Video: Cleveland Indians continue daughter-friendly tradition
June 23, 2015Ball Played: Tigers continue mastery over Indians
June 23, 2015
Happy Tuesday WFNY!
What do you guys want to talk about today? The NBA season is officially over, now. And to be honest, Iâm not in much of a mood to rehash the season right now. It was a great season, and it was so much fun watching this team grow and build something together. But the Finals loss is still a little too recent for me.
Iâve seen plenty of my teams lose Championships in recent years. Ohio State football lost in 2006 and 2007. Ohio State basketball lost in 2007. The Cavaliers lost in 2007. The Detroit Red Wings lost in 2009. Iâve seen a lot of it. But Iâve also seen a lot of miserable seasons from my teams without any postseason appearances. And Iâll tell you what, Iâll take the heartbreak of losing a championship over the slow burn of misery over the course of a bad season.
Iâll always look back on this Cavaliers team with nothing but pride. I loved the way this team played, not just in the playoffs, but over the final few months of the season as well. Of the core seven players who primarily played in the Finals, I hope they all come back. I hope Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, and Anderson Varejao all come back healthy. Beyond that? Everything else is just gravy.
And thatâs really all I have to say about this season right now. Last week at this time, I was writing about hope. Hoping the Cavaliers could extend the series. Unfortunately they just didnât have enough firepower. And thatâs really all there is to it. So congrats to the Warriors on a nice season and a good series, and congrats to the Cavaliers for showing the true heart of a Champion, even if they are only Champions in spirit.
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So whoâs going to play Delly in the movie?
I couldnât even try to make this up. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Matthew Dellavedovaâs story has inspired a Hollywood version of it to be made. Now, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, it wasnât his Finals performance per se that inspired the on screen remake. The idea was already in the works three years ago based solely on the long odds that Delly overcame to make it as a college basketball player here in the US.
The Herald has more information on the project:
The fictional story, based on Dellavedova’s rise, will follow the tale of three young Australian basketballers who are drafted to play basketball for a US college.
AdvertisementRole Models executive producer Jason Shuman has signed on to the project, which is being called Final Four, while The Bodhi Tree’s Robert ‘Bobby’ Galinsky will act as screenwriter and executive producer.
Galinsky said the work would either be made into a feature film or a Friday Night Lights-style series.
True Detective’s Woody Harrelson and Hotel Rwanda’s Nick Nolte have both been approached to play the boys’ coach.
The idea was concieved three years ago by young Werribee actor Josh Howlett, who was inspired by Dellavedova’s story after he was plucked from the Australian Institute of Sport to play US college basketball.
The story isnât autobiographical of Delly or anything like that. He just served as the inspiration for the idea. Regardless, Matthew Dellavedovaâs life continues to be a bizarre whirlwind of long odds, contradictions, and triumphs. The true stuff of Hollywood.
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Pete Rose continues to be a walking scandal
In case anyone missed it, just before what was to be Pete Roseâs triumphant return to Cincinnati when the Reds host the 2015 MLB All-Star weekend, news leaked that Rose did indeed bet on baseball when he was a player.
There was a lot of talk recently that perhaps MLB was prepared to soften its stance a bit and reinstate Roseâs Hall of Fame eligibility1. So it seems a little funny that this news leaked now, especially when you consider the evidence of this was collected decades ago. In my opinion, this feels pretty vindictive and mean spirited.
My whole life Iâve been endlessly told that betting on baseball is the cardinal sin. Supposedly it is written in stone in every clubhouse in the league (I have always wondered if this is a factual statement or simply symbolic). Of course, that seems awfully arbitrary to me. It sure seems like steroid use could or should be the cardinal sin. Or maybe corked bats. Or pine tar. You know, the kind of things that impact a game.
Thatâs what is funny to me as somehow who follows baseball only from a distance. I have always heard how Pete Rose not betting as a player was his one saving grace. But that makes no sense to me. I think itâs a million times worse and more dangerous to be betting as a manager than as a player.
As a manager, Rose has entirely more control over the outcome of a game as a whole. As a player, he only controls himself. Now, I get it. Sure, Rose only bet on his teams to win, never to lose. But betting on your own team to win is still wrong and one very small step2 away from betting on your team to lose and then taking steps to make that happen. But lets just focus on betting on your own team to win.
First, as a player, if you make that bet, are you doing anything as a player to alter the purity of the game? Probably not. Youâre just going out and playing the best you can, something you would do either way. As a manager, though, there are things that could affect the integrity of the game, even in a win. You might not look out for the best interest of your team in the long run for the sake one winning one particular game. You might push your bullpen harder or leave a pitcher in longer. You might not rest your best players even when they need a day off. A manager has complete control. A player can only control himself.
So I donât understand why betting as a player changes any of this. To me, the Pete Rose situation is the same as always. He should never be allowed to work in baseball again. He lost that privilege when he bet on the game. Even without the ban, who would ever possibly hire him?
But he should be in the Hall of Fame. His gambling addiction is a sickness and something he surely needed serious help for. But it had nothing to do with his accomplishments as a player. The all time hit king should be in the Hall of Fame, and the fact that he isnât is symptomatic of the very things that have pushed me away from baseball.
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New Music of the Week
Kind of a down week for new releases this week. But thatâs ok, Iâm just preparing for the big one next week (NEW REFUSED ALBUM!!!!!). But there is one album this week so far that has caught my attention. It is the debut album, âFeels Likeâ from Nashville-based band Bully.
The band leans on a punk/90s indie sound that isnât necessarily indicative of Nashville. But singer Alicia Bognanno once famously worked as an intern under legendary producer Steve Albini in Chicago, where she learned everything one needs to learn about sound production in rock music.
As a singer, Bognanno will probably draw some comparisons to Kim Deal or a younger Courtney Love. But I sometimes feel like the relative underrepresentation of female voices in rock music, particularly in the punk-leaning realm, forces people to fall back on lazy comparisons. Bognanno has a ferocious charm unique to herself and the band as a whole just flat out rocks.
Forget about labels and comparisons. Just listen to this album. Anyone with any fond memories of 90s rock will surely enjoy this one.
*****
Thatâs all I have this week. Enjoy the rest of your week here at WFNY!
29 Comments
Rose is an incorrigible reprobate who is apparently incapable of being honest for honesty’s sake. No Hall for him. He’ll have to be content to be in the record book, which he deserves.
But I think the steroid people are even worse than Rose. I do not understand the “so what?” attitude toward PEDs expressed by a number of people who cover and follow baseball. The steroid warriors made a mockery of the game and its traditions. The records these players set and the milestones they achieved are meaningless. No Hall for them either.
The Pete Rose development is nothing. This all revolves around a revelation that (gasp!) Rose bet on baseball – while he was a player. Of course he did. Who believed him when he said he didn’t? Anyone? Bueller? Of course nobody believed him. Nobody believed him because he’s always been a slimy liar, and EVERYONE knew it. So now, we simply have confirmation (maybe) of what we all, always, actually thought. Big old snooze. But gosh, it sure sounds SCANDALOUS! Look, nearly everyone who has thought he should be reinstated (me included) thought he should be reinstated because of what he meant to the game, on the field. I do not seriously believe that anyone thought he should be reinstated simply because “he said he didn’t bet on baseball as a player.” He’s a slimy, lying, gambling old ballplayer – but one of the best ballplayers in our collective lifetime. I still say let him back into the game.
Good call on Bully. I recommended it to Craig in the comments to last Friday’s While We’re Waiting.
Pete Rose and Barry Bonds are in the HOF (in my mind), the Buckeyes won the 2011 Sugar Bowl, and all of the other things that the NCAA, BBWAA, and other organizations attempt to pretend did not happen/exist still happened/existed.
I personally refuse to accept what these organizations attempt to shove down our throats. My memories are still intact and I refuse to scrub them from what really happened. All of these players/events deserve an asterisk with a explanation note to their issues, but there should not be an attempt to alter things that actually happened (which is what precluding Rose/Bonds/Clemens from the HOF is effectively doing as it is the museum of baseball).
YES
http://www.unbrokensky.sweet-redemption.net/gifs/bbt-pnnyshldn-exactly.gif
If “incorrigible reprobate” was an automatic disqualifier for the Hall of Fame, then half the Hall of Fame would be empty. There’s great fame in being an incorrigible reprobate.
Well, Garry, there’s a very good reason why the penalty for gambling is so harsh. Say Rose hits a losing streak and owes the Mob a lot of money. Louie da Legbreaker pays him a visit and suggests that there’s a way for Rose to minimize his debt and preserve his health. All he’s gotta do is throw a game here and there.
Can’t have that.
As a bit of a reprobate myself, I agree. Lot’s of, shall we say, “colorful characters” in the Hall. They add to the richness of the game’s lore.
Sure, I totally get that. It’s pretty obvious. I just don’t see any on-field evidence that Rose did this. The evidence looks to be quite the opposite, actually. Guy played the game harder than anyone, which circumstantially looks like he may have been motivated to do so in order to preserve his health. Regardless, I just don’t care. I don’t care whether the guy’s motivation came from altruism or self-preservation. He balled.
It comes down to this for me: If Rose is going to be banned “for life,” then he should also be banned “post life.” If MLB inducts him into the Hall after he dies, then it would be the total di** move, done just out of spite. The dude is an unpleasant, self-centered, nasty guy; but it’s undeniable that he’s paid harshly for his stupidity. He has suffered plenty. I guess it’s “fine” if they let him go to his grave suffering (I think it’s dumb and spiteful), but they should not induct him at any time afterward if they aren’t willing to do so while he’s alive. If MLB is waiting for the “bigger guy” to show up, then they need only to look in the mirror while he’s alive, because Rose has shown he’s not capable of being the “bigger guy.” It does nobody any good for them to be the bigger guy after he dies.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25222203/study-shows-indians-fans-have-best-grammar-mets-fans-worst
Hey guys @ least we can hang out hats on sumthing as Indians fans this morning
“guys,”
“at”
“our”
“something”
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Agree again. No posthumisitic enshrinement either. Rose should just build his own museum and have someone make up a HOF-like plaque for him. He can put another one is his mausoleum when the time comes.
Except for that one little blind spot of yours, you’re a pretty wise guy. Well, not “pretty” necessarily. Let’s just say “fairly.” Although I don’t think you’re being all that fair either. Never mind.
I can see my blind spot, and it has blind spots.
NO
[imagine funny gif here]
No one is altering anything. They are refusing to reward cheating (Gaylord Perry and a few others notwithstanding).
and a few others
A few must mean a rather large number. Also, BBWAA are keeping out guys because they “suspect” that they cheated w/o proof, while letting other guys in because they don’t think they cheated w/o really knowing. Horrible precedent.
Should Will Clark be excluded? Where do we draw the line? What right do any of us have to determine where the line be drawn?
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9589483/the-history-glove-talking-baseball
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzfRLnb0qtc
HOF to me is a museum marking the history of a sport. Blemishes on the best players that played should be expected.
Oh grandpa!
http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/ffya.gif
“Supposedly it is written in stone in every clubhouse in the league (I
have always wondered if this is a factual statement or simply symbolic).”
Rule 21 of the Major League Rules covers gambling. Rule 21 also requires that teams post Rule 21 in the clubhouse. Rule 21 does not suffer fools.
Oddly, while one can find copies of the ML Rules online, they are not published anywhere on MLB’s own website. This page gives a pretty good explanation of the main documents governing MLB and how it operates.
http://eephusleague.com/wp-content/uploads/tdomf/3282/rule%2021.jpg
Hank Aaron admitted to using amphetamines for a game.
As you know, mg, there are misdemeanors and there are felonies. To me, steroid use is a felony that warrants banishment. It is certainly not a “blemish.”
I don’t know anything about Clark’s situation and therefore have no opinion of it.
We all have the right to determine where we draw our line. I draw mine on the side of honor, integrity, fair play, sturdy Midwestern values, and apple pie. But you go ahead and draw your line on the side of wanton cheating, fraud, dishonesty, depravity, corruption, roaming charges, convenience fees, and the destruction of civilized society. I just hope your children never find out.
Oh, and another point: baseball had no rules prohibiting steroids/PEDs before the mid-2000’s (too lazy to look exactly when). So Bonds was not cheating.
That’s awesome! I seriously always wondered how literal this was. I had no clue it was actually part of the rule that the rule itself had to be posted. Good stuff!
Get off my lawn!
Oh, and Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays (who was working as a coach for the Mets at the time) were also placed on the permanently ineligible list for working at a casino.
I will not judge lest I be judged đ
Here’s the point: to the guys who actually played those games, your memory is the same as theirs. And that, to a man, I’m sure, is what really matters.
Clemens, Bonds, and Rose (among others) were GREAT beyond great. They just happen to be the ones whose names got caught in the net of moral retribution.
Jayson Stark agrees:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13136055/pete-rose-belongs-hall-fame
It is laughable that people still actually believe Rose “only bet on his team to win.” Give me a break.
Baseball told Pete they did not wish to investigate any further. If he signed the ban, the investigation would end.
He signed the ban, which benefitted him.
Seems clear to me. He has more to hide. What else could come out? He had all these above-board players as friends, but chose to associate himself with a bunch of lowlifes who worshiped him. They were guilty of being involved in gambling, PEDs, and other illegal drugs. Rose was involved in gambling. Who can believe he stopped with that? Esp since he owed hundreds of thousands to a mob syndicate in NY?
If they want to seriously consider reinstating him, it’s simple. Reopen the investigation and finish it.
I want all the info out now, not after.
https://waitingfornextyear.com/2015/03/pete-rose-hof-eligibility/