U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry skipped the recent hearings on Roger Clemens.

The Cherryville Republican sits on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which looked into whether the pro baseball player used human growth hormone, but he did not attend the full hearing.

In a statement, he said the hearings were a "circus" that "could only impress P.T. Barnum."

But Gaston Gazette sports columnist Derick Moss notes that McHenry did attend previous hearings on Mark McGwire's alleged steroid use in 2005, saying that performance-enhancing drugs send "the worst message" to young people.

What happened between then and now to change his mind? Plenty. For starters, his party was in the majority in 2005 and was actually the body that called for the hearings in the first place. Now that the Dems are calling the plays, McHenry wants to stay on the sidelines.  

Moss also points out that it was Clemens' idea to appear before the committee.

Hat Tip: BlueNC 

Coach Carter is blowing the whistle.

Roy Carter, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the 5th Congressional District, is attacking U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx for defending Roger Clemens.

Carter, an agricultural sciences teacher and head football coach at North Wilkes High School, he said that the Banner Elk Republican was wrong to defend the professional baseball player in a Congressional hearing Wednesday.

"As an athlete and football coach, I have always believed that illegal drug use of any kind has absolutely no place in sports," he said in a statement. "As a coach, I believe we should set a positive example that will help our young people resist the pressures of drug use."

Clemens has been accused of using human growth hormone. 

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx took some more heat yesterday for her remarks on Roger Clemens.

The Banner Elk Republican was ribbed by "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart in a segment on the hearings on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball.

Stewart showed a brief series of clips of Republican members of the House oversight committee defending Clemens, ending with Foxx asking Clemens about "how hard you work at keeping yourself in shape." (Watch here at 6:31.)

"Yes, what's your secret?" Stewart mugged afterward. "Perhaps some formula you'd like to tell us about?" 

She was also criticized on grammatical grounds by UNC-Chapel Hill journalism professor Andy Bechtel, who noted that she meant to ask about his "regimen," not his "regime." 

"A word mixup by a member of Congress at a hearing, for example, is less forgivable than one in a phone conversation," he wrote on his blog. "Politicians are supposed to be eloquent and prepared."

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx earned low marks from two ESPN columnists.

After Foxx defended baseball player Roger Clemens during a hearing on performance-enhancing drugs, Patrick Hruby and Mike Philbrick gave the Banner Elk Republican the lowest possible grade. 

Here's their review: 

HIGH POINT: "Mr. Clemens, I am not an expert in any of these issues ... "

LOW POINT: "... but you appear to be the same size in all of these photos."

FINAL VERDICT: As the cameras faded to black you could see Rep. Foxx touching Clemens' arm and shaking his hand (seriously). And did she have expressed written consent from Major League Baseball to make that poster? Someone should subpoena the Kinkos guy.

OVERALL GRADE: F

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx thinks Roger Clemens is in good shape.

The Banner Elk Republican got national attention for her remarks during a hearing on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball.

She began by saying that the House Oversight and Government Reform committee had gotten off-track. Borrowing a sports metaphor, she said she was "not a fan" of the hearings and thought Congress was playing "a gotcha game."

She then asked Brian McNamee, a former trainer who says he injected baseball player Roger Clemens with human growth hormone, whether he has a book deal in the works or otherwise hopes to profit from his recent notoriety. He said he does not.

"We'll see," she said.

Foxx then turned to Clemens, who has maintained his innocence. She put up a series of four photographs of Clemens taken between 1996 and 2006, the period of time when he allegedly received injections.

"Mr. Clemens you know I am not an expert in any of these issues, but you appear to me to be about the same size in all of those photos," she said.

She then asked Clemens to describe the training regimen he uses to get the "stamina and body build" that he has.