By TOM JONES, St. Petersburg Times

The conversation started recently Donald Fehr, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association since 1986, announced he would step down next year. As leader of sports' most powerful union, Fehr has to be considered one of the most influential sports figures ever, doesn't he?

Those from Detroit aren't going to like this and I'm sure my e-mail box will be full of angry letters, but some of the Red Wings (and one in particular) are coming off like a bunch of whiners over this whole Sidney Crosby-handshake thing.

Days later, we're still trying to wrap our brains around the Tampa Bay Rays' collapse Monday night at Cleveland.

So now former Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden has a new gig as an analyst on Monday Night Football. Not that he asked us, but we do have some advice for him on how to be successful, even if he isn't in for the long haul. Actually, these tips work for any color analyst in any sport. Here are our Do's and Don'ts for a sports analyst.

-- Don't be afraid to criticize

Anyone else tired of the Celtics and Lakers?

Or how about the Red Wings and Penguins?

So many famous sports venues have disappeared. We've lost Boston Garden and Chicago Stadium. The Montreal Forum is now a shopping mall. The Toronto Maple Leafs don't play at Maple Leaf Gardens. Philadelphia's Spectrum no longer houses the Sixers or Flyers, and the Great Western Forum no longer is the home of the Los Angeles Lakers or Kings.

This week, the Tampa Bay Rays passed out some bling, giving their players rings for winning last season's American League pennant, while fans that attended Monday night's beatdown of the Yankees received replicas of the rings. The replicas look cool, but we're guessing the diamonds aren't real.

What with 10 Major League teams still set to open up on Tuesday, we had time to mull over the greatest opening day performances in baseball history. Here are our five favorites:

-- 1. Bob Feller: The Indians fireballer fired a no-hitter in 1940, the only opening day no-hitter in MLB history.

There's an old belief in sports that a team has to come close to a championship but lose before going on to win it all. Losing a championship series builds character, the character you need to go on and win a title.

But baseball seems to prove otherwise.

It's really not that uncommon for famous athletes to make position switches in their careers. Here are a few who come to mind.

Dale Murphy