Sports Radio Service


		Urine sample keeps Feds in ring with Babo By Ken Gimblin & Joe Cronin February 21, 2009

	SAN FRANCISCO--U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston after throwing out three key pieces of evidence against former Giant outfielder Barry Bonds in the Bonds perjury trialhas allowed and will hear testimony from former Giant catcher and teammate Bobby Estalella, former Bonds business manager Steve Hoskins, and former girlfriend Kimberly Bell. The key piece of evidence that will be presented at trial will be a 2003 urine sample from a Major League Baseball test that Illston has allowed as key evidence for the Feds. The sample was at first analyized as free of steroids but later government scientists found the sample was tainted with the undetectable steroid "the clear" and with a female fertility drug called Clomid. Judge Illston during preliminaries said that the drug test will be allowed because it's not connected to any hearsay testimony or evidence. Experts following the trial say this key piece of evidence should stand on it's on merit since there is no witness testimony necessary and that if any government expert scientists explain the dynamics of the positive test relative to why "the clear" which is suppose to be undetectable shows up as key evidence those scientists can come in and explain it. If this key piece of evidence is found to stand up in court it might be the one thing that the Federal Government may need to convict Bonds on perjury. Bonds lawyers fought hard in having three other urine samples thrown out. Former BALCO vice president James Valente. Valente told the court in a grand jury hearing back in 2003 that Bonds trainer Greg Anderson knew about the tests scheduled in advance and Illston ruled that testimony is hearsay. Anderson who refuses to testify obviously will not verify any time line of any testing which is needed to substantiate Valente's testimony and that Anderson knew when the Bonds testing was going down. As far as as Hoskins role in testimony the judge wants to hear about what Hoskins heard and saw when he worked for Bonds while working in the Giants clubhouse. Hoskins reportedly said he has a secret recording of Anderson talking about areas where he injected Bonds and also has Anderson discussing swelling in areas where it might be necessary to drain Bonds. Illston so far has said she will not allow the recordings of the conversations between Anderson and Hoskins because it was not done with Anderson's consent under California privacy laws. In the Kimberly Bell case she has said that she was told by Bonds in 2002 that he was using steroids and she also saw Bonds swelling from injection shots and at one time it was reported that she had to take him to the hospital to be drained one day before a 2002 World Series game. Hoskin's sister Kathy who was a Bonds personal assistant also has reported that she saw Anderson inject Bonds with a syringe in the Giants clubhouse but could not tell if the contents of the syringe contained steroids. Her testimony will be allowed in play. Meanwhile on Friday Illston has requested that Anderson returned back to court and answer questions about the Bonds case. Anderson who has already been to prison four times and counting will be back in court sometime during the next ten days and will be asked questions about steroid distribution and steroid injections. Anderson has said numerous times that he will take the fifth amendment and not testify because he had already worked out a deal with the government to admit distribution the first time he went to jail and would not submit to double jeopardy. Anderson was called back some three more times to testify and jailed three more times for contempt of court for refusing to answer questions regarding the Bonds case. Anderson has said through his attorneys that he will not testify anymore and that he will not have anything to add this time in the Bonds perjury trial. Anderson could be jailed for up to the length of the Bonds trial according to legal experts. Ken Gimblin and Joe Cronin are covering the Barry Bonds perjury trial for Sportstalk