Pete Rose is a complete and total farce. But he belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Let that sink in for a minute.
There are plenty of people in the Hall of Fame whose personal lives weren't really exemplary as a model citizen. Babe Ruth was a womanizer and alcoholic. Ty Cobb was a notorious racist and might have even been a murderer. But neither of them bet on baseball, that we know of.
Pete Rose just admitted it.
I watched the Rose interview last night on ABC. For the most part, I was sympathetic to Rose, until he began denying things left and right again. He admitted he gambled. He admitted he gambled on Reds games. But he denied that he did it from the clubhouse, or that many of the betting slips used as evidence against him were actually his.
So is he still lying? Or is he just trying to cover his tracks until he's in the Hall, and then come totally clean?
The whole interview reminded me of an episode of The Simpsons (which was on in local syndication last night, ironically, about three hours before the interview) in which Homer denounces his faith, then states "And if I'm wrong, I'll just recant on my death bed".
That seems to me to be exactly what Pete did. He denied his gambling for 14 years. Then, on his proverbial death bed for Hall enshrinement, only 2 elections before he could no longer be voted in by the Baseball Writers of America, he decided to recant and ask for forgiveness. It's a slimy way to do it, but it just might work.
Consider the aforementioned other slimy players who are in the Hall. Ruth and Cobb are considered among the greatest players of all time. Rose has more hits than either of them, Cobb is second. Rose also has more at-bats than anyone in history, Yaz, another Hall-of-Famer, is second. Rose has played in more games in which his team won than any other player ever. He's a proven winner, and for that he deserves entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
But the betting. And the lying. In this past year, we saw a sure first ballot hall entry get suspended eight games for corking his bat. Yet because Sammy Sosa was so beloved by baseball fans, he was essentially given a skate. Sure, people might question his records, but he'll still get in the Hall on his first try. And do you know why? Because he admitted it, he apologized, and he was sincere.
Pete Rose denied it, lied about it, never offered any type of remorse, until he published a book and made a ton of cash off his story.
I still believe that players should be granted Hall entry based on what they do during their time as players. Rose didn't bet until he became a manager, or at least no one can prove that he did before then. For his sheer talent as a player, he deserves entry. But he should never be given the chance to manage again, at any level. There would just be too much controversy. Can you imagine the first time he made a questionable call? Every reporter in the country would assume he was betting on the opponent.
Pete Rose is a farce and a liar. But he's also a Hall - of - Famer.
OK, that's the ethical portion of today's column. Now football.
3-1 last week, making me 3-1 for the playoffs. Ah, I love good first weeks. And if not for the stupid Seahawks actually playing hard in
Still, I made my money for the season, and have since pulled all of my cash out of the betting pool for the rest of the year. I'll be back next season.
This week's picks go like this:
Panthers (+7) over RAMS: Very simple concept here, a good defense will almost always stop a good offense. And the Rams are only a good offense, no longer great. The Panthers can stop the run, and Marc Bulger hasn't been exactly stellar as of late. If he is forced to start throwing all over the field, the Rams will be in trouble. Plus, the game is indoors, and while the Rams are built for turf speed, the Panthers have a ton of speed and ability on their front lines. This is going to be a great game.
PATRIOTS (-6) over Titans: I love Steve McNair, and I love my Patriots. So this game is hard for me. Well, it was hard, until I realized that it was going to be 0 degrees during the game, with a wind chill of -10 to -15. Let me tell you from experience, leg injuries, like McNair's, don't feel real good in the cold. He's a gamer, but Bill Belichick is the best coach in the NFL right now, and as he's shown in the past, when he has time to plan an entire game scheme around one player, he's pretty damn good.
Colts (+3) over CHIEFS: The Chiefs really limped into the postseason, and the late-season game against the Vikings really exposed their defense. Peyton, Marvin, and Edge will all have big days. There is not a better quarterback in the NFL right now than Peyton Manning when it comes to dissecting a defense. He comes to the line and just torches people with his audibles. If the Chiefs can show one package and play another, they might have a chance for a few cheap picks, but I still think Edge should be able to take off against the weak, at best, KC run defense. Second rule of football, a great offense will almost always destroy a meager defense.
Packers (+5.5) over EAGLES: Another team that just can't stop the run against another team with a marquee running back and a masterful QB. No one would ever question Brett Favre's ability, but if the Packers even want a chance to win this game, they need to take Ahman Green and run him about 35 times, and just hope that he doesn't fumble six of those times. Like I said last week, the Packers have a little something extra on their side this year, and not just that, but they look like they're having fun again. Besides, the game time temperature in Philly should be in the low to mid teens, which will seem like a heat wave compared to
Don't look now, but the Eagles are beatable. That would certainly mess with my Philly/NE Super Bowl XXXVIII prediction, but we'll have to wait and see.
On a personal note, I will be spending tonight with Sr. PGA player Jim Thorpe, at a dinner much like the one with Coach Shula. And for the Super Bowl, I will be dining with Football Legend and one of the best QB's of all time, The Snake, Ken Stabler. Oh yeah.
posted by Big D @ 1:00 AM
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