The Bringer of Doom

Barry Is Back in the News: Also, Total Chaos

2007-01-30T14:14:00.000-06:00

So it appears the Giants are going to pay Barry upwards of $15 million to see if he can finally break Hank's record. Maybe Bonds will end the suspense by bringing his personal trainers into the lockeroom and voiding his contract. I have a terrible feeling about this. Not just that he is going to actually break the record, but that he will eventually be embraced by "average" baseball fans, which is to say the "general public." At the forefront will be ESPN. They will debate the issue on Around the Horn, immediately echoed by PTI, immediately echoed by Sportscenter, immediately echoed by Baseball Tonight, and the only conclusion they will come to is publicity.

I'm sure Barry's PR people will turn it into a race issue. By PR people, I mean probably Page 2. This argument should really produce zero credence since a) Hank Aaron was also black (in a time when it was actually difficult to be black and not just "apparently" difficult to be black), and b) Mark McGwire is white, and he has been banished from baseball's hallowed grounds - the Hall of Fame- and conversations unless they begin with "Congress" or "hearings." The average American forgives and/or forgets as a general rule for pretty much anything, unless of course they are passing judgment on a Republican. And for whatever reason, and more than likely for no reason at all, Barry will be forgiven when his infamous home-run clears its final hurdle. The game will be suspended, music will be played, Barry may actually cry, hug his family, make a run at being human, shake some hands, and amongst the pomp and circumstance the purists will shudder, and their cries will be overwhelmed by exploding fireworks signaling baseball has forever changed and baseball players have forever been tainted.

It was one thing when changes were innocent, when games were played at night, when they added the DH, when games on radio no longer dominated the air waves, but this time as baseball presumably turns its head, the most important record in all of sports will abruptly lose its meaning with one swing of a bat made by a man swinging solely for himself. Maybe I am naive about players from yester-year who assuredly had their own shortcomings and made their own mistakes. But for me there is almost a romantic link between our national pastime, ballplayers and booze, and chasing women in its golden age. And now... horse steroids? And greenies? And the national pastime has taken on a quite literal meaning with recent threats of government intervention. Certainly they didn't have 24-hours of reporters and photographers and ESPN Hollywood (aka Sportscenter) to deal with in the 40's and 50's, etc. but there is a reason we will always associate Hank Aaron with class. And though his famous swing will not be heralded with the accomplishment of Jackie Robinson, at least it isn't a far cry to imagine Hank's home-run swing was made for more than just himself.

And in keeping with the theme of this blog - that Barry Bonds brings the world closer to the apocalypse every time he goes yard - the current headline on Drudge - "Tomorrow's Forecast: Chaos."

Oh, and Barbaro is dead.

Another Rocker Update

2006-09-22T12:06:00.000-05:00

Another Rocker update. This one has nothing to do with Barry Bonds though you could always blame him since – again – you can’t prove that his home runs have nothing to do with anything and everything terrible that happens in the world.

And Rocker’s interview on FoxNews was terrible. Not because of anything Rocker said or did, but rather because of the sophomoric interview conducted by what’s her face on FoxNews. It had the same tone and direction of the radio interview posted on Rocker’s publicist's blog. And given the picture of the interviewer it doesn’t say much for FoxNews and what’s her face.

Our Anchors are louder than our guests... so they must be right.

Rocker was on the show promoting his “Speak English” campaign which boils down to his social statement that foreigners coming to live or work or both in this country should assimilate into our American culture as a matter of respect. Not that these (mostly) good people should forfeit their heritage because they came to make a buck in the States, but rather they should have as much interest in America and Americans as they do in , for example, Mexico and Mexicans. Maybe the message is more or less Speak English – as best you can – or even Learn to Speak English…but those aren’t very catchy.

Nary any of that came across in the Fox interview, which was turned into the interviewer’s chance to take advantage of John Rocker and for what’s her face to abuse her privileges as host. The interview immediately turned to Rocker’s statements in 2000 and the point was basically you said that stuff then, so you must still mean it now, therefore your current argument is in fact disrespectful and should be ignored or disregarded all together. Brilliant.

Personally I think it speaks more to problems with the media and getting the news in general. Granted 90% of FoxNews is commentary anyway (as is most everything else on TV these days), so it isn’t like a host has to be completely objective, but at least have the decency to argue about your guest’s current issues. Having Rocker on your show is like hitting a softball. You can set him up and take him down whether he is going to play ball or not. That’s easy. So are Moncia Lewinsky jokes, but those aren’t funny anymore either nor would anybody ask President Clinton about it anymore.

BORING

So as a result of the interview, anybody casually watching the show has virtually no idea what the Speak English campaign is about, but all of them remember they hate Rocker for some reason: mostly for what he said in 2000. And it’s not so much what he said as it is what the media told you he said. If Rocker says that stuff to 90% of the country on an individual basis, there isn’t a problem. It happens everyday. But when Sports Illustrated writers, and ESPN commentators, and FoxNews anchors make what he says the story then it’s as if we are programmed to hate the guy. And currently when you preface an interview with John Rocker – who hates NewYorkers and gay people – you could follow with a story about how Rocker saved three homeless black kids and their dog from a raging inferno in Harlem and people are still going to say, “Wait a second, that guy hates gay people. And New Yorkers.”

So anyway in the previous post, BoD came up with the idea to compile questions to ask Mr. Rocker if he ever perused the site. I think we’ll just post a few of them and see what happens. And by the way, here's my email: rich.varner@ttu.edu

Q1 -- Mr. Rocker, you have been the target of the hitman that is the media. Though you were just one baseball player speaking his mind off the cuff, the onslaught caused major problems and no doubt had some negative impact on your career. So the question, do you think the lessons you learned from the media overkill as it relates to sports carry over into how you view politics? That is, how trusting are you of the media when it comes to things like the First Amendment, the War on Terror, President Bush, and things of that nature?

Q2 – Why haven’t you paid Barrett?

Q3 – Why on Earth would you bet against Auburn?

Q4 – Do you have a stance on steroids and what say you – as a former Brave after all – about Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron’s record?

Q5 -- Do you consider yourself a rightest or leftist Hegelian, or you reject dialectics all together?

Q6 -- To whom do you most closely identify with on a political level?:a. George F. Willb. Edward Kennedyc. Patrick J. Buchanand. Noam Chomsky

Q7 – Would you throw at Barry Bonds?

Q8 – Where do you go from here?

The Truth and John Rocker

2006-09-17T22:31:00.000-05:00

So considering there hasn't been a new post on this website in quite some time, and also taking in mind half of Earth hasn't exploded even though Bonds now has a whopping 24 HR's this season and 732 total...maybe Barry isn't causing mass hysteria, destruction, total chaos and the apocalypse just by 'roid raging baseballs out of the yard. But May was the last time any serious research was conducted and A LOT of messed up stuff has happened since then. E.G. Everybody knows how to spell this guy's name now and you can't prove it has nothing to do with Barry Bonds hitting, say, home run number 720.

SCARY

So, I still like the idea that we need theories to stop Bonds, and John Rocker is still the Chuck Norris of these ideas. I've paid $35 and up to see some pretty terrible major league baseball games and I would defintely pay at least that much on a regular basis to see Rocker chunk fastballs at Barry's weak ass tendons. See Resolution Number 1

The true irony (at least it's kind of ironic to this website) about all of this is that Barry's home run chase has been virtually irrelvant all season long with the exception of that annoying "Chasing Aaron" feature ESPN scrolls on the bottom of the TV screen, and meanwhile John Rocker has been on the news (like the legit news not Sportscenter) putting the media in its place on a variety of topics including Mel mother F'ing Gibson. Not to mention the Pros vs. Joes event where dudes had to charge the mound and play King of the Hill against the Mouth of the South. That was badass.

Which finally brings me to the point of this post. Though people still ask about the site, we really still only have one big fan - who just happens to work with Mr. Rocker. So we here at BoD now have two missions: 1) Stop Barry Bonds from breaking a great record held by a legitimate, great American and 2) Have John Rocker add something to this blog...especially if it's answering questions. But anybody who has ever watched that stupid "Hot Seat" gimmick they do on Sportscenter knows that people sometimes ask dumb F'ing questions and they never ask what you want to hear answered. So pretend you have John Rocker on the "hot seat" or in an elevator or in your holding cell, etc. and you can only ask one question...what would it be? I think mine would be serious. For example:

"Mr. Rocker, you have been the target of the hitman that is the media. Though you were just one baseball player speaking his mind off the cuff, the onslaught caused major problems and no doubt had some negative impact on your career. So the question, do you think the lessons you learned from the media overkill as it relates to sports carry over into how you view politics? That is, how trusting are you of the media when it comes to things like the First Amendment, the War on Terror, President Bush, and things of that nature?"

Damn. That question kind of sucks. I'm sure anyone reading this can come up with something better...and if you do, leave a comment and maybe we will get some feedback from a guy from Georgia who did what every Southerner would do if given the chance: piss off the entire state of New York.

UPDATE: The website is freaking out and I can't add any pictures. But, if you go to Rocker's website...it turns out Mr. Rocker really doesn't have a problem a with people of other races, especially if they are smoking hot.

Barry One Away From Second Place

2006-05-08T16:55:00.000-05:00

So Barry went yard yesterday. Thanks a lot Jon Lieber. And now we are at 713... One home run away from tying one of the top 3 most recognizable athletes of all time in what has historically been the most coveted record of all time. After Barry's shot slammed into a McDonald's sign at Citizens Bank Park, Israel released a statement saying, "Iran can also be wiped off the map." Iran had previously misinterpreted a Bonds long ball as a threat and promised to bomb everybody. Sounds like this is going well.

MLB is doing the right thing and has planned no celebration when Bonds eventually breaks the record, which is really kind of like throwing a victory parade for losing the World Series. ESPN on the other hand is planning a giant orgy with Bonds, Pedro Gomez, Scott Van Pelt, and just to piss everybody off Stephen A. Smith will join the fray so an ESPN basketball analyst can take some time from kissing Kobe's ass to spend some quality time dangling from Barry's nuts. Peter Gammons will break it down and Chris Berman will be available for sound effects. It sounds pretty disturbing but the producers of Bonds on Bonds are fucking pumped.

Speaking of ESPN, the race-baiters on Sportcenter are cooking up a classic straw man. In their opening for their 5:00 CST show they questioned whether the Bonds treatment has been fair and implied that race is involved. This proves that they pretty much missed the point entirely up in Bristol but probably do so with ulterior motives. They don't want to talk about steroids. Why? Who knows? It probably has something to do with the ball sucking mentioned above. That or the fact that ESPN has to have a cause.

If ESPN had a political show, these would be the talking heads.

What they don't realize is that nobody cares about Bonds blackness. Had people have known McGwire's punk ass was doing Roids, he would be getting the same treatment...without the benefit of ESPN's straw man arguments. I remember when Sportscenter was just some dudes showing 30 minutes of highlights without a "cause." Now we get 15 minutes of highlights, 30 minutes of pure speculation (will Brett Favre play 2 more years? Was Kobe making a statement? Is Stuart Scott's poetry profound?), and 15 minutes of Bonds is black, the alleged Duke victim is black, Augusta still won't let women in, there are no black people in the front office somewhere, etc. etc. etc. Seriously...shut the hell up ESPN and show me some games. I cannot wait until the Internet makes you completely irrelevant. And quit hitting home runs Barry...Son of a Bitch.

Don't worry ESPN...white people aren't going to bust out the civil rights hose for Barry Bonds.

Not Bad Philly

2006-05-06T11:10:00.000-05:00

So night one of the Traveling Bonds Circus is over in Philly. I missed the game (Cinco de Mayo) but read all about it this morning. It appears he definitely got a lot of fan abuse, though everybody didn't go to the concourse which really would have been awesome. It was still probably the best showing so far. I think the highlight probably had to be this sign:

And some of the comments coming in have been pretty good. This is my favorite as posted by anonymous:

"Everyone can get off their high horse. It's fucking baseball. So many guys have done steroids its not even a discussion worth having. MLB is still barely cracking down anyways. Fan protests (the same fans who enjoyed the ROID fueled 90s including Big Mac and Sosa) should stop acting so righteous about this. Enjoy Bonds, enjoy his ABs, mock him, throw shit at him, do whatever. BUT WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T DO IT ON A HIGH HORSE. Give me a break."

First of all, anonymous, you can fuck my high horse.

Second of all you are exactly right, "It's fucking baseball." This is why everybody is so pissed. Real baseball fans shouldn't and don't condone this tainted era, and if everybody just turns a blind eye and lets the one guy who is breaking all the records go, then his steroid use has been
legitimized. These are the most hallowed records in all of sports we are talking about. Baseball is deeply rooted in its history. More so than any other American sport. So because MLB isn't going to do it, and ESPN isn't going to do it, if the fans don't do anything about it, then Barry Bonds is going to take a giant moose on everything that came before him. The fans themselves become the asterisk. It will forever be, Bonds hit number 715 to a host of boos and fans leaving the stadium.

How to Stop Bonds

2006-05-03T11:15:00.000-05:00

Get into his head...maybe? There certainly is a lot more head to get into now than there was say 10 years ago physically speaking. With the exception of his first game in mild San Diego, Barry has pretty much been shielded by the hippies in San Francisco. It's really no surprise those Left Coasters don't have a problem with a baseball player doing drugs.

But looking at the schedule, it could get interesting for Barry. Dude has to go to Philly for a weekend series against the Phillies. Last time I checked the fans out there do not have a reputation for being passive, and I think some organized resistance is in order. We have seen people throw stuff at the guy. The syringe was pretty funny but then the toothpaste tube or whatever that was...really? But how effective have the individual efforts been? Not very.

On Baseball Tonight they were talking about a rumor that fans were going to go into the concourse for every Bonds at-bat. I like it. Don't boo. Don't throw anything at him. Just don't watch. I really don't think Bonds would care. He certainly wouldn't show any emotion and I can imagine the stale interviews after the game. But I think this sends a serious message to both MLB and to fans around the country who care about the integrity of the game. Certainly it is a lot to ask to boycott the games Barry plays in, but to boycott Bonds himself is brilliant. The problem is in the organization of the protest. If everybody tried to leave their seat when he got to the plate it would be too late. But if everybody left their seat when he was in the on-deck circle the majority of them would have time to get completely out of the the field of view. I think it would work.

Any Philly fans reading this...spread the word. Any other ideas? Leave a comment.

Update

2006-05-03T11:08:00.000-05:00

So Baseball Tonight talked about number 712 for the first 10 minutes of their show. What a waste. But I am pretty sure John Kruk reads this site as he finally did some analysis on all FOUR of Bonds home runs this year. They have all been out over the plate, including Linebrink's brilliant set of pitches (see below). I am still waiting for somebody to hit the guy somewhere besides the body armour. He doesn't wear anything on his legs pitchers. I really want to see what happens when guys start mixing in some low and inside stuff. What's he gonna do if you hit him? Hobble out to the mound?

Scott Linebrink Sings Like Shit

2006-05-02T17:33:00.000-05:00

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Barry Bonds is two away from tying the Babe.
Bonds hit his 712th home run in the San Francisco Giants' 5-3 loss to San Diego on Tuesday, moving him even closer to matching Babe Ruth's total for second place on the career list.
Bonds sent a full-count pitch from Scott Linebrink over the center-field wall for a solo shot that traveled an estimated 440 feet in the bottom of the eighth inning. Linebrink became the 419th pitcher to surrender a home run to Bonds.... THANKS A LOT SCOTT. Yeah and I bet that song kicks a lot of ass Linebrink. "I gave my love a cherry / That had no stone / I gave my love a chicken / That had no bones / I gave my love a story / That had no end / I gave my... " Where's Bluto Blutarsky when you need him?

So begins the AP article documenting the Giants 5-3 loss to the Padres. But all the nonsense about what actually happened in the game didn't start until a few paragraphs down. The real news is that Bonds is only two away from forever tainting the game of our grandfathers and great grandfathers. And right in the middle of exams no less. The prick.

In related news...the Iranians seem to have misunderstood Bonds' selfish, steroid indulged assault on the record books as some kind of a threat and promised to attack Israel if the U.S. acts "evil." Something about an infidel. I don't understand those people. Me personally? I'm not too worried about Israel. They will F Iran's S up. There aren't a whole lot of countries out there who can say they were at the winning end of a war that lasted only six days. But after that what happens? Anybody else been reading about Russia in the news lately? Just stop hitting home runs Barry...seriously.

UPDATE
After showing the Bonds home run over and over and over and over on Sportscenter and on Baseball Tonight, an 8.0 Earthquake was created in the Tonga Islands. As of noon CST, there is a tsunami warning for the Fiji Islands. Hopefully the death toll is down per capita as there aren't that many people in that part of the world...but whether anything happens or not I am going to go ahead and add Vijay Singh to the people who HATE Barry Bonds.

Damn It

2006-04-27T20:32:00.000-05:00

So Barry can hit a 99 mph fastball to the left side of the field as good as he can hit a Steve Trachsel 85 mph fastball to left field. Thanks a lot Billy. By the way a bus crashed into a house minutes after he hit it. Nobody died though. I don't even think the Bonds Catastrophe Determinator thought he was going to hit that pitch. Then again I don't think the BCD really understands how little it takes to hit a ball a long way when it is coming to the plate that fast. Way to leave it out over the plate Billy. That seems to be the theme for the three home runs this year. Lets try jamming this guy from now on.

Now our good friend Barry has 711 and is right on Ruth's heels. With three more to go the guessing game has begun as to what pitcher is going to give up the record breaking shot. Over at Deadspin they have the official guessing competition with prizes and everything. I am going to say it will take him all the way to the LA series and he is going to go yard off of Brad Penny. Thanks a lot in advance Brad.

But what I really hope happens is the ghost of Babe Ruth, last seen talking to that overrated trash stash Benny kid from the Sandlot, decides to pay Barry a visit. He told Benny, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart kid and you'll never go wrong." He wouldn't say that to Bonds, who doesn't have a heart, but what would he say? For some reason I picture him telling Barry he would fucking kill him if he broke his record. But not in that deep significant voice like you would expect but something more like Clayton Bigsby. Then he would just float off into the distance saying "woogie boogie Barry, woogie boogie." I could be wrong. Any thoughts?

No. 710

2006-04-26T10:09:00.000-05:00

Bonds hit number 710 yesterday. Great. I didn't find out until this morning. I should have known since I woke up with a headache, a slight cough, and to top it off a moose snuck up on me in class.

I am beginning to think that I have it a little bit wrong. Maybe Bonds isn't the "Bringer of Doom" per se but merely the cause of Doom. Rather I think Steve Trachsel is the actual Bringer of Doom. Bringing it in a nice little 85 mph straight as a string fastball of an apocalyptic handbasket. Bonds sent a 1-1 pitch from Trachsel over the left field fence...again (last time it killed Douglas Adams). Thanks a lot Steve.

Even Steve knows he stinks.

The sad thing is that Bonds' solo shot was the only run the Giants could manage off Trachsel. Good luck on the championship you have always wanted in San Fran Barry. Even sadder is the fact that Bonds hobbled out to left field to cheers from the Giants "faithful." Saddest of all is the guy who was (probably) cheering the Bonds HR on his truck radio, license plate #6Y42661, when he struck some poor kid from Florida who was crossing a highway near San Francisco. The driver hit the guy and sped off. If you have information call CHP at (707) 588-1400. Via SFGate.com.

In other "related" news, police are hunting killer chimpanzees in Sierra Leone who killed a taxi driver and injured three Americans. I have a couple of theories on this. Maybe the chimps know everything and are just pissed about Barry hitting home runs, because they are baseball purists like that fucker Ed- star of the worst baseball movie of all time.

Or maybe they are badass, save the world type of monkeys who broke out of the zoo and are now trying to make their way to San Francisco to stop Barry themselves. Considering National Treasure is on right now, that idea at least seems plausible for a Jerry Bruckheimer/Nic Cage movie. Either way if that's not a sign that bad things happen when Bonds hits bombs, I don't know what is (I mean monkeys killing people not necessarily that National Treasure was made).

Ass Clowns.

It Has Begun

2006-04-23T10:58:00.000-05:00

Barry Bonds finally hit his first home run of the season, so all you people who were feeling sorry for him can stop being gay (or Heauxmeauzsexuals if you will). But it wasn't like feeling sorry for him made him hit a home-run. Bonds doesn't care what people think of him even when they are offering their pity. So it's not your fault. It's Aaron Cook's fault. He's the guy who gave up the HR.

Thanks a lot Aaron. And you let him hit it out to left field no less, Aaron? That's like his third home run ever to left field. Congratulations, he saw that one coming.

That was Barry's first long ball since September 27, 2005 when his homer killed Brazilian comedian Ronald Golias thus sending the country of Brazil into mourning. You people in South America aren't shielded from the shit that hits the fan...and neither are you people in Australia.

As soon as Barry's ball cleared the fence, Typhoon Monica jumped to a Category Five with winds of 144 mph and now threaten the good people of Australia...proving Bonds home runs still do have a geological link with the Earth. And it's no small coincidence that Bin Laden is back in the news either.

The rumblings from this home run are relatively small with this being only his first home run of the season and all. It shouldn't really even be news. Omar Vizquel also hit his first of the year and the only reason his shot got any publicity was because Bonds mentioned he didn't want to trail Omar in HR totals. Good one Barry. That little boy in Russia didn't die because Omar went yard.

Those whores over at ESPN are licking their lips and on ESPN.com (no link...find it yourself) their secondary headline about the home run is still up the morning after. Oh...did they mention he has a show called Bonds on Bonds that airs on Tuesday nights? Can't wait to see the show about the latest exploits. It's too bad the Giants won 6-4 so now all we are going to hear is that the reason Barry is suddenly happy is because the Giants won. And that's what it's all about, right?

People Who Hate Barry Bonds

2006-04-20T16:33:00.000-05:00

So with Bonds all over the news for good reasons (not hitting home runs), and with people feeling sorry for the guy, and with this site struggling for something to write about...I began to wonder if even I wanted Barry to hit a home-run or two. But then I remembered the point of this site and I thought back to author Douglas Adams and that fateful day in May of 2001.

On a full count in the 4th inning, Barry hit a 410' blast to right-center field off Steve Trachsel (thanks a lot Steve). It was his 12th home-run of what was to be 73 that year (I can't even do that on Playstation...thanks a lot steroids). Sometime later at a gym in Montecito, California, famed author Douglas Adams had a heart attack and died. He was only 49.

Adams wrote the much beloved Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and had an overall keen sense of the universe and also of the Earth blowing up; an event that occurs at the beginning of Hitchhiker's Guide. When Barry went yard, Adams probably had an epiphany concerning the significance of that home-run and the many future home-runs to come and therefore the end of the world. It is easy to write about the world blowing up in a comedy/sci-fi fictional work, but a little bit more difficult to contemplate the actual end of the world. His heart couldn't take it and therefore Douglas Adams HATES Barry Bonds.

Interestingly enough the plot of the Hitchiker series involves finding the Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. A computer was designed to find this answer and it came up with the answer to the ultimate question: 42. In the books the characters go on trying to find the ultimate question which will give some explanation to the ultimate answer. But maybe these characters and/or Douglas Adams simply weren't baseball fans, because if Barry Bonds were to hit 42 home runs from here on out, no more no less, no matter how long he plays...he will have 750. Five short of the record. Certainly lots of damage will be done by 42 more home runs but at least the world won't blow up.

The State of Bonds

2006-04-17T12:13:00.000-05:00

I watched the Giants play the Dodgers last night in what was a pretty good game despite the complete lack of what we are all used to from Barry Bonds. Each time he came up to the plate, the guy I was watching the game with said they shouldn't pitch to him. At one point there were runners on first and third with nobody out in a key point in the game and the guy wanted the Dodgers to walk Bonds. They didn't and things worked out just fine.

It isn't the same Barry Bonds anymore. People have even begun to pity him like the guys over at Deadspin (read their site...everyday), who have jumped off the boo Barry Bonds bandwagon after seeing him play in person. They say that this is the time he is most vulnerable. But I say because this is the time he is most vulnerable, it is a better time than ever to boo and boo loudly. Barry Bonds, maybe more than any other player in baseball history, has shunned the fans. He has done it his entire career with his me first attitude. He is the epitome of the major league asshole. He has been criticized from day one, he has been booed from day one, and since the steroid fiasco broke he has been even more selfish ten fold. If you watch his show he proclaims that it is still about winning. He wants a ring. Is wanting a ring selfish? I don't think it is for most people. Winning isn't selfish in a team sport. You win for your coach, you win for your teammates, you win for the fans, you win for the city where you play, and yes you win for yourself...for your own competitive desire. But does anybody really believe that Barry Bonds want to win, wants a ring for all of these reasons? I don't think so. I think he wants a ring so that with all of these records* he isn't stuck in the best player without a ring category.

And what about the records*? I think that's what it is all about with this guy, and that is the only reason he is still in the game. He is hitting below .200 with no home runs and the guy can barely walk. I mean proper walk. Like walk from left field to the dugout. But that's what he still does at the plate. He walks. If it were the bottom of the ninth with two out and Bonds drew a walk, there is no way he could score from first on a gap shot. This is why Felipe is going to take him completely out of the game in such a situation, which is exactly what happened last night. Barry Bonds has become a liability. How thankful we must all be he isnt' in the American League.

So the point is, they are correct at Deadspin; Barry Bonds is the most vulnerable he has been in his entire career. Relatively speaking this isn't that much because I still don't think he gives a flying shit what anybody else cares about. But by Bonds' standards he is vulnerable nonetheless. So boo him. Boo him in the on deck circle, boo him in left field, boo his gait, boo him when the whores on Sportcenter suck his D, just boo. And maybe, just maybe those boos will get through his steroid induced oversized cranium and into that part in his affected brain where the respect for the history of the game is supposed to live.

Giants 2 Dodgers 0....Bonds 0...Goose 1

2006-04-17T11:56:00.000-05:00

The Giants won last night depsite no homers from Bonds.
He was a part of the most exciting play of the game though. BarryBondsApocalypse player of the game goes to Tim Hamulack, who was ejected from the game after hitting Barry Bonds. Well he didn't actually hit Bonds, he hit that giant arm guard Barry wears to protect his right arm that hangs over the inside part of the plate.

Apparently the umpire thought it was in retaliation for an earlier incident. Jeff Kent was beaned in the head by Giants pitcher Brad Hennessey, fresh up from the minors, with what looked to be something less than a fastball. I can't remember what other pitches Hennessey was throwing last night...maybe a sinker or splitter or something. Anyway whatever it was it hit Kent in the head and he had to leave the game. At the time nobody in the stadium thought it was intentional.

So then Barry comes up and gets hit in the arm guard and Hamulack immediately gets tossed. Like I said nobody thought the Kent thing was intentional so why would Hamulack? And why, if he was going to throw at Bonds, not throw at his knees? And why were there no warnings issued? Say what you will about Bonds, but it looks like he is getting protection from the umpires. Bonds also had to leave the game, but not because his arm guard was hurting but rather because he is a liability on the base paths.

This also brings up another point related to getting hit, Barry Bonds, and the home run record. Goose Gossage, in the Playboy MLB preview was talking about the record and people comparing the players in today's game to the players of yesterday. Goose said, and I will have to paraphrase from memory, that he isn't nearly as impressed with Barry Bonds home run totals, even if he were to break the all-time record, as he is with Hank Aaron's record. And this is why, every time Hank Aaron stepped up to the plater (and especially in the early years) parts of his body and even his career were all in jeopardy. A black guy and an excellent home run hitter at that was going to get thrown at. And he knew this everytime his spikes dug in to the batter's box. Getting thrown at was a much more integral part of the game through Aaron's career. And Goose says this is the last thing Bonds or any player today has to worry about. And even if Bonds did have to worry about it occassionally, he has that freaking arm guard. This is one of the reason's Bonds has been able to hit so many home runs, and incidentally one of the reasons Pedro Martinez is one of the most dominant pitchers in the game...and just another reason to have even less respect for Barry Bonds.

Bonds: "I stink right now"

2006-04-11T10:11:00.000-05:00

Still no home-runs but "at least the Giants are winning." Story here.
This can't last forever and I think it's more like the calm before the storm.
In "related" news that may be a harbinger of things to come in both world news and baseball news a former Iranian leader says that Iran has enriched uranium.

Only a matter of time?

Giants win...Bonds Still a Loser

2006-04-07T00:08:00.000-05:00

The Giants beat my Braves 6-4 but the good news is Bonds was 0-2 with no home runs.
Player of the Game: Bobby Cox. Hey, somebody had to give the order to intentionally walk the guy twice. Bobby Cox HATES Barry Bonds.

But clearly San Francisco fans do not HATE Barry Bonds. They stood and cheered him for 42 seconds. See here if your stomach can manage it. This just makes me hate San Fran even more. Those smug sons of bitches aren't real baseball fans and their team sucks anyway. They need something to stand and cheer about out there so they have to stand and cheer for a performance enhancing ass clown. San Francisco, you're gay. THAAAANKS!

Bonds on Bonds -- Episode One

2006-04-04T22:53:00.000-05:00

So the sellouts over at ESPN, the same people who gave us Stephen A. Smith and ESPN Hollywood, are trying to humanize Barry Bonds in his new weekly series, Bonds on Bonds. They show him talking to Dusty Baker's kids, with his family, at his father's gravesite, etc. But all of the cheesy stuff clearly can't make up for the fact that this guy is fucking nuts. If he isn't a friend of the devil, I don't know who is.

First of all Barry Bonds wants to kill you. He said, "I wish killing was legal," but then reconsiders because if it were he would be the first one shot. He later reiterated his blood thirst by telling his daugher he wished she wasn't six because he would kill her.

Problems...more to come later.

Thank God for Rain

2006-04-04T22:48:00.000-05:00

The Giants' game against the Padres was rained out tonight. God is watching Barry.
Next up: Giants at Padres 7:05 Pacific. On the mound for SD: Chris Young. Pray for him.

Bonds Loses Season Opener

2006-04-03T21:25:00.000-05:00

One game down and 161 to go for the San Francisco Barry Bonds’. Fortunately for all of us Bonds was 1-4 with a mere double. His double came in his first at-bat. The ball jumped off the bat real nice and what at first looked like something that would be easily caught, quickly floated near the wall, where it bounced and went over for a harmless ground-rule-double. Remember the good old days when everybody thought the balls were “juiced?” It never had a chance of going over, thank God. He did later hit a towering fly to center that he clearly didn’t miss by much. His swing looks unchanged and his contact is still impeccable. That’s a bad sign.

Play of the Game: a San Diego fan threw a syringe at Bonds. See here. It didn’t have a needle in it. Bonds saw it, picked it up, and continued to walk back to the dugout. His blank on-field expression never changed. All of this stuff begs the question: Who is he playing for? He can’t need the money. The fans don’t want him to play. The Giants aren’t exactly favorites to win anything outside of the NL West. The only logical reasoning left is that he is the Bringer of Doom and is playing for the end of the world.

Player of the Game: Jake Peavy. Yeah, he gave up the double to Bonds who eventually scored a run, but that’s all the San Fran offense got. They have Ray Durham hitting third if that tells you anything.

Fan of the Game: Since we don’t know who threw the syringe we will have to go with the Padres fan who wore a shirt and carried a sign that just had a giant asterisk on it. (I will put a picture up if I can find one). Quality stuff. And that was from the relatively tame San Diego fan base. I can’t wait for the Giants to head east.

Next up: SF @ SD, 7:05 Barry Bonds time, aka Pacific time. Shawn Estes, a Mormon (dum dum dum dum dum) and former Giant himself, gets the start for the Fathers. Pray for him. Oh, almost forgot. Bonds on Bonds premiers Tuesday night at 7 CST on ESPN2. A complete review will be posted tomorrow after the show.

In “related” news:

ALL 17 ABOARD MILITARY PLANE CRASH SURVIVE
Dover, Del. (AP) -- A huge military cargo plane faltered after takeoff and belly-landed short of the Dover Air Force Base runway Monday, breaking apart and drenching some of the 17 people aboard with fuel but causing no fire or life-threatening injuries.

"It is a miracle. Absolutely a miracle," said Lt. Col. Mark Ruse, commander of the base's 436th Air Wing Civil Engineering squadron. "If you look at the condition of that plane and 17 people are still alive right now - it is absolutely amazing."

OPENING DAY

2006-04-03T16:20:00.000-05:00

Its opening day for the Giants and more importantly its opening day for Barry Bonds. The Giants go all the way to San Diego to take on the Padres. The game can be seen on the Barry Bonds/USC Network, aka ESPN at 4:00 Barry Bonds time. For the rest of you, thats 7:00 ET.

If you have been watching any other games on ESPN today (e.g. Braves at Dodgers, ATL-4 LAD-1 top 5th), they have been talking a lot about Bonds. Right now Eric Karros is is wondering aloud why they are even bothering with any further Bonds investigation. He claims the cat is already out of the bag, what's the point of taking it any further, and how is this going to change anything in the last 10-15 years. Rick Sutcliffe chimed in to disagree. For once I agree with the guy and actually enjoyed listening to his perspective. Karros still disagrees. (ATL-5 LAD-1). Clearly Sutcliffe has this site as one of his favorites, and Karros isn't concerned with the rest of the world. (Ooops, Atl-8 LAD-1...Andruw Jones hits the highest home runs in MLB). What good does the investigation do for baseball? It salvages some of the respectibility of the game by finding out once and for all who cheated the fans and history of our National game. Hopefully by doing so Bonds will be forced into early retirement by the sheer shame of the situation and he won't break any more records. Anyway. A breakdown of the game will be posted later.

It's On Now...

2006-03-22T15:22:00.000-06:00

First time here? Check the Beginning to get the general idea.
Also, here's the Mission Statement.

The season is fast approaching. The Giants first game is April 3rd (which by the way is on ESPN2…those Bonds worshippers), which means Barry can start hitting home runs then, which means a bunch of tragic shit starts happening. More ideas of how to stop this guy are needed and this might be the best one yet.

The Cobra Kai.

Yeah they may have had their problems with Mr. Miyagi, but he is dead now. And if he was still alive, he would probably want to save the world anyway. And yeah, they also had their problems with that fucking loser Daniel LaRusso but that guy is nothing without Miyagi, and have you seen him lately? He’s not cool or tough.

So what is the Cobra Kai’s motivation? I had a chance to ask executive director and sensei of the Cobra Kai Dojo, John Kreese. It seems it isn’t difficult for this guy to HATE people. Listen to what he said about stopping Bonds, here.

And the biggest bad ass of them all, Johnny Lawrence, is still taking orders from his sensei, who will no doubt order Johnny to sweep Barry’s leg. Except it won’t be like the All Valley Karate Tournament where there are stupid rules. Johnny will continue to sweep Barry’s leg until his bum knee explodes. Plus Johnny has minions of his own now. You can check them out here. They are dead serious and if Johnny HATES Barry, these guys will HATE him too.

Then there is my personal favorite, Dutch. He is generally in the shadow of his hard ass sensei and ringleader Johnny, but he is easily the most underrated Cobra Kai member. Word is, Dutch’s motivation isn’t so much preventing Barry from ending the world as it is that he just HATES black people.

STRIKE FIRST! STRIKE HARD! NO MERCY!
The guys are pretty fucking scary.

Updates

2006-03-20T20:45:00.000-06:00

New posts are coming. Trust me. Once the season starts the shit is going to hit the fan. For now though news is slow and the research ongoing. Until then why don't you try to beat the Hulk Hogan post in the Death Match competition.

THE DEATH MATCH

2006-03-10T12:28:00.000-06:00

Check out that picture of Rocker in the next post. Or check it out on his website. Look at the pic next to the kitten. Dude is pretty cut. That picture begs the question: If John Rocker, Barry Bonds, Chuck Norris, A.C. Slater, a ninja, and a pirate got into a cage match fight to the death...who would win and more importantly how would they win?

Comment away. The best one will get a Reader Appreciation post, which basically gives you hero status if we stop Bonds and save the world. Feel free to add your own characters in the Death Match.

Reader Appreciation...

2006-03-10T12:15:00.000-06:00

Good comments will get you noticed, especially if you are famous, or if you write a good narrative comment. If you missed it, here is BonVar's comment to the Geology sucks post. Keep them coming people.

"Geology does suck. So does Barry Bonds. Not only does he cause substantial damage to the earth, and disrupt the delicate balance of what we know about plate tectonics, he also HATES kittens. Since he hates kittens, then naturally he HATES babies, as kittens are nothing more than baby cats. John Rocker LOVES kittens (as seen on www.johnrocker.net) and babies too for that matter. As far as babies are concerned... they were not always called babies. They used to be referred to only as infants -until Babe Ruth started hitting homeruns. Babe Ruth filled new mothers' lives with such joy the only thing they could compare the joy to was looking at their infants... thus they lovingly started referring to their infants as... "Babies." Dear God, don't get me started on how the term "bail BONDS" came about. Can we really compare Babe Ruth to Barry Bonds...... FUCK NO! "

That was the picture from Rocker's website by the way.

Geology Sucks

2006-03-09T14:41:00.000-06:00

Barry's first home run as a Giant came on April 12, 1993 in a 4-3 win against the Marlins. It didn't really matter how many home runs he had at the time because the apparent BTE (Bonds Tragedy Effect) was incredibly low...at least it was on April 12. And though the actual BTE time was relatively slow in human time, in geologic time it was quick as shit.

That home-run caused an ever so slight shift along SoCal's San Andreas Fault. This occurrence was unnoticed even by geologists at the time, but eventually would wreak havoc. A little over a month later, on May 27, a 5.2 magnitude earthquake occurred: The Wheeler Ridge Earthquake. On the Richter Scale, a 5.2 magnitute really isn't that high so again the apparent BTE was seemingly low. There's more to it.

Remember Plate Tectonics from elementary school? Yeah they teach you that shit for a reason. The Earth's land masses are connected to plates that were once all connected and have been drifting apart...its complicated stuff involving the lithosphere and asthenosphere and complicated junk like that. The point is the plates are connected and they can cause problems, e.g. earthquakes. Well this particular Bonds home-run causing this particular earthquake, causing a spontaneous, unpredicted plate shift really F'ed things up on a geological scale. Keeping in mind that geology is an incredibly slow moving process, nine years is basically the blink of an eye on such a scale. So scientifically speaking the nine years it took for the North American Plate shift to move the Pacific Plate, that slammed into the Australian Plate, that pounded the Indian Plate is certainly plausible.

When the Indian Plate got pounded by the Australian Plate, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.15 registered in the Indian Ocean. That sparked the most lethal tsunami in the history of the world in December of 2004.

Barry Bonds hits a home-run...230,000 die.

Reader Appreciation Post

2006-03-09T09:10:00.000-06:00

The few comments we have gotten here at BoD are much appreciated. They keep us going, so write comments of your own...seriously. We kind of have the upper-hand here. If we stop researching and posting, the world won't know about our theory, Bonds will hit 756...and all of you will die.

So here is the first of what could be many Reader Appreciation Posts. The first goes out to who is easily our most famous reader, Debi Curzio: John Rocker's publicist. Not only is she our most famous, but also the hottest. Roid Rage pointed this out in his comments on the Rocker post, and I know for a fact that some pretty smokin hot chicks have checked this site out.

Be sure to check out Rocker's website here. And Ms. Curzio has a website under construction here. Rocker was featured in a news article recently as well. Check that out here. As her comment noted, she even forwarded this site to Mr. Rocker himself. The dude probably has better things to do, but we like to think he read it...and liked it...and maybe, just maybe we will get an email??? rich.varner@ttu.edu

Also be sure to check out www.deadspin.com . Its probably the funniest, most comprehensive sports blog/website on the internet. Remember the days when you had to rely on that whore ESPN? Those days are long gone. Go to Deadspin instead. We have also gotten some comments from other bloggers. We don't know anything about these guys or these blogs, except that Debi Curzio does NOT go to their blogs.
Moonlighting in Misery
Arfansar

So Now What...

2006-03-08T09:42:00.000-06:00

So looks like two of our most loyal readers, the San Francisco Chronicle's Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, are right with our theory. And they want Bonds stopped.

This puts Bringer of Doom in a precarious position. If Bonds gives into the pressure he is about to be under, our theory will go unproven and we will go down as heroes to a scant few. We were kind of hoping he would get somewhere in the 720-740 range this year. Of course there would be tragedy, but the end of the world means the end of the world for everybody. If Bonds hit a home-run and a bunch of Americans died, for example, people would have to take notice. He doesn't want to draw too much attention to himself. But if Bonds hit a homer and a bunch of Bush hating jihadist Muslims died, nobody would really care. At all.

This is probably a dumb idea anyway. The relatives of Dave L. Sandler would no doubt beg to differ. Maybe its better not to take the chance at all. But Bonds is probably going to play anyway. He will sit in his leather recliner in the clubhouse all year, not talk to reporters, deny he ever took anything, and continue on his selfish quest of mass destruction.

So we must go on. Chronicling our journey and gathering empirical data to prove that Barry Bonds is in fact... the Bringer of Doom.

WWHD?

Guess What???

2006-03-07T15:06:00.000-06:00

Shitty people do shitty things...and people who take human growth hormones and cattle steroids have really freaking huge heads. Its SCIENCE.

Resolution Number 2

2006-03-07T11:13:00.000-06:00

First time here? Check the BEGINNING .
Also check our MISSION STATEMENT

Hardcore baseball fans know Al Hrabosky as thae "Mad Hungarian". A closer in the 70's for the Cardinals and the Braves, Al was known for his blazing fastball (pretty much his only pitch) and his intimidating on field antics. Al never hit a homerun in the big leagues himself, and he only gave up 50 dingers in 722 career innings throughout his 13 year career. However, when he did serve one up, it had a tendency to go very far. I think it is safe to say that this former fireballing closer hated power hitters and therefore probably HATES Barry Bonds. Lucky for us, the Mad Hungarian is currently a broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals. I have been told by medical experts that due his already volital mental state, Al would be a prime canidate for brainwashing. (Think Reggie Jackson in the Naked Gun) All somebody would have to do is hide a weapon under second base before a Cardianls-Giants game in St. Louis. Then brainwashed Al, who has a press pass and would be allowed on the field, could take care of the rest during a "routine" pregame interview. Just an idea.

Blog Crap

2006-03-06T20:19:00.000-06:00

Anybody can leave comments on posts now, not just registered users....so leave some damn comments. And sign the damn guestbook. So far the only person to sign the thing is Barry Bonds.

Resolution Number 1

2006-03-06T19:35:00.000-06:00

So to keep the world from ending, we have to come up with ideas of how to stop Barry Bonds. Seriously, if he wasn't to hit another home run we would be really happy, especially since when he breaks Babe Ruth's old record things are going to really start getting bad. Therefore, we here at Bringer of Doom are going to have to come up with legitimate ideas of how to stop this guy. This will take creativity, ingenuity, etc. and clearly those are qualities lacking in this website. And really, killing or injuring the guy isn't going to cut it. If it happens naturally, thats fine with us. Injury that is. So... if you do have any good ideas of how to stop this guy, here is your chance to be heard. Email us at RittyRich@aol.com

Now for our first idea of how to stop Barry Bonds. We have a few favorite baseball players. Number one on the list is Hank Aaron, of course, but there are more who will hopefully aid us on our quest to save the world. The first guy that could help us is Ritty's favorite Brave's pitcher of all-time: John Rocker. The Mouth of the South. We aren't worthy enough to have ever met the guy, but we are about 99% sure John Rocker HATES Barry Bonds (His feature is coming soon, don't worry).

So how could this guy stop Barry Bonds from getting anywhere near 755 home runs? Easy. If John Rocker pitched to Barry Bonds every single at-bat, the guy would probably hit like 5 or 6 bombs all year. Maybe. And that would probably only be if Rocker was sober, which we hope is very rare. Very rare. He might break all of his Walk records, but who cares. If he walked everytime he stepped up to the plate the world wouldn't blow up. But chances are Rocker would bean Bonds 9 times out of 10 because like we said before, Rocker HATES Barry Bonds. We hope. This would serve two purposes. One, Barry couldn't go yard if Rocker is ricocheting 95 mph fast balls off Barry's knee caps, and two, Barry's knees would eventually give out anyway. Rocker hates Bonds but he also HATES knee caps. Probably.

And by the way...our man Rocker is going to be on that new show Pros vs. Joes . Should be awesome. Now if we can only get him to follow the Giants around the country only pitching to Bonds.

Feature: People Who HATE Barry Bonds

2006-03-04T16:30:00.000-06:00

This is the first of a new feature called The People Who Hate Barry Bonds. That police guy in Indianapolis isn't a big Barry fan, but he's dead now so it really doesn't count. Our first Barry Hating Award Recipient is none other than Oliver North.

As you can probably tell from his website and FoxNews specials, etc., Mr. North is doing pretty well despite Barry, but it wasn't always so easy for him, e.g. The Iran Contra Affair. Ollie was pretty much the fall guy and on July 5, 1989 it all came to a head. It was on that date that he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service. It wasn't so much that Ollie was made a key public figure, but also the fact his family was put through all of this.

And what else happened on this date? Barry Bonds homers in Pittsburgh's 6–4 loss to the Giants, giving Barry and father Bobby Bonds the ML father-and-son home run record with 408.
Fortunately for Mr. North, this was still early on in Bonds' home run totals and therefore the Barry Tragedy Effect (or BTE) was minimal. A year later North was pardoned, but trust me he knows he got screwed when Barry went yard that day. Everyone knew North was the fall guy and really didn't deserve the criminal convictions.

Home Run Number 666

2006-03-01T23:10:00.000-06:00

For additional proof that each Barry Bonds home run brings the world one step closer to the apocalypse, you don't have to look any further than April 19th, 2004. That night, we all got a glimpse of our impending annihilation as Barry hit home run number 666. It was if Barry was trying to subtely tell us something because it just so happened to be the 6th game in a row that Barry went yard and the 9th anniversary of the infamous OKC bombings. (For those of you who instantly see the significance, a 9 is an upside-down 6) That's just too many sixes to be coincidental. After discovering these facts, I began to dig deeper.

I then realized that since the game was at night on the west coast, to most of the Christian world, the ball technically cleared the fence on the early morning of April 20th. I was somewhat relieved that the OKC bombing thing might not have been a precursor to the end of the world as brought on by Bonds home runs, but the more research I did, the more bone-chilling facts I uncovered. On April 20th, 1999 (three sixes upside down), 2 high school students tragically gunned down 13 (another evil number) of their classmates at Columbine High School in Colorado. Also, besides being the birthday of genocide master Slobodon Milosevic, April 20th is also the birthday of Adolf Hitler. Had Hitler still been alive and kicking it in Germany at the moment Barry crossed the plate, he would have just turned 115 years old. Further research showed that when you divide 115 by 6, you get 1.9166666666 repeating. Forever. We don't make this stuff up, people. Basically, unless pitchers don't intentionally walk Barry until he retires, we are all freaking screwed.

Apocalypse to be Televised by World Wide Leader

2006-03-01T10:14:00.000-06:00

Looks like Barry Bonds has signed on with ESPN for a new reality show. (See here). The show will follow Bonds from spring training through the season as he chases Ruth and Aaron, which also means, if our theory is correct, America will have front row seats via their televisions for the end of the world. Well that is if Bonds gets to 755.

Filming began yesterday and ESPN's first order of business was to see what Paula Abdul would look like if she tooks steroids for 10 years. Story here.

Mission Statement

2006-02-27T10:36:00.000-06:00

We here at Bringer of Doom are not yet ready...well, for Doom. Therefore we have taken on the responsibility, as bloggers, to inform the interested general public of our valid apocalyptic theories. Namely-- BARRY BONDS MUST BE STOPPED. Our research is ongoing and thorough. We will continue to publish our findings so that the world and not just baseball fans will realize everytime this guy Roids a home run, something tragic happens.

Thank you.
Ritty-- Good Luck and Godspeed.
And thank you Tami. Your insight on credibility is truly inspiring.

Revelations 6:1-8

2006-02-24T17:07:00.000-06:00

And I saw when the Iamb opened one of the seals, and I heard as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him; and he went forth conquering and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red; and power was given to him that sat there to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, come and see. And I beheld and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was Death and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword and with hunger and with death and with the beast of the earth

June 4, 1986 -- The Beginning

2006-02-23T15:55:00.000-06:00

It began innocently enough. A young Barry Bonds stepped up to the plate against the Atlanta Braves Craig McMurtry and calmly hit his first MLB home run. He was officially on the record books and the race for Hank Aaron had unseemingly begun.

In what at the time appeared to be a completely unrelated story in Indianapolis, Officer Dave L. Sandler was fatally injured when his police motorcycle was hit by a car driven by Kenneth Maar. The headlight of Sandler's motorcycle mysteriously burned out making his bike nearly impossible to see. No arrests were made and any investigation was minimal. A more detailed query into the accident and the day's events might have revealed to investigators the burnout and the subsequent wreck occurred minutes after Barry Bonds' first homerun.