From AP:
Baseball player Clemens, trainer McNamee grilled in doping scandal
WASHINGTON (AFP) — US baseball star Roger Clemens faced off Wednesday with his ex-trainer who accused him of being a dope cheat in a tense congressional hearing which left lawmakers saying someone had lied under oath.
Former trainer Brian McNamee said in his opening statements that he had injected Clemens, 45, with steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) at least 16 times between 1998 and 2001, more often than previously admitted to lawmakers.
"I injected those drugs into the body of Roger Clemens at his direction," McNamee said. "I now believe that the number of times I injected Roger Clemens was actually greater than I initially stated."
"I did not want to destroy Roger Clemens. I was hoping this issue would just fade away," he told the House of Representatives Oversight Committee.
But in Wednesday's emotional hearing, Clemens again vehemently denied under oath charges of dope cheating, which emerged after McNamee named him in a probe into baseball doping by former Senator George Mitchell.
Mitchell's report followed a 20-month probe into doping and named more than 80 major league players with doping links.
"I've never used steroids, human growth hormone or any other type of illegal performance-enhancing drugs," said Clemens, regarded as one of baseball's all-time greatest pitchers.
He said the syringes McNamee used contained only Vitamin B-12 and the painkiller lidocaine.
"The suggestion I'd use steroids or other illegal drugs is totally incompatible with who I am what I stand for," Clemens said.
"I never asked him nor did he ever give me steroids or (HGH)," Clemens said. "I had no idea this man would exploit the trust I gave him to try to save his own skin by making up lies that have devastated me and my family."
Clemens, who won fame with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, has a 354-184 career record with a 3.12 earned-run average and 4,672 strikeouts.
"None of these accomplishments came easily and none of them came in a bottle of steroids or human growth hormone," Clemens said.
But committee chairman Henry Waxman revealed discrepancies in earlier sworn testimony from both men, and alleged that Clemens had lied.
"During his deposition, he made statements we know are untrue," Waxman said of Clemens. "As we moved forward in our investigation, we found conflicts and inconsistencies in Mr. Clemens' account."
"In other areas his statements are contradicted by other credible witnesses or are simply implausible."
And Waxman noted that Clemens's former New York Yankees teammates Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch had admitted doping in depositions that supported McNamee's claims.
Pettitte and Knoblauch "have told us under oath that Mr. McNamee told us the truth," Waxman said.
He revealed that in a deposition last week, Pettitte said Clemens had admitted taking human growth hormone in 1999 or 2000.
Clemens, fighting to save a reputation built over a 23-year career, said: "I believe Andy has mis-heard my comments on HGH."
"If Andy Pettitte knew I had used HGH, before he had used HGH he would have come to me. That's how close our relationship was. And he would have told me he was using it."
If either man is found guilty of perjury, he could be sentenced to five years in prison for perjury.
"Someone is lying in spectacular fashion about the ultimate question," said committee member Tom Davis. "We will let the American people judge who is to be believed in this unfortunate battle of wills, memories and reputations."
The confession from McNamee of his role in the scandal that has rocked the credibility of the sport comes on the eve of the start of baseball pre-season training camps.
"I have helped taint our national pastime," McNamee said. "What I did was wrong I want to apologize to the committee and to the American people.
"I'm not proud of what I've done. I deeply regret my actions. It is painful beyond words to know that my name will be forever linked to a scandal in the sport I love.
"If the spotlight can help clean up the drug culture in baseball... maybe all of the pain and shame will have served a greater good."
Clemens is pwned. He kept raising the stakes and bluffing. Now he's gotta show his hand and all he has is like a 2 and a 9 off suit.
