At the 2015-2016 NFL season approaches its climax, let me say that as a lifelong fan, I was underwhelmed this year, and no, it’s not because the Bears were mediocre at best. There are a few good, interesting teams to watch, but there are a lot of bad teams and mediocre teams that make me as a fan say “so what? Who cares?”
The season started out with several teams going undefeated for weeks: Carolina, Cincinnati, Denver, New England, Green Bay, and Arizona. Meanwhile, most of the rest of the league started slowly or crept to mediocrity. All of the teams except Carolina have fallen from the ranks of the undefeated, but all of these teams are among the better teams in the league with Arizona, New England, and Carolina looking like the best of the pack as we head down the stretch.
Injuries didn’t help – Andrew Luck, Tony Romo, Peyton Manning, have been out of the game for weeks and won’t be returning, and Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton is hurt but may return for the playoffs.
Let’s be honest, there are a lot of not very compelling teams in the league with little star power to make their games interesting. The Jets are playoff contenders but exciting (other then to New Yorkers)? No. the AFC South is filled with mediocre to lousy teams: Houston leads the division at 7-7 followed by one game by the Luck-less Colts. The Broncos have a new QB with Manning injured/ineffective. Kansas City seems to be decent, but other than Alex Smith the QB, can you name any other player on the team? The Raiders are much improved, but not ready yet for prime time (the playoffs).
The NFC is worse. Former playoff contenders, Detroit, has underperformed. Atlanta started hot and has fallen back to .500. Perennial contenders, the New Orleans Saints have not played well at all, posting a 5-8 record as of today. Participants in the last two Super Bowls, Seattle started very slowly but have come back to claim a Wild Card berth.
The worst division in the game is the NFC (L)East, and with the “East Coast bias” causing the teams in this division unrivaled coverage, the poor play by the Giants, Eagles and Cowboys along with the offensively named Washington franchise playing .500 to be in the lead in the division means that the whole country gets to watch these overrated lousy teams playing on national games almost every week.
I haven’t even mentioned the bad teams that aren’t at all interesting. As much as it pains Bear fans, the team is not good enough to contend and have shown it this season and as such, aren’t very interesting. Buffalo is occasionally interesting but not consistently; the Dolphins suck and are boring. The Ravens without Joe Flacco aren’t worth watching (and since this team has historically been a defensive team, what does that say?); the Browns continue to be a train wreck with party monster Johnny Manziel now the starter. Jacksonville has won 5 games this year, but who cares? People who live in Jacksonville don’t pay to see them play and they have been farmed out to play most of the London games, which is enough for the British to declare war again on the colonies. Tennessee has Marcus Mariotta under center and little else, which makes the games in which he’s injured (about half the time) unbearably boring.
What happened to the Chargers? In the past, they would play poorly then rally to either make the playoffs or just fall short. Not this year. Tampa Bay has number one overall pick Jameis Winston and he has played decently in Lovie Smith’s overly conservative schemes, but would I pay to watch them? The Rams aren’t good and the San Francisco 49er fans should sue to get Jim Harbaugh back.
Which brings me to the other problem – uninteresting matchups on national games. Tonight, we get the 5-8 Saints against the 4-9 Lions. Yes, I know; no one has a crystal ball to know that these former playoff franchises would have seasons to make tonight’s game irrelevant, but at least it has Drew Brees and Charles Johnson playing in it. No, it’s not a week 16 rarity – here are some of the other national games we’ve been stuck with Giants at Cowboys on Sunday night week 1 along with the Vikings at 49ers. We had the Jets and Colts on Monday in week 2; Cowboys and Saints Sunday night week 4 with the Lions and Seahawks that Monday night; Colts vs. Texans 49ers and Giants in week 5; Browns at Bengals on Thursday night week 9; Chiefs and Chargers week 111; Ravens at Browns on Monday night week 12. The (lack of) hits just keep on coming.
This week, we have the Chargers and Raiders on Christmas Eve, then the NFC East rears its ugly head the night after Christmas with Washington at Philadelphia who just got stomped by Arizona last night. The Steelers play the anemic Ravens next Sunday night. I’m bored just writing about them.
Can we just blame parity? Or are we in a football talent/personality rut? College QBs aren’t as NFL ready as they used to be it seems and seem to either be boring or suspected felons. I’m as big an NFL fans as anyone (who isn’t losing money to Fan Duel and Reality Kings and the other “fantasy” sites), but I’ve missed games and didn’t feel like I was missing anything. That, along with concerns about head trauma, should worry NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell greatly.

Soccer’s international ruling body FIFA is as corrupt as Tammany Hall or a Third World dictatorship. It seems that every few months there is another raid on a hotel and various FIFA officials are being arrested for bribery and other crimes. So far, the investigations haven’t been able to pin anything publicly on FIFA President Sepp Blatter, but the FIFA Ethics Committee (sounds like holding AA meetings in a bar) ruled that Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini should be suspended from the sport for 8 years. Now, where that number came from is subject to question although it may be considered a lifetime ban for the 79-year-old Blatter..
Since no charges against Blatter or Platini have been filed other than presiding over their corrupt organizations (which is enough for me), the oblivious Blatter has blasted the ruling and vowed that he will appeal. At a news conference at FIFA’s former headquarters in Sonnenberg, Zurich Blatter said “I’m really sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I am still somewhere a punching ball. I’m sorry for me for, how I’m tainted in this world of humanitarian qualities,” Blatter added.
“Even suspended I am the President. I am not ashamed. I [do] not regret … I will always repeat that. I am a man of principles. These principles are never taking money you have never earned and pay your debts.”
Blatter also claimed FIFA’s Ethics Committee has no right to go against him and said he would be appealing the ban. “We will go once again to the Appeal Committee,” he said. “I’m a Swiss citizen. In the Swiss law you wouldn’t be suspended for eight years — you will have had to commit something very, very important. I am fighting not for me, but as the elected President of FIFA … and they have cut me off,” Blatter added. “We have to defend ourselves, I hope Platini feels the same.”
Of course, I think that Blatter should be spending his time getting ready for his legal defense, but it shows how delusional and mad Blatter and FIFA is. They have taken millions in bribes, had countries build huge soccer palaces that after the World Cup are immediately abandoned as human needs go unfulfilled. It is a crime of gargantuan proportions and I am so glad that the chickens are finally coming home to roost.

A couple of weeks ago, I listed my favorite music CDs of the year. In past years, I gave you a list of my favorite concerts, but I honestly can’t this year, because I don’t think I saw 10 concerts all year, making all of them in the Top 10 (but I did see some terrific concerts this year headed by Graham Parker & the Rumour at City Winery, U2 at the United Center, Joe Jackson at Thalia Hall, and Marshall Crenshaw and Matthew Sweet in separate shows at SPACE in Evanston). Still, I did get to see some films this year (and one that I actually saw in 2014 but wasn’t released theatrically until 2015). So, here’s my list:

10. Love & Mercy, dir. Bill Polhad – Can an incredible one-half of a movie be so good that it lifts a mediocre half to a Top 10 list? In this case, it can. The story of Beach Boys’ resident genius Brian Wilson, the film jump cuts between the younger Brian played by Paul Dano as genius and madness intersect – the genius of recording magnum opus “Pet Sounds” as his mental health deteriorates. The other half of the film plays a much older Wilson played by the usually good John Cusack falls in love with a Cadillac saleswoman played by Elizabeth Banks and breaks away from his controlling psychologist played by Paul Giamotti.
As I wrote in my 2014 TIFF review, the portions with Cusack were fairly standard with Giamotti given a one-dimensional part and Cusack playing a slightly crazed John Cusack, not Brian Wilson. It also didn’t help that it didn’t seem like Cusack was playing the same person as Dano, who was absolutely incredible. The story of making Pet Sounds, the internal fights with the other members of the band, especially cousin Mike Love; and the abuse all of them received from the Wilson’s father was fascinating. Every time, they jumped back to Cusack, I was disappointed. But the critics loved the whole movie. Makes me wonder?
9. Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron dir. Joss Whedon – yes, it’s not as good as the first one, but there has to be one super-hero movie on my list and this one’s it (if you don’t count #6 below). What I liked was Ultron played by James Spader, showing the requisite amount of menace and condescendence, and I also liked a much more humorous Thor. The rest of the movie gave us an interesting love issue between the Black Widow (Scarlett Johannsen) and Bruce Banner/the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).
8. The People vs. Fritz Bauer dir. Lars Klaume – This is another film that I saw at TIFF this year and every year I not-so-kiddingly sayid that every year, I have to have one Nazi movie, and it was the second film I saw in two years on the same subject – the aftermath of World War II and Germany coming to terms with the atrocities. Last year, I saw a fine film called “Legacy of Lies” and this year I saw “People vs. Fritz Bauer.” Both films have Bauer as a character, but this film centers much more on the secretly homosexual Jew who left Germany during the war, but who led the prosecution of “regular” Germans who had worked in the concentration camps.
“Legacy” only briefly touched on the chase for Adolph Eichmann but told the story of prosecuting Auschwitz guards and others.
“People” focuses on the search for Eichmann. Bauer, played spectacularly by Burghart Klaußner, details the search for Eichmann and the political issues he had with Germany and Interpol, who didn’t want to go after Eichmann; the U.S. that didn’t want to prosecute; and Israel wanted more proof before they would go after Eichmann who was living in Argentina. Klaußner, who was also outstanding in “The White Ribbon” was outstanding as he fought to find Eichmann, prove to all that it actually was him, and then commit what some people called treason in giving the Israelis the evidence that led to them capturing the chief engineer of the Final Solution, before being betrayed by Israel when they put Eichmann on trial instead of turning him over for trial in Germany, which might have led to more Nazis who had gone back into society especially government with no penalty to be prosecuted. (BTW – don’t be thrown off by the title: there is no trial between the government and Bauer as the title would suggest.)
It is funny that in both of these films, while Bauer was obviously real, the other lead character was a made up, blond prosecutor. In “Legacy of Lies,” it was a young man whose in-laws were all against the prosecution and his work ends up breaking up the marriage. In “People,” a young prosecutor acts on his gay impulses despite having a pregnant wife. The secret ends up with blackmail and betrayal. I find it interesting that both films have fictitious or composite characters with similar issues. It makes me think that there is/was a real person at the center of both stories. (“Legacy” played in New York earlier this year, but I haven’t seen it anywhere near Chicago. Both films are well worth checking out.)
7. Inside Out dir. by Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen – only Pixar can take a strange idea and turn it into a winner. When Joy is uprooted from her Midwestern life to San Francisco, her emotions: Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness help her try to come to grips with her new life. Again, only the Pixar people can take psychology and turn it into a funny and at times touching movie. (By the way, everyone is saying that Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur” is a failure, but I liked it too. Its not one of the studio’s best but it was better than Cars 2).
6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens dir. J.J. Abrams – what’s old is new again. Basically a rehash of Episode IV – A New Hope, it brought back all of the major stars from the first trilogy and introduces us to not one but two young protagonists trying to find their way in the Star Wars universe and getting caught up in the battle between good and evil. The film looked very good and it was great to see Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill again. I did enjoy the film, but I was 16 when the first film came out, so I never had the toys and all the stuff. I never “grew up” with the series, so while I’m happy to see a worthwhile entry in the series (but I found stuff to like in Episodes II and III), its not the best film I’ve ever seen (or even as good as Empire Strikes Back – still the Gold Standard of the series). Which brings me to more intelligent sci-fi…
5. Ex Machina dir. Alex Garland – a man Domhnail Gleeson (also with a big part in Force Awakens) wins a contest to spend a week at the world largest Internet company. When he arrives however, he has to participate in a strange experiment with artificial intelligence in the form of a sexy robot girl (Ava – played by Alicia Vikander). Very intelligent sci-fi with quality story and letting up some interesting questions…
4. Legend, dir. Brian Helgeland – another film that I saw in Toronto (but released in the same year), this was the story of the famous Cray brothers, who “ran” the London underworld in the “swinging 60’s” (and were immortalized by Monty Python’s “Ethyl The Frog – Piranha Brothers sketch). Helgeland, Oscar winning screenwriter of “L.A. Confidential,” directed this film after the good job he did on the Jackie Robinson bio-pic “42.” Instead of casting two actors to play the twins, Tom Hardy took on both roles and did an exceptional job of playing both brothers as distinct personalities: Reggie, the “prince of the city” the brains and sometimes brawn of the outfit, and Reggie, the homosexual sociopath who had his own little gang of gay toughs doing his bidding.. Of course, camera tricks and special effects allowed Hardy to play against himself, but it was quite seamless.
Unlike other gangster movies, this is narrated by Reggie’s wife Frances (played well by Emily Browning), and there was no “gun fight” decline of the brothers; in fact, it was their own mistakes that tripped them up (the police were ineffectual, lead by the hapless Nipper Read, played by former Doctor Who Christopher Eggleston). The drawback is that too much of the dialogue was mumbled and in a thigh accent, which made some sections, especially in the beginning, indecipherable.
3. Spectre, dir. by Sam Mendes – speaking of expectations, coming off of Skyfall, the best James Bond film since Sean Connery, the follow-up was going to be a bit of a letdown. But this film, which brought back the Connery-era villainous organization, kept Daniel Craig’s 007 in today’s world, but with a touch of the old 1960s and 1970s cheek and gadgets.
Like the unsuccessful “Quantum of Solace,” Spectre follows directly from the previous film and has Bond up against Spectre, neatly tying up all of the storylines from the previous films and giving Craig an opportunity to leave the franchise, which he says he desperately wants to do (despite a contract for one more film). Mendes does a good job of juggling the story with all of the in-jokes for we Bond fanatics. The film would probably have ended up higher if the screenwriters hadn’t trying to shoehorn a family/brotherly connection between Bond and villain Christoph Waltz.
2. Spotlight, dir. by Tom McCarthy – another film I had the ability to see before its theatrical release at TIFF, this is the straight forward telling of the story of the Boston Globe investigators uncovering the pattern of child sexual abuse by priests and the cover-up and protection of the perpetrators by the Roman Catholic Church.
The cast was top notch, with great performances from Mark Ruffalo (expected), Rachel McAdams, Live Schrieber (also expected), Stanley Tucci (always great) and especially Michael Keaton who has made a super return to the big screen with this and “Birdman.” Despite knowing the outcome, the struggle to uncover the truth with almost everyone in the very Catholic city of Boston, made this compelling and a taut thriller. It compares well with its direct antecedent, “All the President’s Men.”
1. Mad Max: Fury Road, dir. by George Miller – I have to admit that one of my all time favorite films is “The Road Warrior,” and a return to the wasteland by director Miller after years of making kids films about talking pigs and animated penguins was eagerly anticipated by yours truly. With Tom Hardy (again) taking the place of the aged and disgraced Mel Gibson, once again, the flight of imagination in putting together this world, with all of the action of the earlier Mad Max films and with one of the toughest heroines in movie history Imperator Furiosa played by the truly talented Charleze Theron, this was big screen action with thought, humor, heart and actual characters.
It is getting a lot of “best picture” nods by Film Critics’ associations, which is highly unusual for an apocalyptic action movie, but this film deserved it.

I am a fan – of lots of things: comic books, music, concerts, movies, Monty Python. Like I said, lots of stuff and one of my strongest affiliations is for the Chicago Blackhawks.
I kid everyone that in some ways it’s easier on my bank account (and sometimes my nerves during the playoffs) for them to not win the Stanley Cup. There are lots of purchases made when they win: new hats and t-shirts, a new miniature Stanley Cup for my desk, various and sundry other knick-knacks, and a replica championship ring. There’s a place in south suburban Tinley Park that makes replica rings with cubic zirconium instead of the real diamonds that make the rings worth $50,000 or so each. They are too big and heavy to wear, but they’re cool to have.
For the last two championships, the Blackhawks have had a replica ring night, where replicas are given to the first 10,000 fans. I was able to get one in 2013 and had tickets to last Friday night’s game against Winnipeg when they gave away this year’s ring. The 2013 ring was nice – too small to be useful for me, but a nice addition to the collection. I remembered the rush for this giveaway, so I got to the United Center early for the 7:30 game and was fairly close to the entrance. It was a very mild evening for December and I stood outside with other fans talking and I had my Kindle book. Friends who were meeting me severely underestimated the demand and failed to meet me in time, so I got one and they didn’t.
Now, I would never sell my stuff. I purposely ask famous people who I get autographs from to personalize the autograph – “To Tony” or something like that, so that they know this is not some ploy to make money off their name. I want it because I admit their work or what they’ve done. To that same end, I will be keeping my replica rings with my other accumulated stuff (the Indignant Women will have some money after I shuffle off this mortal coil, but hopefully, not for some time). However, to many of the other people who were outside the United Center last Friday night aren’t above selling their free gift. I looked on eBay and saw people asking from $100 to nearly $175 for the right to the bauble. These are not people who need the money, otherwise they wouldn’t be paying high prices for hockey tickets. If they didn’t want the ring, don’t take it – leave it for someone else. Or, even better, find a kid who didn’t get to the UC early enough to get a ring and give it him/her. Or take it home and give it to a kid in your neighborhood who couldn’t go and give it away.
These are the lowest level of fans – fans chasing dollar signs. Yes, worse than bandwagon jumpers in my estimation (but not by much). I remember examining a bank in the 1980s in downstate Illinois and the office of one of the bankers was filled with memorabilia including autographed pictures of Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams. Williams got sick the week I was in the bank (not fatal) and the banker was almost dancing with glee with the possibility he would die with the anticipation that his stuff would be even more valuable. It’s like buying a painting in expectation of the artist dying.
It’s too bad there’s no way to gauge the intensity of fandom – a lot of people would have been empty handed Friday night.

1. I know that the Cubs have signed highly prized free agent Jason Heyward (and away from the hated Cardinals) and made the playoffs last year, but suddenly, lots of people are calling the Cubs, yes the team that hasn’t won a World Series in 107 years and hasn’t appeared in a World Series in 70 years, the favorite to win it all in 2016.
Whoa there Hoss! Remember that games have to be won on the field/pitch/ice/field, etc. The best team on paper doesn’t always win. In baseball, how many championships were the Tigers supposed to win over the past decade? Great pitchers, the best hitter in baseball in Manuel Cabrera – the Tigers were supposed to be a lock for the playoffs and more. Last year’s Washington Nationals were supposed to be awesome, but underachievement, questionable managerial decisions, and eventually player discord stopped the Nats.
It takes great players playing well, but it also takes luck – lack of serious injuries, avoiding long droughts and losing streaks. There are so many variables that have to go just right to win it all. Just look at the Blackhawks, especially last year. They weren’t one of the obvious choices; they were among the pack of good teams, but the Rangers, Blues, Predators, Canadiens, Lightning, and Ducks all had more points going into the playoffs, but things went just right and the Hawks won.
I’m not trying to burst anyone’s bubble and I know it’s a very unusual position as a Cub fan to deal with being a front runner, but temper the expectations a bit. Spring training is still two months away.
2. I think that Sports Illustrated made a good decision naming Serena Williams its “sportsperson of the Year.” She won three of the 4 Grand Slams and came within two matches of winning a true Grand Slam. I know that Ms. Williams is attractive and fashionable, but the picture that the magazine chose for the cover, her draped over a throne with the slits in her dress showing off her legs is more than a bit sexist. I know it’s a predominantly men’s magazine and SI has its annual swimsuit issue which sells many orders of magnitude higher than all of the rest of the year’s issues combined, but it’s a it much.
I don’t think I’m a prude, and I’m not insulted or pissed off. I’m sure that if Steph Curry or a man had been chosen, the man’s picture wouldn’t have been taken in such a pose. I just think it’s a little much – that’s all.

When I worked for the Federal Reserve, we had a common rule – “what happens on the road, stays on the road.” Back in the 1980s, there was a fair amount of drinking done on the road and as a result, a number of juvenile exploits ensued. And yes, there was the occasional hook-up and some affairs that did or could have caused some divorces.
When you’re traveling, you get to know people much deeper than if you just work with them in an office. You get to know them much better, you learn about their likes, dislikes, families, etc. And also, sometimes, you keep secrets about their lives that no one else needs to know. I have never discussed the more sensitive stories from my days on the road. Often, we will regale all on the funny, less personal stories, but things like affairs and other sensitive stories remain secret (and should).
Sometimes, however, emotion can cause someone to break the silence. Such a situation happened earlier this month. Sacramento Kings’ guard Rajon Rondo made a derogatory anti-gay comment at veteran NBA referee Bill Kennedy in a game between the Kings and Rondo’s old team, the Boston Celtics on December 3rd in a game played in Mexico. One must appreciate the passion that athletes have in the “heat of battle” if you will, but there is a basic level of decorum and basic human respect that everyone should get. Rondo overstepped that boundary.
The ripples of the incident are more profound. As unfortunate as the incident is the fact that the NBA took more than a week to render a one game suspension for Rondo, who sat out last night’s game against Houston. Rondo apologized and the Kings said his comments were disrespectful and offensive. Rondo wrote on Twitter that his actions during the game “were out of frustration and emotion, period!” “They absolutely do not reflect my feelings toward the LGBT community,” Rondo added. “I did not mean to offend or disrespect anyone.”
Fortunately or unfortunately, the situation had another consequence. Referee Kennedy told Yahoo Sports that he is, in fact, gay. Kennedy said that he is “proud to be an NBA referee and I am proud to be a gay man,” adding that he chose to come out in hopes of sending a message “that you must allow no one to make you feel ashamed of who you are.” Kennedy is in his 18th season as an NBA official, having worked more than 1,050 regular-season games and five NBA Finals.
Fortunately, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made the appropriate comment. “I wholeheartedly support Bill’s decision to live his life proudly and openly. Throughout his 18-year career with the league, Bill has excelled as a referee because of his passion, dedication and courage. Those qualities will continue to serve him well both as a game official and as a positive influence for others. While our league has made great progress, our work continues to ensure that everyone is treated with respect and dignity.”
Fortunately, Kennedy is getting support from many quarters. When he worked the Utah – San Antonio game in Texas last Monday, he received applause from fans when he was shown on the videoboard with the officiating crew and his name was announced. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich also commented on Rondo’s tirade before San Antonio’s 118-81 victory. “It’s unfortunate,” Popovich said. “It’s disgusting, because Billy, he is a great guy. He’s been a class act on and off the court. And as far as anyone’s sexual orientation, it’s just nobody’s business. It just shows ignorance to act in a derogatory way toward anybody in the LGBT community. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Now, I don’t follow basketball like I did before – it bores me now. Obviously, I didn’t know about Bill Kennedy’s sexual orientation, but like Coach Popovich said – it’s no one’s business and it makes absolutely no difference on his job or anything else. It’s too bad that Referee Kennedy got “outed” in this way, but let’s hope that everyone gives him the same respect that he was given before the incident forced his personal life into the limelight.
However, the true positive is that this is no longer a front page headline. Acceptance continues to move forward and that is a VERY good thing!

I was wrong.
I’ve been wrong for a very long time.
Long time readers of this blog know that I have been in support of Pete Rose being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but I no longer feel that way. I know that showing that one has changed their mind is flip-flopping to politicians and I will probably never ever be President of the United States now, but I am no longer a believer. Commissioner Rob Manfred shut the door for good, having denied Rose’s request for reinstatement this week.
For years, I have said that Rose should never be reinstated to baseball, meaning never be allowed to have a job in the game, but the all time hits leader should be in the Hall of Fame. My other point was that it is hard to justify a morals clause for the Hall with Ty Cobb being one of the first six members of the organization. (Cobb was an overt racist and did abominable things to opponents and fans like sharpening his spikes to cause maximum damage to infielders; reportedly killed a man; and also beat a bad with his artificial leg in full view of the paying customers.)
I always said that while there was no proof that he bet while he was playing, he should be in the Hall of Fame. Well, investigators, including my old NU friend Willie Weinbaum for ESPN’s “Outside The Lines,” showed that Rose did indeed bet on baseball while playing, and Manfred said in an interview this week that Rose continues to bet on baseball, something that is only legal in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, NJ. So, Rose is a liar, unrepentant, and a criminal again having served time for income tax evasion based on gambling winnings.
Many people are, and should be, upset over the decades of lying that Rose has done, refusing to admit that he bet on baseball until it was in his interest to “come clean” when former Commissioner Fay Vincent started to consider his reinstatement, but did so only in a book designed to add to his wallet.
It is obvious that Rose has a gambling problem which he obviously will do nothing about. Moreover, he shows the height of hubris by somehow believing that the rules don’t apply to him. In this century of information availability, it was only a matter of time before all of his sins were discovered, so he must have thought that if he was reinstated before all of the facts got out, he would be able to slide on it.
I admit that I liked Pete Rose back in the day. I was in charge of setting up his daily news conferences the week he broke Ty Cobb’s record when the Reds were playing the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He remembered my name, talked to me each day on his way to and from the clubhouse. But he is a con man and one who either think he can con the world, or hopes he can slide by.
So I will no longer defend Peter Edward Rose. That ship has sailed.