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Sports Boggs, Sandberg Elected to Hall of Fame 13 minutes ago By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer NEW YORK - Wade Boggs was overwhelmingly elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility Tuesday, and Ryne Sandberg made it with just six votes to spare on his third try. selected by 474 of the record 516 voters who are 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The 91.86 percent of ballots he received was the 19th-highest percentage in Hall history, and he became the 41st player elected on his first chance. Sandberg, the 1984 National...

Since its inception, Free Republic has been the world's premeire online gathering place for the discussion of the news, issues, opinions, and just about everything else.There have been several times when the members of Free Republic have posted important breaking news stories first, scooping the outlets of the mainstream media.Some exemplary threads merit mention in what I'd like to call the Free Republic Hall of Fame Threads.I believe this is a good way to remember and share some of the most important discussions that have occured on Free Republic.

But when Costas opens up the third season of his critically acclaimed, "On The Record,'' this Friday (10:30 p.m., HBO), there will be no controversy. Week 1 will feature a roundtable discussion with "Bull Durham" stars Sarandon, Robbins, Robert Wuhl and writer-director Ron Shelton. They'll celebrate the 15th anniversary of what many believe is the best baseball film ever made. "I would certainly have been willing to talk about the politics of it, but they agreed to come only for the discussion of 'Bull Durham' that was supposed to take place in Cooperstown,'' Costas said from New York. "They view...

Baseball Hall of Fame PROTEST Sat.April26th ACTION ALERT!!! THE SIDEWALK DEMONSTRATION IN FRONT OF THE NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM IS THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 26TH FROM NOON UNTIL 2PM FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN CAR POOLING AND OR CARAVANNING WE WILL BE MEETING AT 9:45 AM NEAR FRANCO'S PIZZA IN THE TOPS PLAZA, KELLOGG ROAD WASHINGTON MILLS departure is at 10:00 am Utica,New York A PRESENTATION REGARDING PROPER ETIQUETTE FOR DEMONSTRATING, YOUR RIGHTS, ETC WILL BE GIVEN AT11:30 AM IN FRONT OF DOUBLEDAY FIELD (MAIN STREET) THE FOCUS OF THE DEMONSTRATION IS ON FREE SPEECH AND OPPOSING THE HALL...

It's getting creepy out there. Paranoia is rampant. The thought police are on patrol, shining their flashlights into the corners of your garages, looking to root out and crush anything resembling dissent. Ken Griffey Jr. was in the dugout last weekend in Cincinnati, and because we all saw him writhe in agony a couple of weeks ago, his dislocated shoulder isn't exactly a state secret. Yet when someone asked how his rehabilitation was going, Junior went all CIA on us. "I'm not allowed to talk about it," he said mysteriously. "I can't say anything." Someone has gotten to Kevin Appier,...

Babe Ruth once declined to have his picture taken with presidential candidate Herbert Hoover. "Nothing doing on politics," Ruth said. The baseball version of the separation of church and state is now shattered. In one letter to one person, the president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has issued an edict to millions: If you oppose the war in Iraq, you're not welcome in Cooperstown. Dale Petroskey, a White House assistant press secretary in the Reagan administration, canceled the Hall's 15th anniversary celebration of the classic baseball film Bull Durham. The reason: Two of its stars, Tim...