In a couple of weeks the veteran’s committee will set down to vote on the latest Hall of Fame list. On that list will be a number of managers, umpires, and contributers who a panel of experts has deemed worthy of consideration. One of those names is Marvin Miller’s.

For years Miller was head of the player’s union. There seems to be a belief that he is a jerk. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. I don’t know the man. What I do know is that he is the most significant non-player in recent baseball history. His leadership of the player’s union led to a number of changes in baseball, some good, some not so good. You hated the strikes, blame Miller (and a lot of other people too). You think salaries are inflated, blame Miller (and a lot of other people too). You like free agency and giving ball players a little freedom to move around and maybe make a team a little more competative, praise Miller.

You see that’s the problem with Miller. He’s done things that make the fans furious, but he’s also made it possible for teams to pick up quality players they might not otherwise get. Yes, he’s had a lot of help in both those things, from owners who are Neanderthals and owners who are enlightened, players who think of themselves and players who think of the good of the game. Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? I certainly think so. Is he going to be elected? Don’t bet the farm on it.

Representatives for the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame have announced they have secured $10 million dollars in funding for the new, Manhattan-based project.

The Hip-Hop Hall of Fame will feature artifacts from Hip-Hop’s rich history, exhibits, workshops and community outreach programs with the pioneers of rap, many of whom are on the museum’s advisory board.

The Hip-Hop Hall of Fame was originally created in 1992 as an award show that aired on BET in 1995.

The concept was created by JT “J-Train” Thompson, a Brooklyn born Queens/Harlem raised Hip-Hop entrepreneur.

“After 26 months of talks and negotiations, that yielded a few false starts and stops along the way, has come to a suitable arrangement by matching funds that may be increased,” said J.T. Thompson, the chairman and creator of the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame.

“We wanted to give the fans and the lovers of Hip Hop around the world an opportunity to give to the ‘museum cause’ and to have a ‘pride of ownership stake and voice’ in what we do at the HHHOF Museum Complex and in the communities we serve,” Thompson continued. “We have been often imitated but will never be duplicated, as Hip-Hop legends have paved the way, and our goal is to expand the culture, with ‘barrier breaking’ leadership and development internationally well into the 21st century.”

Members of the Museums Advisory Board include Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel, Kool Herc and a number of other Hip-Hop pioneers.

The Hip-Hop Hall of Fame Museum and Entertainment Complex slated to open in New York City in late 2010.

1981 Fleer Jim Palmer

Not a great, but not a terrible card for Fleer’s debut set.

While the photography lacks detail, it is a decent posed photo of Palmer.  Judging by the background of the picture, I think it would be safe to guess that this picture was taken during Spring Training.

1981 was Palmer’s 16th season in the majors.  For the year he 7-8 while starting just 22 games for ‘The Birds’.

Another card to scratch off of my needs list – YES!!!

With the acquisition of this card I am now just 2 cards away from completing my Fergie Jenkins player collection.

When I set out to collect every card issued by a major card company from Fergie’s playing days, I never knew how enjoyable this goal would be.  Starting with zero cards, it was fun to shop for my ‘needs’ and along the way my appreciation for Fergie and his stellar pitching career sky rocketed.  This collection has taken longer to complete due to the age and condition of the cards I needed, but this extra time has allowed me more opportunities to learn about and enjoy stories focusing on Fergie.

Today I can proudly say that Ferguson Jenkins is my favorite pitcher of all-time!!!

And these are the final 2 cards I need to complete my player collection that honors his legendary career:

1966 Topps - Rookie card

1969 Topps

I have every intention of completing this collection by the end of the year.  It won’t be easy, but it will be fun!!!

Tonight’s RAW is a special three-hour edition, which means it comes on an hour earlier than usual. It of course comes on the heels of last nights strong pay-per-view outing, Survivor Series. The only thing announced for tonight’s special RAW is the guest host, Jesse Venture! It’s going to be great seeing Venture, the WWE Hall of Famer back in a WWE ring as the guest host. Should make for a fun night. Always been a fan of “The Body”, hell I’m even looking forward to his Conspiracy Theory show debuting next week on TruTV.

Also tonight, the world premiere of The Marine 2 trailer. The Marine 2 of course stars Ted DiBiase and is the sequel to the John Cena film, The Marine. The film is straight-to-DVD, and will be arriving in stores on December 29th. We’ll have the trailer posted on the site tomorrow, for those of you who miss it tonight (although I’m sure you’ll get more than enough of it on WWE programming for the next month or so).

Looking forward to the interaction between Degeneration X, what’s next for Kofi Kingston and what Randy Orton has to say about losing to Kingston last night. It’s the WWE Thanksgiving Special 3-hour RAW telecast, tonight on USA Network at 7pm CST.

Im surprised I never made a post about this card on here yet. I pulled this bad boy out of a 2009 topps series 1 hobby box back in february or march. This card is just amazing, the picture speaks for itself!

The card is numbered 4/20, AWESOME!!! This card is not for trade, just wanted to share it with you guys! Thanks for reading!

Also, I recently joined Mario’s Wax Heaven page, you can check out my page on there by clicking on the link on my blogroll, or by clicking here (yes i know me and my friend look like idiots in that picture…but thats the whole point!)

‘Same Card, Different Paths’ – Card #18

1975 Topps - Card #616 – AKA – ‘The Jim Rice Rookie Card’

Dave Augustine – Augustine appeared in just 29 games in the big leagues.  As a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, he has a career batting average of .207 with 6 hits and 4 runs scored while getting just 29 plate appearances.

Pepe Mangual - A 6-year veteran that played in both Montreal and New York, Mangual was a utility outfielder with a knack for stealing bases.  For his career, Mangual amassed 235 hits, scored 155 runs, and stole 64 bases. 

Jim Rice – The newest member of the Hall of Fame was a 8-time All-star and 1-time winner of the MVP award.  Rice enjoyed a 16-year career as a member of the Boston Red Sox.  His career numbers include 2,452 hits, 1,249 runs scored, 1,451 RBI, and 382 home runs.  In his MVP season of 1978, Rice collected 213 hits with a .315 batting average.  He also smacked 46 home runs, 25 doubles, scored 121 runs, and drove in 139.  Rice played in the 1986 World Series but lost to the eventual champion New York Mets.

John Scott – Scott’s brief career spanned three years but he only appeared in 118 games.  After two terrible seasons with the Padres, Scott played his final, and best, season with the Blue Jays.  Scott is a career .222 hitter.  His resume includes 56 hits, 26 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, 15 RBI, and 2 home runs.

1982 Topps Home Run Leaders

This card celebrates the top home run hitters from the 1981 baseball season.

Mike Schmidt led all hitters with his 31 dingers during the 1981 campaign.  In the American League, there was a 4-way tie for the league leader spot at just 22.  The group included Tony Armas, Dwight Evans, Bobby Grich, and Hall of Famer Eddie Murray.

It’s amazing how much the game has changed over time.  During the 2009 baseball season 23 players had more than Schmidt’s tally of 31.  And there were well over 70 players to eclipse Murray’s league best 22.

This appears to be a ‘No-Brainer’.  Ken Griffey Jr will gain entry into Baseball’s Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility.

With a resume to back it up, Griffey is one of the best players from the last 20 years.  His ability to hit, run, field, throw, and crush home runs makes him a solid ‘5-tool Player’.  His ability to excel in an extraordinary manner in each of these aspects of the game makes him a very rare talent indeed.

I cannot imagine that he will have to wait long once he is officially added to the Hall of Fame ballot.

And when he gets enshrined, this is the hat he should be wearing!!

GoGirl786 sent me this picture of the Midna she built back in February already, when she just started papercrafting. I think it looks pretty good, what you? ;o)

GoGirl786 has a YouTube channel with several… crazy vids (I really don’t know how else to describe them… ;o) so be sure to check them out!

Thank you for building a Ninjatoes’ papercraft model!

Several items from the Yankees 27th Championship are on display now at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.  Although mlb.com reports more memorabilia may be arriving in Cooperstown in a few weeks, there are quite a few things on display currently:

1.) Hideki Matsui’s Game 6 Bat – This bat was used to drive in a record-tying 6 runs to clinch the Yankees’ Championship and earn Matsui the MVP honors.

2.) Mariano Rivera’s Postseason Cap – Rivera was, in my opinion, the MVP of the Yankees postseason.  Rivera had a 0.56 ERA and was 5 for 5 in save opportunities.  He ended up preserving 5 of the Yankees 11 wins.

3.) Johnny Damon’s Cleats from Game 4 – The game turned in favor of the Yankees when Damon got on base and stole second and third on the same play.  The Game 4 win gave the Bombers a 3-1 advantage in the series.

Plus, the HoF received several other notable items, including the catching masks of Jorge Posada and Jose Molina, Andy Pettitte’s World Series Cap, and the first ball to come out of play at Yankee Stadium, which was the first ball ever used in a World Series Game at the new stadium.

The Hall also received the scorecard used by WCBS announcer Suzyn Waldman – who became the first woman to broadcast a World Series game along with longtime Yankees play-by-play man John Sterling, and one of the bats used by Chase Utley, who tied Reggie Jackson with 5 home runs in one World Series.

I’m going to wait a few weeks for more stuff to arrive, but I am going to have to figure out a way to drag Chris up from Maryland and get up to the Hall.  I’d love to see the new memorabilia and it’s been a long time since I’ve been to the Hall anyways…

1968 Topps Fergie Jenkins

Finally I have added this card to my Fergie Jenkins player collection.  The ‘68 Topps card is not an easy one to find with good centering.  And while this card is far from perfect, the corners are solid and the centering is probably close to an 80/20.  I would love to have brought home a more well-centered card, but I am very aware of my spending limits so I got the best that I could currently afford.

1968 was a solid year for Fergie.  In his second full season with the Cubs, the Hall of Famer started 40 ball games for the team en route to a 20-15 record along with 20 complete games.  Fergie was progressing nicely at this point and he recorded a 2.63 ERA due to his hard work.  The efforts of training on his mechanics in the off-season began to pay off too as he finished the year with 260 strikeouts while allowing just 65 walks.

I am thrilled to add this ‘68 Topps card to my Fergie Jenkins collection!!

And now I am just 2 cards away from calling this player collection complete!!!

There are only two pitchers in major league history with more than 3,000 strikeouts and fewer than 1,000 walks – Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux.

**factoid courtesy of ‘Armchair Reader – Grand Slam Baseball’

My take – 2 of my favorite pitchers of all-time, these two players and their magnificent careers are intertwined for life!!!