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by Digger

Roger Clemens is making headlines once again. He's recently been linked to human growth hormone usage, being investigated for possible perjury stemming from Congressional testimony, engaged in a defamation suit brought against his former friend and personal trainer... and now... an alledged ten year affair with country singer Mindy McCready.

New York Daily News reported on its' website Sunday night, that Clemens and McCready carried on a ten year affair as cited by several sources. This has been denied by Clemens lawyer Rusty Hardin who claims it was nothing more than a friendship, nothing sexual.

Clemens credibility has already been called into question by his earlier statements to Congress. Well, he's now in a different ballgame. "IF" this story turns out to be correct, the Roger - MeCready affair began when she was 15 years old !!! (he was 28 at the time). According to excerpt's of Sundays Daily News story, Clemens first met her while in a Fort Myers bar with former Red Sox teammates. Later on she traveled with him, attended games, received usage of a plane provided by Clemens, bail money after violating her parole for hitting her mother.

This latest sordid story only piles onto Rogers woes. This issue will certainly be brought into the spotlight during his defamation suit vs Brian McNamee (former friend and personal trainer). Roger's suit is for damages based on human growth hormone testimony given by McNamee who also claimed to have saved syringes, gauze and other items with containing Clemens blood. The issue in this lawsuit is how Clemens reputation has been damaged. This type of story is perfect defense ammunition for McNamee as Clemens entire personal public history is fair game including his marital purity. This is a defense attouney's dream... perfectly allowable to discredit Roger's claims, past statements and probably suit against McNamee.

In recent months, the public has been made well aware of public figures extramarital affairs from Hollywood icons to politicians such as Elliot Spitzer. They all deny with great intensity only to succumb to evidence provided which clearly contradicts their stories.

"If" and affair is proven true (McCready has not commented), and "if" Congressional inquiries prove perjury, and "if" McNamee's defense prevails ... Roger Clemens nickname will be forever changed from "The Rocket" to whatever entertains public giggles. He'll certainly be punch line material for late night talk show hosts and baseball fans for many months to come.

It's hard to feel sorry for a man like Clemens. Had he kept his mouth shut after the Mitchell Report tagged him as a possible HGH/steroid user, life would have gone on as normal. Instead, call it ego, pride or whatever it was which made him feel urgency to defend an already impeccable (so it seemed) reputation... has now dragged him deeper into the realms of being only human. Not quite what he's been used to when living life on a supertar pedestal over the previous twenty plus years.

Clemens story no longer has the chance to fade quietly into the night. "Several" sources are quite different from "anonymous" sources. In my book, when I hear reporters state anonymous... it's often their way of falsifying a story (as made famous on plenty of occasion's by The New York Times). When I hear several... look out Roger... there must be something to this story.

**BREAKING NEWS**
Shortly after this blog was posted, Mindy McCready confirmed to reporters outside of her home she "DID" have an affair with Roger Clemens. For the latest coverage visit The New York Daily News Sports Section (April 29, 2008 edition... this link will soon by changed by daily newspaper events).

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