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Posted at 10:56 a.m., Friday, August 3, 2007

Baseball: Bonds' imprisoned trainer pulling for slugger

By Paul Elias
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Greg Anderson is rooting from prison for Barry Bonds to break Hank Aaron's home run record.

The convicted steroids peddler and weight trainer has been in prison for refusing to testify in the government's perjury probe of the San Francisco Giants star.

"He will be ecstatic," said his close friend and lawyer Paula Canny, who said she visited Anderson yesterday.

The 41-year-old Anderson has been held in contempt of court since November for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating Bonds' alleged perjury. Anderson will remain in prison until he talks, the grand jury's term expires or a judge lets him out because it becomes clear he won't testify.

The grand jury's yearlong term was extended in July and it won't meet again until September. It could serve for another six months.

Canny said Anderson is having trouble keeping up his spirits but has said he will never testify and is determined to remain behind bars until the grand jury's term expires. His legal team, which includes Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos, will soon ask a judge to free him.

Canny said to pass the time Anderson has cut his hair into a Mohawk with dreadlocks. Canny said Anderson's access to television is limited, but he gets updates on Bonds' pursuit by watching "SportsCenter" on ESPN.

She said that he's not avidly trying to keep up with every at-bat and is trying to live moment by moment in an extremely tedious situation.

"To survive in prison, you can't track anything," she said.

During the day, Anderson works in a kitchen without a television or radio. At night, the 80 people in his dormitory wrangle for control of a single television that is rarely tuned to the San Francisco Giants games.

"Most of those guys think baseball is boring," Canny said. "They love the motorcycle repair shows.