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02/13/2008: "Dumb and Dumber"

The Roger Clemens / Brian McNamee Traveling Circus rolled onto Capitol Hill today, and was every bit as dramatic as expected. Frankly, if you hoped today's 5-hr session would bring any kind of closure, you're going to be disappointed. But it made for damned good TV.

Coming into this hearing, each side had stuck to their guns: McNamee claimed to have given Clemens HGH and steroid injections, while Clemens denied all allegations. Someone had to be lying, as the tales were incompatible. But who would crack before the House Oversight Committee and the threat of a perjury charge?

In truth, no one really cracked, although they definitely softened. McNamee, bolstered by the release of Andy Pettitte's deposition claiming to have overheard Clemens saying he'd use the drugs, continued to claim he'd injected both Clemens and his wife (in preparation for a bikini photoshoot). Clemens, while refusing to back away from earlier claims, admitted the use by his wife. He didn't call Pettitte a liar, but said that he had "misheard" the conversation. Much of the session was the usual political posturing for the cameras, as those who supported or opposed one witness or the other made sure the cameras knew it.

McNamee came across as a weasely guy, an ex-cop turned drug dealer, and did little to support his case. But his was the most solid position. Clemens was a strong, assertive witness, but left far too many unanswered questions. My favorite? If he discovered that his trainer was secretly giving his wife injections of a compound he claims to be against, how is it Clemens didn't punch McNamee's lights out?

Bottom line? They're both liars at some level, and have brought nothing but shame upon themselves and the game they claim to love. Let's hope this is the final episode in a pathetic tale - but I doubt it ...