Ali-Frazier, De La Hoya-Mayweather and now…Clemens-McNamee. By the time you’ve read this, Roger Clemens will have arrived for an event that could define his entire career. “The Rocket” is set to go before Congress this morning and defend his assertion that he’s never taken a performance-enhancing drug. If what we’ve heard is any indication, Clemens could be in for a very, very long morning in our Nation’s Capital.

Remember the last time Major League Baseball stars went before Congress? All it did was result in the complete self-destruction of guys named Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa. Now we can safely assume that Clemens won’t forget English. We can also assume that Clemens will, in fact, be there to talk about the past. But what will happen next is anyone’s guess.

Unfortunately for Clemens, he’ll have few allies by his side. Former teammates Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch have already come forward and admitted their own ‘roid use. But even more damaging for the Rocket was Pettitte’s testimony, which stated that Clemens used HGH nearly 10 years ago. Not good, Roger. Not good.

In the end, this Congress thing won’t be solving much. We can expect both Clemens and McNamee to stick to their stories. We can also expect this media circus to carry on for a few more months. And unfortunately, this saga will only distract people from some actual good news in the world of baseball. Pitchers and catchers report this week!