Astros Assistant General Manager Ricky Bennett was quoted on the Chronicle website saying with all the focus being on Clemens, it might be a better idea to not have him there. Owner Drayton McLane, GM Ed Wade and President Tal Smith will sit down and talk about it.
Clemens is set to speak to Texas High School Baseball coaches tomorrow, even after all the controversy. He's a guest speaker at their convention this weekend in Waco. Officials with the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association had taken a wait-and-see approach after Clemens was named in the Mitchell Report last month.
But after talking to him, Clemens will speak to the coaches. Clemens has repeatedly denied using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs
Another Houstonian named in the Mitchell Report, Bellaire's Chuck Knoblauch, broke his silence in an interview with the New York Times. He said, "I have nothing to defend. I have nothing to hide at the same time."
Knoblauch, Clemens and Andy Pettitte have all been invited to speak at congressional hearings about the Mitchell report. Knoblauch says he hasn't heard anything from the government yet.
At a news conference earlier this week, Clemens said he would answer questions in front of a congressional panel about steroid use in baseball. Major League Baseball today launched a permanent department to investigate drug use in the sport. The hearings start next week with baseball's Commssioner Bug Selig and former Senator George Mitchell. Testimony for the players is scheduled for February 13. Right now, there's no word if all three players will be testifying.