The Golden Globes were a real disappointment, but not a surprise. I'm looking forward to seeing Chicago, although I think showering it with all those acting awards may have been a bit much. But as for The Hours, which took the top Drama award over my favorite The Two Towers, I can only shake my head in amazement. Here is a movie that will delight people for ages up against a film that while I'm sure it has great acting is not something I look forward to sitting through even once, much less multiple screenings.
I'm sure this all bodes ill for The Two Towers' Oscar chances, although the film had better at least get a nomination. I hear a lot of people saying they are going to wait until next year and give the big prize to Lord of the Rings at the end of the trilogy, but I don't buy it. I'm sure that by next year they will have found another lame, sappy, flash-in-the-pan movie to shower with critical praise in spite of everything.

I was upset to read today that more Hall of Famers are coming out against Pete Rose's reinstatement so that he can take his place in the Hall. It almost makes one want to give up their passion for the game. But I will keep the faith and continue to believe that a great wrong will be corrected in the near future. Pete Rose is undeniably one of the greatest ball players of all time and his banishment from the Hall of Fame is one of those really sad examples of our country's inability to forgive and forget. I think it is left over from our long ago Puritan heritage - this uppity, self-righteousness and moral hypocricy. For crying out loud, I don't care if Pete Rose gambled on baseball!! He lost his managerial job, had to pay a stiff fine and even spent time in jail. Now it is done, so get over it! But no, we have to make the man grovel and beg our forgiveness. He must publicly admit his sins - not unlike the main character in George Orwell's 1984 - or else we will throw his entire baseball career down the memory hole and pretend it did not happen.

I am particularly upset about the Pete Rose situation because the Big Red Machine was my team during my youth and Johnny Bench and Pete Rose were my baseball idols.
Most recently, beginning in 1998, I have been a Yankee fan, but like so many great teams today, they don't stick together for long. The Yankees I began rooting for had the following lineup when they started their three and almost four-year dominance of the World Series:
Jorge Posada and Joe Girardi sharing catching duties;
Tino Martinez at 1B;
Chuck Knoblauch at 2B;
Derek Jeter at SS;
Scott Brosius at 3B;
Paul O'Neill in RF;
Bernie Williams in CF;
and Shane Spencer, Ricky Ledee and Chad Curtis in LF;
Also, there was Darryl Strawberry, Chili Davis and David Justice at DH;
And pitching we had Andy Pettite; David Cone; David Wells; Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez; and Roger Clemens.
Today of course, that team has been mostly disassembled by trades and forced retirements.
Gone are Tino, Chuck, Paul, Scott, Cone, El Duque, Strawberry, Jutice, Chili and many others.
There have been a few good additions since then like Alfonso Soriano, Jason Giambi and now this guy from Japan. But it is almost like trying to root for a different team every two or three years.