ESPN dumping Clemens's magic kingdom spot

A report from Media Daily News says ESPN is jumping off Roger Clemen's roller coaster.

ESPN HAS PULLED A PROMOTIONAL spot starring Roger Clemens touting a network-affiliated event at Disney World in the wake of accusations that the baseball star repeatedly used steroids. The network stopped airing the humorous spot promoting "ESPN The Weekend" last Thursday--the day the Mitchell Report that accused Clemens of using performance-enhancing drugs was released.

Clemens is scheduled to appear and serve as a "host" of the February event, where ESPN broadcasts live from the Disney theme park and offers other experiences.

"Given he's a part of an ongoing major news story of a controversial nature, we thought it was the appropriate thing to do at this time," ESPN representative Josh Krulewitz said Tuesday.

In what ESPN deemed an "oversight," the spot continued to air Monday during live events streamed on broadband site ESPN 360. Krulewitz said it will be pulled there as soon as possible.

Rest easy, though, ESPN is not completely deserting the Cy Young pitcher:

Krulewitz, however, said there are no plans to remove Clemens' photo from the "ESPN The Weekend" promotional Web site, where he is seen with his arm around a Disney character. And he said the network has not spoken with Clemens or his representatives about whether the pitcher will appear at Disney World during the Feb. 29-March 2 weekend, where Clemens and football star Donovan McNabb are to serve as "athlete hosts."

Interesting what Clemen's lines would be in the spot:

"Man, what was I thinking?" Clemens says. "I can't do this. I'm too old. I don't have what it takes anymore...I've got seven Cy Young Awards...struck out 20 in a game twice," he says. "I've won over 350 games."

Is that 'irony'?