Bulls' Pippen Enters Hall of Fame

Congrats to fomer Bull Scottie Pippen who was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame today. He joins teammate Michael Jordan who entered the Hall of Fame a year ago. Pippen and Jordan were part of the Bulls’ team that won six championships in the 1990s.

Pippen earns a double honor as the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team” was also named to the Hall of Fame. Former Jazz great Karl Malone and former Chicagoan and four-time WNBA champion Cynthia Cooper are also inductees.

The induction ceremony will take place Aug. 13 in Springfield, Mass.

Ripken, Gwynn Get the Call; McGuire Snubbed

It comes as no surprise that Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn were selected to baseball’s Hall of Fame yesterday. Both players received as close to unanimous votes that anyone can get. Ripken received 98.5 percent of the total 545 ballots while Gwynn received 97.6 percent. Both are lifetime players with their respective teams: Ripken with the Baltimore Orioles and Gwynn with the San Diego Padres.

What is also not surprising is the 23.5 percent vote that slugger Mark McGuire received, significantly less than the 75 percent of the vote that he needed to be selected. The baseball writers have spoken, and their message to McGuire – and other players suspected of steroid use –is loud and clear. If I were a voting member of the Baseball Writers of America, I would have voted the same way. It isn’t that the suspicion of steroid use continues to surround the Cardinal slugger. It is that he insists on keeping quiet about it. McGuire is caught between a rock and a hard place. He has to know that no matter what he does, his chances of entering the Hall are slim.