Like the rest of the sports world, I was very surprised when it was first announced that Bill Belichick was interviewing for the head coaching job at the University of North Carolina. Most people believed that he would hold out for an NFL job, but at the same time, I didn’t think any team would take Belichick for several reasons. At 72, how many more years does he want to coach? Plus is seems that he was very set on answering that question by requiring his son to be the heir apparent. On top of that, while New England won six Super Bowls and appeared in ten, none of them came without Tom Brady at QB. Finally, Belichick’s personel decisions in his final seasons with the team were questionable at best, which means that no team would just turn over the entire football operation without a General Manager.
I thought that the negotiations would break down and North Carolina would look elsewhere. To ced all authority to an older man who has never coached in college was foolish. I was immediately reminded of when the University of Illinois hired former Bear Head Coach Lovie Smith; I said that I couldn’t see the laconic Smith sitting in some kid’s living room and selling his program to them. On the surface, Belichick seems like a surly, unpleasant person – not exactly the personality of someone who has to deal with boosters, administration, athletes along with NCAA restrictions. However, he is noted to be much more communicative and even funny when not dealing with the press. There are other issues like learning the intricacies of the transfer portal and NIL money.
Of course, Belichick will have , in effect, a GM to handle the details with no power over Belichick. On the other hand, Belichick is a great coach and he is bringing with him his training regimen, and nutritional rules. The biggest selling point is for a young man who’s ready to do whatever it takes to play professional football. Much like the recruiting of Colorado and it’s Head Coach Deion Sanders, an athlete will know that he is getting the same training and drills as the pros. (To a certain extent also, if a kid doesn’t have the talet or the drive, he will find out sooner providing the time and the impetus to have a Plan B.)
I admit that as a football fan, I did get bored with the dynasty that Brady and Belichick put together in New England. I was never much of a fan of Belichick or “Sith Hoodie Coach.” There were lots of stories that New England camps and practices were cold affairs – No Fun Allowed. He saw the writing on the wall; he knew his time as an NFL Coach was probably done and took a bold step

The Thanksgiving weekend has been an eventful one. For the first time in Chicago Bear history, management fired the head coach, Matt Eberflus right after the disastrous loss to the Lions on Thanksgiving Day. The errors are numerous and have been covered in the local and national media and on social media, so I will not recount it here. At first, I thought that this was a bold move, firmly stating that these weren’t the same old Bears’ management. As it turns out, I was wrong, and while many are surprised in how the firing was handled, I just see it as indicative of the state of the corporate world.
Let’s go back to right after the game on Thursday. The players were upset, especially CB Justin Johnson, and when Eberflus came into the locker room, Johnson started yelling. Other players were also unhappy and the scene turned ugly. The fact that GM Ryan Poles and President Kevin Warren were in Detroit for the game and were in the locker room. Tempers were high and Eberflus was told to/or jon his own left the room. The Coach went to the postgame news conference, some 30 minutes late, and the first glaring corporate error occurred. It was actually a continuation of Eberflus’ stance with the press – say that they had a plan, he was happy with the plan, and the team just needed to gel everything together. In other words, being a good middle manager, blame the system and the players, but not take any accountability himself.
The Bears acted like a typical corporation which has only two objectives: make as much money as they can, and keep from being blamed for anything that could cost them in litigation or PR. It is a sports adage that a coach has to be fired when he/she loses the locker room. However, the team, front office and coaches all returned to Chicago with no change in the status quo. The next morning, Eberflus appeared for his day after the game 9:00AM press conference, and he said that he was still coach and more self-serving BS. At the same time, Warren, Poles and CEO George McCaskey were meeting and they decided to lower the boom. By 11:00 AM, Eberflus was telling the assistant coaches that he had been fired. The word hit the media and disbursed like a virus: Eberflus fired; offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, who has gotten improved performance from QB Calib Williams.
The right thing to have done would have been to tell Eberflus either on the way back to Chicago, or at least first thing in the morning if they didn’t want to ruin Thanksgiving for the Eberflus family. Why wait until the next morning to meet to make the decision You’re the front office/ownership. Tey probably got home around 6 PM – have dinner and take a conference call. There was little to decide on Eberflus, maybe decide on Brown, but they could have told Eberflus that night or before feeding feeding him to the press. Like the great amount of worldwide corporations, the decision makers don’t face everyone in the organization, and certainly not the press. Instead, a innocuous comments were issued by GM Pace and President Warren.
The Bear Head Coaching job should be quite attractive: the overall number 1 pick: Williams; an offense with lots of weapons – DJ Moore, Cole Kmet, and Keenan Allen. Although they have not been as stout as last season, the defense is still adequate. If it hadn’t been for three abominable losses: the Washington hail Mary; a blocked field goal against Green Bay; and the Keystone Kops time management catastrophe in Detroit. Pundits are saying that the long time dysfunction that is the Bears would keep candidates away. Maybe for the biggest names that will be available in February, but looking at the owners around the NFL – Jerry Jones in Dallas, Shad Khan , owner of Jacksonville, Carolina’s David Tepper, and let’s not forget Jimmy “Quarter of a Billion Dollars to a sexual predator” Haslam in Cleveland, the McCaskeys are old and cowardly, but they are better than many of the others.
So, they’re cowards with no idea of PR (but don’t have to worry about money since the TV deal alone promises net profit).What else would you expect from the senior leaders of any major corporation?

This Fall has been a tough time for your friend and humble narrator. There’s no reason fpr me to share what has been happening with me, but for the 24th year, I made my way up to Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival. In previous years, I was able to get 20 tickets, of which I would use 13-14 and give the rest to my friends who I stay with while there. This year, most showings were already sold out. I was used to Galas and Premiere showings sold out, but almost everything was gone, even for 1 ticket. So, this year, I only saw 10 films, but it was different. I didn’t spend every waking hour in a film or going to a film. Maybe I should continue with a slower pace in the future.
One positive to filing this so late, some of the films have been released so they are even more relevant.
Friday, September 6
I usually see one film on the first day after flying in. This year, my TIFF opened with a documentary – Space Cowboy, not to be confused with the Clint Eastwood film, only difference being Cowboys. This film is the story of Joe Jennings, a kid who got hooked on skydiving. He and partners were so accomplished, that they won skydiving championships at the X-Games and other competitions. Eventually, he brought a camera with him, taking pictures of skydivers. Eventually, his talent was noticed by Hollywood where he photographed many of the aerial shots for lots of action films like the Bond films, Fast and Furious series, and many others. On the side, Jennings liked to drop cars and entire living rooms out of airplanes to film the fall and see what happened when they landed. Each time, Jennings and his employees/friends/ relatives jump out with the car, etc. and they all dive out without injury. A curious little film.
Saturday, September 7
One thing about writing my breakdown so late, some of the films have been released in theaters or streaming. , so you can go out and see them now. I only had one film on Saturday, a modern western named. Pedro Perrano. The directorial debut from Oscar winning cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, known for his work with Martin Scorsese and Alehandro Gonzales-Inarretu.
A man, Juan Precado (Tenoch Huerta) journeys to a town called Cormala is a promise to his mother to find his father, a wealthy landowner named Perdo Paramo. At that point, he notes that the town is barely populated and the people he meets come and go like spirits. Eventually, the title character appears, influencing numerous people in town leading to a confrontation. But dod ot happen? What is it with the other characters. . I thought the film interesting, creating an eerie atmosphere. The story left me cold however. Now playing on Netflix.
Sunday, September 8
I doubled the number of films on Sunday, starting with The Fire Inside, a true-life sports story; the tale of Claressa Shields, who has held many titles in women’s professional boxing and mixed martial arts. Her story begins in the blighted city of Flint, Michigan as she sneaks into a local gym, where the owner, Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry, probably best known for his appearances in the American Godzilla movies and Bullet Train) takes her under his wing. Ryan Destiny plays Ms. Shields as a driven young woman facing all of the issues about being a young black female (boys, school) along with the difficulties of poverty (funds for training, drug addict mother). Written by Oscar Award winner Barry Jenkins, and directed by Rachel Morrison, best knoan as a cinematographer for films like Fruitvale Station, Black Panther and Mudbound, for which she was the first woman ever nominated for an Academy Award in Cinematography.
This film documents the lead up to Ms. Shields becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic Gold Medal in boxing, using it as a springboard to her professional success. Yes, it does have the standard sports story but with the subject as consultant and with an especially femae perspective from the subject matter and the director, it is a worthwhile watch. Coming to theaters in limited release on Christmas Day.
I always seem to find myself in at least one film covering World War II, especially the notion of the evi of men. I’ve seen fiction films and documentaries which has primarily involved Germany, but this film is about Norway and it’s leader Victor Quisling (Gard B. Eidsvold), who was the leader of the country during the Nazi occupation of the country. The film begins at the end of the war and Quisling is about to go on trial for war crimes against his own countrymen. A priest (Anders Danielsen Lie) is sent to visit the fallen leader in prison to try an extract a bit of contrition and explanation of his actions during the war. Like today’s strongmen leaders, Quisling spouts bluster varying between outrage and justification, all the while concealing his fear about his ultimate fate. .Only released in Norway, Sweden and Denmark as of this writing; no American distribution can be found, but it is worth seeing..
Monday, September 9
Now this is more like it – three films in one day. It started with a wicked black comedy called Riff-Raff. that is one of the Festivals best this year. A retired criminal (Ed Harris) has settled into a life in the country with his African-American wife (Gabrielle Union) and her son DJ. All is calm as they prepare to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Before long, their estranged son Rocco (Lewis Pullman) and his very pregnant girlfriend (Emanuela Postacchini) show up aand there is something sinister about their sudden appearance Following shortly thereafter is Vincent’s ex-wife played by in her usual loud, rambunctious way by Jennifer Coolidge, which brings stories from the past and tension between the two women.
Of course, there’s a hit out on Vincent with the hit men being rather bumbling – played by the always reliably funny Bill Murray, and his assistant played by Pete Davidson. All of the story threads end up in Vincent’s living room; like Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight with more comedy. I thoroughly enjoyed this film; all of the actors were very good (including Davidson who I have never liked). Director Dito Montiel (Empire State and Man Down) plays all of this bedlam and murder well. Well worth seeing but there is no U.S, distribution listed in theaters or streaming.
The next film was called Kill The Jockey (aka “El Jockey”). Remo (Nahuel Perez Biscayart) is a former star jockey with numerous additions, but wants to return to the top. His partner Abriel (Ursula Cochero), is ready to take Remo’s place, but has to decide if she wants to continue her pregnancy to do so. The pair work for a mobster who has saved Remo in the past and just purchased a horse from Japan for one million dollars and betting heavily on Remo riding the horse to victory. him in an upcoming race. The whole film, directed by Luis Ortega is a strange thriller, the highlight of which is a dans sequence. I found myself not really feeling for the characters other than Abriel. I don’t think the Argentinian feature is required watching.
Long time readers and friends know that along with World War II movies, there always seems to be an Asian action film. Harban is a South Korean historical story. Two years after Korea signed a treaty that made it a Japanese territory, a resistance movement has formed and the story follows the arduous trip into Russia to get supplies and support for an offensive against the Japanese in a town called Harbin. The action was very good, but there was too much dialogue and not enough actioti. Still, it was interesting to learn about the Japanese/Korean conflict before World War I.
Tuesday, September 10
The final day started with a film I was surprised to get a ticket for: Road Diar: Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. The first showing of the film was sold out since Springsteen and Little Steven Van Zandt attended. I guess I could have paid an exhorbitant price for that first show, but I’ve attended nearly 30 Springsteen shows sine 1978. Director Thom Zinny, who has directed all of the video films with Springsteen over the past decade or so. Unlike the earlier films, this is a behind the scenes look at the current tour the band is on, from rehearsal, introducing the other musicians that fill out the band’s sound, to the shows, Bruce’s illness that halted the tour for a few weeks, and announcing Springsteen wife and band member Patti Scialfa’s cancer diagnosis. A must if you’re a fan; interesting if you like rock music and are interested in seeing what happens backstage at stadium rock shows. The only drawback is that this was the opening salvo in a full court media press by Springsteen: am ABC special hyping the tour/film, numerous appearances on television and radio. Despite his seeming omnipresence, I am glad I saw it. Streaming on Hulu and Disney +.
When I looked at the film Pimpinero: Blood and Oil, I admit that I chose it because of its similarity to the excellent Sicario films. Unlike those films, which were about border criminals and police along the u.S./Mexico border, this film is about the Columbia/Venezuela border where criminals and police try to stop gasoline smuggling. This is the story of three brothers who are smuggler,s led by the oldest brother Miguel (Juan Sebastian Calero) is trying to hold the men together with middle Alberto Guerro as Ulise, the middle brother who is haunted by fear and grief. The youngest brother Juan (Alejamdro Speitzyer) upsets the operation by starting to work for the rival gang. It is fairly good, but I wasconfused as to which character was which. Now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Finally, I got to see Concave early. I’m sure that nearly everyone has seen the commercials for the film about the cardinal’s conclave after the death of the Pope. Ralph Finnes is very good as the cardinal in charge of the conclave. I wanted to see this sine this is the follow-up by director Edward Berger whose previous fim was the excellent AllQuiet on the Western Front, which I saw at TIFF 2 years ago. This is unique – a thriller without a murder, a tale of the greed and avarice among men who are supposed ti be godly. It looks great and while it is a serious film for adults (Oscar bait), I think that it is still too shallow to be a truly great film.
So, here is my annual countdown for films I saw, front worst to best. Agin, I don’t think I saw any films that were truly bad; some fllms didn’t connect with me:
10. Kill The Jockey
9. Pablo Perenno
8. Pimponero: Blood and Oil
7. Space Cowboy
6. Harbin
5. The Fire Inside
4. Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band
3. Quisling – The Final Days
2. Conclave
1. Riff Raff
Well, that’s it for another year. Sorry for the delay, but it’s been a difficult Fall. See you next

It is strange irony that in the week the World Series starts (and why do they have to wait 4 days for the start of the Series?) with the Los Angeles Dodgers ,eeting the New York Yankees that Dodgers’ famous pitcher Fernando Valenzula passed away. Young people may be surprised at how popular he was, and baseball was at that time.
Hispanics, especially Mexicans saw representation in the portly left-hander. In 1981, he was a phenomenon. He was the opening day pitcher, quickly went out to an 8-0 record with an ERA of 0.50. By the end of the season, Valenzuela had won. There was a labor stoppage in 1981 but he finished 12-7 record, 2.48 ERA, winning the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, was baseball’s leading strike out pitcher, and he led the Dodgers toa World Series Championship.
That season, wherever he pitched, Hispanics came to the games in droves, which was a good thing, but to me, an Andy Frain Chief Usher at that time, it was a pain in the @$$. I remember one beautiful summer day when the Dodgers came to Wrigley Field. I was in charge of the “Club Boxes,” the seats closest to the field. Once the gates open, people were allowed to go down to the wall to try and get autographs until an hour before the game started. Mostly, it was kids, but on this day, many people hovered down the right field line, the bullpen pitcher’s mound. We had to keep the crowd at the walls orderly, and more important, keep the isles clear in case of something bad happening.
At 12:10 PM, the ushers and I started sending people away from the wall so people could start getting to their seats. Most of the people paid attention, but once Valenzula came out to warm up for his start, people just started crowed around, just to watch him warm up. They just stood there, not moving, as if they couldn’t speak or understand English. I remembered the words of my favorite Andy Frain boss at Chicago Sting soccer games, that if people pretend not to understand English, there are two words they do understand: police and jail. I asked nicely for people to go to their seats or at least away from the wall. I do have a temper, so I started telling people that if they didn’t move, I would be calling police and people would be going to jail. At that, the people started disbursing. It was a real aggravation.
I admit that news items and other events frequently lead to off-color jokes, and sometimes, incidents that happened to me personally. That was my reaction when Pete Rose died. I never met Fernando Valenzuela, but I saw him pitch, and his screwball was wicked, especially seeing it live.. From what I’ve heard over the years, he has been a terrific ambassador between the Dodgers and Hispanic fans around the nation. He was amazing.

Long time readers and friend know that I think that the Big Ten Conference has the worst officiating in all of college sports, especially in football. As a Northwestern Season ticket holder since 1996, I have seen some good football, some bad football, and some mediocre football. Back in the day, I used to yell at officials believing that they were biased against the Wildcats, especially if the team we were playing was one of the best, highly rated tems like Ohio State and Michigan. You could almost hear then Commissioner Jim Delany telling the officials that with the big team in the hunt for the National Championship could possibly lose to little Northwestern. (My college friends can probably all remember an NU-Indiana game in which a Wildcat pass just before the half was called incomplete. NU had the lead – a rare occurrence at the time. My friends and I were in the old student section which was on the northwest corner of the stadium, was the where the NU and the officials went to their locker rooms. I am certain to this day that the ball didn’t hit the turf, and as the officials came off the field I roared – that was a complete pass. Who do you know to be a referee? I didn’t curse or call them anything more than incompetent. The officials had a look of fear as they went by,)
Once we got season tickets, I continued to be loud, rooting for the Cats and yelling when the referees made ridiculous calls. However, I saw horrific calls made against the visitors too. I yelled at the officials when they made a call that was in our favor. My thinking was that the players, coaches and fans deserved the best possible officiating. Kids were practicing, lifting weights, running and playing games to have these old, useless insurance salesmen making calls that impacted these young men. I was incensed – writing to Delany complaining about the porr referees. They were not insulting; there was no name calling; it was a plea for better officials. I never received a response, I always said that my betters went directly into the shredder.
Now, there is a rule that is being called in Big Ten games that are just stupid. I have seen it called against Northwestern, but also against several other schools and no one is saying anything. Every football fan understands the penalty of intentional grounding, when the quarterback is under pressure and throws the ball away, not near any eligible receiver. The penalty has the yardage where the QB threw the ball and loss of down, in effect, having the same impact as a sack.
The referees are calling this penalty if the receiver runs the wrong route: inside instead of outside for example. The QB is not about to be sacked, it is a lack of connection between the QB and receiver. They call the penalty, which doesn’t make any sense. I realize that deciding on intent is tough for most people, particularly if they are truly incompetent. In the NFL and what I’ve seen in other college conferences, is that if the receiver and QB are not on the same page, there is no penalty. It is stupid and no one says anything: not the coaches (fear of fines); not the players; not even the announcers and analysts. Worst, does the Conference see this and make a ruling, telling the referees that this is an incorrect reading of the rules? No, they are too busy adding schools in a successful power grab for the entirety of college football along with the SEC.
I know that many will think this is an insignificant point; I am just anti-Big Ten referees. While I do agree that maybe I do have a grudge, but this ruling is not correct. Big Ten football is a marvelous thing and the Conference should always be looking to make changes to improve the sport.

When I came back from the Toronto International Film Festival, I was on a small plane and sitting nex to an attractive young lady. We each napped, and didn’t really speak, but as we were getting off the plan, I noticed that the woman was wearing a Yankees cap, backwards on her head. I said be aware, Major League Baseball isn’t played in Chicago
All summer, I had planned on writing about the history making 121-loss Chicago White Sox. The reason for previous bad teams like the 1963 old record holding New York Mets. They were an expansion team, made up of has-beens and never-wases. The White Sox lost 101 games last season and all of the best players were traded – Dylan Cease, Eloy Jimenez, and Jake Burger among others. So, the talentless White Sox whose only player of talent was Luis Robert Jr. started the season losing going 6-24 in March and April. The team was 0-19 in May and June. I watched games on television occasionally and it always was the same, Sox take an early lead and the other team would comeback and win late. For years, the Sox have played dumb baseball – horrible baserunning, not hitting the cutoff man, sloppy fielding Before the comeback started, I would turn off the television.I attended one game this season, the Sox had the lead until a batter hit a flair into short center and the second baseman and centerfielder ran into each other with the ball falling to the ground/ It ws right out of the Keystone Kops.
On the other side of town, the Cubs started strong, but had a bad summer and fell out of contention. Originally, I was going to write about the letters written by the teams and signed by their owners – Jerry Reinsdorf south and Todd Ricketts on the Northside. Both letters were mea culpas to the fans, especially to the season ticket holders who spent a lot of money. I was going to criticize the lame letters and urge fans, especially Sox fans, to continue to stay away in droves. Adding insult to injury, Reinsdorf was trying to convince Illinois government to pony up $2 billion for a replacement to Guaranteed Rate Field, itself a prime example of civic blackmail, when Reinsdorf used a move to Tampa to coerce lawmakers to build the stadium, which taxpayers still paying off.
With the Bears also trying to get a new stadium, Reinsdorf met with Nashville, trying to work his magic again, but this the team being the worst record in baseball history, it showed amazing cohones to come begging for money for a team that has lost over 200 games in two seasons, and with little talent on the roster and a ton of players in the minors acquired in all the trades who will probably take years to develop into major leaguers if ever.
In the midst of this horrible season, numerous signs were brought to games with either Reinsdorf’s face with a clown nose, or just urging Reisndorf to sell the team. Chicago sports franchise owners usually are in a regular contest as to who can be the most hated. Besides not winning, the Cubs’ owners, the Ricketts patriarch has expressed opinions that are clse to white supremacy; the McCaskey Family has mismanaged the Bears for decades. Even the Blackhawks owner Danny Wirtz is under fire for starting a new cable channel for the team (along with Reinsdorf’s Sox and Bulls) that has not been able to come to n agreement with the largest cable provider in town, so the Hawks have been effectively blacked out. (In a very silly “compromise” te games are available over the air, even though hardly anyone has a television with antenna anymore.)
Reportedly grooming his son Michael Reinsdorf to take over the team, I have friends who have met the son and the vote is mixed: some people think he’s a decent guy, others report that the younger Reinsdorf is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. While the logical successor, Michael Reinsdorf has been busy as the CEO of the Bulls (who appear to have been mismanaged as badly since the Reinsdorfs allowed the six-time NBA Championship team to be broken up under the leadership of Jerry Krause. With the next generation questionable and perhaps tired of the fans calling for his head, maybe the elder Reinsdorf , 88 years if age, and 44 years as owner of the team, it kas been reported that was reported that Reinsdorf is open to selling the team. Billionaires are putting together groups that can buy the team. While the White Sox suck, it is a very exclusive club to own a sports franchise. No crying for Reinsdorf – the team is expected to fetch $2.05 billion.
As always, the fans are crapped on. Expected to pay for the worst team in history, little hope in the near term, and rumors that any new ownership group may still move the team elsewhere. With 1 Championship, 6 other playoff appearances and a division lead in 1995 when the end of the season was cancelled due to labor strife, many fans may not even care if they leave.

“He was a man take him for all in all. I shall not look upon his like again.”
– Hamlet

I don’t think there was ever a time in which I was not aware of Peter Edward Rose. Of course, I was not watching baseball as a toddler, but with all of the baseball fans in my family (my grandparents, my great-uncles) I probably got some by osmosis. Rose came up to the Reds in 1964and began a storied career with as that had the highest highs and the lowest lows. The positives: 4,256 hits, a number that will probably never be challenged, an MP Award, 17All-Star Game appearances; played on 3 World Series Champions. For a little guy who had been given little chance to make the Reds, his work ethic which earned him the nickname “Charlie Hustle,” An amazing work ethic got him to the big club to become a cornerstone of the Big Red Machine, the championship Phillies with Mike Schmidt and the Expos/Rose was no shrinking violet, the head first slides most infamously limiting the career of Cleveland catcher Ray Fosse in the All-Star Game, an exhibition. The lows include the gambling. Suspended for life for having bet on baseball. He said that he always bet on his Reds, but he didn’t bet on them everyday, so was there a tough opposing pitcher? Would he make moves to lose the game to win the bet? That is why gambling was taken so seriously by baseball since the Black Sox scandal.
My opinion on the Rose matter fluctuated. I never thought that he should be reinstated, but I believed that he belonged in the Hall of Fame. I thought that it would be ridiculous to have a morals clause for the hall, with one of the first six enshrinees.
I admit that I got to know Rose a little bit. Before he tied Cobb’s hits record, the Reds were in Chicago playing the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Space at Wrigley Field was at a premium in those days, and there were so many press people that the ushers were charged to close the stairs from the boxes in the right field corner, and then Rose would come down. As supervisor, I was to go get Rose after the game. The first day, he and I had a pleasant conversation. The next day, Rose remembered my name and we talked about how he hadn’t gotten the tying hit in Chicago. He told me it would come when it came, Besides, they were going home after the Cub series. We went through the same deal on the third day, but the team was leaving to go to Cincinnati and the conference was cut short. I had a positive vibe from him, which helped me to think that he belonged in the Hall.
A few years later, there were actions that baseball was considering reinstatement. Rose was permitted to be a studio analyst, and was a very good analyst. Suddenly, MLB released more files, showing that baseball had records of Rose betting back to his playing days. Plus, he was associating with some really questionable people. Rose, always looking for a profit, wrote a book, admitting that he bet on baseball, even as a player. Over 30 years of lying about the full extent of Rose’s gambling, I was tired of years of lying and I became a Hall opponent. Later that year, I saw Rose’s book was on sale of $1.00. I thought about spending the dollar, but I changed my mind. Rose went to jail for 5 months for income tax evasion.
I had forgotten that Rose was near reinstatement around 2016, but a woman reported that she had a sexual relationship with Rose in the 1970s when she was 14 or 15 years old. I had forgotten about that until I listened to Keith Olbermann’s podcast this morning. To him, that’s the final reason to keep him out. I have said for years that MLB is waiting for Rose to die to enshrine him, if for no other reason to keep him from making additional money from being in the Hall. I agree with Olbermann if the relationship was proven true, but Rose was nottried for it. Of course, back then, men weren’t prosecuted for underage sex unless the victim was raped. I still believe that MLB will allow Rose in, in a couple of years when the “heat” dies down.
Like many people, Pete Rose leaves a troubled legacy. But we will never see someone hit baseballs like that again.