Baseball's Three Ring Circus

Spring training is just getting started, and I plan to start rolling out Foul Balls' very own baseball previews next week, but spring training and my previews aren't the big story in baseball right now. The big story is the one I've been doing everything in my power to avoid talking about, but I've now realized that it's going to be impossible.

Roger Clemens is going to be in front of Congress tomorrow morning playing He Said/He Said with Brian McNamee.

So far the story has taken on O.J. Simpson trial proportions as McNamee busted out needles he said that Clemens used, and even went as far as saying he injected Clemens' wife with HGH for a Sports Illustrated photo shoot.

I'm pretty sure before Roger sits down tomorrow morning, there will be a story released saying that McNamee also injected Roger's kids and dog with HGH, and that McNamee has crudely drawn pictures he made with a box of Crayolas to prove it.

Roger will then counter attack by releasing a YouTube video in which he'll use sock puppets to recreate a scene in which McNamee molests a 10-year old boy.

The whole thing has turned into a circus, and though I'm hopeful that the circus will end tomorrow, I'm not stupid enough to think that will actually be the case. This story won't be going anywhere, the names may change, but the song will remain the same.

Unfortunately, the hearings lost some juice yesterday when it was revealed that Andy Pettite would no longer be testifying in Washington on Wednesday.

New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, former Mets trainer Kirk Radomski, and former Yankee and Twins player Chuck Knoblauch will not testify before a congressional committee Wednesday in Washington D.C.

The only people now scheduled to testify on Wednesday are pitcher Roger Clemens, former Clemens trainer Brian McNamee and Charlie Scheeler of former Senate majority leader George Mitchell's staff.

"Mr. Knoblauch and Mr. Pettitte answered all the Committee's questions and their testimony at the hearing is not needed," committee chairman Henry Waxman and ranking Republican Tom Davis said in a statement. "Mr. Clemens and Mr. McNamee have also cooperated with the Committee in its investigation."

Now at first this would appear to be good news for Roger. After all, part of McNamee's testimony involves conversations he had with both Pettite and Clemens about HGH. It's not good for Roger though, because the reason Pettite didn't want to testify tomorrow was because he's afraid he's going to get one of his good friends in trouble.

So basically, Andy knows his testimony is going to be pretty damning for Roger. Unfortunately for Roger, they wouldn't let Pettite back out of testifying if they didn't already have enough information from him, and word is that Pettite's affidavit is more supportive of McNamee than it is Clemens.

Andy Pettitte's affidavit helps to support Brian McNamee's version of events that the former trainer gave Roger Clemens steroids and HGH, Rep. Tom Davis told Newsday.

Although Pettitte won't testify at Wednesday's hearings, the left-hander's affidavit will be presented to Clemens at the hearing and will be part of the public record, the newspaper reported.

Davis, R-Va., told Newsday that Clemens says in his affidavit that both Pettitte and McNamee are mistaken in their statements.

As if all this wasn't enough, John Rocker made news yesterday by coming out and saying he failed a drug test back in 2000, and Bud Selig knew all about it and chose to ignore it.

Former major league pitcher John Rocker said Monday that baseball commissioner Bud Selig knew he failed a drug test in 2000 and that doctors for the "league" and the "players association" advised him and several Texas Rangers teammates on how to effectively use steroids.

Rocker, no stranger to controversy, made those comments on Atlanta radio station Rock 100.5.

Later Monday, he told Atlanta sports talk radio station 680 The Fan that "between 40 to 50 percent of baseball players are on steroids" and "in 2000 Bud Selig knew John Rocker was taking the juice."

Then during the same interview, just for fun, Rocker went and said this.

"Bud Selig is a clown, and should do the entire world a favor and kill himself."

And to think, Will Leitch didn't even have to get Rocker drunk first before he started spouting off about all this.

While I don't subscribe to the notion that Bud should kill himself, I do agree with Rocker's assessment that Selig is a clown. Rocker's a clown too, as are Clemens and McNamee.

They're all clowns, even the morons in Congress that think baseball is somehow a government issue.

The circus is in town, ladies and gentlemen. Try not to step in any of the elephant shit.



Foul Balls

Return of the Ninja - In what will probably be the only thing you ever see me write about the Arena Football League, at least here at Foul Balls, we take a trip back in time. As of right now the kicker for the Chicago Bears is Robbie Gould, and he's done a pretty acceptable job in the two years he's been here.

Sure, he can't be counted on from over 45 yards, but get him any closer and he's straight cash, homey. I like Gould, but in truth, he'll never be my favorite kicker to wear a Bears uniform. To find the Bears kicker that currently holds that title, you'll have to go a ways back. Back to a kicker out of Michigan State who had an odd way of contorting himself like a corkscrew before kicking his field goals and extra points.

He moved with the stealth and speed of a ninja, and that's why my friends and I dubbed him as The Ninja. You knew him as Paul Edinger. After Edinger was released by the Bears in 2004, he signed on with the Vikings in 2005.

He's never been heard from since, at least, until now. That's right Arena Football fans, The Ninja has come back home to Chicago.

Paul Edinger--you remember him, he of the corkscrew windup before becoming one of the most accurate kickers in Bears history--has signed a deal to join the Rush of the Arena Football League.

Edinger, drafted in the 6th round out of Michigan State in 2000, kicked for the Bears from 2000-2004. He last kicked in the NFL for Minnesota in 2005 and has been out of the NFL since.

This is truly a great day for crime-fighting, superhero kickers everywhere.

Yet Another Berman Video - This time Chris talks about his former Monday Night Football colleague, Al Michaels.

Must warn you though, some naughty language is involved. After all, it is Chris Berman.