Breaking: Barry Bonds Indicted
Uncategorized November 15th. 2007, 5:23pm
See you on the stand, Barry. He was just indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice. Career over? Gotta be too radioactive too touch now.
**UPDATE** The Smoking Gun has the indictment, in all its glory … AND Greg Anderson, Bonds’ trainer, was released from jail (by order of a judge), today.
(No link yet, we’ll update you with one as it happen.)
(Here’s the first one, a small brief from SI.)
(A more lengthy AP story from the San Fran Chronicle. Here’s alll you need to know: “The indictment charges Bonds with lying when he said that he didn’t knowingly take steroids given to him by his personal trainer Greg Anderson. He also denied taking steroids at anytime in 2001 when he was pursuing the single season home-run record.”)
51 Responses to “Breaking: Barry Bonds Indicted”
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November 15th, 2007 at 5:25 PM
Booyakasha!
November 15th, 2007 at 5:27 PM
Awww the Federal Grand Jury is a beast, Bonds is finished!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 15th, 2007 at 5:31 PM
I believe you can get the full story at ktvu.com, at least that’s the news station listed at CNN.com, where it is now the lead story.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:32 PM
BLAMMO! Why couldn’t they have gotten around to this BEFORE the ‘07 season?
November 15th, 2007 at 5:34 PM
As an aside, can we ridicule the link on the ESPN main page listing the 72-10 Bulls games side-by-side with the Celtics and the claim that the Celtics are currently ahead of the pace set by the Bulls?
November 15th, 2007 at 5:34 PM
I’d imagine the guy who caught the record-setting ball is breathing a sigh of relief that he sold it when he did…
November 15th, 2007 at 5:35 PM
The Bulls started 41-3!!!
Bonds is fucked.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:37 PM
Where is Pedro Gomez? Someone get me Pedro Gomez on the phone!!!!
November 15th, 2007 at 5:38 PM
Barry, you just got SERVED !
November 15th, 2007 at 5:39 PM
It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:39 PM
Well, now at least ESPN will have something to talk about this week other than A-Rod and Ohio State/Michigan. Note to self: to preserve sanity, DO NOT turn on ESPNradio tomorrow.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:41 PM
ESPN has recycled old stories verbatim to get there story out there, so it may not stay long, but this is ridiculous. I quote…
“Bonds’ physical growth was accompanied by a remarkable power surge. During the 2001 season he brok Mark McGwire’s single-season home run crown, and by 2006, he’d passed Babe Ruth to move into second-place among the sport’s most prolific power hitters. He will soon in all likelihood surpass Aaron’s career mark of 755 homers.
Fucking morons.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:50 PM
Ha, can’t wait to see the asterisk now.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:54 PM
These are very funny comments, people. Nicely done.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:02 PM
Asterisk nothing, if he’s convicted I doubt they’ll include him at all.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:04 PM
Neil Everret: “Joining us, is Roger Cossak, ESPN legal advisor…RIGHTNOW!
get ready for too much roger cossak on sportscenter…
i have a feeling MLB might just tell Bonds to just retire with the record and both sides can go their own ways.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:06 PM
Dis that Minor League offer have provisions for this sort of thing?
November 15th, 2007 at 6:29 PM
OK, by a show of hands, how many Barry supporters are left ? Hello ?Bueller ?
November 15th, 2007 at 6:31 PM
TBL, let me inject some font steroids into your last comment. Ana-Bold-Font Steroid, if you will.
These are very funny comments, people. Nicely done.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:32 PM
Look up “owned” in the dictionary, and you’ll see Barry Bonds’ size 27 melon.
Also, over/under 20,000 “ESPN Conversation” comments under the main AP story?
November 15th, 2007 at 6:37 PM
Breaking: Happiest man on the planet right now?……O.J. Simpson. Give Nancy Grace something else to talk about for 48hrs.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:47 PM
Bonds lied? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
I hope he becomes somebody’s bitch at Pelican Bay.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:48 PM
Stephen A Smith just called “a spade, a spade.”
November 15th, 2007 at 6:49 PM
/threadjack
TBL received a mention in an ESPN.com column about the girl who broke her leg and finished the race.
Column here
November 15th, 2007 at 6:49 PM
@SterlinSharpe- Nancy Grace isn’t doing much talking these days. She’s in the hospital with blood clots in her lungs.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:03 PM
And isn’t it ironic that ESPN just hired one of those Game of Shadows dudes to do ‘investigative reporting’, or whatever.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:08 PM
I think we all saw this coming, but now that it’s finally happening, it’s a weird feeling. I’m glad it happened, and as a Giants fan, I’m super glad SF didn’t re-sign him for another year. That would have been a major fiasco.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:12 PM
There is a saying in the legal profession: “You can indict a ham sandwich.” Indictment is one thing; conviction is entirely another.
As responsible, Constitution-loving people, I’m sure we can all agree that Barry Bonds, just like any other American citizen, is entitled to a presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt as determined by a jury of his peers. Until that time, I expect that we’ll all temper our comments and reserve judgment on the matter.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:16 PM
SO THE FUCK WHAT, he lied to cops? Who wouldnt? Plus, he has a key witness already sitting in the can for him. No jury, let alone a federal jury in San Francisco will convict him. I think BSPN just said that “a grand jury can indict a ham sandwich.”
November 15th, 2007 at 7:19 PM
Enough with the hyperbole, threatening 30 years for a person with no criminal convictions? Gay ass ESPN and Tony K and everyone else are, needless to say, gay faggots. Barry- Lawyer up and sit tight.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:22 PM
cool_rick: Greg Anderson was released from jail today.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:28 PM
Wow, flippin bastards are a bitch then. Where can I find the actual link for that.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:29 PM
Not to be outdone, A-Rod has apparently re-signed. So, are ESPN headquarters just going to explode now?
November 15th, 2007 at 7:37 PM
Great take from supersonicsoul.com. Yes, its a basketball blog, but a great point nonetheless.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:39 PM
Should Barry B now become the ultimate Flipper? And by the way, a person convicted of a FEDERAL CRIME goes to a FEDERAL PRISION. And these will be low level f-5 or better. HE WILL NOT GO TO PELICAN BAY (state prision). Dont any of you serve time anywhere?
November 15th, 2007 at 8:22 PM
TBL — Don’t forget when you someday do one of those lapdog puff pieces on this Fainaru-Wada character (along the lines of your Junior Feinstein bootlick) please ask this guy why HE’s not in jail. Fainaru-Wada was complicitous in helping to leak grand jury testimony. He was fed it by a lowlife lawyer who HIMSELF is now in jail. And now this creep is another of ESPN’s “investigative” reporters. The crap that Mark Shapiro wrought never ends.
Another piece you might think about doing is how Shapiro is getting $10 million a year from Dan Snyder for taking Six Flags to its all-time low stock price of $1.94.
A world full of frauds……
November 15th, 2007 at 8:24 PM
I think the last time I heard the “you can indict a ham sandwich” statement was sometime in July, right about the time that Ookie got indicted by the Feds. Didn’t turn out so well for him.
November 15th, 2007 at 8:28 PM
Adebisi says “hello.”
November 15th, 2007 at 9:01 PM
@ Dirty Sanchez- those idiots rolled on Ron Mexico in less than 20 minutes. Anderson has already been convicted, released, taken into custody again and served 14 months. This investigation has been going on for 4 years. The best you got is obstruction?
We are not dealing with amatuer criminal hanger-on’s.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:47 PM
It looks like a desperate move. They knew that Anderson was going to be released today. So, they have to go to trial with what little they have, and they have very little. It’ll be interesting to see if the geeky one liners on here will be as comically lame once Bonds gets off scott free.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:59 PM
@cool_rick- dude, I know Pelican Bay is a state prison. I was just using it to make a point.
November 15th, 2007 at 11:55 PM
hey coolrick, since you seem to know all your stuff i have a question about your statement saying that a san fransisco jury will never convict bonds. my question is, coolrick, that for federal cases dont they go out of the city it took place in to avoid bias jurors?? im not too sure. i hope coolrick has the answers. and supporting barry bonds is worse than supporting our president. coolrick is a bitch
November 16th, 2007 at 1:29 AM
With apologies TBL….but I had to pimp my lengthy opinion:
Look, we all know BB did steroids right?
We know he knowingly did steroids right?
I dont have an overly huge problem with it because he definetly wasnt the only one AND he was a great player before using the roids.
My problem is why the government is involved in asking Barry and the others about their drug use. I know that sounds silly, but think about this…the government investigation should have started and STOPPED with the distribution of the substances. The criminal acts involved with the steroids are the posession of, and distribution of the substances.
Was Barry Bonds ever involved in the distribution of steroids? Probably not. Was Barry Bonds ever caught in posession of steroids? My guess is no, otherwise he would have been arrested a long time ago.
Being drunk, high, or impared has never been a cause for prosecution or arrest unless you had given law enforcement another reason such as disorderly conduct, peeing on a park bench, or blatatnly using the substances in front of someone. Steroids are the same way. Being juiced up on steroids is not the crime…its the posession and distribution thats the crime right?
Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and the others. Why were they questioned? They were questioned to corroborate and expose the collective efforts of the folks at BALCO regarding their distribution of the illegal substances. In other words, Bonds and Giambi wernt the ones on trial.
After cooperating with the investigation of BALCO about the DISTRIBUTION of steroids, these guys were questioned about their steroid use. Did they have an obligation to answer when there was no proof of taking steroids. Probably not.
But they did under the comfort level of the fact that they wernt coming after them….they were going after BALCO.
When you feel like you arent the one on trial and people are on a fact finding mission to nail down steroid distribution rings and not you, would you be completely forthcoming…or intentionally vague.
Since the government has the burden of proof and you wernt on trial, I am guessing vagueness would be the popular choice, especially since you wernt the one they were going after.
Barry Bonds is guilty of being vague. Saying that you never KNOWINGLY used steroids despite knowing that you tested positive for steroids doesnt mean you never took steroids. It just means you never KNOWINGLY used them.
The government has already achieved what they had set out to do. They shut down an illegal steroid distribution ring. Dragging all of the users through the mud is never what happens when a drug lord is taken out. What is paraded is the huge bust and confiscation of cash, drugs, and guns. The government never goes around and lines up all of the users and prosecutes them for enabling the distributors to distribute do they? They dont go out of their way and question the users about their use either. This is because there are far too many users and it would take far too much money to do so. Tax money. Our Money.
Wether you like it or not, steroids, like cocaine, and marijuana is a drug. Drug dealers are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, while the users usually just pay a fine.
Why are steroid users being held to a different standard?
Four years to go after one steroid user is a complete waste of government time and resources.
Spend some of that time getting us out of Iraq and figuring out how to get us off of foreign oil. Get out of baseball and get back to matters of national security.
Bonds used steroids….but the last time I checked he wasnt hijacking planes to fly into skyscrapers.
November 16th, 2007 at 2:13 AM
I would love to hear the message Selig left on Donald Fehr’s voicemail.
November 16th, 2007 at 7:31 AM
@IwillneverCchampions- this is a criminal proceeding, not a civil one in which a defendant can move to another venue. It can only take place where one of the alleged criminal actions took place. Study your fucking criminal pro and civil pro. By the way, he was indicted by the Federal Court in San Francisco, where he will be arraigned. Unless Bonds lied to federal officials in Cleveland, he wont be tried there.
And another thing, fuck, didnt Scooter Libby get a trial in Washington D.C. You are a fucking idiot. Use that Westlaw password they give you in lawschool, or just drop out and blog all day, either way is cool with me.
Mikeychx- totally agree with you. Waste of time and money.
November 16th, 2007 at 8:19 AM
Where is IwillneverCchampions? Probably snorting mom and dad’s money while attempting to complete law school at Golden Gate University.
November 16th, 2007 at 10:12 AM
mikeychx and Cool_Rick:
“Look, we all know BB did steroids right?
We know he knowingly did steroids right?”
I have no legal experience, just average joe taxpayer like 80% of the country. If above is true, and Bonds used ‘roids, and we agree; then he LIED(or made false statements that can be proven) to a federal grand jury. What he did goes against the fabric of the American justice system.
Where is sheffield’s indictment? Where is Giambi’s indictment? Oh, they didn’t LIE to a FEDERAL GRAND JURY!!
But Lil’ Kim did and Mark Fuhrman(not federal)!!
November 16th, 2007 at 10:39 AM
I don’t know about anyone else, but just saying “I didn’t knowingly ingest or inject something into my body” isn’t a valid argument for innocence. When you’re an adult you are responsible for what you put into your body.
If Bonds tested positive at BALCO and didn’t end his relationship with them and Greg Anderson, he was complicit in his use of Steroids.
It’s true that a Grand Jury could indict a ham sandwich. I’ve been on one and you only need enough evidence to make a case, not prove he’s guilty. But in my experience, not one DA brought a case before us he or she didn’t feel comfortable taking to trial. Indictments don’t happen just for the hell of it, they obviously proved there was enough evidence to take Bonds to court for perjury, which is the hardest thing to prove in court.
They have something on Bonds and pretty soon we’ll see what it is.
November 16th, 2007 at 10:49 AM
So its worth speding millions of our tax dollars to go after Barry for lying. They should have had 3 momnths at most to buidl a case. 4 years and millions of dollars later is not worth it in my book and shows that this is just a witch hunt. I hope Barry gets acquitted, and I hope that once the Mitchell report comes out and shows that Clemens and other MLB golden boys used PEDs as well that ESPN and TBL and every other outlet that gets off on persecuting Barry goes after them with the same zeal. I am not a Barry Bonds fan I just hate hypocrisy and public lust to see people suffer.
November 16th, 2007 at 11:35 AM
Well said, Mikeychx!!!!
November 16th, 2007 at 2:59 PM
@WC- use the money to investigate the remaining 20% of people that dont pay taxes. Other uses include:
1. Bush’s illegal war
2. “Instead of a war on poverty, they got a war on Drugs, so the police can bother me.” (Tupac)
3. Justice Department firing of attorneys
4. The dropping of the dollar v. the Euro
5. Torture
6. The sucess of “Dancing with the Stars.”
7. ESPN’s obsession with stand-off comentary.
8. Why nobody knows of Bill O’Reilly’s lufa spounge incident.
9. TBL’s obsesion with A-Rod.
10. Gambling ( i know this hurts most of us) by NBA referees.