Odds 'n' Ends

A few of the things I think about while I'm covering basketball game after basketball game:

1. It's almost Spring, which means that, instead of commenting about the warmer weather, it's very safe to observe `The crocuses are up!' Personally, I don't have a bloomin' clue what a crocus is, nor would I recognize one if I tripped over it. But, gee, doesn't that make it sound like I do?
   
2. Ron Santo was hosed. The former Chicago Cub third baseman should have been voted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
   
3. I have a solution to the whole Pete Rose brouhaha. I've gotten so damned tired of this `Let me into the Hall of Fame' whine. The man bet on baseball. He was given a lifetime ban. Betting on baseball is serious enough to keep you out of the hall – look at what's happened to Shoeless Joe Jackson if you don't believe me. When he's dead, he becomes eligible for induction. Not before. Does he deserve to be in Cooperstown? Yes. Does he deserve to pound his chest and stand alongside Ernie Banks and Willie Mays, Henry Aaron and Stan Musial? Not on your life. Get over it.
   
4. I just finished reading Robert Crais' latest Elvis Cole novel, ``The Last Detective.'' It was fabulous. Crais is among my favorite authors – ranking up there with Robert B. Parker, Elmore Leonard and James Ellroy.
   
5. Speaking of Parker, his 30th novel starring Spenser is released on March 10th. It's called ``Back Story and I'll have finished reading it on the 11th. If you're interested in hearing an interview with Parker, who talks about completing Raymond Chandler's book ``Poodle Springs'' and other topics during an hour-long NPR interview, click here.
   
6. At first, I was excited to see Bill Maher coming to HBO in the time slot vacated by Dennis Miller. Then I saw that he had, as a permanent guest, the psychopathic Ann Coulter. I now officially refuse to watch.
   
7. Here's a tip if you're ever going to cover a boxing match from ringside: Never wear a white shirt to the fights. For that matter, never wear a favorite shirt to the fights. If you sit along the ring apron, where they like to sit us press folk, you're inevitably going to be covered in blood from the fighters. Oh yeah, and plenty of sweat. And if you're really nice, someone may spit his mouthpiece on you. Now that's a treat. Not.
   
8. Some of the music I've been enjoying lately while driving around in my newer car: Alison Krauss + Union Station Live; Diana Krall Live in Paris; and Dave Grusin's tribute to Henry Mancini, Two For the Road. In case you were wondering.
   

More soon.