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TORONTO — Former Minnesota North Stars standout Dino Ciccarelli was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, it was announced today. Ciccarelli played 19 NHL seasons with five teams, recording 608 goals and 592 assists in 1,232 games. In nine seasons with the North Stars, he led the team in scoring five times. "This is a tremendous honor that I will cherish for the rest of my life," Ciccarelli said. "I really appreciate the support of my coaches, the fans and mostly importantly my family throughout my 19-year career."

NEW YORK (AP) -Andre Dawson has been elected to the Hall of Fame, while Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar fell just short of earning baseball's highest honor. Dawson received 420 of 539 votes in voting announced Wednesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, 15 more than the 75 percent necessary to gain election. The eight-time All-Star, appearing on the ballot for the ninth time, had fallen 44 votes short last year.

Smith, Woodson head six-man Hall of Fame classNEW YORK (TICKER) —Defensive end Bruce Smith and defensive back Rod Woodson headed a six-man class that was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Smith, the NFL’s all-time sacks leader, and Woodson, who spent much of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, were both first-year finalists. Joining the duo were the late Derrick Thomas of the Kanasas City Chiefs, guard Randall McDaniel, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson Jr. and former Dallas Cowboys speedster Bob Hayes.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- At last, Bowie Kuhn beat Marvin Miller at something. The late commissioner was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday while Miller was rejected by a revamped Veterans Committee stacked with those he regularly opposed -- and beat -- in arbitration and bargaining sessions that altered the history of the game. "Bowie was a close friend and a respected leader who served as commissioner during an important period in history, amid a time of change," commissioner Bud Selig said, adding: "I was surprised that Marvin Miller did not receive the required support given his important...

TRIPOLI, Lebanon — Deep in a violent and lawless slum just north of this coastal city, 12 men whose faces were shrouded by scarves drilled with Kalashnikovs. In unison, they lunged in one direction, turned and lunged in another. “Allah-u akbar,” the men shouted in praise to God as they fired their machine guns into a wall. The men belong to a new militant Islamic organization called Fatah al Islam, whose leader, a fugitive Palestinian named Shakir al-Abssi, has set up operations in a refugee camp here where he trains fighters and spreads the ideology of Al Qaeda. He has...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Mark McGwire, Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. headline the first-time candidates on the 2007 baseball writers' Hall of Fame ballot released Monday, sure to spark debate on Big Mac's place in history as the steroid era comes under renewed scrutiny. Jose Canseco, whose book last year led to a congressional hearing on steroid use in baseball, also is on the ballot for the first time. Canseco said he used steroids along with McGwire when they were teammates. McGwire denied using illegal performance-enhancing substances, but when he appeared before a congressional committee, he evaded questions. "I'm...

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) -- Minnie Minoso and Buck O'Neil were among 39 candidates selected by a screening committee to appear on special Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues ballots for election to the Hall of Fame. The Hall said Monday that a 12-man selection committee will meet Feb. 27 in Tampa, Fla. Thirty people will be on the Negro leagues ballot and nine on the pre-Negro leagues ballot, and to gain election a candidate must receive at least 75 percent of the ballots cast. The screening committee considered 94 candidates recommended by Hall of Famers, historians and fans. Former commissioner Fay...

Wade Boggs was overwhelmingly elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility Tuesday, and Ryne Sandberg made it with just six votes to spare on his third try. Boggs, a five-time American League batting champion for the Boston Red Sox (news), was selected by 474 of the record 516 voters who are 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The 91.86 percent of ballots he received was the 19th-highest percentage in Hall history, and he became the 41st player elected on his first chance. Sandberg, the 1984 National League MVP for the Chicago Cubs...

Sports Boggs, Sandberg Elected to Hall of Fame 13 minutes ago By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer NEW YORK - Wade Boggs was overwhelmingly elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility Tuesday, and Ryne Sandberg made it with just six votes to spare on his third try. selected by 474 of the record 516 voters who are 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The 91.86 percent of ballots he received was the 19th-highest percentage in Hall history, and he became the 41st player elected on his first chance. Sandberg, the 1984 National...

Since its inception, Free Republic has been the world's premeire online gathering place for the discussion of the news, issues, opinions, and just about everything else.There have been several times when the members of Free Republic have posted important breaking news stories first, scooping the outlets of the mainstream media.Some exemplary threads merit mention in what I'd like to call the Free Republic Hall of Fame Threads.I believe this is a good way to remember and share some of the most important discussions that have occured on Free Republic.

But when Costas opens up the third season of his critically acclaimed, "On The Record,'' this Friday (10:30 p.m., HBO), there will be no controversy. Week 1 will feature a roundtable discussion with "Bull Durham" stars Sarandon, Robbins, Robert Wuhl and writer-director Ron Shelton. They'll celebrate the 15th anniversary of what many believe is the best baseball film ever made. "I would certainly have been willing to talk about the politics of it, but they agreed to come only for the discussion of 'Bull Durham' that was supposed to take place in Cooperstown,'' Costas said from New York. "They view...

Baseball Hall of Fame PROTEST Sat.April26th ACTION ALERT!!! THE SIDEWALK DEMONSTRATION IN FRONT OF THE NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM IS THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 26TH FROM NOON UNTIL 2PM FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN CAR POOLING AND OR CARAVANNING WE WILL BE MEETING AT 9:45 AM NEAR FRANCO'S PIZZA IN THE TOPS PLAZA, KELLOGG ROAD WASHINGTON MILLS departure is at 10:00 am Utica,New York A PRESENTATION REGARDING PROPER ETIQUETTE FOR DEMONSTRATING, YOUR RIGHTS, ETC WILL BE GIVEN AT11:30 AM IN FRONT OF DOUBLEDAY FIELD (MAIN STREET) THE FOCUS OF THE DEMONSTRATION IS ON FREE SPEECH AND OPPOSING THE HALL...

It's getting creepy out there. Paranoia is rampant. The thought police are on patrol, shining their flashlights into the corners of your garages, looking to root out and crush anything resembling dissent. Ken Griffey Jr. was in the dugout last weekend in Cincinnati, and because we all saw him writhe in agony a couple of weeks ago, his dislocated shoulder isn't exactly a state secret. Yet when someone asked how his rehabilitation was going, Junior went all CIA on us. "I'm not allowed to talk about it," he said mysteriously. "I can't say anything." Someone has gotten to Kevin Appier,...

Babe Ruth once declined to have his picture taken with presidential candidate Herbert Hoover. "Nothing doing on politics," Ruth said. The baseball version of the separation of church and state is now shattered. In one letter to one person, the president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has issued an edict to millions: If you oppose the war in Iraq, you're not welcome in Cooperstown. Dale Petroskey, a White House assistant press secretary in the Reagan administration, canceled the Hall's 15th anniversary celebration of the classic baseball film Bull Durham. The reason: Two of its stars, Tim...