Lester Munson on the Barry Bonds trial

In a way I suppose it’s a sad commentary that ESPN felt the need to hire a full-time legal columnist, but I’m certainly glad it’s Lester Munson. He’s a sensible thinker and a wonderfully fresh writer.

In principle, what could be more draining then to read about athletes on trial? But whenever I see a Munson column up on ESPN.com, it’s the first thing I click. These trials are a kind of sport in themselves, and Munson’s your man if you want to know what’s going on. I’ve never seen him make a false prediction or theatrically overstate what he thinks he knows.

Anyway, here’s his LATEST COLUMN ON THE BONDS TRIAL, which is a perjury trial concerning Bonds’s denial of steroid use. It sure sounds like the prosecutors have made some big mistakes in the courtroom and Bonds will be acquitted.

I once met Munson briefly on the set of the Chicago Sportswriters TV show. Ironically, this had nothing at all to do with my own brief sportswriting career, which wasn’t yet even on the radar. I was simply invited to the set one day by a casual friend who knew all the panelists. Munson was a prince. He was truly curious to know what a Philosophy Ph.D. program was like, and he also knew an astonishing number of sports facts about small Iowa colleges near where I grew up. He’s one of those people who actually listens to what you’re saying and doesn’t pretend to know more than he does. You can see that in his columns as well.