Once again, Bert Blyleven didn't get enough votes for the baseball Hall of Fame. It doesn't make any sense. Below is an associated press story from MSNBC.com:
MINNEAPOLIS - Bert Blyleven wore down opposing hitters over 22 seasons on his way to compiling some impressive statistics.
Now in his 10th year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, Blyleven is hoping he’s wearing down the baseball writers in much the same way.
After getting just 83 votes on his first try, Blyleven received 277 votes in the 2006 results — showing up on 53.3 percent of the ballots. Election requires 75 percent of the votes, which are limited to 10-year members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Players remain on the annual ballot for up to 15 years as long as they get 5 percent of the votes each year.
Because it’s beyond his control, Blyleven will continue being patient. And because he has slowly picked up more votes each year, Blyleven will continue thinking positive about his progress.
“It’s an honor to play the game as long as I did. Whether I make it or not, I still had a lot of fun playing a kid’s game,” Blyleven said Monday from Florida, where he lives when he’s not doing his job as a television analyst for Minnesota Twins games.
Jim Rice, Rich Gossage and Andre Dawson are the other holdovers who finished with more votes than Blyleven last year, and Tony Gwynn, Mark McGwire and Cal Ripken are the headliners among 17 newcomers in the 2007 candidates.
“I vented earlier on, because I wanted my pops there,” Blyleven said, referring to his father, Joe, who died of complications from Parkinson’s disease more than two years ago. “But it’s up to the writers, and I think I’ve learned over the years to be patient. Whatever happens happens.”
Monday's News Tribune has an article about 2 different lakes, and vehicles breaking through the ice!:
Two trucks broke through ice on Duluth-area lakes over the weekend, including a pickup on Island Lake that sank in 30 feet of water. Authorities warned anglers not to drive on any lakes until it gets colder.
The Island Lake incident happened Saturday night with two men in the pickup at the time, authorities said. The men escaped, but the truck sank to the bottom and now must be recovered.
Island Lake is notorious for currents under the ice which can cause ice thickness to vary every few feet. While some areas now have more than a foot of ice, others might have just a few inches. And residents of the lake say ice thickness can change from day to day.
But temperatures above freezing and 10 to 20 degrees above normal in recent weeks have made ice on all Northland lakes suspect.
At Grand Lake on Sunday afternoon, another pickup broke through the ice, but only one wheel sank below the ice surface. There were only a few inches of ice in the area.
“The worst part about that one is the same guy went through the ice in the same spot with his ATV just a week before,” said Dale Ebel, Duluth area conservation officer for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He thought it had been cold enough to make the ice thicker. But it’s been so warm that we’re actually losing ice.”
Ebel is warning anglers and others not to drive on any Northland lakes until the region receives several days of below zero temperatures. That could happen by this weekend, weather forecasters say. Officials say it takes a minimum of 12 inches of ice to support a car or light truck.
“I wouldn’t drive on any lake right now. I’ve been using the ATV and walking… and I’ve found some spots I the bays with just a couple inches of ice,’’ Ebel noted. “I wouldn’t drive a vehicle on Island Lake if you paid me. Ever.’’
You wouldn't catch me even walking out on a lake right now. This probably means the Big Jig ice fishing contest held on Duluth's Pike Lake is in jeopardy right now.
