I think the man has bigger problems than steroids because it's obvious he's now smoking crack as well. HIs rant makes absolutely nooooooooooo sense. I mean, what does Sanford & Son have to do with the media's take on steroids? Alcohol the number one killer? Is he for real?

This is the man that's going to own the home run record. Uuuuggghhhhhh.

I was just happy he didn't shoot anybody.

I loved when some reporter would ask about his knee and the status for the opener, and you could hear the fellow media say under their breaths, "PUSSY!" In a press conference like that, they all benefit if someone throws out a question that cracks him, so they're kinda working as a team. Till some techer's pet asks about his knee.

But I feel for Bonds. He gets a bad rap, because he's black and not because he's a miserable prick.

The contrast between the '80 olympic hockey team and Barry Bonds is so much that I found it hard to scroll down from today's post to yesterday's. Given the current situation in the NHL it seems like they are much more Barry Bondsish than Mike Eruzionesq.

Pisses me off to no end.

Just some comments my friends had during the press conference:

Mark (a Minnesota hippie who thinks sports are "dumb", so he doesn't watch them. Wasn't sure if it was Barry Bonds last night.) - "Man, this guy is an ass!"

Adam (Cubs Fan) - "He is the only person on whom I've ever wished bodily harm. Just something so he doesn't break Hank Aaron's record."

Could I chime in here a minute? I've been watching Bonds since I moved to SF from NY in '93. I'll be the first person to go on record as saying he certainly isn't a "warm and fuzzy" type of person, especially with the media. I think it's unfair that so many people pass judgement on a man they've never even met. Bonds' history of disdain for the media goes back even further than his playing days. He had to watch, as a child, his father being ripped apart by the media because he wasn't "good enough" to to accept the torch from Willie Mays. This ultimately led to Bobby's drinking and smoking abuse, which Barry got to watch firsthand.

I'm not going to try and pretend Barry didn't take steroids. But I think most people would be shocked if they found out how many guys have used perfomance-enhancing drugs - up to, and incluing, amphetamines (which MLB's new policy doesn't screen for). And yes, Virginia, even Hammerin' Hank himself has admitted to popping greenies during his playing career.

Barry doesn't want the public's love and do you know what? He won't get it. But anyone who doesn't think he isn't a first-ballot Hall of Famer is letting his judgement be clouded by the man they see in front of the microphone - and not the player on the field. Show me another player in this era who strikes so much fear into the hearts of opposing managers and pitchers - I dare you.

Oh, and don't deny that steroids helped him - just as Ruth got help from not facing colored players, no night games, easier pitching - but steroids don't magically create that kind of player.

If they did, we'd be on the phone with Armando Rios, asking him how he'd like his Cooperstown plaque to be presented.

"But anyone who doesn't think he isn't a first-ballot Hall of Famer is letting his judgement be clouded by the man they see in front of the microphone - and not the player on the field."

Aren't they the same person? - Just as Wayne Gretzky's legend grows because of his humility and politeness Barry Bonds' legend is diminished as a result of his arrogance and drug use. Why would anyone separate the play and the player? Ask Pete Rose about that one....

"Aren't they the same person?"

- So should we throw out Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, and any other HOF'er who wasn't well-liked by the press or public?

"Ask Pete Rose about that one"

- What Pete Rose did was clearly and expressly forbidden by MLB. Players have been taking performance-enhancing drugs for decades. I don't think that makes it any more right, but I don't believe it's as detrimental to baseball as gambling.

I'm not saying throw people out of the HOF - I'm saying that when you look at an athlete's career and decide whether or not you feel that they deserve to be in the hall of fame one of the factors in that determination is the way that they conduct themselves off of the field, arena, rink, etc.
It can add to a players appeal or hurt it. It isn't and shouldn't be separated from their play in this decision.

Your second point is moronic... Performance enhancing drugs are just as "clearly and expressly forbidden" as gambling. Gambling has also been around for decades - should that make it ok? and your opinion of what is worse for the game, be it gambling or drugs really doesn't hold much weight. They both hurt it - who knows which is the greater evil.

Bonds was all over the place yesterday - repeatedly changing his point 3 or 4 times in a sentence. I think Paul's point about him "going all in", was excellent. Must admit, that while watching the press conference, the Pete Rose analogy crossed my mind, too.

However, there were some subtle hints in the miasma of b.s. spewing from his mouth that smacked of some culpability. While I don't think he'll ever admit to KNOWINGLY using steroids - testing the government's resolve to how badly they want to prove that - he blurped out some things that sounded like a guilty person.

Particularly all the "let's move on"; MLB will fix its own problems; there are worse things for your body than performance-enhancing drugs... Sounded eerily similar to Giambi's statements, no?

None of this will cost "Ol' Pumpkin' Head" the Hall of Fame, mind you. In my mind, he's the greatest player of my generation. Ofcourse, I could easily be singing a different tune, if Griffey Jr had just let Canseco, McGwire and Giambi inject him in the butt, too.

Robcit

- How can you hold Bonds to a standard that you don't apply to Cobb, Williams, etc....is that fair? Sorry, but if you're going to start weighing a ballplayer's personality as criteria for HOF induction, you'd better go back and look at some of the other members and re-evaluate their status.

"Performance enhancing drugs are just as "clearly and expressly forbidden" as gambling."

- Actually, I don't think that's true. Wasn't the stuff McGuire used in '98 allowed at the time? MLB's drug policy, until now, has been pretty lax....in fact, the steroids that Giambi, Bonds and Sheffield have been accused of using weren't banned by MLB until recently. So to say that their just as forbidden as gambling simply isn't true.

"Gambling has also been around for decades - should that make it ok"

- No, of course not - that's not what I was implying. But gambling is clearly the greater of the two evils. I don't go to a ballgame under the pretense that the players are all wonderful human beings - most of them are far from that. But I do expect to see a game in which EVERY player plays to the best of his abilities. If players start throwing games to make some money, it no longer becomes a sport, but a spectacle. At that point, you may as well go watch professional wrestling.

Peformance-enhancing drugs simply help players play better - albeit it is cheating. In the end they're still trying to win and beat the opponent, not let the opponent win for the sake of a few bucks.

It doesn't matter what he says. The proof will be in his play. When he can't hit homers out of the park anymore, he'll be the one looking even more stupid.

Ty Cobb is always the first ballplayer named when the subject of character as a determining factor for admission to Cooperstown is raised. Ty Cobb played baseball in a different era, and his qualifications were judged accordingly, by the sportswriters of his time.

I think the main difference (putting sliding into a base spikes up aside) between Ty Cobb and Barry Bonds- or Pete Rose- is that Cobb's character flaws didn't affect the integrity of the game of baseball nor did it affect public perception and trust of his fellow ballplayers.

A future Hall-of-Famer, whipping through wives and girlfriends, or going bankrupt, or throwing a verbal tantrum or two over the years to reporters, doesn't change the trust by the fans of the integrity (read: ethics and fair play) of baseball. A future Hall-of-Famer who gambles on baseball teams or takes steroids, does.

There has to be some line in the sand that can't be crossed. If we the fans, the ticket and memorabilia buying public, don't insist on some degree of ethics and integrity and sportsmanship from the teams and players we support, then we have taken away from the beauty and grace and purity of this wonderful game.

wow struck a nerve here i see...know what? i agree with 7th's angel Mark>the hippy> hes an ass

wtf is up with Canseco> doesent he know the old addage "loose lips...sink ships"? or does he care? as long as his wallet get filled? eukkkk
maybe he can pay for his speeding tickets,or his ex-family's reality show. though i`d hit his daughter

omg!!! i`m such an idiot!! i made the mistake of typing in canseco when i ment gastineau. my mind was reeling at the time...most of you know what i meant. my bad!