AUBURN – From the television screen, all-star pitcher Roger Clemens looked sullen, tired and defensive. It was as though he sensed all the fans in all the bars watching him with suspicion and disdain.

At Gipper’s Sports Grill, some fans stared right back. Mostly, they just did not believe that the so-called Rocket never willingly took steroids.

“It’s pretty disappointing,” said 22-year-old Matt Despres. “I think it’s completely impossible for him to clear himself.”

Despres thought about it. He glanced up at the screen where Clemens still looked defiant as he waited to speak.

“If he cheated,” Despres said, “there’s no excuse for it.”

Last month, Clemens was named as one of dozens of Major League Baseball players suspected of doping. He denied it from the start and recently announced that he is suing former trainer Brian McNamee, who made the allegations.

While Clemens was on national television defending his position, sports fans tended to see it as pure posturing.

“It looks to me like he’s trying hard to discredit McNamee,” Despres said.

The ugliness of the allegations has led some to question whether Clemens’ Hall of Fame caliber career should be brought into question.

Matt Bourgeois had his back to the television screen at Gipper’s, but he could hear what was being said. He knew the details of Clemens’ travails and did not need to look at the man to summons his opinion on the matter.

“He’s still a good pitcher,” the 22-year-old said. “But it does taint his career. His credibility is shot at this point.”

Across the river at Buddy-T’s pub and restaurant, there was more of the same shrugging resign to the sordid affairs of the Cy Young winner.

“It’s pretty much what you expect,” said Tim Treadwell, who turned briefly to look at the television screen and then looked away. “He’s not going to get up there and say, ‘OK. I did it. I’m a steroid freak.'”

Treadwell said he had watched Clemens’ appearance on the CBS magazine show “60 Minutes” the night before. He followed the news enough to stay interested, but allowed that he is not familiar with enough of the facts to outright condemn the pitcher.

“I haven’t really made up my mind,” Treadwell said. “It’s hard to tell who is telling the truth at this point.”

Clemens’ fate remained undecided as suits and then countersuits were filed and the investigation ground on. Despres, who played baseball as a teenager and continues to participate in a fantasy league, expressed in one sentence how young people have come to view a player regarded by some as one of the best.

“I didn’t pick him up for my fantasy league,” he said.

At the end of the interview, Clemens stormed away from the television cameras, angered at repeated questions about his Hall of Fame eligibility.

At Gipper’s, sports fans went calmly back to their drinks and food, undaunted by the latest antics from the beleaguered Rocket.