In dig at Bonds, sushi restaurant celebrates steroid-free meat

The Associated Press

Published Friday, August 3, 2007

As Barry Bonds pushes for home run No. 755 to tie one of baseball’s most hallowed records, a Colorado sushi restaurant is celebrating the man who set the record - Hank Aaron.

Hapa Sushi Grill ran a half-page ad yesterday in the satirical weekly The Onion that read "Congratulations Hank Aaron on 755 home runs." At the bottom of the page, the ad continues: "Organic beef and chicken, no added steroids." Full-page ads are planned for two Boulder, Colo., daily newspapers starting today.

Hapa, which has two locations in Boulder and one in Denver, previously has used skinny sumo wrestlers and flaming bags of fast-food hamburgers in its ads to promote its healthy Japanese food.

Hapa founder Mark Van Grack said the ad taps into the Bonds controversy to promote his business but it also sends a message like other previous ads for the company.

"Think about what you’re doing. Be healthy. You don’t need steroids do something great, as Hank Aaron did," he said of the message.

Jonathan Schoenberg of TDA Advertising & Design in Boulder, who created the ad, said it’s intended as a tribute to Aaron. But he acknowledged it’s also a roundabout dig at Barry Bonds, who has been accused of using steroids, something Bonds has long denied.

● DODGERS HOST STEROIDS AWARENESS CLINIC: There was a steroids awareness clinic at Dodger Stadium, and it had nothing to do with Barry Bonds.

Approximately 100 Little Leaguers were at the ballpark before last night’s game against Bonds’ San Francisco Giants for a two-hour session led by Los Angeles center fielder Juan Pierre, hitting coach Bill Mueller and former Dodger Lou Johnson. The boys and girls, ages 12 to 17, received a Dodger goodie bag.

"I’m not touching no Barry questions," Pierre said to reporters later. "I didn’t even realize when they asked me to do it, what was the date or when it was going to be. It was all for the kids, just telling them about the severity of taking steroids."

The 43-year-old Bonds headed into last night’s series finale with 754 home runs, one from tying Hank Aaron’s record.

"We bring in a group of kids, and even if we only get through to one or two of them, that makes it all worth it," said Dodgers strength and conditioning coach Doug Jarrow, who ran the clinic.

Later in the ballpark, fans were more vocal leading up to the series finale than the previous two nights.

"Hey Barry, where’s Greg Anderson? Where is he, Barry?" one man hollered from the sky-high seats during batting practice in reference to the slugger’s incarcerated trainer. "How much are you paying him? We don’t hate you because you’re a cheater, it’s because you’re a jerk."

"HGH!" another yelled from way up in right field. That’s the abbreviated version of human growth hormone - one of the substances Bonds allegedly took.

In their book "Game of Shadows," released last year, authors Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada wrote that Bonds started using steroids because he was jealous of the attention paid to Mark McGwire’s home run race with Sammy Sosa in 1998.

The awareness event, held in conjunction with the Taylor Hooton Foundation and the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society, had been rescheduled from its original date, June 29.

"Due to a scheduling conflict with the Taylor Hooton Foundation, we had to move it. It wasn’t until 10 days ago that we realized that we were playing the Giants," Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch said. "It was a complete coincidence. We gave the Giants a call, a heads-up, just so they weren’t caught off guard, and nobody there lodged any complaints with us."

Bonds broke McGwire’s season mark with 73 home runs in 2001, then passed Babe Ruth for second on the career homers list last year - leaving only Hammerin’ Hank in his way.

When asked whether he thought Bonds had used steroids, Pierre responded: "I don’t know. I’m staying away from that one."

● DIAMONDBACKS BRING UP UPTON: Arizona’s top prospect, outfielder Justin Upton, got his first big-league callup yesterday after the first-place Diamondbacks put Carlos Quentin on the disabled list with a strained hamstring.

Upton, the No. 1 pick overall in the June 2005 draft, was promoted from Double-A Mobile. He arrived at Petco Park in time for Arizona’s series finale against the San Diego Padres and entered the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning. He fouled out to first in his only at-bat.

Upton’s brother, B.J., was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with the second overall pick in the 2002 draft, making them the only brother combination to be selected as the No. 1 and No. 2 choices in different drafts.

Upton was batting .310 with Mobile, fifth in the Southern League, with 13 homers, 53 RBI and 10 stolen bases.

Quentin tweaked a hamstring while running out a two-out double in Wednesday’s 9-5 win over San Diego.