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02/12/2008 -
WASHINGTON (AP) -Now this much is undeniable: Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee will be the focus of Wednesday's congressional hearing about the Mitchell Report.
``I guess it's showtime, isn't it?'' said Clemens' lead lawyer, Rusty Hardin.
Clemens, the accused, and McNamee, his accuser, will be the main witnesses at the public hearing after the New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte and two others were dropped Monday night.
Former Clemens teammate Chuck Knoblauch and convicted steroids distributor Kirk Radomski also were taken off the list of those testifying. One new witness was added Monday: a lawyer who worked with former Senate majority leader George Mitchell to produce December's report on drugs in baseball.
But everyone surely will be focusing on Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, and McNamee, his former personal trainer. McNamee said in the Mitchell Report that he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone at least 16 times in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Clemens' denials of those allegations drew the attention of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Clemens - who ranks eighth in major league history with 354 wins - was to resume his face-to-face lobbying efforts of committee members Tuesday, after the panel's planned hearing entitled, ``Myths and Facts about Human Growth Hormone, B12, and Other Substances.''
The 45-year-old pitcher spoke with nearly half of the lawmakers on the committee during a two-day tour last week.
McNamee also accused Pettitte of using HGH - and Pettitte acknowledged he did for two days in 2002 to deal with an elbow injury. Before Pettitte spoke to committee lawyers under oath last week, one of McNamee's lawyers, Earl Ward, said he thought Pettitte would tell Congress he discussed HGH with Clemens between the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
With Monday's decision, Pettitte was spared the potentially difficult situation of having to deliver public testimony that could hurt the position of Clemens, a friend, past teammate and former workout partner. Portions of Pettitte's sworn deposition, though, may be read aloud at the hearing. And the committee's ranking Republican, Tom Davis of Virginia, said in an interview with Newsday that Pettitte's account matches McNamee's in most details.
Radomski - sentenced Friday to five years' probation after pleading guilty in April to distributing steroids and money laundering - has said he had no direct contact with Clemens. Knoblauch's knowledge appeared to be peripheral.
Pettitte gave his deposition Feb. 4, followed the next day by Clemens, and McNamee later in the week. Knoblauch, a four-time All-Star who played on the Yankees with Clemens and Pettitte and like them was named in the Mitchell Report, was interviewed by committee staff last month. Radomski had been scheduled for a pre-hearing interview with committee staff Tuesday.
``Mr. Knoblauch and Mr. Pettitte answered all the Committee's questions and their testimony at the hearing is not needed,'' Davis and committee chairman Henry Waxman said in a statement. ``Mr. Clemens and Mr. McNamee have also cooperated with the Committee in its investigation.''
Following Pettitte's deposition, his lawyers asked the committee to excuse him from the hearing, a person familiar with the talks said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the negotiations weren't made public.
Pettitte's attorney, Jay Reisinger, declined to comment after the announcement. Pettitte's request to be excused was first reported by The New York Times on its Web site.
A lawyer for Radomski did not immediately return a phone message left at his office Monday night.
``I'm not disappointed,'' said Knoblauch's attorney, Diana Marshall. ``I know Chuck is not disappointed.''
The new witness is Charles Scheeler, a partner with Mitchell's law firm, DLA Piper. According to the firm's Web site, Scheeler mainly works in commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense.
Asked about Scheeler's addition, Hardin said: ``I look forward to hearing what he has to say.''
Clemens' camp disputes several elements of the Mitchell Report's sections about him. Clemens said he repeated under oath during his closed-door deposition what he previously had said in various settings publicly: ``I've never used steroids or growth hormone.''
If the committee believes Clemens or McNamee made false statements under oath, it could ask the Justice Department to open an investigation. This is the same House panel that - after the Mitchell Report came out - asked Justice to look into whether 2002 AL MVP Miguel Tejada lied when he told committee investigators in 2005 that he never took performance enhancers and had no knowledge of other players using or talking about steroids. The FBI's field office in Washington is handling that inquiry.
``We've always known that one of the potential possibilities, one of the possible results of Roger testifying differently than the Mitchell Report, could be a criminal referral,'' Hardin said. ``That's an option the committee's always had.''
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Blum reported from New York. Fendrich reported from Washington.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Jackson and Warriors dump slumping Washington
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Jackson's unconventional four-point
play led an unconventional road back from 23 points down, as Golden State
rallied to stun Washington, 120-117, at ORACLE Arena.
Jackson made the first of two
<< Gaels hold off peskey Broncos in WCC action
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tron Smith had 15 points to help 25th-
ranked St. Mary's-CA hold off Santa Clara, 54-50, at the Leavey Center.
Diamon Simpson added 12 points and seven rebounds while Patrick Mills donated
nine points
<< Longhorns hook Jayhawks, knock them from perch atop Big 12
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Abrams had 14 points, including a pair of
key free throws down the stretch, to help 11th-ranked Texas knock off No. 3
Kansas, 72-69, in a battle of Big 12 powerhouses at Erwin Center.
Connor Atchley
<< BC tops Harvard to win Beanpot
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Petrecki scored his second goal of the game
at 7:07 of overtime to lead Boston College to a 6-5 victory over Harvard on
Monday in the 56th Beanpot championship game.
The Eagles were controlling the ext
Trojans lose Hackett to back injury >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southern California sophomore guard Daniel
Hackett has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back and will
be sidelined indefinitely.
The school released a statement late Monday night and
Bulldogs battle Panthers in Horizon League action >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Butler Bulldogs bring their
three-game road trip to a close tonight, as they invade U.S. Cellular Arena to
take on the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers in Horizon League play.
Since suffering an
Red-hot Cardinals take on Blue Demons >>
Rosemont, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off their biggest win of the season, the
23rd-ranked Louisville Cardinals will try to continue their winning ways at
Allstate Arena tonight, as they tangle with the DePaul Blue Demons in Big East
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Wildcats and Commodores meet in Nashville >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kentucky Wildcats have traveled to
Nashville for an SEC clash with the 24th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores.
Kentucky got off to a rough start under first-year coach Billy Gillispie,
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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