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Members of the Cincinnati Reds "Big Red Machine" baseball team. Great Eight starting lineup, from left to right: Catcher Johnny Bench, right fielder Ken Griffey Sr., third baseman Pete Rose, second baseman Joe Morgan, first baseman Tony Perez, (click zoom to view the rest) left fielder George Foster, center fielder Cesar Geronimo and shortstop Dave Concepcion. (Gannett News Service photo) | DESKTOP WALLPAPER |

Former Reds great and Cincinnati native Pete Rose, baseball's all-time hits leader, met with commissioner Bud Selig on Nov. 25 in Milwaukee to discuss the possibility of Rose being reinstated to the sport, which has kept him from being inducted into its Hall of Fame since he was banned in 1989 for allegedly betting on baseball.

What's new?

A group of Hall of Famers was invited to New York next Wednesday to discuss Rose's possible reinstatement with Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, and possibly with commissioner Bud Selig, ESPN reported. It's conceivable a deal could be reached by sometime next month, sources told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.

Backtracking

First, John Dowd told the New York Post it was "probably right" that Rose bet against the Reds during the mid-to-late-1980s when Rose managed Cincinnati. Then Dowd told the New York Daily News: "I was never able to tie it down.... I probably shouldn't have said it. I wasn't trying to start something here.... I had an inkling that Rose bet against the Reds, but I never pursued it and I never put it in my report."

OK, Fay

Commentator George Will, a former director of the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres, and former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent both believe "Banned for Gambling" should be etched onto Pete Rose's Hall of Fame plaque should he ever be inducted.

Other views

"If John Dowd has evidence that Pete Rose bet against the Cincinnati Reds while he was managing them, then Dowd should show it now. Show it, show us. He should show Bud Selig and Rose and everybody exactly what he's got, and make it all good enough to stand up in court, 13 years after Dowd made his original case against Rose. Or Dowd should just keep his mouth shut and get out of the way and let the process between baseball and Pete Rose play out, however it's going to play out." - Mike Lupica, New York Daily News

"Rose's Hall of Fame induction ceremony ... would be quite an event. How ironic that a man who did so much to embarrass his sport could attract the all-time largest crowd of well-wishers. It also would be interesting to see how many current Hall of Famers would boycott the event." - Bob Matthews, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle