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Paul Daugherty
Enquirer columnist files news and observations

Paul Daugherty
Paul Daugherty has been an Enquirer sports columnist since 1994 and has been chronicling Cincinnati sports since 1988. He has covered almost every major sporting event in America, as well as five Summer Olympics. Along the way, he has been named one of the country's top-5 sports columnists four times, and Ohio columnist of the year on seven different occasions. Last year, he was voted 2nd-best sports columnist in the country, by the Associated Press Sports Editors.

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Monday, January 07, 2008

Clemens and Wallace

Not sure what I expected from the 60 Minutes interview. Mike Wallace was the pit bull of TV journalism, but the 60 Minutes bunch has been known to go Jell-O when jocks were their subjects. The late Ed Bradley did everything but carry T. Woods' bag. Plus, Wallace admits to being friends with Clemens, since their first interview in 2001, and Clemens hand-picked the old guy for this one.

It was OK. Wallace did get The Rocket to "swear'' he hadnt used steroids or HGH, but when he asked Clemens if he'd take a lie-detector test, Clemens hesitated.

Wallace could have asked Clemens what he got from the B-12 shots, which are intended for elderly folks with a lack of energy, not 40-year-old workout fanatics. Had Wallace done more homework, he might have known several cheaters claimed they used B-12, not steroids, including M. Tejada and R. Palmeiro. He might have noted that in bodybuilding circles, B-12 is known as a masking agent.

Wallace might have asked Clemens why in recent years he waited until after the season started to make his debut. Could it have been he was using in the offseason and might have failed a random test? Who knows? Wallace never asked the question.

Instead, he let Clemens ramble about how "pissed off'' he was because he'd been so great to McNamee the rat trainer, which is entirely irrelevant.

Clemens also said his body had always looked the way it has since 1999, which simply isn't true. A Before and After photo lineup would have been helpful. We do that w/Bonds all the time.

Clemens got off 1 especially good sound bite -- something about being able to pull a truck with his teeth -- that you had to feel had been rehearsed. You'd give him the benefit of the doubt -- as he requested early in the interview --if so many before him hadnt come off the same way -- shocked, aggrieved, defiantly denying everything. See: Palmeiro, Marion Jones, Floyd Landis, Martina Hingis, Bonds. The evidence against each was overwhelming.


17 Comments:

at 9:17 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe Wallace should have taken Clemens outside to prove that he indeed cannot pull a truck with his teeth. How do we know. Maybe he can. Isn't that what this is all about. Guilty until proven innocent.

By the way, I used to take VIOXX for my aching knees and man, that stuff was good. My health picture now is 2 bum knees - 0 heart attacks. More "chicklettes" please.

 
at 12:33 PM Blogger Nathan said...

The single biggest cloud over Clemens, IMHO, is Pettite. Pettite's admission that he used, his confirmation of the trainer's story, and close working relationship/friendship with Clemens is why fans are unwilling to give Clemens the benefit of the doubt here.

 
at 12:45 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, he ducked the lie-detector question >> something about "even if I pass, it won't be enough to exonerate me, so there's no point in taking one". OK...

 
at 1:05 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

To me the interesting subject on all this steroids mess is no longer the "did he" or "didn't he" issue but what will sports Hall of Fames do.

I've always thought Rose should be in the baseball Hall because what he did came when he was a manager, not a player, and doesn't take away from what he accomplished on the field.

Likewise, Bonds had already accomplished enough to be in the Hall by the time he started using steroids (1998 or '99). Same for Clemens (1998). Certainly there will be others who fall into this category when you can pinpoint the time of usage.

At some point the sports Halls have to include their greatest stars and put an asterisk on their plaques, if necessary. These Halls are making induction to be like standing before St. Peter. It's not.

The Hall of Fame is a museum.

 
at 2:22 PM Blogger oldtimer said...

Maybe we should have a special corridor, call it the Fall from Fame, the Hall of Shame, or The Corridor of Guilt. Bestow equal honors accorded those in the main Hall, just let this be their own special asteriks.

Baseball would never do it, makes too much sense. The best thing about all this crap, it finally overshadows Pete's mischief and puts him into the past. Finally Selig will have to let his grudge thing go, and deal with the bigger mess that is quickly turning his legacy as commissioner into something uglier than Pete's sorry legacy.

These guys cheated. I see no eveidence yet that Pete did. HE may have broke rules, but he didn't cheat. Case closed. Put him in the HOF where he belongs. And give him back the love that he gave the game as a player. Anything else is horse hockey.

 
at 4:25 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

What is the difference between cheating and breaking the rules? Seriously. The first time Rose walked into a baseball clubhouse he knew there was one thing he could not do. Bet on baseball. He chose to ignore the rule. Then lied about it for how many years?
I was behind home plate for 4192 and felt lucky to be there. Glad I saw history. I am not the least bit saddened by Rose's exclusion. ?He made choices on his own. Doesn't like the consequences? To bad, he knew he was trying to cheat the rules.

Robert Young
Milford

 
at 5:31 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is not a shot at the Dough, he's super. But isn't it a shame on baseball that on the day Ohio State is playing for the National Championship the topic of the day, even in Ohio, is DRUGS in sports?

 
at 12:10 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Daugherty, You were talking on Sports Talk about how osu was going to destroy LSU...You also said if they didn't you weren't coming into work tomorrow...Better call in, because osu lost.

 
at 12:12 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Daugherty, you said on Sports Talk that you were not going into work of osu lost...Well they lost, so I guess we'll have a guest host for Sports Talk tomorrow night.

 
at 8:04 AM Blogger oldtimer said...

4:25

You don't "cheat" rules, OK? You may break them but you don't cheat them. Pete may have cheated on his taxes, like lots of others, but he to this date has never been shown to cheat at baseball. Don't call him that. Unless you/ve got the guts to do it to his face.

Cheating is an act or behaviour put forth in a competitive situation to gain an unfair advantage over someone. Taking roids certainly gave these current fallen stars a huge boost in energy and strength, which likely enhanced their already incredible physical attributes. Hence it's beem labeled cheating and is banned. What advantage did Pete have betting on his own team? Possibly he may have had a little inside info, I'll grant you that, but nothing concrete has ever shown up in that department. And the inside info was not used to 'throw' games, which was the main intent of the rule. Pete bet for the thrill and got addicted in the process, so yes he broke the rules and stubbormly lied, but he did not cheat. PLease note the distinction.

And also note there's a HUGE difference between betting on your team to win and betting on your team to lose. It boggles my mind the distinction is forever being ignored.

Had Pete bet to lose, he deserves no mercy. The guy was so driven and intense about winning, I see no way he could or would. He did consort with some unsavory characters and that alone brings him special shame. But he's served his time and don't tell me Selig hasn't had a little silent vendetta going on here. His kid glove handling of Bonds last summer shows his real backbone, and it's jelly. The guy is, in the truest sense of the word, a 'schmuck".

As for Pete's lying, so have all these other guys, pretty much. Why bring it up? I say treat em like Pete and ban them all, make them into punching bags, just like Pete. Ol 'Butt' Selig has a huge mess on his spineless hands, and I will enjoy watching his hand wringing and wiggling unfold. Look for him to announce his retirement soon.

One other quick point: you talk about being at 1492 as though it was more important to be able to say you were there than to cheer for Pete. Clearly you have a bias against him, like so many other fools in this town who turned on him. I find it sad and so 'Cincinnati', this moral superiority attitude towards Rose. Give me and him a break, good grief. He was the penultimate working class hero, a guy who made it to the top with hard work, intensity, and never-quit. He never cheated once as a player. He was a joy to watch, the all-out kind of player you rarely see any more. As a player he embodied the game more than anyone I ever saw. He's been punished long enough. Free Pete. Dethrone Bud. Lie detect Roger. Clean up the mess with the same hard nosed justice Pete got.

 
at 9:43 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

4:25 ask people in the know about all the "Greenies" Pete used to eat on game day and get back to me on him not cheating. Yes many players at the time ate uppers like M&Ms so yes they all cheated, does that make it right?
And to set the record straight I was at 4192 to cheer Pete not to say I was there. Years later when Pete showed what tools we were for supporting him I wised up to what a fool I was.
If nothing else Rose showed everyone that rules apply to all, not hust the gifted few.
And what about all the fans that Rose "cheated" out of their dreams because they believed his lies for what 15 years?
What Selig has ignored for years as far as Roids is inexcusable, granted. What does that have to due w/ Rose betting on baseball? Both are wrong. At the time only one was against the rules.
Roids have been banned for only a few years. Betting on baseball? That was banned in the 1880's.

Robert Young
Milford

 
at 7:16 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

How did Paul's Blog on Clemens/Wallace turn into a Pete Rose issue??

Reality is, Pete lived in an "information age" where all his stupid stuff became public knowledge.
Ty Cobb, the Babe, Mickey..... would've all been crucified in an "information age".

Too bad Pete! But you'll always have the hit record, never the Hall-of-Fame.

Oh yeah, Clemens is guilty as _ell, see B. Bonds.

 
at 8:52 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Doc,
Thanks for the background info on B-12. It really helps my argument I had with a co-worker earlier. Too bad you didn't do the interview

 
at 4:17 PM Blogger kev said...

What will happen to all of those with "guilty knowledge" of steroids abuse and never reported it? Will they be treated like Buck Weaver was and banned from the game? The sad thing is, baseball knew and did nothing about it until their hand was forced.

 
at 4:17 PM Blogger kev said...

What will happen to all of those with "guilty knowledge" of steroids abuse and never reported it? Will they be treated like Buck Weaver was and banned from the game? The sad thing is, baseball knew and did nothing about it until their hand was forced.

 
at 6:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Since this has turned into a Pete Rose forum, one other comment. Say you have a kid in school, what would you rather have her do, cheat on a test or have her bet another kid that she gets an A on it?

 
at 9:22 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

IMveryHO.
Bud (get a haircut) Selig should be the point man for this whole mess. Course, he's just fronting the the getting-richer-by-the-minute owners.

Castelinni, man up! You have the opportunity to be a national hero.

 
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