Free Republic

Tuesday wasn’t Curt Schilling’s day to be elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame and the Boston Red Sox former great believes his politics are one reason he fell short of the necessary number of votes. Schilling’s former teammate, Pedro Martinez, was elected, along with Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio. Although he and Smoltz have similar stats, Schilling fell 240 votes short.

PEDRO MARTINEZ CAUGHT AT COCKFIGHT PEDRO'S FOWL BALL February 7, 2008 -- A sickening video of New York Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez and legendary Hall of Famer Juan Marichal laughing at a gruesome cockfight in the Dominican Republic was posted - and then quickly taken off - YouTube. Martinez and Marichal, among the best pitchers of all time, are seen grinning before releasing two roosters. Cockfighting is both legal and popular in the Dominican Republic. The pair took part as honorary "soltadores" - the word used to describe the person who throws the animal into the ring. The bird released...

Pedro Martinez has got a wee bit of explaining to do. A big snub by the Mets' new ace toward his little sidekick has left 28-inch-tall Nelson de la Rosa steaming-mad - and vowing to stick with the Boston Red Sox rather than turn into a Mini-Met. "He broke my heart," de la Rosa told the Daily News yesterday. "That's not right what he said about me."

And to think if we'd just shown him a little more "respect," Pedro Martinez would be back pitching with the Red Sox for the next three years. Maybe if we'd put his statue on top of the golden dome of the State House. Maybe if Peterborough, N.H., had changed its name to Pedroborough. Maybe if we'd built a Pedro Library on Columbia Point, something equal to the JFK Library. Maybe that would have been enough respect to keep him here. Actually, no. Upon further review, it now can be said that Pedro knows only one measure of respect. And that...

BALTIMORE (AP) — The president of the NAACP is stepping down as head of the nation's oldest and largest civil rights group, according to newspaper reports. Kweisi Mfume, who has been president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People since 1996, planned to make the announcement Tuesday, The (Baltimore) Sun, citing an anonymous source, reported in Tuesday editions. The resignation was also reported Tuesday in a USA Today opinions column by weekly contributor DeWayne Wickham. [flip]Last month, the NCAAP announced that the Internal Revenue Service was reviewing the organization's federal tax-exempt status. NAACP chairman Julian Bond said...

On June 3, Chicago Cubs superstar Sammy Sosa hit a routine ground-out that had extraordinary consequences. His bat broke, exposing an illegal, cork-filled center. "Corking" makes a bat lighter, so that a hitter can swing it faster. Bat speed generates power, and Sosa, with 505 career home runs and a record three seasons with 60 or more homers, was assumed to be a premier power hitter. When previous sluggers were caught doctoring their bats, they were publicly humiliated and suspended. In the most recent incident, in 1994, Cleveland Indian Albert Belle was suspended for eight games. But things have gone...