Committee Chairman
New Additions to the National Toy Hall of Fame
Initially, we never paid attention to the Toy Hall of Fame. We can’t say that we ever plan to do a section in the near future about the toys who are not in that Hall of Fame, but as it is gaining traction, we thought it might be worth mentioning that the latest class has been selected.
The 2013 Toy Hall of Fame has added two, increasing the overall total to 53. The ancient game of Chess has been added as has the Rubber Duck. Frankly we can’t think of two completely different toys.
These two selections beat out bubbles, the board game Clue, Fisher-Price Little People, little green Army men, the Magic 8 Ball, My Little Pony, Nerf toys, the Pac-Man video game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the scooter.
The Toy Hall of Fame is entering its 15th year of existence.
Veterans Committee Ballot out
The Baseball Expansion Era Committee (1973-Present) has announced their nominees for the 2014 Baseball Hall of Fame. This year's committee includes Hall of Famers Rod Carew, Carlton Fisk, Whitey Herzog, Tom Lasorda, Paul Molitor, Joe Morgan, Phil Niekro and Frank Robinson; Toronto Blue Jays President Paul Beeston; retired club executive Andy MacPhail; Philadelphia Phillies President Dave Montgomery; Chicago White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf; Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau; Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle; Baseball Writers' Association of American Secretary-Treasurer Jack O'Connell; and retired Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Jim Reeves.
The Ballot includes:
Dave Concepcion
Bobby Cox
Steve Garvey
Tommy John
Tony LaRussa
Billy Martin
Marvin Miller
Dave Parker
Dan Quisenberry
Ted Simmons
George Steinbrenner
Joe Torre
This is a fascinating group that should likely yield an induction or more. Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa and Joe Torre have done enough as a Manager to generate induction. In the case of Torre, he was on the ballot for the full fifteen years as a player. There has always been hot debate on Steve Garvey, who is a former MVP, but whose overall statistics have not been looked as kind in the case of modern sabremetrics. Ted Simmons is on the other end of the spectrum, as he was not considered a Hall of Fame player during his time, but has received a lot of support lately.
We are very curious to see the support of Tommy John and Dave Parker, two other players of which much has been written about.
It should be noted that Vida Blue, Ron Guidry, Al Oliver and Rusty Staub were on the 2010 Ballot, though failed to return. In the last Veterans Committee Ballot for this era, only Pat Gillick was selected.
Avalanche retire Adam Foote's jersey
We almost forgot about this. The Colorado Avalanche retired the number 52 in honor of Adam Foote who played for them in all but two and a half seasons from 1991 to 2011. The native of Whitby, Ontario was known as a consummate stay-at-home Defencemen, who brought leadership and grit to every team he ever played on. This is why that for a man that was never selected to any All-Star team and had 309 career points, was a stalwart on Canadian National teams and was a part of the 2004 World Cup and 2002 Olympic victories.
Foote becomes the fifth man to have his jersey retired. He joins Joe Sakic (#19), Peter Forsberg (#21), Patrick Roy (#33) and Ray Bourque (#77). Foote is eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014.
Mavericks to retire Derek Harper's jersey
Although we don’t when it will happen, Dallas Maverick’s owner, Mark Cuban has announced that the Number 12 of Derek Harper will be raised to the rafters this season.
In 1984, Dallas selected the Guard in the first round where he played his first ten and half seasons from 1983 to 1994. He was brought back for a second stint in the 1996-97 season. Harper was a very good defensive player who was a Second Team All Defensive selection twice while playing for the Mavs, and was also very adept at three-point shooting. At present, Derek Harper is still the franchise record holder in Steals and Assists
Harper will become the third former Maverick to receive such an honor; the other two being Rolando Blackman and Brad Davis.
And yes we know we are showing him in his Knicks jersey....it will be a rough season for New York.....thought we would show some pity love.