Bonds finally signs contract

Baseball Betting Lines

02/15/2007 -

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -Barry Bonds finally signed his $15.8 million, one-year deal Thursday, ending more than two months of wrangling between the slugger and the San Francisco Giants over contract language.

With both sides satisfied, Bonds is scheduled to report Monday to spring training. He is likely to participate in the Giants' first full-squad workout Tuesday.

``I expect he will be ready to go,'' general manager Brian Sabean said.

The 42-year-old Bonds is 22 homers shy of breaking Hank Aaron's career record of 755.

Bonds' deal was approved by the commissioner's office. His agent, Jeff Borris, and the Giants reached a preliminary agreement on Dec. 7.

The team announced the deal Jan. 29 and Bonds did an interview via conference call. But he never signed the contract, and problems developed.

At issue were specifics about what would happen if Bonds were to be indicted or face further legal trouble, along with details about a personal-appearance provision that was rejected by the commissioner's office.

The Giants sent revised documents to Borris, which Bonds signed Thursday. Only the personal-appearance provision was deleted from the deal, two baseball officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

A federal grand jury is investigating whether Bonds perjured himself when he testified in 2003 in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroid distribution case that he hadn't knowingly taken any performance-enhancing drugs.

Bonds long has denied knowingly using steroids.

Bonds will fill the final spot on the team's 40-man roster, which had stood at 39 after catcher Mike Matheny went on the voluntary retirement list with a concussion.

The seven-time NL MVP has been working out all offseason at UCLA and appears as healthy as ever, according to the Giants, Bonds' trainer and his agent. He had arthroscopic surgery on his troublesome left elbow after the 2006 season.

After missing all but 14 games in 2005 following three operations on his right knee, Bonds batted .270 with 26 homers and 77 RBIs and drew 115 walks in 130 games last year.

---

AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Online-wagering-casino Baseball Betting News

<< Wood hurt in fall from hot tub, out for a few days
MESA, Ariz. (AP) -Oft-injured Kerry Wood is out again - this time because of a flub in a hot tub.The Chicago Cubs pitcher is not expected to throw off the mound for a few days after he slipped this week getting out of a hot tub at home. Wood landed

<< For Morrison, no place like road
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Adam Morrison headed to Las Vegas on Thursday to take part in All-Star weekend festivities as the second-leading rookie scorer in the NBA. He might be leading the league if not for those home games.Morrison prefers playing on t

<< Trial of Saints' Jammal Brown postponed
COVINGTON, La. (AP) -The domestic abuse trial of New Orleans Saints player Jammal Brown was postponed after a judge ruled prosecutors cannot use recordings of his wife's statements to investigators or calls to 911.State District Judge Martin Coady r

<< Blank looking for new revenue, not new QB, for Falcons
ATLANTA (AP) -Arthur Blank is looking for new revenue - and possibly a new stadium - for the Atlanta Falcons.Not a new starting quarterback.February marks the five-year anniversary of Blank's purchase of the team. ``There have been a lot of ups and

<< Torre to Bernie: We want you
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Joe Torre spoke to Bernie Williams and the message from the New York Yankees manager was clear: Come to spring training.Williams, feeling slighted by the only major league team he's played for, has thus far refused to accept a mino

Cowher joins CBS as studio analyst >>
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher will be an analyst for CBS on the network's ``The NFL Today'' studio show next season.Cowher resigned as the Steelers' coach last month following 15 seasons, and less than a year after wi

Zambrano backs off threat to leave Cubs >>
MESA, Ariz. (AP) -Carlos Zambrano backed off recent comments that he would leave the Chicago Cubs as a free agent after this season if he doesn't get a multiyear contract during spring training.Although he would rather get a new deal done by opening

Yankees general partner arrested >>
LARGO, Fla. (AP) -George Steinbrenner's son-in-law and designated successor to run the New York Yankees was arrested early Thursday for suspicion of driving under the influence.Yankees general partner Steve Swindal was arrested by the St. Petersburg

Hardaway won't represent NBA at All-Star game after anti-gay remarks >>
The NBA banished Tim Hardaway from All-Star weekend in Las Vegas because of his anti-gay remarks.Hardaway, who played in five All-Star games during the 1990s, was already in Las Vegas and scheduled to make a series of public appearances this week on

'There's no walking in baseball': Acta keeps Day 1 crisp >>
VIERA, Fla. (AP) -``There's no walking in baseball.''Day 1 on the job, and Manny Acta coined a phrase.The Washington Nationals' new field boss conducted his first spring training workout as a major league manager Thursday, and when he noticed some o

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.