LITTLE ROCK — Writers in denial this time
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America made its statement Wednesday.
It wants to keep the Hall of Fame steroid-free.
Baseball writers denied Barry Bonds, baseball’s career home run hitter, and Roger Clemens, one of the sport’s greatest pitchers, entry into the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility because of questions surrounding their alleged use of steroids during their careers.
There is only one problem with the writers’ stance.
“It came too late,” wrote Phil Sheridan of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “You can be virtually certain that there already are Hall of Famers who used performance enhancing drugs. You can be even more positive that PED users will be enshrined in the future.
“And guess what? There are just as surely PED users in the football, basketball and hockey halls of fame. The difference is in the quasi-mystical shroud under which the BBWAA votes, as if the organization were considering candidates for sainthood.
“Wednesday’s little charade left several of the game’s all-time greats out of the Hall. It is an absurd situation, and nobody involved appears to grasp just how ridiculous it is.
“The BBWAA continues to pretend it has some sacred obligation here, when it should have dropped out of the process years ago - about the same time writers stopped riding on team charters.
“Major League Baseball proved it still prefers to cover its eyes and pretend nothing is happening. Commissioner Bud Selig told reporters in Phoenix that ‘this year, for whatever reasons, you had a couple of guys come really close.’
“For whatever reasons? Care to take a couple of guesses, Bud?
“Michael Weiner, the head of the MLB Players Association, said the voting results were ‘unfortunate, if not sad.’ Not because the union willfully endangered the health of its members by blocking every attempt to implement testing, but because voters chose ‘to ignore the historic accomplishments of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.’
“These are the people in charge of the game. No wonder it’s a laughingstock.”
A tip of the hat
Major League Baseball will introduce a new cap for the 2013 season.
We know, that’s hard to believe considering it already has home game caps, road game caps, batting practice caps, day game caps, St. Patrick’s Day caps, camouflage caps, throwback caps, All-Star Game caps and World Series caps.
Apparently, though, that wasn’t enough. So get ready, fans, here comes the interview cap.
That’s right, the interview cap.
ESPN.com blogger Paul Lucas reported this week that players will be asked to wear the caps during interviews and charity events. It won’t be mandatory, but it will be encouraged.
Can scratching and spitting caps be far behind?
Piling on, but ...
Broadcaster Brent Musburger may have creeped out a lot of folks with his, ahem, appreciation of Katherine Webb, the girlfriend of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron, during the Crimson Tide’s 42-14 victory over Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship Game.
At least he provided plenty of fodder for sports columnists.
From Dwight Perry of The Seattle Times: “This year’s Puppy Bowl IX, Animal Planet’s antidote to the Super Bowl, will debut hedgehog cheerleaders this year. Can’t wait to hear Brent Musburger’s take on that one.”
And from Brad Dickson of The Omaha (Neb.) World Herald: “NCAA officials apologized to both teams for an inadvertent whistle during the BCS Championship Game. That was Brent Musburger whistling at Miss Alabama.”
Quote of the day
“This is as good as it gets when it comes to calling races.” Frank Mirahmadi, Oaklawn Park’s track announcer
Sports, Pages 18 on 01/11/2013