Americans Split on Bonds

Does Giants’ slugger Barry Bonds deserve to be a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame? The American public is evenly divided on the issue, according to a new study by HCD Research and Muhlenberg College.

If Americans had any voting power for the MLB Hall of Fame, which they don’t, 43 percent said they would not vote for him while another 43 percent said they would. Among baseball fans, the vote was also evenly divided with 46 percent saying they would vote for Bonds and 45 percent saying they would not.

Forty-two percent of all respondents (fans and non-fans) said they believed Bonds cheated while nearly half of all baseball fans (45 percent) felt that Bonds cheated. Only 29 percent of baseball fans said that he did not cheat.

More than half of all respondents and baseball fans (52 percent and 53 percent respectively) felt Bonds should be recognized as the home run record holder when he passes Hank Aaron.

Overall, not an overwhelming show of support for the man they call Bonds.

The Beckham Factor

British soccer phenom David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, were introduced in Los Angeles today. When he makes his debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy, the whole world will be watching. The Galaxy signed Beckham for $5.5 million per year last winter, and U.S. soccer officials are hoping that his name, talent and reputation will attract new fans to the sport.

Sure, people will watch the games, but mostly out of curiosity. But will they start watching soccer because they’re interested in soccer, or because they want to see some soccer superstar in action? The Galaxy will definitely attract more people to their home games – they already sold more season tickets for this year after signing Beckham – but are they soccer fans or they curious about Beckham’s celebrity?

The reality is Beckham may be too much of a celebrity himself that he might become a distraction to the Galaxy. The soccer star has said he would like to get into acting, which is why he signed with the MLS team in Los Angeles. Whatever success the sport enjoys while Beckham is part of it will be intense and short-lived. If and when the Hollywood lights begin to beckon, he’ll leave U.S. soccer in a cloud of L.A. pixie dust. Then the sport will be back to where it started.

Yankees Still America’s Favorite Team

Despite how poorly the New York Yankees are playing this season, they remain America’s favorite baseball team, according to a new Harris poll. The Atlanta Braves moved up to the second spot, followed by the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.

According to the poll, two teams moved up by more than eight places since 2006: The Texas Rangers moved up 11 places from No. 27 (tie) to No. 16 (tie) and the Milwaukee Brewers moved up from No. 18 to No. 10, perhaps due to their fast start this season.

Three other teams dropped at least seven spots: the Kansas City Royals fell from No. 21 to No. 28; the Arizona Diamondbacks fell from a tie at No. 14 to No. 22; and the Chicago White Sox fell from a tie at No. 11 to No. 21, proving that some teams need to win more than one World Series Championship to maintain any kind of respect from the public.

It amazes me that teams like the Yankees and Cubs can still be among the most popular in the country no matter how poorly they play on the field, while teams such as the Brewers and White Sox could have multiple winning seasons and not even break the top 10.

I wonder how people would respond if asked which team was their least favorite. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Yankees top that list either. You either love ‘em or your hate ‘em.

NBA Player Robbed in Chicago Home

What a scary moment for Miami Heat player Antoine Walker Monday night. According to Walker’s agent, the Chicago native was robbed at gunpoint in his Chicago home. No one was injured but thieves took a vehicle, cash and jewelry. It was the second time the NBA star was robbed. In July 2000 when he played for the Boston Celtics, Walker was among five victims robbed at gunpoint of cash and his $55,000 wristwatch outside a restaurant in the South Loop. Walker, who grew up on the South Side, lives in Chicago in the off season.

Makes you wonder if athletes are bigger targets for robbery than the regular Joes on the street.

Sports Agent Sentenced for Smuggling

Last November, I wrote about Gustavo “Gus” Dominguez, an American sports agent who was charged with smuggling Cuban baseball players into the United States. He pleaded not guilty.

Dominguez was convicted in April and today was sentenced to five years in prison plus three years probation and a $2,100 fine, according to Reuters. The 48-year-old agent, who co-founded Total Sports International, Inc. and represented dozens of Cuban athletes, was convicted of smuggling five baseball prospects out of Cuba to the Florida Keys and then onto California, where he shopped them to potential teams. The case is believed to be the first of its kind that directly links smuggling with the business of baseball.

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Federer-Nadal Rivalry Intensifies

Roger Federer may have won his fifth straight Wimbledon title yesterday, but it took five sets to do it, thanks to the aggressive play of his opponent and top rival, Rafael Nadal. After Nadal won the second set, I sensed that a possible upset was in the making. Federer grabbed the third set after winning the tie breaker. Then Nadal took the fourth set by breaking Federer’s serve twice. Nadal nearly broke Federer’s serve twice more in the fifth set, and if he had, he might have been holding the Wimbledon trophy.

Throughout the telecast on NBC, John McEnroe observed that the match was a test of the heart and the head, not always about physical ability or talent. Clearly, both players were tested. In Federer’s case, Nadal’s strong and consistent play nearly pushed the four-time Wimbledon champ to the brink, and there were times you could tell he was beginning to doubt himself. Nadal had him at break point a couple of times during the fifth set, but Federer came back to both times to win the point. That showed the heart of a champion. Once he passed those critical points in the match, Federer put Nadal away in dominating fashion.

In Nadal's case, the Spaniard had a drive, determination and focus to win Wimbledon for the first time. After getting medical attention for a knee injury at the beginning of the fourth set, Nadal walked gingerly around the court and couldn't complete some of his serves. You sensed that maybe he was beginning to doubt his ability to finish the set. But he quickly recovered and regained his momentum to win the fourth set.

The men’s Wimbledon final was one of the most fascinating sports events I’ve watched in a long time, not just for the showcase of physical ability but the drama and competitive intensity between two highly talented players who have a lot of respect for one another. Federer is clearly still number one, but Nadal is getting closer – and Federer knows it.

Buehrle Signed, Sealed and Delivered

Just how close was White Sox GM Kenny Williams to trading starter Mark Buehrle before the two parties agreed to a four-year deal worth $56 million? In an interview with Comcast Sports Net, Williams admitted that he had “two or three legitimate offers” on the table. If Buehrle had passed on the Sox’ final offer, a trade was a phone call away. But the two sides were able to agree on a deal that will keep Buehrle on the South Side for at least another year or two. It is a good faith gesture, a move that clearly showed that Williams wasn’t about to sell out the team -- at least not yet.

Sometimes the best deal is the one you don’t make.

Venus Returns to Victorious Form

Age and injury have taken their toll on Venus and Serena Williams over the past few years. So it was really nice to see Venus advancing to the Wimbledon finals today. She'll face a relative unknown, Marion Bartoli of France who upset top-ranked Justine Henin.

Win or lose tomorrow, Venus's success at Wimbledon and her sister Serena's victory at the Australian Open last January signals a return to form to the dynamic tennis duo. Injuries have kept them out of the tennis spotlight the past few years and in their absence, no American woman has really stepped forward to compete with the likes of Henin and Sharapova on the international level.

Watching Venus today, I have to believe that many tennis fans actually missed seeing her and Serena at the Grand Slam competitions, and in fact, how much this sport needs them. Current top players like Henin and Sharapova are more refined and polite, while Venus and Serena can be brash and controversial. But love them or hate them, they bring a lot of life to the sport.

The Weiner's Circle

While I was in bed with the flu on the 4th of July, American Joey Chestnut gobbled up a record 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes in the annual hot dog eating contest at Coney Island. Chestnut beat out six-time champion Takeru Kabayashi by consuming one dog every 10.9 seconds.

There are five things I find astounding about this event:

1) That anyone could inhale that many hot dogs in such a short time without barfing.
2) That ESPN finds the event worthy of live national TV coverage
3) That people will actually watch this stuff, either in person or on TV
4) That this competition has been an annual event since 1916
5) That I'm wasting perfectly good Web space writing about this crap on my blog.

Seriously, this event has generated more media attention than it's worth. So enough already!