Yesterday, we told you that Barry Bonds’ home run record-breaking* ball wouldn’t be heading for the Hall of Fame any time soon. Well, change “not anytime soon” to “Tuesday night”.

(Marc Ecko’s prized possession [pre-branding] on the road to Cooperstown)

The ASSOCIATED PRESS follows up that home run ball #756 arrived in Cooperstown, NY, last evening, compliments of fashion designer Marc Ecko. The Hall earlier reported that talks between themselves and ball owner Ecko had “unfortunately reached an impasse“, when Ecko apparently wanted to present the ball as a loan instead of a gift.

But the designer wonders where the museum ever got that idea:

Read more…

Sometimes the players’ plaques at the National Baseball Hall of Fame get changed, usually to correct factual errors. But in Jackie Robinson’s case, the Hall decided to update his plaque to recognize the late Dodger’s achievements in breaking baseball’s color barrier.

In a ceremony held in Cooperstown, NY, on Wednesday, Robinson’s wife Rachel & daughter Sharon were on hand for the unveiling of Jackie’s new plaque, which now included his contributions to giving minorities a chance to play Major League Baseball. Read more…

We’re always Stokked to uncover new photos of the amazing Allison.

• Does a former Patriots cheerleader have a fetish for the fatties?

• The snide slapshots delivered by local scribes almost has us paying attention to the NHL playoffs.

• Andruw Jones is really growing into a heavy hitter - literally.

• An Australian rules football player gets a seven-week suspension for slugging an opponent.

Read more…

Today happens to be Jackie Robinson Day, which is how we always know it’s time to beg the IRS for an extension. As noted previously, Major League Baseball will celebrate the day with ceremonies galore and by allowing everyone in North America to wear Robinson’s number.

As we all know, though, the true commitment by a corporation to a cause involves money. Corporations thrive on press releases and MLB can throw a ceremony at the drop of a hat (and the Drop of a Hat ceremony promises to be great again this season). That’s why MLB will fully fund a Jackie Robinson Scholarship for each ballclub. Fantastic!

How much will this scholarship cost? $1.2 million. Total. All 30 clubs. How… thoughtful.

Read more…

On Tuesday, Major League Baseball will once again honor the player that broke the sport’s color barrier by celebrating Jackie Robinson Day. Some specially selected players will wear Robinson’s retired #42, while in other cases, the entire team will don the same jersey.

However, Torii Hunter still stands by the words he said last year, where he questioned the over-abundance of so many players wearing #42 and “watering down” the special meaning - especially on MLB teams with no black players.

Read more…

Baseball gives itself a lot of credit for pioneering integration, even though favoritism of white players continued well after Jackie Robinson’s big league debut in 1947, and other teams had grudgingly integrated their teams to keep up.

Their latest effort of patting themselves on the back, the so-called Civil Rights Game played yesterday in Memphis, was so self-congratulatory that someone could have torn a rotator cuff.

Read more…

Jackie Robinson celebrates a birthday today, and BLACK FIVES has an enlightening piece on Robinson’s little-known, but extremely successful, basketball career.

(Photo credit: BLACK FIVE)

Excerpt: “(Robinson was) A lightning dribbler and glue-fingered ball handler, his terrific speed makes it impossible for one man to hold him in check. Robinson was a tremendous leaper, who had set the collegiate broadjump record.”

The baseball pioneer with the Brooklyn Dodgers was also described as one of the first players to use the dunk as a part of his typical repertoire. Read more…