Barry Bonds obstruction of justice conviction was upheld Friday by a federal judge, who denied the former baseball stars motion for a new trial or acquittal on the charge. Alex Ovechkin Authentic Jersey . A day after hearing oral arguments, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston refused to overturn the only unanimous decision reached by the jury in her courtroom last April 13. Jurors failed to reach a verdict on three counts charging the seven-time NL MVP with making false statements to a grand jury in 2003 when he denied receiving steroids and human growth hormone from trainer Greg Anderson, and when he said he allowed only doctors to inject him. Prosecutors have not yet said whether they plan to retry him on those counts. Bonds is likely to appeal Illstons decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Illstons ruling marked a victory for prosecutors in their fight against former baseball stars accused of lying when they denied the use of performance-enhancing drugs. In a Washington, D.C., court room in July, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton ordered a mistrial in the case against Roger Clemens, saying prosecutors introduced evidence he had banned as prejudicial. Bonds was among the biggest stars convicted as a result of an investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroids ring, a probe headed by federal agent Jeff Novitzky. Novitzky also is at the forefront of a different grand jury probe into whether seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong used drugs to get an illicit boost in his victories. Following a 12-day trial and on the fourth day of deliberations, the Bonds jury unanimously voted that the slugger gave the grand jury an evasive answer under oath. Rather than say "yes" or "no" to whether he received drugs that required a syringe, Bonds gave a rambling response to a grand jury, stating: "I became a celebrity child with a famous father." Bonds lawyers argued that the answer wasnt relevant to the grand jury, and that in any case he answered a question that was essentially the same later during that session. Illston did not agree. "Viewed in the light most favourable to the government, the record supports a finding, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the question was material to the grand jurys investigation of BALCO and Greg Anderson for unlawfully distributing performance enhancing drugs, and that defendant endeavoured to obstruct the grand jury by not answering it when it was first asked," Illston wrote. "The conviction can be upheld if (the) defendant endeavoured to obstruct justice, even if he did not succeed." Bonds has not been sentenced on the conviction, with Illston preferring to first rule on the motions to throw out the verdict. The conviction carried a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison, yet federal guidelines call for 15-21 months. For similar offences in the BALCO steroids ring case, Illston sentenced cyclist Tammy Thomas to six months of home confinement and track coach Trevor Graham to one year of home confinement. Jurors said their final votes were 8-4 to acquit Bonds of lying about steroids and 9-3 to acquit him on lying about HGH use. The panel voted 11-1 to convict him of lying when he denied receiving an injection from someone other than his doctor. Now 47, Bonds holds baseballs season (73) and career (762) records for home runs. He testified before a grand jury that Anderson told him the substances he was giving Bonds were flaxseed oil and arthritic balm, and that Bonds didnt know they were designer steroids. "Did Greg ever give you anything that required a syringe to inject yourself with?" Bonds was asked. "Thats what keeps our friendship," Bonds said in the part of his answer the government charged was a crime. "You know, I am sorry, but that -- you know, that -- I was a celebrity child, not just in baseball by my own instincts. I became a celebrity child with a famous father. I just dont get into other peoples business because of my fathers situation, you see." The jury instructions said that for Bonds to be convicted, jurors had to find Bonds answer "obstructed, influenced or impeded, or endeavoured to obstruct, influence, or impede" the grand jury "by knowingly giving material testimony that was intentionally evasive, false or misleading." Chris Conner Authentic Jersey . The Desert Foxes took part in the 2010 World Cup and failed to advance past the group stage, and the African side figures to have a tough time reaching the last 16 this time around as well. Belgiums last appearance on the big stage was the 2002 tournament when the team reached the second round before bowing out to eventual champions Brazil. Eric Fehr Capitals Jersey . A stick in the gut prevented him from getting off a clean drive, but it earned him the first penalty shot of his career. He converted, and Patrice Bergeron also scored a short-handed goal on Thursday night as the Bruins opened the defence of their Eastern Conference championship with a 3-1 victory over the Lightning.FIVE QUICK NBA THOUGHTS 1. CHAUNCEY BILLUPS (Pistons): Yes they got Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings in the off-season and Andre Drummond is a beast (teams are kicking themselves for passing on him - he rebounds and block shots every game - thats two more discernable and significant skills than most guys in his draft class), but dont for a second discount the impact of having a savvy veteran like Billups on your team. He can play both guard spots and plays within himself and can shoot the three-ball exceptionally well but most importantly he is a respected elder statesman who gets it and can still play. Hes a huge asset to coach Maurice Cheeks getting this young/talented team to buy in" and make the sacrifices necessary to be successful. A good under the radar pickup by GM Joe Dumars after a messy departure a few years back. 2. NIKOLA VUCEVIC (Magic): Check out these numbers (14.8 ppg, 11.3 rpg and shooting 56 per cent) and I think you can see this guy is no fluke. Loved watching him get extended minutes last season and its paying off. Hes relentless on the offensive boards and has that nose for the ball that good rebounders have. Hes getting the opportunity and is one of the bright spots for a young team that is flying high after knocking off the Brooklyn Nets. 3. LANDRY FIELDS (Raptors): None of us have any control over the bloated contract he received yet we do have control over our pure objectivity in assessing a guys game and overall contribution to a team with money left totally aside. I like what I see. Would he be a guy Id want as a teammate? Yes, definitely. Would he be a guy Id like to coach? It would be an honour. He gets it. Hes all about team and sacrifice. Smart and tough. Does he have limitations? Yes, but hes a solid rotation player who you can count on and trust to try to do the right things and be in the right places. He wont always be successful but you know the intent is precisely what the script calls for. As a former coach, you reach a point where you get tired of waiting foor guys and youd rather deal with someone who is dependable. Eric Fehr Jersey. Fields fills that void for a number of minutes each game to allow for others to grow/prosper. I talk to lots of coaches, executives and scouts and in spite of a contract thats overpriced (no fault of Fields) to a man - hes a respected player who fits the bill as a role player with winning habits. Hes healthy and were seeing a guy regaining his confidence and earning the trust of his coaches and teammates as a guy who will be in that nine-man rotation. Guys like this are hard to keep off the floor. Its a team game. 4. MICHAEL CARTER-WILLIAMS (Sixers): Who saw this coming? The 76ers are 3-0 and the Suns are 2-1 (they played pretty well in their loss at Oklahoma City on Sunday night and lost Goran Dragic). Carter-Williams has been awesome in their upsets. Hes averaging an amazing 20 ppg and 7 assists and is shooting 47 per cent from long distance. He guards and sets the tone for Brett Browns team defensively with his excellent lateral quicks and his ball pressure. Honestly didnt think hed be this good this early with a team that has limitations to say the least. He strikes me as a guy that will be one of those players who will be a better pro than he was in college at Syracuse. The pace and rules of the NBA game favour his game and also look at him as a guy who is still figuring out how to run a team. Has lots of ability and hes really jumped out at me. 5. XAVIER HENRY (Lakers): Style of play is a major benefit to this guy playing for Mike DAntoni. He parks himself behind the three-point arc (14.3 ppg and 45 per cent on threes) and lets loose. Watched a few of the Lakers games already and this system fits his game perfectly. Run to a spot and fire away on the catch. Im curious to see how he performs as we go along here as teams lock in with their scouting/preparation and begin to chase him off the distance line and make him score in a secondary fashion. If he can handle all that hes playing in an ideal situation for himself. cheap jerseys from chinacheap jerseys ' ' '
