Rickey

Yes, he's arrogant. Yes, he's kind of a jerk.
But Rickey Henderson is also one of my favorite baseball players EVER. (Pete Rose, who is also a jerk, and Tony Gwynn, who isn't, round out the top 3).
Watching Rickey play in Oakland when I was growing up made me a baseball fan.
The year he broke the all-time steals record was amazing. I remember watching him on my little black and white TV at home. The signal coming from the rabbitt ears was fuzzy, but I was glued to the screen. I blew off two soccer practices just to watch the crowning achievement.
And on that steal, it was just like all the rest, the pitcher knew he was gonna steal. So did the catcher. So did everybody. And he did it anyway. It was beautiful. Yes, the picked the bag out of the ground. No, he wasn't being an arrogant jerk, he was celebrating his record in a way that will be remembered forever.
The ads that used to run to promote the A's were great. They would show Rickey in slow motion with the sound borrowed from a NASA launch. They would start the countdown and Rickey would make his move. It was awesome.
Today, Rickey got voted in the Hall of Fame. He joins Gwynn (and sadly not Rose). Like Tony and all the others, it wasn't unanimous. I don't understand how someone doesn't vote for Rickey (or Mays or Mantle or Ruth) but they don't.
Anyway, it's a good day. Kind of a bummer that Big Mac is now officially never gonna get in the HOF (unless the veteran's committee does something shocking ... which they don't do).
On a totally unrelated note, at least Slumdog Millionaire won the Golden Globe. Hope that bodes well for the Oscars.