Surprise, Surprise: Clemens not guilty

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There's sure to be a ton of outrage over the news that former PawSox pitcher Roger Clemens has been acquitted on all charges that he lied to Congress.

Not only because we all believe that Clemens is guilty, or that the government wasted all sorts of money on the botched trial and investigation. But because Clemens knew exactly what he was doing. That the result of his trial further proves that guys like Clemenssuper rich, super famousnot only believe that they're above the law, but that in many case, they are. And that sucks.

But as outraged as we all are that Clemens walked, I'm not sure how anyone's surprised. It's like boxing fans who are still shocked every time a major fight ends in controversy. As if the most recent sketchy fight is the first one in history. Clemens got off? Of course he got off. They all get off! There was never any doubt.

But I'll say this: At least he didn't kill anyone. At least he didn't hurt anyone but himself. At least what he was lying about is something that a large number of players were doing at the very same time. It may seem like I'm making excuses, but I'm not. I'm just saying that there are worst travesties in the world than Roger Clemens getting off on charges that he lied to Congress about taking steroids to play baseball. I understand the principle of the whole thing, but in the big picture, there are far more important storiesfor instance, the trial currently going on up in Pennsylvania.

So as angry as I am that Clemens is free, at the end of the day, I'll take a little solace in the fact that he had to spend a ton of money defending himself and had to forfeit a lot of time and energy fighting this battle. That even though he's free, no one believes that he's innocent and he'll still never make the Hall of Fame. That suddenly, Clemens closesly resembles a bloated mix of Lloyd Christmas and Tom Sizemore in Striking Distance.

It's not much, but it will have to do for now.

In the meantime, the comeback watch begins. Word has it that Clemens has told the Yankees that he can be ready by August.

He's just waiting on a shipment of B-12.

Rich can be reached at rlevine@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Rich on Twitter at http:twitter.comrich_levine

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