Figured I would start a thread dedicated to the hearings this Wednesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Per CNN.SI.COM, Pettitte has asked if he can not attend this Wednesday. Copied from that article....


According to the report, Pettitte wants to avoid having to say something publicly that would hurt his friend and former teammate, Roger Clemens, who is stills scheduled to testify on Wednesday and who spent the end of last week meeting informally with committee members on Capitol Hill


It also says that Congressman Henry Waxman out of CA is ok with that and is said to be talking with other members of the committee before a decision is made. I wonder if Waxman is one of the Congressmen that Clemens met with privately these past few days.

That brings me to that story. Why was Clemens allowed to privately meet with 19 memebers of the committee? Seems to me that since Clemens is trying to make this a him vs. MacNamee hearing, MacNamee should have been allowed to have a representative at those meetings. It seems to me that it is not quite fair that Clemens was allowed time alone with people who are supposed to judge or decide his involvement. Especially since some serious charges could be assessed to either Clemens or MacNamee.

Ever see Quiz Show? Wonder if this is Van Dorn (Clemens) versus Stempel (McaNamee)?

I'm not sure how I feel about this. Pettitte already gave his deposition, so information he gave there can be used to evaluate Clemens and his answers on Wednesday. However, as badly as I feel about Pettitte's predicament, such hardships befall those who go against the rules of their sport and the laws of the country. If Clemens is tried for perjury, Pettitte surely would not be excused from testifying there.

I think the odds just improved on Clemens taking the Fifth on Wednesday.

It looks like total desperation to me. He is trying to use his celebrity status to try and influence the committee members. I also would not be surprised if Roger used some sort of huge guilt trip to try and get Andy to skip Wednesday.

ESPN now reporting that it will be Clemens v. McNamee on Wednesday. No Pettitte, Knoblauch, or Radomski.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3241579

So Clemens actively campaigns to some of the committee. A few days later, an active baseball player who caould be harmful for his defense, is excused. If I am Macnamee, I am totally confident that this is going to be a fair hearing.