Dawson, Herzog take their spots in Hall of Fame

Baseball Betting Lines

07/25/2010 - Cooperstown, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Dawson became the second member of the Baseball Hall of Fame with a Montreal Expos cap on his plaque when he was inducted Sunday afternoon.

Others joining the induction party were former manager Whitey Herzog and ex- umpire Doug Harvey, who went in via the Veterans Committee.

J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner Bill Madden and Giants broadcaster Jon Miller, the 35th recipient of Ford C. Frick Award, were also honored during the ceremonies.

Dawson joins Gary Carter as the only other person to be inducted as an Expo in the Hall. Carter went into the Hall of Fame in 2003.

The National League Rookie of the Year with the Montreal Expos in 1977 and the league's Most Valuable Player with the Chicago Cubs in 1987, Dawson was a .279 career hitter with 438 home runs, 1,591 runs batted in and 314 stolen bases. In addition to the Expos and Cubs, Dawson also spent time with the Boston Red Sox before ending his 21-year career with the Florida Marlins.

An eight-time All-Star, Dawson underwent 12 knee surgeries during his career but ended up with more than 400 home runs and 300 stolen bases, a feat matched by only two other players in history, Willie Mays and Barry Bonds.

Herzog guided the St. Louis Cardinals to the 1982 World Series title and also led the team to the National League pennant in 1985 and 1987. Before joining the Cardinals, he skippered the Kansas City Royals to three straight American League West titles from 1976-78.

Harvey was a National League umpire for 31 seasons and was selected to work the World Series five times. He was also chosen to umpire the All-Star Game on six occasions.

Unable to make his induction speech in person due to a bout with throat cancer, the 80-year-old Harvey, the ninth umpire enshrined in Cooperstown, and the first since 1999, recorded his speech during a previous visit to Cooperstown.

"I've heard you say umpires are a necessary evil," Harvey said. "Well, we are necessary, but we're not evil. We're hard-working and dedicated people, whose primary interest is to make sure the game is played fairly."

Madden, of the New York Daily News, was the paper's Yankees beat writer from 1980-88 before becoming the News' national baseball columnist.

Also Sunday, John Fogerty became the first musician honored at the Hall of Fame induction when his classic, "Centerfield," got inducted into Cooperstown. Fogerty, strumming a baseball bat guitar, sang on stage just prior to the ceremony.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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