One of my favorite baseball movies has got to be Bull Durham. There's so much in that movie about how I feel about the game. Great quote, great storyline. Well, The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum located in Cooperstown, New York was going to hold a celebration April 26-27 marking the 15th anniversary of the movie. Notice the word "was". I am ssoooooo pissed. Why? They canceled the celebration. OK, now why did they cancel???

"In a free country such as ours, every American has the right to his or her own opinions, and to express them," Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey wrote to Tim Robbins in calling off the anniversary party. "Public figures have platforms much larger than the average American's, which provides you an extraordinary opportunity to have your views heard - and an equally large obligation to speak and act responsibly. We believe your very public criticism of President Bush at this important - and sensitive - time in our nation's history helps undermine the U.S. position, which could put our troops in even more danger. As an institution, we stand behind our president and our troops in this conflict."

WHAAAAAATTTT?????????? And then, he's got to re-state this in a press release????

April 11, 2003
STATEMENT BY
Dale Petroskey
President, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, is a special place. The Game’s greatest players, managers, umpires, and executives are honored here, and it’s where The Game’s rich history is preserved. Those who have served in the U.S. military are also honored here. Active duty and retired military personnel receive free admission, and last Memorial Day, a plaque was dedicated to honor the 64 Hall of Fame members who have served this country in the armed forces during wartime.

As much as The Hall of Fame honors our armed forces, this institution should never be used as a platform for public pro-war sentiments – nor public anti-war sentiments. Given the track record of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, and the timing – with our troops committed in Iraq – a strong possibility existed that they could have used The Hall of Fame as a backdrop for their views. Mr. Robbins and Ms. Sarandon have every right to express their opinions. But The Baseball Hall of Fame is not the proper venue for highly-charged political expressions, whatever they may be.

So, he censored them before they even had a chance to speak, even though they weren't going to say a damn thing about the war???? This celebration was about a friggin' baseball movie!!!!

Robbins said this week that he had planned to talk about baseball, not the war and politics.

"This was just a celebration, a chance to see some friends from the movie and make what's become almost an annual trip with our boys," Sarandon said.

"As far as I knew, we weren't speaking. I wasn't even planning to wear makeup. And to politicize baseball is to violate the spirit of what it's all about," she said.

Damn you all to hell, President Petroskey.