How A Reporter Eavesdropped On Barry Bonds's Grand Jury Testimony

Ten years ago today, Barry Bonds testified before a grand jury investigating BALCO that he did not know the substances he was taking were illegal steroids. It was that claim which would lead to Bonds being indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, and convicted of the latter. The testimony was supposed to be private, but in a coup, the New York Daily News had the story the next morning. Now we know how the Daily News got it.

T.J. Quinn, now with ESPN, was the Daily News' man at the San Francisco courthouse that day. To celebrate the 10-year anniversary, Quinn took to his Twitter account to recount for the first time—at least to a large audience—exactly how he ended up with the massive scoop.

So, this anecdote should be taught in journalism schools. Sometimes the best reporting is a happy accident, but happy accidents tend to happen to the best reporters.