Ron Borges

How can a guy living in denial have his own reality show?

That is the first question that came to mind when news leaked out recently that Barry Bonds would partner with (that's show biz these days for getting paid to talk to) ESPN Entertainment (not to be confused with ESPN the leader in sports journalism) to do a weekly "reality'' show this season that will chronicle his pursuit of the home run records of Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.

This lonely search, this quixotic quest, this mountainous undertaking to become baseball's all-time home run king will be televised weekly as the latest installment in a series called “The Season,” a show that is not often about a season but this time will be.

ESPN Entertainment's cameras (not to be confused with ESPN the leader in sports journalism's cameras) will follow Bonds around from his home to his car to the clubhouse (but according to one of his other employers, the San Francisco Giants, not into the trainer's room) and all around the country.

The only problem with this is that judging by the way Bonds handled the reality of his questionable involvement in the BALCO steroids scandal that swept up his friend Henry Conte as well as his personal trainer, what does he know about reality? He apparently doesn't spend much time living in it.

Bonds' reality is that although his ex-mistress claims he did 'roids in front of her and often bragged about their effects and even though his trainer admitted distributing them and even though Conte claims he was a user, Bonds insists his body exploded from a normal-size baseball player into a Hammerin' Hulk at age 38 because of hard work, strenuous weight training, a healthy diet and a good night's sleep. Oh, and some flaxseed oil.

Now that might not even be ESPN's reality, but it's their new partner's so where do we — not to mention they — go from here?

At least when pop singer Bobby Brown and his troubled wife Whitney Houston did a reality show it was reality. Now admittedly too often there was so much reality it was difficult to watch, but no one would argue Brown wasn't real. Can Barry Bonds, on the other hand, even spell R-E-A-L?

Will ESPN Entertainment (not to be confused with ESPN the leader in sports journalism) give us Barry's reality, real reality or reality lite? And do they even know the difference any more?

The show is supposed to start in a matter of weeks, although they haven't made an official announcement. That's when you'll get a weekly glimpse of the torturous road Barry Bonds must travel in his Bentley on the way to breaking Aaron's mush-revered home run record.

Of course, Aaron did it looking like a human being. Bonds will do it on ESPN Entertainment, thus avoiding conflict of interests like being asked some difficult questions by ESPN the leader in sports journalism about how he got so big so old and how he hit so many home runs so late in his career.

But we digress.

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“The Season” is a series that chronicles teams and players for an extended period but not usually a full season. It has been in NFL training camps, with minor league basketball teams and included short stints following Cal Ripken, Jr. around when he was in his last season in the major leagues and Alex Rodriguez around so you got the idea what it was like to be Alex Rodriguez (conclusion to be drawn there: pretty good).

But never has ESPN Entertainment (not to be confused with ESPN the leader in sports journalism) attempted anything quite as extensive as a weekly show with one player through a season in which he chases one of the most revered records in sports.

As a nation we will be able to share Barry's trials as he has to squeeze that body into his Mercedes coupe and the tribulations when he has to send his cleats back to have the clubhouse boy buff the toes a bit more before he goes out to meet his public.

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We will learn the agony of writer's cramp as he signs autographs for $150 a piece and the ecstasy of cashing those kinds of checks. Well, maybe we won't learn about that, because how much reality can a sports fan take?

BALCO is out of business, and Conte was sent away for a brief stretch. One doubts we'll see Barry visiting his old friend in the joint or driving over to see the place his trainer used to be affiliated with, but ESPN Entertainment (not to be confused with ESPN the leader in sports journalism) probably will give you a heavy dose of Barry's reality.

We'll see Barry working out, Barry going to the dry cleaners, Barry talking with the pool boy, Barry eating (fill in the blank but start with healthy), Barry hitting towering home runs far more frequently than he did in Pittsburgh when he was little Barry, Barry sitting in his easy chair in the Giants' locker room, Barry saving a baby from a burning building.

It will be all Barry all the time, which frankly may be a little more Barry than you want if ESPN Entertainment (not to be confused with ESPN the leader in sports journalism) actually gives us the real Barry. That's the Barry that tried to get out of making child support payments during a baseball work stoppage because he was unemployed. Maybe that's a little too real for ESPN Entertainment (not to be confused with ESPN the leader in sports journalism), but we'll have to reserve judgment on that.

The likelihood (not to mention the fear) is that what you'll get is not a reality show but Barry's reality filtered through Barry, Barry's agent, Barry's lawyer, Barry's accountant and Barry's consigliere, not to mention Barry filtered through the Giants. Of course, they probably would be just as happy if this reality show is not too real because you wouldn't want to expose the public to too many encounters between him and, say, his former teammate and wrestling partner Jeff Kent.

What does ESPN the leader in sports journalism (not to be confused with ESPN Entertainment although this is more difficult to do these days) do if ESPN Entertainment's cameras through no fault of their own stumble upon a bit of real news (which would be the only way they're likely to find it)?

That question is already the subject of not only an on-line column by ESPN's ombudsman but also is the subject of some gnashing of teeth in Bristol, Conn., home of ESPN. Barry Bonds doesn't gnash his teeth. He makes other people gnash their's.

What has become clear is that ESPN's original programming division has struck a financial deal with Bonds to grant them access not allowed normal news gathering operations, including San Francisco-based television and radio stations as well as local newspapers in exchange for — what exactly? Reality? Barry's take on reality? Or ESPN Entertainment's take on reality? Or ESPN Entertainment's take on Barry's take on reality?

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