The headline over a column in another Bay Area newspaper insisted that baseball, not just Barry Bonds, is on trial in a San Francisco courtroom this week.
More accurately, it should be the sports media, because its writers and broadcasters who have made Bonds and steroids the central figures in the steroids-in-baseball story, while virtually ignoring the much more serious problem in the NFL.
Anybody who has been in an NFL locker room recently has seen examples of out-of-control steroid use.
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It wasn’t an escape. Not according to Tim Lincecum, although some might view it exactly as that. He simply headed north, back to the state of Washington and away from the state of hysteria in which, metaphorically, he had found himself.
“It was like going home for the weekend for most people,” said Lincecum of his ... well, maybe retreat is too strong a word. Let’s say escape from the world of questions, notepads and, yes, baseball.
“I got away from the job,” Lincecum said. “Home with my friends and family.”
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He is back in jail again, for being loyal. Or being a bit crazy. Or because, as some believe, we are a world of skeptics and some day he will be paid for his silence.
Greg Anderson is the man no one can understand.
Except he’s remarkably disciplined, perhaps principled. He’s also the individual Barry Bonds is fortunate to have by his side, if not literally, since Barry is in a court room and Anderson is behind bars.
“Everyone’s negotiable,” was an observation of Muhammad Ali. Greg Anderson doesn’t seem to be.
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What a difference a year makes. The Giants opened last season struggling to find enough proven bats and arms to field a competitive team. Now, thanks to a bounty of good hitters and pitchers, they begin their title defense with too much of a good thing, hence some tough roster decisions.
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Intercollegiate athletics has long been closer to semipro than amateur, but in light of recent developments, it’s time to remove the “semi.”Example No. 1: Last December, the NCA announced that Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and four of his teammates would be suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season for accepting improper benefits and selling team memorabilia.
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So ... does time really heal all wounds? Or, specifically if you’re a Giants fan: Does the passing of a few seasons, the emergence of new heroes and the revelry of a current world championship erase the memories of misdeeds committed by heroes of the past? We’re about to find out, as the long-awaited perjury trial of Barry Bonds begins today in federal court.
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While things remain warm and fuzzy in the Arizona desert for our World Series champions, the forecast has turned stormy on the offseason horizon for our can’t-get-a-break 49ers.
Without boring everybody about who’s right or what’s what in football labor speak, the consensus says the rest of this NFL offseason is going to be one wild scramble. And it appears like the 49ers wind up on the short end of the lockout stick.
When football resumes, teams in transition — like the 49ers are with new coach Jim Harbaugh — figure to be at a disadvantage.
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Brandon Belt appears ready for the major leagues, but will he be temporarily stalled as Giants general manager Brian Sabean again tries to protect a player on whom he made a mistake?
Belt has impressed everybody with his play this spring. Spring training statistics are largely meaningless because both position players and pitchers work on different schedules. Young hitters, especially those who have played winter ball, come in at full go, while veteran pitchers are trying to work themselves into shape for the season.
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Buster Posey, for one, seemed composed from the first time he picked up a baseball, or no less significantly picked up a team.
Same thing as the good people in San Francisco will verify, for Joe Montana, or in the vernacular of success, “Joe Cool.”
Others are not as gifted. They must adapt. They must develop. Johnny Miller, who came from out on the Avenues and The City’s Lincoln High School to win a U.S. Open golf championship and then become a forthright TV commentator for NBC, used to talk about “choking levels.”
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I almost fell out of my Mad Hatter’s chair when I heard Randy Bennett say that he wished the selection committee used more of a BCS-like formula in choosing the field for the NCAA Tournament. Sure, the St. Mary’s men’s basketball coach is upset his Gaels (25-8) were overlooked. But, it’s just as obvious that Bennett hasn’t closely followed the Bowl Championship Series fiascoes where controversy regularly trumps logic and undefeated football teams often fail to get to play for a national championship.
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URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/archive/17571/17571?page=42
