Pete Rose has a statue in Cincinnati and Wall of Fame plaque in Philly

Dirt Bag - I see an image of Pete Rose sliding into home plate on his stomach obscured by more dirt and dust than Pigpen in a Peanuts cartoon. That is a metaphor of Pete Rose’s life, and he would be OK with that. Philly Sports comedian Joe Conklin spoke at the Philadelphia sportswriters banquet and said to Rose, “Over 4,000 hits ... and that was at the blackjack table.” Conkin also made fun of Rose’s haircut. Pete laughed because he could hang tough when things got rough. Pete Rose gambled on baseball, including a team he managed, then lied about it before dusting off his uniform and coming clean. He received a lifetime ban in 1989; his name hasn’t been on the Hall of Fame ballot since. There is a statue of Rose outside Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark. His plaque hangs on the Phillies’ Wall of Fame. There are credible statutory rape charges against Rose that have resulted in lawsuits. I’d say have a special ballot – one year only – with the names of all players with MLB Hall of Fame numbers, including Rose, Bonds, McGwire, Sosa and Clemens. Let the Baseball Writers of America cast a vote, but also fans, just like for all-star selections. Let DraftKings sponsor the event. OK, now I’m being stupid, but I honestly have always felt that Rose's inclusion in the Baseball Hall of Fame meant more to his fans than it did to Pete. He went to the town of Cooperstown each year and sold autographs. He also spent five months in prison for income tax evasion. How many inmates from that low-security prison have autographed Pete Rose balls and hats? Bet you won’t see them on Antiques Roadshow.  

Still the same - Nineteen years ago, I skipped the YBA basketball 10-year-old championship basketball game in the old Rehoboth gym even though granddaughter No. 1 Anna was on a team. Tommy Coveleski said to me, “I was sure you would be there to watch Anna play; she’s pretty good.” I told Tommy, “If I went, I may have been inclined to hope other 10-year-olds miss layups. I can’t be that guy.” But I’ve evolved. If I have blood in the game, I want them to do well. But hoping others do badly is not part of my makeup. I am a professionally unbiased sports reporter with a degree in anthropology who can’t stop doing kinship analysis during games.    

Who gets gone first - Sports fans along the fence ask me a football question at a hockey game. “Who gets fired first, Mike McCarthy (Cowboys) or Nick Sirianni (Eagles)?” I voted for Sirianni, saying, “The people in the organization that see him every day know what the deal is.” To quote Buddy Holly, “Every day, it’s a-gettin’ closer. Goin’ faster than a roller coaster.” It all comes down to leadership styles and actually knowing what you are talking about. A lack of charisma coupled with losing will also get you gone from a professional head job in a major city. If Phillies flop in the postseason, 61-year-old manager Rob Thomson and his Topper self may be heading back to North Ontario with “dream, comfort, memory to spare.” - Neil Young.

6,000 photos - The Dogfish Dash Sept. 29 had 1,450 runners, which generated 6,000 photos on my memory card. I look at every single image, one at a time. If I like it, I post it, holding myself to Fred standards, which are not to be confused with professional standards. 

Sports management - There are lots of universities that offer sports management as a major but can’t maintain their own official athletics websites. I was recently looking for a player on a baseball roster, but the most recent version was 2021. Sometimes it takes a school three months just to add a few freshmen to the roster and another month to add their photos. And let’s say an athlete is a sophomore, but their athletic bio is blank. I can spot laziness from a thousand miles away, so before you early commit, make sure you check out the enthusiasm and professionalism of the athletic website, specifically for your sport.  

Snippets - “Third man in” is an ice hockey rule that results in a guy getting a game ejection. Third man in joining a sports conversation in progress just gets awkwardly ignored. I’m going to stop joining those conversations so people can continue tripping and exaggerating sports stories. USA Today had a story Oct. 2 that read, “A post on Rose’s X account on Sept. 21 celebrated one of his own: ‘Couldn’t be more proud of my grandson.’” Peter Edward Rose III aka PJ Rose had committed to play baseball for LaSalle in Philadelphia. Austin Rhue, former Cape player, is also at LaSalle to play baseball if you’d like to argue that Rose is connected to the Milton Muppets. Go on now, git!