SF Examiner: San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum has what it takes to be 'cool'

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

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.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: As Barry Bonds trial pushes on, mystery of Anderson grows

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

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.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: U.S. v. Bonds Makes Great Theater

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

SAN FRANCISCO — You have to like the way the event is listed in official documents and on the media badges: "USA v. Barry Lamar Bonds.'' As if it were an Olympic hockey match or basketball game, not a perjury trial of a baseball player.

What do the officials do, go out on Golden Gate Avenue in front of the federal building and gather a few people to chant, "USA, USA''?

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

Newsday (N.Y.): Lawyer calls Bonds' defense 'ridiculous'

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

SAN FRANCISCO — Barry Bonds' trainer, Greg Anderson, made it 3-for-3 Tuesday, again refusing to testify against his boyhood pal in Bonds' perjury case, and again being sent to custody for contempt of court.

Anderson, accused by the prosecution of providing illegal performance-enhancing drugs to the all-time home run king, already has spent more than a year in jail or prison. United States District Court Judge Susan Illston told Anderson he would remain in custody for the duration of the trial, which began Monday and could last 2-4 weeks.

Anderson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, repeating earlier comments, said Anderson doesn't trust the prosecution. Illston said she hoped Anderson would change his mind and would keep him confined for contempt "until such time you will testify."

Illston told the jury of eight women and four men that to prove perjury in Bonds' December 2003 statements to a grand jury, prosecutors must show his testimony was "knowingly false.''

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Parrella told the jury that Bonds "deliberately lied'' when he testified he had never knowingly used anabolic steroids. The prosecutor said Bonds' claim he believed the substances he was taking were flaxseed oil and arthritis cream, were "quite frankly, an utterly ridiculous and unbelievable story."

In his opening statement, Bonds' lead attorney, Allen Ruby, said: "... Barry Bonds went to the grand jury and told the truth and did his best.''

Ruby later said government witnesses and leaks "created a caricature of Barry Bonds, terrible guy, mean.'' Ruby also criticized government witnesses for cooperating with the media, saying they created "poisonous things that have been out there about Barry.''

Food and Drug Administration agent Jeff Novitzky, one of the prosecution's prime witnesses, said he found a "treasure trove of drugs'' when he searched through the garbage of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), the firm accused of creating the substances Bonds allegedly used.

Ruby went after Novitzky about a meeting he had with a former Bonds friend, Steven Hoskins, eliciting a few laughs. Hoskins, a former 49er who was involved in the sports memorabilia business with Bonds, is to be a prosecution witness.

Rudy told the jury the "government will bring in three or four witnesses to discuss the size of Mr. Bonds' organs, his head, his feet . . . '' Bonds' increased head size, skeptics had said, were caused by his use of steroids.

While Parrella spoke, Bonds, dressed in a blue suit, sat with hands clasped between Ruby and his other lead attorney, Chris Arguedas. Bonds didn't appear shaken by the testimony. After the long court session recessed for the day at about 3:30 p.m. PDT, Bonds greeted a journalist he recognized before walking through a light rain to a waiting SUV.

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/lawyer-calls-bonds-defense-ridiculous-1.2776038
Copyright © 2011 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Newsday (N.Y.): St. John's women lose to Stanford, 75-49

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

STANFORD, Calif. — It looked so good for the St. John's women when they led Stanford by eight points at about the midway point of the first half of their NCAA Tournament second-round game Monday night. Then it looked perfectly awful.

Practically before anyone could blink, and virtually before St. John's could get off any shot — let alone a good one — Stanford had outscored St. John's by 40 points. Not 4 . . . 40.

As in 55-15 — which turned an eight-point deficit into a 32-point lead.

With a huge second half, Stanford beat the Red Storm, 75-49. And No. 9 seed St. John's understood how the No. 2-ranked Cardinal could have stopped UConn's record 90-game winning streak in December.

It was the 63nd straight win for Stanford at Maples Pavilion and its 24th straight overall.

"Obviously, I'm disappointed," St. John's coach Kim Barnes Arico said, "but they're one of the best teams in the country. We were able to hang with them early, but we ran out of gas. They're an outstanding team."

They're also a bigger team. St. John's tried to jam the middle, and it worked for a while, as Storm led 22-14 with 9:45 left in the first half. But Stanford went outside and started hitting, and St. John's, inside or outside, started missing. And kept missing.

In the second half, St. John's was 5-for-24 from the field, and in one stretch, after trailing only 38-30 at intermission, was outscored 21-0. The Red Storm wound up falling behind by 32 points at 69-37.

"We sort of ran out of energy," St. John's Da'Shena Stevens said. "They hurt us inside. We went cold. We rushed things a little bit, which is what happens when you fall behind. We didn't get stops, so it was hard to get good shots."

Stanford's sister act from Cypress, Texas, made a difference, with junior Nnemkadi Ogwumike getting the points (22) and freshman Chiney Ogwumike getting the rebounds (12). Kayla Pedersen had 14 points, eight rebounds and five
assists.

Centhya Hart led the Red Storm with 15 points and Nadirah McKenith added 10. St. John's (22-11) had beaten Texas Tech on Saturday, but Stanford is one of the elite squads, with a history of NCAA titles and a 31-2 record this season.

St. John's goes home after a season that wasn't all that bad -- except for the final 30 minutes.

"We were just worn down trying to match up with them," Barnes Arico said, "but I'm proud of my team. They worked very hard."

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/college-basketball/st-john-s-women-lose-to-stanford-75-49-1.2774950
Copyright © 2011 Newsday. All rights reserved.