Court: Feds can have drug testing data

Government investigators are entitled to the names and urine samples of about 100 Major League Baseball players who tested positive for illegal drug use in 2003, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The court's ruling could bolster the government's perjury case against Barry Bonds if his name is among those who tested positive. The slugger has been the target of a perjury investigation since he testified before a grand jury that he didn't knowingly ingest illegal drugs.

Greg Anderson, Bonds' personal trainer, is currently in prison for refusing to testify in the perjury probe. Anderson was previously convicted of steroids distribution.

Investigators seized computer files containing the test results in 2004 during raids on three labs involved in the Major League Baseball testing program the previous year.

The samples had been collected by the league as part of a survey to gauge the prevalence of steroid use. The results were to be kept secret.

Michael Weiner, general counsel for the Major League Baseball Players Union, didn't immediately respond to a telephone call and e-mail seeking comment.