So, Barry Bonds' trial got fired up on Tuesday and, by all accounts, it wasn't exactly thrilling. Yes, someone (Greg Anderson) ended up going to jail on the first day, but that his third time.
One interesting point that Bonds' attorneys made, however, was that their client didn't lie about taking steroids. According to Allen Ruby, his client merely took "flaxseed oil" and "arthritic cream."
"I know it doesn't make a great story. Barry Bonds went to the grand jury and told the truth and did his best," Ruby said. "That's not a made-for-TV story."
Well, the actual reason that plot-line wouldn't work on television is that it's too sarcastic for even "SportsDome" or some other parody of a show.
And Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Parrella agreed, calling Bonds' claims "ridiculous and unbelievable."
None of that matters much though. Parrella and the government -- if they want to convict Bonds, and, um, they do obviously -- will need eyewitness accounts of Bonds using steroids to actually justify the perjury charge.
Expect Ruby to continue doing what he did on the first day (discrediting the prosecution's witnesses), and that could alter what jurors think.
But given the way that Bonds is perceived publicly, it's going to take some serious mudslinging to discount anyone who provides a first-hand account of Bonds using steroids.
