I've never been a fan of the New York Times sportswriter William Rhoden, for several reasons,  but he has written a very nice story about Curt Flood, and the fact that it's time for baseball to give him his due. One thing Rhoden opines about:

 

One of the vexing questions of the new baseball season is why Flood isn’t in the Hall of Fame. Is it simply ignorance of history by the voters? Or does contempt have no statute of limitations? Some omissions are an embarrassment for the sport and for those who are considered its caretakers.

  Here's the linky link

Heads up sports blog fans; the Big Dance is the only tournament going on these days. Lozo over at Why Don't We Get Drunk and Blog is running his own, kinda. It's a "Worst of the Best" or "Best of the Worst"(or something like that) sports blogs out there. He has an honest to goodness field of 64, divided into 4 regions(VEB is in the "They Sucked at Playing Sports" Region). LB's first match-up is against The Basketball Jones. Anyway, head on over there and let Lozo explain everything. Oh, and don't forget to vote early and vote often!

From ESPN.com:
Bob Howsam, former GM of the Cards and Reds, and a founder of the Denver Broncos, died Tuesday in Sun City, Ariz., his son said. He was 89 years old.
In a career that bridged two sports and several leagues, Howsam's guiding principle was that the fans came first, his son said.

"He felt like hey, the players are really important, yes, the owners [are important], but the fans are No. 1," the son said.

Howsam said his father lived in a retirement home in Sun City with his wife, Janet Howsam. He would have turned 90 on Feb. 28.

From the files of "Look at me!!!!"...
Major League Baseball could face a class-action lawsuit from former minor leaguers who believe they were denied a fair shot at making the majors because of steroids in the game.
Ex-St. Louis Cardinals farmhand Rich Hartmann told the New York Daily News he is considering filing the lawsuit, and has support from former teammates.
You can read the rest of the article here.

According to a published report in the LA Times, Grady Little has resigned and Joe Torre is all but signed. L.A. and Torre have agreed on terms, but they are still discussing money for Torre's coaching staff, which would include Mattingly, according to the paper.                                                                                      

Just saw this in the P-D; Bruce Manno has been hired by GM Frank Wren as Assistant GM in Atlanta. Wren and the 53-year-old Manno worked in Baltimore in 1999, when Wren was the Orioles' GM and Manno was his assistant. Manno also worked 16 years with the Milwaukee Brewers, serving as assistant GM from 1987-94.

I was going to post this in the main thread, but figured it merited a diary entry. Here's the deal; I figured out a few years back that raising my blood pressure over a baseball team just wasn't worth it anymore. Now, before anyone says, "but you're not a real fan, then"; you don't know me, just like I don't know you. I've been living and dying with the Cardinals for 47 years, so yes, I AM a "real" fan. I just choose to not get overly excited one way or the other. If they win, great; if they lose, it sucks, but there are more important things to worry about.
Panicking is what the residents of Greensburg, KS or the students/faculty inside Norris Hall at VA Tech were doing; not what we, as fans, should be doing because our favorite team is having a down year. Sports are supposed to be an escape from the "real" world, so equating real world sensibility to sports just doesn't work. I know I'm in the minority here, but you know what? I don't care; I'm ok, with that.

MLB is close to announcing a deal that will place its Extra Innings package of out-of-market games exclusively on DirecTV, along with the Baseball channel, which begins in 2009. The new agreement will take it off cable and Dish because DirecTV has agreed to pay $700 million over seven years, according to three executives briefed on the details of the contract but not authorized to speak about them publicly. The only other way that fans without DirecTV will be able to see Extra Innings will be on MLB.com's mlb.tv.
I live in an apartment complex which does not allow dishes, so I'll be stuck watching the games online. Dammit...

Jeff Samardzija, Notre Dame's career leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, has foregone a career in the NFL and signed a contract to pitch for the Cubs. The right-hander posted a 2.70 ERA across two Class A levels in 2006, and is expected to start the season at Peoria. Here's the link.

The Fall They Tried to Put the Cardinals Down
(Sung to the tune of "The Night They Drove Old
Dixie Down")

CardinalNation is our name and we rode on the Cardinal train

'even though many "experts" came and tore up the

team again    

In the fall of '06, we were hungry, hoping to stay

alive    

They took the plane to San Diego that fall    

It was a feat many thought was too tall

[Chorus]
The time they tried to put the Cardinals down  

And all the phones were ringin'    

The time they tried put the Cardinals down    

And all the fans were singin'    

They went, "Na, na, na, na, na, na, .... "

Back with my friends in new Busch III  

And one of them said to me,    

"Ruly, Quick! Come see!    

There go the MV3."    

Now in my mind, I know this team    

And I won't let their words make me scream    

Just say what you want and pound your chests  

But you should never have doubted they were the best

[Chorus]
The time they tried to put the Cardinals down    

And all the fans were singin'        

The time they tried to put the Cardinals down    

And all the fans were singin'    

They went, "Na, na, na, na, na, na, ..... "  

Like my grandfather before me, I'm a Cardinals fan  

And like my father before me, I took a Cardinals

stand    

And the writers all picked the Tigers to win

But they saw it was a Cardinal sin.....

[Chorus]  
The time they tried to put the Cardinals down    

And all the phones were ringin'    

The time they tried to put the Cardinals down    

And all the fans were singin'    

They went, "Na, na, na, na, na, na, ..."

With all apologies to Robbie Robertson and The Band