Unless Roger Clemens winds up with an O.J. Simpson jury, or his trial gets delayed long enough for a Republican to be back in the White House and do for him what George Bush did for Scooter Libby, there’s an extremely high probability he’s going to do some jail time. You have to be pretty naive to believe all of Clemens’ BS about B-12 shots and Lidocaine, but what’s really going to help sink him is the testimony of his former good buddy and workout partner, Andy Pettitte. A sharp lawyer like Clemens’ mouthpiece, Rusty Hardin, will be able to create plenty of confusion for the jury, and perhaps be able to discredit Clemens’ one-time trainer Brian McNamee, but Pettitte is the smoking gun that gives credibility to other witnesses . . . For those who break out the tired old line about the government having more important things to do than spend time and taxpayer money trying to convict somebody like Clemens, a response is real simple. The Rocket didn’t give them any choice. By taking his arrogant persona in front of Congress when he didn’t have to, and apparently telling some whoppers under while under oath, he pretty much backed the Feds into a corner. Are you going to uphold the law of the land, or are you going to let a high-profile athlete skate? For putting them in that position, and forcing them to spend hundreds of thousands of   dollars on him, the Feds need to hit Clemens with the maximum penalty, if they get a conviction. If they don’t, heads need to roll.

Jerry Jones will never admit it but his decision to save a few million dollars last spring by cutting left tackle Flozell Adams could wind up costing the Cowboys his dream of playing in the Super Bowl at JerryWorld. Yes, Adams was on the downside of his career, and yes he drew too many penalties, but he also took care of Tony Romo’s blindside. Doug Free, if he can stay healthy, may be able to do the same thing, but Adams would at least have given the Cowboys’ some experienced depth. And, with two offensive line starters down, lack of depth has already becoming a troubling issue. It’s also underscored what a sorry job Jones, as general manager, has done of drafting offensive linemen . . . Either ESPN, which was totally ridiculous in its over-the-top Brett Favre coverage, or USA Today, needs to do a poll on how many people will be pulling against the Minnesota Vikings because of the theatrics surrounding the latest return of the NFL’s all-time drama queen. Favre, in one sense, is a guy to be admired because of his durability and toughness at the quarterback position, but he’s beyond annoying with his soap-opera antics. And Minnesota’s special treatment of him has even gotten on Jimmy Johnson’s last nerve. “I’m really uncomfortable with all of the concessions and how special he is being treated,” JJ said on ESPN’s Mike&Mike In The Morningradio show. “Because if he’s not the savior, than all of those other players have to be looking around and saying, ‘Hey, what about me?’ If this guy is not the savior, they could fall apart.’ ” . . . Speaking of Johnson, I hope readers noted Anthony Andro’s byline on the Survivor story in Friday’s paper. Anthony, of course, got his start at this newspaper and is doing really well at the Fort Worth Star- Telegram. His main beat there is covering the Texas Rangers.

Expect to have receive something extra in next Friday’s paper. Inserted will be the Port Arthur News’ annual football tabloid, packed with previews on area schoolboy teams, Lamar University, the Texans and Cowboys, as well as high school, college and NFL schedules. The rather obvious choice for this year’s cover was LU coach Ray Woodard. Here’s hoping Big Ray didn’t overload himself by scheduling four Southland Conference teams a year before it was required. Football fans, by the way, might want to tune in Fox 4 tonight at 9:30. Our Tom Halliburton joins The Examiner’s Chad Cooper and Fox 4’s James Ware and Brooke Bentley for a 30-minute panel discussion on the 2010 season . . . Although the high school season kicks off this week, the I Beat Bob West Contest won’t return until Wednesday, Sept. 1. With most college teams not starting until Sept. 4, and the first NFL regular-season games not on tap until the following week, there simply aren’t enough games to begin this Wednesday. We’re giving away nifty sets of mug-type drinking glasses to the weekly winners and the usual “I Beat Bob West” caps to those who finish in the top 10 . . .  A sad sidebar to the opening of another schoolboy season is that Aldine High School head coach Lionel Crawford was shot in an attempted carjacking Friday night, Aug. 13. The good news is that Crawford survived a gunshot wound to the stomach. According to the Houston Chronicle, Crawford, 40, a former Aldine quarterback, was shot after filling his car up with gas at a station near Interstate 45 and Rankin Road. No word on when he might be able to rejoin his team. Aldine is scheduled to play Memorial Sept. 18 in Port Arthur.

It might be time for sports fans on Time Warner Cable to start getting a little nervous. Time Warner is locked a contentious negotiation with ABC-ESPN over new contact demands. The old contract is due to expire Sept 2. Both sides are playing hardball and have websites stating their case. If you are a Time Warner customer you can go to www.rolloverorgettough.com. ABC-ESPN states its case on www.ihavechoices.com. That website includes a huge clock ticking down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until ABC-ESPN could potentially go dark on Time Warner, as well as a list of alternative options like DirecTV. If no deal is reached, Time Warner customers could be without all the sporting events ESPN provides, as well as the start of a new season of Desperate Housewives  on ABC . . .  Count Christopher Harris, who writes Fantasy Football for ESPN, among those shaking their heads at the way the Kansas City Chiefs are talking about using Jamaal Charles. Harris produced a mind-blowing stat — one I’d never heard of — to defend keeping Jamaal in his list of the top 10 backs. While many fans are familiar with a stat called “yards after contact,” or the yards a back produces after the first defender makes contact, Harris came up with something called “yards before contact.” In other words, how many yards does a back average before anybody is able to lay a hand on him. In the eluvise Charles’ case last season, it was a stunning 3.42 yards. No other back with more than 100 carries averaged better than 2.91. As always, remember that Charles was running behind a below average offensive line.

The flame on good old American capitalism is ever burning. Less than 24 hours after Dustin Johnson was penalized two shots for grounding his club in a bunker on the 72nd hole of the PGA Championship, some goofball had a posting on E-bay offering particles of sand and fescue grass from the controversial trap. The guy was also willing to throw in a ticket and a pairings sheet from the final day. The starting bid was $5. Good grief ! ! ! Long-hitting Bubba Watson, who lost a playoff for that PGA title, will appear in an upcoming episode of Shaquille O’Neal’s reality show, Shaq Vs, in which the 7-2, 300 pound O’Neal competes against athletes in other sports. It’s an alternate shot match, with Shaq and Anthony Kim against Watson and Charles Barkley. Watson hasn’t offered any thoughts on O’Neal as a golfer but he did say, “Charles Barkley is not very good at golf.” Stop the presses . . . Here’s a final ode to Roger Clemens’ plight from one of the Republican congressmen who kissed up to him and lobbed softballs to him during the now infamous hearing. “He was incredibly arrogant,” said Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.). “He was duly warned by me and others that you should not testify, that you will only get yourself in legal trouble if you testify under oath and perjure yourself. Think about that — if Roger Clemens had not testified, he would not be prosecuted.” Maybe he’ll think about it when he’s siging checks to Rusty Hardin for millions in legal fees.

    Sports editor Bob West can be e-mailed at rdwest@usa.net.