HOUSTON ROCKET?

Fairly amusing: ESPN/AP

Future Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens is still retired, for now.

Clemens turned down a burnt orange Hummer on Monday, spurning an offer by a Houston car dealer to take the luxury sport utility vehicle in exchange for joining his hometown Astros by late Monday morning.

The Rocket didn’t close the door on the possibility, however.

“You guys are going to have to hang onto your Hummer because nothing’s changed,” Clemens told classic rock radio station KKRW-FM shortly before the deadline set by the morning show hosts. “I’m retired right now.”

Clemens had joked that if he returned to baseball he might have to return the Hummer the Yankees presented to him at his retirement, giving disc jockeys Dean and Rog the idea he could replace the Yankees’ gift with one from Houston.

Car dealer Lee DeMontrond responded to their call Friday by driving the Hummer to Clemens’ Houston-area home. He could keep the burnt orange vehicle — the school color of Clemens’ alma mater, the University of Texas — if he made a decision on the Astros by late Monday morning.

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James Joyner
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James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.