Roger Clemens has been called a steroid user, a hothead and a liar over the past two months, and he has denied them all.
But a vegan?
The question, lobbed during Wednesday's congressional hearing, seemed to baffle the burly Clemens.
“Have you ever been a vegan?” Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, said as he ran down a list of people who receive injections of vitamin B12, as Clemens has said he did.
“I don't know what that is,” Clemens said. “I'm sorry.”
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sensed an opening, and took it, mailing Clemens a care package Friday of vegan treats, along with a tongue-in-cheek letter urging him to “get drugs out of your system once and for all and choose a meat-free diet.”
The package included vegan chocolate bars and faux beef jerky, as well as a list of athletes who swear by the diet, including former track star Carl Lewis and guard Salim Stoudamire of the Atlanta Hawks.
Dan Shannon, the assistant director of campaigns for PETA, said he was startled to hear that Clemens, an aficionado of diet and exercise regimens, had not heard of veganism.
“We were a little surprised to learn that in this day and age, anybody wouldn't know what vegan was,” he said. “We felt like we could educate him a little bit.”
TRIVIA TIME
When was the first Daytona 500?
PHILLY GETS PUNKED
Kyle Kendrick, a 10-game winner as a rookie last year for the Philadelphia Phillies, was the victim of a well-executed prank initiated by teammate Brett Myers.
Kendrick was called into manager Charlie Manuel's office in Clearwater, Fla., where he was informed by Assistant General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. that he had been traded to the Yomiuri Giants in Japan. Stunned by the news, Kendrick signed phony paperwork and nearly broke down in tears as he wandered back into the clubhouse and into a hallway.
He called his agent, who was in on the joke, and was consoled by teammates. Then Kendrick answered questions from reporters.
Finally, after several questions, Myers jumped in with his best Ashton Kutcher imitation, yelling, “You got punk'd!”
A relieved Kendrick took it well. “I've never been so happy,” he said.
PARTING SHOT
Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press weighs in on the Clemens-Brian McNamee case: “ . . . In the end, I think this is more about the thrill of the hunt than anything else. That, and congressmen getting face time on ESPN, which, unlike C-SPAN, is a station their constituents actually watch.”
TRIVIA ANSWER
On Feb. 22, 1959, Daytona International Speedway hosted the first Daytona 500.
– FROM NEWS SERVICES
