Here's the book excerpt from Sports Illustrated on Barry Bonds and his performance-enhancing drug program. It is absolutely devastating to the reputation of a guy whose reputation wasn't all that good to begin with. The timing couldn't have been a coincidence. Bonds is about to begin a season in which he'll make a run at the home run record of Babe Ruth and then possibly Hank Aaron, but this story assures a great big fat asterisk beside his name in the record books forever. He may be the greatest baseball player ever. After reading this, all I can say is "so what?"
UPDATE 3/8: Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com is unforgiving:
I believe the book. I think Bonds is -- or was -- a human Walgreens, a grotesque and insulting example of better baseball through chemistry. And I think he should slither away, joining Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro in forced baseball exile.Posted by dan at March 8, 2006 2:05 AMBonds is finished. He might play again, but there is only a chalk outline left around his integrity and home run totals. And the only way he gets into Cooperstown is if he spends the $14.50 for a Hall of Fame admission ticket.
Winstrol. Deca-Durabolin. Insulin. Testosterone decanoate. Human growth hormones. Norbolethone. Trenbolone. Clomid. These are the substances and steroids Bonds is alleged to have injected or ingested. They are the medicine cabinet of a cheater.