Roger before Congress

[wadeintothem]

A disgraceful wasted over intrusion by people who ALLEGEDLY (or at least should) have better things to do.

A bunch of blow hards wanting to get their faces on TV and names in the press so they drag in Roger Clemens..

Personally, I dont care one way or the other.. if he broke the law.. thats not a Senate issue.

Did he and the others taint baseball?? Well.. know what? That's not a senate issue either. That is a MLB and their fans issue.

This is a pathetic fiasco on the part of congress.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by wadeintothem

Personally, I dont care one way or the other.. if he broke the law.. thats not a Senate issue.

Did he and the others taint baseball?? Well.. know what? That's not a senate issue either. That is a MLB and their fans issue.

Breaking the law isn't a Senate issue?

The usage of illegal drugs isn't a Senate issue?

Yer funny......

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by wadeintothem

... if he broke the law.. thats not a Senate issue.

Did he and the others taint baseball?? Well.. know what? That's not a senate issue either. ...

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Breaking the law isn't a Senate issue?

The usage of illegal drugs isn't a Senate issue?

Yer funny......

While I agree with wade that this was not a legitimate issue for a Congressional hearing (no, they weren't investigating law breaking, they were grandstanding... some were practically gushing over Clemens - pathetic...), I'd point out to both of you that this was NOT a Senate issue. This was a House committee hearing...

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Dakota

While I agree with wade that this was not a legitimate issue for a Congressional hearing (no, they weren't investigating law breaking, they were grandstanding... some were practically gushing over Clemens - pathetic...), I'd point out to both of you that this was NOT a Senate issue. This was a House committee hearing...

...and Congress feels the right to poke around because Congress has allowed MLB an exemption to the anti-trust laws, which is one of the very few exemptions they have allowed.

JJ

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by JJ

...and Congress feels the right to poke around because Congress has allowed MLB an exemption to the anti-trust laws, which is one of the very few exemptions they have allowed.

JJ

The Supreme Court declared MLB exempt.

[umpjong]

Originally Posted by Rich Ives

The Supreme Court declared MLB exempt.

Technically, you are both correct. The supreme court ruled that the current anti trust laws did not apply to baseball, but also stated that congress could legislate anti trust laws that could apply to baseball. (so congress "has allowed" the exemption)

[waltjp]

Originally Posted by Dakota

While I agree with wade that this was not a legitimate issue for a Congressional hearing (no, they weren't investigating law breaking, they were grandstanding... some were practically gushing over Clemens - pathetic...), I'd point out to both of you that this was NOT a Senate issue. This was a House committee hearing...

Correct! The Senate was busy meeting with the NFL guys.

[ptmac]

It seems to me that there was indeed a ton of grandstanding by adults who have never grown up. I looked at Andy Pettitt and Chuck Knoblauch’s depositions and testimony before the committee as well as a fair bit of other documentation that the committee released yesterday. With few exceptions, what a bunch of bottom-dwelling, scum-sucking ditch pigs…..oops, sorry, didn't mean to demean our animal friends.... . A Perfectly Performed Pirouette of Porcine CYA...

It all points up the bankruptcy of MLB to properly address issues in a timely manner. What did they do when the home run derby was going on? Can they seriously say that the ball was juiced? Certainly the players were, as we’ve come to understand (Mark, Barry, Sammy, Jose et al…). They’re trying to do as little as possible, and hope that we'll all ignore the owners, team officials and player's efforts to do whatever they want and pay for the priviledge of seeing these overblown princesses perform their chemically-induced magic. After all, better living through chemistry, right?

The real issue for me is whether or not the Congress will remove the antitrust exemption from baseball. An antiquated exemption that may be mercifully coming to an end. Perhaps they should compete on the same level surface as every other sport or commercial enterprise in America. A reasoned look at the exemption can be found at http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/Courses/econ352jpw/readme/Baseball%20Prospectus%20-%20Ending%20Baseball's%20Antitrust%20Exemption.htm .

Testing, testing, testing – would you believe now that baseball can structure and manage a testing program? I certainly don’t. This may be the lever to push Bud and the buds ‘n suds to accepting year round independent unannounced mandatory testing to clean up at least the perception that’s going around.

Thanks for reading my rant - perhaps no raves here....

[dash_riprock]

For me, the pathetic part was that Congress somehow found a way to make it a partisan issue. Con-gress - an antonym for Pro-gress. (Admittedly trite, but apropos nonetheless.)

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by dash_riprock

For me, the pathetic part was that Congress somehow found a way to make it a partisan issue. Con-gress - an antonym for Pro-gress. (Admittedly trite, but apropos nonetheless.)

Yeah, that was a wonderment to behold... the Republicans seemed to line up for Clemens, and the Democrats for McNamee.

I'm not sure what to make of that... sports cheats are Republicans and drug dealers are Democrats? What

It is almost like they are programmed to choose opposite sides on every issue, no matter how pointless.

The fawning over Clemens was embarrassing. I almost expected one of the members to ask for his autograph.

Still, McNamee's story held up better than Clemens' did, IMO.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by waltjp

Correct! The Senate was busy meeting with the NFL guys.

That won't work. The NFL has already burned all the evidence.

And now the Commish says that Belechick has been illegally taping since the year 2000.

[jkumpire]

Guys,

With the way the governement is expanding its reach into more and more of lives, and messing things up more and more, it is a relief when they do something that causes little damage like that steroid hearing!

If it will keep them from fouling anything else up, let them do more hearings like this.