Shanoff’s Wake-Up Call: Congress Lets Fans Down

By Dan Shanoff
Today’s Calls: Andy Pettitte vs. Henry Waxman, John Rocker vs. Bud Selig, Vivian Stringer vs. Vols Homers, Corey Stokes vs. Jon Wallace, Damion James vs. Kevin Durant, Stephen Jackson vs. Larry Hughes, Eddy Curry vs. Zach Randolph, Reggie Bush vs. Lloyd Lake, Uno vs. the Field and More!
The Opening Pitch: Congress has already blown it, and Roger Clemens doesn’t testify before them for another 24 hours.
Henry Waxman excused Andy Pettitte from publicly testifying tomorrow in front of Congress (along with Radomski and Knoblauch), denying fans the chance of seeing Pettitte answer tough question about his buddy, sitting right next to him.
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If Henry Waxman wanted to spare Pettitte the uncomfortable moment of testifying in front of Clemens, the Congressman misses the entire point of public testimony: Sunshine makes the best disinfectant.
Pettitte’s awkwardness is as much about a much-needed catharsis for fans as it is to force Pettitte to publicly acknowledge his (and Clemens’) betrayals of those fans.
Meanwhile, Rocket to be investigated? Clemens lawyer Rusty Hardin said he thinks that Clemens will be investigated by the Feds for perjury (the “Tejada Rule”).
It remains to be seen whether he uses this as pretext to advise Clemens to avoid answering any specific questions tomorrow when he faces Congress.
(Let’s put it this way: If Clemens ducks ANY questions, any last shred of hope he had that fans believed his denials would be gone, Rocket’s “don’t-want-to-talk-about-the-past” moment.)
John Rocker is the new Jose Canseco? I actually believe all the stuff Rocker says about MLB testing him positive for steroids in 2000, but also telling him and teammates how to duck positive results.
If we have learned anything during this PED scandal, it’s that the biggest lame-brains (like Canseco) are usually the biggest truth-tellers.
It certainly informs the answer to the question “What did Bud Selig know AND WHEN DID HE KNOW IT?” as it relates to steroids in MLB.
If Rocker had only simply stuck with his allegations and skipped his disgusting quote (“Selig ... should do the entire world a favor and kill himself.”), he would have finally had fans believing in him.
Two college hoops controversies last night ...
(1) Tennessee Lady Vols edge Rutgers on controversial clock-work: Home-court advantage should be about fans, not dodgy time-keepers.
“This should not be tolerated,” Rutgers coach Vivian Stringer said of the way the scoreboard clock dubiously stopped with .2 seconds, allowing a Lady Vols player to grab a rebound, get fouled and make the game-winning free-throws.
I’m biased for Rutgers (I argue they became the new “America’s Team”
when the Imus thing happened last year), but the refs should be empowered to review and overrule biased arena scoreboard-workers.
(2) Georgetown men edge Villanova on controversial ref-work: With 0.1 seconds to go, the refs simply should not have called a foul on Nova’s Corey Stokes, putting G’town’s Jon Wallace at the line to win the game in regulation.
More CBB: Texas out-muscles Kansas in Austin, behind Damion James’ 12 points and 13 rebounds... in the 2nd half alone!
This UT team may lack an uber-star like Kevin Durant, but I think they’re a tougher team -- ultimately, a better team -- than last year.
The Longhorns have now racked up wins against Tennessee, UCLA and Kansas. What other team can claim 3 Ws against 3 teams in the Top 6?
NBA Studs: Stephen Jackson had a season-high 41 in the Warriors’ win over the Wiz ... Larry Hughes had a season-high 40 in a Cavs win over the Magic ... Manu Ginobili led the Spurs in every meaningful category (34p, 15r, 6a) in a S.A. win over the Raps ... Pau Gasol Watch: 26 pts (9/11 FG), 6r, team-high 6a in Lakers W.
Shaq practices with Suns: Discount anything you read/see/hear for the next 8 weeks; everything until then is playoffs training.
Meanwhile, the most underrated part of Shaq’s game is his understanding of NBA history: He accepts and respects taking a Kareem-Showtime role.
Larry Brown to the Bulls? Yikes, I hope not. Can you imagine Brown and his ridiculous “Right Way” trying to coach Joakim Noah?
NBA Trade Rumors: Knicks trying to deal Eddy Curry and/or Zach Randolph? Why not? They’re only Isiah’s two biggest deals. (h/t: NY Daily News)
NFL teams make cuts: Let the John Beck Era in Miami begin. It won’t take much to top the Trent Green Era.
NFL: The Steelers are keeping the grass at Heinz Field. Because that Week 12 3-0 debacle against the Dolphins was SO good for the game.
Richard Zednik Update: “Awake, alert and able to talk.” He lost 5 units of blood, and even though docs never really feared for his life, his survival still feels shocking.
Reggie Bush’s college career begins crumbling ... now: Lloyd Lake will begin testifying in a deposition today about all of the improprieties that he involved Bush in while Bush was still at USC.
The main event won’t happen until Feb. 25, when Bush himself is supposed to testify. (Key words: “Supposed to.” He has been doing everything possible to duck making any explanation for this.)
Does anyone out there still believe Bush didn’t do something wildly improper? The only questions are whether it will cost him his Heisman
-- and whether it will cost USC their national title(s).
Beanpot: B.C. tops Harvard in one of the great traditions in college sports. (Longtime readers know that my wife’s college boyfriend was a Beanpot star, leading to an NHL career ...)
(Not that I feel any sort of inferiority complex about it or anything ...)
(More like Eric Taylor after he battled with Tami’s old boyfriend on last week’s season finale of “Friday Night Lights” ...)
The Last Word: Woof. I’m no dog person, but I always find the Westminster Dog Show to be fascinating, even more so this year with the beagle, Uno getting all of the hype for a potential “Best in Show” tonight. (Be sure his handlers don’t misplace the Bizzie Bee.)
Dan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.
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