Happy Tuesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for December 6, 2011 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- Former Cubs third baseman and announcer Ron Santo was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He died one year ago. Jim Kaat, Gil Hodges and Minnie Minoso fell short in the Veterans Committee voting.
- The San Diego Chargers snap their six-game losing streak beating Jacksonville
- The NHL wants to realign from six divisions into four conferences. Maybe they can name them after Hall of Famers? The Gretzky and Orr Conferences sound good to me.
- The five Heisman Trophy finalists are named. They include Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck and Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.
- Sports Illustrated chooses basketball coaches Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Pat Summitt of Tennessee as the 2011 Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year.
- What's going on here? 8-0 Harvard is ranked 25th in college basketball, the first time they've ever been ranked.
2. Printing Money
Word is the NFL will get a whopping increase in its TV money. When all is said and done they'll rake in around $7 billion a year. That comes to around $220 million per team before they sell a single ticket, jersey or hot dog. Maybe it's time for teams to refund those personal seat licenses? We don't want to be piggy do we?
3. Cheeseheads
So a group called Public Policy Polling asked people in Wisconsin how they viewed Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. His positive rating was 89%. He trails only Jesus at 90% and Abe Lincoln at 91%. He beat out George Washington at 86% and Santa Claus who had a lowly 67%. OK, Santa is way out of shape, but George Washington? His quarterback rating was sensational. Name another president who could toss a silver dollar across the Potomac? And while I get Jesus, with that ability to walk on water deal, Abe Lincoln? They said he was a pretty fair wrestler, but wrestling? Are we really talking wrestling up against the NFL? Abe Lincoln? Honestly.
4. Your Turn at Bat
Last week I wrote, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa all appear for the first time on the ballot for Cooperstown next year. Without drugs they are all Hall of Famers. What are they with drugs?
Some of your responses:
*Jim C. HOF'ers with asterisks, at best.
*Robert P. I agree with the first two, but I don't think Sammy Sosa would've been a HOF-er without drugs. He didn't start slamming home runs until later in his career. Plus, he was caught cheating when he had those rubber balls come flying out of his bat during a game.
*Tom M. They're cheats and bums that should only be allowed through the doors of the Hall of Fame as paying customers.
*And the winning answer from Perry B. What are Bonds, Clemens and Sosa without drugs? She writes, Dave Parker, Dock Ellis, and Ken Caminiti.
5. Quiet Please
I can hear it now. This is only going to escalate in golf. First the yahoos started yelling "In the hole," after a tee shot on a par three, and now it's food items. After Tiger Woods hit a drive last weekend, the shout was "Mashed Potatoes." What's next, "Potvin Sucks?" "Remember the Alamo?"
Happy Birthday: Former Padres and Phillies manager Larry Bowa. 66.
Bonus Birthday: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. 54.
Today in Sports: The "Singing Cowboy," Gene Autry, is granted a baseball franchise, the Los Angeles Angels. 1960.
Bonus Event: The U.S. Congress moves from New York to Philadelphia. No truth to the rumor it's the last time Congress actually did something. 1790.