We were curious why Pete Rose was on our plane to Denver yesteray--he sat in the row in front of us. He is a really big, beefy guy. We couldn't figure out who he was at first, but after a few people approached for autographs, we figured it out. Anyway, this might have something to do with his Denver appearance: The John Elway golf tournament which is going on this week.

From the Boulder Daily Camera:

Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, who's also playing this week at the Elway Classic, has been one of the major big-name backers of Pete Rose in his bid to be reinstated by major league baseball. Schmidt, a former teammate of Rose, and Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan met this summer with commissioner Bud Selig to make their case for Rose, who was banned for allegedly gambling on the game.

Rose "is a good friend and he needs support, so I've been working with the commissioner," Schmidt said Thursday, adding that Selig will likely announce a decision on the matter during the World Series. "I'm optimistic, but that's just my feeling," Schmidt said.

A decision is due on Rose this fall.

A mock trial was held at Harvard in July over whether he should be reinstated. Catherine Crier presided, Johnny Cochran represented Rose and Alan Dershowitz argued against reinstating Rose. The jury came back in favor of his reinstatement. You can watch a video of the trial here.

We agree with the mock jury. We don't think the fact that he had a gambling problem and may have bet on baseball games should keep him out of the Hall of Fame, if he otherwise deserves to be there.