A federal judge in Houston dismissed most of former pitcher Roger Clemens' defamation lawsuit against his former personal trainer Thursday, saying statements made in the Mitchell Report on doping in baseball are protected.
Judge throws out Clemens' suit against trainer
By STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
February 13, 2009 at 5:52AM
Brian McNamee has told federal agents, baseball investigator George Mitchell and a House of Representatives committee that he injected Clemens more than a dozen times with steroids and human growth hormone from 1998-2001.
McNamee's attorneys said Clemens' lawsuit should be thrown out because McNamee was compelled to cooperate by federal investigators. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison agreed.
Selig blasts A-Rod Unable to punish Alex Rodriguez for flunking a drug test that was supposed to be anonymous, Bud Selig could only chastise him.
"What Alex did was wrong and he will have to live with the damage he has done to his name and reputation," the commissioner said Thursday, three days after the Yankees star admitted using banned substances from 2001-2003 while playing for Texas.
"While Alex deserves credit for publicly confronting the issue, there is no valid excuse for using such substances, and those who use them have shamed the game," Selig said.
Oliva released from hospital Former Twins great Tony Oliva has been released from a Miami- area hospital and cleared to continue with his pre-spring training trip.
Oliva checked into Hialeah, Fla., hospital on Saturday with a 103-degree fever. Doctors diagnosed a blood infection.
"They got that under control, and he is doing fine," said Jim Rantz, the Twins director of minor leagues, who has been in touch with Oliva's wife, Gordette. "He was awfully sick for a few days but they got him on antibiotics."
Oliva, 70, will go on a cruise that begins Saturday before heading to Fort Myers, Fla., where he will join the Twins for spring training as a special instructor.
• The Twins have agreed to terms with outfielder Delmon Young on a one-year, $1.152 million contract. The figure represents a 20 percent cut from the $1.44 million he made last season, which was $700,000 in salary plus the prorated share of his $3.7 million signing bonus in 2004 ($740,000).
• The Twins remain interested in free agent third baseman Joe Crede, but the sides continue to differ on how much guaranteed money he deserves.
Crede would like about $7 million guaranteed, plus incentives. Indications are that the Twins would prefer to sign Crede to a deal that, with incentives, would reach around $7 million.
Crede, 30, is coming off two seasons of back problems, which makes the Twins reluctant to agree to his base salary request.
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STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Emmanuel Rodriguez had an abbreviated season after being hit by the injury bug, but he showed promise as a disciplined hitter.
