Bonds and the Olympic 'spirit'

With many star players and little expectation, the first ever World Baseball Classic begins this Thursday. Odds are available, with teams from 16 nations trying to win whatever it is that they are trying to win in this semi-important baseball tournament. The anticipation so far this week has been so non-existent, that the guy in the headlines is not even playing, Barry Bonds.

So why isn't Bonds playing? Is it because what he says is true, that his knees are shot, and during the season he needs sleeping pills and painkillers before he goes to bed? Is it because Bonds is avoiding the tournament's Olympic-style drug testing, which includes some substances not banned in Major League Baseball? Is it because he's dodging the world's media, which loves to grill him? Maybe it's all of the above and many other reasons, with the complex and unpredictable Barry Bonds.

One thing that does appear to be a certainty, however, is that Bonds will retire at the end of the year. Bonds is on record expressing his desire to surpass Babe Ruth in career home runs, but he hasn't shown any interest in eclipsing Hank Aaron's all-time mark.

By October it will all end, and he will go home and be, as he says, with his "family." There, Bonds' toughest question to answer will be, does the "family" still include room for a wife and a mistress?

OLYMPICS

This week way too much negative media coverage was given to American Lindsey Jacobellis, who won the silver medal in snowboardcross racing. Yes, she biffed the landing and lost the gold on her second to last jump, unnecessarily going for style points. But at least she still won the silver medal.

While the U.S. media raked her over the coals for finishing second, Jacobellis was extremely gracious, answering all questions. She sounded very happy just to be able to participate, let alone win a medal.

Which leads us to American speedskater Shani Davis. If the media needed to crucify someone, it should have been him.

Davis, the record holder in the 1000 meters, was the only skater out of the top 16 countries in the world that refused to participate in the three-man team pursuit event. Left high and dry, the remaining members of the U.S. squad failed to reach the semi-finals.

After winning the 1000 meters, Davis had the nerve to expect congratulations from "teammate" Chad Hedrick. Hedrick was in no such mood, feeling betrayed and knowing that he, Davis and the United States had already thrown away a sure medal in the team pursuit.

During his post-race NBC interview, Davis then showed just how classless he can be. Instead of drawing attention to himself in a positive way for having just become the first African-American man ever to win a gold medal, he acted and sounded more like the NFL's Terrell Owens.

The feeling here is that if Davis is that good, being the world record holder and all, he would have won both the 1000 and the team pursuit event. Maybe he didn't know if he was good enough to win both.

Nevertheless, Hedrick was correct in feeling betrayed and not kissing Davis' rear end. If Davis is looking for a pat on the back, Hedrick would be right in giving it to him, with a sledgehammer.

Why the media is not jumping down Davis' throat is a mystery. Perhaps they don't want to risk stirring up any more racial tensions. But this is not a racial issue.

The Olympic spirit is first and foremost about representing your country and participating. Lindsey Jacobellis made a mistake while winning a medal. Shani Davis passed up his first opportunity to win one.