LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 26, 2007 6:37 AM:This blog was off to a rousing start long before anything was even posted. In setting this up, our NCT webmasters had put blah, blah, blah, blah, blah as a placeholder for copy. An alert reader found the page and wondered aloud if senior editor John Van Doorn "hadn't already written that column." How do you top that?

LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 26, 2007 3:48 PM:Day 1 in Cooperstown did not disappoint. It's a little freaky to see grown men wandering the streets carrying baseball bats, but it turns out the souvenir hunters were harmless. The town of 2,000 situated at the base of a mountain and shores of a lake, is already overrun by Cal Ripken Jr. fans. An additional 200 busloads are expected to arrive on Sunday. There were some San Diegans touring the town on Thursday, including Jane Mitchell of Channel 4. She stopped sidewalk traffic for a few minutes with an interview with the NCT's own John Maffei, who in 37 years of covering big league baseball has forgotten more about the game than I'll ever learn. More on Coooperstown, and the list of celebrities (hint: Grease is the word) expected to arrive by Sunday, a little later.

Steve S wrote on Jul 26, 2007 4:33 PM:I seriously hope the NC Times left Steve Scholfield and his enormous ego at home for the Gwynn coverage... fingers are crossed over here.

LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 26, 2007 8:43 PM:The talk of Cooperstown on Thursday was the impending arrival of John Travolta, who is a good friend of Cal Ripken Jr., who is a big fan of the movie "Grease." I also heard one store clerk saying she had heard that her grandmother had heard that Brad Pitt, Oprah and, possibly the President, would be coming as well. That seems pretty well sourced, don't you think? We saw the golf course next to the posh hotel where the Hall of Famers will be staying. Fans were lined up along the fairways hoping for a glimpse of someone, anyone, famous. Baseball trivia for the day: What is the highest grossing baseball movie of all time, according to an intern working in the Hall of Fame? If you said "The Natural" you would be wrong. Try "A League of Their Own." The NCT's Rick Hoff and John Maffei took turns answering tough trivia questions during our Hall tour. I kept waiting for someone to ask a hockey question. Hey, Steve S, are you THE Steve S?

LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 27, 2007 6:44 AM:We're off to Cooperstown for Day 2, and I'm typing this as we zip through some gorgeous countryside. Fresh garlic seems to be a popular item here, judging by the homemade signs along the roadside every few miles. There will be a couple of media sessions with Tony Gwynn today. One of them will be at the Otesaga Resort Hotel, which is so exclusive they're not even letting the autograph hounds into the parking lot. John and Rick are hoping to bump elbows with a few celebrities and have been talking excitedly about the possibility of having lunch with Oprah. I'd rather play a round of golf with Kid Rock, but that's just me.

LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 27, 2007 3:35 PM:It rains in upstate New York. Hard. Day 2 was spent dodging downpours and lightning bolts at a golf course (just where you want to be during a thunderstorm) as Tony Gwynn and his family spent some time with members of the San Diego media. Otherwise, Mr. Padre is trying to keep a low profile leading up to Sunday's induction ceremonies. Not us, though. We were accidentally given access to the ritzy hotel where the Hall of Famers are staying, and the place was like an interactive museum. Over there, Lou Brock. Over here, Cal Ripken Jr. Seated on the veranda, Ralph Kiner. Thank goodness I have John at my side, because I wouldn't recognize half these guys. But if Guy Lafleur or Paul Coffey stroll past, rest assured, I'll know it. I was, however, proud to point out Johnny Bench as he motored past in a golf cart. That was before our all-access wristbands were unceremoniously snipped off. John and Rick were bummed their lunch with Oprah didn't materialize, but there's always tomorrow. The celebrity rumor mill keeps churning. Lots of buzz on the A-listers who are expected show by Sunday. More on that a bit later.

LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 27, 2007 9:06 PM:Word on the streets is Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner and two past Presidents ---- Bush and Clinton ---- all will be hanging out in Cooperstown by Sunday. A college-aged Hall of Fame worker also said he'd heard Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie would make an appearance. "But that's getting a little bit ridiculous," he allowed. Ridiculous? You think?

LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 28, 2007 1:18 PM:We are back in Cooperstown, and this place is off the hook. I'm not sure what that expression means, but I like the sound of it. I can tell you that people are charging $50 to park your car in their lawns, the streets are packed with baseball fanatics and the Hall of Fame Museum is a fire marshall's worst nightmare. Rick needed all of about 10 minutes to pass out 100 copies of our Tony Gwynn special section that comes out Sunday. For inquiring minds, Gwynn did not hurt anyone on the golf course as he had feared. His group included his two brothers, Chris and Charles, and agent John Boggs. They were 2-under in the tournament's scramble format. Not a great score. "Hey, I'm a baseball player, not a golfer," Gwynn said.

LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 28, 2007 6:13 PM:Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn were asked today which players they think are Hall of Fame worthy but haven't received the honor. Ripken has Jim Rice and Goose Gossage on his short list; Gwynn chimed in with Andre "The Hawk" Dawson. I'm not a baseball guy, but my short list includes Mookie Wilson, if only because I love his name. If parking was $50 in some places today, we're wondering how much it will jump to on Sunday. Also wondering: Is there any small town in the U.S. that hosts an event this large?

LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 28, 2007 8:16 PM:If you're blogging, but nobody is reading, does it really make a sound? Sort of like the old tree falling in the forest debate. Gwynn's induction speech will be shown live on ESPNClassic, which apparently you can only get if you have digital cable, subscribe to a sports tier and drive a 1970 Hemi 'Cuda. The Padres will be showing the induction for free at Petco Park. Club officials are guessing there will be somewhere between 300 and 7,000 fans. So they've narrowed it down pretty well.

LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 29, 2007 5:44 AM:Driving to Cooperstown, one last time. We're more than 60 miles out and already have spotted our first busload of Cal Ripken Jr. fans. The bus, sitting on the side of the road, apparently was broken down. The Ironman would not be impressed. It's cloudy here. There's rain in the forecast. My one purchase here, a Hall of Fame poncho, might just come in handy.

Steve S. wrote on Jul 29, 2007 8:29 AM:Hi Loren. You've been here how long? And you still haven't figured out there's only ONE Steve S. in these parts? And Tony's right - Andre Dawson needs to be in the hall. Career .280 hitter, more than 2,700 hits, and a .480 slugging percentage, and he's not a hall of famer? Please. Did you know I interviewed him once? But then again, I've interviewed everybody.

LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 29, 2007 11:04 AM:Someone is reading this. YES! I am live blogging from the Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies, or am I at Woodstock? If Cooperstown was off the hook on Saturday, it's off the wall today. There are, I don't know, 70,000 of us assembled on a grassy field right now. Gary Thorne, the voice of hockey, just introduced the Say Hey Kid. You know, Willie Mays. Tony Gwynn is sitting on the stage, right up front. He looks dapper in a brown suit and old-school Padre-colors tie. My laptop battery is dying, and my wireless connection is weak. Thunderstorms are expected to roll through. But I'll keep slugging away, if only for you, Steve S.

Steve S. wrote on Jul 29, 2007 1:45 PM:Good job. Diane's reading too, so that makes two, at least.

LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 29, 2007 5:14 PM:Two readers. Wow. My audience has doubled. The ceremony is long since over, and I have a wireless connection, at least temporarily. So here goes. This event was nothing like I expected it to be. It was charged with emotion, both when Gwynn and Ripken Jr. spoke. OK, I cried. I have to wonder if there will ever be an induction like this, with two players so beloved. Think Barry Bonds' induction will be like this? Thomas Boswell, the great baseball writer for the Washington Post, was saying on the bus ride over that he doesn't think Bonds will ever get in. Interesting. I wonder if he'll hit a homer or two tonight.

LOREN NELSON wrote on Jul 30, 2007 2:52 AM:Can't stop this blog, even now that the weekend is over. It's addictive. After getting three hours of sleep and an extremely loud wake-up call, I'm on a plane in Newburgh, N.Y. Still can't get over the sight of all those baseball fans at the induction ceremonies. I'll never forget it, or the people I had a chance to meet, including North County folks everywhere I turned. Vista, Escondido, Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Carlsbad ... every one of our communities was represented. Every one of those folks shared a love for baseball. Being told to shut down laptop now.