It’s rare that there are two sports-related stories on this blog in the same day, but here we are. I wasn’t going to write about this steroids controversy here because readers can get their fill all over the place, but there is one angle of this story that I do find pretty compelling.

Perhaps the only positive thing to come out of the whole Major League Baseball steroids fiasco that has been discussed and debated all week long on sports talk radio and in sports news areas is whether Pete Rose gambling on his own team to win is as bad as the juice? For those who have lived in the deep woods on this, Rafael Palmiero was busted for steroids and was given a 10 day suspension this week.

Today on the Jim Rome show, Rose was on for nearly two hours talking about a wide variety of topics with guest host Roger Lodge from Blind Date. Lodge actually did a good job with the interview as I didn’t think he knew that much about sports.

Some choice Pete Rose quotes include:
“For doing what I did I got sixteen years and counting … For what he did [Palmiero] he got 10 days. You get 10 days for running a traffic light.”

“Yankee fans go to see the Yankees win. There’s a lot of teams where fans go to see the team play, and there is a big difference.”

“I believe that the Big Red Machine was the most entertaining team in the history of baseball.”

Speaking of the Niekros, which statistically Rose hit well against: “They should have had five boys then I would have had 5,000 hits.”

On how well Rose remembered the night he broke Ty Cobb’s total hits record: “I can remember it like it was an hour ago.”

I’ll admit that Pete Rose is one of those fascinating characters that I’ve followed over the years. I used to love watching him play baseball as a kid because he played the game the way it was meant to be played. The whole “Charlie Hustle” thing really fits him. Unfortunately with the whole gambling drama this name fits on a number of levels.

Former teammate, Hall of Famer, and broadcaster Joe Morgan is pissed off about the steroids situation:

“If I sound angry, it’s because I am,” Morgan continued. “I just hate what I’ve seen happen. We brought this on ourselves. Now, every number, the suspicion is there, and that hurts more than what Pete did.

IMO, Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame, he should be there, period. I wrote the following in January 2004: “Bottom line: let Pete in the Hall of Fame so we don’t have to keep having this discussion for 14 more years. There are worse people already in the baseball Hall of Fame. ”

Maybe this steroids thing will continue to help reinvigorate the discussion of getting Rose into the Hall of Fame where he rightly belongs.

• Pete Rose mock trial on ESPN: Hall of Fame yes / no?
• Pete Rose can’t hustle the IRS, he owes almost one million in back taxes
• Anti Pete Rose arguments that don’t make sense
• What will bail Bonds from alleged steroids scandal?
• ESPN working on Pete Rose movie
• Review: My Prison without Bars by Pete Rose