Proof that temperatures really are warming up . . . Sooner than later, Albert Belle will get elected to the Indians' Hall of Fame. It would help if he: A) Still isn't ripping them for the Cliff Lee trade or the CC Sabathia trade. "Imagine that, the Cleveland Indians trade away another great player because they didn't want to...
Proof that temperatures really are warming up . . .
Sooner than later, Albert Belle will get elected to the Indians' Hall of Fame.
It would help if he:
A) Still isn't ripping them for the Cliff Lee trade or the CC Sabathia trade.
"Imagine that, the Cleveland Indians trade away another great player because they didn't want to pay him," Belle told The PD's Paul Hoynes in 2008. "The saga continues."
B) Isn't getting even more specific about ownership.
"When is Larry Dolan going to sell the club? I could buy a piece of it. There are a lot of people on teams making bad decisions."
Chuck Crow, The Plain DealerIs Albert Belle the next Indians Alumni Ambassador? From left, Mike Hargrove, Kenny Lofton, Belle, Steve Smith and Carlos Baerga.
C) Still isn't mistaking free agency with trades.
"They got rid of three of us: Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and me."
D) Reconnects with the Indians fans the way he did in signing autographs in Goodyear, Ariz., on Tuesday.
For those and for other reasons, Belle's appearance at spring training was a good first step toward rekindling the relationship between the organization and one of its greatest hitters.
Gaylord Perry headlines the most recent Indians Hall of Fame class. Belle can't be far behind.
He's a cinch to someday soon join Charlie Nagy, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Kenny Lofton from the era that lit up Cleveland like Las Vegas long before LeBron James made the promise.
James, by the way, was the reason for one of Belle's phone calls to Hoynes in recent years. Belle, almost always the peacemaker -- OK, almost never the peacemaker -- made the hopeful case that James and the fans should take the "high road" during James' return with the Heat in 2010.
That didn't exactly show a deft finger on the pulse of the city.
"What about the Cavs doing a video tribute of LeBron before the game?" he said at the time. "Wouldn't that be a surprise? Then the fans could boo once the game started."
Reading those words immediately got me thinking.
What it got me thinking was:
"Who are you, sir? And what have you done with Albert?"
Belle joked in the same conversation that maybe if Cleveland wasn't ready to give James a video tribute, it might be ready to give him one.
As it turns out, that could happen, especially if Belle returns to Cleveland this summer as an Alumni Ambassador (now there's one word I didn't think I'd mention in the same sentence with him, and I don't mean "alumni.")
The timing's right. Even if embracing another star from the 1990s makes people remember what they're missing in 2012, that era was too great, too much fun not to celebrate at every turn.
The 1995 season was long enough ago. Comparisons are as unfair as they are inevitable.
Cleveland was a much different town economically. Baseball was a much different sport, payroll-wise.
The pictures of Belle from Tuesday's visit -- graying hair, graying beard, smiling -- make it seem even longer.
Time for bygones to be bygones, provided the Indians don't make any unpopular moves that bring out the GM in him before they meet again.
SPINOFFS
LeBron James got understandable grief for passing off again instead of taking the challenge from the West's Kobe Bryant, who dared James to shoot the ball in the closing moments of Sunday's All-Star Game.
I'd love to see James participate in the Slam Dunk competition someday, just to see him pass off on his final attempt.
Randy Lerner's Aston Villa soccer team, which is a lowly 15th in the Premier League, reportedly had a record loss of $85 million last season -- $19 million of it in compensation for coaching changes.
Nothing that visit by Aston Villa team officials to Berea won't fix.
Ratings for the rescheduled-because-of-monsoon-rains Daytona 500 were Fox's highest for a Monday night since Game 5 of the 2010 World Series, prompting some people to call for more weeknight racing.
So long as weeknight racing comes with the guarantee of scorched earth from a jet fuel truck fireball as Monday's race did, the ratings will spike.
The plague of locusts in their tiny Raid sponsor patches was also a nice touch.
Tennis great Martina Navratilova will compete on "Dancing With the Stars" in a group that includes Jaleel White (Urkel).
Mentioning Martina and Urkel in the same sentence scratches one more item off my Bucket List.
I'm not campaigning for Albert Belle to make the Indians' Hall of Fame. But I'd lead the charge to someday see Belle and Hannah Storm do "Dancing With the Stars."
Asdrubal Cabrera, who becomes a free agent after the 2013 season, says he wants to be an Indian for a long time but says "there's nothing I can do." I guess he means, you know, other than take a little less and sign a long-term contract at some point.
Carlos Santana had an "S" shaved into his head by his barber. Quelling a rumor: With "S" already taken, Grady Sizemore is NOT considering the Cleveland Clinic logo.
Mike Tyson will do a stand-up solo act April 13 to 18 in Las Vegas. It's titled "Undisputed Truth."
The tickets are expected to come with a Surgeon General's warning not to feed the pigeons, especially stray pieces of ear.
My guess is that nobody in the first few rows will risk getting up to use the bathroom during Tyson's standup act.
The mother of Olympian Elena Hight was arrested on suspicion of operating a marijuana ring after police stopped her car and found approximately $77,000 inside.
If you guessed Hight's sport was snowboarding, you are the shallow type who deals in stereotypes. And you are absolutely correct.
HE SAID IT
"I have skills he doesn't have. Obviously, my strength is far better, I'm faster, I would say I'm smarter . . . I just think I have a technique that's unmatched." -- Michigan center David Molk, after the NFL Scouting Combine, comparing himself to Wisconsin center Peter Konz.
And raising the question, "David Molk does realize he's just a center, doesn't he?"
YOU SAID IT
(The Expanded
Midweek Edition)
"Bud: If Kobe, Michael, Magic, Larry and Jason Bourne were born with the assassin gene, what did LeBron get instead? The Greenpeace Dinghy Skipper gene?" -- Jim, Shaker Heights
Given his need to be a first mate, the Gilligan gene.
"Bud: Based on the recent Separated At Birth pictures of Tim Kamczyc and Will Ferrell, will you be changing the name of the feature to Random Photo Pairings?" -- Chas K, Cleveland Heights
I was just discussing that with my twin, Denzel.
"Bud: If this message languishes in your inbox for 44 hours, then I take no responsibility for its content." -- Wayne Kuznar
Nice try, Ryan Braun. But until proven otherwise, I suspect all "You said it" emailers of using performance dehancers.
"Hey, Bud: Now that the awesome trend of visible tattoos in sports has reached Major League Baseball, what would your neck and/or forearm tattoo display?" -- Mark, Rocky River
Like Sanjaya Malakar should for his future Grammys, I'm keeping both open to list my Pulitzers.
"Bud: What am I more likely to see one day in my Sunday Plain Dealer? 1. The Cavs in first place; 2. Some great coupons; 3. I will be a 'You said it' winner and receive that beautiful T-Shirt." -- Lance, Middleburg Heights
In order, enjoy the coupons.
"Dr. Bud: Is the rumor true that the Indians are restricting the sale of 'Mrs. Sizemore' T-shirts to those women who are registered nurses or health care workers?" -- Richard Nowicki
First-time "You said it" winners receive a T-shirt from the mental_floss collection.
"Bud: Now that Liverpool Football Club won the Carling Cup, do you think these were the titles LeBron was promising?" -- David Cavallo
Repeat winners get bicycle kicked.
"Dear, Bud: The Browns finished last with Peyton Hillis. Do you think they'll be able to finish last without Peyton Hillis? (With apologies to Gabe Paul, referring to Buddy Bell's holdout)" -- Jim O, Chardon
Repeat winners get to see history repeated.