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Here's the Reality: Bonds' Show Reveals Little

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 April 2006, 09:00 CDT

By Mark Purdy, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

Apr. 5--"Bonds on Bonds." Wow, what a television show. And what a dynamic opening episode.

First, there was the man himself, Barry Bonds, calling Victor Conte Jr. a "sick, self-promoting, nerdy gasbag" and blaming him for the entire Balco scandal.

Then, we saw an exclusive interview with Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, who revealed the truth about the $50,000 bundle of cash that was found in his apartment when the feds raided it -- and whether the dough was connected to Bonds.

After that, we got a special guided tour of the Burlingame gym where Bonds bulked up, with Barry answering all the tough questions about why he chose to train there in spite of the place's reputation as a steroid hangout.

Finally, there was the fascinating sit-down discussion between Bonds and Hank Aaron, which touched on all the aspects -- emotional, physical, historic, racial -- that are involved with trying to catch Babe Ruth.

I'm kidding, of course. Totally kidding. None of the above segments appeared during 60 minutes of mostly wasted ESPN2 airtime.

However, the above scenario does tell you the sort of Bonds show that could have been produced -- if ESPN had not decided to hand over the car keys and let Bonds drive his own infomercial vehicle down the cable television highway.

Because of that unfortunate choice, the first "Bonds on Bonds" show (other weekly episodes are to come) was exactly what you would expect. Yes, there was a montage of familiar highlights from Giants games. Yes, there were some behind-the-scenes video shots of Bonds' family during spring training (hey, the pipe under his fish tank broke!). And, yes, there were several previously unseen interviews, some of it showing the intelligent, astoundingly sensitive side of his odd personality, the side Bonds seldom shows. But much of it was hard to take.

"I'm mentally and emotionally drained," Bonds said at one point, just before breaking into tears because of the pain his family has endured the past few years. Bonds wishes he could walk away from the game, he says, but so many people depend on him.

Fair enough. I will take the man at his word. But here is my question: If Bonds is so mentally and emotionally drained, and if he is trying to protect his loved ones and his teammates from the distractions created by steroid scandals and the pursuit of Ruth . . . well, then, why on earth would he invite a two-man ESPN Entertainment crew to follow him and create even more distractions in the Giants' clubhouse and in his emotionally drained personal life?

Search me. But a few clues slipped through Tuesday's sludge (or maybe it was just the puddle underneath the broken fish tank). In several comments, Bonds basically said that he thinks the world is out to get him, and that although he can be a jerk, he is not as bad a guy as we all think. He apparently believes "Bonds on Bonds" is his opportunity to set the record straight.

The trouble is, under the deal Bonds struck with ESPN, no viewer with an IQ in double figures will give "Bonds on Bonds" any credibility. The show came about when Bonds' public-relations firm cut a deal with a television production company. They took the proposed package to ESPN and asked for a reported $4 million, with full management of the show's content. Incredibly, the network bought it.

There are plenty of rank-and-file employees of ESPN who correctly see "Bonds on Bonds" as an incredible conflict of interest. But their complaints -- about paying a fee to somebody whose story the network is supposed to be covering objectively -- have met a stone wall. One ESPN employee pegged Bonds' individual share of the deal at around $1 million.

"But I don't think the money is why he's doing it," the employee said. "I think it's just to have control of the show."

Easy to believe. For example, if Bonds skips out on the annual team picture again, causing some Giants players to roll their eyes, I don't think we will see that. And I boldly predict that in "Bonds on Bonds," we won't ever see him insult a single autograph-seeker. He will fill every request we see.

Look closely, however, and you might see some amusing moments. In one segment Tuesday, the USA team from the World Baseball Classic visits the Giants' ballpark in Arizona for a game. As everyone knows, Bonds has always stayed in the clubhouse when his teammates do their pregame stretching -- but on this particular day, he walks out and plunges right into the USA players as they do their organized stretching, interrupting their exercises to greet Derek Jeter and others.

At the same time, some of Bonds' more incisive comments in the opening show make you wish real journalists were on the job.

It's detestable, though hardly a shock, that some of Bonds' hate mail is racist in nature. But he passes it over in one brief remark. Why not examine the issue in more detail? And of course, those who were around Bonds when his father died -- and saw how that affected Barry -- would not question the pain he expresses over Bobby Bonds' life. The most revealing moments of the first "Bonds on Bonds" involved the way Barry dealt with his dad's alcoholism and how Bobby's harsh words to his son created a fierceness in Barry to prove Bobby wrong. Growing up with an alcoholic parent might explain a whole lot about the way Barry is, and what drives him.

Not that we'll see an in-depth study of this issue in "Bonds on Bonds." At another point in Tuesday's show, Bonds said of the sportswriters who have criticized him: "Without their negativity, I probably wouldn't be as good as I am."

My strategy, then, is to be really, really negative about "Bonds on Bonds." Because then it might become decent enough to watch. For now, I'll stick with poker reruns.

Contact Mark Purdy at mpurdy@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5092.

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Source: San Jose Mercury News

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