Hall's Vets elect no one in 2007  —  Santo, Harvey lead balloting; no candidate receives 75 percent  —  Ron Santo inched a little closer to Cooperstown on Tuesday, but came up five votes short of baseball immortality.  —  Voting by the Veterans Committee for the National Baseball Hall …

The new choice of the fan  —  The users have won.  —  What else is there to conclude from the Albany Times-Union report Tuesday that a New York state grand jury investigation linked Los Angeles Angels center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., boxing champion Evander Holyfield and the Pittsburgh Steelers organization …

Ponson has a serious visa issue  —  Wait for proper permit frustrates Ryan, Gardenhire  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — For a guy who admittedly is down to his last chance in baseball, Sidney Ponson hasn't shown his new team a sense of urgency.  —  And that is hurting the oft-troubled veteran pitcher's chances …

As Season Approaches, Some Topics Should Be Off Limits  —  Things I don't want to read or hear about anymore:  —  ¶  Roger Clemens saying he hasn't decided if he will play this year or retire, and if he decides to play, which team he will play for.  —  Clemens is one of the greatest pitchers ever, the greatest of his era.

Whole organization easing assimilation … FORT MYERS, Fla. — Daisuke Matsuzaka's mind worked furiously.  The camera clicks sounded like a thousand typewriters, his every twitch broadcast around the world, in at least two languages.  There he was, in front of millions of people, momentarily stumped.

Reed, Broussard remain upbeat  —  Fringe players likely will take on lesser roles for Mariners or could be traded  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — Jeremy Reed and Ben Broussard have less reason than anyone in camp to be pleased with the Mariners' direction.  —  Reed, the former starting center fielder …

Crain signs three-year deal with Twins  —  Right-handed reliever to stay in Minnesota through 2009  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Twins have thus far been unable to lock up closer Joe Nathan with a contract extension, but they may have locked up their closer of the future on Tuesday.

Next big things?  Mets prospects make waves  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Imagine a 6-foot-4 outfielder who is faster than Jose Reyes.  —  The Mets have him.  —  Now imagine an 18-year-old outfielder whose pure hitting ability is reminiscent of a young Manny Ramirez.  —  The Mets have him, too.

Life of Brian on the upswing  —  Changes at bat keep Anderson in Sox' CF picture  —  TUCSON, Ariz. — All of a sudden, the talk surrounding Brian Anderson isn't as harsh.  —  That's quite a change from last September, when White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen began issuing threats to the center fielder …

Joke is on Jeter!  —  President and Mantle pop up on Topps' gag baseball card  —  It's hard to Topps this one: The card company has issued a Derek Jeter baseball card with a smiling President Bush in the stands.  —  But there's something very wrong with that picture: Bush wasn't really at the game that day.

Pujols practices with pro wrestler  —  JUPITER, Fla. — In an unlikely cage match, one of baseball's best hitters took turns batting Tuesday with one of professional wrestling's top names.  —  Slugger Albert Pujols and wrestler Kurt Angle took turns slugging balls in the Cardinals batting cages …

Root, root, root - and pay - for the road team  —  Baseball could get more money if it drops plan to let DirecTV have exclusive deal to sell out-of-market games to hard-core fans.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Long-distance relationships may not work for romances.  But it's a different story for sports fans.

Boo-boo for Abreu  —  Bobby out 2-3 weeks with strained muscle  —  TAMPA - Just when the Yankees received good news on Carl Pavano, the team suffered its first serious injury of the spring, losing Bobby Abreu for two to three weeks with a strained right abdominal muscle.

Stats Geek: Giles-Bay run has been a hit for Pirates  —  By Brian O'Neill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  Would you believe the Pirates' left fielder these past eight seasons has put up Cooperstown-worthy numbers?  —  Of course you wouldn't, unless you realize I'm talking about two guys.