Congress decided, rightfully so in my opinion, that the powers of baseball have been dragging their feet when it comes to detecting, dealing with, and punishing anabolic steroid users. Baseball waged their own investigation, but an investigation without subpoena and sworn testimony is a canoe trip without a paddle.

One of the clearest and most internally consistent arcs in sports is that athletes are at their best in their twenties, begin to slide in their thirties, and generally fade out of the picture in their forties. There are exceptions, not to the fading part, but for some, the fade-out is a bit slower. Baseball, football, basketball players and hockey players do NOT get better in their forties.

Roger Clemens, star pitcher for the RedSoxBlueJaysYankeesAstrosYankees, somehow overcame the odds (as did Barry Bonds). Many of us (including the baseball authorities and player’s unions) wanted to believe that the defiance of nature was within the grasp of the baseball gods. Many of us were wrong.

So, Roger Clemens, alleged steroid abuser, is testifying before congress. Newscoma is not impressed with what she hears:

What grossed me out though is that Roger Clemens blamed everyone in the world for his troubles and owned nothing. To hear Clemens tell it, he is the most victimized man in America. I’ll give him an B+ for being defiant, but the self-righteous stuff was …

….I don’t blame him for defending himself. But the whole “the president found me in a duck blind” and “I wore USA across my chest” statements then basically saying “How dare you? I’m Roger Clemens, Lord of Baseball and I’m also kind to kittens” just made me sort of go “Blech.”

Clemens basically had his day in the sun under oath and he flailed around like a dying trout. McNamee [alleged provider of steroids to Clemens} isn’t a saint either. But why is it everyone else’s fault in Roger’s world. Pettitte “misremembered?”….

Baseball has taken worse hits. But no one won yesterday, quite frankly. Not Roger, Not McNamee and definitely not baseball where we as fans forgive stupid crap but we don’t forget. And Roger, you looked like a tittybaby. Man up, dude. You don’t have to be so defensive and snarly if you didn’t do it.

In the short run, it’s about a man’s legacy and his sport..in the long run, it’s really about defiance and yet another vain attempt by man to defy nature. There’s a pretty clear track record in that race.