In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, the MLB announced that Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson will now be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame. That’s great and all, but would they actually get in? Probably not, Oates thinks, if the Hall of Fame voters’ view on steroid users is any indication. At least in Pete Rose’s case, his sports betting scandal really cut to the integrity of baseball itself, and will the voters forgive him? They shouldn’t. But the views on sports betting has changed dramatically in just the past few years. It’s hard to watch any sport these days without seeing an ad for some sports betting site pop up. But it wasn’t just his sports betting that made people mad, it was his attitude toward it. Ironically, that attitude is also what made him hall of fame eligible in the first place. But just look at how people view Ryan Braun today. He still gets booed for how he handled his steroid scandal. 

Speaking of baseball, the Brewers are not looking too hot these days. Recently, they were even shut out of four out of five games, which speaks to just how cold their hitting is these days. Manager Pat Murphy even has a decent excuse, they haven’t spent any money to fill the hole that was created when Willy Adames left during the offseason. Sure, Rys Hoskins is doing alright, but he’s not doing enough. Really, though, we shouldn’t be surprised. During the offseason, owner Mark Attanasio made his priorities clear when he said his job is not to win a world series, but to create a “summer of fun” for the fans. You know what would be really fun for the fans? Winning some games. 

Finally, a new sport is looking like it’s coming to the Olympics: flag football. The NFL has given the OK for players to play flag football in the 2028 Olympics. Flag football as an Olympic sport is interesting, mostly because it’ll likely be a battle for second place. But who would that second place even be? At least in baseball, there are plenty of other countries that are sending great players to the MLB. Do other countries even have enough football players to make up a team? And if they did, would they really want to go up against the likes of Lamar Jackson, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Hunter, who all seem perfectly suited for flag football? That is, at least, who they would be going up against if their coaches let them play in the Olympics. We have to wonder if they will allow the tush push in Olympic flag football… 

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.