The lesson of Pete Rose and ‘Shoeless’ Joe? History is messy.
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Dan Wetzel
Now that Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has removed Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other deceased players from the game’s “permanently ineligible list,” whatever former stars deemed deserving based on their on-field accomplishments should, at first opportunity, be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
In a bombshell, if long overdue, reversal of policy, first reported by ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. on Tuesday, Manfred removed bans for Rose (who bet on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds) and members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox (who fixed the World Series), among others.
After all, banishment was meaningless once they all had died — a life sentence, if you will, for whatever their transgression. Most died decades ago and were on the list for gambling-related offenses.
“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred wrote in a letter to the attorney who petitioned for Rose.
The only remaining purpose of the ban was to keep them from the immortality of being inducted into Cooperstown, which bills itself officially as the “National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.”
The last word is the most important.
Museums exist to tell about history, and history is always messy — including in sports. They shouldn’t be solely designed for the sanitized, establishment-approved version of events, or allow outside considerations to overshadow actual accomplishments. They certainly shouldn’t serve as part of some carrot-and-stick approach to desired behavior.
Should Rose and the others have done what they did? Of course not. Should they have been subject to any potential criminal or civil recourse for their actions? Absolutely. Was MLB within its rights to suspend or punish them in other ways? Definitely.
Rose, for example, should never have been allowed to work in baseball again after it was determined he bet on the Reds to win games while he was the manager.
But that doesn’t mean his record 4,256 hits, his three World Series titles, his MVP award (1973), his 17 All-Star appearances (including when he barreled over catcher Ray Fosse in the 1970 game), his “Charlie Hustle” nickname, or that epic head-first slide — shown so many times on “This Week in Baseball” that a generation of kids either crushed their chests or chipped their teeth trying to emulate it — didn’t occur.
So did his gambling scandal, a 1990 guilty plea for filing false tax returns that cost him five months in a federal prison and a 2017 sworn statement from a woman that he had committed statutory rape back in the 1970s, an allegation for which he was never criminally charged. Throughout his life, he could be indefensibly crude, difficult and confrontational.
It’s all part of the story of Pete Rose.
So let him in, then tell the good, the bad and the ugly so the public can decide what to think. This is the Baseball Hall of Fame, not the pearly gates. It’s about a nice day in central New York State with your family, complete with a gift shop.
If the museum is there to tell the history of the sport, well, how do you do it without Pete Rose? If Hall of Fame induction is reserved for the greatest players, then how could Rose not be among them? His foolishness as a manager shouldn’t have eclipsed his impact as a player.
This is where baseball’s policy was always wrong. It used the prospect of barred entry to the Hall as a deterrence. That isn’t what a museum should be about. The risk of criminal charges, lost wages from suspension and general shame should be enough. If it isn’t, so be it.
Manfred isn’t ready to release those still living from the ineligible list. He’s clinging to the concept of scaring current players straight. “It is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve,” he wrote in the letter.
Perhaps, but should that be the point?
The Hall is already filled with assorted louts, drunks and racists who just happened to be able to either hit or throw a baseball really well. So what? Their personal disgrace is part of their history.
In fairness, their personal failings didn’t affect baseball the way Rose might have as a managerial gambler, and certainly not as the Black Sox did back in the day.
Still, there are owners and commissioners in the Hall who worked for decades to stop baseball from racial integration. That’s a far more widespread impact on the integrity of the game than betting on your team to beat the Dodgers.
Yes, sports wagering is always a concern and was once a major taboo. But public opinion and business realities changed. There are sportsbooks inside MLB stadiums these days, including, for a stretch, with Rose’s old team in Cincinnati.
History is history. The game is the game. The museum is the museum. Tell the story, the whole story, with all the best players and best teams and best tales, no matter how colorful, criminal or regrettable.
America can handle it. Our real national pastime is scandal, after all.
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham has signed a new five-year contract that will average nearly $7.5 million over the course of the deal, sources told ESPN on Saturday.
The deal prioritized resources for the staff, as the salary pool increases $11 million, which puts it near the top of the Big 12.
The extension takes Dillingham out of the conversation for the Michigan job. He had been in the top group of candidates considered for it.
The deal remains for five years, as longer ones aren’t allowed by Arizona state law, but there are incentives to extend the contract up to 10 years. The deal is pending board approval.
Dillingham signed a new deal a year ago that made him the second-highest-paid coach in the Big 12 in 2025. While there are increases in salary, the heart of this new deal was resources for the program.
“We have the perfect coach for ASU,” a school source said. “We want to give him the tools to do his job the best way possible. That’s giving him resources to put into the staff and program and giving him longevity.”
The deal shows how Arizona State has prioritized football in recent years, as it won the Big 12 last season and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history. It marked the first time the Sun Devils won a conference title outright since 1996.
It is also significant for athletic director Graham Rossini, who made it clear this week that retaining Dillingham was the top priority.
As the Michigan job lingered in the wake of Sherrone Moore’s firing, Dillingham got emotional talking about Arizona State. He is a graduate who long called the school his dream job and said on Dec. 13, “I love this place.”
He added: “That doesn’t change how I feel about here. That doesn’t change that my sister’s my neighbor. That doesn’t change that my parents live three doors down. … [Michigan] is one of the best jobs in America, it’s an unbelievable brand, an iconic brand, so a great opportunity for somebody.”
Arizona State is 22-16 under Dillingham, including a 19-7 record over the past two seasons. The Sun Devils play Duke in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Dec. 31.
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Eli Lederman
NORMAN, Okla. — Back in the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019, No. 8 Oklahoma earned an unwanted distinction Friday night. After squandering a 17-point advantage in a 34-24 loss to No. 9 Alabama, the Sooners now own the two largest blown leads in playoff history.
A month after Crimson Tide miscues fueled the defining win of Oklahoma’s 2025 season on Nov. 15, Alabama flipped the script inside Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, feasting on errors by quarterback John Mateer and the Sooners’ special team to bounce the hosts in the CFP first round and secure a Rose Bowl quarterfinal date with No. 1 Indiana on Jan. 1.
Down 17-0 early in the second quarter, the Crimson Tide scored on five of their next seven possessions and rattled off 27 unanswered points to match the largest comeback in CFP history, tying the 17-point deficit Georgia overcame to top Oklahoma in a double-overtime, Rose Bowl thriller on New Year’s Day 2018. According to ESPN Research, teams that have led by 17 or more in a CFP game are 28-2 all time. The two losses belong to the Sooners.
Additionally, Friday’s result marked the program’s second-largest blown lead at home since Oklahoma Memorial Stadium opened in 1923. Winless in five playoff trips since 2015, Oklahoma now holds the most losses of any program in CFP history.
“We had the ability and the opportunities to overcome it all even in just the last several minutes of the game, despite some just incredibly critical mistakes,” Sooners coach Brent Venables said. “But it just wasn’t in the cards for us tonight.”
The Sooners’ adopted team motto this fall was “Hard to Kill.” On the same night rap legend 50 Cent performed inside Oklahoma Memorial Stadium with those words emblazoned on his sweater, the Sooners buried themselves with a parade of errors.
An Oklahoma offense that began the postseason ranked 90th nationally scored on three of its first four possessions. By the time wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III caught a 7-yard touchdown from Mateer to open a 17-0 lead with 10:51 remaining in the second quarter, the Sooners had forced three consecutive three-and-outs and were outgaining Alabama 135-12.
After Alabama responded with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, the dynamics of the second meeting between the two programs in the past 34 days swung on three plays.
Facing third-and-3 from midfield, Mateer evaded a sack and rolled out of the pocket with open space in front of him. He could have run for a first down. Instead, Mateer fired 40-plus yards downfield to running back Xavier Robinson, who failed to haul in the throw. On the next snap, Oklahoma punter Grayson Miller dropped his punt attempt and turned the ball over on downs, setting the stage for a 35-yard field goal from Alabama’s Conor Talty that cut the lead to 17-10.
“Field position against an Oklahoma team is so critical with their defense, so that was huge,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “That was really huge for us.”
On the ensuing series, Alabama ran a disguised defensive look that appeared to confuse Mateer. With a safety dropped into coverage and Oklahoma wide receiver Keontez Lewis streaking downfield, Mateer fired, inexplicably, to no one other than Alabama defensive back Zabien Brown, who intercepted the pass and streaked down the Sooners sideline for a 50-yard pick-six.
Suddenly, the game sat level at 17-17 with 1:18 remaining in the second quarter. Of the 15 teams that have gone behind by at least 17 in the first half of a CFP game, the Crimson Tide became the first not to be trailing, courtesy of Mateer’s fourth interception in his past two games.
“I got tricked, and it’s pretty bad,” Mateer said. “I mean, you watch the tape. It was obvious it wasn’t a Cover 0. I got tricked, and it happens sometimes. But when you get tricked, you’ve got to mitigate the damage, and I didn’t do it.”
DeBoer described Alabama’s first-round win as “the opposite of the first game back at home.” Indeed, the Crimson Tide were statistically dominant in Oklahoma’s 23-21 win in Tuscaloosa last month. But the Sooners left with a signature win by taking advantage of mistakes.
In Friday’s rematch, the roles reversed. Second-half touchdowns from Lotzeir Brooks and Daniel Hill thrust the Crimson Tide to a 34-24 lead with 7:24 remaining. Pushing to close the gap, Oklahoma reached field goal position twice in the final three minutes, setting the stage for Lou Groza Award winner Tate Sandell, who had converted on each of his past 24 field goal attempts.
Battling gusting winds, Sandell pushed the first attempt — a 36-yarder — wide left. Ninety seconds later, he came up short on a 51-yard attempt, his first miss from 50-plus yards this season.
Sandell’s pair of misses were the final markers of a night that simply stopped going Oklahoma’s way following a scorching opening 20 minutes. After stunning wins over Tennessee and Alabama in November, and the similarly astonishing appearance of 50 Cent in Norman on Friday night, the Sooners ran out of magic, ultimately beaten at their own game by Alabama.
“When we needed to, we couldn’t pull one out like we have in several other games this year,” Venables said.
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