Bonds’ stock never drops
Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle promises that Barry Bonds will run away with the honors for “weirdest story of 2005.” “It’s the simple story of an injured knee that hasn’t healed quickly,” Ostler wrote.
“Then you add the Bondsian touches: the strange setback because of a rare infection; the dark curtain of secrecy draped over the rehab by Bonds; his dramatic news conferences and unannounced drop-in visits to his teammates; the specter – now gone – of Bonds testifying at the BALCO trial; the guilty plea of Bonds’ personal trainer to a steroid rap; Bonds’ continued working relationship with the trainer; the Giants’ meltdown; the specter of trouble with the government over tax evasion and money laundering; the mistress thing.
“Wrap all that around the greatest slugger in history, closing in on the biggest record in baseball, fighting Father Time, and you’ve got yourself an ongoing saga of strangeness that nobody can top.”
Sorry, the boss beckons
Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post writes that among the hundreds of e-mails he receives every week are a dozen or so from Europeans whining about Tampa Bay Buccaneer owner Malcolm Glazer’s taking control of the Manchester United soccer team.
“One guy even asked me if there was something I could do about it. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was just trying to make deadline so I could make the second half of happy hour.”
Wait until they actually play
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier hosted his first ladies football clinic on Saturday.
About 2,000 crazed South Carolina fans showed up, some dressed in “Got Spurrier?” T-shirts and loaded down with footballs, photos and posters for Spurrier to sign.
They stood and clapped when Spurrier was introduced, when he took the microphone to speak and especially whenever he talked about Gamecocks future success.
The line for Spurrier’s autograph circled the entire court at the Colonial Center and then some.
The overhead replay scoreboard flashed highlights of the South Carolina’s spring game, which drew an all-time high of about 38,000 people.
Smashing China
Chinese media reacted angrily Saturday after fans threw bottles, cups and a shoe at Puerto Rico’s basketball team when two Chinese players started an on-court brawl during the six-nation Stankovic Cup tournament.
The state-run China Daily newspaper condemned Friday’s violence during the tournament at Beijing, calling it “Chinese basketball’s most shameful night.”
The brawl erupted after China’s Yi Jianlian went in for a layup and was fouled by Puerto Rico’s Manuel Narvaez, the China Daily said.
It said the fighting was started by China’s Li Nan and Mo Ke, who rushed onto the court from the bench.
The violence spread to the stands, prompting referees to cut short the game with 1 minute left and China ahead 91-80, the newspaper said.