My name is Matt Capoccia and I am a sports enthusiast who loves talking about sports, taking on the biggest stories and really just having a say in the world of sports. I have always loved sports and have played sports through my entire life. I know the pressures of sports, the drama and of course the passion that comes within. Every fan around the world is entitled to an opinion and its most common that everyone has a different say and that is what unites us all and brings us together. Whether we agree or disagree there is always something to talk about.
Hard Knocks is something I kept going back to when thinking of a name. It stands for hardship, something that does not come easy. If you take those words to the next level and refer them to sports, you can relate Hard Knocks to athletes. Some are born with superstar talent, some have to make sacrifices and fight with everything they have to become a professional athlete. You can also relate it to the pure fact that when you take on a big story and have a say you may be putting yourself in line to face the wrath of many who disagree. I want to capture everything in this blog, the good, the bad and the ugly. Great stories, tragic stories, the journey to success, all the different emotions that sports can bring to us all.
There is no sense in hiding the fact, to watch sports or play is one thing but to actually live and breathe sports takes everything to a whole new level. I want this blog to be fun, to use it as an outlet to just get my opinion out there. Some of you will agree, some will disagree but I am sure will have some fun along the way. Everything from news to rumours, I will try my best to keep things entertaining and really try and deliver a Hard Knocks experience. Full of emotion, endless passion and of course no holding back,grinding out each story.
In the words of Johnny Cash "Going to stand my ground and I won't back down"
Prosecutor’s drop the ball in the Clemens case
After three days questioning and interviewing juror’s for the Roger Clemens case, it only took two days for the trial to leave everyone with one word “mistrial”. A 15 second video ended the case immediately with judge Walton being infuriated.
It was clear from the start that the evidence against Roger Clemens was substantial and that he did at some point in his career take enhancing drugs. Roger Clemens arguably one of the greatest pitchers to take the mound went in to this battle with his legacy on the line. I remember growing up as a kid and Roger was one of my favourite pitchers, as a Blue Jay I was so excited to watch him play and the buzz that he created. Roger meant a lot to this city and of course baseball. It is really sad that it has to end this way, the book has to close with negativity and what could have been significant jail time to a once hero on the mound.
I won’t get into all the facts of what happened but, his trainer Brian McNamee, Andy Pettitte and DNA evidence was all in the cards for this trial. It did not look good for Clemens. Yesterday the prosecutors dropped the ball, and were simply told in bold letters you cannot show this video. The prosecutor’s somehow did not inherit those words and ended up showing the video which ultimately led to a mistrial. While they had a brief conference at the stand the video still played and everyone saw what was on it. Now in court the judge can rule that what took place never happened, the jurors cannot use that as evidence. In this case the judge was so embarrassed and furious. Judge Walton called a colleague and discussed what should happen in the course of this trial, and they both agreed a mistrial had to be made. Roger Clemens strangely did not even crack a smile like he expected something like this to happen. You have to think in the back of your mind maybe there was some persuasion here with dollar bills but nothing is certain. The prosecutor’s dropped the ball and now the ruling might be double jeopardy which means they cannot try the same case twice and Roger Clemens may just walk away cleanly from this.
Everything is in disarray, Clemens future along with his legacy. The big question is will he ever make it to the hall of fame. If he walks away will he push to have a non guilty verdict in court so he can cleanly be cleared, that remains to be seen. I am not furious over this decision because a part of me still thinks of Clemens as one of the best pitchers and yes he did cheat but you cannot take away those memories he gave us. Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and many others have used enhancing drugs, Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, the list goes on. These players have had nothing happen to them so in a way it would be sad to see Clemens go to jail when there are so many people that have cheated and have gotten a slap on the wrist as there harshest punishment. It is a very tough subject to attack and I think baseball is tainted and unless they start sending people to jail it will all just become a joke.
