Prediction: At some point before the All-Star break, the situation regarding Barry Bonds will become a full-blown issue. We’re talking meetings with the commissioner, panel discussions on television, George Will’s furrowed brow reaching his bow tie. Maybe even a convoy of television satellite trucks heading to a hospital somewhere.

It’s on its way. It’s building. More incidents like the one that happened Thursday night, and it might arrive sooner rather than later. When Pedro Astacio threw a 94 mph fastball directly at Bonds’ right ear -- the first pitch after Bonds’ 11th homer -- it became clear that baseball will have to deal with this.

Dusty Baker thought the head-hunting was out of control before Astacio -- fully in character -- sent his message. Everyone knows Bonds stands on top of the plate and wears armor on his elbow, but there’s a difference between backing a guy off the plate and aiming lasers at his dome.

Through 33 games, Bonds has walked 45 times and been hit five times. The sum of those two (50) exceeds the number of outs Bonds has made (49), which ought to be a record of some sort.

Pitchers seem to have decided to deal with Bonds in two ways: 1) avoid him whenever possible, which is nothing new; 2) attempt to intimidate him after he burns them. So far, the intimidation hasn’t been aimed at his knees, either, prompting Baker to raise the idea of a bounty.

Umpires have never had to deal with something like this. It didn’t happen with Mark McGwire, and it hasn’t happened with Sammy Sosa. For all the dreamy, I’d-drill-my-grandma nostalgia of the old days, the numbers don’t bear it out. For instance, Babe Ruth wasn’t hit once the year he hit 60.

Bonds has shown no sign of being intimidated, and he hasn’t even threatened to charge the mound. Partly because of that, it’s going to take more than a warning to both benches to get it under control.

The umpires and the league can deal with it -- or they can sit back and let the Giants handle it themselves, which is the most frightening prospect. They did it once before, when Felix Rodriguez drilled Sean Casey in the ribs as retaliation for Gabe White’s skull-high shot at Bonds.

Next time, though, they might decide a head-for-a-head is the only way to stop it. Let’s hope not, though. Not everybody is as quick to duck as Bonds.

This Week's List

It’s that nasty West Coast bias you hear so much about: In the MVP voting, Jason Kidd was apparently hurt by being in the Eastern Conference, when he probably should have been celebrated for saving the Eastern Conference.

“Your attention please -- we have a chamomile body scrub and spirulina body mask for Mr. Van Exel”: Sitting at their lockers in plush terrycloth robes after Thursday’s game, the Mavericks looked like CEOs at the local five-diamond resort, trying to explain away a books-cooking scheme.

Stock going up: Tony Parker.

Stock going down: Raef LaFrentz.

Always better than you expect: Derek Fisher.

Random thought while watching Don Nelson hold his coaches-only huddle during a timeout: If you’re a basketball coach and you’re not an assistant for the Mavericks, hang in there -- the call will eventually come.

How has the NBA changed?: In 1988, the Detroit Pistons ranked third in the league in defense, allowing 104.1 points per game; this year the Mavericks led the league in offense, scoring 105.2 per game.

It’s either “Practice Makes Perfect” or “Father Knows Everything”: Larry Brown and Allen Iverson need their own sitcom.

Sociological observation: It would be a lot easier to side with Brown in Brown v. Iverson if the coach didn’t sound so damned paternalistic and condescending.

There are two ways to look at the traveling call on Kobe Bryant that ended Game 2 against the Spurs: 1) amazing -- they called traveling at a crucial moment, on a star player, or; 2) amazing -- how did they miss the first travel, the one that happened before he got into the air and passed to himself?

For some reason, the following four words are among the funniest in the history of sport: Three to make two.

Just for the heck of it: Scipio Spinks.

On Thursday, I had a choice in halftime entertainment: 1) watch Charles Barkley make fun of Craig Sager -- here’s the barrel, there are the fish -- on TNT, or; 2) watch the Sacramento station, where the bulk of the break was filled with a behind-the-scenes look at how the workers get Arco Arena ready for a game.

Oh, in case you’re interested: It takes lots of cases of soda, some security guards, dudes putting the floor in place, everyone loving their job and, of course, the Kings.

Center stage in the Kings-Mavericks series, against most odds: Mike Bibby and Steve Nash.

Hey, while you’re at it, how about taking a few quick snips at Scot Pollard’s facial hair?: It’s today’s odd fact -- Bibby sits on the bench and clips his fingernails after the first quarter of every single game.

And finally, just as everybody predicted, the best off-season move of the baseball season was: Grady Little, manager, Boston Red Sox.

Tim Keown is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at tim.keown@espnmag.com.