A Renteria update, Bonds has some charges dropped, fiance looking to do the same to this guy?

November 26, 11:40 AMSan Francisco Giants ExaminerTheo Fightmaster

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Renteria, seen above, is ready to find a new home, bat, glove and wrap-around shades in tow. 

Updating Renteria-gate. 

Thanks to Sweeny Murti of New York's WFAN Radio, Giants fans gasped Monday...twice.  Once when they heard the team had agreed to pay the 33-year-old shortstop more than $18 million over the next two seasons, and then again out of relief when the Giants' own website debunked the story.

A rumor that grew legs quicker than a "Jaime Lynn Spears is pregnant again" scoop was eventually denied and rebuked by all parties Monday evening.  Edgar Renteria is not a Giant...yet.  And though there is no finalized deal, the team is still talking to his rep, as well as vying for the services of Rafael Furcal, Orlando Hudson and the Orlando of Cabrera.

It seems the Giants are determined to rebuild around mid-tier veterans in the waning part of their careers. A bold plan indeed.  I had no idea how progressive they were? 

Most of the government's charges against Barry bonds remain intact, as does this guy's nifty back tattoo.

Not exactly a Hall of Fame worthy canvas.

Attempting to shed some light on a story first brought to us by David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks, let's take a moment to admire a true fan.

While the common fan merely spends around $75 to wear a jersey of hers or his favorite athletes, Gary O'Brien used the ancient practice of body art to show his loyalty to Barry Lamar Bonds.

O'Brien, or as he prefers to be called, The King of Steak, embarked on his journey of perpetual Bonds partisanship in the winter of 2007.  That winter came on the heels of Barry Bonds's 2007 season where he became the MLB Home Run King.  Once Bonds went unsigned it was time for O'Brien to pay homage; one king to another.

One day, while at a friend's home, O'Brien instructed said friend and apparent hobby tattoo artist, to etch the name "Bonds" on his upper back in the same size and font as found on Barry's old Giants uniform.  The number 25 was then also inked in the center of O'Brien's back to complete the soon to be popular naked jersey look.

The Bonds celebration, however, was not yet complete.  Just left of the small of the King of Steak's back, rests an image of Bonds in his signature post home run pose; arms raised, eyes looking skyward, triumphantly enjoying another blast as he crosses home plate.

O'Brien, who lives in a parallel universe in Syracuse, New York, works in a steak house and collects autographs of celebrity poker stars, is not yet satisfied with the tattoo.  Acknowledging that Bonds is "not retired," the back art, or bart for short, is not finished either.  When Bonds officially hangs them up, O'Brien will complete his back mural with an image of the AT&T Park video scoreboard showing Bonds's final home run number, likely 762, the total Bonds currently has compiled.

As you may be aware, body art isn't cheap.  But when asked how much the tattoo set him back (I'll give you a second for that one...), O'Brien claims he actually made a profit on the San Francisco ink; and based on our figures, he's right.  You see, before he went through with the tattoo, a second and unconfirmed friend bet O'Brien $1000 that he would not actually get the ink. According to Examiner.com's math education examiner, that is approximately a $700 profit; all for a simple, understated, innocuous, and might I say classy tattoo.

While you may be questioning your own loyalty right now, please be kind to yourself.  We cannot all be great.  We can merely hope to be inspired by greatness and watch in harmonious gratitude on the rare occasion (like this one given to us by Bonds and O'Brien) that greatness can inspire more greatness, bettering our world.  The holiday season is upon us and it is the perfect time to give thanks.  While I hope we all have many things to be thankful for, let us take a moment to thank those that inspire us to attempt to be great in our own right.  Here's to you, Gary O'Brien, the King of Steak and so much more.

Oh yeah, you can watch him show off his sweet "bart" below... a true treasure.