Every Thursday, 7IS Contributor Ryan Henning will take a look at a rumor burning up the hot stove. You may not think it’s important, but it must be important to someone.

Jayson Stark, original rumor monger has apparently grown bored with the rumor mill this season, especially after the Padres have decided to retain their big trade chips Adrian Gonzalez Heath Bell for a while. Now Stark is talking up the chance of the Devil Rays or A’s relocating. Of course, he even has to crap on that rumor, the ultimate trade. He lists 6 possible locations, Las Vegas, Portland, Charlotte, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Mexico, and then says why teams wouldn’t move there. What a downer.
Let’s assume, then, that they won’t move to one of those 6 locations. Let’s talk about some other potential candidates for relocation that Stark hasn’t already spoiled for us.

- Connecticut: Sure, you could call it the New York something or others, but there are a ton of people in the New York area, and they are all baseball fans.

- Seattle: Still devastated from the departure of the Super Sonics

- Kansas City: The fine folks of Kansas City deserve a Major League Team

- Montreal: I have no idea why this wouldn’t work.

- Billings: In Montana, the new baseball team would have zero competition from other sports, cutting into their revenue.

There’s a woman’s hockey team out there that has a powerful lesson for the woeful Chicago Cubs this season, and I’m not overreacting.

The lone skater in white is a player for the North Vancouver Hot Shots, a woman’s hockey team who “competed” this past weekend in Las Vegas at the Canadian Hockey Enterprises Gambler’s Cup Hockey Tournament.

I use the term “competed” loosely.

Faced with a 2-1 deficit late in the Championship game versus the heroic, virtuous and stunningly beautiful Hockey Honeys of Calgary, the Hot Shots of North Vancouver quit. Literally. They skated off the ice with two minutes to go, awarding the Hockey Honeys the title by default.

As the saying goes, “when the going gets tough, quit.”

The North Vancouver Hot Shots knew they didn’t have a chance to overcome a deficit as steep at 2-1. They knew they lacked the strength, the fortitude, and the sports(wo)manship to see the game to its end. They knew they were outclassed, outmatched, outskilled, and outworked all game long, and they’d had enough.

And thanks to the righteous path taken by the North Vancouver Hot Shots women’s hockey team, we have a lesson for the Chicago Cubs men’s baseball team.

Quit.

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Top Story is 7IS Editor-in-Chief David Chalk’s take on the top MLB story of the day….

This year’s MLB Winter Meetings get underway Monday in the scenic, tropical oasis that is Indianapolis, Indiana.  GMs and other MLB types are said to be psyched, especially after slumming it last year in some backwater Nevada city.

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told 7th Inning Stache, “Another December in Las Vegas and I quit.  I really hope we can do next year in Calgary.  I hear it’s lovely there this time of year.”

When Indianapolis outbid Wilmington, Delaware for the rights to host this year’s Winter Meetings, it opened up lots of really awesome racing metaphors for headline writers:

• Gentlemen, start your wallets! GMs rev their engines with winter meetings set for Indy [ny POST]
• Green flag set to drop on Winter Meetings [mlb.com]

I drove through Indianapolis once.  I was not impressed.  I also think Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Peyton Manning, Danica Patrick and the movie Hoosiers are all vastly overrated.

Pete Rose was a 1B/OF for the Montreal Expos, accumulating over 70 hits in less than 300 ABs.  He also toiled elsewhere in the National League, and when all was said and done, he retired with 4256 hits and is remembered as Une Belle Expo.

These days, Pete Rose can be often spotted in Las Vegas, Nevada.  They don’t make Montreal Expos anymore, so it really is wise to corner the ones you can find.  If you happen upon Mr. Rose while visiting The Entertainment Capital of the World, you’d best make the most of the encounter.  When in doubt of what to do, consult your field guide.

The Meeting Pete Rose in Las Vegas Field Guide

1. Feel Free to Approach Pete Rose Directly

• This ensures that one of Pete Rose’s handlers (most likely a burly employee of the sports memorabilia store in which Pete is seated) will address you and welcome you without delay.  This helpful servant will be more than happy to take you away from Pete and towards the cash register.

2. BYOB (Bring Your Own Baseball)…

• For your convenience, Pete Rose usually tours the sports memorabilia store circuit with goodies in tow.  The savvy traveler, however, can save $10 on an autographed baseball from Pete Rose if he or she supplies their own*.  No, you didn’t read that wrong, and yes, that’s a savings of 10% off buying a new baseball at said memorabilia store.

3. …or Bring Your Chequebook

• Forgot your baseball when you left the hotel room that morning?  No problem, for a few hundred dollars, Pete Rose will sign a bobblehead or a #14 Montreal Expos jersey for you instead.  The $400 combo package* nets you Rose’s book (hardcover!), a jersey, and a baseball – all of them autographed.

4. Snap Quickly

• Pete Rose is a busy guy, but he always has time for a picture.  Sure, he technically only poses for pictures with paying customers, but if you can dodge his handlers and act when all attention is diverted, you can snap a beautiful profile shot of the former Expo like this one I scored:

Pete Rose in Las Vegas, as a red-head walks by

5. Practice Your Forgery

• Okay, you already have a pre-bought baseball and you’ve snapped your keepsake photo of Pete Rose; just stop a minute and think of all the money you’ve saved.  Why not go a step further and sign your Pete Rose baseball yourself?  It’s your baseball.  It’s going on your mantle.  Just try and do a better job than this:

*Yes, I happened to have a baseball in my pocket when I “met” Pete Rose (baseball pictured above).  Who travels without a baseball?

**2008 Pricing, not adjusted for inflation and/or deflation.

That’s our field guide for meeting former Montreal Expos great Pete Rose in Las Vegas.  Join us next week for our field guide for meeting former Montreal Expos great Bartolo Colon at the NYSE.