Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Matchup 10: Roger Clemens vs. Pacman Jones

ROGER CLEMENS--CREDENTIALS

  • One of the greatest pitchers of all time
  • More than 350 wins
  • Seven Cy Young Awards
  • Struck out 20 batters in a game twice
  • Struck out over 4,000 batters
  • Clemens and ESPN have turned "non-news" into an art form (Our top story tonight: Roger Clemens STILL hasn't decided if he'll pitch this year)
  • Greg Maddux is only 11 wins behind Clemens (at last check), and Maddux made his MLB debut 2 years after Clemens--but he doesn't get anywhere near the attention
  • Is making $28 million this year. So far he has 3 wins in 13 starts
  • This story is usually buried by ESPN, due in part to the Alex Rodriguez Hype Machine
  • So are the steroid allegations. But allegations against Barry Bonds aren't
  • Clemens's minor league starts are aired live on ESPN
PACMAN JONES--CREDENTIALS
  • Sixth overall pick in 2005 NFL Draft
  • Scored four touchdowns last year, playing only on defense and special teams
  • Legal problems too numerous to mention
  • Suspended for the year by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
  • Coverage of his legal problems and suspension dominated ESPN coverage for months (only to be surpassed by Michael Vick's problems)
  • Currently ESPN's "poster person for bad behavior" (along with Vick)
  • ESPN used Pacman Jones's "mug shot" for its official "over the shoulder" graphic on SportsCenter

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