SPORTS DAILY: Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame

Somehow, some way, Pete Rose needs to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame before he dies.

Sadly, it’s probably not going to happen.

If Rose ever did get his name on a ballot, he would need to run a gauntlet of sanctimonious old-timers on the veterans committee who treat Rule 21 (thou shalt not gamble on baseball games) as if inscribed on tablets and sent down from on high.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m all for keeping Rose from actively working in the game. Who cares about that? Is he going to be a 74-year-old hitting coach?

But his rightful place in the Hall of Fame should be separate and apart from drawing a paycheck in the game.

Sure, Rose did some dumb things. Nobody ever said baseball’s all-time hit king was a genius. The dumbest, of course, was betting on baseball in the first place. Next dumbest was lying about it for 14 years, then finally admitting it for money in the comical book “My Prison Without Bars.”

Somewhere along the line Rose must have gotten some bad advice, listened to the wrong people. Who told him to lie for 14 years? Did he really come up with that all on his own?

Rose probably had a gambling addiction back then and never admitted it, never sought help. Incredibly, even with a chance to get back into the game, however slim that was, he was still wagering right up until Monday when Commissioner Rob Manfred upheld his lifetime suspension, leaving Rose disappointed.

And he admitted he was still betting on baseball!

Too many Hall of Famers would walk out in protest if Rose ever made it to Cooperstown, so just waive the ceremony and put something on his plaque to indicate how he fell out of baseball’s good graces all those years ago.

Give me a ballot with his name on it and I’d vote for him today.

As Sparky Anderson once said, "Pete Rose IS baseball."

For some players, coming home can be hazardous

The Cleveland Browns have had nothing but bad luck with homecomings over the past decade.

That's what hit me when receiver Brian Hartline was placed on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday with a broken collarbone two days after his most productive game.

Hartline, from Canton, joined a growing list of players with Cleveland-area roots for whom returning home has been more curse than blessing.

Cleveland native Donte Whitner has been OK, but being part of the NFL’s worst defense surely isn’t what the former Ohio State safety had in mind when he signed as a free agent.

Saddest story belongs to LeCharles Bentley. Best center in the game when he signed in 2006, the Cleveland native tore a knee ligament in his first padded training camp practice, underwent surgery, developed a staph infection, nearly had his left leg amputated, never played for the Browns and ended up suing the team.

Then there was Joe Jerevicius, a veteran receiver who grew up east of Cleveland and, like Bentley, picked up a staph infection after knee surgery and sued the team.

Quarterbacks Brady Quinn and Charlie Frye grew up in Ohio rooting for the Browns. Neither experienced success. Both are long gone.

The conclusion: Cleveland native Cardale Jones, the Ohio State quarterback the Browns might consider drafting, should be very afraid.

Bengals no lock for the playoffs, believe it or not

They are 10-3 and seemingly in control of the AFC North, but there's this nightmare scenario, presented in this report on CBSSports.com, where the Cincinnati Bengals actually could miss the playoffs.

Four things have to happen, including the Bengals losing their remaining three games, and with starting quarterback Andy Dalton sidelined with a broken thumb and AJ McCarron, a second-year man from Alabama, replacing him, there is at least some reason for concern.

Then there’s this little fun fact that’s been making the rounds this week: No former Alabama quarterback has won a game in the NFL as a starter since Jeff Rutledge with the New York Giants — in 1987.

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