Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

By now you've probably heard about the "apology balls" story, in which Pete Rose is supposed to have signed 300 baseballs with the words "I'm sorry I bet on baseball — Pete Rose", and is set to sell them at $1,000 a pop. That's what the New York Daily News said on Monday, anyway, in a rather glaring cover story that cast Rose as at most the devil, and at the least, a greedy schmuck.

And here's a surprise: Rose says he's innocent. And to clear his name, he of course went to the one news source we can all trust: ESPN's Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith. We watched the video of Rose's Monday night appearance — twice — and still have no freakin' idea what happened; no one in the studio made a lick of sense.

So we remain kind of hoping that this story is true, because it could open up an exciting untapped collectibles market. Imagine Terrell Owens footballs signed: "Sorry I'm such a dick — T.O." Other possibilities:

• "Sorry about the hatchet — Maurice Clarett" • "Sorry for the last two minutes of the Oregon game — Pac-10 officials" • "Sorry about the Lusitania — Kaiser Wilhelm II" • "Sorry for the popped collar — J.J. Redick"

Pete's Signs Of His Sorry Times [New York Daily News] Rose-Signed Balls: "I'm Sorry I Bet On Baseball" [ESPN]