So Roger Clemens was a pitcher who could play the field, eh?
Country singer Mindy McCready? The ex-wife of professional golfer John Daly?
Well, ho-hum. Might have been a better story if Clemens didn’t engage in extramarital affairs because, truth is, that would have made him stand out in professional sports as a rare exception.
Virtually every married major-leaguer has fooled around with willing and eager females in past decades, folks, and you’re naïve or ignorant if you don’t believe that. The Hall of Fame is filled with guys such as Wade Boggs and Paul Molitor, who cheated on their wives.
Sure, Clemens may have used steroids and was generally a jerk, but he also was baseball’s most dominating pitcher. And to suggest The Rocket be barred from the Hall because reporters recently finked on his flings? That would be even more stupid than banning Pete Rose for gambling.
For more on Clemens, and to understand why the Blue Jays refuse to sign Barry Bonds, check out my latest MLB Report.
- Difficult to believe this can happen in this day and age, but the Chicago White Sox can’t bring shortstop Alexei Ramirez to Toronto for their weekend series because of visa issues that would prevent the Cuban rookie from returning to the United States … With his Dallas Mavericks out of the NBA playoffs, owner Mark Cuban wants the Chicago Cubs. Price: $700 million US … Good new book: Breaking Free. It’s the story of ex-football luminary Herschel Walker, diagnosed with a multiple personality disorder … Warning to soccer fanatics: The New England Journal of Medicine reports that stressing out while watching matches more than doubles the risk of heart attacks. Preventive measures are strongly advised … Toronto FC of MLS, incidentally, is enjoying a major growth spurt in popularity and the team’s most ardent supporters, The Red Patch Boys, are inviting fans from across Canada to interact regularly with them at www.freemyteam.com.
- If he can’t improve his relationship with goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff, Mike Keenan may soon be axed as the Calgary Flames’ coach … Don Cherry thinks the Montreal Canadiens can bounce back from their 3-1 series disadvantage against the Philadelphia Flyers, but the colorful talking head has been wrong a lot lately. Heck, he picked the San Jose Sharks to win the Stanley Cup … The Sharks trail the Dallas Stars 3-1 in their playoff series and, barring a comeback, Doug Wilson and Ron Wilson will be fired as general manager and coach, respectively. The Maple Leafs are interested in both.
