Kangaroo Court

Defendant: Vince Coleman. Crime: Allowing an opposing player to borrow his glove. Verdict: Guilty, of course.Welcome to another session of the Kangaroo Court.Star or scrub, bus driver or batboy, no one is above baseball's bizarre bastion of justice. And nothing goes unnoticed -- missing a sign, tripping on a foul line, wearing an ugly suit.Sometimes, it doesn't take much. In 1983, New York Yankees judge Don Baylor fined coach Don Zimmer. Why?"Just for being Don Zimmer," Baylor said.Once, San Francisco manager Roger Craig was fined for getting a taxi receipt after another passenger paid the fare.

Before I get into this, remember, it's an opinion from a guy who never saw Frank Robinson play. If I did, I don't recall specifically. But I would have been about 5 or 6 and he would have been a player-manager in Cleveland. So I don't have any of those memories that many Orioles fans do. That's not to say I don't know much about Frank Robinson. I grew up as a kid in Baltimore in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the youngest in a baseball family. My brothers - and heck, my father - would explain to me that as good as those Eddie/Cal Orioles clubs were, they weren't close to those Frank/Brooks/Palmer teams.

He didn't have enough at-bats to qualify, of course, but Curt Motton was batting .360, higher than American League leader Rod Carew, and the Orioles were gleeful about it.Imagine a reserve outfielder and right-handed pinch hitter challenging for the batting title.In the Orioles' kangaroo court in the clubhouse on that August day in 1969, the judge, Frank Robinson, suggested that the players petition manager Earl Weaver to play Motton in the remaining 42 games so that he would have enough at-bats to qualify.

The Orioles are putting together a kangaroo court, with catcher Gregg Zaun as judge. One of the most famous courts was here in the early 1970s, with Frank Robinson perhaps the most famous kangaroo magistrate in baseball history. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog)

An attorney blasted the board that retires disabled police officers in Annapolis as a "kangaroo court" yesterday and threatened to have the city held in contempt for failing to hold a court-ordered hearing.Only four of the five members on the volunteer Public Safety Disabilities Retirement Board showed up, prompting lawyer Joel Katz to charge the hearing would be "improper and illegal."Although board Chairman John H. Fellowes insisted enough members were present for it to take action, Mr. Katz said he would ask a circuit judge to hold the city in contempt for violating terms of an order that required the full board to meet.

The 1-7 Washington Redskins have decided to take their case to court every day in practice to prevent the team from falling out of sight in the NFC East Division standings.A kangaroo court, that is."It's like a self-discipline, self-policing kind of thing that makes people take responsibility for their mistakes and brings the team closer together," said left guard Tre Johnson. "If you miss a block, drop a pass, run the wrong route, jump offsides or have a false start, you have to drop down and do 10 or 20 push-ups."

In a sport rife with such devious behavior as stealing signs, corking bats and greasing up baseballs -- not to mention ticket gouging and paying criminally high salaries -- outlaw behavior is the norm. So, who better than members of the posse to administer justice and reign in ballplayers when they cross the white line between fair and foul behavior? Welcome to the kangaroo court -- where baseball's accused would leave hopping mad if they weren't too busy cracking up over the hilariously creative logic that judges use to defend their sometimes ludicrous rulings.

Good morning -- Frank Robinson -- If you still did the kangaroo court, what would the fine be for an intentional walk pitch that was hit for a single?

The Orioles are putting together a kangaroo court, with catcher Gregg Zaun as judge. One of the most famous courts was here in the early 1970s, with Frank Robinson perhaps the most famous kangaroo magistrate in baseball history. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog)

Jarvis Brown, outfielder"I sit in my hotel room, order room service and watch TV."Toughest pitcherGreg MadduxFavorite momentK? Playing in the World Series and getting a World Series ringMost embarrassing moment"On an off-day, I played golf with Fred McGriff. I accidentally shanked one and hit McGriff in the shoulder. He didn't say anything about that until the next day. We held kangaroo court, and he went on a tear about me. After that, he went on a hitting tear and I said it was all because of what I did."

Good morning -- Frank Robinson -- If you still did the kangaroo court, what would the fine be for an intentional walk pitch that was hit for a single?

DID DEFROCKED Roman Catholic priest Maurice Blackwell walk out of a kangaroo court last week? Well, maybe kangaroo court is a little harsh. But there are those who believe that Blackwell - who was convicted last week of abusing Dontee Stokes - didn't get a fair trial. Not surprisingly, one of them is Blackwell's lawyer, attorney Kenneth W. Ravenell. "He obviously didn't receive a fair trial," Ravenell said yesterday. "It's really difficult for anyone in this climate to receive a fair trial."

SAN FRANCISCO - Not long ago, Marion Jones was a darling of the American sports scene, a powerful sprinter with explosive strides, a blur going down the track. Now she cuts a starkly different figure, a woman standing her ground against speculation about steroids and questions from anti-doping authorities. With the clock ticking down to the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and her ex-husband talking to investigators, Jones faces the specter of charges that could ban her from the games.

In a sport rife with such devious behavior as stealing signs, corking bats and greasing up baseballs -- not to mention ticket gouging and paying criminally high salaries -- outlaw behavior is the norm. So, who better than members of the posse to administer justice and reign in ballplayers when they cross the white line between fair and foul behavior? Welcome to the kangaroo court -- where baseball's accused would leave hopping mad if they weren't too busy cracking up over the hilariously creative logic that judges use to defend their sometimes ludicrous rulings.

ATLANTA -- The decision to televise the Florida Supreme Court hearing let untold citizens into a scene few ever see and, by doing so, gave additional credibility to the court's unanimous ruling. Though some of the spin-busy Bushies tried to do so, it was a stretch to argue to those who had seen the proceedings that the outcome was just a partisan gambit by a kangaroo court. Attorneys for both sides argued the issues succinctly and with vigor. The intellectual and legal contentions were pointed, and each side made coherent cases for their pleadings.

MIAMI -- They have sensitivity judges, a kangaroo court and a season-ending feast.They communicate through grunts and hand signals, sometimes on intuition, but almost never with the media.They make up the lightest offensive line in the NFL this season -- and quite possibly the best.The tag team of left tackle Tony Jones, left guard Mark Schlereth, center Tom Nalen, right guard Dan Neil and right tackle Harry Swayne holds the key to whether the Denver Broncos will win Super Bowl XXXIII on Sunday.

Kangaroo Court is revived in attempt to get things hoppingARLINGTON, Texas -- The Orioles were indicted by manager Johnny Oates after Tuesday night's game, so perhaps it was appropriate that the team went to trial yesterday afternoon.Designated hitter Harold Baines presided over the season's first Kangaroo Court before the team took the field for the final game of the three-game series with Texas.The struggling club can use some cheering up, but relief pitcher and longtime court clerk Gregg Olson said yesterday's session was not specifically scheduled to deal with the team's season-opening slump.

Rangers huff and puff, but can't blow Olson's save this timeARLINGTON, Texas -- Reliever Gregg Olson was beginning to wonder. He had blown one save opportunity this year and he was flirting with disaster in another.He came on to pitch the ninth inning of last night's 6-5 victory over the Texas Rangers and promptly got himself into another unsavory predicament. He gave up a leadoff double to pinch hitter Doug Dascenzo and had to get the last two outs of the game with the potential tying run at third base.

The 1-7 Washington Redskins have decided to take their case to court every day in practice to prevent the team from falling out of sight in the NFC East Division standings.A kangaroo court, that is."It's like a self-discipline, self-policing kind of thing that makes people take responsibility for their mistakes and brings the team closer together," said left guard Tre Johnson. "If you miss a block, drop a pass, run the wrong route, jump offsides or have a false start, you have to drop down and do 10 or 20 push-ups."

He didn't have enough at-bats to qualify, of course, but Curt Motton was batting .360, higher than American League leader Rod Carew, and the Orioles were gleeful about it.Imagine a reserve outfielder and right-handed pinch hitter challenging for the batting title.In the Orioles' kangaroo court in the clubhouse on that August day in 1969, the judge, Frank Robinson, suggested that the players petition manager Earl Weaver to play Motton in the remaining 42 games so that he would have enough at-bats to qualify.