[Purple Haize]

I will stand corrected and say that I was wrong. Baseball is NOT entertaining, but it is entertainment.
Rules and standards are in every sport. I also know that everyone tries to get around them. Would I prefer to have the records broken "naturally"? Absolutely. BUT I am not up in arms about him taking HGH (probably not Steroids) and breaking the record. Look at his body? In a few years he will look like an old football player when he tries to walk. In the words of that great naval comander "Son you re writing checks that your body can't cash" He will get his comuppance. In a few years, when he has difficulty walking, moving, his wife leaving him and his record broken, what will he have? Nothing.
Do I condone illegal activites? Not at all. BUT I just look at the whole picture of entertainment and realize that hey, if I bout Ozzy albums, Zepplin Albums, Elvis albums, watch a Gary Beusse or Robert Downey movie even enjoyed a Van Gogh painting then why should I be upset if an athlete does the same thing? If I don't like the athlete, and I don't care for Bonds, then that is one thing. If I don't like him just b/c of the use of performance enhancers...........ahhh not sure that is consistent
As for the Vick comment, I am not sure how abusing and torturing animals helps increas on field performance. You are also dealing with killing and injuring others. Who is Bonds hurting (physically) by his HGH use?

[scuzdriver]

People dislike Barry for many reasons other than being a cheater. He is the biggest JERK of all times! People still like Clinton (God only knows why) and he was a cheater, liar, ........but probably not a JERK like Barry. If I'm pitching, I throw at his big mellon!

[RubberMallet]

As for the Vick comment, I am not sure how abusing and torturing animals helps increas on field performance. You are also dealing with killing and injuring others. Who is Bonds hurting (physically) by his HGH use?

watching animals kill each other and toturing them entertained them. so its ok..because it was for entertainment

what does it matter if its physically or emotionally, bonds family seems miserable because of all this, and he will hurt his family when his heart explodes when hes 50

[pbow]

Bonds hit 755!!!!!! yesssssssss!!!!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... oyd/070802

I think that's a really great article about the whole Bonds-Aaron situation.

[01LUGrad]

Pretty good reaction from the San Diego crowd. I was surprised.

[Purple Haize]

Mullett: You are confusing two different things. Bonds is accused (and probably guilty) of using performance enhancing substances. My point was there is NO correlation between dog fights and HGH in increasing performance. MV's performance was NOT enhanced b/c of his dog fighting activities, whereas BB's probably WAS enhanced due to HGH.
Now, if you are saying that ALL things are acceptable in the name of entertianment, you are not on the same page. Dog fighting and a Led Zepplin concert are two entirely different activities. If you would like to connect the two, here is what I was trying to say: Rock stars and actors use drugs to enhance their performance. They are entertainers and professionals and we don't seem to have a problem with it. BB used "drugs" to enhance his performance and he is an entertainer and professional, yet we come down on him. Using coke is as illegal as using HGH and steroids. These substances enhance performance. Dog fighting is something else entirely for the dogs are neither professionals or entertainers. (Although the "entertainer" part could LOSELY be applied)

[thepostman]

Barry Bonds could very well be a liar...but a jerk?? please...if you believe that then its just proof how much influence ESPN has on this society....its sad...he is a quiet guy and comes off as a jerk sometimes....people often look at me walking around campus and will ask my wife why I am so angry all the time...i'm not angry all the time i guess my face just looks angry while I walk around...people have though I hated them because of some of my manorisms and its just not true...Barry Bonds does not do well with the media that does not make him a jerk....

[Sly Fox]

From my limited personal experience (and the comments made to me by his former teammates) he is a jerk. There are worse charges that can be made against a man. But it is what it is.

[RubberMallet]

Barry Bonds could very well be a liar...but a jerk?? please...if you believe that then its just proof how much influence ESPN has on this society....its sad...he is a quiet guy and comes off as a jerk sometimes....people often look at me walking around campus and will ask my wife why I am so angry all the time...i'm not angry all the time i guess my face just looks angry while I walk around...people have though I hated them because of some of my manorisms and its just not true...Barry Bonds does not do well with the media that does not make him a jerk....

i agree to a certain extent, but this has waxed him so much that over the past few years he HAS become a jerk.

[pbow]

Barry Bonds could very well be a liar...but a jerk?? please...if you believe that then its just proof how much influence ESPN has on this society....its sad...he is a quiet guy and comes off as a jerk sometimes....people often look at me walking around campus and will ask my wife why I am so angry all the time...i'm not angry all the time i guess my face just looks angry while I walk around...people have though I hated them because of some of my manorisms and its just not true...Barry Bonds does not do well with the media that does not make him a jerk....

i agree to a certain extent, but this has waxed him so much that over the past few years he HAS become a jerk.

Why do we care if he is or isn not a jerk??? The man is one of the greatest baseball players of all time, that's all that matters to me.

[Sly Fox]

Why do we care if he is or isn not a jerk??? The man is one of the greatest baseball players of all time, that's all that matters to me.

... and he's a lying cheater.

[PAmedic]

Mike Schmidt.

now THERE's a great baseball player son.

[BJWilliams]

Why do we care if he is or isn not a jerk??? The man is one of the greatest baseball players of all time, that's all that matters to me.

... and he's a lying cheater.

Who has yet to test positive for anything I might add (although I will grant that baseball did not have testing for a while)

[PAmedic]

he's a hoser, eh.

[bbrothers224]

so...do you think he will end up in the baseball hall of fame? According to what I was hearing from other hall of famers when I was in Cooperstown for the Tony / Cal induction....the answer to that would be a very big NO.

[RubberMallet]

Why do we care if he is or isn not a jerk??? The man is one of the greatest baseball players of all time, that's all that matters to me.

... and he's a lying cheater.

Who has yet to test positive for anything I might add (although I will grant that baseball did not have testing for a while)

theres no permissible test for hgh in mlb and we have grand jury testimony....

[horrez]

The things I don’t like about Bonds can really be blamed on MLB (to some extent)… and they are things that other players do too (and I don’t like it with them either).

1. The body armor he wears when he bats.
2. The way he has to stand and watch his homeruns leave the park.

Again, these are things other players do too and I don’t like it for them either. Barry is just an easy target because he is (most likely) going to break a record that has been held by a great man.

I say MLB shares some of the blame for these things for 2 reasons.
1. They allow players to wear that stuff.
2. If a pitcher throws inside too many times he runs the risk of getting ejected.

When Hank Aaron got hit by a pitch, the ball hit him… not some shield he was wearing. And while I’m not 100% sure about this, I’m willing to go out on a limb and say he never stood at home to watch one of his 755 home runs leave the yard. And IF he did (which I doubt) then I bet he regretted it the next time he came to the plate because the pitcher was probably about to throw a fastball with his name on it (if he was lucky, it would be aimed at his back and not his head). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying pitchers should throw at batters. I am saying that back when that was an option, you didn’t see batters showing up pitchers the way they do now.

Anyway, that is why I’m not real happy about this record falling (if/when it does fall).

[blwall1416]

Barry Bonds could very well be a liar...but a jerk?? please...if you believe that then its just proof how much influence ESPN has on this society....its sad...he is a quiet guy and comes off as a jerk sometimes....people often look at me walking around campus and will ask my wife why I am so angry all the time...i'm not angry all the time i guess my face just looks angry while I walk around...people have though I hated them because of some of my manorisms and its just not true...Barry Bonds does not do well with the media that does not make him a jerk....

I met him him when he was with the Pirates. I also had contact with some of his teammates at the time. He was, and is still, a JERK.

[RubberMallet]

The things I don’t like about Bonds can really be blamed on MLB (to some extent)… and they are things that other players do too (and I don’t like it with them either).

1. The body armor he wears when he bats.
2. The way he has to stand and watch his homeruns leave the park.

Again, these are things other players do too and I don’t like it for them either. Barry is just an easy target because he is (most likely) going to break a record that has been held by a great man.

I say MLB shares some of the blame for these things for 2 reasons.
1. They allow players to wear that stuff.
2. If a pitcher throws inside too many times he runs the risk of getting ejected.

When Hank Aaron got hit by a pitch, the ball hit him… not some shield he was wearing. And while I’m not 100% sure about this, I’m willing to go out on a limb and say he never stood at home to watch one of his 755 home runs leave the yard. And IF he did (which I doubt) then I bet he regretted it the next time he came to the plate because the pitcher was probably about to throw a fastball with his name on it (if he was lucky, it would be aimed at his back and not his head). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying pitchers should throw at batters. I am saying that back when that was an option, you didn’t see batters showing up pitchers the way they do now.

Anyway, that is why I’m not real happy about this record falling (if/when it does fall).

i hate the body armor as well....i agree it gives the batter extra courage when facing a pitcher. i know there is a rule that you have to have some medical condition to be able to wear it....i wonder what his is...

[LUconn]

giganticsm

[Fumblerooskies]

Give me a break. Bonds is the best player of his era...and if it were the steroid era...so be it. We had the dead ball era, we had the live ball era of the late 20's and early 30's, we have the "modern era," so now we have the "live player era." The best is the best...regardless of what era...and until it is dis-proven that a large percentage of players and pitchers WERE NOT juicing, then I will support Bonds' accomplishments. There is simply no way to know, either way. Yes...he is an egotistical @$$...but that, in no way, should diminish his accomplishments...which have come in an era that might just be tainted in its entirety. I, for one, will be staying up way past my east coast bedtime to watch his every AB...and will stand and cheer when he hits #756.

[4everfsu]

More power to you and those who want to stand and cheer for a cheater breaking a major record. In my days we would discredited cheaters, I guess that is what the younger generation has come to.

[Fumblerooskies]

Part of my point is that he has NEVER TESTED POSITIVE. I am also saying that what he did is on par with what a majority of players in his era have done and have not gotten caught. If it were proven he cheated...and was in the minority...then I would stand in line to cry foul.

[RagingTireFire]

In my days we would discredited cheaters, I guess that is what the younger generation has come to.

With respect to Dana Carvey:

"In my day, there was only one show in town -- it was called "Stare at the sun!" ... That's right! You'd sit in the middle of an open field and stare up at the sun till your eyeballs burst into flames! And you thought, "Oh, no! Maybe I shouldn't've stared directly into the burning sun with my eyes wide open." But it was too late! Your head was on fire and people were roastin' chickens over it. ... And that's the way it was and we liked it! "

[whmatthews]

Who cares, A-Rod's gonna hold the title in 4 or 5 years anyway. (note: he too could be on roids)