The years-long federal case against baseball star Barry Bonds may finally come to a close on Dec. 16, when he will be sentenced for his conviction for obstruction of justice in April. The conviction was the only one out of the four counts Bonds was found guilty of in connection with the so-called BALCO steroids case. Bond could face up to 21 months in prison, if the judge in the case applies the maximum called for by federal sentencing guidelines, though the government is requesting he serve no time.

Baseball fans in Denver likely have followed the BALCO case, which has resulted in 11 convictions, including Bonds and track star Marion Jones. Most of the 11 were convicted of perjury for lying either to a grand jury convened for the case, investigators or in court. The root of the case was investigators' suspicions, starting in 2002, that San Francisco's Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative was conducting distribution of steroids to athletes.

Many critics have questioned the government's commitment of time and resources to the case, given the relatively minor convictions handed down to most of the defendants.

The government accused Bonds of purchasing steroids from BALCO through his former trainer in order to bulk up and become the dominant home run hitter of his generation. He was brought before the grand jury, where he gave a rambling, unclear response to a question about whether he ever injected steroids. That response led to his sole conviction.

Federal probation officers have asked the court not to sentence Bonds to prison, given his clean criminal record prior to the case and his charity work.

Source: Washington Post, "Barry Bonds sentencing for obstruction conviction re-ignites debate over feds' steroids probe," Dec. 14, 2011