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Rumors have been spreading this afternoon that American League MVP Joe Mauer and the Minnesota Twins have reached a preliminary agreement on a 10-year contract extension.

Joe Mauer denies rumors that he signed a 10 year extension with the Minnesota Twins

Joe Mauer himself has denied the rumor today stating that he has not reached an agreement with the Minnesota Twins for a 10-year contract extension… ... Read Full Story

I’ve been fortunate to have attended many great sporting events over the years. With the Super Bowl fast approaching, let’s take a look at the Top 10 events which I believe every avid sports fan should see in-person.

10. British Open - For the serious golfer, a trip to St. Andrews is a pilgrimage to where golf began. Many of golf’s greatest moments have occurred at the British Open, including last year’s near-win by Tom Watson.

9. Red Sox vs. Yankees – You can argue about the greatest rivalry in sports, but I don’t think anyone can argue that the Yankees vs. Red Sox is at or near the top. The fans hate each other and the atmosphere is electric, especially late in the season if the games mean something.

8. Army vs. Navy – Maybe this isn’t the BCS title game, but the pageantry surrounded this classic rivalry and the emotions it stirs is something very unique.

7. World Cup – In almost every country except the U.S., soccer is the most popular sport and the World Cup is the culminating event. This summer’s World Cup in South Africa promises to be the most watched event in tv sports history.

6. World Series - The World Series is special given its history. Be lucky enough to catch a game at either Fenway Park or Yankees Stadium and you’ll be treated to a very special experience.

5. Kentucky Derby – Even if you’re not a horse racing fan, the Kentucky Derby is a fun event to attend. It’s a spectacle, from women wearing the big hats to the Mint Juleps (which, by the way, I think taste horrible).

4. Final Four – The NCAA basketball tournament is the best tournament in American sports. And the excitement level reaches a fever-pitch at the Final Four with teams vying for a spot in the Monday finals. And if you’re team happens to be one of the remaining four, it’s an experience you’ll never forget.

3. Stanley Cup Game 7 – Even though I’m not much of a hockey fan, I’m hard pressed to find a more exciting sporting event than a game 7 Stanley Cup final. The excitement and intensity level is unrivaled.

2. Super Bowl - Nothing compares to the Super Bowl in terms of the hype. It’s almost become a national holiday with tens of millions of viewers tuning in. Add in all the events and the chance to rub shoulders with greats such as John Elway and Joe Montana, and everyone should attend at least one.

1. Masters – This is my favorite event. You have to pinch yourself the first time you enter the hallowed grounds of Augusta National. It’s more beautiful in person than you can ever see on tv. And there’s nothing like following the leaders through Amen Corner on Sunday.

Mark McGwire’s admission that he took steroids was about as shocking as the sun coming up this morning. All McGwire did was confirm was the rest of us already knew, that he cheated and joined a big list of others who brought disgrace on the game of baseball during what’s become known as the Steroid Era.

Mark McGwire admits to steroid use hurting Baseball Hall of Fame chances.

I don’t blame McGwire completely. Part of the blame undoubtably falls on Major League Baseball, who turned a blind eye to the problem and hoped that it would just go away. Not until the steroid scandal became a headline news story did baseball take the issue seriously.

Can you really fault McGwire or anyone else for taking steroids when they knew they wouldn’t ever be tested for it? I once had a baseball player tell me that steroids made an average player good, a good player great and a great player a Hall of Famer. If a player could hit 40 home runs instead of 30 and hit .300 instead of .275, it potentially meant tens of millions of dollars in more earnings.

Some people are praising McGwire for finally coming out and telling the truth. But I’ll tell you why he did it now…he was recently named the hitting instructor for the St. Louis Cardinals and doesn’t want the scrutiny of the steroid issue hanging over him or the team all season. Of course the issue will still be there, but now that he’s come clean, it will be less of a distraction. I’m sure it’s a huge load off his shoulders to have admitted this, but I don’t think it was for genuine reasons.

So now that he’s admitted using steroids, the question is whether he’ll be more likely to be voted into the Hall of Fame. Hall of Famers Goose Gossage and Ryne Sandberg came out strongly against McGwire as did other players. The answer was and still is “no”, at least for the short term.

I believe at least for the foreseeable future, none of the players implicated during the Steroid Era will get into the Hall, including McGwire, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Raphael Palmeiro and Roger Clemens. Having said that, I wouldn’t be shocked if 20-30 years down the road, people looks at this era a little less harshly and vote a number of the guys in through the Veteran’s Committee.

I was listening to a sportstalk show today and a caller said he felt bad for Roger Maris’s family who was present at the game in 1998 when McGwire broke their father’s single season home run record. I can tell you how they feel – cheated.

NEW YORK – Eight time All-Star outfielder, Andre Dawson, was finally elected to the Hall of Fame after nine trys. Other players considered for baseball’s honor who just fell short were Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar.

Andre Dawson elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame after nine trys

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced that Dawson received 420 of 539 votes in voting, 15 more than the 75 percent necessary to gain election.

“It was well worth the wait. I can’t really describe the elation,” Dawson said during a telephone conference call. “If you’re a Hall of Famer, eventually you’re going to get in, no matter how long it takes.”

Dawson, whose nickname was “The Hawk,” played 1,443 games with the Expos, fourth highest in franchise history. As an Expo, Dawson set single-season club records for home runs (32), RBI (113) and extra base hits (78).

Dawson played for the Expos until after the 1986 season when he signed with the Chicago Cubs. In 1987, he became the Cubs starting rightfielder, hit 49 home runs and was named NL MVP. Dawson played five more seasons with the Cubs and was one of the franchise’s most popular players during that time.

Dawson also played for the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins before retiring with 2,774 hits, 438 home runs, 314 stolen bases and 1591 RBI. He is one of only six players in major league history to record over 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases in his career. Dawson is also one of only three members of the 400 home run-300 stolen base club, joining Barry Bonds and Willie Mays.

Bert Blyleven, who played from 1970 to 1992, and was best known for his curveball, had 400 votes (74.2 percent), up from 338 last year. Blyleven has two more tries on the BBWAA ballot and will most likely eventually make it.

“Hopefully, next year will be my time,” Blyleven said in an interview on MLB Network.

Alomar, who received 397 votes (73.7 percent) was followed by pitcher Jack Morris who received 282 votes (52.3 percent).

“I feel disappointed, but next year hopefully I make it in,” Alomar said “At least I was close.”

PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency is a  top booking agent for sports stars, athlete appearances, endorsements and celebrities. For more information,  call 800.966.1380

The New York Yankees win The World Series beating The Philadelpha Phillies 7-3 in game six grabbing its 27th record championship. Hideki Matsui tied a World Series record with six RBIs, Andy Pettitte won on short rest.

Yankees win World Series beat Phillies 7-3 grab 27th record title

It was the team’s first since winning three straight from 1998-2000.

“It feels better than I remember it,” Derek Jeter said. “It’s been a long time.”

“My teammates, coaches and the organization stood by me and now we stand here as world champions,” said Alex Rodriguez. “We’re going to enjoy it, and we’re going to party!”

The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies in game 3 of the World Series with an 8-5 victory that took till the wee hours Sunday morning to finish.

Watch video highlights and interviews.

The New York Yankees evened the series 1-1 against Philadelphia in game two of the World Series last night. A.J. Burnett pitched what he called the best game of his career.

AJ Burnett pitches what he calls the best game of his career in Game 2 against Phillies

‘AJ of the Yankees had all the pressure on him trailing one game to none in the series with Padro Martinez opposite him for the Phillies and what did he do, he produced in a huge way 22 of 26 first pick strikes…,’ said Ken Rosenthal of Foxsports

Checkout the video highlights  of Game 2 of the World Series.

More video highlights and interviews Yankees vs Philadelphia

Baseball Speakers
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Goose Gossage

Since I spend so much time around athletes, people often ask me about my most memorable experiences. And while I’ve had my share of memories, both good and bad, one that always sticks out involved New York Yankees Hall of Famer Goose Gossage. If you haven’t met Goose, he’s a great guy who loves to have a good time. He’s full of laughs and great stories.

I was playing in a pro-am scramble golf event with Goose in Copper Mountain, Colorado in the late 90’s. The other members in our group were big Yankee fans from New Jersey. One of the members of our fivesome had just purchased a new putter and unfortunately waited until the tournament to try it out. To say this guy was bad is a major understatement. He was the worst putter I’ve ever seen. He just couldn’t figure out how to use it. If he had a 10 foot putt, he would hit it 20 feet past the hole. As the day went on, Goose gave the guy some good-natured ribbing, which everyone was enjoying.

Fast forward to the last hole. We had a 30 foot putt for birdie, which the first four people had missed. Goose was putting last and just before he addressed the ball, the guy with the putter yelled “Hey Goose, if you make this putt, I’ll give you my putter.” You know what happened next.

Goose drilled the putt, walked over to the guy and said “Give me the putter”. The guy didn’t know what to do, so he gave Goose the putter as he promised. With the putter in hand, Goose walked over to the lake and threw the putter as far as he could into the water.

I’ll never forget the sight of the putter traveling end over end towards the middle of the lake and the reaction of the guy. He was in shock. The rest of the fivesome was on the ground laughing.  Without saying a word, Goose walked to his  golf cart and drove off.

At the awards dinner, the story made its way around the room. No one could remember such a funny golf story. Even the guy with the putter said it was worth losing the putter to have  a story to tell for the rest of his life.

Today, Goose is a highly sought-after baseball speaker and travels around the country making personal appearances. He resides in Colorado.

If you would like to find out how to hire Goose Gossage for a speaking engagement, appearance, endorsement, autograph signing or special event, request Goose Gossage booking agent information from PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency. PFP is a top celebrity booking agent for athletes, entertainers, sports speakers and celebrities.

Bad officiating has been the subject of Major League Baseball this month and Monday’s call by umpire Tim McClelland has to be by far the worst officiating ever. McClelland and his  team made three bad calls on the bases in the fourth and fifth innings of the Angels’ 10-1 loss to the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Monday.

Bad umpire call by Tim McClelland in Game 4 of American League Yankees vs Angels

Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano both get tagged at third after a ground ball to the mound, but the ump calls out only Posada

Watch Video of McClellands bad call.

Tim McClelland talked about the play after the game:

“On the play with Cano and Posada, I thought Cano was on the base. I was waiting for two players to be on the base, and when there was never the situation where both of them were on the base at the same time. When he tagged Cano, I thought Cano was on the base, and when Jorge touched the base and continued and tagged Posada out, I thought Posada was out …

McClelland said he and the other umpires routinely monitor television replays. What he saw Monday indicated that he made two mistakes while working third base. McClelland, who routinely is among the highest-rated umpires, is the crew chief for this ALCS.

“Obviously or not obviously, there were two missed calls,” McClelland said. “And I’m just out there trying to do my job and do it the best I can. Unfortunately, by instant replay, there were two missed calls.”

PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency is a sports speakers bureau and top booking agent for sports speakers, athlete appearances, endorsements and celebrities. For more information call 800.966.1380

Jim Abbott Baseball Icon, is a popular inspirational & motivational speaker

Jim Abbott was the underdog growing up. He was born with only one hand but had aspirations of reaching the Major Leagues.

As a youngster, he would spend hours bouncing the ball off a wall to practice fielding and throwing. He showed enough promise in high school to be drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays but chose instead to attend the University of Michigan. He led the Wolverines to Big Ten titles in his freshmen and junior years and had a career record of 26-8. He went on to win the prestigious Golden Spikes Award, presented annually to the outstanding college baseball player in the United States.

As a member of Team USA in 1987, Abbott became the first American pitcher in 25 years to beat a Cuban team on Cuban soil enroute to winning the silver medal in the Pan-American Games. In 1988, Abbott participated in the Summer Olympics and led the U.S. to its first-ever gold medal after pitching a complete game seven hitter in a 5-3 victory over Japan.

After the Olympics, Abbott reached his dream of playing in the Majors. He enjoyed a 10-year career with primarily the California Angels and New York Yankees. His most famous moment occurred when he threw a no-hitter for the Yankees in 1993.

As a result of Abbott beating the odds and achieving success, he received numerous awards, including…

• March of Dimes Athlete of the Year (twice)
• Academy Awards of Sports, Courage Award
• 1991 Victory Award recipient at the Kennedy Center Washington D.C.
• Freedom Forum’s Free Spirit Award

Today, Abbott is a highly sought-after motivational speaker and one of the most popular baseball speakers along with Jim Morris, Bill Buckner & Goose Gossage. From corporate sales meetings to charity fundraisers to baseball banquets, Abbott travels the country delivering his message of ADAPT: Overcoming Adversity. ADAPT is an acronym for Adjustability, Determination, Accountability, Perseverance and Trust. He resides in Southern California and spends part of his summers in his home state of Michigan.

If you would like to find out how to hire Jim Abbott for a speaking engagement, appearance, endorsement, autograph signing or special event, request Jim Abbott booking agent information from PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency. PFP is a  top sports speakers bureau &  celebrity booking agent for athlete appearances,   sports stars,  entertainers and celebrities.