"Bicycle racer Tammy Thomas lied to a grand jury about her use of steroids, then fought perjury charges in court. Convicted, she was sentenced to house arrest.

It was the same story for elite track coach Trevor Graham, who lied to a federal agent trying to unpack the BALCO steroids scandal: Found guilty, he too was put under house arrest.

On Friday in San Francisco, the same federal judge who showed mercy to those sports figures must sentence a far more famous athlete convicted of equivocating about banned drugs: Barry Bonds, the former Giants left fielder and holder of baseball's career home run record."