Son meets war dad, Roger Clemens and cool/not cool

Some 13 year old boy, participating in an on-field contest during a break in a Seattle Mariners' home came, was stopped by a major league umpire. Thing is, it wasn't really an umpire. It was the kid's dad, dressed up to look like one -- just home from a military tour in Afghanistan. The kid didn't even know his dad was back, much less what the Mariners had arranged to surprise him. To be reunited with his father, in the middle of a major league baseball field, with the PA announcer calling the play-by-play of what had really happened, while the thousands of fans in attendance roared their approval? Now how cool is THAT? It's something the kid will never forget for as long as he lives.

Yet, I suppose there's a law of physics somewhere dictating that for every cool thing that happens -- something equally not cool has to occur. That would seem to be the case with the Roger Clemens fiasco. The never-say-die feds are back for Round 2 with the Rocket Man. Jury selection is about to begin once again. Most everybody knows Clemens was originally accused of taking "performance enhancing drugs" many years ago while still a player. He denied it.

In the media-generated fervor that gripped the sports world back then about the "users", incredibly, Congress decided to get involved, as if they didn't have anything better to do. Clemens was hauled before a bunch of politicians, where he once again denied it. To be clear, back when Clemens was allegedly using the stuff -- it was legal. That's not what this travesty is all about. His supposed crime is lying --  to the same bunch of politicians. Even if so, wouldn't that be like giving an arsonist a "hot foot"?

At any rate, Round 1 ended in a mistrial, because the prosecution tried to sneak in some illegal "evidence". Imagine that.  Chalk up thousands of bucks out of Clemens' pocket for his lawyers, and who knows how much of our tax-payer money the feds spent on the initial charade. At this point, I doubt if one person in a hundred really cares about it, but the feds insist on doing it all over again. They don't care. After all, they have an unlimited budget that you and I are paying for.

And here's the kicker. Even if the feds finally manage to pin something on Clemens, one needs only to remember what eventually happened to Barry Bonds, not long ago. After years of persecution and spending a bazillion tax-payer dollars, Bonds was ultimately convicted of only some minor obstruction of justice charge. His sentence? 30 days of home confinement -- in his own mansion.

Clemens would appear to fit the same scenario. After all the time, energy, and megabucks spent on this fiasco, posssibly resulting in Roger getting grounded to his ranch for a month -- was it really worth it?

My answer would be -- No. This is definitely not cool.

The kid and his dad in Seattle was heart warming. Cool.

If the feds remain true to form, they might charge the returning vet with crossing state lines to impersonate an official of major league ball. Not cool.