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In Sports
Saturday Scorecard: Selig shouldn't chase after Bonds and the home run chase
Brewers fans hold up asterisks in honor of Barry Bonds...
By Drew Olson RSS Feed
Senior Editor
Photography by Allen Fredrickson
E-mail author | Author bio
More articles by Drew Olson

Published July 21, 2007 at 5:55 a.m.
Tags: selig, bonds, saturday scorecard, rickie weeks


Audio Podcast: Commissioner Bud Selig looks to predecessors for guidance on Bonds
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Welcome to Saturday Scorecard, a rest stop on the Harry Potter superhighway. It's a busy weekend, so we'll get straight to it:

Stay home, Bud: San Francisco is easily one of the greatest cities in the world.

It's vibrant, eclectic, artistic, scenic, a little bit decadent and virtually overflowing with incredible restaurants and museums.

Here is hoping Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig avoids it next week.

Not long ago, we figured that Gilles' most loyal customer simply had to be on hand to watch San Francisco's Barry Bonds shatter Hank Aaron's home run record, even if he had to hold his nose for the ceremony following No. 756. We figured it was Selig's duty to show up, given his position and the fact that the mountainous evidence linking Bonds to steroids is circumstantial.

Upon further review... forget all that.

The last thing the sports world needs is another phoney baloney. Selig, who spoke at length with his close friend Aaron on Friday, which eerily enough was the 31st anniversary of Hammerin' Hank's final homer, and clearly is not thrilled at the prospect of Bonds taking over the top spot in the record book.

Performance enhancers or not, Bonds, who was homerless in five plate appearances during a 8-4 Giants victory, is the best player we've ever seen and probably the greatest of all-time. The home run record will be a remarkable testament to his incredible talent. But, stroll around the Giants clubhouse for any length of time and you'll get the strong impression that many of Bonds' teammates aren't jazzed about it and will have to drag themselves to home plate to congratulate the guy. The smiles will be genuine, but they will be borne of relief and not love.

Selig showed up at the game Friday night (unfortunately for the 43,121 in attendance the same could not be said for the Brewers' bullpen) because he thought it was the right thing to do. He said he planned on being at the games Saturday and Sunday, too. He didn't go beyond that, but some of his statements seemed to indicate that he won't be heading West.

Selig is a student of history. He knows that Ford Frick wasn't on hand to see Roger Maris hit home run No. 61 and that Bowie Kuhn wasn't in Atlanta for Hank Aaron's 755th. If he follows that precedent, he can blow off a trip to San Francisco with a reasonably clear conscience. After all, Bonds didn't hesitate to blow off the Home Run Derby. (The fact that it was at his home park didn't stop him from treating it like he does requests for autographs and most interviews.)

If Selig doesn't attend Bonds' big moment, there no doubt will be howls of protest from the Bay Area. But, those cries will eventually die, particularly if, as some are suggesting, there is enough evidence for Bonds to be indicted on federal charges this fall. (Have you heard from any Pete Rose supporters lately?)

Selig has a date next weekend in Cooperstown to watch Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. That will be a joyous day on the sport's calendar. The culmination of Bonds' home run chase, which longtime Giants broadcaster Jon Miller aptly referred to on Friday as "a Greek tragedy," comes with too much baggage to be joyous.

Conspicuously absent: While much of the baseball world debates whether Selig should be at Bonds' side, one wonders if Giants owner Peter Magowan will be held to the same standard. Magowan did not attend the game Friday and a team spokesman said he was out of the country celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary. Asked if Magowan would cut his vacation short to see Bonds' milestone, the spokesman said: "I'm not his travel agent."

Pass the Tylenol: The Bonds situation may give Selig a headache, but he has to be doing better than his counterparts.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell may have to suspend one of his marquee players, Michael Vick, for being involved in dog-fighting. Representatives from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protested outside league offices Friday in Manhattan.

NBA Commissioner David Stern is dealing with accusations that one of the league's veteran officials, Tim Donaghy, bet on games during the past two seasons and his calls may have been coerced by members of organized crime.

The Donaghy story could rock the sports world to its very foundation. Performance enhancing drugs are a major problem in sports, but players do take them to get better. The fact that an official may be crooked would be far more devastating to the integrity of the sport.

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brewguru Bonds IS the greatest player of our generation. Forget the post-season. Ted ...
sandstorm "...is the best player we've ever seen and probably the greatest of all-time." ...