Roger Clemens Not Guilty on All Counts

[alanu]

To me Clemens is no worse than any other cheater, whether they've been caught or not, but to boot, he's almost as easy to dislike as Bonds, almost.

[HRBAKER]

Originally Posted by alanu

To me Clemens is no worse than any other cheater, whether they've been caught or not, but to boot, he's almost as easy to dislike as Bonds, almost.

...........inclined to agree but haven't seen many others try to pass it off on their wife.

[Texxxx]

I have reading through these post and wanted to clear up some things about athletes using banned drugs in the past. First off, I was an Collegiate shot putter in the late 70's and early 80's. So I know something about steroid use back long ago. The drugs that are banned now where not banned back then. You could even get them over the counter. In matter of fact there where no bans on anything in MLB until 1991. WADA over sees what is banned. In the early 90's and even up to 2001 the list of banned substances was held primarily to only the anabolic steroids. Many things banned now where legal back then. Since then the list has grown to the point of being ridicules. Let me give you some examples. My son has been on the national scene in track for several years and has mild asthma. To be able to use an Abuteral inhaler he had to under go about $2000 worth of test AFTER being off all other asthma medications for 2 months so the test would show he had breathing problems. We had to submit a T.U.E. to WADA and waited 6 mo. to the the approval. God forbid you get a head cold. Nothing you can take over the counter is legal either. I don't see condemning people for doing something that was ok to do at the time.

I cant say a lot about the Clemens situation. I dont know all the facts. I don't know if he was doing banned drugs or if he lied about it. If he did then he should be punished for it.

[tbob]

And once again, an individual with celebrity or noteriety or money is acquitted.
I don't care how many sports statues or napkins he signed, he has always been and always will be a jackass.

[Kenny Cole]

Originally Posted by tbob

And once again, an individual with celebrity or noteriety or money is acquitted.
I don't care how many sports statues or napkins he signed, he has always been and always will be a jackass.

And he is also probably the greatest pitcher of our generation (irrespective of whether he did or did not do peds late in his career) who was also smart enough to hire a really, really, good lawyer.

[KyleTexas]

Nolan Ryan was born in 1947-retired in 1993 .. at 46. His last pitch was recorded at 98 mph.

Bob Beaman's long jump record stood for almost 23 years.

Before Beaman.. the long Jump record was held by Jesse Owens and he held it for 25 years.

It doesn't pay to hold on to naivety or cynicism with too much gusto.

Saying everyone juiced is like saying everyone who grew up in the 70s tripped on LSD at least once and that's not true. Did Ryan, Beaman, and Owens juice? ... doubtful.

Taking both possibilities into consideration is the fair route.

Clemens had a dominant arm, I saw that arm throw 99mph when he was 19 at The University of Texas... So he does a long stint in the majors where he puts that arm on display and earns enough to retire many times over. ... "but, but,but, then at the end he started juicing because he had some more to prove'" .. He wasn't a shoe in Hall of Famer at 38, 39, 40? There is no news of a Bankruptcy or Finance killing divorce in his late career.

Im not surprised by the decision today.. I think it was the right one. Did Clemens "Hell with you" attitude come from knowing he was innocent? Or did it come from arrogance? Bill Russell pretty much owned the "Hell with You" attitude during his playing days ... arrogant? .. or just mistrusting of the press and outsiders as a rarer, then, Black pro athlete in the era of civil rights?

A Congressman could never assume the same ilk as the Duke LaCrosse Team prosecutor .. right? A natural drum beater/grandstander would never get caught up in that right?

Lying to a Federal Official is a Felony .. I don't suppose any player who was caught doing that might try to cut a deal by making up a story about a "Bigger Fish" in an attempt to save himself some jail time... that could never happen...

Do I know if Clemens juiced ? No ... but I will say this. I believe his arm was of the caliber that if he took care of himself he certainly wouldn't have needed enhancement at 38, 39, 40, possibly 41 ... So did he hit 41,42 and then decide to go rogue?

Maybe someone should interview Olympic Swimmer Dara Torres and ask her what she thought about Clemens .. She won 3 Silvers in Beijing in 2008 at 41 years old. She'll be swimming at the Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha attempting to make the 2012 Team 6 days from now at 45.

[oldjudge]

The great thing about this country is that you can assume whatever you want, based on a lot of facts or none, and plaster it all over the web. If you want to assume that Clemens juiced that is your prerogative. I choose to not convict people unless I have definitive proof, which I don't in this case. Let's agree to disagree.
TBob, why all the anger towards Clemens? Have you ever met him or known anyone who has?