Seeing Hall Through Rose-Colored Glasses

One of Pete Rose’s biggest boosters is Rocky Mountain News columnist Bernie Lincicome, who writes:

“Pete Rose has my vote for the Hall of Fame just as soon as he is allowed to get it, just as soon as by writing his name on the ballot it does not immediately combust from the inherent wickedness of the letters R and O and so forth.

“Rose ... is the living pariah who was the most enjoyable of baseball companions, a man whose affection for the game was returned in kind, and Rose’s base hits added up to more than anyone before or anyone next.

“The Hall of Fame will make Rose no better nor worse. But Rose would make the Hall of Fame more genuine.”

More Lincicome: “Eddie Murray, on the other hand, will have to wait for my vote, although Murray is very likely the best new name on this year’s ballot and a thoroughly unpleasant man. Murray moped his way through a Hall of Fame career, making no friends I ever knew of.”

Trivia time: What do NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach, Angel hitting coach Mickey Hatcher and Tampa Bay wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson have in common?

Dixie logic: Philadelphia Eagle cornerback Sheldon Brown, who is from South Carolina, was not prepared for the ice storm that hit the Northeast.

“In South Carolina, nobody goes out in this,” Brown told assistant coach John Harbaugh, who told USA Today Sports Weekly, “Sheldon thought practice would be called off, like school used to be called off.”

Not in Green Bay: San Francisco 49er Coach Steve Mariucci’s recipe for success in the NFL playoffs: “The three H’s: healthy, hot and home.”

Who knows: Do you ever wonder how NBA officials decide between charging and blocking? Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan has the same problem.

“I think they got a little bit dizzy trying to figure out which direction they’re going to call,” he said after watching his team lose to Sacramento on four free throws in the final 8.5 seconds.

Tongue twister: Are you ready for this, John Madden?

Chijokae Onyenegecha, San Francisco City College cornerback, is considered a hot prospect for the NFL.

Remembering Roberto: Nearly 30 years after he died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve, 1972, Roberto Clemente is being remembered in an exhibit of art and memorabilia in his native Puerto Rico.

Among the items on display are a 1994 Liberian coin bearing Clemente’s image, postage stamps from the U.S. and Grenada, and an early photograph of Clemente wearing No. 39 instead of his more familiar 21.

Trivia answer: All were J.C. Grid-Wire junior college All-Americans -- Staubach in 1960 with New Mexico Military, Hatcher in 1975 as an end at Mesa, Ariz., and Johnson in 1993 at West Los Angeles.

And finally: Former Super Bowl coach and TV analyst Bill Parcells gave USA Today Sports Weekly his take on the hype surrounding Atlanta Falcon quarterback Michael Vick:

“Can we let him get one [championship] banner up in the gym before we put him in Canton, please?”