Reality show might bring Bonds even more trouble, By: Russ Edmonson

April 13, 2006, Gold Country News Service

I would think the last person who would want to have a reality show right now is Barry Bonds.

Why would he want to draw any extra attention to himself with everything that is going on? He has always been somebody who seemed to despise the media. Yet there he was in the "Bonds on Bonds" television premier on April 5 - laughing, crying, cleaning up around the house, clowning around with teammates.

Although it initially seems strange that ESPN has teamed up with one of the prime subjects it covers daily for this reality show, I get why the sports network decided to do it. There is no shortage of interesting things to talk about, including Bonds' recovery from several knee surgeries, whether or not this is his final season, when will he pass Babe Ruth's career home run total, will he eventually pass Hank Aaron to become the all-time career home run leader, how will fans react to him along the way, when did he start and stop using steroids, and will he ever come clean about steroids.

And I also understand why his show will be popular. I don't watch much reality television but I watched the premier of this show. Number one, there is plenty of controversy for the show to deal with, and people love controversy. Also, because Bonds has never been media friendly, chances to see footage of him off the field are very rare. This show provides those chances.

That still leaves me wondering why Bonds is doing this. The only real reason I can think of is that it provides him with an opportunity to change his image. Maybe this show can show a softer side of Bonds.

However, from watching the first show I'm not really sure if it will help his image. There was footage of Bonds walking right past a group of fans pleading for autographs and not all of the interviews were positive - he says things that will probably continue to turn off the public.

At one point while chastising his daughter, he said she is lucky she is only 6-years-old or he'd kill her. Although it's obviously a joke, some viewers probably won't find it funny.

The biggest reason I would think Bonds would not want to be the star of his own reality show right now is it draws even more attention to the allegations that he used steroids. Baseball recently announced the launch of a huge steroid investigation centered on BALCO, the Bay Area lab that has been accused of supplying Bonds and other athletes with steroids. I would guess a big chunk of the show would eventually have to deal with this topic.

Wouldn't this be a nightmare for Bonds, who seemingly just wants this steroid discussion to go away? Why not quiet his critics by going out and having a good season? Why do the show?

Maybe the answer will be revealed as the show continues. I'll guess I'll have to watch and find out.