Clemens Entering 'Hall Defame'?

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The litigation swirling around seven-time Cy Young Award-winner Roger Clemens continues to mount (see "TUOL" post 7/2/09), and soon, you'll need a scorecard to sort out all the players.

The latest lawsuit hails from Texas, courtesy of a former Houston gym owner. In Kelly Blair v. Michael O'Keeffe, Christian Red, Teri Thompson, Nathaniel Vinton, Robin Dobbins, & Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (Harris County District Court Cause No. 09-50671), Blair sued the publisher of "American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America's Pastime," and four New York Daily News reporters who wrote the book for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

According to Blair, the book allegedly falsely portrays him as a drug dealer operating an underground steroids network. Among the allegations in the book that Blair disputes are that he sold steroids to New York Yankees southpaw Andy Pettitte and Clemens, the retired 46-year-old pitching great, and to Pettitte's father.

Last month, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas drove a stake into the heart of Clemens' defamation suit against Brian McNamee. Meanwhile, McNamee's attorneys vow to bring a defamation suit against Clemens in a New York court.

With apologies to umpires everywhere: "Plaintiff Up!"