Here are your scores from the early games of Friday.

#4 seed Virginia easily defeated #13 Albany 84-57.

#7 UNLV held strong down the stretch and defeated #10 Georgia Tech 67-63.

#2 Memphis beat up on #15 North Texas 73-58.

“The banishment for life of Pete Rose from baseball is the sad end of a sorry episode. One of the game’s greatest players has engaged in a variety of acts which have stained the game, and he must now live with the consequences of those acts. By choosing not to come to a hearing before me, and by choosing not to proffer any testimony or evidence contrary to the evidence and information contained in the report of the Special Counsel to the Commissioner, Mr. Rose has accepted baseball’s ultimate sanction, lifetime ineligibility.”

Statement by then Commissioner
of Baseball, A. Bartlett Giamatti,
August 24, 1989

Well after Pete Rose’s public admission of betting on the Reds every night to win, John Dowd, of the Dowd Report, came out and said that Rose didn’t bet to win every night.

“When (Mario) Soto and (Bill) Gullickson pitched, he didn’t bet on the Reds,” Dowd said on Thursday, when reached at his Washington, D.C. office. “We only put in the report what we could find and corroborate three different ways.”

MLB hasn’t made any public comments yet and there is no word on whether or not the Reds will continue with the Rose’s exhibit at their Hall of Fame. Rose is also missing and hasn’t commented since his appearance on “The Big Show.”

What is strange to me is that while he said it in his book, “My Prison Without Bars,” he had never publicly admitted it. He said that he told Bud Selig that he bet every night but Dowd disputes that too. It was funny too because after listening to the interview a few times, Keith Olbermann had been making a point about what he said in the book and Rose corrected him because what Olbermann said wasn’t the truth. That’s when Rose made the startling announcement.

Kevin Youkilis, who grew up in Cincinnati had this to say:

“The whole thing is a bad situation,” Youkilis said. “Betting on baseball isn’t right in any aspect. It’s a league rule. You’re not supposed to do it. If there’s a plus side, it’s you bet on your team every night to win. But being the manager, if you bet against, that could be a problem. But either way, it’s wrong; it’s not the right thing to do.

“There must be something there for him to come out publicly. I know it’s all a black eye for baseball,” he added. “I just wish he could get in the Hall of Fame and get it over with. . . . In Cincinnati, he’s such an idol to lots of kids growing up, and adults. It’s going to be something that’s going to be talked about. For the people there, it’s an ongoing, lingering thing. They just want it to be resolved.”

“For me, I still respect Pete Rose as a ballplayer for what he did for the game of baseball, what he did on the field. For me, he was an inspiration to me growing up playing baseball. To say I’d be the same player without Pete Rose, maybe not,” Youkilis said. “Growing up, watching him play, and how hard he played, with fathers and coaches teaching you, ‘Hey, you’ve got to play hard, you’ve got to play like Pete Rose. You’ve got to hustle.’

“He was a motivator. On the field, from gametime until the game ended with the last pitch, he motivated people to play the game of baseball. For me, I don’t look at all the stuff he did outside of baseball. I look at everything he did on the field. Us baseball players, we’re role models as players. We’re not all perfect people off the field.”

“I still think he should be in,” said Youkilis, who has met the legend. “There’s a lot of guys who have had a lot of problems . . . third and fourth chances. Guys on drugs. They go on rehab and come back. I think he once said it best: ‘If I was an alcoholic or a drug addict, I’d have a chance. But I’m not.’ ”

Well we know you drink Youk judging by the picture.

For me, I think he really is desperate to get in the Hall of Fame. Maybe in his brain, he thinks that coming clean will save his ass. Very doubtful though, when you say you broke a Major League Baseball rule on a 162 nights and not 58 or so like the Dowd Report says. As I said on the radio show the other night, at least he didn’t break the cardinal rule of betting, “Never bet against your own team.”

Here are the links to the Dowd Report. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Agreement

Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp hasn’t had the best of springs this year after absolutely mashing the ball last season. Of course, you know what I am going to say. It’s only spring training so stop your worrying.

Well for me it’s hard not to worry about it because even after his hot start to spring training last year, he broke his finger stealing third base in the 5th game of the year. At the time, he was being counted on to replace Johnny Demon. He eventually came back to the club and essentially played with 9 fingers. His words not mine.

“I played with nine fingers last year,” he said, “so if I can put up those numbers with nine fingers, I should be able to play better with 10, like the years I had in the past.”

You have to wonder if the finger is still bothering him. He had a pin removed in December and said he was still a little stiff. He was hoping it would go away by April. He says his finger is healthy. I really have to wonder if he’s just saying that to appease the media.

“I feel fine at the plate. It’s just spring training, so it doesn’t really matter about results at all. I feel 100 percent fine.”

“I really don’t care about showing anybody anything. I just go out there to have fun,” Crisp said. “Whatever happens, happens. If they come out and enjoy watching me play, that’s good for them. As far as me going out there to prove something, I’ve already done that. I’ve already done what I can do. It’s just a matter of me going out there and doing it again.”

A healthy Coco means lots of stolen bases for the Red Sox. Normally he is a lead-off hitter but with the addition of Julio Lugo, he will probably bat in the 8th spot. He would be a great #2 hitter behind Lugo but by moving him to the bottom of the order, he brings some speed.

I have seen Coco play in the minors and I was left truly impressed with his speed. He could steal a base like he was stealing candy from a baby. He has the wheels. It’s just a matter of him getting a hit. When we watched him play in the minors, our first comment was a single or a walk was a double for Coco. Let’s hope he stays healthy and is able to do that again.

As a member of the 2002 Toronto Blue Jays, Eric Hinske won the AL Rookie of the Year by 25 votes over former Orioles pitcher, Rodrigo Lopez. Now, Hinske is probably the top bench player on the 2007 edition of the Boston Red Sox.

Think back to July 2002, when the Red Sox were in a huge tailspin after starting out as of MLB’s hottest teams at 40-17. The Red Sox were in Skydome for a 3 game series and needed a win in the biggest way possible. They had been trailing 5-3 until the 9th inning with former Red Sox outfielder Trot Nixon (seems weird saying former Red Sox outfielder for Trot) hit a two run home run to tie the game up. Hinske was the first batter up for the Jays in the inning. He took the first pitch he saw from former Red Sox closer Ugueth Urbina and hit out of the park for walk-off homerun. This was the beginning of the end for the Red Sox that season.

“It was a first-pitch fastball, middle-in, and I just pulled it,” Hinske recalled yesterday. “I had two walkoffs that year – I got Matt Herges against Montreal – and I haven’t had any since. It was an awesome feeling, the greatest feeling. I remember (Carlos) Delgado being the first one at home plate. It was cool.”

Hinske brings much flexibility to the Red Sox. He can play 1B, 3B and he can also play the outfield. This is good because he can spell Youk at first, Lowell at 3B, and Manny or J.D. Drew in the outfield. Shit, I bet you if you asked him to catch, he’d probably volunteer to do that too. Although, I’d have to think that he would say no to catching Tim Wakefield. Ask Dice-K about trying to catch the knuckleball and that was just having a routine catch.

Sox manager Terry Francona is probably Hinske’s biggest fan on the team. Francona calls Hinske a “team guy.”

“He’s a great guy, a great team guy. Last year he probably didn’t play as much as he wanted. Going into this year, he probably knows that there’s not a lot of at-bats. But he’s a good team guy. He’ll be playing a little third, a little first.

“He’s got that left-handed bat that’s got some sock in it. He can win us some games. And I’m sure there’s going to be some times where that frustrates him, but he’s a good team guy. His attitude is outstanding. He came into camp in great shape. He has had a good spring. I don’t think he likes it. [Alex] Cora, guys like that, find ways to put the team ahead of their own personal desires, and it really helps you make it work. That’s our responsibility to them — to let them know that we appreciate him. We respect him.”

While he may never duplicate his rookie season numbers in Boston (.279 avg, 24 hrs, 79 rbi’s), his bat is certainly a bonus to have on the bench. His versatility is huge too. Being able to play 4 positions gives Francona a viable option when one of the four mentioned above needs a day off. While he may not possess Manny’s power, his bat is ample enough to get the job done. Best of all, he is a team player. He is not playing for the fame and glory. I am sure he wants to. He is playing to help our 2007 Boston Red Sox win another World Series.

“It’s easy to accept my role on a team like this. It’s a great clubhouse with great guys. I just wanted to be part of a winning team. I played against these guys for so long, it’s cool to be a part of it. I mean, my locker’s next to Ortiz and Manny and all these guys. I look at it as an honor and a privilege to be here.”

Did you read what he said? He said it was an “honor and a privilege” to be a member of the Boston Red Sox. Great words spoken by a true class act.

After a hot start to spring training, Sammy Sosa was rewarded for his efforts so far with a spot on the 40 man roster of the Texas Rangers. He had been in camp on a minor league contract. Essentially, the move all but assures Slammin’ Sammy will be wearing the road grays of the Rangers when they open the season on April 2nd in Anaheim.

Sosa had to be added to the 40 man roster by Thursday or he could have been a free agent. He will now make a base salary of $500,000 and could make up to $2.2 million in incentives.

“Thank you, Lord,” he giggled. “I made the team!”

“I made the team!” said Sosa, standing in the visiting clubhouse and doing his best impression of an overexcited rookie getting his first shot at the Major Leagues. “I love it!”

“The reason I took a chance to come here was I knew I could still compete,” Sosa said. “I knew I had to fight for a spot, and what happened has made me proud because a lot of people probably didn’t think I could do it.”

“I still have a ways to go,” Sosa said. “Just because I made the team doesn’t mean I have to slow down. Now we need to win some games and come into the season with the attitude we have on this team. We have a good group; now everybody has to do the job, from the manager and coaches on down. Everybody has to contribute, that’s how you win games.”

Here are the results of your 7:00 games from the NCAA Tournament….

Biggest upset thus far, Virginia Commonwealth University beat Duke 79-77 on a shot with 1.8 seconds left.

A minor upset with #9 seed Michigan State beating #8 seed Marquette 61-49.

The only representative from the state of Connecticut is gone as Ohio State easily took care of Central Connecticut 78-57.

UCLA beat Weber State handily 70-42.