Results tagged “Barry” from Robert Littal Presents The Infamous BlackSportsOnline

Some time back when car engines had to be manually wound in order to limp down the road, Barry Bonds was a skinny kid, enthralled with Willie Mays, looking up to his father Bobby, and tweaking his god-given talents for the game of baseball. Years later, either loving him or cursing his very name, it's hard for anyone to deny that Bonds is one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game..

In a continuing effort to crack down on misdeeds and mishaps of the financial sector and automotive industry, the government is sparing no expense in the time and money it is dedicating to sending Barry Bonds up the creek without a paddle. After all, it's the menaces of baseball such as Bonds and Roger Clemens that are the real threat to this country, not the economy, healthcare, financial institutions and fortune 500 corporations or education.

Most of you will remember Bonds scandal broke in 2001, when suspicions of performance drug enhancement use ran amuck shortly after Bonds hit a record 73 home runs in one season, shattering the record previously held by Mark McGwire. During a raid of Bonds' ex-trainer, Greg Anderson's home as part of the BALCO investigation, federal authorities "coerced" Anderson into giving an interview resulting in the name dropping of some of his most distinguished clients including Estalella, Santiago and two other former Giants' players, Armando Rios and Marvin Bernard, the same clients' who will act as witnesses for the prosecution when Bonds' faces perjury charges at his upcoming trial set on March 2nd in San Francisco.

Also joining the lynch mob are Tigers outfielder and Bonds former workout partner, Gary Sheffield in addition to retired Oakland A's outfielder Jason Giambi and his brother Jeremy Giambi who all allege that they were obtained drugs from Anderson after being introduced to him through Bonds.

Unless you live in San Antonio, you are breathing a sigh of relief that Joey Crawford decided to exact his revenge on the Spurs for getting him suspended last year for the Tim Duncan laughing incident.

First let's make one thing clear it was a foul. No matter how you spin it, there is no question that Derek Fisher fouled Brent Barry (you can watch it here).

The problem lies in the age old question: why is a foul in the 1st quarter not a foul in the 4th quarter? Also why is a foul a foul if it is Manu taking that hit as opposed to Brent Barry?

The NBA is suffering from a perception problem in the fact that people think games are rigged. Are they rigged? Probably not, but is it fair to bring up that officials may have some bias against certain players and/or teams? It is most definitely is. The fact that there are different sets of rules in the 1st quarter and than the 4th quarter will always lead to speculation that something is going on behind the scenes.

It shouldn't matter if it is Brent Barry getting jumped on or Michael Jordan famously pushing off on Byron Russell, you have to be consistent. The fact that the refs all night were giving the Spurs calls on fouls with very less contact only underlies the problem with the system that is currently in place. Maybe "Racist" Stern likes it this way. You know the saying, bad publicity is better than no publicity and everyone today is talking about the game, but in my opinion for all the wrong reasons.

The Lakers outplayed the Spurs and if not for some boneheaded decisions by them down the stretch as well as some favorable calls that went the Spurs way (the goaltending that shouldn't have been and the non-shot clock reset that should have been reset), the game would not have come down to that last play. With that being said, though, regardless of what happened in the past, you still have to make the proper call. The proper call was Barry on the line for two shots to tie the game.

Just like majority of you, I am happy the call didn't get made because honestly who wants to see the Spurs in the Finals again. But in the end, you can just add this to the long list of reasons why the NBA's popularity is declining quicker than George Bush's popularity.

Written By Robert Littal

It has been reported that the baseball player's association may be looking into why no team is signing Barry Bonds, suspecting possible collusion. Okay I'm all for players' union sticking up for its players, but this may be going too far.

Of course, we've all been bombarded with the whole Barry Bonds career mess: home run king, allegedly shot up on 'roids and lied under oath about it; blah, blah, blah. The posters on ESPN had a field-day talking about how Barry should be out of baseball because of his character issues.

This is a part of my response to them: "You idiots know good-and-well you don't care about a player's personality as long as the team that player is on is winning.

"People didn't like Dennis Rodman's personality or Rasheed Wallace's, but they sure rooted for the team when they won an NBA championship, (Rodman with the old Pistons and the Bulls, Wallace with the new Pistons). Babe Ruth was no saint either (a heavy drinker, womanizer, and gluttoness eater from the looks of his body), but he is still honored as one of the best. Ty Cobb was a racist pig, but people are still talking about how great he was. The point is that players who are jerks come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Most people don't care that they are jerks as long as they are winners!

The issue isn't really whether Bonds shouldn't play because of his character. It's whether any team wants to spend any money on a guy who is 43 and can't really run. Granted, he still may be a productive player, but there's only a handful of teams who have enough money to pay him, and they can spend their money a lot more wisely.