One wing could be called ‘Hall of Shame’
It should prove interesting when Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, etc., whose feats will forever be associated with alleged steroid use, become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration.
Does character count? Well, it hasn’t always when candidates were voted into Cooperstown. Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Examiner recently reviewed the Hall’s yearbook and came up with an All-Dysfunctional team. Among his enshrined bad guys:
“Cap Anson: “Character-wise, the Capster was a midget among midgets. He didn’t single-handedly keep baseball lily-white for 50 years, but he was the leader of that philosophical movement.”
“Gaylord Perry: “Of Perry, the HOF yearbook says he excelled because of ‘Distracting and frustrating hitters through an array of rituals on the mound … ‘ Rituals, schmituals. Perry loaded up baseballs like Dagwood loaded up sandwiches. It’s called cheating.”
“Ty Cobb: “He’s the team captain and MVP (Most Virulent Personality). Once climbed into the stands to assault a one-armed heckler. Punched out a black groundskeeper, then choked the man’s wife. Said to have killed a man. Yadda yadda. When Bonds and McGwire come up for HOF vote, their ace in the hole is the Peach’s mug on that Cooperstown plaque.”
Not exactly a fan favorite
Maybe the hate mail will stop now that Bode Miller has won a race.
Or maybe it’s just too late.
Miller, who produced a 1-2 American finish with Daron Rahlves in the season’s World Cup final super-G in Sweden on Thursday, has been receiving hostile letters since failing to medal at the Olympics last month.
“The stuff after the Olympics was pretty aggressive,” Miller said. “People were getting pretty fired up and pretty involved considering the amount of research they were willing to do, which as an athlete is a maybe a little bit weird and a little bit frustrating.”
On the other hand …
How’s this for show and tell: Hannah Teter brought her Olympic gold medal to her elementary school in Mount Holly, Vt.
The 19-year-old snowboarder grew up in the village of Belmont and learned to ski and ride while attending school there.
The students applauded and some touched the medal she showed them.
“It was heavy and smooth. It was metal basically,” 11-year-old Morgan Hyjek said.