Ergogenics   [Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance." (Wilmore and Costill)   Nieuwsbrief over doping, supplementen, voeding en training
Bonds/Balco       Baseball onderzoekt Bonds        Jury onderzoekt Bonds       Anderson moet getuigen

2 8 - 0 4 - 2 0 0 6 Mum is the word at grand jury proceedings in Bonds case BY ELLIOTT ALMOND San Jose Mercury News Apr. 28, 2006 SAN FRANCISCO - The grand jury investigation of Barry Bonds resulted in nothing but intrigue Thursday at the Phillip Burton Federal Courthouse in San Francisco. While reporters and photographers guarded the building's front and back entrances, the men expected to testify - prominent Bay Area surgeon Arthur Ting and Giants trainer Stan Conte - were not seen. The assistant U.S. attorneys who prosecuted the BALCO Laboratories case were in the building but declined to comment. When asked what they were doing Thursday, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office said, "They were working." He declined to elaborate, and the office has repeatedly refused to confirm or deny that a grand jury is hearing evidence against Bonds. The proceedings were in stark contrast to the media circus that surrounded the BALCO grand jury hearings in late 2003, when nearly 30 professional athletes, including Jason Giambi and Bill Romanowski, paraded in and out of the federal courthouse. It was during those hearings that Bonds reportedly told jurors that he used "the clear" and "the cream" - the previously undetectable steroids distributed by BALCO. But he also said he thought the substances were flaxseed oil and an arthritis balm, according to a copy of his testimony that was leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle. The government reportedly is trying to indict Bonds for lying to the grand jury in 2003. If convicted, he could spend more time in prison than the four BALCO co-conspirators who accepted plea deals last year. Bonds' trainer and childhood friend, Greg Anderson, served three months in a federal work camp for his role in the scandal. Anderson and BALCO vice president James Valente have been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury next month. It did not appear that jurors entered or left the grand jury room Thursday, but they can meet in any private chamber at the courthouse. By law grand jury proceedings are to remain secret. The government might be attempting to find out whether Ting and Conte had any direct knowledge of steroid use by Bonds. Ting, Bonds' personal physician, reportedly has given the government the player's medical records. Presumably some of that material would include blood-test results because Ting, also the Sharks' team physician, has performed multiple operations on the Giants left fielder since 1999. Ting and his attorney, reached separately Thursday, declined to comment. Conte, who has been employed by the Giants for 14 years, was in the operating room in April 1999, when Ting repaired Bonds' torn triceps tendon and removed a bone spur in his left elbow. The trainer also might have seen blood-test results. Prosecutors also might be interested in the men's opinions about Bonds' physical changes after the 1998 season. Then 34, the player gained about 15 pounds of muscle mass in three months. Ting's conversations with Bonds, though, should remain confidential, said Barry Portman, head of the public defender's unit in U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco. But "if it is what a doctor sees or observed, that's not privileged," he said. Even if the witnesses don't have direct knowledge that contradicts Bonds' statements, prosecutors might want their testimony because it could add circumstantial evidence to their case. For example, Conte reportedly did not want Bonds' entourage, including Anderson, hanging around the Giants' clubhouse when the team first moved into Pacific Bell Park. Prosecutors might ask the trainer about that. Conte's attorney is on vacation, according to an office receptionist. He did not return a call to his home Thursday evening. Conte could not be be reached for comment. [Link]

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