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11 Sports BLOG |
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June 2008
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Matt Musil: February 2008 ArchivesPro Boxer is a new business partner of the Houston Dynamo MLS team ... and he told me in a one on one interview that his number one priority now is to get a stadium deal done with the city for his new team. Prior to a downtown rally at lunchtime today ...... De La Hoya pledged his support to the sport of soccer in Houston in a big way. ...There was a note hanging in Phil Garner's locker this morning when he arrived at Victoria's Riverside Stadium, it read: "Gar, don't screw it up. This big machine is rolling. T.P." ...The ownership changeover for the Dynamo is beginning to happen. According to my sources ..... Golden Boy Promotions ... owned by pro boxer Oscar DeLoya .... along with Brener International Group .... has agreed in principle to buy 50% of the Dynamo team. How this will affect the current negotiations to get the team's new stadium built downtown is up in the air ..but this would seem to be a positive step in that regard. AEG ...the current owner of the Dynamo ... has been hedging on putting up anymore money to build the stadium at this point ...and the City of Houston .... apparantly just wants to donate the land ... The jersey number is #36 ..and the name on the back is Niekro. No, it's not one of those throwback "rainbow" jobs from the 80's in a salute to the late pitcher Joe Niekro. No ... this time it's hanging in the locker of a current Astros player. Just across the room from that locker ...hangs the jersey of Jose Cruz Jr. and just seeing those names on the backs of Astros jerseys ...... summons up images of the past. ...When you watch Astros manager Cecil Cooper observe Carlos Lee, Miguel Tejada and Lance Berkman take batting practice ..... you can also see a smile come across his face. He calls them his "Big 3" .. and with those three in the heart of his batting lineup .... he's confident about going to battle with any team. ...Now that the Mitchell Report has brought illegal performance enhancement drugs into the spotlight ...... each individual Astros player is dealing with it in a very personal way. When Miguel Tejada arrived in camp yesterday ......there was a urine sample cup waiting for him on his lockeroom chair. Wednesday .... relief pitcher Doug Brocail .... was worried he'd be late on the field for the morning workout ....because he couldn't go. Ya know ....go. He'd been main-lining bottled water since arriving at the training facility today .... but it didn't make a difference. ...That's what a report out of Colordo is saying. A Greeley, Colorado newspaper is reporting that Shawn Chacon ...who pitched for the Pirates the past couple of seasons .. is on the verge of signing a one year deal with the Astros ...There's all kinds of news coming out of the Astros camp today ...as GM Ed Wade just announced that the team had prevailed in it's arbitration case with infielder Mark Loretta. ...Hunter Pence ...the starting right fielder for the Astros in 2008 .... will miss the first week of spring training workouts ..... after sustaining numerous cuts and lacerations on his hands and knees .....while accidentally jumping through a sliding glass door last night. ...Here's the other story coming out of Astros Spring Training Camp in Kissimmee. Hunter Pence was admitted an an area hospital's emergency room overnight ....after he crashed through a sliding glass door. He was seen wearing a bandage on his hand this morning. ...The Astros new shortstop Miguel Tejada arrived in camp this morning much to the delight of his manager ...Cecil Cooper... and his teammates. Tejada would not talk about the Federal investigation going on though ... .concerning his alleged lying to investigators back in 2005. ...The Astros pitchers and catchers went through their 5th Spring Training workout Monday ..and 12 position players were also on hand. No......as of Monday afternoon .... Miguel Tejada isn't here yet. ...I have watched Roger Clemens pitch in games and workout on practice fields enough to know that no one who's ever been a competitive athlete ....... has the ability to focus mentally on the task at hand better than him. But Wednesday ... in front of a Congressional Committee ... called to investigate illegal use of banned substances in Major League Baseball .... Roger got a "no decision." ...Davis ...says he thinks it's been a just discussion .... but he thanks the witnesses for coming. I have to run out ..and try to talk to the witnesses ...I'll have a live report on 11 News at 5 & 6. See you then.!! ...Watson is a Democrat from California. Says McNamee's acts basically are those of a lying drug dealer. ...The Republican from Connecticut is talking ....and talking ....and talking ....but asking no questions. He says he views McNamee as a police officer who turned into a drug dealer. He says Pettitte has more credibility than either Clemens or McNamee. Clemens responds ...by saying,"If Andy Pettitte thought I was using HGH ....he would have come to me and asked me about it ...and he didn't" But his comment was cut off by Cummings .....Cummings says,"Why would McNamee lie about you ..and not lie about the other two.??" (Pettitte & Knoblauch). Clemens is responding ....saying,"Pettitte asked him what he was going to say to reporters ..what would you say if they asked you about using steroids." >> Continue reading: Rep. Cummings Now Has The Floor..... Foxx says she believes that Scheleer and his investigators jumped to conclusions about his use of performance enhancement substances. Scheleer is refuting that. mishandled this investigation. Clemens answers by saying the Players Association and MLB management are now headed in the right direction. Murphy .. a Democrat from Connecticut ... is asking the federal investigator, Charlie Scheleer ... if Clemens and others received sufficient notice that Senator Mitchell wanted to talk with them. Scheleer now has glasses on and reading from a prepared statement. She shows pictures to the committee and says she doesn't see any changes in his body type through that time period. Roger reads a statement from his wife. REp. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina says to put in the record that this committee's job is not holding hearings on baseball. But while we're here she says ....let me ask a few questions. She mentions the fact that several times during this testimony ....the reps have had to leave for votes on the house floor. ...Westmoreland is asking what Clemens thinks of current drug policy of MLB. Massachusetts Rep. John Tierney is back in charge of the discussion. Issa was cut off ...his time is out. Issa ....comments that after McNamee admitted that he lied about having a PHD in physical conditioning .... Issa said," It seems to me that many times PHD stands for Piled Higher and Deeper. " He is asking Clemens if baseball's testing policy ...current policy ... is good for the game and the players involved. He says he believes MLB is headed in the right direction. Issa is asking Scheleer is he is still standing by the Mitchell Report. Braley is a Democrat from Iowa. Clemens acknowledges that McNamee gave him chiropractic adjustments instead of a doctor. Clemens says that McNamee claimed he had his PHD. He later found out he was ly... Duncan ... is a Republican from Tennessee. Clemens now explains that he was never told by his baseball agent or the players association to go meet with Mitchell. He now is telling about how he got ready to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Tournament a couple of years ago. He said he has represented the country whenever asked ...and Bud Selig... Davis is a Democrat from Illinois ....and he's asking investigator Charlie Scheleer ... questions. McNamee claimed at one time he had falsified his work record. He said in the past that he had a PHD in physical conditioning and Davis pointed out that the inaccuracy of that. Davis says he never appeared in advertising material saying he was Clemens and Pettitte's doctor. ...Clemens has been asked about how he reached his former nanny. He said he hadn't talked to her in several years. Davis pointed out that the committee would not have found the nanny if it wouldn't have been for Clemens and his representatives' efforts. Clemens is now explaining why he might have been seen dropping his wife or a golf partner but ,"I was not holed up with someone making a drug deal." ...We're waiting for Clemens' party to return. And I think everyone needs it. ...Clemens says he trusted McNamee totally during the training process. Clemens is answering. He says McNamee apologized to him about injecting Debbie ... and he says thought he had a PHD ... when he actually didn't. Clemens says people try to deceive him on a regular basis. Clemens answers ..and Norton finishes by saying that she's sure Clemens is going to heaven!! ...Waxman is concerned about this. He thinks Clemens pressured the nanny to form her answer for her. Clemens' attorneys are now standing behind him......and Hardin is visually upset. Waxman is questioning Clemens about the alleged meeting in Florida with Jose Conseco. Democratic Rep. William Lacy Clay has the floor ...and is allowing Clemens to talk about his past. He talks about losing his dad at an early age ....age 9 ....and how he didn't have a car while attending high school. He ran to and from school. He's now telling the history of his family and it's trials while he was growing up. He says .. there's someone in this room ..that is trying to break my spirit ...but I won't let him. McNamee is now saying that he's never denied to federal invetigators that Clemens used steroids. McNamee's answers are yes and no ... at this point. Clay is asking McNamee i... Souder is a Republican from Indiana. Souder chaired the Narcotics Commission at one time ..... and he's now grilling McNamee about the dirty syringes and gauze pads. He is asking chairman Waxman to release the depositions. Souder is chastising MLB players for the "wall of science" from players about drug usage. |