Am I the only one who doesn’t care about the Roger Clemens hearing?
Okay, dumb question.
I’m most definitely the only one.
Roger Clemens was the top story on Around the Horn, PTI and Sportscenter on Tuesday. It is currently the main story on ESPN.com and USAToday.com. Not USAToday.com’s sports page, but the top story on USAToday.com. Now Sportscenter is running a “Roger Clemens congressional hearing special” at 9:30 Wednesday morning.
Allow me to ask another dumb question: Why?
I don’t care anymore. I don’t give a flying Saltalamacchia, and neither should anyone. Why do we keep allowing sports terrorism to take the focus off of what we really care about: The game?
I can’t tell you how many people in the past week have asked me if I believe Brian McNamee or Clemens.
Who do I believe? I’m not pathetic enough to even form an opinion on the matter.
I don’t care about the old gauze pads, I don’t care what Jose Canseco says, I don’t care why Andy Pettite won’t be there and I really don’t care what John Rocker says.
Instead, I care about my favorite team trading it’s best pitcher last week. I care about Torri Hunter making the Angels very dangerous. I care about spring training.
Apparently, I’m in the minority here, but I still prefer the game of baseball over a bunch of old, rich, cranky bureaucrats and lawyers sitting around arguing about who has the bigger Louisville Slugger.
Don’t try to tell me this is about cleaning up baseball, either. It’s not. This is about Clemens wanting to clear his name, which is fine, but it doesn’t need to be shoved down our throats.
Chad Johnson wants a trade, the best team in the NHL has lost four in a row, the NBA’s Western Conference is loaded with contenders and Stan Van Gundy just threw his best player under the bus.
With all that going on, what do I care about some washed-up pitcher fielding questions from a group of congressmen who, quite frankly, have much more important things to do with their time?
Granted, this is a little different than the other doping proceedings of the past year because Clemens is facilitating all of this himself. He wants people to believe him and he has every right to do what he deems necessary.
In the end, though, it’s still irrelevant.
Let’s suppose for a moment that McNamee takes the stand and admits he lied about everything he ever said about Clemens and everything he told George Mitchell.
Then what? What are the consequences? Will players stop using drugs next season? Will fans be more assured that their favorite players are clean? Will the “steroids era” come to an end? No.
No matter what transpires tomorrow in Washington D.C., nothing will change.
If congress truly wants to clean up professional sports, it would be looking inside the game to do so.
Unfortunately, congress has no desire to clean up sports. It wants to embarrass people and point fingers.
Me, I’m going to remain a sports fan. I’m not watching as much as one frame of Sportscenter Wednesday morning, and shame on anyone who does, because that’s exactly what sports terrorists want.
Combine the Clemens hearing with Roger Goodell’s meeting with Arlen Specter, and tomorrow is practically Mardi Gras for sports terrorists.
I just have one question: Does anyone know where I can get some sports news?
Busted Scoreboard 
You’re so far off base, don’t bother diving back to first when the pick-off throw comes. This thing has to get cleaned up. Period.
I admit I’m getting steroid-news fatigue as much as anyone, but to suggest that sports exists on a cultural island and has no influence on or relevance to the larger culture is willfully ignorant. Blaming congress for tainting the game is like blaming the scientists for global warming.
A lively argument! Rickey salutes you!
dude – are you a twins fan? do you care if santana juices? everybody juices, dude. what planet are you living on? did you care that bonds juiced? should we have two leagues? one that combines all-star wrestling with baseball for chemically-created freaks to “hit the long ball” or win cy young’s at 50? and one for the regular, tobacco-chewing hicks from bum fuck who still play a lot of the grand old game? dude, are you juicing?
Are you my nephew, son of Richard and Marilyn, brother of Joshua, uncle of the newest little Schlossenberg? if so, write to me and we will share thoughts.
I don’t know why all of this controversy didn’t end with Tiger Woods’ wavefront laser eye surgery – the man now has far greater than 20/20 vision. He is, in no exagerration of the word, superhuman.
So what’s the difference if these idiots jam themselves full of steroids and blood dope and whatever the fuck else? They’re inhuman monsters to begin with. Practically bred. The role of genetics also severely undermines any nonsense about ‘hard work’ and meritocracy.
It’s about time we admitted that athletes, all of them, are nothing more than entertainers, and their activities no more than that: an act.