The Final 9

By PAUL ELIAS
Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Prosecutors trying to prove Barry Bonds lied when he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs suffered a setback Thursday, with a federal judge saying she might toss some of the strongest evidence against the home-run king.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said her "preliminary thoughts" were to exclude from trial three 2000-2001 positive drug tests that prosecutors say belong to Bonds unless there is a direct link that the urine samples came from the former San Francisco Giants slugger.

"If there's no testimony to establish that, I don't think any of them work," Illston said.

The only person who can do that seems to be Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, who spent more than a year behind bars for refusing to speak to a federal grand jury investigating Bonds. And Anderson's attorney, Mark Geragos, has said his client will not testify against Bonds at the trial, scheduled to start March 2.

Judge may toss some evidence in Bonds case....