Knock Knock. CONGRESS Calling.....

The United States Congress has been gracious enough to invite Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, among others, to testify in front of a Congressional hearing that will look into the Mitchell investigation. This is from the Boston Globe, and then I'll be back with a comment. Boy oh boy, you bet I will....

"Now Roger Clemens gets a chance to tell his side of the story under oath. So does his good pal Andy Pettitte. And their former trainer, Brian McNamee, too. Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, was asked Friday to testify before a congressional committee looking into the Mitchell Report on doping in baseball, nearly three years after the same panel brought sluggers Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro to Capitol Hill.
Also invited to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Jan. 16 were Clemens' former New York Yankees teammates Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch; McNamee, who has said he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone; and former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, whose allegations were central to the findings released last month by former Senate majority leader George Mitchell.
Although no one had agreed to show up for the hearing as of late Friday afternoon, the committee's announcement listed Clemens and others under the heading, "Witnesses will include."
"Roger is willing to answer questions, including those posed to him while under oath," said Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin. "We hope to determine shortly if schedules and other commitments can accommodate the committee on that date."

Peter here. I'm sorry that Globe excerpt was so long, but I didn't find any of it that I wanted to delete. The words "witnesses will include" seem to me to be a firm invitation, not one that Clemens and Pettitte could duck out of. But his lawyer Rusty Hardin seemed in no way definite that his client WILL comply. We'll have to wait and see, I guess. I wish there would be some kind of punishment meted out if he or his lefty teammate fail to comply. But failing to show is as damning as admitting that he partook of the banned substances. In the 60 Minutes interview with Mike Wallace, which was conducted in Clemens' Katy, Texas home, he told Wallace that McNamee DID inject him, but only with a vitamin and a painkiller more often found at the dentist's office. So all of us know that SOMEONE is lying. MacNamee was granted immunity for his testimony, so there is not ONE reason on this good earth for him to spew fiction. Clemens, on the other hand, is spewing something....he has everything to lose and nothing to gain, and that's why I don't believe a word he has said. The hearings should be televised somewhere on some network...you judge for yourself. In THIS country, a person is innocent until proven guilty, but Roger should just look at Barry Bonds' plight to know what happens when someone lies to Congress. My best guess is that the schedules of the committee and for Clemens himself will never mesh, or he and his lawyer will think of something, ANYTHING (!!) to shirk his responsibility

60 Minutes will air on CBS Sunday night, as soon as the NFL coverage ends, probably between 7:30 and 8:00 PM. I know I'll be watching, and so will countless millions of Americans and baseball lovers the world over.

Have a great weekend. The weather here in north central Connecticut is at the beginning of a week long warming trend. The core of the warm air, with temperatures approaching 6o degrees (!!!), will arrive in time for Tuesday and Wednesday. A January thaw in the true sense of the words! Click on the title of this post for the entire Clemens' piece, and as always, thank you for stopping by. Your comments will be read, devoured actually, and responded to almost instantly. BE WELL.