‘Hi, My Name Is John And I … ‘

New York Daily News columnist Bill Madden did a little research and figured out that despite comments by players union officials to the contrary there is a precedent for the disciplinary action levied against Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker.

Union lawyers have appealed the 28-day suspension and $20,000 fine imposed by Selig for Rocker’s comments about gays and minorities, claiming it “is literally unprecedented” for a player to be punished for pure speech.

Well, not exactly. First commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended New York Yankees outfielder Jake Powell for 10 days in 1938 for making a disparaging remark about blacks in a radio interview. The Yankees, fearful of offending their black fan base, even made Powell undergo the 1930s equivalent of sensitivity training - ordering him to tour the bars and restaurants of Harlem apologizing for his comments.

Now, there’s an idea.

But that interesting historical fact probably won’t have any real impact on the grievance the Major League Baseball Players Association filed on Rocker’s behalf.

Landis was acting in an environment where he had absolute power to act in the best interests of baseball. Selig’s power is restricted by the collective bargaining agreement with the players, which makes his ability to impose discipline subject to appeal.

A city without hope

Greg Aiello, NFL vice president of communications, when asked what it would take for Nashville to host a Super Bowl: “Global warming.”

Sleepless in soccerland

Four Israeli soccer players who had sex with prostitutes or girlfriends before a loss to Denmark last year should be banned from the national team, a committee of inquiry recommended last week.

The committee was appointed by the Israel Football Association after a newspaper reported several players entertained prostitutes at their hotel the night before a 5-0 loss in a European Championship qualifier Nov. 4.

“The players who were with call girls are not fit to wear the national colors again,” the committee said in its interim report.

The committee, which hired two private investigating firms to question players and witnesses, said the meetings with prostitutes did not take place the night before the game, as the daily Maariv had reported. It also said some of the women who slept with the players were girlfriends, not prostitutes.

However, committee spokesman Yariv Ben-Eliezer said the committee thinks those who slept with girlfriends should also be banned from the national team.

The last word …

“To give you an idea what an outsider he is to the game, you know he’s never even been to prison.”

- Jay Leno on Kurt Warner.