COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Pete Rose is appealing directly to baseballs Hall of Fame to restore his eligibility, arguing the lifetime ban he agreed to in 1989 was never intended to keep him out of Cooperstown.A seven-page letter to Hall president Jeff Idelson on Tuesday made the case that the settlement agreement reached by Rose and then-Commissioner Bart Giamatti didnt include a provision that he be ineligible for election to the Hall of Fame.At the time Pete agreed to the settlement, the consequences of being placed on the ineligible list were clear and specific -- and did not include a Hall of Fame prohibition, according to the letter, signed by Roses longtime attorney Raymond C. Genco and attorney Mark Rosenbaum.The Hall of Fame changed its bylaws two years after Roses banishment to make permanently banned players ineligible for the Hall, which shut out the career hits leader as long as he remained barred from baseball. Rose agreed to the ban after an MLB investigation concluded he bet on games involving the Cincinnati Reds while managing the team.Genco is asking the Hall to amend that bylaw specifically to allow Rose to be eligible for baseball writers to elect at their discretion. He makes the point that the banishments of Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays for their association with casinos didnt affect their Hall status, and even Shoeless Joe Jackson had remained eligible after he was banned from the game for accepting money to throw the 1919 World Series.We believe that the institution of baseball will be strengthened by this act of grace -- an act that would give Pete Rose the same treatment that every other major league baseball player and manager received throughout the first 55 years of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the letter said.Hall spokesman Jon Shestakofsky said Wednesday that Idelson had not seen the letter and has not commented. In a previous statement, Idelson said, Pete Rose remains ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration, based on the Hall of Fames bylaws, which preclude any individual on baseballs ineligible list from being considered for election.New baseball commissioner Rob Manfred in December denied the 75-year-old Roses latest petition for reinstatement, but Genco said Manfred opened the door by also stating that it wasnt Manfreds responsibility to determine whether Rose should be eligible for the Hall. Petitioning the Hall to change the rule, Genco said, was the next logical step.Genco noted that Manfred had allowed Rose to participate recently in some ceremonial activities, including the retirement of his No. 14 by the Reds and his induction into the Reds Hall of Fame in June.This play may only bring further scrutiny to Pete, Genco said. He may not get in. It may open a magnifying glass on Pete Roses transgressions, but if you look at it from a fundamental fairness point of view, I think we have good footing. We have a very reasonable argument where the board can take very reasonable action in their power to bring real closure to this.Spokesman Michael Teevan said MLB had no comment on Roses latest appeal.---Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter.com/mitchstacyFor some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/mitch-stacy Cheap Chiefs Jerseys . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Dorian ODaniel Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.cheapchiefsjerseyschina.com/ . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Breeland Speaks Jersey . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Derrick Nnadi Jersey .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. CLEVELAND -- Christian Benteke scored two of Belgiums three second-half goals in a decisive 4-2 win over the United States in an international friendly Wednesday. Boasting a squad including 10 English Premier League players, Belgium overpowered a U.S. team that has some work to do on defence before it can think about making the field for next years World Cup in Brazil. After Kevin Mirallas opened the scoring for Belgium in the sixth minute, Geoff Cameron equalized in the 22nd to leave the scores level at 1-1 at halftime. Aston Villa striker Benteke scored in the 56th and 71st minutes for Belgium -- ranked 15th in the world -- and Marouane Fellaini added another in the 64th. Clint Dempsey converted a penalty in the 80th minute for the United States. U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann expected Belgium to offer a stiff challenge for his evolving team, which is missing several key players. And while the Americans had some nice moments, the Belgians controlled the game from the outset. Klinsmann said it was a good learning experience for his squad to play against one of the worlds best teams. "This is why we want to play teams like Belgium and like Germany and like Russia." Klinsmann said, "because there is so much that you can read from those games and there is so much you can see. Obviously, you want to win them. But I would rather play Belgium 10 more times thaan El Salvador 100 times because that is when you learn.dddddddddddd" Before a crowd of 27,720, Belgium took advantage of poor defence to score three of its goals. With the score 1-1 in the second half, a turnover by American midfielder Brad Davis was compounded by defender Omar Gonzalezs failure to clear the ball. Gonzalez could have easily booted it over the touch or end line, but instead left the ball for Belgiums Kevin De Bruyne, who centred it to Benteke for an easy tap-in. "I took the touch a little bit too far," Gonzalez explained. "But thats not going to deter me from taking that touch again. Other than that, you learn from it and hopefully we come out a lot better against Germany and we can start preparing for the games that matter. These games are really just for experience." Substitute keeper Brad Guzan came up with a good save in the 64th minute, but seconds later he was fishing the ball from his net again. Fellaini, the Everton midfielder known as much for his puffy hairdo as his skills, headed his goal into the left corner off a beautiful cross by De Bruyne to make it 3-1. In the five minutes later, Benteke streaked behind defenders DaMarcus Beasley and Matt Besler and chipped in a pass from Steven Defour. Referee Jeffery Solis awarded a Dempseys penalty after calling Toby Alderweireld for a hand ball in the box. Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap Jerseys Online China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Hoodies Wholesale NFL T-shirts Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2020 ' ' '