in the "home laboratory" of Patrick Arnold and was chemically similar to Trenbolone. It had never been commercially manufactured or sold by any pharmaceutical company anywhere in the world. Its possible effectiveness or ineffectiveness had never been studied.

5) In short, the situation with "the clear" was no different than you mixing up something in your garage and telling me "I made this...take this... it will help you." How would I actually know what is in that stuff your giving me?

Parenthetically, I would not take it, because I am not trusting of such things, but that's just me. But, it just goes to show that some people are willing to throw caution to the wind, just to get a real or perceived "edge."