Here's a roundup of sports news...

Winning the title of first football player to be nabbed in the BALCO scandal, ex-49ers defensive lineman Dana Stubblefield was charged with lying to a federal agent when he denied taking steroids. Oh, Dana. he is expected to plead guilty in a San Francisco federal courtroom later on today. This comes on the heels of former Olympic athlete Marion Jones receiving a six month sentence for her involvement in the BALCO scandal. And now......

Here's todays sports highlights...

HBO bought the rights to Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal That Rocked Professional Sport, the infamous book penned by Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. According to a sister over at Variety, in it Bonds is "painted in 'Game of Shadows' as a gifted player who made a Faustian bargain to increase his power." (Might we suggest Damn Giants as a working title, then?) Ron Shelton -- auteur......

Choose your allusion-- the sword of Damocles finally striking, the chickens coming home to roost, karma being an ill-tempered bitch-- but Barry Lamar is now up against it for breaking the law, breaking the law. Personally, we were a bit stunned that it happened coming as it did years after the actual case, but we're cavemen-- we fell on some ice and was later thawed by some of your scientists. Your world frightens and confuses us! ...

-- Gargantuan steroid sting nabs two Bay Area brothers. [SJ Merc] -- PC World editor's suspected killers could receive death sentences. [Chron] -- Marines banned from filming commercial in SF. [FOX] -- Another attempt to ban the Blue Angels proves unsuccessful. Sorry, Chris. [CBS5] -- Speaking of Board of Supes, someone done got suspended/replaced. [ABC7] -- Death of an lILWU longshoreman results in Oakland port's closure for the day. [Oakland Tribune] -- Chloe Veltman......

Well, that was fun. Last night out in the center-left bleachers, each time Barry Bonds came to bat, the crowd rose giddily to their feet. The stands brimmed with grins and shouts of encouragement and nervous energy. Mitts were pulled on. With each pitch thrown to him, photoflashes flared all about the stadium like Chinese New Year firecrackers....

Hey, remember that Grand Jury that was out there looking into the whole BALCO mess? And remember how supposedly the Grand Jury dropped that issue and instead started investigating Barry B? Well, according to the New York Daily News, the Grand Jury got themselves six more months to look at the case against Barry and that supposedly they have a pretty good case against him. The source in the story say that the Grand Jury has enough to go after Barry but wants at least six more months to make the case go from pretty strong to dead-to-rights strong. They are also afraid of making it look too political in handing down the indictment right around the time Barry is on the verge of breaking the big record. ...

Despite a few anxious laps during the climactic Stage 7, wire-to-wire overall race leader Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) found just enough energy to fend off a cheeky breakaway from Danny Pate (Slipstream) and win the 2007 Amgen Tour of California (TOC) . A seven-man group including Pate broke out from the main peloton very early in the race and worked a beautiful pace line to stretch the lead out to 2'50". Pate came into......

Levi Leipheimer successfully defended his gold leader's jersey yesterday in Stage 6 of the 2007 Amgen Tour of California (TOC), but it was Team CSC that commanded everybody's attention. Refusing to concede a single pedal stroke to Leipheimer or his Discovery Channel team, CSC kept the stage hopping with steady pressure on the front from veteran scrappers like Bobby Julich and Stuey O'Grady. For their efforts, CSC locked up the overall team classification and propelled their TOC sprint man Juan Jose "JJ" Haedo to his second stage victory of the tour.

Running 169.6 kilometers (km) from Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita across challenging terrain that included four King of the Mountain (KOM) category climbs, two points sprints, and three 5.6-km circuits to finish, Saturday's Stage 6 featured nonstop, granular action motivated by visions of personal glory and dedication to team and teammates.

It's one thing to sit in a team's slipstream or ride the momentum of the peloton, but the truest measure of a cyclist is how he (or she) performs in an individual time trial (TT). On Friday, in Stage 5 of the 2007 Amgen Tour of California (TOC), 127 bicycle riders looked into the face of destiny to see who would crack and would emerge triumphant. When the dust settled, it had become clear to all that Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) is the best bicycle rider in the TOC.

In an individual TT, it's just the bicycle rider against the clock. No drafting, no group tactics, no jockeying for a sprint finish, no using other riders for motivation. Finishing position is irrelevant, it's all about the time. It is cycling distilled down to its most primal essence: how fast can you go?.

Snoo-zer. Aside from the final five seconds of the race, the most exciting part of Thursday's Stage 4 in the 2007 Amgen Tour of California was the scenery. Relatively undistinguished topography and the desire of most riders to save themselves for tomorrow's critical individual time trial turned yesterday's stage into little more than a placeholder in the week-long tour.

It was a day of defensive rest, with everybody working extra hard to do the least amount necessary to maintain the status quo and playing it as safe as possible while doing so.

There was some nominal bad weather to keep the racers on their toes, a lukewarm breakaway led by Hilton Clarke of the Navigators Insurance team, a minimal response from Discovery Channel and the peloton, and a rather pedestrian, if not historic, sprint finish capped by Paolo "the Cricket" Bettini's (Quick Step-Innergetic) technically brilliant track throw to nip Gerald Coilek (T-Mobile) at the tape. Other than that, we loved it, thanks for asking.

It was poetry in motion out there in Stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California, like a ragged stream of consciousness.

Hills, . . . hills-hills mark the stage most crucial to date, elevation profile like an EKG.

Under the merciless stare of giant windmills stoic 17 riders breaking away BEWARE! the false summit of Patterson Pass, Van de Walle caught out as Peterson's debt to William Frischkorn grows. Over the top jersey stuffing newspapers, protection against the windy descent.

Let's face it, in the peloton of American spectator sports, cycling got cracked off the back on the first climb out of town and is just now working its way back into the rear of the pack. Even with eight straight years of Americans winning the Tour de France, the biggest event in the cycling world, cycling has only the most tenuous of holds on the American consciousness. O'er the pond, the Europeans have more than a century of rich road racing history and cultural lore out front making a passionate pace.

One of the problems is that American race promoters and fans haven't quite figured out how to wrest maximum entertainment value out of a professional cycling race. Organizers of the 2007 Amgen Tour of California (TOC) understood this issue and came up with a great solution: circuit laps to finish the stages. Brilliant.

Stage 1 of the Amgen Tour of California (TOC) started out in the brilliant sunshine of Sausalito but ended 156.2 kilometers (km) later under a cloud of controversy in downtown Santa Rosa. In between, riders faced heavy winds, multiple crashes, and an entertaining collection of breakaways and points sprints. When it was all said and done though, Levi Leipheimer was still the hometown golden boy.

This was a stage for cycling geeks to Tivo and watch over and over. From a rolling start, the peloton quickly pulled a Category 4 climb up and over the shoulder of Mt. Tam and down the Panoramic Highway to Stinson Beach, following Highway 1 through beautiful West Marin. Local roadies finally got a chance to see how the international cycling elite handle our regular rides. On the Versus network television coverage, legend Phil Liggett praised the beauty of the Panoramic Highway, but commented that it was a little narrow to ride when open to vehicle traffic. Ha!

This morning, ESPN's Len Pasquarelli is reporting that "sources" say that the 49ers' prized offensive coordinator Norv Turner will be the new coach of the San Diego Chargers, to which we say noooooo....

For most of the day it looked like a total Cinderella story for unknown Jason Donald, but when the very last rider of the 2007 Tour of California (TOC) prologue crossed the finish line Sunday, it was Levi Leipheimer who had tears in his eyes.

A Credit Agricole rider suffers his way up the last 300 meters to the finish line atop Telegraph Hill. Photo from SF_Chris.

Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony and the national anthem, Jean-Marc Marino of team Credit Agricole rolled down the starting chute at 1:00 p.m. sharp and the prologue was on. In a time trial like Sunday's prologue, riders race alone and against the clock rather than against each other en masse. Following Marino, 144 more riders attacked the course at one-minute intervals for the next two hours.

Clip in sports fans, between the weather and the Amgen Tour of California (TOC), it's going to be a great weekend for cycling in the Bay Area.

Whether you're tackling Mt.Tam on your Saturday morning club ride or comparing yourselves to the pros with a summit of Stage 3's infamous Sierra Hill climb, pack the sunscreen today and leave the rain shell behind.

On Sunday at 1:00 p.m., the TOC starts with the prologue, a 3.0 kilometer time trial from the Ferry building to Coit Tower.

That's right Cutters, the Italians are coming, along with the French, the Spaniards, the Americans, the Germans, the Dutch-- yeah, even the Dutch. They're all going to be in the City this weekend to compete in this year's Amgen Tour of California.

We're talking the real deal. This isn't some club-level Saturday morning crit for free tubes at the local bike shop (no offense), this it the best road cyclists in the world, competing for top-tier elite international cycling teams like Discovery Channel, CSC, T-Mobile, Rabobank, and more, in serious competition.

SPN is reporting the Victor Conte told friends that not only did Barry take "the cream" and the "clear" but knew damn well what they were. This is the very-same Victor Conte who swore to everyone that Barry didn't take steroids and was completely innocent of anything. Also the very same Victor Conte who leaked all that Grand Jury testimony (allegedly) that put Barry into potential trouble over perjury charges. With friends like these.... ...

We're on the Other Coast this week, ensconced with family for Pesach-- that yearly holiday that celebrates our people's release from bondage and their subsequent peaceful and uneventful existence, and even though we can barely find out how the Giants are doing, it's not so difficult to see the latest in Barry news. It's a perjury investigation, baby!...

A judge just denied the lawsuit filed against the authors and publishers of the Barry Bonds' bombshell book, "Game of Shadows," citing freedom of speech issues. Bonds' lawyers had sued the publishers because it was "unfair" that the authors were able to use secret transcripts from the Grand Jury. In other words, the lawsuit wasn't to help Barry's reputation, but to help all the other muckrakers out there trying to bust Barry who didn't have the luxury of leaked testimony. He was, then, doing it for the little people. Or something like that. ...

When we first heard news about the Bonds book, our first reaction was somewhere along the lines of "oh sh--, there goes the season." Once that passed, we got that sinking feeling in the pits of our belly that this is going to be bad. Like asterisks on records, Giants ownership in trouble, Bonds suspended kind of trouble. But instead, right now, it's not looking that bad. In fact, the reaction seems to be along the lines of "yawn, tell us something we didn't know." That's not to say that things won't get worse because clearly it will, especially the closer the Barry gets to the hallowed records. The Barry Haters are in full froth mode and screaming for chemically grown heads while Giants fans are awash in truthiness. But there does seem to be a consensus building about most of this. Mainly that we all kind of knew what was going on but that it was all in the past and we're moving on. Like a bad haircut from back in the day that we're kind of embarrassed about but that's what they wore back then and we have such a better haircut now. ...

>Barry's reality TV show got off to a big start today with news that a new book written by the Chronicles' Steroid Beat reporters, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, detailing the Barry's steroid intake over the years is set to be released. The book is already being excerpted in the upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated. The information detailed came from evidence collected by investigators during the BALCO trial as well as the usual Woodward and Bernstein methods. And, oh it's bad. Very, very, bad. ...

The New York Daily News is reporting that Major League Baseball is investigating Barry Bonds and looking into his various troubles. Dude has 99 problems and, yes, a, umm, "woman" is one. Let's see, there's possible income tax evasion, possible perjury, and the whole steroid thing. And then there's the latest problem- the surgeon who performed Barry's latest knee surgery, a Dr. Albert Ting, has been reprimanded twice by the California State Medical Board and......

It’s been theorized that Barry’s little pity-party that he threw for himself, his prop of a son, and select members of the press was merely another one of his patented "you’ll miss me when I’m gone" ploys. Which we will but that's neither here nor there right now. What is here and there right now is the fact that while the ploy has worked in the past, the answer this time just might be no. And not only no, but don’t let the door hit you on the way out. In other words, the question being bandied about now isn’t when Bonds will return but should he. ...

A British reporter's claims that Arnold Schwarzenegger first sexually assaulted her, then libeled her in the press when she told the LA Times about the incident, survived a first round of review by the London High Court, which determined that Schwarzenegger could indeed be sued in Jolly Old England. Schwarzenegger, who's been trying to shout down repeated claims of his history of getting handsy with a dozen or so women over the last ten years by claiming he was just being "playful" with them, claims that the woman had encouraged him to grope her during their interview, which forms the basis of her libel claim. Just like those saucy teachers wanting their pensions cut, or those randy nurses just begging him to compromise patient safety, right? All in good clean fun! We're not a barrister or anything, but it's our understanding that the libel laws in England are significantly stricter than they are here (that pesky First Amendment!), so Schwarzenegger can't be too happy about the prospect of this suit looming over him as he fundraises up a storm from those special interest groups he claimed to hate so much back in 2003. Picture from Code Pink's Santa Monica protests...

In an impromptu press conference called for whatever reason, a crutch weilding Barry Bonds told the assembled media that he might not play until the mid-point of the season. Or maybe not play for the entire season. Or maybe not play ever. As in never, ever, ever, again. Looks like we picked a bad time to stop sniffing glue. ...

Things to ponder while watching (or more like not watching) the congressional hearing on steroids and we play devil's advocate: Is baseball really the only sport that has a steroid problem or do you believe 350 pound lineman can run the 40 faster than Speedy Gonzalez on a meth bender? Does anyone really know what all those steroids do? Not only the anabolic stuff, but the "clear" and the "cream"? And are the side effects of steroid use really a sign of their danger or just of misuse? Some of their uses are to help recover from injuries or to just recover from the daily grind of playing. Is there any difference between steroids and other, legal, performance enhancement drugs? What's the difference between steroids and shooting people up with pain killers? ...

For all those people wishing somebody, anybody, would get to the bottom of this whole steroid mess, have no worries, congress is here! This week, members of the House Government Reform Committee, having finished reforming the government, have asked several ballplayers linked in the steroid scandal, several ball players not linked in the steroid scandal, MLB baseball officials, and union officials to testify next Thursday in front of the committee about steroid abuse. Those players, including Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Jason Giambi, have pretty much refused to testify. As have most MLB officials. And so, yesterday, congress sent out subpoenas. Noticeably absent from all this is one Barry Lamar Bonds. This despite the fact he has become the poster-boy of alleged steroid abuse and despite the fact he's about to break the most famous record in all of sports. Not to mention despite the fact some people think this whole BALCO thing is nothing more than an attempt to get Barry. ...