Gregg Doyel

Congratulations to Dave Niehaus, the Mariners broadcaster who won this year's Ford C. Frick award and the spot in Cooperstown that goes with it.

But Niehaus could have waited a year. Lord knows Joe Nuxhall waited a year. And another year. And maybe forever, it appears.

Nuxhall, the longtime Reds broadcaster, died late last year without his rightful spot in the Hall of Fame, and while a spot now would have been bittersweet in its timing, it would have been better than this: Nuxhall left out, again. And probably forever.

Nuxhall not only has all the stature a broadcaster needs to win the fricking Frick award, but he also holds a record that will never be broken: the youngest player to play in the major leagues. Considering he was 15 when he broke in, and considering MLB rules now prevent teams from signing anyone younger than 16, Nuxhall's record is safe.

Add it up, and he should be in the Hall of Fame. Fans spoke loudly during fan voting for the Frick ballot, giving Nuxhall more votes than the rest of the field combined. Nuxhall should have gotten in before this year, but he definitely should have made it now. My guess is this year was a now-or-never time for Nuxie.

Whoever didn't vote for him can piss off.

The Knicks' game last night was marred by an altercation on the bench between Zach Randolph and Nate Robinson, and by the disappearing act of Eddy Curry. Even when they win, they lose.

Speaking of the Knicks, Isiah Thomas was honestly asked if he would leave for the Indiana job whenever Kelvin Sampson is finally fired. No way the Hoosiers are that dumb. OK, maybe they are that dumb.

The Ravens have given Terrell Suggs the franchise tag. That's not the question. The question is: At which position? Suggs wants to be tagged at defensive end, which would get him more money than linebacker. The Raves insist he's a linebacker.

Miserable 49ers fans can look across the bay and feel better about themselves. (Miserable Raiders fans can do the same.)

All the attention on Andy Pettitte this spring means this guy can skate under the radar for a change. Until he starts screwing up at first base.

Jose Reyes vows to stop acting like a punk. I give him three weeks into April.

The highest-paid player in Kansas City history is this guy? No wonder the Royals suck.

Paul Buentello isn't afraid of Kimbo Slice. Someone should tell Slice to be afraid of Paul Buentello, though.

B.J. Penn envisions holding the UCF lightweight and welterweight titles at the same time, if GSP can get past Matt Serra.

Livan, Livan likes his ear rings. "Take them off I say," says Ron Gardenhire.

Someone asked former Bills QB Jim Kelly what he thinks of Bill Belichick. And so Kelly told him. Wow. Blew Belichick up.

Eric Byrnes has to stand in line at the DMV, just like the rest of us slobs. Welcome back to Arizona, kid.

Curt Schilling is whining about the way the Red Sox treated his latest injury, but that's not the most startling part of this story. The worst is, Schilling went through the clubhouse and whispered to certain, Schill-friendly reporters that he had something to say ... in the parking lot. Pssst. Meet me there in five minutes.

As the NBA's All-Star weekend showed, the draft class of 2003 was loaded with stars. And then there's Darko.

New Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has had the locks changed at the football offices. Good idea. Hey, you never know when an outgoing coach is going to start, I don't know, shreddding documents.

This is how crazy recruiting has become: Legitimate newspapers are reduced to quoting friends of 18-year-olds to predict where the 18-year-old (Terrelle Pryor) will attend college (Ohio State). That's what his friends are saying!

 A coach was arrested over the weekend for refusing to leave the court, and taunting the referee, after being ejected. The angry crowd then mobbed the floor. Punch line: This was a sixth-grade girls basketball game.

Scary photo of Kimbo Slice looming over a falling Tank Abbott.

Wanderlei Silva might drop to middleweight. Imagine him vs. Anderson Silva.

... would look like Eric Gagne.

Channeling McGwire's refusal to talk about the past and Giambi's vague apology for ... something, Gagne finally addressed his inclusion in the Mitchell Report.

You ask me, Gagne is one of the worst cheaters (allegedly) involved in baseball's performance-enhancing scandal, because he (allegedly) used steroids to reinvent himself from a bullcrap starter with so-so stuff into a lights-out closer with filthy material. From 1999-2001 he was 11-14 with a 4.80 ERA and 239 strikeouts in 283 innings. He then moved to the bullpen, mysteriously added about 5 mph to his fastball, and from 2002-2004 saved 152 games with a 1.79 ERA and 368 strikeouts in 247 innings.

Boo to you, Eric Gagne. At least Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were superstars without the juice.