A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

INDUCTION JUNCTION: It's yet another installment of the post that keeps you up-to-date with all things Halls of Fame related.

• Van Halen's bumpy road to the Hall of Fame induction continues. First a much-anticipated reunion tour with Diamond Dave taking the stage with the brothers and son Van Halen was canceled. And now comes the news that the band itself won't even perform at the ceremony. That honor will inexplicably belong to Velvet Underground Revolver, the band led by ex-Stone Temple Pilots helmsman Scott Weiland and featuring Slash on guitar.
  In other Rock Hall news, the list of presenters has been released. Eddie Vedder will do the honors for R.E.M. And VH1 Classic will air the entire ceremony live on March 12, 8:30 EDT.
• The other big Hall news this week was the fact that baseball's revamped Veteran's Committee kept its perfect record intact by failing to elect anyone to Cooperstown. Ron Santo again came closest to election, being named on 57 of 82 ballots (70 percent--75 is required for induction). You'll find a lot of hand-wringing on the Google about why Santo, of for that matter, anyone, can't get elected, but I thought this quote from Bill James in a column by ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski says it best:

  "To me it is clear and unequivocal that Santo is a Hall of Famer. ... Putting guys like George Kell, Freddy Lindstrom, and Tony Lazzeri in the Hall of Fame while you leave out Ron Santo is like putting Dalmatians, Palominos, and Siamese in the zoo while you let the lions roam the streets."

• Former Reds and Tigers skipper and Torey Lovullo booster Sparky Anderson, who was enshrined in Cooperstown in 2000, will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame this summer in recognition of the seven years of minor league ball he played in the Great White North. And speaking of our neighbors to the north, Darren Flutie, little brother of Doug, was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, which ordinarily would not be newsworthy except for the fact that Doug, who last fall was named the top player in CFL history, has yet to be so honored despite being eligible.
• As promised last week, this year's WWE Hall of Fame class includes Dusty Rhodes, Jerry "The King" Lawler, and the late Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig. Still no Macho Man? What's up with that, Vince? This year's induction ceremony is March 31 at Detroit's Fox Theater.
• Dave Hyde, a columnist for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, proposes a Sports A to Z Hall of Fame, but can't find a worthy X candidate. I say the X-Man deserves the honor if for nothing else than the greatest sports cameo of all time.
  
• Here's an interesting story about two competing organizations in San Antonio both claiming the name the National Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame. Both will have separate induction ceremonies this spring with different honorees.
  
• And in our semi-regular "Small Hall" feature, congratulations are in honor for Billy Long who was inducted into the Missouri Auctioneers Hall of Fame, which I encourage all our readers to visit should their travels ever lead them to the Resort at Point Arrowhead at Lake Ozark