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Posted at 6:39 a.m., Friday, February 1, 2008

Baseball: Knoblauch arrives for congressional interview

By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Sports Writer

WASHINGTON — Former major leaguer Chuck Knoblauch showed up to be interviewed today by congressional lawyers investigating drugs in baseball, toting his toddler son in his arms and accompanied by a lawyer.

Asked what he would tell the staff members from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Knoblauch said, "We'll see."

Knoblauch entered the committee room shortly before 10 a.m. His closed-door interview is part of the panel's preparation for a Feb. 13 hearing focused on Roger Clemens' denial of allegations in the Mitchell Report made by the pitcher's former personal trainer Brian McNamee.

Knoblauch, a former New York Yankees teammate of Clemens', also was among the more than 80 baseball players cited in the Mitchell Report. Knoblauch agreed Monday to speak to the committee after initially failing to respond to an invitation to testify.

That silence prompted the committee to issue a subpoena, but federal marshals were unable to track down Knoblauch right away. The 1991 AL Rookie of the Year eventually did make contact, the subpoena was withdrawn, and his interview was rescheduled for Friday.

Current Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte's pre-hearing meeting with committee lawyers is slated for Monday, followed the next day by Clemens' scheduled appearance. McNamee is to appear Thursday, and former New York Mets clubhouse employee Kirk Radomski on Feb. 12. Those appearances all were announced by the committee.

At least one unannounced interview has taken place. On Thursday, an employee of the sports agency that represents Clemens and Pettitte spoke to committee lawyers.

The agent, Jim Murray, said in a statement: "I answered all the questions they asked of me."

His name was mentioned several times in a recorded conversation between Clemens and McNamee that the seven-time Cy Young Award winner played at a news conference last month.

Murray is a New York-based employee of Hendricks Sports Management, run by brothers Alan and Randy Hendricks. That agency also represented Knoblauch when he was playing.

In former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell's report on drug use in baseball, released in December, McNamee said he injected Clemens at least 16 times with steroids and human growth hormone in 1998, 2000 and 2001.

Clemens has denied the allegations in several settings, including a news conference Jan. 7 in Texas. During that televised appearance, a 17-minute tape was played of what Clemens' representative said was a Jan. 4 conversation with McNamee recorded on the pitcher's side.

Two days after the Mitchell Report was released, Pettitte acknowledged McNamee injected him with HGH twice while the pitcher was recovering from an injury.

McNamee also told Mitchell he acquired HGH from Radomski for Knoblauch in 2001, and that he injected the player with it. Knoblauch, a four-time All-Star who played for the Twins, Yankees and Royals, ended his major league career in 2002.

Radomski pleaded guilty in April to federal felony charges of distributing steroids and laundering money. He is scheduled to be sentenced next Friday.