TIMELINE \ Barry Bonds and steroid allegations

A look at Barry Bonds and the steroid allegations surrounding him:
Dec. 4, 2003 -- Barry Bonds testified to a federal grand jury that he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by personal trainer Greg Anderson, but didn't know they were steroids, according to transcripts later obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Dec. 11, 2003 -- Yankees slugger Jason Giambi told the grand jury he used steroids for at least three seasons and injected himself with human growth hormone during 2003, according to the transcripts.
Feb. 12, 2004 -- Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson; track coach Remi Korchemny; BALCO president Victor Conte; and BALCO vice president James Valente charged in 42-count federal indictment with running a steroid-distribution ring that provided performance-enhancing drugs to dozens of athletes.
April 12, 2004 -- The Food and Drug Administration bans the sale of androstenedione, the steroid precursor used by Mark McGwire while setting the home run record in 1998. The FDA action automatically triggered a ban by baseball.
Jan. 13, 2005 -- MLB players and owners reached a new drug-testing agreement calling for more banned substances and a 10-day penalty for first-time offenders.
Feb. 14, 2005 -- Former major leaguer Jose Canseco said in a new book that he injected McGwire with steroids and introduced several other players to the drugs.
March 17, 2005 -- Testifying before the House Government Reform Committee, McGwire evaded questions about steroid use as he testified alongside Canseco, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro, who denies having used steroids. Lawmakers scolded commissioner Bud Selig and union leader Donald Fehr, saying baseball's penalties were too lenient.
April 3, 2005 -- Tampa Bay outfielder Alex Sanchez became the first player suspended for steroids under the league's new policy.
April 25, 2005 -- Selig asked players to agree to a 50-game suspension for first-time steroid offenders, a 10-game ban for second offenders and a lifetime ban for a third violation. He asked that amphetamines be tested for, that there be more frequent testing and that administration of drug testing be shifted to an independent person from the management-union committee.
July 15, 2005 -- Conte and Anderson pleaded guilty to steroid distribution and money laundering, and Valente pleaded guilty to one count of distributing illegal steroids.
July 29, 2005 -- Korchemny pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of doling out the sleep-disorder drug modafinil.
Aug. 1, 2005 -- Palmeiro was suspended for 10 days for testing positive for stanozolol, becoming the most prominent player to be penalized for steroids. Twelve players in all were suspended in 2005, each for 10 days.
Sept. 26, 2005 -- Fehr countered Selig by proposing a 20-game suspension for first offense, a 75-game penalty for second and leaving the penalty for a third positive to the commissioner's discretion. Union said it would agree to test for amphetamines.
Sept. 28, 2005 -- Career home run leader Hank Aaron and four other baseball Hall of Famers accompanied Selig to a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, where Sen. John McCain criticizes Fehr for inaction.
Oct. 18, 2005 -- Conte was sentenced to four months in prison and four months' home confinement; Anderson sentenced to three months in prison and three months in home confinement; Valente sentenced to probation.
Nov. 15, 2005 -- Players and owners agreed, subject to ratification, to Selig's 50-game, 100-game, lifetime structure for penalties, to test for amphetamines and to shift administration of testing to an independent person.
Dec. 1, 2005 -- Conte began serving a four-month prison sentence in a minimum security prison in Taft, Calif., about 120 miles from Los Angeles.
Feb. 7, 2006 -- Conte settled a $25 million defamation lawsuit brought by track star Marion Jones over allegations that she used banned performance-enhancing drugs.
Feb. 25, 2006 -- Korchemny sentenced to a year of probation after a federal judge says she was moved by stories of his tireless coaching of track athletes.
March 7, 2006 -- "Game of Shadows," a book by San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, said Barry Bonds used a vast array of performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids and human growth hormone, for at least five seasons beginning in 1998.
March 30, 2006 -- Conte released from prison and insisted he never gave performance-enhancing drugs to Barry Bonds and that "Game of Shadows" is "full of outright lies."
April 14, 2006 -- Sources said a federal grand jury is investigating whether Bonds committed perjury when he testified in 2003 that he never knowingly used steroids.
April 27, 2006 -- Patrick Arnold, a noted scientist in the field of sports nutritional supplements, pleaded guilty to supplying BALCO with the performance-enhancing drug known as "the clear."
May 6, 2006 -- "Game of Shadows" authors Fainaru-Wada and Williams were called to testify before a federal grand jury investigating who leaked them the secret testimony of Bonds, Giambi and others. They fight the subpoenas.
June 6, 2006 -- Federal investigators raided the home of Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Jason Grimsley in Scottsdale, Ariz., as part of their steroids investigation.
July 5, 2006 -- Anderson found in contempt of court and ordered back to prison after refusing to testify before the federal grand jury investigating Bonds for perjury.
Associated Press