Attorneys for Barry Bonds urged a federal judge Wednesday to toss out charges accusing baseball's all-time home run king of lying to a grand jury about his alleged steroid use. They said the questions asked during his testimony were too ambiguous.
For instance, Bonds' attorneys said, prosecutors asked him during his December 2003 grand jury appearance if he had "taken anything like" steroids.
"We simply think the questions and answers are far too confusing or vague to support a valid conviction," Bonds' attorney Dennis Riordan argued.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said she would rule on Bonds' request.
Bonds had testified that he never knowingly took any performance-enhancing drugs. Federal prosecutors have said they will prove at trial that Bonds' personal trainer supplied him with steroids in the months before he set baseball's season home run mark in 2001.
Bonds is charged with 14 counts of making false declarations to a grand jury and one count of obstruction of justice.
His lawyers asked the judge Wednesday to toss out 10 of the charges.
He has pleaded not guilty to all counts and is scheduled for trial March 2.
TENNIS
Williams sisters win, will play each other
Venus and Serena Williams won round-robin matches at the season-ending Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships at Doha, Qatar, and next face a familiar opponent: each other.
Venus endured a struggle against Elena Dementieva, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, to win her second match, and Serena romped past Dinara Safina, 6-4, 6-1, in her first match.
Today, they meet for the 18th time in their professional careers, with Serena holding a 9-8 edge.
Vera Zvonareva remained unbeaten in handing an ailing Ana Ivanovic her second defeat, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4.
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Defending champion Roger Federer will face Andy Roddick and Andy Murray in group play at the season-ending Masters Cup next week at Shanghai.
The draw of the top eight players -- using numbered fortune cookies -- put Federer in the Red Group along with Gilles Simon.
The second-ranked Federer became the top-seeded player when No. 1 Rafael Nadal withdrew because of tendinitis in his right knee.
Third-ranked Novak Djokovic is seeded No. 1 in the Blue Group, which includes Nikolay Davydenko; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin Del Potro.
SOCCER
Juventus defeats Real Madrid, 2-0
