Barry Bonds is being exploited, yes exploited by a press that's hated him for years. Not because he's black but because he's Baseballs Bill Russell who honestly could not give a fuck what the press said or how they said it and who actively went after them calling them the metaphor challenged assholes that most of them are. In other words he's been a dick. Now that they have something on him they'll beat him to death with it. It's not racism, it's high school and never let it be said that sportswriters aren't angry petty martinets who hate the sports they cover as much as they love to hear themselves blather on about them. Which is fine, that's their job. Barry Bond's job is to hit the long ball.

BTW why is it no one cares about extra base hits, or juiced hitters hitting juiced pitchers? And why is it we've forgotten Ball Four's claims that just about every player in the 60's was wired on amphetamines? Oh well if you want purity go to convent.

Ms. Walsh: Your reply to Newt's statement was right on the money. The only way to counter these right-wing-nuts is to expose them for what they are. Rudy and his three wives! The Newt, cheating on his wife while making moralistic speeches on Clinton's behavior. My mother always claimed there was a special place in hell for hypocrites. I sure hope the old girl was right. Robert David Clark.

I thought Joan was terrific on Scarborough Country last night. I'm proud of her and Nancy Pelosi.

BTW The Dodgers suck. GO GIANTS!

I want to say it isn't racism but, even in my declining years, I continue to be amazed by where and when I find racism. And I am new to this baseball thing, where it shouldn't surprise me but sometimes it does (and sometimes it can be the one place where people are colorblind, but will let you know in no uncertain terms that you suck).

I think Bonds breaks down into the following:

--people who don't like people who achieve more than they do

--people who just don't like bonds

--people who are racist

--people who are racist but are in denial that they're racist

--people who don't care

--people who are genuinely happy about it.

no real feel on percentages.

btw, as a woman new to writing about baseball, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your own writing on the subject. Thank you for your inspiration.

At a time, I would have agreed with you about the racism behind the Bonds hatred. But I don't think that's the case anymore - I think people just don't like Barry Bonds. My main source of changing my mind was seeing how Mark McGwire has been treated since his Congressional testimony. This guy was the sports media's darling in 1998 and could do no wrong. Eight years later he's a pariah. And there's less evidence that he doped than that Bonds did.

Take away the possible cheating, and you may not see people excited that Bonds is going to break the record, but I really doubt you'd see too many people hostile about it.

I can't, for the life of me, understand why Joe and Pat would get agitated at your "serial adulterer" comment. Why would they think it's ok for "Newt" to generalize an entire city, but get their feathers ruffled over a well known fact about Gingrich, that he himself has admitted? It just doesn't make sense.

I'm from San Francisco, as well (although currently I'm giving L.A. a shot) and I can add that Speaker Pelosi's 'San Francisco' values are ones that embody family, fidelity, diversity and freedom.

Newt Gingrich's values embody hypocrisy and cheating on your wife while she's dying from cancer.

The fact that Scarborough and Buchanan would attempt to protect Newt Gingrich speaks volumes about themselves...

...out of the blowhards and their moral outrage at steroids. Usually you will find the same crew speaking longingly and lovingly of Babe Ruth. An era when blacks were banned from competing. Evidently that does not hold the moral equivalency of a pill or an injection that adds to a home run total.