(Reuters) - Federal prosecutors dropped one of five charges against Barry Bonds on Wednesday as the baseball home run king's lawyers rested their case without calling any witnesses.

Bonds has pleaded not guilty to perjury charges stemming from his denial to a grand jury in 2003 that he had ever knowingly taken performance-enhancing drugs.

The attorneys for both sides said they would give their closing arguments on Thursday, followed by jury deliberations in the case, one of the last strands of a probe into steroid use in professional sports that stunned the nation.

Bonds entered the court smiling on Wednesday, pausing to greet friends and family in the front row before taking his seat with his attorneys.

Government prosecutors had filed four charges that he lied to a grand jury pegged to four specific statements, as well as an obstruction of justice charge.

On Wednesday, the prosecution bowed to an argument by Bonds' attorneys that there was no evidence for one of the charges against the slugger -- that Bonds lied when he said he never "took anything" from his personal trainer prior to the 2003 baseball season.

"No, no, no, not at all," Bonds told the grand jury. "Not at all."

Based on the context, Bonds' answer could be narrowly understood to mean that he never took the "clear" and the "cream," a specific preparation of drugs meant to increase an athlete's testosterone in a way that could not be detected.

But the prosecution never presented evidence that Bonds used that specific drug before the 2003 season started, defense attorney Dennis Riordan argued.

Or Bonds' answer could be broadly understood to mean that Bonds never took any substance at all from his trainer -- even a hot dog, Riordan pointed out. In that case, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said, the answer is so vague as to be meaningless.

The grand jury was investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative whose head pleaded guilty to dispensing steroids to professional athletes.

Bonds hit 762 home runs, more than any other player in the history of Major League Baseball. While playing for the San Francisco Giants, Bonds broke Hank Aaron's 33-year-old career home run record in August 2007.

Three months later, a grand jury indicted him on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

Bonds told the grand jury he did not knowingly use steroids or human growth hormone and said he never questioned the flaxseed oil, vitamins, protein shakes and creams his trainer supplied him.

The prosecution's decision to drop this charge leaves four others. The first three are charges of giving "false statements." First, he said, "not that I know of" when asked if he took steroids. Second, he said, "No, no," when asked if anyone had given him an injection other than a physician. Third, he said, "No," when asked if his trainer ever gave him anything he understood to be a human growth hormone.

TV star attends pep rally is “Principal for a Day”

By Jon D. Gaede, BVN Sports –

The students of Rialto High School were treated to a special day with the well known entertainer and television host, Nick Cannon.

The unique appearance was provided by the United States Army and radio station 99.1 FM. The station sponsored a contest to promote student participation on it’s website. Rialto students were the clear winners.

Rialto Superintendent, Dr. Harold L. Cebrun Jr. was so pleased that the radio station had provided such a wonderful opportunity for the students.

Cannon, known for his role in the classic film “Drumline”, rap music and TV hosting was a big hit with the students on Monday.

Cannon’s natural high energy connects well with the student body as he encouraged young people to reach for their dreams.

Rialto High School is a high spirited campus. The majority of students seem to be involved in a program or activity offered by the school. Sports, Naval ROTC and a variety of student organizations were represented at the pep rally.

The honored guest was treated to outstanding performances by the Rialto High School Marching Band, the pep squad and the drama department.

Cannon, a multi talent has not only survived in a tough industry, he has developed himself into host for NBC. Cannon is a young man who appears to be in control of his destiny, a theme he encourages others to follow.

In a special moment, the outstanding varsity girls basketball team was introduced and provided personal time with Nick. The ‘Lady Knights‘ (34-4) are the most successful basketball team in the school’s history.

The girls won the Southern Section CIF Championship on March 5th in Anaheim. On March 19, at USC’s Galen Center, the Lady Knights, on a last second shot by Janae Sharpe, won their State Regional and played in the State Championship in Sacramento.

Cannon currently hosts NBC’s ‘America’s Got Talent’ as he and his wife Mariah Carey are expecting their first child.

By Jon D. Gaede, BVN Sports –

The Arizona Wildcats, loaded with Southern California talent, needed more last minute heroic result, to earn a trip to Houston and the Final Four.

After handling the number one seeded, reigning National Champion Duke Blue Devils on Thursday night, Arizona joined Butler and Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) as unlikely teams to win their regions.

Derek Williams, the sophomore forward from La Mirada was the Pac 10 ‘Player of the Year’ for Arizona. To reach the Western Regional Final, Williams poured in 32 points and brought down 13 rebounds in an impressive 93-77 victory over Duke. Kyle Fogg, the junior guard form Brea-Olinda H.S. added 14 in the victory.

In order to get to the Final Four, the Wildcats would have to beat powerhouse UConn and Kemba Walker. CBS and a national television audience were the winners as Arizona produced another highly competitive, never say die effort.

Down 44-38 at halftime, the Wildcats had some key players, to include Williams in foul trouble. Arizona caught the Huskies and went ahead 55-54 with six minutes to play. What looked like Arizona momentum, turned into turnovers, whistles and a few athletic baskets by UConn’s All American, Kemba Walker.

With 12 seconds on the clock and possession, Derrek Williams and Jamelle Horn each launched shots from threepoint range that missed. The partisan Arizona crowd was stunned, their magical run had ended 65-63.

UConn will now travel the toughest road as they face Kentucky in the Final Four in Houston.

By Gary Montgomery, Staff Writer –

The Inland Empire was well represented at the California Interscholastic Federation’s Southern Section Regional Basketball Championship playoff semi-finals on Saturday.

The crowd of 8,169 at the Galen Center on USC’s Campus was treated to a full day of exciting high school hoops and a plethora of future college stars. Every game was competitive and a few provided endings worthy of March Madness lore.

Four Inland area schools made it to the Southern Section Final vying for a chance to represent the Southern Section next week in Sacramento and hopefully win a coveted California State Championship.

Rialto High Girls, Summit High School Boys, Canyon Springs Girls and Corona Centennial Boys all battled their way to Saturday’s Southern Section Finals.

First up, the Division II Rialto High Girls (32-3), San Andreas League and CIF-SS Champions took on Channel League Champion Ventura Buena (26-7). After running out to an 18 -12 lead over Buena, the Knights went cold and led at the half by only 3 points at 18-15. The second half continued much the same way until late in the fourth quarter when Rialto had seemingly taken control of the game. The Knights had a 5- point lead with 4:38 left to play when fouling fever struck the Knights sending Buena’s best player, Keani Albanez to the free throw line on three consecutive possessions and flipping the lead to 40-42 Buena. With only 15 seconds remaining in the game and Buena only one stop away from victory, Rialto’s Janaè Sharp slashed between Buena defenders and made a driving layup to tie the score at 42-42.

Buena got the inbound pass to a wide open Albanez streaking toward the basket for an open lay-up when a collision with Rialto’s Summer Webb resulted in a controversial offensive foul call and giving the ball back to Rialto with .02 seconds left. After a time out, Britanni Walker launched a pass up court as if she were throwing it to the basket, when suddenly, out of nowhere, streaking in from the sidelines, Janaè Sharp ran away from her defender, angled toward the ball, caught it on the bounce and pulled up for an 8’ foot runner that went straight thought the net for a 42-40 win and a trip Sacramento on Friday. “We tried to run a decoy for Janaè because we knew they would try to box her in but we were fortunate and surprised that we got just what we wanted,” said Rialto Head Coach Michael Anderson. The Knights will play St Mary’s Stockton Friday Night at Power Balance Pavilion (formerly Arco Arena) for the Division II State Title.

Next up were the Summit Skyhawks 27-7 against San Diego Lincoln (31-1) for the Boys Division II Title. The high flying Skyhawks making their first ever appearance at the section finals showed the typical nervousness of appearing forthe first time. Lincoln led the Skyhawks 22-12 at the end of the first and 37-28 at the half. Things weren’t getting any better for Summit still down 56-48 at the end of the third. However, the Skyhawks had an unexpected surprise for the Hornets in the fourth. Led by their incredibly athletic front line the Skyhawks shut down San Diego’s offense and won the game 74-69 earning a trip to the State Finals.

Summit will play Arch Bishop Mitty Friday evening at Power Balance Pavilion (formerly Arco Arena) for the Division II State Championship.

With the IE on a 2-2 roll it was the Canyon Springs Girls turn. The Lady Cougars (30-3) led by their senior star Tear’a Laudermill and sporting the best season in school history were making their second appearance in the Regional finals taking on perennial powerhouse Santa Ana Mater Dei. The Cougars stayed close early trailing 19-12 at the end of the first quarter but managing to claw their way to a mere 1-point deficit at half-time down 25-24. But the second half belonged to the bigger stronger Mater Dei team led by Uconn bound Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis’ 23 points quickly made the adjustments and were simply too strong for the Cougars. The Monarchs outscored Canyon Springs 34- 20 in the second half and won the game 59-44 in their 7th appearance in the Regional finals. Mater Dei will play Berkeley on Saturday evening at Power Balance Pavillion (formerly Arco Arena).

Last up and task with getting the IE back on a winning track was the Corona Centennial Huskies (30-4) against perennial boy’s powerhouse Mater Dei (30-3). Led by its incredibly talented scoring duo of point guard Michael Caffey and guard/forward Dominic Dunning, the Huskies used a swarming defense to hold the Monarchs down for the first quarted scratching out a 3-point lead after the first quarter and a 34- 27 lead at the half. The Huskies played an inspiring first half but Mater Dei outscored Corona 20-8 in the third quarter and went on to win the game 76-64 and move on to the State Championship game on Saturday evening in Sacramento. Powerful Mater Dei simply has too much of everything and most public schools like the Huskies don’t have the depth to last against the Monarchs. With an18 player roster and at least 10 qualified starters, they are simply wearing down most teams.

The Huskies have nothing to be down about. They represented their school and community with dignity and were an awful lot of fun to watch. And frankly, I am sure that this is not the last time we will see Coach Josh Giles and his team in the finals.

Gmontgomery can be reached at sports@blackvoicenews.com