Sports Radio Service


		Game of Shadows and Mitchell report to be used as evidence By Ken Gimblin and Joe Cronin November 28, 2008

	SAN FRANCISCO--The three counts of perjury that U.S.District Judge Susan Illston dropped off former Giants slugger and now Deer rifle spokesman Barry Bonds has been reduced to 10 counts as of last Monday. To the Feds it really doesn't matter about the three that were dropped, the three that were dropped was really not that important and the prosecution is going to go ahead with the trial, which starts on March 2. Bonds will have to face all ten of those charges and it will be up to Bonds million dollar lawyers if they can get him off. Sources have told Sports Radio that Bonds personal trainer Greg Anderson is one of the key figures in the upcoming trail but again Anderson is expected to take the fifth amendment and it's expected that federal prosecutors are going to use excerpts from the book Game of Shadows written by authors Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada and also excerpts from the Senator George Mitchell report. Anderson will not testify in the trial but is expected to appear and take the Fifth Amendment on the witness stand. Anderson like previous court appearances will have nothing to say to condemn his childhood friend although there are many things that the prosecution will ask him. Peter Magowan testimony at the Mitchell interview: The federal prosecutors are expected to call former Managing General Partner of the Giants Peter Magowan to the witness stand as well. Magowan was well noted for saying he misspoke during the interview with George Mitchell regarding asking Bonds if he was using steroids and Bonds flatly told him yes according to Magowan. Magowan two days later after arriving in San Francisco from New York had thought it over and had his lawyer call Mitchell to tell him he misspoke. This flip flop was the reason why Magowan was voted off from being the team's General Managing Partner and relieved of duty by William Neukom. Prosecutors will be asking Magowan what he knew and what Bonds said in regards to admitting steroid use. The apparent conversation took place when it was learned that Bonds trainer Anderson was distributing steroids in the Giants clubhouse during the 2001-02 seasons to other players and to some players from other teams in a way to introduce them to the steroid phenomenon known as The Clear and The Cream. There are only two players that are active now from the BALCO era the Yankees Jason Giambi who is rumored to be coming back to Oakland for the 2009 season and Detroit outfielder Gary Sheffield who actually for a time stayed at Bonds former house in Los Altos to train with he and Anderson during the 2001-2002 off seasons. Magowan in that clubhouse conversation had asked Bonds during the 2001 season if he was using steroids and Bonds said "yes" and then after testifying to that fact Magowan felt the better of it to call Mitchell through his lawyer and told him he misspoke. Magowan who feels a sense of loyalty to Bonds who was a team cash cow for his Henry Aaron home run chase did not want any part of saying Bonds admitted to him that he used steroids. It was too late for Magowan however, sometime between the time that Magowan, team General Manager Brian Sabean, and team President Larry Baer had told Bonds September 2007 in the Giants clubhouse that he would not be re-signed on with the team and the beginning of the 2008 season in April, Neukom and team partners felt that Magowan's testimony about Bonds admission to him was the final lynch pin to remaining as team managing partner and therefore Magowan was voted off. Magowan later told the media with head bowed and looking away a few times from the press in a press conference with Neukom sitting next to him that needed more time with his grandchildren. His body language said another thing. Magowan didn't want to hang up being the team's owner and resigning when there was a huge cloud of suspicion about if this was really about his testimony at the Mitchell commission at the Major League offices. Another thing that federal prosecutors will want to know what role did Brian Sabean play in asking former team head trainer Stan Conte to ask Bonds to ask Anderson to stop coming into the clubhouse during the 2002 season. Conte never did ask Bonds to ask Anderson to stop coming into the clubhouse. Conte told Sabean that was his job as team General Manager to police the clubhouse or at the very least ask former Giant manager Dusty Baker to tell Bonds. Which it never got that far. Game of Shadows: The book will play a big part in this case, don't doubt for a moment that some of the perjury counts that are listed in the court summons will outline some of the issues raised from the book. The book was well done and well documented to such a point that Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has taken it under consideration to implement some of the steroids rules and strengthen the rules. The federal prosecution is also looking at some of the figures in the book and some of the instances from interviews that Bonds was using steroids. After looking at what Fainaru-Wada and Williams had wrote it would be kind of difficult to say Bonds and some of the others did not take steroids. Some of those key figures were former ball players that have already testified in the BALCO grand jury hearings from December 2003 and some of these former Giants have admitted use of steroid use and getting their fix from Anderson and the BALCO labs, Armando Rios, Benito Santiago, Bobby Estella. Former Giant catcher A.J. Pierzynski also appeared at the grand jury hearing but did not admit steroid use. Other baseball players to testify at the grand jury Jeremy Giambi, Jason Giambi, Sheffield, it is also expected at trial that these and other athletes may appear to testify what they knew about Victor Conte BALCO founder and his association with Anderson. Anderson has been back to prison for contempt of court charges four times. Anderson claims double jeopardy since he served already for steroid distribution but will not testify he distributed to Bonds and that he injected Bonds with steroids. As a result of the Mitchell report Bonds was not disciplined by baseball and the other players involved were some players were given amnesty by MLB and other current players were ordered to perform community service in talking to schools and the like about the negative consequences of steroids use. This was part of the players Collective Bargaining Agreement in April. Ken Gimblin and Joe Cronin are covering the Barry Bonds perjury trial and cover Giants baseball for Sportstalk.