I was at the Padres ballgame last night when Barry Bonds tied the home run record.   I am not going to comment on Bonds use or non use of anything.  

What concerned me was the Padres fans.  I AM a fan and attend at least 20 games a year.  Last night I was ashamed to called myself a Padres fan.  Everytime Bonds came up to bat OR took the field, he was booed loud and long.   Ok - I understand the controversy, but come on!!!   I will say that when he hit the tying home run the clapping ALMOST overpowered the boos.     It's just sad to me - that sports can't be played without such negative forces from the fans.   There were tons of kids there and I couldn't help but wonder how the parents explained that to them.

I am all for following the rules of any game.   I am also all for letting the system work. 

Wow Cozette, that must have been great to be there!  I do understand what you are saying.  In this particular case people seem to have forgotten that you are innocent until proven guilty.  Just getting to tie this record is an enormous achievement, hopefully he can pass it in San Francisco, then  maybe some of the heat will be taken off from him.  I don't know what he did or didn't do, but if he did do something I'm way sure he wasn't the only one he had many others just like him, in which case measuring against your peers the home run record should stand anyway.

San Francisco came to Fenway Park earlier this year, it was the first time they had been there for decades.  And I have to say I was a little ashamed of being a Red Sox fan with all the booing going on every time he moved practically.  But he just went about his business and in fact did hit a home run, off Tim Wakefield I think.  Thankfully I think the majority of fans were cheering for that, but there were alot of asterick signs being held up as well.

Finally he has beat the record.  It may take a few days, but baseball should return to normal soon.  Beating this record is no small feat no matter what my feelings may be about Barry.  Congratulations to him.

I had to think about this for a couple of days.  To tell you the truth I have booed at games.  When we went to the A's games in the 1970s we booed Reggie Jackson every time he appeared in his Yankees uniform.  I don't necessarily see anything wrong with booing.  And, it's up to parents to teach kids what appropriate circumstances are. My parents did a pretty good job of it I guess.

I've already said I'm no fan of Barry Bonds and I don't buy the "I thought I was taking flax seed oil argument" (I've taken it and I never once grew biceps)  While the Clear is undetectable (we'll never knew who all was taking it), amphetamines are.  Barry Bonds testing positive for that twice last year.  Technically, the second offense is an automatic 25 game suspension.  Neifi Perez just got his 3rd positive and is now sitting out an 80 game suspension.

I do believe there are limits on what a fan can do.  For instance, while booing doesn't bother me, we had an incidence 2 or 3 years ago where a person sitting near the visiting team bullpen heckled a relief pitcher constantly.  He said some obnoxious stuff about the player, his wife, kids, etc.  At some point the player cracked and confronted the guy.  A fight ensued between the players and the guy.  His wife's nose was broken by a chair.  He was a local fire chief and bought VIP season tickets just so he could heckle.  He claimed that he bought the ticket and that gave him the right to do and say what he wanted at a game (He's now banned for life) 

Then twice this in the last two week fans threw water bottles at A's players.  In Anaheim, Mike Piazza was hit in the head.  The Anaheim fans were great.  They immediately outed the guy.  The same thing happened this week in Texas, but the bottle didn't hit anyone.  While the A's player and coach pointed into the stands, security wandered around because none of the fans would show them who it was.  The guy looked like he was drunk as a skunk as they carted him off.

Joy, in some ways I disagree.  The home run has become a yawner since the 1990s.  I don't say that lightly.  I practically grew up on a little league field and I've got baseball in my blood :)  But, I think others agree.  I was reading about A-Rods 500th home run ball.  They expect it to go for a fraction of what others "500" in previous generations were auctioned for.  Not because it's A-Rod but because 500 home runs is no longer such a big feat.  It's a watered down statistic now.  I suspect soon 600 won't seem like that big a deal either.

Mind you, I'm not just hard on Bonds.  I think McGwire and Sosa should be stripped.  I think Giambi should be stripped of his MVP and his Comeback Player of the Year award (especially since he was coming back from making himself sick by injecting steroids directly into his stomach)  I don't believe the ends justify the means.  What kind of lesson is that to teach our children?