Roger Clemens, not surprisingly, is denying Mitchell Report allegations that he used performance-enhancing substances. The Rocket's lawyer Rusty Hardin said yesterday:

Roger Clemens adamantly, vehemently, and whatever other adjectives cn be used, denies that he has ever used steroids or ... improper substances.

The evidence against Roger comes mostly from former trainer Brian McNamee, who says Roger used Winstrol as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998, then moved on to testosterone and HGH while pitching for the Yankees in 2000. McNamee says he personally injected Roger on several occasions, and that Roger commented on how much better he pitched after taking said injections.

Hardin has gone after McNamee's claims, saying:

[Roger] is really, really concerned and upset that he has been named in this report. It's based on the allegations, apparently, of a trainer that he's had in the past. ... That's not a standard someone should be held out in public to have done something as serious as using steroids in baseball.

The big problem with these allegations, of course, is the lack of corroborating evidence. There are no positive drug tests to point to, and there was apparently never anyone else in the room who could confirm seeing a needle enter Roger's buttock. So it's sort of McNamee's word against Roger's. The question then of course becomes: What reason would McNamee have to lie? Are we to believe he just had some personal gripe against Roger? Or perhaps that he's some kind of pathological liar nutbag?

The implicated players' lawyers will all come out with the same refutations, the same attacks against the reputations of guys like McNamee, and Mets clubhouse attendant/steroid guru Kirk Radomski, whom McNamee had dealings with himself. That's all pretty much predictable. The refreshingly unpredictable thing would be for one of the big names accused here to just come clean, to stand up and admit it. A guy like Roger Clemens - if he really used steroids - might actually come across better if he just copped to doing it, said he was sorry, and used the opportunity to urge young people not to make the same mistake he did. But, it's unlikely any of the major stars listed in the report will simply show some noble inclinations and own up. They'll all take the well-worn McGwire/Palmeiro/Sosa route of denial, refusal to answer questions, and sudden inability to speak English.