Case Closed. Over. Done.

Over the last year, since Game of Shadows was released, sports talk radio has been flooded with Barry Bonds/steroids apologists/deniers.

Even given the breadth and depth of the work and authoritative research that has yet to be credibly debunked, there is a certain contingent of mouth-breathers out there that continue to be skeptical, waiting for more 'definite' proof. Well, here it is.

Page down a bit and you will see that, since Bonds joined the Giants at age 28, his shoe size went from a 10 1/2 cleat to a size 13! Done. Over. Stop talking. That doesn't happen. It just doesn't happen.

If you haven't read the book, do so. Read an excerpt here.




Who says there is no more grace in life. Anyone who grew up around Chicago and was a sports fan knew who Chet Coppock was. He dominated the sports scene simply by finding every way possible to put his mug in front of the camera or his piehole on the airwaves. With his dopey suspenders, tacky fur coat, overly-polished patois and 'that's the way I see it' jargon, he practically begged people to hate him.

When I interned on the Mac, Jurko & Harry Show in the fall of '04, there were early whisperings that Dan McNeil and Chet Coppock had made up after a decade-long and well-publicized feud that began when Dan was the executive producer of Chet's show on the Loop (first incarnation of WMVP). A lot of the talk was vague, as Dan abhorred any talk of the feud and would tell you so. But some of the stories of Chet's complete assholishness were legendary.

His precipitous fall brought new meaning to the term 'market correction'. He was shuffled off to the fledging (and abysmal) Sporting News Radio for a few years until he returned to Chicago radio late last year, joining WMVP on weekends with Steve 'Mongo' McMichael for the worst radio show I have ever heard (and that includes the Mike Murphy Show). For a great laugh, visit Chet's website. There isn't anything or anyone for which he won't shill.

Dan McNeil essentially makes the decisions at WMVP. From my obviously limited observations, nothing happened without first consulting Dan. Bringing Chet back into the fold had to make him smile. With Chet being relegated to weekend mop-up duties and stuck with boobs like McMichael, Dan had to see this as a coda for Coppock, and a shitty one at that. It was a final kick to the groin for a man who treated him like shit for all those years.