The Final Score

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.

I covered my first Hall of Fame induction weekend last year, when Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn got their plaques. And Cooperstown truly was a mob scene -- an estimated 75,000 people were here, 25,000 more than the previous record crowd set in 1999.

This weekend it's going to be a lot less crowded, I would imagine. Case in point: right now in the media center there are four reporters. Last year I recall dozens of media members here at this time. For whatever that's worth.

Okay, time to go back outside and see who I can bump into.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.

George Brett has met George Steinbrenner only once, but he will forever be thankful for something The Boss did for the Brett family.

When Brett's father learned he was terminally ill with brain cancer in 1992, one of his final wishes was to take a trip to Brooklyn. He wanted one last trip to Bay Ridge, to Fourth Avenue and Ovington Avenue, to see his roots.

"My Dad wanted to go back to New York to just kind of see his childhood and it happened the Angels were in New York at the time, and my brother was in town announcing for the Angels," Brett said.

Arthur Richman, a Yankees executive who was close with the Brett family, told Steinbrenner what was happening. By the time Brett's father arrived in New York there was a town car waiting for him, arranged for by the Yankees owner, ready to take him wherever he wanted.

"Nobody knows that stuff about George," Brett said.

Do you think defending champ Tony Stewart can win the Allstate 400?

Kyle Busch is having a great season and Casey Kahne is always waiting in the wings. How do you think things will go at the Brickyard?

Discuss:

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.

I've never dealt with Eddie Murray before, but having followed baseball my whole life I'm well aware that as a player he wasn't exactly known as media-friendly. Let's just say I'm pretty sure he never won a Good Guy award for being available to reporters.

But there he was at Doubleday Field this morning with the Wizard of Oz and George Brett, answering reporters' questions.

I spent almost all of the half-hour media availability talking with Brett, who is a great storyteller, and Ozzie, who is as gracious as they come. By the time I made it over to Murray, time was running out. Someone asked him about Shea Stadium going away, and he laughed. "Shea's about two dozen years late," Murray said.

Guess he doesn't have fond memories of those wonderful 1992 and 1993 Mets teams.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.

Yes, Ozzie Smith is biased toward slick fielding shortstops. But it's actually not that crazy to make a case for Vizquel.

"I think he's certainly put himself in position," Smith said. "This place was always reserved for the big guys, but I think people have realized there are more facets to the game."

Here's Vizquel's credentials, followed by Ozzie's:
20 seasons ... 19 seasons
11-time Gold Glove... 13-time Gold Glove
three-time All-Star... 15-time All-Star
.273 BA ... .262 BA
.338 OBP ... .337 OBP
2628 hits ... 2460 hits
182 errors ... 281 errors
1684 double plays ... 1590 double plays
.984 fielding percentage ... .978 fielding percentage

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.

For the sixth straight year baseball's Hall of Fame weekend kicked off with "Play Ball with Ozzie Smith," a feature in which fans have the opportunity to participate in a skills clinic with the Wizard of Oz, George Brett and a third Hall of Famer who changes every year. This year it's Eddie Murray.

The money raised goes directly to the HOF's educational department and none of the three Hall of Famers get paid for their time, Ozzie said.

"We just try to give the fans an experience, something they can have on a personal level," Ozzie said. "It’s a great way to interact with them and show them what we do."

"One year it rained and we had to go indoors. George talked to them about trying to hit .400. How much better can it get for a baseball fan than that? He explained what it was like going down the stretch, what he was doing, what he was thinking. I found that fascinating myself."

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.

I stepped foot in Cooperstown for the first time this weekend at 7:45 a.m. and in just one hour and 45 minutes I've already spoken with Ozzie Smith, George Brett and Eddie Murray.

Funny how the Hall of Famers just take over this quaint upstate town this weekend every year. I'll tell you what each said in posts to come.

Meanwhile, I'm typing this post from the Hall of Fame media center, which actually is the lunch room at Cooperstown High / Middle School.

This town is great.

BTW, I've also learned that the sportswriter for the local paper here is also the high school guidance counselor. How do you not love Anytown USA?

Something strange is going on in Beantown. And quite frankly, I think it's some kind of trick.

The Red Sox have fixed up Fenway Park for the Yankees' visit and Globe columnist Kevin Cullen has called for the end to the Red Sox Nation's favorite chant.

You know the one I'm talking about. And you're not getting me to say it.

I suppose that next Boston is going to do something about Bucky Dent's nickname.

Retire the chant? Ain't gonna happen.

The anti-Yankee slogan is big business for T-shirt sellers. And the Yankees Suck fan page on Myspace has 1408 friends including, allegedy, Dane Cook and Teddy Bruschi.

Oh, nuts, I accidentally let it slip.

Here's the column if you want to look at the slogan some more and giggle at it.

I know that the new NHL schedule will allow our New York Rangers fans one fewer opportunity to perform their famous Potvin chant, but it's nice to see that the Blueshirts will have more contact with their Original Six foes.

For instance, in 2007-08 they missed the Blackhawks completely. This year, there's a home and road. And they play the Bruins, Canadiens and Maple Leafs four times each.

The one missing piece is the Red Wings. The Rangers are in the Motor City on Oct. 18 but the defending Stanley Cup champs won't come to the Garden unless both reach the 2009 Cup finals. I guess the NHL figured that NYR was the one team that didn't need the Wings to draw fans.

Being Chicago Norm, I'm happy to see the Hawks coming to MSG. But what do you Rangers fans think? Would you rather load up against the Islanders and Devils or see more of the old, historic rivals?

The Final Score will be on site in Cooperstown beginning early Friday morning for the start of baseball's Hall of Fame induction weekend.

I'll be updating the blog as often as I can. So please come back here several times throughout your Friday. We love page views.

Also tomorrow, "Where Are The Now? Doug Sisk" will be posted.

And don't forget about the usual colorful, insightful and interesting posts from by blogmates Anthony Rieber and Chicago Norm.

I asked myself this question because of two reasons.

1. Ken Davidoff mentioned it at the bottom of his column.

2. I read the list of players coming back for the final Old-Timers day at Yankee Stadium and thought it's a shame Bernie isn't there.

Bernie, as everyone knows, is a very sensitive man. But enough's enough. Someone call Suzyn Waldman to broker a Bernie-Yankee truce ala George and Yogi.

He is a Met.
His first name has four letters.
His last name has four letters.
He was never much of a fan favorite.
He has a World Series ring.

I am going to transcribe the interview that I just conducted, write the story and post it online soon because I will be in Cooperstown tomorrow.

*Change of plans - the where-are-they-now will go online tomorrow. Sorry for the confusion, loyal Final Score readers.

Like Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis in "The Out of Towners," the Minnesota Twins feel they were robbed of something in New York.

Manager Rob Gardenhire believes that somehow the Yankees reached down and stole the Twins' mojo.

"We gotta figure out something when we get to Cleveland to get our mojo back because we lost a little bit of it here," Gardenhire said Wednesday after the Yankees completed their sweep of the Twins. "It's not a good feeling right now."

Cleveland seems like a strange place to look for the missing mojo. Me, I would be checking the pawn shops on Jerome Avenue.

Here's a birthday note I wrote to Barry Bonds today.

Baseball's single-season and all-time home-run record holders (*) turns 44 years old today.

And he's still unemployed, against his wishes.

Darn, another commercial to mess up my enjoyment of synchronized swimming.

Chicago Norm just read a story in Advertising Age that Chicago Barack will be spending $5 million to promote his Presidential campaign on broadcasts of the 2008 Olympics from Beijing.

Ad Age said the breakdown of how many ads or exactly when they will air was not immediately available.

In a related story, John McCain's marketing team was disappointed to learn that the next Senior Olympics aren't until 2009.

In his new book, Tampa Bay Bucs RB Warrick Dunn talks about dealing with the murder of his mother when he was a high school senior in 1993 and going to Louisiana's Angola Prison last October to confront Kevan Brumfield, the man convicted of the crime.

"Running For My Life: My Journey In the Game of Football and Beyond" is scheduled for release Sept. 16.

It's one thing to have to withstand tackle-hungry linebackers, but I can't imagine how anyone could deal with the demons that Dunn has had to live with, losing his mom at 18 and then waiting around while her killer rots on death row.

An excerpt from Dunn's interview with the Orlando Sentinel's Chris Harry.

""It was very weird at first," said Dunn, whose last look at Brumfield had been during the trial, when a judge sentenced him to death. "Then, I found myself saying things I'd been holding in for so long. I needed to get them out."

And what was said?

"Read the book."

Here is the complete Sentinel story.

That one of their most popular players is a groundskeeper.

Here's a Baltimore Sun story on Mike Palulis, who ignites the crowd when he makes a mad dash from the bullpen to drop off a relief pitcher's jacket, and then sprints back - even when it's 95 degrees and the O's are 11 runs down.

The sad thing is that the Orioles aren't playing all that bad. They're only three games under .500 but, unfortunately for them, they're in the AL East cellar, 10.5 games out of first.

On the bright side, the fans get to see Palulis a lot.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says yes.

The Green Bay Press Gazette says no.

Okay, maybe not.

But it sort of looks like him.

Kinda sorta, you know.

I like how Michael Kay on YES described Melky as being "too cool for school."

Reebok claims that this collection of 20 NFL stars is the most to ever appear in a single TV ad.

Here's the roster:

Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Kevin Boss, Jerricho Cotchery, Greg Ellis, Matt Hasselbeck, Madison Hedgecock, Chad Johnson, Thomas Jones, Mathias Kiwanuka, Nick Mangold, Laurence Maroney, Jeff Saturday, Bo Scaife, Derrick Ward, DeMarcus Ware, Ty Warren, Benjamin Watson, Reggie Wayne, and Vince Young.

After you watch it, can someone explain the plot to me?

As the days begin dwindling for Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium, a look at what's happening in Detroit.

This footage was shot Wednesday at Michigan and Trumbull in the Motor City.

I spent about an hour Wednesday night following false leads on the web as I searched for Jessica Simpson's new country song, "You're My Sunday."

The tune is about her boyfriend, Tony Romo, whose Dallas Cowboys fans truly hope that Jessica is not Tony's Sunday, seeing that Sunday is the day that he's supposed to be focusing on football.

But I refuse to give up. I must know the words to the song. Are they silly? Stupid? Touching?

Would they sound good coming from the lips of a real country singer?

I must know; I must. And I want to share them with you.

So, if you know the words or know where to find them, just post a comment and leave your email address in the space provided. (Don't worry; your email will stay private; it is only visible to your Final Score team and a few newsday.com VIPs).

Do you think NASCAR's decision to shave 15 HP off Camrys in the Nationwide Series is a Mickey Mouse move in a Mickey Mouse second-tier series or is it a good thing that will help level off the competition?

Here's an Associated Press story that I saw Wednesday night:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR tried to even out the competition in the Nationwide Series on Wednesday by ordering all teams using Toyota motors to squeeze down their horsepower before this weekend’s race in Indianapolis.

NASCAR ordered all the Toyota motors to use a smaller spacer that will knock down 15 horsepower in the motors.

My apologies if this is a Mickey Mouse question. I blame Anthony - for everything.

Jim Fullington, AKA former ECW champ Sandman, has been tossed back into jail in Yonkers.

TMZ.com reports that a judge in Yonkers City Court will set bail for the wrestler after a review of his prior arrests in Pennsylvania.

Sandman was arrested Sunday for starting a bar brawl during a 75th birthday party for Capt. Lou Albano.

As the day has gone on, I have thought more about Melky Cabrera's wave to the fans from Tuesday night.

Specifically, don't you think there would have been a public outcry if Jose Reyes had done the same thing?

So I wrote a web column about it.

No one died but at least 17 fans were seriously hurt when a makeshift bullring collapsed Monday in Planadas, Colombia.

Two people dressed as clowns tried to distract the bull calf away from the fleeing crowds.

The collapse of the stand was caught live on TV.

This footage is a little dark but it's worth watching all the way through.

Our new feature, NASCAR talk, is off to a roaring start.

I know nothing about NASCAR. So I have a question for our commenters based on their comments below on the Tony Stewart thread:

Why do NASCAR fans care about which sponsors attach themselves to a particular team? Why is it important?

Question 2: Anyone know who Tony Stewart is kissing in the photo above? I'm not conducting a quiz here. I really don't know.

Why in the world did Rutgers think this was a good idea:

Last year Rutgers University football coach Greg Schiano shook hands on a lucrative contract extension that made him one of the highest-paid collegiate coaches in the nation. But that was only a piece of the deal.

Five months after agreeing to terms that will pay him as much as $2 million annually, Schiano signed a side agreement, providing an additional $250,000 a year through indirect payments that were never publicly disclosed, according to records obtained by The Star-Ledger.

Here's the rest of the story. Maybe some day Hofstra or Stony Brook could become a bigtime D-I program, and we'd have a similar story to cover on Long Island. In the meantime we'll have to settle for Big Brown.

For the record, we here at The Final Score don't like to talk politics, unless of course it's about which politicians our sports figures are giving their hard-earned money to.

That being said, I bring you a political video today. Here's why.

Loyal TFS reader, commenter and Islanders fan Brooks Simpson e-mailed me this YouTube clip. Forget the politician this is about. Here's Brooks' point: keep the general message of this video in mind as we await the fate of the Islanders new arena, which, yes, will ultimately be approved or denied based on our elected officials.

Organizers of the National Sports Collectors Convention just outside Chicago are offering NLCS hero Steve Bartman $25,000 for a single autograph.

Bartman is the Chicago Cubs fan who interfered with Moises Alou's attempt to catch a foul ball with one out in what would have been the final game of 2003 NLCS. Instead of advancing to the World Series, the Cubs self-destructed and the Marlins rallied themselves into a World Series championship over the Yankees.

Bartman has been in seclusion since the foul ball incident.

For Bartman to collect the cash, all he has to do is show up Thursday at 1 p.m., Chicago time, at the National Sports Convention in Rosemont, Ill., near O'Hare Airport.

Twenty-five thousand bucks is a lot of money, but I seriously fear for his well-being if he shows up in front in a place filled with so many crazed Cub fans.

Then again, he might be greeted with an honor guard of White Sox fans who count him among their alltime heroes.

The No. 8 earning female athlete, that is, according to Forbes.

1. Maria Sharapova, Tennis $26 million
2. Serena Williams, Tennis $14 million
3. Venus Williams, Tennis $13 million
4. Justine Henin, Tennis $12.5 million
5. Michelle Wie, Golf $12 million
6. Annika Sorenstam, Golf $11 million
7. Lorena Ochoa, Golf $10 million
8. Danica Patrick, Auto Racing $7 million
9. Ana Ivanovic, Tennis $6.5 million
10. Paula Creamer, Golf $6 million

What do all these people have in common?

They have all appeared on the new version of "Hollywood Squares"

Rest in peace, Estelle Getty.

When the Green Bay Packers gave Brett Favre a team cell phone, they didn't expect him to put the Minnesota Vikings on speed dial.

Reports have surfaced that Favre has used his Packers-issued cell to make numerous calls to Vikings coach Brad Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.

I'm doubt he was looking for tips on a good place to go fishing.

Packers officials reportedly found the calls after checking phone records as they tried to build a case against the Vikings for tampering with Favre.

Bevell was formerly the Packers' QB coach, so it's possible that the two were only having "friendly" conversations.

However the calls to Childress sound, well, fishy.

Remember, The Final Score is your place for NASCA