http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns
I called the folks that believe Bonds is clean either "devout or dim" and I would have to write a book to refute all of the ridiculous and often factually ignorant defenses of the man. I'll leave that to "Game of Shadows." But I will address the four most common bits of foolishness that poured in.

1. The claim, articulated here by Alvin, that "Barry Bonds had no knowledge of any illegal substances" and that no one can say Bonds "knowledgably abused any controlled substance."

This is all true. And for the sake of argument, I'll buy Bonds' unlikely arch that he thought the "the Clear" was flaxseed oil. For the purpose of this debate intent means nothing. So whatever he wants to say, he can say. But it doesn't change the fact that in grand jury testimony, as Alvin notes, he did take "The Clear." Knowingly or not, what's the difference? It was in his system as he clubbed 73 home runs. He benefited from it. So where's the debate?

2. Steroids were not banned by baseball.

Yes they were. People seem confused about this, but they were banned in 1991. Baseball didn't test until 2005, which is why the column places equal, if not greater, blame on Bud Selig (who came out worse than Bonds in this whole deal) and the players union that blocked it. But it was still banned.

3. He never failed a drug test.

That's because they never tested him before 2005. And even if they had, THG was designed to avoid detection. The blame here, again, is on baseball. But how that is a defense for Bonds is beyond me.

4. Steroids do not help someone hit a baseball.

According to the chemist who created "The Clear" for Victor Conte, it sure does. His name is Patrick Arnold, he served time for making this stuff, and here is his recent questioning by Bob Costas on HBO:

Costas: In addition to size and strength, you believe steroid use can help a baseball player with not just greater power but greater bat speed (and) hand-eye coordination, that it could account in a rise in batting average as well as home runs?

Arnold: No doubt in my mind. That's what the test results showed.

Costas: So people who say it can't help you hit a baseball are dead wrong?

Arnold: They just don't know the facts.

Arnold went on to say Conte told him Bonds' "reaction time" improved and likened one effect of the synthetic designer steroid to putting a player "in the zone" it provided such advanced focus. But hey, what does he know, he only invented the stuff.

I could go on, but it’s a waste of time. If you still want to believe he was clean, go for it. I get that for many people, this is just entertainment and who cares. Baywatch was once the most popular television show in the world and, needless to say, not everything was real on that. But spare me the unintelligible arguments that he was clean.