OT: Roger Clemens Acquitted [ED:Locked]
As title says:
[ED:BISB - The politics. They is everywhere. I'd like to excise the naughty bits and leave the white meat, but it's just too pervasive. Something about the combination of Congress and the Justice Department makes people asplode.]
waste of tax payers money. this never should have went to court.
Btw...football is now America's pastime, so in light of that...I could now care less.
value to the taxpayers a misplaced measure? how can you say that? why is congress even forcing him to testify? massive $$ waste and to not do a cost benefit is monumentally stupid.
More importantly, it's the "lie" not the crime to me. It's clearly not a waste of time to hold someone accountable for lying under oath. You gents who are flabbergasted by the waste of tax dollars seem to universally think he did 'roids. So you must also admit he lied under oath. The whole system goes bust when people can lie under oath and not even be pursued because we don't want to spend money to uphold our own values. Crazy this is even an argument.
... We are nothing if not for our laws. When an individual believes they are above the law they should be prosecuted. I'm very happy my taxpayer money goes to this and despise those who cheat to succeed.
I think the truly sad thing about this case is not the waste of taxpayer money but the influence wealth has on the ability to sway the courts.
Bill Clinton was prosecuted for lying to congress, not for getting a BJ. The rules apply to everyone, and the rules about lying to congress are clear. Roger Clemens is not somehow more important than the POTUS.
to the 'Caring Continuum'?
Where is the "justice" in so much time, money, and resources being wasted on what amounted to a petty personal vendetta on the part of the prosecutor?
Justice was done today, but it cost everyone way too much time and money. It sure did give the media a lot to write about, though.
you mean you couldn't care less?
This.
I was especially angry with Congress when they decided to butt in. As if they don't have enough real problems to deal with. Frankly I think the owners have donated so much $ to the politicians, that the politicians do their bidding. And I'm not singling out either party, they are both beholden to their campaign donors. The owners used the bought and paid for Congress to make it seem like baseball was really getting cleaned up. The whole thing was about image, not a genuine desire for a clean game.
Anyway, good for Roger. I'm happy he beat those bozos.
Totally agree about the Congress having more pressing issues to deal with and this being a waste of tax payer money. But good for Roger? The guy is a cheat, arrogant and a liar. Glad he's out of the sport.
Yeah, this was basically jury nullification. Frankly, with so few people having any confidence in the honesty and integrity of Congress, this should not be surprising. Is lying to liars a bad thing? Guess not.
goes to show that evidence stored in a beer can for several years isn't really evidence.
and that this entire thing was a huge fucking waste of everybody's time and taxpayer money.
I agree with the above, money that could have been spent better elsewhere.
I also still think he juiced,.
I also think many people were juicing, so I don't know how much an advantage he would have gotten.
Still not as big of a waste on taxpayer's money as the war on drugs.
No politics, buddy.
i think homeboy just wants to get his blaze on undisturbed by the po-lice.
who doesn't? po po can suck it.
I'm not your buddy, friend
I'm not your friend, guy.
Mr. Solo Dolo!!! No way!!!
He's not your friend, guy.
Is there any doubt how that will end, as well?
According the the Washington Post, there are over 10 witnesses lined up to testify that Lance Armstrong doped (PED and/or blood doping). So I'd say there's some doubt as to how that ends up - it's far from a fait accompli that Armstrong continues to beat back these accusations. The USADA tends to win these things (although, as the article linked below notes, not many accused have Armstrong's resources).
My opinion is that he and Clemens likely used prohibited substances, but that's just like ... my opinion, man. Cycling is riddled with PED abuse and blood doping (which isn't using PEDs, in spite of the name - but is against the international cycling rules).
Who do you award the Tour victories to? Ullrich? Basso? Almost everyone on the podium with Lance from those years has already been caught using PEDs.
He passed something like 500 tests over a 20 year span. That's some seriously lame testing and/or some spectacular cheating if he was truly doing something improper.
May he have done something, possibly...but to have undergone so many random tests, etc. and never showing up positive...From PEDs in baseball to doping in cycling, personally, I don't really care that much. Most of these stories are only stories because of holier-than-thou sports writers/reporters who want to break the next big story, sensationalizing everything, etc. Honestly, the McGwire/Sosa home run race was some of the most exciting baseball I have seen in a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time. Personally, I do not feel cheated knowing that they may have used PEDs. Some people may feel that way but my personaly opinion is enjoy it in the moment. I personally can give two-shits if Skip, Rome, or any other blowhard crusader thinks that Clemense should not go into the hall of fame. I still enjoyed watching the guy pitch and have fond memories of some of those games. People need to stop sensationalizing these things.
I think there's lots of evidence he juiced and/or blood doped. You may not find the evidence credible - that's part of the point of a trial - but I think Tyler Hamilton is a pretty credible fellow. He had little to gain from giving the 60 Minutes interview last year, and based on that interview I tend to believe Lance is dirty. I did not want to (especially given Lance's charitable work and the wonderful way that he came back from testicular cancer). And I watched each one of his Tour victories wanting him to win. For me, it's a bit of a "say it ain't so, Lance" situation. (Of course Lance does say it ain't so, so there's that!) 60 Minutes stories here http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-20064406-10391709.html and here (second has link to Hamilton interview) http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-57452727-10391709/armstrong-formally-charged-for-doping-tour-de-france-titles-at-risk/?tag=strip . The accusations include use of EPO (red blood cell multiplier), blood doping, and testosterone. Hamilton admits his own use of these substances and blood doping, and plainly seems tortured doing so.
Also, Greg Lemond seemed to have no reason to lie about Armstrong's people trying to coerce Lemond into vouching for Lance. Like Hamilton, Lemond seems to have little to gain by making up the coercion story.
Again, I haven't seen all the evidence and don't know how strong a case there is. But I don't think we can declare the USADA charges "losers" out of hand.
(You make a good point above, BTW, on the question of what to do with the Tour titles if LA is determined to have doped. Busting out ye olde asterisk hardly seems sufficient.)
To be fair, all of Lance's most significant accomplishments on the bike came after his orchiectomy (don't google that). Are we really going to attack the guy with one ball for taking testosterone?
Maybe he doped, maybe he didn't. His is still a pretty amazing story, especially among a field of fellow doping athletes.
The whole thing was a joke
...IMHO.
and bought off part of the jury or he gave them a big cash settlement. Bunch of BS. He's a cheater and he knows it.
You deserve it ! /s
This is such a joke. An even bigger joke is that a place like ESPN profits off the endless story telling.
I will say, I also believe he probably used, but I am glad the jury seemed to think that there were better things to do...only because there are bigger fish to fry than Roger Clemens. I don't think this changes anyone's opinion of the man, of course - even an embattled douche is a douche all the same.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/roger-clemens - I guess two jurors fell astleep and were kicked off the trial at one point. Further, the estimate on cost to reach this conclusion is $2 million to $3 million. That's an exepensive "effort" put forth by federal prosecutors.
I love that this happened. For years now it pops up on the bottom of the Sportscenter ticker, as if anybody really gives a shit.
Time to go back to stuff that really matters like the BCS.
this ends one of the biggest self inflicted black eyes ever. MLB played this whole steroid ordeal about as poorly as one could possibly imagine. Meanwhile the NFL chuckles at them for doing so.
To me, it always seems like some prosecutor is trying to make a name for themself. I saw last week that they are going after Lance Armstrong again over his Tour de France wins.
The whole case was based, essentially, on the testimony of McNamee, a witness whose character was dragged through the mud and whose credibility was blown to smithereens. The prosecutorial team decided to take a wild stab at it (at our expense) and get a high-profile case on their record. It was a loser from the beginning.
potentially affect their electability.....Congress is a joke...a bunch of fat cats (on both sides of the aisle) supported by big corporations.
I am hoping against hope that Clemens won't continue with his pet myth of how he just worked harder than everyone else. But he will. What a fraud he is.
Clemens doesn't matter. Neither does Sosa, Guillen, Canseco, Piazza, Ordonez.....jesus christ. MLB is one pathetic joke. A long and masterfully overrated and overpriced joke, but a statistically irrelevant con job all the way. So why aren't more people laughing?
The only redeeming value to me about MLB is listening to Vin Scully at 85 years of age still call LA Dodgers games. That's about it.
Everything that was once good has been utterly destroyed by drugs, astroturf, retractable roofs and $25.00 pavillion ticket seating.