Barry Bonds News: Pro Sports Daily

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August 25

San Francisco Chronicle

columnist Joh Shea

"Jeff Kent spoke in a conference call Monday after the Giants announced that he'd been named to their Wall of Fame. There will be a ceremony at 3 p.m. Saturday near Willie Mays Plaza. Here are some excerpts: On reuniting with the Giants and their fans: "To be able to rebuild the bridge after I played in L.A. - and I know that bridge was probably burned because I was in L.A. - to be able to come back to San Francisco and be acknowledged and appreciated for the things I did there, it's overwhelming to me, and I'm grateful." On why he thought he was booed by Giants fans: "Dave Winfield told me a long time ago: If you're not booed, you're nobody. I think it would've been an insult if I walked ..."

Prosecutors Appeal Evidence Ruling in Bonds Case

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June 3

New York Times

"Prosecutors filed court papers Monday asking a federal appeals court to allow them to use several pieces of evidence that they say tie Barry Bonds to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The papers said that United States District Court Judge Susan Illston, who is overseeing Bonds's perjury case, incorrectly excluded the evidence, which included positive drug tests for steroids from 2000 and 2001. The prosecutors decided to appeal Illston's decision, which came three days before Bonds's perjury case was scheduled to begin March 2. The appeal from prosecutors will delay Bonds's perjury case until later this year or early next year. Illston excluded the positive drug tests and log ..."

Government fights to keep perjury case against Barry Bonds alive

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June 2

New York Daily News

"Legal experts said the brief federal prosecutors filed Monday requesting a reversal of a judge's decision to bar crucial evidence from home run king Barry Bonds' long-delayed perjury trial was little more than a Hail Mary pass. Golden Gate constitutional law professor Peter Keane said the government's filing "reeks of desperation" and predicted the feds would ultimatelythe perjury case against baseball's home run king. "With this brief, the government is postponing the inevitable," Keane said. The brief filed by federal prosecutors is in response to a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston, who declared in February that a heap of documentary evidence seized by the government - ..."

Prosecutors Appeal Evidence Ruling in Bonds Case

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June 2

New York Times

"Prosecutors filed court papers Monday asking a federal appeals court to allow them to use several pieces of evidence that they say tie Barry Bonds to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The papers said that United States District Court Judge Susan Illston, who is overseeing Bonds's perjury case, incorrectly excluded the evidence, which included positive drug tests for steroids from 2000 and 2001. The prosecutors decided to appeal Illston's decision, which came three days before Bonds's perjury case was scheduled to begin March 2. The appeal from prosecutors will delay Bonds's perjury case until later this year or early next year. Illston excluded the positive drug tests and log ..."

Giants envision Bonds' future role

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April 29

San Jose Mercury News

"Barry Bonds isn't a Giants employee any longer, but managing partner Bill Neukom hopes to change that. In 2001, the club negotiated a 10-year personal services contract with Bonds that would take effect once the all-time home run king announces his retirement. Bonds, 44, has refused to make his retirement official, and language of the personal services agreement — which pays just less than $1 million annually to the Bonds Family Foundation — is vaguely worded, according to club officials. But Neukom said the club "most definitely" remains interested in maintaining close ties with Bonds. "When he does retire, we'll talk to him about what makes sense," said Neukom, adding the subject wasn't ..."

So why can't Barry Bonds utter the R-word?

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April 29

San Francisco Chronicle

"Barry Bonds said he wants to spend more time with the Giants, and he does have a still-unfulfilled 10-year personal-services contract with the team. Giants President Larry Baer said Tuesday that Bonds is welcome at China Basin any time, but any formal relationship will have to wait. The Giants might want Bonds' perjury case decided first, but Baer said the main reason is Bonds' reticence to say those two magic words: "I'm retired." "He has a personal-services contract upon retirement, but he is not officially retired," Baer said. "Until he's officially retired, it wouldn't be appropriate to broach that." Bonds might be refusing to retire because that could hurt any collusion case the union ..."

Commentary: Bonds says Manny should be a Giant

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April 28

Sacramento Bee

"Did you feel that buzz emanating from China Basin on Monday night? Did the electricity popping at the waterfront ballpark cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand? It should have, because the answer to Giants fans' prayers was at AT"

GIANTS 5, DODGERS 4

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April 28

San Francisco Chronicle

"Barry Bonds is not a good-luck charm to be displayed liberally, only when the Giants need a little extra something, particularly against the Dodgers. For the third time since the team cut ties with Bonds as a player, he popped into China Basin, still insisting he is not retired. Just as they did the first time Bonds visited, on Aug. 9, the Giants came from behind for a dramatic victory against the Dodgers. On Monday night, they scored twice in the eighth inning to beat their ancient rivals 5-4. On a windy and freezing evening, with the atmosphere rivaling the times when Bonds wore a uniform, the Giants beat L.A. for the first time this season after the Dodgers swept them in Los Angeles ..."

It's time for Giants to invest in Bonds again

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March 5

Contra Costa Times

columnist Cam Inman

"TIME FOR THE GIANTS to launch countermeasures now that Manny Ramirez has accepted the two-year, $45 million bounty the Los Angeles Dodgers put on him. So here's a b-b-b-bewildering idea: Bring back Barry Bonds. This far-fetched notion is springing up because: (a) An incoming flu bug is distorting all concept of reality; (b) Bonds is again clamoring to unretire. (c) The Giants lineup looks as frail as last year's (again, that could just be the flu flaring up). (d) The rival Dodgers are welcoming back a loony left fielder, so the Giants should, too. Stop for a minute and resist all the common sense that says Bonds' return is a horrible idea, that he would tear apart clubhouse chemistry built ..."

Bonds still belongs in this baseball era

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March 4

San Jose Mercury News

columnist Ann Killion

"It's a columnist's prerogative to change her mind. So that's what I'm doing. I hope some team signs Barry Bonds this season. And Major League Baseball can wallow in all its glorious hypocrisy. This week, Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris, told USA Today that he will contact all 30 teams about signing Bonds. Bonds was supposed to be wearing a suit in court, but due to an appeal by the prosecution, the trial is delayed indefinitely. A legal analysis of the federal appeals system estimated the process could take as long as 19 months. That would put us into late 2011, a mere eight years after the investigation was launched. Instead of twiddling his thumbs and writing out checks to his lawyers, Bonds ..."

Agent to seek contract for Bonds

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March 3

MLB.com

"Barry Bonds' agent said on Monday that he will contact all 30 Major League teams in hopes of landing a contract for the all-time career home run leader so that he can resume his playing career. Jeff Borris told USA Today in a telephone interview that Bonds, whose federal perjury and obstruction-of-justice trial has been indefinitely delayed, gave him permission to solicit interest from teams. "Due to the fact that Barry's trial has been delayed an indefinite period of time," Borris said, "I will be making the rounds this week to see if there's any interest in Barry playing for the 2009 season." Bonds' trial was scheduled to begin on Monday in San Francisco, but was postponed when federal ..."

Bonds appeal could take 19 months

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March 3

ESPN.com

"A decision on the federal prosecutors' appeal in the Barry Bonds perjury case might not come for another year and a half, according to the official statistics of the federal courts. The Administrative Office (AO) of the federal courts, which is the Elias Sports Bureau of the court system, says that the median time to complete an appeal in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit -- where the Bonds case appeal will be argued and decided -- is 19.4 months. That timetable would have a decision coming down in September 2010. Prosecutors appealed a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston, asking the higher court to reverse the order and allow them to present at the ..."

Barry Bonds' case off until July

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March 3

New York Daily News

"Spared from the courtroom this week by an 11th-hour government appeal, Barry Bonds will now wait around for at least half of the 2009 baseball season before his perjury trial moves forward again. A federal appeals court has set mid-summer deadlines for briefs in an evidence dispute. Not until July 15 - the day after the All-Star Game - do all of the arguments need to be on paper. Prosecutors stalled the Bonds trial on Friday, three days before jury selection, to appeal a ruling by U.S. District Court judge Susan Illston in San Francisco excluding evidence that included positive drug tests and doping calendars allegedly tied to Bonds. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the ..."

Government making a mountain out of a molehill in Bonds case

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March 3

San Francisco Examiner

columnist Glenn Dickey

"Memo to the Justice Department: Drop the Barry Bonds perjury trial and quit wasting the taxpayers' money. This farce has been going on for five-plus years now, and it's going nowhere. Earlier this year, prosecutors announced they had a "mountain of evidence" against Bonds. When the trial judge, Susan Illston, threw out some of it as hearsay evidence, prosecutors announced they'd appeal her decision. Apparently, they've decided they actually have a molehill. The latest version of this trial had been scheduled to start Monday with jury selection. Now, it will have to wait until the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals makes its decision, so it could be another year before the trial resumes. It's ..."

Ex-Union Chief Marvin Miller Sees Drug Testing as Solidarity Threat

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March 2

New York Times

"Monday was supposed to have been the beginning of the end of the Barry Bonds ordeal. One way or another. The denouement of the sweeping six-year drama of the United States versus Barry Bonds. But on Friday, at the 11th hour, the prosecution announced that it would appeal a judge's ruling that the government would be prevented from using critical pieces of evidence in its case against Bonds. The trial has been postponed until further notice - weeks, perhaps months. The Bonds defense team said in a statement that it was disappointed by the decision to appeal. "Instead of a trial, the government wants to prolong its six-year obsession with Barry," the statement said. "It's unfair to him, to ..."

Trial delay a free pass for Bonds

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March 2

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

columnist Gene Collier

"This second day of March, now just another manic Monday, looked destined to be a landmark date in baseball's sordid drug history, the date on which the trial of the game's most notorious slugger began in federal court in California. Instead, there will be a 48-hour delay, at which point hapless drug mule Greg Anderson will be escorted before still another judge to refuse to testify still another time, at which point the Barry Bonds trial will be postponed still again, and this time for months, perhaps even a year. Thus the unstable weather hustling up the East Coast has become part nor'easter, part billowing sigh of relief from the commission's office, as now the spillage of the Alex ..."

Feds are missing badly in their case against Bonds

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March 1

San Francisco Chronicle

columnist Gwen Knapp

"The federal government just got the Barry Bonds treatment. Pitchers know it well. They'd routinely plow through the rest of the Giants' lineup, no problem. Then they'd get to Bonds, the most feared hitter on the planet, and the whole ballgame would change. The pitcher, whether deliberately or nervously, couldn't find the strike zone. Despite their strongest inclinations, federal prosecutors are now pitching around Bonds and his perjury case. They took down Marion Jones, Trevor Graham, Tammy Thomas, Dana Stubblefield and Troy Ellerman with relative ease. Miguel Tejada might face deportation someday because he withheld information about performance-enhancing drugs. But Bonds' extraordinary ..."

Barry Bonds trial could be delayed as prosecution appeals evidence ban

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February 28

New York Daily News

"Hold everything. Barry Bonds' much-hyped perjury and obstruction of justice trial will not start Monday, as originally scheduled, after prosecutors notified U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston Friday that they will appeal her Feb. 19 order barring key government evidence. The government's decision to appeal the ruling means Bonds' trial will be postponed by several months and may not take place until early 2010. "I am amazed that they are doing this," said Golden Gate University law professor Peter Keane, who has followed the case closely. "It's a very foolish move on the government's part. It has no chance of succeeding." Prosecutors decided to appeal Illston's ruling, which barred ..."

Prosecutors to Appeal Evidence Ruling; Bonds Trial Faces Delay

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February 28

New York Times

"The perjury trial against Barry Bonds was postponed Friday after federal prosecutors said they would appeal a judge's decision excluding several pieces of evidence. The trial, which was scheduled to start with jury selection Monday, "will not proceed until further notice," according to a filing by the clerk for United States District Judge Susan Illston. The postponement came hours after Bonds's former trainer told Illston that he would not testify at the trial. Illston ruled last week that she would throw out several key pieces of evidence - including some that prosecutors said would tie Bonds to positive drug tests and doping calendars - if they could not be authenticated by the trainer, ..."

News Organizations Seek to Unseal Bonds Juror Questionnaires

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February 27

New York Times

"Several major news organizations filed a motion Thursday asking a judge to unseal the completed juror questionnaires in the Barry Bonds perjury trial, which is scheduled to begin Monday. "We believe they are a matter of public record, and they would significantly help the public and the press understand the voir dire process as it happens," said Duffy Carolan, a lawyer for the news organizations. The motion was filed on behalf of The Associated Press; The New York Times; The Los Angeles Times; Sports Illustrated; ESPN; the Hearst Corporation, which owns The San Francisco Chronicle; and MediaNews Group, which owns several newspapers in Northern California. Judge Susan Illston of the United ..."

All eyes on Barry Bonds' trainer Greg Anderson in Wednesday hearing

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February 24

New York Daily News

"A federal judge has scheduled a hearing to determine whether Barry Bonds' former trainer, Greg Anderson, will agree to testify when the home run king's perjury trial begins next month in San Francisco, although Anderson is not expected to change his mind about helping the government prove its case against Bonds. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston, who will preside over Bonds' trial when it is set to begin March 2, ordered Anderson to appear at a morning hearing Wednesday. Illston told the United States Marshals Service to notify Anderson about the hearing, and to provide him transportation to the courthouse if necessary. Anderson's attorney, Paula Canny, told the Daily News last week ..."

Judge excludes Bonds' drug tests

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February 20

MLB.com

"The federal judge hearing Barry Bonds' perjury case in San Francisco ruled on Thursday that evidence of three positive tests for the use of various steroids and all logs referring to those tests will be excluded from next month's trial if his former personal trainer refuses to testify. In a 21-page opinion, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston said that since the federal government can't establish a "chain of custody" for the records of specific urine tests without the testimony of Greg Anderson, then Bonds' personal trainer, the tests and logs are not admissible. Bonds' attorneys filed the motion to exclude last month and the government argued that it could establish a link to Bonds ..."

Judge rules some evidence inadmissible

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February 20

ESPN.com

"Unless the tight-lipped personal trainer for Barry Bonds suddenly decides to testify in the seven-time MVP's upcoming perjury trial, significant pieces of evidence in the prosecution's case will not be admitted, Judge Susan Illston ruled late Thursday. Illston ordered that lab results -- including three alleged positive steroid tests from 2000 and 2001 -- drug ledgers and doping calendars will not be admitted as evidence unless Greg Anderson testifies that the material relates to Bonds. Anderson, Bonds' longtime personal trainer, already has spent more than a year in prison for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the seven-time MVP for perjury stemming from his September ..."

Steroid-era records deserve to stay

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February 15

San Francisco Examiner

columnist Tim Liotta

"It's time baseball got off its sanctimonious seat. Admit the fact that steroids were a big part of the game for a short while. Let the results stand. Let the records stand. Quit acting as if it was only a renegade few. The evidence says otherwise. Regardless of the rules adhered to by the outside world, the game of baseball did not deem steroids illegal until well after the problem had affected everything about the game, well after the owners had pocketed the money fans paid for tickets to watch players on steroids hit tape-measure home runs. Think about it from the players' perspective. There had to be an amazing cultural pressure throughout the game of baseball during that time. The ..."

In Aaron's View, Bonds Is Home Run King

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February 15

New York Times

columnist William C. Rhoden

"On the night in 2007 that Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's home run record, Aaron, by way of video message, congratulated Bonds. Aaron said the feat required "skill, longevity and determination." "I move over and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historical achievement," he continued. "My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams." In an eye-opening column by Terence Moore in Friday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Aaron repeated his contention that Bonds was the true home run king. "There are things out there besides worrying about a home run record that somebody now holds," ..."

Aaron: Bonds can keep the record

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February 14

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

columnist Terence Moore

"Hank Aaron doesn't want his old home run record back. He really doesn't. "In all fairness to everybody, I just don't see how you really can do a thing like that and just say somebody isn't the record holder anymore, and let's go back to the way that it was," Aaron said Friday, referring to the controversy involving the legitimacy of sluggers Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez and their artificially enhanced peers. So, at the very least, Bud Selig should use his power as commissioner to make "755" baseball's official number again when it comes to all-time home runs. Selig wasn't available for comment on Friday. Even so, he told USA Today earlier this week that he is considering such ..."

Witness to Say She Saw Bonds Being Injected

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February 14

New York Times

"Federal prosecutors said on Friday that they planned to call Barry Bonds's former personal shopper at his perjury trial next month to testify that she saw Bonds being injected by Greg Anderson, his trainer. Kathy Hoskins, the former personal shopper, is the sister of Steve Hoskins, a childhood friend and former business manager of Bonds's and a person expected to be a key witness against him at trial. The disclosure, in a pretrial filing by the prosecution, did not say what Kathy Hoskins thought Bonds was being injected with. But that may not matter. In the government's indictment of Bonds, it said that Bonds lied when he testified before a grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory ..."

BALCO investigator Jeff Novitzky cleared in Barry Bonds' trainer case

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February 13

New York Daily News

"Among the sealed documents released by Judge Susan Illston in the BALCO steroids case Thursday was a report that appeared to clear the government's lead sports doping investigator and other IRS agents of any wrongdoing in a raid on the home of Barry Bonds' personal trainer. When federal agents raided the home of Greg Anderson, on Sept. 3, 2003, they seized $63,920 from a safe and a drawer in his kitchen. Less than a month later, $600 went missing, and several IRS agents, including lead BALCO investigator Jeff Novitzky, were placed under investigation by the IRS' internal review department, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The investigation, as previously ..."

Hypocrisy starts with Selig, but Bonds has taken brunt

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February 10

San Francisco Examiner

columnist Glenn Dickey

"The news that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003 is another example of the hypocrisy that surrounds baseball's Steroids Era. That hypocrisy starts at the top. Commissioner Bud Selig claims he hadn't heard of steroids in baseball until 1998. Apparently, he can't read because 10 years earlier, Thomas Boswell had written a broadly distributed column in The Washington Post identifying Jose Canseco as a steroids user. In the playoffs that year, Boston Red Sox fans chanted, "Ster-oids, ster-oids," at Canseco. Jose just smiled and flexed his muscles - and hit three home runs in a four-game A's sweep. Selig didn't want to know because home runs - caused by a combination of ..."

Bonds not real smart, either

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February 10

Contra Costa Times

columnist Cam Inman

"BARRY BONDS MUST be so jealous of Alex Rodriguez right now. When Rodriguez confessed Monday to his steroid sins, he did so face-to-face with ESPN's Peter Gammons, not under the threat of prosecution. It's not too late for Bonds, and so many others, to confess, too. There'll be ramifications, of course, but Rodriguez's admission should inspire other cheaters to come clean. In Bonds' case, he'd become an instant felon, assuming the feds would gladly accept his guilty plea and throw their own proverbial record book at him. Rodriguez is as free as a bird. He is free from a steroid secret he termed a "gorilla on my back," something he's carried since using steroids from 2001-03 after signing a ..."

Juicers just taking one for team

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February 10

San Francisco Chronicle

columnist Scott Ostler

"Maybe our thinking has been all wrong, folks. Maybe, instead of blaming the juicers for destroying the integrity of baseball and nullifying the precious record book, we should be saluting their courage and selflessness. There is a saying in baseball: "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'." These guys were trying their hearts out. They were taking one for the team. I know I risk shrunken sex organs, man breasts, horrible mood swings and devastating long-term health problems. But doggone it, my teammates need those five to 10 extra home runs, and I can't let 'em down. So courageous were the juicers that they even stood up to their union. Surely, the union initially was in favor of tough ..."

Tarnished stars will shine in Hall

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February 9

San Francisco Chronicle

columnist Bruce Jenkins

"Their day is coming. There will come a time when Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Pete Rose will be standing on a stage together in Cooperstown, soaking up the glory of their Hall of Fame induction. One can only hope they're all present for the occasion of forgiveness, for it's probably 25 years away or more. You picture one of them leaning on a cane, another barely recognizable after years of stress, perhaps one long since buried because of the after-effects of steroid abuse. The consensus among Hall of Fame voters is that McGwire's Cooperstown failures have set the tone for rejection, and all he did was look foolish before Congress. The Baseball ..."

Estranged friend is now a key witness in Barry Bonds perjury trial

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February 8

New York Daily News

"Federal agents and prosecutors have dug through Dumpsters, pored over bank records, seized urine samples and raided homes during the course of their six-year BALCO investigation. But Steve Hoskins, Barry Bonds' former friend and a key government witness when the home run king goes on trial on perjury and obstruction of justice charges next month, came signed, sealed and delivered by Bonds himself. "Barry served up Steve for the feds on a silver platter," said Hoskins' lawyer, Michael Cardoza. Agents first interviewed Hoskins in 2003, after Bonds complained to the FBI that his longtime business associate had stolen his memorabilia and forged his signature. That investigation was ..."

Verdict on Bonds is already in

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February 8

Boston Globe

columnist Bob Ryan

"Memo to Alex Rodriguez: I hope you're taking good notes as you watch what's happening to Barry Bonds, the man whose home run record you are chasing. US District Judge Susan Illston is taking a lot of the fun out of the Bonds story, isn't she? I mean, did she have to, you know, play by the rules? By indicating that she will very likely exclude prosecutorial evidence that would have been very damning to the case against the beleaguered slugger, she has done right by our system, I suppose. That's the sort of Constitutionally driven protection you or I would want if you or I were being hounded by the feds for some alleged transgression, especially if the upshot of it all would be hard time. So ..."

Bonds back in court, pleads not guilty

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February 5

San Francisco Chronicle

"Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty to federal charges of perjury and obstruction of justice today before heading for a hearing to challenge prosecution evidence that he tested positive for steroids. Dressed in a tan suit, Bonds, 44, baseball's all-time home run leader, entered the plea at a brief arraignment before a federal magistrate in San Francisco. He is charged with lying to a federal grand jury when he testified in 2003 that he never knowingly used steroids. Bonds and his lawyers then moved to another courtroom in the same building for a hearing before U.S. District Judge Susan Illston on the admissibility of evidence at the core of the government's case against him."

Bonds judge faces lose-lose chore Thursday

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February 5

San Francisco Chronicle

columist Ray Ratto

"Susan Illston's next 15 minutes of fame come today when she deals with a hillock of prosecution evidence in the Barry Bonds perjury trial, which is why she probably awoke this morning thinking that she might have been better off studying art history rather than law. The judge is being asked to determine whether tapes of Greg Anderson talking about injecting someone who may be Bonds can be authenticated without Anderson's confirmation. She has to determine whether allegedly positive drug tests of Bonds' can be authenticated beyond chain of custody issues. She has to determine how many of Bonds' contemporaries can testify at the trial. All thorny issues upon which rest the fate of the trial ..."

Bonds tests positive for 'roids four times

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February 4

New York Daily News

"Barry Bonds tested positive for steroids four times in drug screenings conducted between 2000 and 2003, according to court documents unsealed on Wednesday by the federal judge who will preside over the home run king's perjury trial next month in San Francisco. One test performed by BALCO to determine if anabolic steroids were detectable in Bonds' urine found the steroid methenolone. Two other tests found traces of another steroid, nandrolone, in Bonds' urine, according to a filing by prosecutors. Records seized from the home of Greg Anderson, the personal trainer who has spent two stints in prison for refusing to testify against Bonds, "provide a detailed record of steroid distribution ..."

Positive Drug Tests in Bonds Case

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February 4

New York Times

"Evidence from the federal government unsealed in the Barry Bonds's case on Wednesday showed that Bonds tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in November 2000 and February 2001. The evidence also shows a recorded conversation between Bonds's former trainer, Greg Anderson, and his former business manager. In that conversation, the government said that Anderson told Hoskins that he had injected Bonds with performance-enhancing drugs. Anderson also referred to inside information he said he had about baseball's drug-testing program, the government said. The evidence is contained in a 220-page document unsealed by the judge overseeing Barry Bonds's perjury trial. Included in the ..."

Bonds' sealed court records to be released

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February 4

Denver Post

"A federal judge plans to unseal hundreds of pages of court documents at the heart of the government's case against home run king Barry Bonds, who's accused of lying to a grand jury about using performance-enhancing drugs. Among the documents to be released today are a transcript of a recorded conversation between Bonds' personal trainer Greg Anderson and Bonds' former business partner Steve Hoskins, as well as positive drug test results prosecutors say belong to Bonds. One is a urine sample submitted by Bonds during baseball's anonymous survey testing program in 2003, according to The New York Times. Bonds' sample did not test positive under MLB's program but was retested by investigators ..."

'Little guys' loom large in Bonds perjury trial

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January 31

San Francisco Chronicle

"They were players whom Greg Anderson called his "little guys" - onetime Giants who later acknowledged they had received banned drugs from Barry Bonds' weight trainer. Now, six years after Anderson reluctantly mentioned some of his clients in an interview with federal agents, such former Giants as Benito Santiago and Bobby Estalella seem set to join Jason Giambi, now back with the A's, as prosecution witnesses in Barry Bonds' upcoming trial on perjury charges. In grand jury testimony in 2003, the players admitted they had obtained steroids from Anderson, who ultimately pleaded guilty to a steroid charge in the BALCO scandal. As a result, legal experts said the players could become pivotal ..."

BALCO testimony wild card in Barry Bonds trial

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January 30

New York Daily News

"Former San Francisco Giants catcher Bobby Estalella told the BALCO grand jury in 2003 that he never shared information about his use of "the cream" and "the clear" with any player, presumably including Barry Bonds. Estalella's testimony, however, could be in conflict with information in an ESPN.com report saying Estalella has been subpoenaed to testify in Bonds' upcoming perjury and obstruction of justice trial, and that he is expected to say that he had firsthand knowledge that Bonds knew what he was doing when he used steroids. Bonds told the BALCO grand jury that he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. Estalella, who played with Bonds from 2000-01 in San Francisco, told ..."

Feds have targeted Bonds case

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January 30

San Francisco Chronicle

columnist Ray Ratto

"After months in hiatus to be redesigned and re-cast, the morbidly popular surreality TV show "Cream'n'Clear Cavalcade," is back on the air. Yes, it's more fun with steroids and their chemical brethren, and on both coasts for different reasons. The Kirk Radomski book is out, which takes care of the East Coast angle. The Jay McGwire book is still looking for a publisher, but its crux - Mark McGwire's brother and introduction to needlecraft - has already been leaked. The Barry Bonds perjury trial has taken new and more strident turns, with former Giants catcher Bobby Estalella allegedly ready to testify and Greg Anderson's mother-in-law's home being uber-searched in advance of the March 2 ..."

Feds raid home of Bonds' trainer's mother-in-law

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January 29

San Francisco Examiner

"With guns drawn, 20 federal agents raided the home of the mother-in-law of Barry Bonds' personal trainer Greg Anderson on Wednesday, according to Anderson's attorney. A search warrant was executed at the Redwood City home of Madeleine Gestas on Wednesday morning as part of a fraud investigation, according to FBI spokesman Special Agent Joseph Schadler. "It's not related to Barry Bonds' trial," Schadler said. "We're not really at liberty to talk about exactly what's going on because it's an ongoing investigation." However, Mark Geragos, Anderson's attorney, said the investigations are part of what he says is an effort to pressure the personal trainer to testify at Bonds' perjury trial. The ..."

Greg Anderson subpoenaed to Barry Bonds trial; Trainer's mother-in-law's home raided

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January 29

New York Daily News

"Federal prosectors have subpoenaed Barry Bonds' former trainer Greg Anderson, and Wednesday they raided the home of his mother-in-law in what appears to be an attempt to rachet up pressure on Anderson to testify in Bonds' upcoming trial for perjury and obstruction of justice charges. Twenty agents from the FBI and IRS raided the home of Madeleine Gestas, who has been targeted by the feds for financial crimes. She is the mother of Anderson's wife, Nicole. Anderson is expected to be one of the first and most crucial witnesses called by the government in Bonds' trial, which is set to begin March 2 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. According to Anderson's attorney, Mark Geragos, his ..."

Urine Samples Said to Link Bonds to Steroids

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January 29

New York Times

"Federal prosecutors preparing for Barry Bonds's perjury trial are said to have evidence that links Bonds to the use of performance-enhancing drugs other than the "cream" and the "clear," the designer substances that have become synonymous with the Bonds case. A person who has reviewed the evidence said that the authorities detected anabolic steroids in urine samples linked to Bonds that they gathered in connection with their investigation. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity. The evidence could be significant because questions have been raised about whether the "clear," which like the "cream" was created to avoid detection in drug tests, was technically a steroid under federal ..."

New indictment, same charges for Bonds

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December 5

San Francisco Chronicle

"Federal prosecutors in San Francisco indicted Barry Bonds for a third time Thursday, once again rewriting the charges facing the former Giants star to correct technical errors. Under the new indictment, Bonds is charged with 10 counts of lying under oath and one count of obstruction of justice, all in connection with his testimony in 2003 before the grand jury that investigated the BALCO steroids scandal. The government contends that Bonds, 44, lied when he said he had never knowingly used banned drugs obtained from the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative in Burlingame or from his trainer, Greg Anderson. Last year Bonds was indicted on five felony charges in connection with the testimony. ..."

Judge leaves most of Bonds perjury indictment intact

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November 24

San Jose Mercury News

"A federal judge has set the stage for the perjury case against former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds to move forward, leaving intact most of the felony charges accusing him of lying to a grand jury about using steroids. In a ruling today, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston did shave five counts from the government's 15 count perjury and obstruction of justice indictment, agreeing with Bonds' lawyers that they were duplicative and legally flawed. Federal prosecutors can choose to recraft some of he dismissed charges in another indictment, or proceed with the remaining perjury allegations against Bonds, any of them enough to expose him to the prospect of federal prison. Bonds, ..."

Bonds should get off easy - everyone else in S.F. court has

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October 23

San Francisco Chronicle

columnist Gwen Knapp

"A few weeks ago, the idea that Marion Jones deserved a presidential pardon for lying to federal investigators about her steroid use seemed ludicrous. The suggestion that Barry Bonds could be convicted of perjury and not serve a second in prison seemed even more preposterous. Now, both possibilities seem entirely just. Jones did six months in prison for her crime, after plea-bargaining and begging for forgiveness, albeit with crocodile tears. The judge in New York showed no pity. He even went so far as to say that he believed the erstwhile Olympic champion was still lying and deserved an even longer sentence than prosecutors recommended. Jones should have found a way to enter her plea in ..."

A's ideal Bonds bidders

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October 19

San Francisco Chronicle

"If baseball officials want to show they're not colluding against Barry Bonds, they should make Bud Selig contact old college chum Lew Wolff, who happens to own the A's, and tell him to offer the home-run king a minimum salary for 2009. Bonds wouldn't accept it. But Major League Baseball could say one of its teams made an offer, and the union would lose steam with its plan to file a collusion grievance and prove MLB conspired to ensure Bonds won't play again. Even if Bonds were to accept Cliff Pennington money from the A's, they could fill a gigantic hole in the middle of their lineup and do it their conventional way, on the cheap. But it's not realistic. Agent Jeff Borris suggested during ..."

Collusion case means Giants not done with Bonds yet

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October 19

San Francisco Chronicle

columnist Ray Ratto

"Here's hoping that the Barry Bonds collusion story results in another heavy fine for baseball, if only to imagine the message Bud Selig leaves on Billy Neukom's cell. "Bill, Bud. Uhh, we lost the Bonds collusion thing, damned Communist arbitrator, and everyone owes a million bucks each. We'll need your check by Friday. Have a good weekend." And then we can imagine Neukom turning varying stages of maroon while his bowtie spins at hyperspeed. The guy wasn't even on the job as the Giants' boss when the collusion happened, and was working for the team with the most legitimate claim of innocence, and he still gets nailed. No, that won't torque him at all. As we know, the Major League Baseball ..."