I wish Bonds had hit 755 in LA

Three games at Dodger Stadium and Barry Bonds couldn't do anything. I'm a little disappointed. My reasons number two.

1. When Barry hits 755 and 756, it may very well drive a stake into the hearts of all those stat-geeks who base a player's candidacy for the Hall of Fame purely on numbers. These guys rate very close to the top of my list of people who need a punch in the face. With all the Cooperstown talk this past weekend as Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn got enshrined, I heard more of the, "Well, this guy has 2,500 hits and 500 homeruns, so he's gotta be in" talk than I care to remember. One discussion I heard on ESPN radio made my stomach turn a little. The topic was "Who from the list should make the hall?" The list of names that followed failed to impress. The ones I remember: Gary Sheffield? Debatable (which means "no"). Jim Thome? No. Omar Vizquel? No. All the guys, to me, were a flat "no." Stat-geeks have become so obsessed with numbers that they fail to grasp the whole point of a Hall of Fame: to recognize the players who were the greatest of their time. But the worst part is that, among this three-person radio show crew, all the guys were unanimously voting "yes" for EVERYONE. You're going to sit there with a straight face and tell me that Jim Thome or Omar Vizquel were one of the 5-10 best players in baseball when they played? Are you serious? Stab yourself in the eye with a broken bottle immediately. I don't need the guys who thought Rafael Palmeiro was a shoe-in for the Hall before he ruined his life getting paid to talk about baseball. When Bonds sets the mark, I'll be cheering. Loudly.

2. Seriously, wouldn't it have been perfect if Bonds tied or broke the record in Los Angeles? With all the love that Dodger fans have for Bonds and the Giants, it's the one stadium in the league where, on top of a full-scale riot breaking out, there would've been a half-decent chance that the homerun balls were thrown back into the field. A shower of boos, seats being uprooted, anyone with any Giants paraphenalia on not making it out of the stands... I'm telling you, would've been incredible. The most heated baseball rivalry this side of Yankees/Red Sox would've had one more feather in it's cap.

These are the Lakers

Not a good day, yesterday, to be one of my teams (see Liverpool rant below). The Lakers didn't do themselves any favors with regards to being taken seriously. That 46-point third quarter was one of the most difficult things I've ever watched in my sports fandom. And to have it happen against the worst record in the league? Ugh! Brutal. But these are the Lakers. Top five record in the NBA? Yes. Losses this season to Memphis, Charlotte, Portland, Milwaukee (with a makeshift lineup), Seattle? Oh yeah, we've got those, too. Luke Walton said it best after the huge win over Dallas on Sunday: this team cannot be considered elite until they play the way they did against the Mavs on a consistent basis, night in, night out. It's a mental issue for the Lakers, as they're all too prone to playing down to the level of competition at times. Tough defense is a mentality and the Lakers are lacking that grit, that teeth-nashing ferocity that says, "We're going to score 118 points tonight and you're not cracking 70." You can score on the Lakers and not because they emulate the Phoenix Suns (which they don't, but they certainly play better when they're running that style). Also, I'm not sure how this happens at the pro level, but LA cannot solve the zone defense. Only once have they had any success against it this season (versus Denver on Friday), but otherwise, they're like a deer in headlights. And yet here they are, right in the thick of it in the west, Kobe is an MVP candidate, and they travel to Houston, tonight, against whom they're up 2-0 in the season series. Seems to only make sense that a loss to the Grizzlies would be followed up by a win against the Rockets. After all, these are the Lakers. I guess I can take comfort in knowing that in the playoffs, there are no teams below a .450 winning percentage. At least not in the western conference, anyway.

Couple more notes before calling this one.

1. Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn nabbed something like 97% and 93%, respectively, on the Hall of Fame vote. I've gotta ask: WHO THE HELL IS VOTING "NO" ON THESE GUYS?! REVOKE THEIR CREDENTIALS IMMEDIATELY, DAMN IT!

2. Starting lineups for the NHL All-Star game are out. No serious beefs, here. Again, it's an all-star game, so how much do you really care. Nice to see a lot of fresh faces get starting nods. The lines change so frequently in hockey, it hardly matters who starts, but out in the east, I'd say that Jagr probably deserved the nod over Ovechkin and, in the west, I certainly would've put Teemu Selanne in there ahead of either of the Sharks, Thornton or Cheechoo. Chris Pronger probably should be skating on the blue line, too. Tough break for Rory Fitzpatrick (record vote-getter as a write-in candidate) who fell only 23,000 votes shy Niklas Lidstrom. The whole Fitzpatrick fiasco speaks volumes about why fan-balloting is both fun and absolutely ridiculous. It reminds me of going into McDonalds, back in the day, hording a whole bunch of NBA All-Star ballots that they had next to the straws, and voting for some slug Greg Ostertag over and over again. Imagine how disappointed you be to see Greg Ostertag voted in as a starter?

I've said it before and I'll say it again

It is absolute bullcrap that Mark McGwire won't go to the Hall of Fame this year. For that matter, it is also ridiculous that Pete Rose has yet to be placed in the Hall. A player should be judged by his accomplishments on the field and if we're going to ban "cheaters" from enshrinement, then we should recall Ty Cobb and Gaylord Perry from Cooperstown. For the love of all that is holy, I'm just asking for a little consistency, you stupid baseball world.

And with this, my feelings on the Hall of Fame continue to diminish, steadily approaching the point where I simply won't care who is in and who is out. I cannot stand, nor understand, people who thought that Rafael Palmeiro (pre-fall from grace) was ever HOF material.

I'll tell you what else, Barry Bonds should get 100% of the vote when his time comes. He was only the best player of his generation, perhaps of all time. No big deal.

One last thing. Jim Rice has been retired for several years, now, and still isn't in the HOF. Memo to anyone with a pulse, give it up already! It's over! He is not a HOFer. His numbers aren't getting any better. Jim Rice is yet another example of why the Baseball Hall of Fame doesn't work: you have multiple chances to get in. It's the "Hall of Fame," people, not the "Hall of Pretty Good." No one should need another year (or 15) to figure out whether someone merits enshrinement.