Gloria Estefan is here. She’s ready to bring some Latin flavor to this show that has lacked flavor definitely in the last couple weeks. Before we get to the love list, obviously we have to discuss Jenny Hud, better known to you all as Jennifer Hudson. Jennifer Hudson lost in the biggest upset since Tamyra Gray said goodbye in season one. To say the voting has been horrible is the biggest understatement of the year. Elton John, who guided the Idol finalists in singing his tunes a few weeks ago thinks the voting is racist.

They (the three African American females) have great voices. The fact that they’re constantly in the bottom three—and I don’t want to set myself up here—but I find it incredibly racist.

That quote came from John, via Yahoo News and is quite surprising considering that it’s the first quote condemning race as the reason that Jennifer is gone, but more directly, the reason young John Stevens has stayed. My two cents is that it’s simply a popularity contest. If Ryan Seacrest (out!) wanted us to vote for the worst, I don’t think it would be as bad. But, it’s vote for your favorite. That will always get a skewed output because then it’s not only talent that’s involved but personality, looks, and everything else that goes with it. And that’s why Fox keeps the voting the way it is. But don’t worry about Jennifer, she’ll do fine. She sings too well not to find some sort of record deal.

If you have any thoughts on the voting process, let me know. Send me an e-mail with your thoughts and maybe I’ll put some responses in next week’s post. This will also give me an idea on who is skipping out on my posts! Just kidding. On to the show, but first, the love list.

Here’s the seventh edition of the Love List.

1. LaToya London- LaToya slightly inched up to the top after last week
   
2. Fantasia Barrino- Fantasia or LaToya, you take your pick
   
3. George Huff- Not the best week for George, but he’s still a top three dude
   
4. Jasmine Trias- There’s a dropoff after the big three
   
5. Diana DeGarmo- She probably has a good shot to do well tonight
   
6. John Stevens- Oh boy, not this again
   

The Homesick

1. Leah LaBelle
   
2. Matthew Rogers
   
3. Amy Adams
   
4. Camille Velasco
   
5. Jon Peter Lewis
   
6. Jennifer Hudson

And a here we go. It’s Gloria Estefan time. Fantasia Barrino is first with Get On Your Feet. It’s not something that you’d expect her to sing, but she’s trying. She puts a lot of energy into the performance. She’s a pro. Put her out of her environment and she still tries to make it work, though it wasn’t a great vocal performance. Randall says the performance was great, but the vocals weren’t great. Gloria says Fantasia hasn’t sung a bad note in the whole competition. Paula says she looks great, in about two paragraphs worth of words. Simon says she sounded like Donald Duck on helium. The wife whom I found last week, is now missing in action again. Let’s just forget about her. She’s not showing up for work! I’ll have a new fifth judge next week. I’ll give you a clue. His last name is Jackson.

Georgie Huff is next with I Live For Loving You and it’s not his night, even though he did do a Michael Jackson spin. His voice has way too much base in it to sing this song. But like Fantasia, he’s trying. He’s having fun with the performance, but the vocals are even worse than Fantasia’s. Randall gives him his props and says he worked it out. Gloria loves his personality. Paula loves it. Simon says it was amatuerish. I have a feeling he’s going to say that alot tonight.

It’s LaToya London time. And she’s doing Rhythm Is Gonna Get You. This will definitely test her. She tries to put on a performance with more dancing than we’ve ever seen her do. She’s not the entertainer Fantasia is, but her vocal performance is slightly better. She does something I’ve never seen on Idol. She nearly drops the microphone to do a 15 second dance before she starts singing again. Randall says she looks really comfortable around a band, but wasn’t wowed. He still liked it though. Gloria says she knew LaToya was going to be where she is now. Paula says she wanted more of the song. Simon says it was an ok performance but it worked because it showed her versatility. Definitely the best so far.

Next is John Stevens, and I’m a little scared to hear what is coming out of his mouth. He’s singing Music Of My Heart which Gloria originally did with N’Sync. I’m not sure if he’s been on key yet. It’s bad. Probably the worst performance of the year. He even misses the chorus because he tried to hit a note that looked to hurt his throat. I feel a little bad for Baby Dean. He’s terribly outclassed this late in the competition and it shows. Randall says he loves the shoes but the vocals were horrendous. Gloria says that John made his grandma proud, who he sang the song too. Paula says he gave a valiant effort because he did his best. Simon says John has taken every bullet thrown at him like a man and he shouldn’t feel guilty but he and Latin music go together like chocolate ice cream and an onion. They were easy on him. At least William Hung is fun.

Jasmine Trias is next. She’s singing Here We Are which could be interesting. A ballad is much easier to sing than the songs that George, Fantasia, and LaToya sang, but it’s also sort of taking the easy way out. She started out a little rough, but she’s starting to pick it up. You take a Gloria Estefan for granted, but then when you listen to an amatuer singer try to sing her, you just wish for Gloria’s voice. Jasmine really screws up the song at the end and is actually out of rhythm. Randall says it was a good song choice, but she fell a little short. Gloria thought it was beautiful. Paula says she’s a fan of Jasmine’s voice. Can you really be a fan of a voice? Simon says it was pleasant, but nothing more. Elevator music.

Diana DeGarmo is last and I have a feeling she’s going to do very well. She’s going for the gusto as she chooses Turn The Beat Around which is a tough song, but if she hits it, she’s going to knock it out of the park. She does a very nice job keeping up with the rhythm. I don’t know if she knocked it out of the park, but I think she one hopped the wall. Possibly the best of the night. Randall says she has mad talent and it was very good. Gloria says she turned the beat around and upside down. Paula says she had another great week. Simon says the performance was a seven and the dress was a zero. I’ll agree with the dress. It was bad, but it’s more her body type. But hey, she’s 16, she can start watching her figure when she gets older. But if she wins Idol, it will be much quicker.

The night was pretty bad from a performance standpoint, but I didn’t see any of these girls (or guys) as the next Selena. Diana was definitely the best, but LaToya was fairly close. We all know who was the worst. And just to update you, I tried voting for Diana and LaToya and both were busy. I hope that’s a good sign. Seacrest, ou…., wait a minute, The Facts of Life Reunion Show is on? Blair still pretty. Natalie still ugly. That’s all you need to know. And Mrs. Garrett was the greatest.

Get ready for some Mary Banilow. That’s about all I can think of to say. To say I’m not really looking forward to tonight’s show is an understatement. Let’s see if they can prove me wrong.

Here’s the seventh edition of the Love List.

1. George Huff- The three best singers
   
2. LaToya London- Are all tied
   
3. Fantasia Barrino- For first on the Love List
   
4. Jennifer Hudson- Be very afraid of her
   
5. Jasmine Trias- There’s something in the water that’s making her average
   
6. Diana DeGarmo- She needs a big night like nobody’s business
   
7. John Stevens- Can we say the puppy dog face is working?
   

The Homesick

1. Leah LaBelle
   
2. Matthew Rogers
   
3. Amy Adams
   
4. Camille Velasco
   
5. Jon Peter Lewis

Somebody “up there” was finally paying attention to this show. JPL is MIA. He’s done. Gonzo. And my television couldn’t be happier. As MC Hammer once said, “Let’s Get It Started”.

Is it me or does Barry Manilow look like a mix of Rod Stewart and one of those Siegfried and Roy dudes? First off is Diana DeGarmo with One Voice. She starts really shaky and though it gets better, I’m still not buying it. She has a weird normal voice. It’s almost as if she’s holding her nose as to not smell something. And she needs to hide that voice in her singing voice. Have you ever heard Huey Lewis speak? His speaking voice sounds nothing like his singing voice. Diana needs to take some lessons from the man called Huey. I’ll give it up, she finished strong, really strong. Randy likes it but lets us know in a long winded way. Barry says that his song was written after a dream and Diana pulled it off. Paula says she enjoyed it as well. Simon says it’s her best performance. By the way, the wife is still MIA like JPL. I need to find her. After a full week, I’m kind of starting to miss her.

My boy, Georgie Huff is next with Trying To Get That Feeling Again. Is Georgie wearing pink? I’m not feeling Georgie tonight. His voice sounds flat. It sounds as if he has a cold. Not as strongly as Diana, but he does finish strong. It took him a while to get into the song too. Randy says George was trying to do way too much with the song. Barry says he thought George did it great no matter what. Paula says he put his George Huff into it and did a great job as always. Simon says that he had good performances in the beginning and he was lucky because he made a complete mess of this performance. Jennifer Hudson is singing Weekend In New England. Be afraid of Jennifer, be very afraid. She’s starting to heat up. She uses the big voice in the middle, maybe a little too much, but still very impressive. She doesn’t need to do that as much as she does because she has a great voice nonetheless. She’s Blake’s favorite. And Blake doesn’t pick any losers. Remember last year. He was aiken to shake Clay’s bacon. Randy and Barry love the performance. Paula says she’s not looking back. Simon says Jennifer has joined the battle of the divas. One more week of the wife being gone and I might have to call the police.

Jasmine Trias is doing I’ll Never Love This Way Again. Ok, now I’ve heard this song before. And my feeling is that she doesn’t have the range to sing it right. She has a good voice, but whenever she tries to sing out of her range, it’s a mess. I don’t think she did very well tonight. And that’s not good since Diana did so well. Randall says it’s one of his favorite songs and it was a great job. Barry says Jasmine can give Dionne Warwick a run for her money and Paula says she did a great job. Simon says Barry made all the girls sing really well. I still think that this was the worst performance, but looks like the judges liked it.

LaToya London is doing All The Time. By the way, the wife just walked into the house. And I’m already sick of her again. Oh well. At least she’s not missing. This is just a solid performance by LaToya. She’s finishing strong, which is the trend tonight, but it’s not the best I’ve seen. Actually, she really finishes strong. Soft first half, kick ass second half. Randall says it was great. He says the show is starting now. Barry says he’s proud to be songwriter because of her. Paula says she hit a note that gave Paula chills. Simon says she’s the best singer in the competition.

John Stevens needs to show some testicular fortitude here. He needs to validate his being here. He’s singing Mandy. Baby Dean starts off decently well. He’s actually showing some personality that doesn’t come off as forced. He’s definitely validating himself. While not even close to the best performance of the night, it might be the best I’ve ever heard him. For once, he showed that he slightly belonged. Randall says it was alright and he started off stronger than he ended. Barry says that he did just fine. Paula says he’s just inexperienced. Simon says Mandy fell asleep and the song was mechanical and says he’s not one of the best singers. Then he called him Stan Laurel.

And the last is Fantasia Barrino. She’s doing It’s A Miracle and says she’s putting some church in it. She’s doing a great job, but I feel badly for her because her body is just so bad. She doesn’t have a very womanly body, but hey, Fantasia does her thing. And I know it sounds bad to say that, but part of being an American Idol is the physical look and the guys get reprieves for their bad looks more often than girls. Her voice, energy, and soul will get her through. Just overall great performance. Up there with the best of the night. Randall says he feels the spirit and loves the energy. Barry says she gave it her own spin and should open her own concert with that one. Paula says something that really meant nothing. Simon says she brings excitement and danger and thanks God that she’s in the competition.

It’s pretty hard to rate the singers tonight. In technical performance, Stevens was the worst. Barrino, London, and Hudson were the best. In a perfect world, Stevens goes home. But we know how the fans are with Stevens. I could see Jasmine going if Stevens stays. George didn’t have a bang up performance either. Seacrest ain’t in, he’s out!

This week is movie tunes week. And your guest host is Quentin Tarantino. Remember last year’s movie tunes episode? Good ol’ Charlie did Michael Jackson’s version of You Can’t Win and almost as if it was scripted, couldn’t win and lost. I hope no one does that again.

Here’s the sixth edition of the Love List.

• 1. George Huff- It wasn’t his best week last week, but he moves people with every performance.
  
• 2. LaToya London- The only reason she dropped is because George has picked it up.
  
• 3. Fantasia Barrino- She’s been slightly stagnant lately. Waiting for her to knock us off our socks.
  
• 4. Jennifer Hudson- She’s coming for the top three.
  
• 5. Jasmine Trias- She’s starting to get lost in the middle.
  
• 6. Diana DeGarmo- See Jasmine Trias.
  
• 7. Jon Peter Lewis- Yawn.
  
• 8. John Stevens- Ouch.
  

The Homesick

• 1. Leah LaBelle
  
• 2. Matthew Rogers
  
• 3. Amy Adams
  
• 4. Camille Velasco

The only thing I want to say before this show gets started is that Big Willy Hung did it again. He fooled almost 40,000 people into buying his new record. Do you know how many indy artists would give their soul for 40,000 in sales? Big Willy Hung is doing his thing. And hopefully he’s laughing with us.

Movie night. Quentin Tarantino. Rather than Killing Billl, will he Kill Simon? Let’s see. First off is Georgie Huff. It looks like the singers will tell us what their favorite movie is, and then sing a song that is NOT from that movie. Wow, that’s pretty hard to understand. Why not just talk about the movie your song comes from? I guess there’s a possibility they didn’t see it. That should have been mandatory research for the week! Huff says his favorite movie was The Wiz and stealing a joke I used last year, no this movie is not about a urinal. But, he’s going to sing Against All Odds. I really hate this song. Stick to the R&B man, stick to the R&B. But, as with almost everything George does, it was a nice performance. Randy says it was the wrong song choice. Paula asks him why he chose that song. Quentin says George’s performance made him forget that he too hated that song. And Simon says it was his weakest performance. By the way, the wife is MIA. I can’t find her. If you can, please call the police.

Jennifer Hudson’s favorite movie is Sister Act 2 and not only starred Whoopie Goldberg, but Jennifer Love Hewitt and Lauryn Hill as well. She will sing Whitney’s song I Have Nothing. From Whoopie to Whitney, what a segway. The song starts slow, but she finishes very strong. She’s a player and is on the heels of the top three. Randy says she worked it out. Paula says she’s coming into her own. Quentin says she’s raised the bar and no longer can go back. Simon says she might be a front runner now. The wife is still missing. JPL aka Bobby Brady, aka Alfred E. Neuman is next. His favorite movie is Dead Poet’s Society and he will do Elvis Presley more injustice and sing Jail House Rock. I’m expecting the worst. Well, all I can say is that it was an inspired karaoke performance. Randy seems to enjoy it and says JPL is back. Paula says this is what America loves. I think she isn’t giving America enough credit. Quentin says he’s the geekiest rock singer ever. And Simon is with me and says it’s terrible and this performance leaves him confused. You and me both Simon, you and me both. Help me find my wife Obi Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope….beep.

Diana DeGarmo says that her favorite movie is Bowfinger with Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin. I’m one of the world’s biggest Eddie Murphy fans and I didn’t even like it that much. She is going to sing Celine Dion’s titanic hit, My Heart Will Go On. This is why I think this is a bad choice. Unless she sounds exactly like Celine, which she won’t, it won’t be good enough. The measuring stick is too high. Well, she has the pipes to sing it, but it’s just there. She doesn’t get to show off the voice until the end, and by then, it’s too late. Randy says it was pretty good. Paula says nice job. Quentin says she pulled it off but didn’t make him care. Simon says the audience doesn’t get her and she’s stuck somewhere in the middle. At least the audience can find her, unlike my wife. Fantasia is next and she says her favorite movie is Finding Nemo. She will sing Summertime and no, this is not the version by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. She immediately opens up the song sounding like Billie Holiday. She’s working the crowd with passion and emotion. This is a great performance. And finally, girl does something with that hair. Randall says it’s the best American Idol performance he’s ever seen. Paula says it was Oscar winning. Quentin says she’s the bomb and she brought back the funk. Simon says she was magical. I wish Fantasia would use some of that magic and make my wife reappear.

Jasmine is next and her favorite movie is Lilo & Stich which is based in Hawaii so I get that. She’s singing When I Fall In Love. It’s a tough act following a performance that Randy called the best ever. It’s good though. Randall says it was good, but she ran out of gas. Paula says she had a nice and pleasant tone. Quentin says she’s a delicate powerhouse. Simon says like Diana, she’s a child trying to be an adult, and it doesn’t connect with the audience. If the wife was here, she would’ve agreed. John Stevens says he used to watch a lot of animated films growing up and Aladdin was his favorite. But he will sing the theme from Casablanca. Well, he’s finally able to sing in his own genre again. The song lacks energy, but his voice is fine. But compared to Fantasia is a pretty lifeless performance. Randy says it was a perfect rendition which are nice words from the guy who has pretty much made Stevens’ life hell, and not unjustly so either. Paula says he had the perfect voice. Quentin gave him a bravo. Simon says he sang it well, but he has no charisma and tied it to his age. The wife likes this guy, and if she was here, she would’ve applauded.

Finally, LaToya London is next. Her favorite movie was Finding Nemo. We’ve seen that one twice. She’s singing Somewhere from West Side Story. One thing about LaToya is that she never misses on song choice. This song is perfect for her. Even the band helped her as it kicked up a notch right when she did. Great performance. Randall says it was great. Paula says that she loves her. Quentin calls her a power house. And Simon says it was one of her best. The wife must still be playing hide and go seek. I forgot to look for her when the show started, but she’s so stubborn, she didn’t want to lose.

That’s all folks. Looks like Jennifer, LaToya, and Fantasia all had problems with me putting George at the top of the Love List and they destroyed it tonight. Chicken of the Seacrest out!

It was finally going to happen. After several tries, I was going to meet Dave Meltzer. I subscribe to Dave’s great newsletter, The Wrestling Observer. There were other times when I was supposed to meet him. But everytime it was supposed to happen, it didn’t. But this time was fool proof right? Actually, Dave didn’t really know I was going to meet him. He actually has no clue who I am and has no idea that we were supposed to meet. I guess a little back story is needed.

My best buddy, Eddy works at Gold’s Gym. As part of his job, he works at the front desk, greets all the members who come in, and does enjoy small talking with them. One day, I received a call from Eddy and he said that Dave Meltzer was in the gym and he was able to talk to him. He asked him about his favorite wrestler Triple H and Dave wasn’t too happy to talk about Mr. Helmsley. In fact, Dave probably doesn’t like Mr. Triple H very much. After that incident, Eddy saw Dave come in a few other times, and in those few times, he would bring up the hated HHH. I’m sure Dave probably avoided Eddy any time he could. But Dave stopped going to the gym. I won’t blame Eddy for his insistence in talking about that bastard Triple H, but I’m sure having to talk about Triple H on a daily basis was one of the reasons Dave stopped going.

But, Dave’s buddy didn’t mind talking with Eddy. They mostly talked about football, even when football season was over. What Eddy soon learned is that Dave’s buddy Erberto, (let’s call him Erberto because I don’t remember his name, and there was a funny dude in high school with the name Erberto and I chuckle everytime I hear that name) watched Ultimate Fighting at Dave’s house everytime there was a PPV, which was about once every three weeks. When Eddy told me that, I knew that was our in to meeting Dave. I insisted that Eddy work the magic and get us in the front door. However, both times we were invited, I wasn’t able to go. But finally, two weeks ago, with Chuck Liddell fighting Tito Ortiz, we were invited. Erberto would tell Eddy that he would keep in contact with Eddy, but it would be no problem with Dave. Dave liked the company.

Then Erberto went MIA. The week of the event, which was on a Friday, I told Eddy to keep working Erberto and remind him to tell Dave that we were going to be there. The worst thing to happen would be to show up at Dave’s doorstep with chips and sodas and then ask us who the heck we were. And when we said, “Friends of Erberto”, I could imagine him saying that Erberto never told him that guests were coming and then slam the door in our faces. At least in Eddy’s face. I would somehow in my mind slip in the front door before he could slam it in time. But then all of a sudden, Erberto stopped coming to Eddy’s gym. I wondered why all of a sudden that after getting us excited (or me) at the prospect of meeting Dave Meltzer that he would just flake. Eddy could tell that he was going to other Gold’s Gyms by looking into their customer data base. I couldn’t imagine why he would do that to us. So I did what I thought was best. I blamed Eddy. As I saw it, Erberto probably went to Dave and told him that we were coming over. Dave probably then asked who we were and when Erberto said “You know, the guy from Gold’s,” it triggered Dave to say, “You mean the guy who used to always ask me about Triple H, no way, no how that guy is coming into my house.” Erberto probably couldn’t face us. If only Eddy didn’t give Dave the business so much about Triple damn H.

As you can tell, I was pretty torn up about it. I didn’t get to meet Dave, and it was all because of Eddy’s persistence in bringing up HHH. Damn that guy! The night before the day I was supposed to meet Dave even though I knew it wasn’t going to happen, I had a dream. It was about Dave. Nakedness. And Twister. Not a nice combination there.

In my dream, I walked up to Dave’s door with Eddy. We had our sodas and chips in hand, waiting for our moment, or at least my moment, since Eddy already met Dave. We knocked on the door for what seemed like 20 minutes, and finally Dave answered. He opened it slightly and peeked his head around. It was almost as if he wasn’t decent and just wanted to see who it was. I greeted him with a nice and big, “Hi Dave!” and the handsomest of smiles. After we told him who we were, he said that the party wasn’t going to happen because he had company. I noticed that he was sweating, profusely actually and his face was pretty blushed. He slightly opened the door a little more and kept looking behind him. I noticed he was shirtless as well. I told Dave that although I was disappointed, I understood and was ready to leave. Then I heard a recognizable voice. It was a female voice. That damn Dave had company of the female kind. But then I listened more closely and recognized the voice as Hea Jin’s, a family friend. I immediately thought about her boyfriend, Randall and how he would feel about Hea Jin being in the same room with shirtless and sweating Dave. And then I heard a male voice. It was Randall! He was there too! And he was shirtless too! Wow, Dave and Randall and Hea Jin. Not the threesome I’d imagined to be engaging in something that made Dave physically sweaty. But hey, it was in the privacy of Dave’s home, so who was I to judge. And then Randall noticed Eddy and I at the door and the door opened just a little bit more. Eddy noticed a twister mat behind shirtless Dave and shirtless and hairy Randall. The door was only open enough for us to see Hea Jin’s face, but she seemed to be tied up with a hand on red and a foot on green. I couldn’t believe it. Dave Meltzer dumped us for a game of naked, hairy Twister.

After I woke up, I was still sad. But at least I had a funny story to tell. One day, I will meet Dave. Whether it be at the gym, or at the mall, I will meet him. It just won’t be in a game of Twister.

He finally did it. I thought he would’ve done it last year, but I guess he didn’t see enough hittable pitches. But, 7 games into the 2004 season, Matt Kinney is now a trivia question. Who gave up Barry Bonds’ 660th home run?

It’s really awesome to watch him, and then to realize that 11 years ago he made his debut for the orange and black. I was still a junior in high school. At the time, he signed the largest contract in baseball history. Looks like peanuts compared to A-Rod’s deal. At the time he was the snobby, angry, mean spirited Barry Bonds who was just as much known for failing to throw out Sid Bream in the NLCS as he was for being Bobby Bonds’ son and Willie Mays’ Godson. I remember the night I heard that the Giants signed him. I was on my way to a family Holiday party in December of 1992. As we were driving, my dad and I hear on the radio that the Giants were about to sign him. My dad and I then looked at each other and both said something to the effect of, “This can’t be true.” And my dad did one of those, “Nah!” exclamations that meant, he didn’t think it was possible, but at the same time he was giddy like a 12 year old. Bonds was compared to Mays, but more so for his ability, not because of his actual play. He was really good, but wasn’t yet even in Mays’ ballpark. A two time MVP already and should’ve won a third award had not the writers awarded Terry Pendeleton’s career year. I wonder what Pendleton is doing right now?

Dad had Mays. The man who is often called the greatest baseball player ever, was also dad’s hero. My dad often tells the story that Willie Mays almost killed his baseball career. Dad wanted to gracefully roam centerfield and make basket catches while his hat was falling off his head, and he wanted to swing the bat and run the bases as Mays did. But there were a few problems. Dad wasn’t graceful. Dad could make basket catches, but he had to get to the ball first. And run? Dad wasn’t even a fast walker. And it wasn’t until a friend told his baseball coach that he could pitch, before dad decided that playing centerfield wasn’t an option, but using his right arm to fire fastballs was.

I never had a Mays. I had a favorite player. His name was Robby Thompson. But he wasn’t Mays. He was a gritty second baseman who got dirty and wasn’t half as talented as he put out. He was a worker. And he played my position, second base. But he wasn’t Mays. I prided myself in having a favorite player who was more known for his heart than for his ability, but that was before I got to watch Barry Bonds play on an everyday basis. I had watched Will Clark, Kevin Mitchell, and Matt Williams before Barry, but after I saw Barry, they didn’t even compare. He had a quick short swing that crushed balls thrown on the inside of the plate. And he could hold his weight back and take those pitches on the outside corner, and deposit them in the left field Candlestick bleachers. He didn’t have the Nuschler face like Will, or swing the jack hammer like Kevin Mitchell. He didn’t need any gimmicks to all of a sudden become the best player San Francisco had seen since Willie Mays and Willie McCovey retired.


In his first year as a Giant, he took them to where they hadn’t been since the days of Mays and McCovey. They had good teams like in 1987 and in 1989 they even went to the World Series, but this team was scary. Offensively, they were a juggernaut. Even with an average leadoff hitter in Darren Lewis, they scored runs in bunches. Will Clark had an off year and struggled with injuries, but Barry and Matt cleaned up and Robby and Royce Clayton and Kurt Manwaring had years that they’d never had before and would never see again. If Michael Jackson had something to say about the 1993 Giants, he would’ve said, “The team was bad, the team was dangerous.” I became a Barry Bonds fan for life in 1993.

Over the years I would hear things about him in his personal life that made me a bigger fan because I always had to defend him. People would talk him down for not being fan friendly, but I would just say for them to judge him on his play. His marriage to his first wife had dissolved. He was getting bigger and stronger. People were talking about steroids. They just didn’t start whispering around him in 2003. It had happened a lot earlier. He looked like a linebacker rather than a left fielder. But it didn’t take my fandom away. He played the game at a level that the most steroided muscle bounded player ever couldn’t even fathom. It was the hand eye coordination that was the key. But people didn’t care. They only cared that his new body would whip the bat around at such a faster speed that a ball he hit on the ground that would’ve been an out was now going through the hole for a hit. But it didn’t matter to me.

He’s the ultimate athletic jerk to some, but to me, he’s been able to compete at such a high level because he doesn’t let the outside things get to him. He doesn’t let the whispers into his ears. He doesn’t associate with the media because he knows that when it’s all said and done, it’s going to end in a negative tone. So rather than get mad, he gets even. For every bad story written about him, he’s given one less media guy a story. Soon, he won’t have to ever talk to them again.

Fast forward to today. My Sony MiniDisc player ran out of batteries in the first inning. I went to ESPN.com to check for the score and the Giants were already losing. I went to the old Cnnsi.com website and went to the box score and continued to click the refresh button to make sure I would catch when Bonds was batting. Jerome Williams seemed to be struggling and it didn’t seem good. But in the fifth inning, with two runners on, Barry came up. He didn’t get a thing to hit until he waved at a high fastball and fouled it off. Young Matt Kinney decided he could go up there again and get Bonds to go after another one to make the count 3-2. But Bonds was just playing with him. He wasn’t going to miss it again. He never does. I hit the refresh button what seemed like a hundred times to see what happened. And the score was all of a sudden now 5-4 in the Giants favor after they were just losing by two. My quick math skills told me that in order for the Giants to be now winning, one thing had to happen, and one thing only. Bonds had to put it out and tie Willie Mays with number 660. And that’s exactly what happened. Just like he’s done for 11 years, he’s made the Giants a better team. Just like Mays had. While Barry may never be as good as Mays (especially in dad’s eyes), he’s my Mays. I wonder who will be my two sons’ Barry Bonds?