EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

Of all the names released yesterday - 86 of them to be exact - Roger Clemens' hurt the most.

His story was among the many sickening accounts emanating from the already infamous Mitchell Report. Compiled in a 21-month investigation led by former U.S. Sen. George J. Mitchell, the 409-page document blew the cover off illegal performance-enhancing drug use in Major League Baseball.

The Clemens account stings because we thought he and his accomplishments were about going the extra mile when nobody else wanted to or could. We thought his competitive fire simply roared hotter than most.

According to the report, Clemens' desire to be the best, at any cost, ultimately got the best of him.

Following the highly anticipated report's release yesterday, the only person breathing a sigh of relief has to be Barry Bonds. He now has company among the biggest cheats in professional sports. Finally.

Bonds, baseball's original poster boy for cheating, is now just one of many faces. He always said that his skin color played into the scrutiny that he received for using performance-enhancing drugs to help break Hank Aaron's home run record. Perhaps he was right.

But Clemens, who has won 354 games, eighth most all-time and the most for a pitcher who played after 1965, might be Bonds' replacement as the most vilified man in professional sports.

Bonds' reputation as an all-time great and home run champion has been butchered, deservedly so, because of his apparent obsession, which drove him to abuse steroids and human growth hormones. His surly demeanor before, during and after his assault on the record book certainly didn't help his cause.

However, Clemens is a different story. He was always respected, primarily because of his winning ways.

Around here, Clemens was lambasted for leaving the Red Sox for the Blue Jays after vowing he would only leave Boston for "home" in Houston. Then he requested a trade from Toronto to the New York Yankees.

From that point on, his name was a lightning rod in the Boston sports scene.

Clemens won 198 games and three Cy Young Awards as the American League's best pitcher while wearing a Red Sox uniform over 13 seasons. Former Sox general manager Dan Duquette was OK with his departure, stating Clemens was in the "twilight of his career."

Duquette couldn't have been more wrong. Clemens went on to win four more Cy Young Awards (two with Toronto, one with the Yankees and one with Houston) from the ages 34 to 41. But Clemens had some help, as the Mitchell Report states.

According to sworn testimony by a former strength and conditioning coach with the Blue Jays and Yankees, Brian McNamee, Clemens used steroids and human growth hormones on several occasions.

McNamee was one of the few people in baseball who agreed to meet with Mitchell's team of investigators.

As to when Clemens started using steroids, the report says it was after he left Boston following the 1996 season. But that might not be the case. His association with admitted steroids user and personal friend Jose Canseco began when Canseco joined Boston before the 1995 season.

McNamee gave detailed accounts of injecting Clemens in the buttocks several times with steroids in 1997 when both lived in an apartment building overlooking the SkyDome in Toronto.

Canceled checks and phone records apparently corroborate McNamee's story. So does the fact that Clemens recommended McNamee be hired by the Yankees from the Blue Jays.

According to the report, Clemens and McNamee played a role in Andy Pettitte's alleged use of steroids and human growth hormones. McNamee told investigators that Clemens and his close friend Pettitte paid him for services into the 2007 season.

Pettitte signed a one-year, $16 million deal with the Yankees on Tuesday. The fact that it came two days before the report will probably come into question.

...

Two other big names who have often been associated with steroids are Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, yet neither are targeted in the Mitchell Report. Several references, though, note the rumors connecting both men, who were at the center of the dramatic 1998 home run record chase, to the drugs.

Canseco's book, "Juiced," is referenced several times in the report, especially where it relates to McGwire, his former Oakland A's teammate.

Former American League MVPs Miguel Tejada (who was traded two days ago by the Orioles to the Astros) and Jason Giambi (Yankees) and former National League Cy Young Award winner Eric Gagne (who played for the Red Sox from August through October this past season) are among the current players named as users.

In fact, the report contains an interesting story about how the Red Sox looked into acquiring Gagne as a free agent during the previous offseason with Sox general manager Theo Epstein concerned about steroid abuse allegations.

A scout told Epstein that what made Gagne, who was noted for not taking care of his body earlier in his career, a great closer in 2003 and 2004 was "max effort plus stuff (steroids)."

The report almost lauded Red Sox fans for being ahead of the curve as they taunted Canseco during the 1988 playoffs with chants of "Ste-roids! ... ste-roids!"

Baseball has some problems to fix and the Mitchell Report's ultimate message is testing must improve immediately. Owners and players must agree that the sport needs to rid itself of illegal enhancers. But that's an argument for another day.

As for today, tomorrow and the immediate future, the spotlight is on Roger Clemens. He has a lot of explaining to do.

E-mail Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.