Even Barry's Alma Mater dislikes Bonds

[BengalszoneBilly]

It appears Barry was an a$$hole long before reaching the major leagues. A great read from ASU's own webpage:

ASU baseball should sever ties with Bonds

Alleged cheater doesn't fit school's tradition

by Chris Ramirez - published on Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Now that another pro football season has unfortunately come to an end and spring break plans are coming together for many of us, that can only mean one thing - baseball is near.

Perhaps the most talked topic come this spring will be the enormous head, er, the large elephant in the room that is Barry Bonds.

Bonds, who's sitting on 734 career home runs, is only 21 dingers shy of the all-time mark of 755 set by the great Henry Aaron. It looks like Bonds may get the mark this season after hitting 26 home runs in 130 games in 2006.

Yet there is a ray of hope that Bonds may not play in 2007 or at least will be delayed in his quest to dishonorably pass Aaron.

The $15.8 million, one-year contract Bonds and the San Francisco Giants agreed to on Jan. 31 was rejected by the commissioner's office on the grounds that it contained a personal-appearance provision beyond what is typical for the average player contract, the Associated Press reported.

That clearly meant Bonds was seeking special treatment when it came to helping promote his own baseball team, which is having problems of its own with the 42-year-old slugger.

The Giants are including language into the new contract that states it will be terminated in the event that Bonds is charged in the federal government's ongoing steroid investigation.

But Bonds and his agent, Jeff Borris, are refuting the Giants' special terms on the claim they are prohibited by baseball's collective bargaining agreement. So technically, Bonds is a free agent at the moment, despite agreeing to financial terms with the Giants on Dec. 7.

I don't doubt a deal between the two sides will get done sooner or later, but one has to wonder if San Francisco is starting to regret sitting down one last time with Bonds at the bargaining table.

The Associated Press reported that Giants' owner, Peter Magowan, sent a letter out to 27,000 season-ticket holders explaining why the team decided to bring Bonds back for another season.

That's saying something if you have to explain to your fan base why you want to re-sign an alleged future Hall of Famer.

You don't see the Green Bay Packers sending out letters explaining why they want Brett Favre back or the Miami Heat vouching for a rapidly declining Shaquille O'Neal.

But the Giants had to know this dilemma was coming, as Bonds has been a hassle dating back to his days here at ASU.

Jeff Pearlman's "Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero" details Bonds' life and in particular his time as a Sun Devil, which wasn't as smooth as his swing.

According to Pearlman, Bonds was a cancer on a rather-talented team in the early 1980s and would often butt heads with other teammates.

But the shocking element of Pearlman's story is not that Bonds broke into a teammate's apartment or spent several hundred dollars on a stolen credit card that belonged to the University, but that he was actually voted off the Sun Devils' team.

During Bonds' sophomore year in 1984, he was suspended by legendary former ASU manager Jim Brock for failing to follow team rules, and Brock called a team meeting without Bonds present to discuss the All-Pac-10 player's future, Pearlman notes.

After speaking to the team, Brock left it up to the players to vote on whether they wanted Bonds to stay a part of the squad.

All but two players, according to the book, were fed up with Bonds' act and voted him off the team. Yet Bonds remained a Sun Devil for another season and a half after Brock, who, surprised at the outcome, overrode his players' wishes, and in the process, lost their respect.

That's why the Giants need to learn from Brock's mistake. They need to stand up to the tyrant that is Barry Bonds and rid themselves of the circus that surrounds him.

Subsequently, ASU should follow suit and sever ties with Bonds, which would include removing his jersey from the lobby at the Carson Student Athletic Center and bringing down his No. 24 from right field at the team's baseball facility.

ASU has gone to great lengths to honor those important to its baseball program by making its baseball field one of the goofiest to announce - Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Field.

But ASU wouldn't go through all that trouble if it didn't believe it was necessary to honor William Guthrie Packard, Bobby Winkles and Brock.

Is it, however, worth being associated with, arguably, the most disliked player of all time - someone who has been accused of cheating multiple times and selling out teammates and friends?

I dare ASU to live up to the high standards it so often likes to brag about.

Do something that Brock never had the guts to do. Cut Barry Bonds.

I hope they do the right thing because I fear the official within MLB won't have the balls to follow suit.

[crttylr]

It appears Barry was an a$$hole long before reaching the major leagues. A great read from ASU's own webpage:

ASU baseball should sever ties with Bonds

Alleged cheater doesn't fit school's tradition

by Chris Ramirez - published on Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Now that another pro football season has unfortunately come to an end and spring break plans are coming together for many of us, that can only mean one thing - baseball is near.

Perhaps the most talked topic come this spring will be the enormous head, er, the large elephant in the room that is Barry Bonds.

Bonds, who's sitting on 734 career home runs, is only 21 dingers shy of the all-time mark of 755 set by the great Henry Aaron. It looks like Bonds may get the mark this season after hitting 26 home runs in 130 games in 2006.

Yet there is a ray of hope that Bonds may not play in 2007 or at least will be delayed in his quest to dishonorably pass Aaron.

The $15.8 million, one-year contract Bonds and the San Francisco Giants agreed to on Jan. 31 was rejected by the commissioner's office on the grounds that it contained a personal-appearance provision beyond what is typical for the average player contract, the Associated Press reported.

That clearly meant Bonds was seeking special treatment when it came to helping promote his own baseball team, which is having problems of its own with the 42-year-old slugger.

The Giants are including language into the new contract that states it will be terminated in the event that Bonds is charged in the federal government's ongoing steroid investigation.

But Bonds and his agent, Jeff Borris, are refuting the Giants' special terms on the claim they are prohibited by baseball's collective bargaining agreement. So technically, Bonds is a free agent at the moment, despite agreeing to financial terms with the Giants on Dec. 7.

I don't doubt a deal between the two sides will get done sooner or later, but one has to wonder if San Francisco is starting to regret sitting down one last time with Bonds at the bargaining table.

The Associated Press reported that Giants' owner, Peter Magowan, sent a letter out to 27,000 season-ticket holders explaining why the team decided to bring Bonds back for another season.

That's saying something if you have to explain to your fan base why you want to re-sign an alleged future Hall of Famer.

You don't see the Green Bay Packers sending out letters explaining why they want Brett Favre back or the Miami Heat vouching for a rapidly declining Shaquille O'Neal.

But the Giants had to know this dilemma was coming, as Bonds has been a hassle dating back to his days here at ASU.

Jeff Pearlman's "Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero" details Bonds' life and in particular his time as a Sun Devil, which wasn't as smooth as his swing.

According to Pearlman, Bonds was a cancer on a rather-talented team in the early 1980s and would often butt heads with other teammates.

But the shocking element of Pearlman's story is not that Bonds broke into a teammate's apartment or spent several hundred dollars on a stolen credit card that belonged to the University, but that he was actually voted off the Sun Devils' team.

During Bonds' sophomore year in 1984, he was suspended by legendary former ASU manager Jim Brock for failing to follow team rules, and Brock called a team meeting without Bonds present to discuss the All-Pac-10 player's future, Pearlman notes.

After speaking to the team, Brock left it up to the players to vote on whether they wanted Bonds to stay a part of the squad.

All but two players, according to the book, were fed up with Bonds' act and voted him off the team. Yet Bonds remained a Sun Devil for another season and a half after Brock, who, surprised at the outcome, overrode his players' wishes, and in the process, lost their respect.

That's why the Giants need to learn from Brock's mistake. They need to stand up to the tyrant that is Barry Bonds and rid themselves of the circus that surrounds him.

Subsequently, ASU should follow suit and sever ties with Bonds, which would include removing his jersey from the lobby at the Carson Student Athletic Center and bringing down his No. 24 from right field at the team's baseball facility.

ASU has gone to great lengths to honor those important to its baseball program by making its baseball field one of the goofiest to announce - Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Field.

But ASU wouldn't go through all that trouble if it didn't believe it was necessary to honor William Guthrie Packard, Bobby Winkles and Brock.

Is it, however, worth being associated with, arguably, the most disliked player of all time - someone who has been accused of cheating multiple times and selling out teammates and friends?

I dare ASU to live up to the high standards it so often likes to brag about.

Do something that Brock never had the guts to do. Cut Barry Bonds.

I hope they do the right thing because I fear the official within MLB won't have the balls to follow suit.

Bonds is a jerk!!!! I hope he breaks both of his arms so he cant play at all this season!!!! I will be sick if that man breaks Aarons record!!!!! And i will then............... well I wont say I will be done with baseball, cuz I love Albert Pujols, and his purity, that he will be the home run king long after Barry is done!!!! It wont last long!!!!!

[Spor_tees]

Wouldn't it be funny if all the teams got together and blackballed Bonds by no one offering him a contract to play again. If they all did that he wouldn't be able to break Hank's record!