Sports this 'n' that

In six months, the doors of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown will swing open for four new members:

Mariano Rivera (Yankees): He was the set-up man for John Wetteland when the Yankees ended their World Series drought in 1996, beating Atlanta in six games. It was the Bombers' 1st Fall Classic in 15 years, and began a new dynasty in the Bronx. The very next year, Rivera was promoted to the closer's role after Wetteland was let go (more on him later), and the Yankees would win four more championships (1998-2000, 2009) as a result. The team's choice of Metallica's 1991 hit, "Enter Sandman", as Rivera's entrance music redefined the metal anthem, but then, I think they took their cues from ECW's Sandman (Jim Fullington), who used the same song as his entrance.

Edgar Martinez (Seattle): Converted to a full-time designated hitter from the infield, Martinez became one of the game's most prolific hitters.

Mike Mussina (Baltimore, Yankees): Mussina was a teammate of Rivera on some of those Yankee World Series teams, something he'd never have had a chance to be a part of had he played his entire career in Baltimore, which has not reached the series in more than 35 years.

Roy Halladay (Toronto, Philadelphia): As tough a big game pitcher as there was, Halladay was a big reason for the Phillies winning it all in 2008, only to fall short of repeating the next year in losing to the Yankees. Posthumous selection.

The induction ceremony takes place July 21.
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Fans in New Orleans are so butt-hurt over an officiating screw-up in the NFC title game on Sunday, that several people are filing lawsuits against the NFL. Frivolous? You better believe it.

I watched the game, saw the controversial non-call at the center of this firestorm, and I can understand why there are people calling for changes that would allow officials to review pass interference calls.

In truth, it was a double-whammy. It was not only pass interference on the defense, but you could also call targeting, since it was a helmet-to-helmet hit. In college, they review targeting calls on a regular basis. Seems to happen every week during the season. How the geeks in the striped shirts could justify letting it all go is incomprehensible.

Of course, there are conspiracy theories, the most prevalent belief being that the league wanted the Rams and 3rd year QB Jared Goff in the Super Bowl opposite Public Enemy #1, the New England Patriots. Obviously, as I wrote the other day, the league's power brokers were unwilling to allow a total youth movement to commence in Atlanta, which is why the biggest diva in the league, Tom Brady, who had a mature adult moment in consulting his opposite number, Patrick Mahomes, after the AFC title game, gets to play for #6 again.

The sad truth is while people will still genuflect toward Brady, he is not the greatest of all time. His career forever tainted by scandals and the general suspicion that the Patriots don't always abide by the rules, and their owner, Robert Kraft, has undue influence on the committees he's a part of. Brady's Hall of Fame resume has an asterisk next to it for a reason. The league could've thrown the book at New England, but instead opted for a couple of slaps on the collective wrist due to Kraft and his power.

All that having been said, it's now coming out that some inebriated moron had a laser pointer directed at Brady during Sunday night's game. Not that it did any real damage. Brady didn't realize it was there, and functioned effectively anyway. Can someone check and see if he's made of teflon?
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Rumors are circulating online that the newly formed All Elite Wrestling, founded by Cody Runnels and Matt & Nick Jackson, and partially funded by the Khan family, owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars, will announce a TV deal that would get Atlanta-based superstation TBS back into the wrestling business after nearly 20 years away.

In the dying days of World Championship Wrestling in 2000, TBS cancelled WCW Saturday Night and other wrestling related programming, ending a decades-old tradition. Runnels, raised in the Atlanta area, may have had that tradition in mind if the rumors are true.
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There was a rumor circulating that the revamped XFL, to debut next year, would have ABC/ESPN & Fox as their TV partners this time. The Fox half of the equation would be understandable, since the network will be the new home of Smackdown starting in October, and ABC, or, more specifically, ESPN, began covering WWE wrestling events a few years ago when current WWE reporter Jonathan Coachman was with the "Worldwide Leader in Sports".

However, Charlie Ebersol's Alliance of American Football launches February 9, six days after the Super Bowl, and if it succeeds, then the XFL, which Vince McMahon created with Ebersol's father, former NBC exec Dick Ebersol, nearly 20 years ago, would be facing an even tougher mountain to climb for viewers when the relaunch starts. The AAF has a deal in place with the CBS Sports Network, which also has a TV deal with the Arena Football League. Stay tuned.