Clemens strikes out with fans after hearing

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Roger Clemens struck out with fans on Wednesday as nearly 70 percent in an ESPN poll said they believed his former trainer when he told Congress he injected the baseball pitching great with performance-enhancing drugs.

The online poll by ESPN asked whose testimony before a congressional panel was more believable -- that of Clemens or former trainer Brain McNamee?

Some five hours after the hearing concluded, 69 percent of the more than 100,000 respondents said they believed McNamee over Clemens, the seven-time Cy Young winner.

The stakes at the nationally televised hearing were high, since if Clemens or McNamee is found to have lied to Congress, either could face up to five years in prison.

Clemens' reputation as one of the greatest pitchers ever is also on the line, while McNamee faces a defamation-of-character lawsuit filed against him by his former client.

Gene Grabowski, an executive with a firm that prepares clients for congressional testimony, said the public would not forgive someone who it believes is misleading it.

"The public will forgive a mistake, the public will forgive a misdemeanor, the public will forgive a crime, but what the public will not forgive is a cover-up."

(Writing by Steve Keating in Detroit; Editing by Philip Barbara)