Hammer on Bonds: Please Don’t Hurt Him

Some believe Barry Bonds is getting a bad rap, and rapper MC Hammer is one of them.

He’s critical of baseball’s decision not to celebrate when Bonds ties and passes Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time homer list, and asks fans to “set aside judgment, and celebrate the greatest feat in sports in the last 50 years.”

Hammer blogs, “We are not ... supporting the use of drugs. On the contrary, I am celebrating that swing, his skills and knowledge of the game.”

This was posted before Bonds’ batting average dipped to .217 as the San Francisco Giants slugger remained, through Sunday, stuck on homer No. 713, one shy of the Babe’s total.

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More Bonds: Writes Dave Krieger of the Rocky Mountain News: “If you throw out his numbers from 1999-2003, the years his steroid regimen is documented in ‘Game of Shadows,’ and instead give him the average of Aaron, Mays and Robinson from ages 35 to 39, he would have 145 [home runs] in that stretch, removing 113 from his total.

“That would give him 600 now, not 713. He would recently have passed Robinson, taking over fourth place.”

Hank Aaron, the all-time leader with 755 homers, hit 203 between ages 35-39. Frank Robinson (586) hit 108 and Mays (660) 123.

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Trivia time: On this date in 1992, America3 and billionaire Bill Koch won the America’s Cup regatta, 4-1, in a best-of-seven final series. Which boat did America3 beat?

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House call: The lead paragraph on an Associated Press story about Jerry West’s receiving an honorary doctorate during a ceremony at West Virginia University: “Jerry West is now Dr. J.”

West, a former Lakers player, coach and general manager who is now the Memphis Grizzlies’ general manager, still holds West Virginia records in six categories, including points, 2,309, and rebounds, 1,240.

West, who was honored in front of 3,300 students and a crowd of 10,000, received a standing ovation after a 30-minute speech in which he said: “Success without a personal satisfaction or sacrifice isn’t success at all. It’s posturing. Money is a means of power, but seldom a measure of success.”

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Inspirational: Elgin Baylor’s being named NBA executive of the year, after 20 years as general manager of a Clippers team famous for its futility, prompted Deadspin.com to proclaim that there’s now hope for everyone:

“If you work at McDonald’s, and every single day that you work there, you drop your wristwatch into the fryer and roll all of the Chicken McNuggets around on the bathroom floor before serving them, you’re still one good month away from getting your picture up on that Employee of the Month plaque.

“The message here: You stay on the grind, Isiah. Your day is coming.”

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Trivia answer: Italy’s Il Moro di Venezia V.

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And finally: Dan Daly of the Washington Times writes that it’s too bad the National Security Agency didn’t start gathering telephone records earlier explaining that, “We could have found out who Pete Rose was really talking to on the dugout phone -- his bullpen coach or his bookie.”