BAMAPHIN 22
FinHeaven Elite
Barry Bonds sidestepped a peppering of steroids questions in the very way teams avoid pitching to him -- and did it with the same prickly demeanor that has defined him for years.
Bonds angrily avoided inquiries about his role in baseball's steroid scandal upon his arrival at spring training Tuesday, pronouncing himself weary but ready to resume his pursuit of Hank Aaron's home run record.
He called reporters liars, and pointed to problems in the world he considers much more important than steroids, such as alcoholism and drug abuse.
Bonds was entertaining as usual. Asked directly whether he'd ever used illegal substances, he said:
"I'm not a child. You repeat those things to children and then eventually they tell you. I don't."
In Bonds' first public comments since his grand jury testimony was leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle and reported in December, he had nothing to say about it, citing legal constrictions. But he had harsh words for the media and fans still consumed by the circumstances of his record-setting home run binge.
"You guys are like re-running stories," Bonds said to more than 100 reporters in attendance. "This is old stuff. It's like watching 'Sanford and Son.' It's almost comical, basically. ... Are you guys jealous, upset, disappointed, what?"
The San Francisco Giants slugger has 703 homers, trailing only Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) on the career list.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/baseball/mlb/specials/spring_training/2005/02/22/bonds.press.ap/index.html
Bonds angrily avoided inquiries about his role in baseball's steroid scandal upon his arrival at spring training Tuesday, pronouncing himself weary but ready to resume his pursuit of Hank Aaron's home run record.
He called reporters liars, and pointed to problems in the world he considers much more important than steroids, such as alcoholism and drug abuse.
Bonds was entertaining as usual. Asked directly whether he'd ever used illegal substances, he said:
"I'm not a child. You repeat those things to children and then eventually they tell you. I don't."
In Bonds' first public comments since his grand jury testimony was leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle and reported in December, he had nothing to say about it, citing legal constrictions. But he had harsh words for the media and fans still consumed by the circumstances of his record-setting home run binge.
"You guys are like re-running stories," Bonds said to more than 100 reporters in attendance. "This is old stuff. It's like watching 'Sanford and Son.' It's almost comical, basically. ... Are you guys jealous, upset, disappointed, what?"
The San Francisco Giants slugger has 703 homers, trailing only Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) on the career list.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/baseball/mlb/specials/spring_training/2005/02/22/bonds.press.ap/index.html