Like Father, Like Son
Not to be outdone by his father, who did time in federal prison for income tax evasion in the early 1990s, Pete Rose Jr. was recently sentenced to one month behind bars and five months house arrest for distributing a steroid alternative known as GBL to his minor league teammates. Rose Jr. pled guilty to the distribution charge in November and faced up to two years in prison and $1 million in fines.

Unlike his father, however, little Petey, 36, admitted his mistake and showed immediate remorse.

"I made a mistake and hurt a lot of people," Rose told The Associated Press after his sentencing. "The judge is great. He was very generous, and I can't thank him enough. He doesn't have to worry about me doing anything like this again."

Return Of The Tigers?
In 2003, the Detroit Tigers lost 119 games and looked to be the most inept franchise in professional sports. Three years later, they may be ready to contend for the first time since Sparky Anderson was in their dugout. But the Tigers are not a young team. They have instead returned to respectability in the 21st Century by shelling out cash. Other than Jeremy Bonderman, their pitching staff consists of veterans led by 41-year-old Kenny Rogers. Their offense, meanwhile, is paced by 30-somethings Magglio Ordonez, Placido Polanco, Ivan Rodriguez, Carlos Guillen and the lone "youngster," 26-year-old Chris Shelton. That may be enough to win some games in the short term, but don't expect a prolonged era of excellence from the Tigers until their farm system starts producing young, inexpensive and talented players.

Alex Gordon: Paper Tiger
With Barry Bonds in -- ahem -- pursuit of The Babe, and Albert Pujols on his way to becoming the greatest player of his generation, this year’s hottest baseball card is of Royals minor leaguer Alex Gordon. Who is Alex Gordon? Well, he was the No. 2 overall selection in last year's draft, but that's not why his card is fetching three figures on eBay. Before this season, the Major League Baseball Players Association ruled that card manufacturers could make rookie cards only of players who either made the 25-man roster or played in a major league game the season before -- and Gordon did not meet either of those criteria. Instead, his card was accidentally made by Topps (#297), who thought they caught the error and destroyed all of the copies before distribution -- or so they say. Word has it some Gordon cards surfaced in packs purchased at Wal Mart.