# Gilbert Arenas offer to buy barry bond's 756 home run ball



## GH0STrider (Oct 1, 2007)

straight from gil's blog from nba.com-

Marc Ecko, I Have an Offer for You
I normally don&#8217;t get into conversations like this, but this kind of hit a nerve in my body as an athlete. This whole Marc Ecko buying the Barry Bonds ball to put an asterisk over it: 
I just think it&#8217;s the stupidest thing I&#8217;ve ever heard of. 

Who are you as a person to take away somebody&#8217;s legacy because you don&#8217;t like him as a person? Forget that he is Barry Bonds and forget his records. He was &#8220;alleged&#8221; of doing steroids. This is America, just because you&#8217;re &#8220;alleged&#8221; of doing something doesn&#8217;t mean he actually did it and until he is proven guilty, you shouldn&#8217;t have the right to be the judge and jury. 

Just because you have the money don&#8217;t go buying up people&#8217;s history to destroy it. If you&#8217;re going to get Barry Bonds&#8217; ball, why don&#8217;t you go get Mark McGwire&#8217;s homerun balls that got put into the Hall of Fame and Sammy Sosa&#8217;s corked bat too? 

He was &#8220;alleged&#8221; of doing steroids. I don&#8217;t think as a fan of sports that you have the right to taint this man&#8217;s legacy. 

This man has a kid. When his kid grows up he&#8217;s going to hate you as a person because you decided to be this super, superhero to go put an asterisk sign over his dad&#8217;s legacy. 

I just felt appalled by it because, what if somebody decides to ban the hyperbaric chambers tomorrow? Everybody knows that I used the hyperbaric tent last year and I scored 60 points against the Lakers during the season I was using the tent. Now, the Hall of Fame has my shoes from that game. What if somebody decides to take my shoes and put an asterisk sign on them now? 

I think it&#8217;s just drawing graffiti on somebody else&#8217;s legacy. Before you go and destroy another man&#8217;s career, I&#8217;d rather buy the ball back from you and give it to somebody who really, truly wants the ball for what it is. 

So, Marc Ecko, I want the ball to give it to a real fan. As a human, you should be ashamed of yourself for outbidding somebody just to do wrong to somebody&#8217;s property. 

If people don&#8217;t understand what I&#8217;m talking about, this is the easiest way I can explain it. Anybody out there that has ever taken Creatine, that&#8217;s a popular substance, if they all of the sudden consider Creatine to be a steroid that means all you guys that took it are dirty so if you ever do anything in life, you&#8217;re tainted. Anything you do in life you&#8217;re going to have somebody like Marc Ecko wanting to buy whatever you do in life to put an asterisk sign by it. So if you get a promotion and he decides he wants this guy fired because he did Creatine back in 2001, that&#8217;s how you should feel. 

Just because he is one of the most hated guys in the world because of &#8220;allegedly&#8221; doing steroids, I don&#8217;t think you should take away his legacy. 

The day he broke the record, he wasn&#8217;t on steroids. That&#8217;s how I look at it. People say that he&#8217;s dirty, but the last time I checked anything out I saw that corked bats, spitting on balls, Vaseline on balls and stealing signals, that&#8217;s all cheating too. 

If they&#8217;re doing steroids, I mean there have been plenty of players who I thought have done steroids, but I&#8217;m not going to buy their stuff up just to put an asterisk on it. I think it&#8217;s giving the wrong idea to people. The fans that voted for the asterisk, I think they&#8217;re representing sports wrong because at the time that he broke these records, he wasn&#8217;t on steroids. 

If you want to buy some records that were broken by somebody who was accused of steroids and admitted to using steroids, go buy Arnold Schwarzenegger&#8217;s. Go buy back his trophies and medals and put asterisks on them. That&#8217;s a man who actually admitted to using steroids. 

I just think it&#8217;s wrong. In sports, what people don&#8217;t realize is, you&#8217;re trying to do everything you can to get that extra advantage. By me using the hyperbaric chamber, I&#8217;m using it as an advantage. If they ban it tomorrow, will people be looking at me as a dirty player? 

I&#8217;m not saying steroids are good or bad here. I mean, I think it&#8217;s a cowardly way to enhance your performance don&#8217;t get me wrong, but my issue is that if the guy hasn&#8217;t been proven guilty, you shouldn&#8217;t taint him. 

You&#8217;re not Superman. You can&#8217;t go around trying to save the world from this ball. Give me a break. What if I buy your company and throw it in the trash because I say it's tainted? How stupid would you feel? 

And for people who still aren&#8217;t feeling me; What if a kid comes and graffiti&#8217;s your house. How would you feel? 

You worked your butt off to live in the place you live in and some not-so-smart people come and graffiti your house. How would you feel? That&#8217;s what I feel about that ball. You&#8217;re just tagging it up. 

Let a fan, somebody who appreciates the game still, no matter what, accept that ball. 

*I&#8217;ll buy the ball from you Ecko for $800,000. If Barry Bonds is found guilty, I&#8217;ll give it back to you. I&#8217;m not going to let you go around like some little superhero. *
I&#8217;ll put it in my hall of fame. The Gilbert Hall of Fame for Athletes no matter what you did. 

I know I got off on a little tangent, but Marc, who are you to discredit Barry Bonds' legacy? He is a man first before being a seven-time MVP. Marc, what if someone tried to take away what you did in this world as a fashion pioneer? How would that make you feel as a man? 

I would love to buy the ball away from you before you destroy history. I'm a collector of basketball jerseys and I would be honored to have the 756 ball in my personal hall of fame and I know there are real fans out there who both are and aren't Barry Bonds supporters who don't want to see history getting marked up. 

I'm not defending steroids users by any means. I defending sports in history.


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## Leon (Oct 1, 2007)

"He was &#8220;alleged&#8221; of doing steroids. This is America, just because you&#8217;re &#8220;alleged&#8221; of doing something doesn&#8217;t mean he actually did it and until he is proven guilty, you shouldn&#8217;t have the right to be the judge and jury."

"I'm not defending steroids users by any means."

yes, i think you are.


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## zimbloth (Oct 1, 2007)

Incorrect. He admitted it, and besides the mountains of hard evidence against him, he failed a drug test just last season.


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## eaeolian (Oct 1, 2007)

zimbloth said:


> Incorrect. He admitted it, and besides the mountains of hard evidence against him, he failed a drug test just last season.



Sources? AFIK, he never admitted to knowingly using steroids.

I did find that he failed a drug test - for amphetamines, not steroids.

Gilbert's actually right. Do I believe Bonds took steroids? Yes. Do I believe a significant fraction of MLB players were also taking them? Yes. Bottom line is that he's not been convicted of anything.


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## jim777 (Oct 1, 2007)

That ball should be marked with an Rx, not an asterisk.

WHY BONDS USED STEROIDS / Excerpt from Chronicle reporters' upcoming book says slugger was jealous of Mark McGwire


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## zimbloth (Oct 2, 2007)

eaeolian said:


> Sources? AFIK, he never admitted to knowingly using steroids.
> 
> I did find that he failed a drug test - for amphetamines, not steroids.
> 
> Gilbert's actually right. Do I believe Bonds took steroids? Yes. Do I believe a significant fraction of MLB players were also taking them? Yes. Bottom line is that he's not been convicted of anything.



"Knowingly"? Come on bro, this is a man who is absolute maniac when it comes to what he puts in his body. He knows damn well what he takes.

I don't have time to dig up links really. Did you read 'Game of Shadows'? There's sworn testimony, and people can just look at what he looked like in 1999 vs when he came in spring training in 2000. I know that stuff won't hold up in court, but there's still more than enough evidence out there for an intelligent man like Gilbert Arenas to know what's up. Also, amphetamines is a banned substance, what's the difference? 

I know he hasn't been convicted of anything, but neither has OJ, but we can still use common sense, right?


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## GH0STrider (Oct 2, 2007)

sadly common sense doesn't seem to hold up in court. I believe bonds is guilty too nick. But I also don't think it is fair or right for that fan to vandalize that baseball. Who the fuck is that guy to dub bond's guilty without a fair trial? who is that asshole to speak for every fan who loves the game of baseball? We all know what's up with bonds- that ball belongs in the hall of fame unmarked. People can make up their own minds about bonds. The bottom line is he is the home run leader and that's that. I have made up my mind on bonds- he used roids. It obvious and the evidence is there if you take the time to dig it up. that ball is history and when people come to see it they don't need to have somone labeling it false for them. Baseball is america's favorite pastime right? Well here in America don't we have the freedom to make up our own minds?

I think that is what gilbert was really trying to say. Steroids be damned. The ball is history and no one should destroy it because of their beliefs. I'm sure a lot of people agree with that guy who wants to put the astrik on the ball. But I'm sure many feel it is not necessary or fair for someone to do that.


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## ibzrg1570 (Oct 2, 2007)

GH0STrider said:


> sadly common sense doesn't seem to hold up in court. I believe bonds is guilty too nick. But I also don't think it is fair or right for that fan to vandalize that baseball. Who the fuck is that guy to dub bond's guilty without a fair trial? who is that asshole to speak for every fan who loves the game of baseball? We all know what's up with bonds- that ball belongs in the hall of fame unmarked. People can make up their own minds about bonds. The bottom line is he is the home run leader and that's that. I have made up my mind on bonds- he used roids. It obvious and the evidence is there if you take the time to dig it up. that ball is history and when people come to see it they don't need to have somone labeling it false for them. Baseball is america's favorite pastime right? Well here in America don't we have the freedom to make up our own minds?
> 
> I think that is what gilbert was really trying to say. Steroids be damned. The ball is history and no one should destroy it because of their beliefs. I'm sure a lot of people agree with that guy who wants to put the astrik on the ball. But I'm sure many feel it is not necessary or fair for someone to do that.


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## eaeolian (Oct 2, 2007)

GH0STrider said:


> I think that is what gilbert was really trying to say. Steroids be damned. The ball is history and no one should destroy it because of their beliefs. I'm sure a lot of people agree with that guy who wants to put the astrik on the ball. But I'm sure many feel it is not necessary or fair for someone to do that.





That ball should be sitting in one place - Canton. Let history decide on it.


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## noodles (Oct 2, 2007)




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## noodles (Oct 2, 2007)

GH0STrider said:


> He was &#8220;alleged&#8221; of doing steroids. I don&#8217;t think as a fan of sports that you have the right to taint this man&#8217;s legacy.



The existence of fans is why you ridiculous, overpaid, whiny little cry babies who have no talent greater than being able to hit a ball with a stick, throw a ball throw a net, or run with a ball without dropping it. How does this compare to teaching a child how to read? Oh, that's right, it doesn't.

If the fans want to judge Bonds harshly, then so be it. That _is_ their right, and if you have a problem with it, Gil, then you can just shut the fuck up.



> This man has a kid. When his kid grows up he&#8217;s going to hate you as a person because you decided to be this super, superhero to go put an asterisk sign over his dad&#8217;s legacy.



Maybe if Dad didn't have something to be ashamed of, then you wouldn't have to be worried about the stories his kid hears about him.



> I just felt appalled by it because, what if somebody decides to ban the hyperbaric chambers tomorrow? Everybody knows that I used the hyperbaric tent last year and I scored 60 points against the Lakers during the season I was using the tent. Now, the Hall of Fame has my shoes from that game. What if somebody decides to take my shoes and put an asterisk sign on them now?



Did you really just compare an illegal substance to a device that simulates high altitudes? Go away before you provide more evidence to the argument that professional athletes are complete idiots.

Michael Jordon will probably go down as the greatest basketball player of all time. He didn't need anything other than hard work and dedication to get him there either. Quit making excuses for worthless human beings.


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## eaeolian (Oct 2, 2007)

noodles said:


> Michael Jordon will probably go down as the greatest basketball player of all time. He didn't need anything other than hard work and dedication to get him there either. Quit making excuses for worthless human beings.



No baseball player will ever really eclipse Ruth, either - so what's your point? 

Truth be told, Bonds gets this treatment because he's an asshole - if this was McGwire, none of this would have happened this way. I'm not defending him - and it's not racial, it's behavioral, so let's not get all Kanye here - but let's be real: Who knows how much of an effect it really had? If you do 1985 and 2005 pic comparisons of MLB players, they *all* look like the two Bonds pics - how many players are using HGH or undetectable "designer" steroids, and have been since they came into the league? No one knows. Singling Bonds out is inevitable, but truthfully unfair - he's a product of the sports culture around him.

I stand by my statement - that ball belongs in Cooperstown (not Canton, I have my football thing on, and no one caught it), and history can decide, like Maris' 61st home run ball.



noodles said:


> The existence of fans is why you ridiculous, overpaid, whiny little cry babies



How did the owners of MLB and the NHL get into this?


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## jim777 (Oct 2, 2007)

noodles said:


>



He looks like he's got borg arms in the SF uniform


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## Leon (Oct 2, 2007)

jim777 said:


> He looks like he's got borg arms in the SF uniform





_He's more machine now than man..._


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## Metal Ken (Oct 3, 2007)

Okay, maybe i'm an ass, but why is this guy getting so hyped up about someone putting an asterisk on a ball? This is like when the people at jemsite went apeshit over the Hulk-Universe. I realize its "the ball" but shouldn't the owner be able to spray paint it purple and call it the barneyball if they want?


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## Leon (Oct 3, 2007)

that should have been the fourth option


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## Nick (Oct 3, 2007)

i dont see what the problem with the comparison between the hyperbaric tent and performance enhancing substances is.

you still need to put work in to get the benifit out of both of them, they both magnify training results. The only differece is that someone in a office somewhere has said that one is ok and one isnt.

i use plyometric shoes to increase my jumping ability, all they do is magnify the training i allready do to make it more effective. If i took steroids they would do the same, id still have to do the training. Id also end up with a high voice and boobs but thats besides the point.


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## Leon (Oct 3, 2007)

the point is that steroids are bad for the body, and these athletes are often role models for kids. if some biker wore a special helmet that made him go faster, that didn't cause him any bodily harm, then yes, there wouldn't be much point to banning those helmets. instead, everyone would start wearing them, because they'd be a safe alternative to other ones.

sure, steroids can make you go faster as well, but they are harmful to the body, and hence, there are laws restricting their use.

was Barry Bonds an excellent batter before steroids? of course, just look at his records. i don't think *anyone* is debating that. now, was he wacking them over the fence at an alarming rate? that's extra power, supplied by steroids, and not extra skill.

that home run ball should have been a grounder


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## Nick (Oct 3, 2007)

i get what your saying but theres plenty of things that ARE legal and are also known to be harmfull to some people eg plyo (iv never had any problems but i know lots of people have)

i wouldnt ever use them because i dont agree with them either but i dont think their that different to other methods of training. 

creatin and taking massive amounts of protein are other examples of things which are 'ok' but not things that you would normally take day to day if you werent trying to gain an advantage.

to be fair, looking at the size and body shape of a lot of MLB players youd have to be pretty cynical to crucify just 1 player for taking steroids because he is far from alone.


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## Leon (Oct 3, 2007)

well, steroids have been shown, quite clearly, to be very detrimental to health. i'm sure if there was as much research into those shoes as there is steroids, then there'd be some sports regulations against them, too 

and, i agree that targeting one player isn't going to solve the problem. however, due to the record he's *broken*, it's rather nice that it's really starting to gain more and more heat as an issue. sure it's always been out there, but the more press it gets, hopefully, the more kids will decide that steroids isn't the way to get ahead.

that's what it's all about, the kids


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## GH0STrider (Oct 3, 2007)

In a few year it might not even matter. A-rod already has 500 something homeruns and has at least another ten solid years of baseball ahead of him. To think he won't hit at least another 300 or so even with age possibly slowing him down is stupid. He will break the record. Last I checked he has no alleged steroid use on him. So I guess that guy can go be an asshole and vandalize baseball history cause at the end of the day I'm confident it won't matter. It is stupid to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a history setting ball and then fuck it up. But whatever. Some people have to much fucking money and time and nothing better to do. Just cause that guy has money doesn't mean he should speak for everyone. I do think bonds is guilty- BUT I don't think that ball should be marked either.


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## Jason (Oct 6, 2007)

eaeolian said:


> No baseball player will ever really eclipse Ruth, either - so what's your point?
> 
> *Truth be told, Bonds gets this treatment because he's an asshole - if this was McGwire, none of this would have happened this way. I'm not defending him - and it's not racial, it's behavioral,* so let's not get all Kanye here - but let's be real: Who knows how much of an effect it really had? If you do 1985 and 2005 pic comparisons of MLB players, they *all* look like the two Bonds pics - how many players are using HGH or undetectable "designer" steroids, and have been since they came into the league? No one knows. Singling Bonds out is inevitable, but truthfully unfair - he's a product of the sports culture around him.
> 
> ...



Exactly...


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## Jason (Oct 6, 2007)

Leon said:


> the point is that steroids are bad for the body, and these athletes are often role models for kids. if some biker wore a special helmet that made him go faster, that didn't cause him any bodily harm, then yes, there wouldn't be much point to banning those helmets. instead, everyone would start wearing them, because they'd be a safe alternative to other ones.
> 
> sure, steroids can make you go faster as well, but they are harmful to the body, and hence, there are laws restricting their use.
> 
> ...



One word. Moderation. Too much of anything is bad..


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