"The prosecutors who have portrayed Barry Bonds as a steroid cheat and the defense lawyers who contend he is being framed will square off today in San Francisco federal court.

Testimony in the perjury trial of baseball's home run champion came to an abrupt end Wednesday when defense lawyers said they would not call the former Giants star - or anyone else - to the witness stand.

"The defense rests," lawyer Allen Ruby told Judge Susan Illston.

The defense team had said it might call half a dozen witnesses, including two of Bonds' former lawyers, Michael Rains and Laura Enos, and his former stretching trainer, Harvey Shields. Ruby had suggested that Bonds himself might take the stand.

At an afternoon hearing the judge directly addressed Bonds, reminding him that he had a constitutional right to testify and asking him if he wanted to.

"No," Bonds replied.

The defense move set the stage for today's final arguments.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Nedrow will go first, the government said. Then the defense will speak - both Ruby and cross-examination specialist Cristina Arguedas. The government's closing is up to Matthew Parrella, the prosecution team leader.

Soon after that, the case will go to the jury of eight women and four men.

Also Wednesday, the government dropped one of five felony charges against Bonds.

He is accused of lying under oath to the federal grand jury that investigated the BALCO steroids scandal in 2003. He testified he had never knowingly used banned drugs, only flaxseed oil and arthritis balm supplied by his trainer Greg Anderson. Bonds has pleaded not guilty.

Count four of the indictment accused Bonds of lying when he said Anderson had never provided him with anything other than vitamins before the year 2003. His answer came during questioning about whether the trainer had been providing Bonds with "the cream" and "the clear," designer steroids from the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative in Burlingame.

Earlier, the judge said she was thinking of dismissing the count because the interchange seemed to refer only to the BALCO drugs, and there was no evidence that Bonds was using those drugs until 2003.

Prosecutors argued that the question and answer could also refer to other steroids provided by Anderson. But then they withdrew the charge. Now Bonds faces three charges of lying under oath and one charge of obstruction of justice."