The Roger Clemens Institute for Sports Medicine at Houston’s Memorial Hermann Medical Center is about to become the Roger Clemens Memorial Hermann Sports Medical Institute. Yet it doesn’t want to give Roger Clemens his money back, and it seems to have a convincing case: if it did, doctors would violate their Hippocratic oath.

The move is a low-blow to the rocket, who continues to fight back ugly fallout from the Mitchell Report into steroids in baseball. While Clemens continues to proclaim his innocence of charges brought against him — with the government concurrently searching for ways to indict the former ace on perjury — the Houston hospital allegedly decided to pull his moniker from the center’s name, “to better reflect its commitment to all sports and athletes” and that “the move reflects the desire to promote the broad range of sports medicine services and programs offered by Memorial Hermann.”

That, friends, is a big, heaping pile of bull$h!+. Anyone who thinks pulling Clemens’ name from one of the best sources of subconscious goodwill he could have received isn’t an obvious public shaming is positively delusional.

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The Blue Jays and slugger DH Frank Thomas have parted ways, a decision that came one day after Thomas balked at a reduced role with the Jays.

(“Hold me, Barry.” “Hold me, Frank.”)

Thomas was released Sunday by the Blue Jays, just a year after hitting 26 home runs and knocking in 95 runs for Toronto. The big sticking point was a plate appearances clause that would have triggered a $10 million option next season. He’s hitting just .167 but does have three homers and 11 RBI this year. Read more…

While it’s great to hear Bud Selig taking one of the recommendations of the Mitchell Report seriously, we didn’t expect it would be this one: all players, managers, and front office officials now have a hotline to call if they suspect one of their witch hunt targets players has been into the performance enhancing hooch.

(This man would like to remind you that snitches play games with balls that have stitches)

The pertinent baseball personnel received the number (along with a Web site and email address) in January, which filters all information to the Major League Baseball Department of Investigations. (Seriously, was “MLB Committee on Un-American Activities” taken?) It is a mystery why the Internet does not already have this information.
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• FARK TV looks at what the future of baseball holds post-Mitchell Report.

(The Mitchell Report - before & after)

• Think Erin Andrews eating a sandwich was hot? Well, the guys at JOE SPORTS FAN hunger at the site of George H.W. Bush scarfing down a sub.

• STEROID NATION needs to make a pit stop, as a NASCAR driver admits to shooting up heroin before racing.

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Brian McNamee made a rare public appearance on Thursday, as the former Yankees trainer and Mitchell Report lynch pin gave a brief “motivational speech” - at a health supplement store.

The ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that McNamee spoke to a small group of high school athletes, coached and parents at his friend’s store in Everett, MA. Most of his 12-minute talk was about making mistakes and how to recover:

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George W. Bush is scheduled to toss out the first pitch at Nationals Park on Sunday, presumably to Nats starting catcher Paul Lo Duca.

But as Ken Herman of the the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN points out, this friendly game of catch sets up an interesting showdown - thanks to the Mitchell Report. Read more…

It looks like Andy, Roger (& Debbie), and all those others named in the Mitchell Report may have done all that supposed needling for nothing.

MSNBC reports on a new study that reveals human growth hormone isn’t making athletes stronger, and in fact, it might be hurting performance.

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The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH reports today that Albert Pujols is not happy.

The P-D: “The Cardinals first baseman and a Most Valuable Player award winner was calm, pointed and clearly irritated as he spoke publicly Monday for the first time about an erroneous news report in December that linked him to an investigation on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional baseball.”

Pujols: “I know we’re in a dark cloud of steroids, (but) now people are going to second-guess my numbers because of some guy starting something that wasn’t the truth. … They ruined my image.”

Pujols was so upset by the report, and more specifically, a St. Louis media outlet’s follow-up, that he ordered that local station “out of the room” for his press conference yesterday. Read more…

A bit confused by the whole Mitchell Report? Finding it hard to comb through all 409 pages in one sitting? Well, the fine folks at SLATE have injected a little orderly organization into the pumped-up mess:

Thanks to the SocialAction software tool, Adam Perer & Chris Wilson have come up with this steroids social network chart - explaining the connections between various players & trainers in the whole sordid anabolic affair.

Wonder how Roger Clemens could be caught up with Paul Lo Duca? Or how Chuck Knoblauch can be tangled with Miguel Tejada? It’s all here. Just roll over the names to see what these guys have been up to.

It’s hours of interactive fun! Or at least 10 minutes during your next coffee break.

Because of a small fib, Miguel Tejada could be saying adios to America.

The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reports that Tejada’s citizenship status is in trouble if it’s determined he lied to federal agents about using steroids.

The new Houston Astro was questioned in 2005, after Rafael Palmeiro claimed he tested positive for steroids because Tejada gave him tainted B-12 vitamins. Miguel responded that he never took the stuff and didn’t know any other players who did. Read more…