Give 'Em The Finger Barry Bonds

So here we are, February 28th and Barry Bond's court date is scheduled for March 2nd. Hold up, it was scheduled for March 2nd, but now there is no telling when it will happen because it has been pushed back for a time to be determined later.

What do I think about this? What does the rest of Juggernaut ENT think about this? Simple. We think it is absolutely hysterical. The score now is Barry Bonds: ALOT and the Judicial System: NOT A DAMN THING!

The funny thing about all of this is they want to prosecute him for purgery, but in the end, Bonds said he used the cream and the clear and he did it under oath. Basically he admitted to using Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs), he just never admitted to knowing they were PEDs. Why is that not enough for the lawyers and politicians involved in this? Why must they waste their time, not to mention our tax dollars on chasing Barry Bonds and trying to get a guilty verdict against him?

Bonds admitted under oath in 2003 that Greg Anderson administered “the Clear” and “the Cream” to him. However, those substances were not classified as illegal steroids until 2005. If they were not classified as illegal until two years after he admitted under oath and four years after the "positive" urine sample from 2001, how has he done anything wrong? Hell, A-Rod is getting off the hook for a test he took in 2003 because there was no steroid policy that year and Bonds' positive test is two years older than A-Rod's.

This is the latest sign that, after five years, millions of dollars and untold man hours, the case against Bonds is in shambles. The likelihood it can ever be put back together looks increasingly slim. While not total vindication, this is a satisfying day for Bonds. If the appeal is denied, the charges may be dropped for lack of evidence. Bonds has maintained his innocence on claims he lied under oath when he told a grand jury he never knowingly took steroids.

And then there is Greg Anderson, the type of friend we all should have on our side. Greg Anderson, who served three stints in prison totaling more than a year for refusing to speak to prosecutors. Anderson stood before Judge Susan Illston on Friday and told her he would not testify at the trial, even as she threatened to jail him for a fourth time. Man you gotta love a friend like that. A friend who is willing to go to jail over and over again to protect you. I don't care what his payoff will be when this is all over, but you gotta love the guys ability to keep his mouth shut no matter what.

Why is the government so hell bent on nailing Bonds? Almost everyone believes he took PEDs, even if he didn't know he was taking them out right. He has since been blacklisted in baseball much like the 1919 Chicago Black Sox. It's time to move on and put this to rest.

But no, Bonds broke the Home Run record and baseball, of all the sports, holds true to its records. because Bonds was taking PEDs and broke the most sacred record he has to be banished and giving the Scarlett Letter. Let's not take into account that damn near every other baseball player during Bonds playing days was doing the same thing.

No one seems interested in looking into Brady Anderson's stats. In 1995 Anderson hit 16 homeruns. then is '96 he jumped to 50. Then declined to 18 homeruns in '96. Wow, a 34homerun jump and then a 32 homerun decline and no one wants to make a stink over this? No one is chasing after McGwire or Sosa anymore either. Nope, it is all about Barry Bonds because let's face it, the media hates Bonds because he is not "media friendly." And why should he be? You would get tired of a camera or a microphone in your face each and every time you stepped out of your house, your car or the locker room.

Yes, athletes are in the lime light and they are pursued by the media, but at some point they need a break too. Peyton Manning is all over the damn television with commercials and appearances on Saturday Night Live, but in the end he still gets time alone for himself and his family. Barry never got that from day one.

Now back to stats, let's look at Barry's stats and see where the big jump first started. Up until 2001, when Barry hit his record 73 homeruns, he had hit 40+ homeruns 4 times. He hit 30+ homeruns 10 times and 20+ 13 times. In fact, Barry's worst year was his rookie year when he hit 16 homeruns in 113 games. in 1989, his fourth year in the majors, he hit 18. After hitting 73 in 2001, Bonds hit 40+ the next three years in a roll. Yes, he jumped from 49 to 73, but unlike Anderson, Bonds always put up big numbers and was always tops in homeruns.

If the feds can’t prove Bonds took illegal steroids, then they certainly can’t prove he lied when he said he didn’t knowingly take them.

All the government has left is a tape of Anderson talking about injecting something, but never mentioning steroids, and the testimony of a handful of witnesses, including an ex-girlfriend and a former business partner. Without the physical evidence, the case was weakened – which is why the government will appeal the evidentiary ruling. If the appeals court upholds Illston’s ruling, the case may be over.

This at least offers Bonds and his fans some thread of a counterargument. If the government appeal fails and the charges are dropped, Bonds never will have definitively failed a drug test nor been convicted of any crime.

It also is a terribly humiliating setback for the government and its obsession with the pursuit of drug cheats in baseball. Prosecutors long ago identified Bonds as the biggest catch. While potential perjury charges still remain with Roger Clemens, that case is alive because Clemens chose to testify in front of Congress. Maybe Clemens should have taken a page from Bonds and kept his mouth shut.

The appeal will determine the end of this story, but Friday afternoon in San Francisco, the government took a major step backward at a time when it thought it would be going in for the kill.

It's time to put this to rest and move on to the hear and now and do what you can to stop the spread of PEDs in professional sports. Leave Bonds alone and work on the 103 plus A-Rod and see what you can do to rid the game of steroids and bring back the pureness of the game. that is unlikely to happen because as long as salaries continue to increase, the need to be bigger, faster and stronger is always going to be there. Let's face it Strength + Speed + Size = Big Money and that is the bottom line of professional sports.

Instead of focusing on Bonds and the past, why don't you focus on the fact that the common man can't afford to go to a damn game anymore because tickets have gotten so ridiculous. The NFL, MLB and NBA may want to take a look at what the NHL is going through before the find themselves in the same boat. I went to Stars game recently (only because I was given free tickets) and it was worse than going to Clippers vs Grizzlies game. There was no one there. the AAC was empty and echoed like a tomb. I got to looking at the prices for tickets and when you figured the cost for a lower level seat, parking, food, drink and gas to and from the game, you had spent well over $100 bucks for one person. I don't know about you, but I am happy as can be to sit at home on my couch and watch a game in HD for free. No long line for the bathroom, all the beer and food in my fridge that I want and no idiot fan to sit next to or behind.

Then again, this is just my opinion and hell, I am entitled to it.