Because one is the loneliest number and because you're as dog-tired of the "S" subject as we are, we've actually mined nine other stories that we're guaranteed to be talking about come April ... May ... June ... and all the way through September in 2005. The only thing missing from our perfect 10 for 2005 is Bo Derek. Sorry....
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| Barry Bonds' health and climb up the home run list will be newsworthy. (Getty Images) |
1. Steroids
There will be no escaping this story, particularly in the wake of the congressional testimony and with the BALCO trial possibly beginning in early September. Each time a burly slugger whacks a home run, lots of people are going to wonder whether it was real or whether it was a Memorex'd version of a cheater's swing.
All eyes will be on Jason Giambi. When he returns, Barry Bonds will be under the microscope. Everybody noticed that Detroit catcher Ivan Rodriguez came into camp 23 pounds lighter -- if his numbers drop, the buzz will begin (he has denied steroid use).
Meanwhile, will baseball agree in-season to the tougher steroid testing demanded by Congress? The clean players, who make up the majority of the players union, mostly do not have a problem with the idea.
"I don't care how tough they are," San Francisco pitcher Brett Tomko says. "For the guys who are not doing anything, you can make it as tough as you want. It's got to be a group consensus, but I have nothing to worry about. You can test me every day. You want it for the good of the game and for the good of society. That's the important thing."
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2. Bonds
He enters the season with 703 career homers, just 11 behind Babe Ruth and 53 from breaking Hank Aaron's all-time record. He also enters the season on the disabled list, which simply is like hitting the pause button on all of the arguments, bile and mixed feelings surrounding the man.
What we know is that the trainers say a rehab for the knee surgery Bonds underwent a couple of weeks ago should bring him back sometime in May. We also know that a depressed Bonds said he might miss the entire season.
No way does someone as driven as Bonds just give up on the season. Once he gets through what he needs to do for his knee, the overwhelming odds are that he will return in, yes, May.
Unless ... not only is the BALCO investigation surrounding him, but the Internal Revenue Service is hot on his heels over whether he made thousands of dollars on autographs and didn't report them. His ex-mistress, Kimberly Bell, has been questioned on that front. This is no small matter: Pete Rose went to prison several years back for this very thing.
Meanwhile, there are some conspiracy theorists -- there are always conspiracy theorists -- who think that baseball, with knowledge of illicit behavior on Bonds' part, told the slugger to quietly disappear for the good of the game. The theory: If he walks, presto, baseball no longer needs to address the impending doom of Aaron's cherished record. Suddenly, a problem is eliminated, and the arguments cease.
