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"Player Under Pressure" is episode eleven of season three of Bones, the forensic drama television series loosely based on the novels and life of anthropologist Kathy Reichs. In this episode a body is found crushed to death behind the bleachers. It's a bit messy.
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Body in the Bleachers
Brennan and Booth are at a college campus - one where Brennan gave a fairly esoteric lecture the previous year and only four people turned up (there was a basketball game on across the country; basketball is big at this college - she is not that impressed by the lack of dedication to learning). The practice gym had been opened up after a four day weekend and something was found behind the bleachers. The bleachers had closed on a body, crushing it and forcing the skull into, and through, a heating grate, said heating having made the body decompose pretty fast. And a rat has made a nest and had babies in the corpse.
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The Former Star Basketball Player
The dead man is wearing a necklace which would seem to identify him as the college basketball team's star player. Well, former star player. Although the corpse smells of alcohol, suggesting that the player passed out and was then crushed when the bleachers were folded up, the skull shows signs that he was hit repeatedly first. Well, what's left of the skull does. The teeth implants confirm the victim's identity. An experiment with a skull and a turkey confirms that the player was murdered.
People are Not Cooperating
People do not seem to be as cooperative as they could be, and a Mr Francis, a former alumni who hangs around the team providing 'help' (Booth believes he's hanging around for the money), keeps cropping up - and the player, RJ, had recently punched Francis. RJ wasn't drunk either - someone had emptied a bottle over him - nor were there any sedatives in his system. He did test positive for steroids though. The coach has no tolerance for steroids though - he has terminal brain cancer caused by steroids, and neither money nor career are big incentives for him. He is also more than willing to ensure every team member gets tested for steroids, and none test positive for them - although one of the samples is duplicated.
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Plenty of Suspects, But Not a Surprising Conclusion
It doesn't look like the steroids have anything to do with the murder though. There do seem to be a number of potential suspects though. The actual murderer is not as big as a surprise as they could be.
Booth and Brennan on Basketball and War
Brennan does not get the appeal of basketball. Or why sport is given such a priority in universities. Booth does not appreciate her comments on sports being a childish substitute for war - especially as he's fought in a war.
Bones Season 3 Trailer
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