One very significant baseball-related thing happened today, and I'm quite angry. Out of 39 candidates for a special Negro League election for the Baseball Hall of Fame, 17 were elected. They were probably deserving. (The reason you've not heard of them is because they weren't already Hall of Famers. Or because you're not a complete dweeb.)

Anyway, point is, a travesty of justice occurred when it was announced that the great Buck O'Neil, probably one of the 20 most versatile Negro Leaguers and, more importantly, the greatest ambassador the game has known and a fantastic proponent of the importance of the Negro Leagues, was not among those elected. So, now 35 Negro League-affiliated players in the Hall, and Buck O'Neil is not among them?

It's a complete farce.

Let's run down Buck's accomplishments:
- First black MLB coach
- As a scout, signed Ernie Banks
- Star of Ken Burns' Baseball, which did more for the sport than anything in the last decade other than Cal Ripken and the steroid-addled home run race of 1998

Okay, I won't go any further. (The list looks paltry, and it is, but I didn't want to go looking for the full bio. Because Google takes at least .4 seconds to load up.)

Fact is, it's insulting that he's not in. The others that got in today are valuable and important, I'm sure, but Buck is our living link to the Negro Leagues. As a sport more in touch with its history than any other, baseball is doing itself a disservice by ignoring him.

The man is in his mid-90's, and he is vibrant and incredible. His acceptance speech would have been epic and beautiful. Instead, we're stuck with Bruce Sutter and 17 dead people. Sigh.

He was in the Quad a few years ago, and I got the chance to interview him. I've interviewed Paul Molitor and Rod Carew (that's two Hall of Famers) and Fergie Jenkins (that's a third Hall of Famer) and Tommy John and several baseball executives and nobody, nobody, left me starstruck like Buck O'Neil. Truly, truly amazing, and truly, truly despicable that he's not in. (My poor account of interviewing Buck O'Neil is here.

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I'm trying to figure out my thoughts on Sammy Sosa. I just read Sports Illustrated's brief account of his offer, and refusal, of the contract offered by the Washington Nationals.

It's pretty clear he cheated. It's pretty clear that cheating led to most, or all, of his accomplishment. (I think he had a 20-20 year in 1994, which wasn't steroid-aided.) It's pretty clear he embarrassed himself when called to the carpet to address his possible cheating.

But it's also clear that he provided baseball with one of its most memorable seasons ever, and it's also clear - to me, anyway - that he is a huge part of the reason that Wrigley will bring in three million fans this season. Sammy truly made it cool to be a Cubs fan, or to be a Wrigley Field fan.

Referring to Hall of Fame credentials, you can't judge him on the [sketchy] Bonds test. [Was he a Hall of Famer pre-drugs?] Of, if you could, the answer would be a resounding no. Check the numbers from 1997, or from 2004 and 2005.

But it's sure tough to acknowledge that, for this Cubs fan anyway. Sigh, again.

[And, by the way, I'm over the Bonds test. Once a cheater, always a cheater, and get the hell out of our game.)

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You're likely familiar with the iPass, the Illinois toll "zapper." I've got an iPass. I bought it (that is, put down the deposit) Christmas of 2004, when I first heard about the (ingenius, to this former Econ major who somewhat remembers the term "public utility) plan to charge cash-payors twice as much for using the tollway as iPass users.

So, it's supposed to be an ultra-convenient system, of course. Input your credit card on the iPass website, and they'll automatically add more money when you're running low.

Well, my credit card was due to expire at the end of the month, and I've been getting warning emails about the imminent expiration for the last few months. (The card's no longer expired; I've got two more years left now.)

Here's the problem: As far as I can tell, in order to update your account, you need your iPass contraption's serial number. And that means you need to remember to write down your serial number before you return to the house. And, that, my friends, is asking too much of this idiot.

Also, I'm using the Tollway briefly on Tuesday. I'll tell you if I get arrested. I doubt it, though I'm not sure.

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About that "job ending at the end of the week" thing... Well, probably more like "it's ending whenever you're bored of us, because you're fairly competent and can speak in sentences." It's not true job security, but it's temp-job security, which is more than some can claim, I guess. Cashflow rules.