For Pete’s Sake, Odds Are Now Staggering

What is the chance of Pete Rose having his lifetime ban from baseball lifted?

Jon Heyman of Newsday writes:

“After recent tax and sports betting revelations, Pete Rose’s chances for a quick reinstatement are about the same as his chances to win back all the money he’s lost over the years. That is to say, zilch.

“Rose’s recent activities are strike one, and his lack of candor regarding his IRS debt and casino habit are strike two. Baseball’s powers are smart enough to take a long look, and don’t bet against strike three. Who knows what they’ll find?

“The all-time hit king neglected to tell Commissioner Bud Selig about his $151,689 debt to the IRS, so Selig was understandably perturbed to hear about it through the media.”

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Trivia time: What is the NBA record for most overtime periods in a game?

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Get a life: Bernie Lincicome in the Rocky Mountain News: “News: Texas Tech Coach Bobby Knight wins his 800th basketball game, putting him 79 behind all-time leader Dean Smith. Knight’s players hug him and jump up and down.

“View: That’s because Knight was pinching them.”

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Couldn’t miss him: Hubert Mizell in the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times: “Hank Stram was the cockiest, most quotable, most outrageous, most fancy attired football coach I ever knew.

“Next summer with a bust that should be K.C. red instead of Canton bronze, the 80-year-old rooster from Purdue will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“Stram was an unforgettable portrait as chief of the Chiefs. Wearing fancy red vests and clothes tailored by the most renowned rag merchants on Earth, he strutted Kansas City’s sideline like a combo of Patton and Napoleon.”

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The real world: Mike Downey in the Chicago Tribune: “GAME IS OVER, the front-page headline read. In gigantic type. Declaration-of-war-sized. In each of our cities largest newspapers. Next to a photo of the president of the United States and the secretary of state, frowning. While the rest of the paper pretended that the rest of the world was proceeding normally.

“One of the day’s papers ran a Page 1 story about a wild coyote floating on an ice floe in Lake Michigan.... It’s pretty lonely back here on the sports page these days. Pretending this is important.”

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Trivia answer: Six, Indianapolis, 75, Rochester, 73, on Jan. 6 1951.

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For J. Lo: Despite their early struggles, the Lakers will begin the second half of the season as one of three favorites to win the NBA championship. According to the Las Vegas Sports Consultants, the Lakers, Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks are atop the odds board at 5-2. The next-closest team is the Portland Trail Blazers at 7-1.

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And finally: Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle commenting on the AT&T; Pebble Beach pro-am:

“ ‘Play golf not war’ reads the banner behind the small plane flying over the tournament Saturday. Might be worth a try: Bush vs. Hussein in a 72-hole showdown. Loser gets disarmed.”

-- Mal Florence