The grand-jury leak has become a popular tool among federal prosecutors in Alabama. Leaks reportedly were rampant in the case of former Democratic Governor Don Siegelman. And information broken by an Alabama blogger today indicates grand-jury leaks--and possible criminal activity--have been involved in the investigation of Alabama two-year colleges.

Just a few musings on recent developments in the sports world:

Goodbye Justine. Farewell Annika: The sports world will dearly miss Justine Henin and Annika Sorenstam, two of the greatest women athletes in history. Both, still at the top of their games, announced their premature retirements this week. Henin is currently the No. 1 ranked women’s tennis player, while Sorenstam is simply the greatest woman golfer in history.

Henin was as tenacious a competitor as I ever had the privilege to watch. A mere 5-5, the 25-year-old Henin made up for her lack of size with a relentless spirit and as pure and devastating a backhand as the women’s game has ever known. Henin won an astounding 10 tournaments in 2007, but has been hampered by injuries in 2008.

Sorenstam may be 37, but she remains one of the top golfers in the world. To date, including a runaway victory last week, Sorenstam has collected 72 tour victories and once shot an incomprehensible 59. An intense competitor, she was also as classy an athlete ever to dominate a sport.

Apart from the fact that during big sporting events like the Olympics, advertisements usually come in when the non-western Europeans are matching in, there is also a sense of prejudice against minorities in sports and entertainment.  When Marion Jones was caught cheating with drugs, she was asked to pay back endorsement money and loss her titles and medals, but what happened to Mark McGwire?  

When Janet and Timberlake had their wardrobe malfunction, only Janet got punished but not Timberlake.  He went to the award show, I believe got an award and more endorsements as well.  What about the chasing of Barry Bonds without concrete evidence compared to Clements’s trainer coming out under oath to testify against him that he (trainer) gave him the drugs?

Please have your say without insults or anger.  Just state you opinion and facts.  Thanks.

This is really pissing me off. I wrote two comments to a blog by Earl Ofari Hutchinson last night that have disappeared along with several other comments. Then another comment this morning mentioning the two scrubbed comments, and that comment has not appeared. Details after the jump.

It seems to me that lying and falsity are layered into our lives today at such a level that it is becoming less important, less of a vice, and maybe even perfectly acceptable.  There has been a lot of talk about how the Bush administration continues to lie to the American public, yet we can see no one in the administration held accountable for these lies.  And he is lying about some of the most serious matters in the world today. Lying (and its siblings, cheating, misleading, denial, obfuscation) that has come from our Executive is at the core of our disapproval and anger.  Not getting accountability or at a minimum some acknowledgement of responsibility forced on them through the oversight of the Congress is at the core of our significant disappointment with that "co-equal" branch of government.  Below I will list several layers of lies that I think may show why we acquiesce.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

But, since I have to reach at least 300 characters...

I'm sick of keeping score. We keep score of everything. How many home runs did Barry Bonds hit? How far is Hillary ahead of Obama in the polls?

This post is not about the guilt or innocence of Barry Lamar Bonds, but both the timing of his indictment as well as the fact that the investigation of Bonds and other figures linked to Victor Conte and BALCO laboratory began in the fall of 2003.

The indictment came the same day a permanent replacement to fired US Attorney Kevin Ryan in the Northern District of California was hired. Moreover, the indictments came less than a week after Attorney General Michael Mukasey was sworn in.

"...and Justice for All."  Remember the phrase at the end of the Pledge of Allegiance that indoctrinated most Americans in their early school years?

It took many of us a while to realize that American justice is meted out selectively and surely is not there at all for some people....especially those in power.

Two people of note allegedly committed perjury this week.  One, a prominent baseball player, got onto the front pages and every TV news broadcast. The other, a high level Bush appointee, got onto Daily Kos and a few other blogs or progressive media outlets.  So what else is new?

Interesting contrast:

Well..... at least SOMEBODY is finally being held accountable for lying and obstruction of justice:

Barry Bonds

With ALL the candidates available that could be prosecuted for perjury and obstruction of justice, THIS is who's getting nailed?

Well, OF COURSE you say.  

American values are at stake.

You can't go breaking baseball records with the help of performance enhancing drugs.  The sanctity of the Constitution means nothing, but Baseball is truly sacred.

What Barry Bonds did is un-American.  He used performance enhancing drugs to improve his performance in baseball and LIED to Congress about it.

What is NOT un-American is below the fold:

Normally, I don't post this kind of diary twice in a row, but I'm Extremely Annoyed! I'm asking WTF? because there were three possible lede stories for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, owned and operated by GE, the world's largest defense contractor. Any, and all, of these three are about real issues affecting real people. Also, last night's newscast is Williams' 53rd since the last one in which he aired a full report out of New Orleans.

But back to the lede--none of those three (which I'll go into detail on below the fold) was the lede last night. Instead, Brian Williams' lede was the crap about Barry Bonds being indicted. Again I ask, WTF? Why was this so important it had to be the lede? Who the hell cares? If I wanted to see dreck about sports and jocks, I'd watch ESPN.

. . . and I don’t mean Rizzuto.

Ex-San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, Major League Baseball’s record-holder for career and single-season homeruns, was indicted Thursday on five counts of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to federal prosecutors investigating steroid use by professional athletes linked to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO).

Within hours of the indictment’s unsealing, President George W. Bush—who had earlier this summer congratulated Bonds on surpassing Hank Aaron as baseball’s all-time homerun king—rushed to jump on the Barry-be-bad bandwagon.

In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said: "The president is very disappointed to hear this. As this case is now in the criminal justice system, we will refrain from any further specific comments about it. But clearly this is a sad day for baseball."

This could be huge news for professional sports and major league baseball

Federal Grand Jury Indicts Barry Bonds

By PAUL ELIAS
Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Barry Bonds was indicted Thursday on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, culminating a four-year federal investigation into whether he lied under oath to a grand jury looking into steroid use by elite athletes.

The indictment came three months after the 43-year-old Bonds passed Hank Aaron to become baseball's career home run leader. Bonds parted ways with the San Francisco Giants after the season.

While Bonds was chasing Aaron, a grand jury was working behind closed doors to put the finishing touches on the long-rumored indictment.

It has just been reported on ESPN.com that Barry Bonds will boycott the Hall of Fame if they display his 756 HR ball with an asterisk.

Barry Bonds would boycott Cooperstown if the Hall of Fame displays his record-breaking home run ball with an asterisk

That includes skipping his potential induction ceremony.

"I won't go. I won't be part of it," Bonds said in an interview with MSNBC that aired Thursday night. "You can call me, but I won't be there."

You know what Barry? Fine with me.  The Hall of Fame is an honor.  Apparently you are too arrogant to understand that one is invited to join the Hall of Fame.

Personally, you've done so much to taint the image of baseball, I couldn't care less if you are in the Hall of Fame.

First it is the steroids.  Then it's the lying about the steroids.  Finally it's about treating the fans and the game with contempt.

Barry, we're already over you.  HanK Aaron, Willy Mays, your Dad, and yes even in some places Buddy Biancalana will be more beloved and respected than you.

Thanks for reading my rant.

Winning isn’t everything,
It’s the only thing
Vanderbilt and UCLA football coach Henry "Red" Sanders

This is a famous sports quote heard by anyone who has ever participated in sports from little league to professional. It was immortalized by Vince Lombardi legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers. It is invoked by players and coaches and for many epitomizes what athletics is all about, the drive to win. For many however, it typifies what is wrong with modern athletics, to win at all costs. It is hard to be a sports fan and not be familiar with the recent doping scandals. It seems that everyone in every sport is taking some sort of performance enhancing substance to win. When pressed on his infamous remark the legendary coach Lombardi made the following statement.

What the Fate of a Baseball Teaches Us about Voting

Just a question I posted on my website http://leftoverright.blogsot.com and got no response. Maybe here someone can answer me.

If the sports media want to make the argument that  the reason Barry Bonds was able to eclipse Hank Aaron's home run record was due to his use of performance enhancing steroids (even though he has never tested positive for anything) and thus the record is illegitimate, fine.

I'll make the counter argument that every MLB record set between the years 1887-1947 is also illegitimate.