Terre Haute Tribune Star - Terre Haute, IN, USA - If music were played at induction ceremonies for the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N. Y., “My Way” could have been played twice Sunday.

Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn were the main inductees and did it “their way” — the right way — in their long and distinguished careers.

News of their induction provided a welcome break from other stories appearing on sports pages these days. Controversy and alleged scandals reign in cycling, pro basketball and baseball where hints of steroid use overshadow Barry Bonds closing in on the home-run mark.

No such stories appeared when Gwynn and Ripken played the

ESPN - USA - One fringe benefit to making the Baseball Hall of Fame is the opportunity to lobby for former teammates and peers to join the club. Ted Williams believed strongly that Dom DiMaggio should be in Cooperstown, and Mike Schmidt spoke up for Pete Rose during his induction speech.

Williams and Schmidt didn't have much of an impact, it turns out. But that doesn't prevent every new class from maintaining the tradition.

Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, who'll enter the Hall of Fame on Sunday, weighed in with their endorsements during a news conference Saturday. When asked which players are most deserving of

ESPN - USA - Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn took their place in baseball's shrine Sunday, saluted as much for their Hall of Fame careers as their character off the field.

Commissioner Bud Selig and a record crowd came to cheer them and all that was good about the game.

A continent away, a different scene played out. Barry Bonds failed to tie the home run record, a chase tainted by his surly nature and a steroids investigation.

Ripken and Gwynn sensed that poignant counterpoint on their induction day.

"This day shouldn't be all about us," Ripken said. "Today is about celebrating the best that baseball has

San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA - Cal Ripken Jr., baseball's "Iron Man" and heretofore the embodiment of boundless energy, is tired.

Dead tired.

He's running on adrenaline. And he's anxious.

Now that the six-plus months of hype building up to today's Hall of Fame induction are over, Ripken just wants to get through today and get some sleep.

"I guess (there is) a little anxiety that is running a little higher than it normally would run. I feel that," Ripken said Saturday at his final news conference before he officially becomes a Hall of Famer. "I also feel a sense of fatigue that I have never felt before. I think

FOX News - USA - Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn took their place in baseball's shrine Sunday, saluted as much for their Hall of Fame careers as their character off the field.

Commissioner Bud Selig and a record crowd came to cheer them and all that was good about the game.

A continent away, a different scene played out. Barry Bonds failed to tie the home run record, a chase tainted by his surly nature and a steroids investigation.

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Ripken and Gwynn sensed that poignant counterpoint on their induction day.

"This day shouldn't be all about us," Ripken said. "Today is about celebrating

USA Today - USA - On the day before the biggest moment of their baseball lives, Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn were still trying to fathom it all.

"I think it's a bit nerve-wracking, but it's a beautiful thing," Ripken said Saturday as he contemplated his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. "It's a celebration of baseball. It's a wonderful time. But I guess there's just a little anxiety. It's running a little bit higher than usual. I feel that, and I also feel a sense of fatigue that I've never felt before. I'll sleep for three weeks after this is all over."

Gwynn was

MLB.com - USA - On Thursday, former San Diego Padre Tony Gwynn became the newest Wheaties champion. The soon-to-be Hall of Famer was honored in right field at PETCO Park at 9 a.m. PT to unveil the façade of the special-edition package box.

Gwynn, who was on Wheaties once before in 1997 with six other outfielders, said: "I've been retired for 5 1/2 years now and I was on the Wheaties box once before ... and it's taken this long to be on the box by myself. I couldn't have picked a better time, going into the Hall of Fame. It's been an incredible year.

"Wheaties

BlackAthlete.net - USA - Giants manager Bruce Bochy cast a public All-Star Game vote for Barry Bonds on Tuesday, and he won't get an argument from Hall of Fame-bound Tony Gwynn or Cal Ripken Jr.

Gwynn and Ripken said in a teleconference that Bonds should play in the All-Star Game no matter what people think about steroid allegations.

"Yes, there's a shadow hanging over the top of him," Ripken said. "When I think of Barry, I think of an all-star player. Sometimes, especially toward the end of your career, you have to have those all-stars who are considered career all-stars at the games."

San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA - Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn think it's a no-brainer: Barry Bonds deserves to be on the NL All-Star team. "Yes, there's a shadow that's hanging over top of him. The commissioner and Hank Aaron are torn whether they should celebrate the breaking of the all-time home run record," Ripken said Tuesday. "But when I think of Barry, I think of him as an All-Star player."

Bonds began Tuesday with 749 homers, six shy of Aaron's record. After hitting 11 homers in his first 76 at-bats for the San Francisco Giants, he has four in 109 at-bats since.

Still, his .292 batting