Morning Briefing May 26, 2010
Baseball
The star witness in a possible perjury case against Roger Clemens testified before a federal grand jury Tuesday, a sign that the panel could be nearing a decision on whether to indict the seven-time Cy Young Award winner for allegedly lying to Congress.
Brian McNamee, Clemens’ former personal trainer, spent more than 2 1/2 hours inside the courthouse where the grand jury meets. Wearing a dark suit, a bright blue tie and accompanied by two lawyers, McNamee gave a quick wave to reporters as he left the meeting rooms but did not speak.
The grand jury has been hearing from witnesses for at least 16 months as it tries to decide whether a case can be made that Clemens lied under oath in 2008 when he told a Congressional committee that he had never taken steroids or human growth hormone. It is not known how many witnesses have come forth or been subpoenaed because the process is conducted in secret, but a former pitcher (Jason Grimsley), a former gym owner from Texas (Kelly Blair) and a former New York Mets clubhouse attendant (Kirk Radomski) are among those who have passed through the third-floor courthouse doors.
Basketball
Twin brothers David and Travis Wear will attend UCLA this fall after leaving North Carolina.
The sophomore forwards played for the Tar Heels last season and received their releases earlier this month. Both have signed written offers of financial aid from UCLA.
Football
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been booted from a youth football camp in Pittsburgh, with coach Mike Tomlin taking over as his last-minute replacement.
Tomlin agreed to fill in for his suspended quarterback in putting on a three-day youth football camp that will be held next month at a suburban Pittsburgh high school.
NFL owners voted to play the 2014 Super Bowl in the new $1.6 billion Meadowlands Stadium at East Rutherford, N.J., in what may very well be the first cold weather championship for the world’s biggest football game.
The league made a special exception for the New York Giants and Jets to bid on the game, and supporters of both teams held their breath when the announcement was made after the fourth and final vote of the owners.
The vote had been widely considered a formality, but it didn’t play out that way. Even after Miami was eliminated, it took two more rounds of voting for New York to get the nod over Tampa.
Hockey
Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman is the Tampa Bay Lightning’s new general manager, taking on the task to rebuilding a franchise that’s fallen on hard times since winning its only Stanley Cup championship six years ago.
The former Detroit Red Wings captain and executive was introduced as Brian Lawton’s replacement during a press conference at St. Pete Times Forum. Lawton and coach Rick Tocchet were fired April 12.
Misceallaneous
The NCAA has a message for would-be college athletes hoping to use online courses to bolster their high school transcripts: proceed with caution.
The organization announced that it will stop accepting course credit from two virtual schools based in Utah and Illinois as part of a move to strengthen high school eligibility standards in Division I.
The move is part of new NCAA rules that require “regular access and interaction” between teachers and students in the 16 core courses required to establish initial eligibility for new college athletes.
— The Associated Press