Everybody Hates Roger

Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte will not be called to testify before the congressional committee investigating the Mitchell Report and alleged steroids use by Roger Clemens, ESPN reports. Former Mets trainer Kirk Radomski and ex-player Chuck Knoblauch will also not testify, which leaves Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee. McNamee claims he injected the pitcher with performance enhancers more than a dozen times. More »

The battle rages on in the Roger Clemens steroid scandal, but this time it's his lawyer who is under fire. The chairman of the congressional committee overseeing one inquiry into steroid use in baseball criticized Rusty Hardin for comments he made about IRS agent Jeff Novitzky. “If he ever messes with Roger, Roger will eat his lunch,” Hardin said. More »

Brian McNamee told congressional investigators yesterday that Roger Clemens’ wife, Debbie, took human growth hormone, a source tells the New York Daily News . The pitcher's former trainer said Roger asked him to inject Debbie with HGH as she prepared to be photographed for Sports Illustrated 's 2003 swimsuit issue, the source said. More »

Lawyers for Brian McNamee say that the former strength and conditioning coach has turned over evidence that can prove pitcher Roger Clemens took steroids. A source tells the New York Daily News that the materials include vials with traces of steroids, and even syringes and pads that may contain traces of Clemens' DNA. More »

Roger Clemens spent five hours testifying to congressional lawyers under oath; he said he told them he never used performance-enhancing drugs. "It was great to be able to tell them what I've been saying all along—that I've never used steroids or growth hormone,” Clemens said about his time in the offices of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, reports the Associated Press. More »

Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte spoke under oath with officials from a House committee for 2.5 hours today on the subject of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. Pettitte's testimony has been highly anticipated since accusations in the Mitchell Report that both Pettitte and former teammate Roger Clemens used steroids, writes the Times ; the two stars shared the same trainer, Brian McNamee. More »

Leaving his closed-door session with the House oversight committee yesterday, Chuck Knoblauch offered only enigmatic answers about his use of human growth hormone, the AP reports. With wife and toddler in tow, the former Yankee smiled and said, "It is what it is." Though he didn't respond to the committee's invitation to testify until he was subpoenaed, he lauded the investigation yesterday, saying he wanted to teach his son, "If you do something in life, be prepared to talk about it open and honestly." More »

Roger Clemens was not in the “twilight” of his career or "washed up" in the late '90s, a statistical report released by his agents today aims to show, to refute allegations that the hurler used performance-enhancing drugs to rebound. The report compares his stats to other major league pitchers and shows Clemens was already an MVP the year his trainer claims to have begun dosing him. More »

Roger Clemens, fighting back hard against being named in the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, will continue that strategy on Jan. 26, when he answers questions from Congressional committee staff about the topic under oath, in advance of planned public hearings, reports the New York Times . "Roger looks forward to telling the truth," said his attorney, Rusty Hardin. More »

Roger Clemens twice declined entreaties by George Mitchell to respond to allegations that he had used steroids, USA Today reports. Mitchell said that last summer and fall, as his investigation developed, he sent the players union requests to interview players who faced accusations of drug use. Clemens never responded, Mitchell said. More »

To the list of celebs implicated in steroids investigations, add 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige. The Albany-based probe that has already fingered major pro athletes also involves entertainers, the Albany Times Union reports, indicating steroid use has grown far beyond the realm of sports. Other stars who received the illegally prescribed drugs, which are believed to have anti-aging properties, include Timbaland, Wyclef Jean, and Tyler Perry. More »

Taking its cue from the Mitchell Report's findings, Major League Baseball today announced it has established a permanent investigations unit to check allegations of drug use by players in the grand old game. An ex-NYC cop and former FBI agent will lead the department - whose goal is "protecting the integrity of our sport," said baseball commissioner Bud Selig. More »

Congress will investigate baseball legend Roger Clemens' vehement denials that he used steroids. Both Clemens and his accuser, personal trainer Brian McNamee, were scheduled to testify next week before the House committee that exposed drug abuse in baseball. But their testimony has been postponed a month for a wider and more aggressive probe by investigators, reports the New York Times . More »

Roger Clemens' personal trainer was involved in a 2001 rape investigation in which police believed he lied, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The Rocket, in his defamation suit filed against Brian McNamee on Sunday, points to the incident as an example of further dishonesty on the part of the trainer who accuses Clemens of steroid use. More »

Roger Clemens played a recording of a heated, expletive-laden conversation to reporters today as proof of the hurler's innocence on steroid claims, the AP reports. In the talk, former trainer Brian McNamee—who has said he injected Clemens with steroids—did not deny Clemens' claim of innocence. Clemens' lawyers pitched this as proof that the hurler's version of events is true. More »

Roger Clemens filed a defamation lawsuit against former trainer Brian McNamee last night, just before his "60 Minutes" interview aired, the Houston Chronicle reports. McNamee falsely claimed he had injected Clemens with steroids, the lawsuit alleges, when federal agents threatened him with jail time. McNamee’s lawyers say that’s nonsense, since the trainer could only have landed in jail by lying. More »

Pitcher Roger Clemens' claim that he took injections of B-12 vitamins—not steroids—is a page right out of the book of lame stories by Orioles player Rafael Palmeiro, who was laughed into obscurity after a similar tale, writes a skeptical Chicago Tribune columnist. Clemens will insist on "60 Minutes" tonight that he thought what his trainer says were steroids were vitamins—inviting the question: Wouldn't taking a pill have been easier?   More »

Roger Clemens, who has vehemently denied the allegations of steroid use made in the Mitchell report, has now been asked to make that pitch under oath in front of a congressional committee, the Washington Post reports. The committee also wants to hear from his former strength trainer, Brian McNamee, along with Yanks Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch, and Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomoski. More »

Roger Clemens says he received injections of vitamin B-12 and the painkiller lidocaine—but not steroids—from trainer Brian McNamee. In a 60 Minutes interview with Mike Wallace set to air Sunday, Clemens again denied ever taking banned substances, including human growth hormone, the New York Post reports. "Swear?" asked Wallace. "Swear," replied Clemens. More »

Calling the Mitchell Report "wrong," Roger Clemens' lawyers have begun their own investigation into claims that Clemens used steroids and HGH, the New York Times reports. The Rocket will field questions in an open session with the media on January 6—the night his 60 Minutes interview is set to air. More »