tried to dart into the middle lane to avoid hitting him. Inst

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Barry Bonds certainly thinks hes worthy of election to the Hall of Fame. "Without a doubt," baseballs home run king said Monday at the San Francisco Giants spring training camp, where he will serve as a hitting instructor for a week. The 49-year-old Bonds spent his last 15 big league seasons with San Francisco, finishing in 2007 with 762 homers. But his final years were clouded by suspicions of performance-enhancing drug use, and the seven-time NL MVP was convicted of one obstruction count in April 2011 by a jury that found an answer he gave was criminally evasive during 2003 testimony before a grand jury investigating the distribution of PEDs. And he didnt even come close to election to the Hall in his first two turns on the ballot. Advice for the writers who have not voted for him: "You guys are all adults. I have no advice for you." One topic he wouldnt discuss: Alex Rodriguez, who is serving a season-long drug suspension. Bonds said he respects Rodriguez and will talk to him individually, "not in a press conference." Meeting with about three dozen media for about 30 minutes on a patio overlooking the left field area at Scottsdale Stadium, Bonds wanted to put the controversial past behind him. "It feels really good to be back," Bonds said. "It feels good to give back to the game that I love. Hopefully, Ill be a part of this longer. ... Im enjoying it. "I am more nervous at this than I was playing, because it was only my mind and me. Hopefully I can bring good value to the ballclub. Well see how it works out," he added. "I dont even know if Im good at it." Looking about 30 pounds lighter than his playing weight of 230 and considerably more affable, Bonds wore an orange-and-black Giants cap, a black windbreaker and baseball pants, ready for the first day of work in a seven-day stay in camp. He appeared relaxed, laughing and joking more in a few minutes than he did during the years when he ruled the teams clubhouse from his corner reclining chair. "Im just a different character. I was a different character playing," he said. "Now Ive had time to slow down, do other things. I needed that guy to play, its who I was at the time. Im the same person, just a different character. ... Teammates used to say, you dont play when youre nice. It worked. Whatever it was, it worked." After meeting with the media, Bonds watched Posey and others intently in the batting cage. "The timing was right. Thats why its happening now," manager Bruce Bochy said. "Its good for Barry to see how its going to work for him. To me, he is one of the greatest minds in baseball." Would he perhaps like to manage some day? "I want to try and get through these seven days first," he said with a laugh. Jack Butler Womens Jersey . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring. L.C. Greenwood Steelers Jersey . Jeff Green and Jordan Crawford each scored 19 points, Bass added 15 points and had a game-saving block in the closing seconds Saturday, and the Celtics held on for a 103-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Steelers-Diontae-Johnson-Jersey/ . Sharper briefly appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, where his arraignment was postponed until Feb. 20 at the request of his lawyers. They issued a statement saying he would be exonerated. Prosecutors then filed a motion to increase Sharpers bail to $10 million and outlined details of investigations involving him in Las Vegas, Tempe, Ariz. Alejandro Villanueva Jersey . Berkman almost left the game last off-season before signing with the Texas Rangers. He then had another injury-plagued season and was limited to 73 games. Merril Hoge Steelers Jersey . The Detroit Tigers star had microfracture surgery Friday to repair the medial and lateral meniscus in his left knee. "I dont want to say it was a surprise," team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said.CONCORD, N.C. - Jamie McMurray started his day at home with his young son, who vowed to spend the day playing in his sand box. Then Carter McMurray asked his dad what he had planned for Saturday. "Im going to race for a million bucks, " McMurray told him. Race for it? Sure. Win it? With his Las Vegas odds at 40-1, McMurray was one of the biggest long shots Saturday night in the Sprint All-Star race. But he pulled off a masterful upset, staging a tense door-to-door battle with Carl Edwards to grab the $1 million prize with his first All-Star victory. McMurray, who led a race-high 31 laps, had never before led a lap in the All-Star race, and his previous best finish in seven appearances in the exhibition was eighth. McMurray was second on the restart for the 10-lap sprint to the checkered flag. Lined up outside of pole-sitter Edwards, McMurray flirted several times for the lead on a frantic lap around Charlotte Motor Speedway. Although he surged slightly ahead several times, and the two cars appeared to touch more than once, McMurray finally cleared Edwards for the lead two laps into the fifth and final segment. "As a kid, that is what you grew up wanting to do, is have a shootout like that and have a possibility to race for 10 laps," McMurray said. "He got a little bit of a jump on me on the restart and I was able to hang on to his quarter panel, and when we kept entering Turn 1 and 3, I was like, It is for a million bucks. If we wreck, its not that big of a deal. "Its so cool to come out on top." Once he cleared Edwards, McMurray easily pulled away for the victory. Edwards, who faded to fifth, immediately watched the replay after the race. "Jamie just did a perfect job on the start. I had him cleared for a minute," Edwards said. "If I would have pulled in front of him in Turn 1, if I would have gone high, I think we would have won that race. But I was just so reluctant to give up the bottom. It was a drag race. My hat is off to him. He earned it." McMurrays first career victory came at Charlotte in 2002 in his second start with Chip Ganassi Racing. He also won in 2010 and goes into the Coca-Cola 600 next Sunday needing a win in that race to have career victories in all three of Charlottes main events. Kevin Harvick finished second, Matt Kenseth was third and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who complained earlier in the race he was driving a dump truck, was fourth. Kurt Busch was 11th after qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day.dddddddddddd "Really happy to see Jamie win, its always nice to see good guys win," said Kenseth, a former teammate of McMurrays at Roush Fenway Racing. It seemed to be a popular victory as several drivers made a point to congratulate McMurray in their post-race interviews as the driver took his Chevrolet to Victory Lane. He was met there by team owners Felix Sabates and Chip Ganassi, who flew into North Carolina before the race after Indianapolis 500 qualifying. It was a tough day for Ganassi in Indianapolis, where none of his five cars made it into the Fast 9 qualifying round and Scott Dixon was his fastest driver at 15th. "We obviously didnt have a good day in Indianapolis and youre damn right this turned the day around," said Ganassi, who kissed McMurray as he and Sabates cut the post-race news conference short to head back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch won the first segment, but his night ended early in the second 20-lap segment when he used an aggressive move in a fast attempt to avoid running into the back of older brother, Kurt. "His brother forced his hand," Clint Bowyer said of the accident that nearly collected his car. "Hell, I dont know how I didnt wreck." The Busch brothers were running together when Kurt was too close to the outside wall and Kyle tried to dart into the middle lane to avoid hitting him. Instead, Kyle hit the back of Bowyer as he tried to swing around Bowyer into a third lane. Bowyer clipped him as Busch surged ahead, and it began a spin that sent Busch into the path of Joey Logano. Busch failed to finish the All-Star race for the fifth time in nine years. "I saw Kurt get really bottled up and about get in the wall, so he had to check-up real hard and my shot was in the middle, to go across three lanes and underneath Bowyer," Busch said. "But Bowyer blocked it and when he did, I got into him. Those are the opportunities you have to take in the All-Star." Kasey Kahne went on to win that segment, and the third segment. "I say just leave the car for now, felt pretty good right there," Kahne radioed after the third segment as his crew debated pit strategy. But his night fell apart in the fourth segment when he hit the wall to damage his Chevrolet. "I hit it hard. I blew it bad," he radioed. "Sorry, guys. I cant believe that happened. We had the best car here by far. Great, great car." Kahne wound up 14th. ' ' '