Aside from two little blurbs about guests, I haven't written here since the Super Bowl. Call it embarrassment after my long winded "your an idiot if you picked the Giants" piece (sorry about that, by the way). It was more of a much needed break after a long football season, or more accurately, reaction to that odd feeling that football fans and writers alike get in the first few days after the Super Bowl. But like seasons change, so do sports and we have to move on. So here's another one of those mish-mosh columns that I like writing so much.
- I guess I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about the hearings on Capitol Hill Wednesday. I watched about forty five minutes of that and realized that there were better things I could be doing with my time. Like hacking my arm off with a fork. It's not that I'm not interested. I am. I just don't see the point of it all. It's pretty obvious to me that both McNamee and Clemens aren't going to back off there story in any way. If they didn't do it in front of Congress, their never going to do it. There will be no recourse from this. People can say that Congress is going to go after one of them for purgery, but I'll believe that when I see it.
I haven't decided what is worse, that one of these men lied to Congress or that I actually believe that both men believe whole-heartedly that what they are saying (or what they have been told to say) is the absolute truth. If you have ever told an elaborate lie to someone you know that, after a while, no matter how far fetched it may be, you begin to believe it. Roger Clemens seams to believe that he did not take steroids or HGH. Whether that's Clemens being arrogant or just plain stupid is up to interpretation. Other then Clemens, I don't think anyone in there right mind thinks that he is telling the truth. How could you? He seamed downright flustered and confused at the simplest of questions. Would a man who doesn't have anything to hide use the word "mis-remembered" multiple times. Clemens may be dumb, but he's not that dumb.
One thing I do find a bit curious is this. Haven't these ballplayers who persist that they never did illegal substances noticed a trend? Those who admit to steroid or HGH use are treated far less harshly in the court of public opinion then those who lie about it. One has to look no further then Andy Pettite. He was caught, admitted guilt, and apologized. Pettite is now being treated like he is the most moral person on the face of the earth. If you know anything about the lefty, that’s not too far from the truth either. Take former Met reliever Guillmo Mota as another example. He tested positive after the 2006 season. It surprised no one, based on the incredible jump in production he made when he was traded to the Mets from the Indians. Mota came out the next day and apologized. He served his fifty games and was back. He was still booed by Met fans, but not because he was busted for steroids. He was booed because he was awful. I was actually calling for him to start juicing again in July (I was joking, of course..........I was........ really) Of course, Mota is no where near Clemens in stature or talent but one still wonders if history would have judged The Rocket differently if he had come out and apologized. Instead, he's throwing everyone in the world under the bus to save his name.
That’s not to say he isn't doing a good job of it either. Like I wrote in early January after that sham of a press conference, I want to believe to Roger. But I just can't. Probably because I have some mixture of common sense and intelligence (or at least I like to think so) But I'll give good ol' Roger this, I think he has an earnest appearance. He didn't come off as arrogant Wednesday. He came off as lost. He believes everything he is saying and that's pretty obvious. Too bad its so obviously a lie. But that brings up a rather interesting philosophical question, is it really a lie if you, yourself, believe it as the absolute truth? Isn't that just mis-information? Maybe it's not Petite that is guilty of "mis-remembering", maybe its Clemens.
- On a lighter note, here is a College Basketball pick for Friday: First off, I'm very excited. Rarely do they have any college games on Friday during the regular season. They use that day to rest up for the weekend game. This is usually why I'm so bored on Friday nights. Not only do we have a game, we have a pretty good Big East contest. Pittsburgh goes on the road to take on Marquette. Big news for Pitt. It looks like point guard Levance Fields will play for the first time since he broke his foot seven weeks ago. Fields is averaging just under 12 points a game, and just over five assists. This puts Ronald Ramon back at his original shooting guard position. Fields gives a team that has been decimated by injury more depth. Look for Pitt to surge in the next few weeks and move up rapidly in the polls before the tournament starts. The Big East only gets better and better (have I mentioned how ridiculously excited I am for this years Big East Tournament? Well, I am). Pitt wins on the road.
- Jordan Lauterbach: The Edge (Mondays 9-11pm) and Fourth Down (Fridays 9-10pm) only on mywcwp.com
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