Congress and Steriods

I am pleased to find out that Congress has solved all of the country's problems that they can now delve into the world of sports. With another Congressional hearing yesterday on steriods in baseball, all eyes in the sports world was turned to Washington D.C.

After Mitchell Report on steriod in baseball came out in December, the only player mentioned in the report that has denied use is Roger Clemens. After numerous athletes have denied use and later found out to be lying, it is hard to believe what Clemens is saying. He has never wavered from his original position of innocence, but pitchers in their late 30's and early 40's do not have the type of seasons that Clemens have had.


One moment in the hearings that I thought was comical was one board member berating Clemens' former trainer Brain McNamee for lying. He goes through a long list of answers that McNamee answered falsely years before he told the truth to the Mitchell Report. THIS IS A CONGRESSMAN ACCUSING SOMEONE OF LYING! Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

It comes out today that the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Henry Waxman, regrets that the hearings ever took place.

If you watched the hearings, you could clearly see a line drawn down party lines. Democrats were harder on Clemens and Republicans were harder on McNamee. It was almost embarrassing listening to one woman member from New York gush over Clemens thanking him for all that he has done for New York while he was there with the Yankees.

Was anything accomplished by having this hearing? Nothing has changed since before the hearing took place to now that they are over.

There are rumours that President Bush would give Clemens a pardon even before a possible perjury charge could be filed. Bush even called Clemens and told him to "to stay strong and keep your head up high. I think that it would be fitting for Bush to pardon Clemens on his way out of the Oval Office to put a nice bow on the corrupt and catastrophe that has been the last eight years in American history. Bush even mentioned fighting against steroid in a past State of the Union speech. Makes you wonder if Barry Bonds would be so fortunate to receive a pardon if he would ever be convicted of the same crime.

If it wasn't for Jose Canseco's biography a few years ago, we probably never would have had the first Congressional hearings on baseball three years ago. Admitted juicer Canseco has done more to expose the drug culture than anyone. There were always whispers, but Canseco turned the volume up so that everyone could hear them.

What started as Commissioner Bud Selig's attempt to clean up baseball and uncover past transgressions that he turned a blind eye to is now a lead story on the national nightly news and is overshadowing the start of spring training. This saga will not be ending anytime soon.