After digesting the results of the FIBA World Basketball Championships, we noticed that not very many people are talking about how this could relate to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.  People should, and we certainly noticed because that is what we do!  Considering the Hall does pay attention to International accomplishments and has a committee for that category alone, the events of the past few weeks will matter. Three (people) come to mind immediately in terms of what we consider the Hall of Fame elevator. Marc Gasol:  Elevator up.  Gasol made history as the second player (after Lamar Odom) to win an NBA Championship and a World Cup Gold Medal in the same calendar year.  Gasol made the all-tournament team is a three-time All-Star from his time in Memphis and was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2012-13. The Spanish star was also a former First Team All-NBA Selection in 2014-15. Luis Scola:  Elevator up.  Currently playing in the Chinese League, Scola was also an all-tournament team selection. Representing Argentina on the International level, Scola would become the second leading scorer (behind Brazil’s Oscar Schmidt) in World Cup Scoring and he won his second Silver Medal in this tournament.  He has also won a Gold Medal in the 2004 Olympics, Bronze in the 2008 Olympics, Gold at the Pan-American Games and in the AmeriCup, he had two Gold Medals, four Silver Medals and three Bronze Medals. Team U.S.A.:  All of them on a stalled elevator where anyone of them would have rocketed two floors.  When star after star pulled out of Team U.S.A., they were expected to falter, but a seventh-place finish is disastrous.  Had the Americans won Gold with one (or multiple) players leading the charge that player(s) would have a major feather in their cap taking an underdog U.S. team to a title. We are also in the process of unveiling are top 50 active Basketball Players for Hall of Fame consideration.  It will be in a similar format of our Football List, which we uploaded last month.

The Canadian Music Hall of Fame has announced the newest members who will comprise the Class of 2019. The Canadian Music Hall of Fame was established in 1978.  The Class will be officially inducted in an industry event on October 27 in Calgary, Alberta. The Class will also be featured at the 2020 Juno Awards. The new class consists of: Chilliwack:  From Vancouver, Chilliwack was a successful Rock/Pop group had four top ten Canadian Hits with another three making the top twenty. Named after the town east of Vancouver, Chilliwack has been active since 1970. Cowboy Junkies:  The Alternative Country band from Toronto would have five top thirty albums on the Canadian Charts and would have nine songs reach the top 40.  Their second album, The Trinity Sessions, received international acclaim. Bobby Curtola:  Curtola was a teen idol in the 60s and he had 14 top ten hits in Canada.  He passed away in 2016 at the age of 73. Andy Kim:  From Montreal, Kim would have two number one hits in Canada with “Baby, I Love You” and “Rock Me Gently”, which also topped the U.S. Charts.  Kim also wrote many songs for other artists. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate to newest members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Days after the passing of Eddie Money, the Rock and Roll world has lost another of its brethren as Rik Ocasek has passed away at the age of 75.  He was found dead in his New York City apartment.  No cause of death has been announced. Ocasek and his long-time friend and musical collaborator, Ben Orr, would found The Cars in 1976 and along with Greg Hawkes, Elliot Easton and Dave Robinson had a band that was about to mesh musical styles.  Combining pop, synth and album rock, their eponymous release generated hits like “Just What I Needed”, “My Best Friends Girl” and “Good Times Roll”.  They would put out four more albums (Candy-O, Panorama, Shake It Up and Heartbeat City over the next six years and they hit the charts with songs such as “Let’s Go”, “Touch and Go”, “Shake It Up”, “Since Your Gone”, “Drive”, “You Might Think” and “Hello Again”.  They were part of the early years of MTV and they had a sound that could be played on various radio formats. While all of this success was transpiring, Ocasek was also establishing himself as a successful producer.  He worked with Suicide, Romeo Void, and Bad Brains. He would later work with No Doubt, Guided by Voices, Bad Religion, Weezer and Nada Surf just to name a few. Following the disbanding of the Cars in 1988, Ocasek would have a solo career and would continue as a producer. He would reunite with the group in 2011 and join them on tour. In 2018, The Cars were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, fans, and family of Rik Ocasek at this time.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com thought it would be fun to take a look at the major awards in North American team sports and see how it translates into Hall of Fame potential. Needless to say, different awards in different sports yield hall of fame potential.  In basketball, the team sport with the least number of players on a roster, the dividend for greatness much higher.  In baseball, it is not as much as a great individual season does not have the same impact. For our next selection we return to the National Football League after a long absence with a major accolade in the Offensive Player of the Year. Considering this is a very important award, it is a little surprising that this has only been in existence since 1972.  Not surprising, is that with the exception of Jerry Rice, it has only gone to Quarterbacks and Running Backs; basically, the sexy skill positions of football. Frankly, we don’t think we will ever see an Offensive Lineman win this regardless of how impressive a season he has.  So, how many Offensive Players of the Year have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Let’s find out! The following are the past players who have won the AP Offensive Player of the Year in the NFL who are eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and have been enshrined. O.J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills, Running Back (1973) Who else could possibly win it in 1973?  O.J. Simpson made history as the first player to exceed 2,000 Rushing Yards (2,003), and while he now has company in the 2,000 club, it is still exclusive company.  This was Simpson’s second rushing title and he would win it two more times (1975 & 1976).  He would also win the Bert Bell Award and the AP MVP. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985. Ken Stabler, Oakland Raiders, Quarterback (1974) Stabler was a First Team All-Pro in 1974, and was chosen for the Pro Bowl for the second year in a row.  The Quarterback threw for 2,469 Yards and a league leading 26 Touchdowns.  He would have a record of 11-2 this year and was also named the AP MVP.  Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016. Fran Tarkenton, Minnesota Vikings, Quarterback(1975) Prior to this year, “Scrambling” Fran Tarkenton was chosen for seven Pro Bowls and 1975 was his eighth.  This was the first and only year that…

It is onward and upward for us here at Notinhalloffame.com as we have added to one of our existing sections, the Baseball Futures. Today, we are pleased to unveil our section of former baseball players who will be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023. The entire section can be found here, but below is the complete list of those whom we are profiling. They are: Aaron Hill:  An All-Star in 2009 with the Toronto Blue Jays, Hill retired with just over 1,500 Hits.  He would also be named a Silver Slugger twice. Adam Lind:  Lind would have 200 Home Runs and as a Blue Jay in 2009, he would win both the Silver Slugger and Edgar Martinez Award. Andre Ethier:  A career Los Angeles Dodger, Andre Ethier was a two-time All-Star and would win the Silver Slugger in 2009. Bronson Arroyo:  A member of the Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series Championship Team, Bronson Arroyo had his best seasons with the Cincinnati Reds.  He would retire with 148 Wins and was an All-Star in 2006. Carlos Beltran:  Beltran retires with a strong Hall of Fame resume as he retired with 2,725 Hits and 435 Home Runs.  Beltran went to nine All-Star Games, won two Silver Sluggers, three Gold Gloves and was a World Series Champion in his last season in Baseball. Carlos Ruiz:  Ruiz was a light hitting Catcher, but he was an All-Star in 2012 and a two-time Wilson Defensive Player.  He has a World Series Ring with Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. Chad Qualls:  Qualls pitched mostly in middle and long relief and would pitch in 844 Games. Erick Aybar:  Aybar was an All-Star in 2014 and was a Gold Glove winner in 2011. Francisco Rodriguez: “K-Rod” won the World Series with the Anaheim Angels in 2002 and would go on to six All-Star Games. Rodriguez led the AL in Saves three times and collected 437 in total. Glen Perkins:  Perkins secured 120 Saves over a career that was spent entirely with the Minnesota Twins. Huston Street:  Street was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2005 and would be a two-time All-Star.  He retired with 324 Saves. J.J. Hardy:  Hardy was a two-time All-Star at Shortstop and would be a three-time Gold Glove recipient.  He would also win the Silver Slugger Award in 2013. Jacoby Ellsbury:  Ellsbury won the World Series twice with the Boston Red Sox, and he was an All-Star, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner in 2011. Jason Grilli:  Grilli played for…

We have another retirement to talk about as Shaun Livingston has announced that his NBA career is coming to an end at the age of 34. The 4th Overall Pick from the 2004 Draft, Livingston played his first three seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers before suffering a knee injury that would take him out of the 2007-08 season.  He would go into full journeyman mode after that, playing for Miami, Oklahoma City, Washington, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Brooklyn before signing with the Golden State Warriors before the 2014-15 season.   Livingston found a home in Golden State coming off of the bench for the Warriors for five years and he would appear in the finals in every one of them.  He would win three Championship Rings with the Dubs, making him one of the few players who can make that claim. Livingston retires with a 6.3 Points per Game Average over an 833 Game career. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank Shaun Livingston for his on-court memories and we wish him the best in his post-playing career.

Blue Collar Rock and Roll took a tumble today as Eddie Money died at the age of 70 due to esophageal cancer. From New York City, Money (born Eddie Mahoney) followed his father’s footsteps as a New York City cop, though he pursued a musical career at night.  He gave up law enforcement and moved to California where he was discovered and signed by promoter, Bill Graham.  His debut album (eponymously named) was released in 1977 and it yielded radio-friendly hits like “Baby Hold On” and “Two Tickets to Paradise”.  His gruff voice and relatable songs made him an everyman star and he would continue to have success until the early 80s but fell off the radar when drugs, alcohol and typical rock and roll excess.   Money made a comeback in 1986, with his album, “Can’t Hold Back”, that had one of his most enduring hits, “Take Me Home Tonight”, a song where musical legend, Ronnie Spector reprised the “Be My Little Baby” line from the early 60s hit of the same name.  He would have a few minor hits until the early 90s and would regress into the oldies circuit after. Money is ranked #281on our latest Notinhalloffame.com Rock List. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, friends and family of Eddie Money at this time. 

For us at Notinhalloffame.com, this is our march toward our Christmas.  The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced the Modern-Era Preliminary Nominees for the Class of 2020, a total of 122 former players.   To qualify, a player must have retired less than 25 years ago and at least 5 years ago: The nominees are: Quarterbacks: Randall Cunningham: 1985-2001, PHI, MIN, DAL, BAL. Cunningham is a three-time Bert Bell Award winner a four-time Pro Bowl Selection.  Ranked #33 on Notinhalloffame.com. Jake Delhomme: 1999-11, NOR, CAR, HOU. Delhomme went to the Pro Bowl in 2005 and he would throw for over 20,000 Yards. Boomer Esiason:  1984-97, CIN, NYJ, ARI.  Esiason went to four Pro Bowls and in 1988 he was named the AP MVP.  He would take the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance and threw for over 37,000 Yards with 247 TDs.  Ranked #74 on Notinhalloffame.com. Jeff Garcia:  1999-09, SFO, CLE, DET, PHI, TAM.  Garcia was a four-time Pro Bowler and would throw for over 25,000 Passing Yards. Jeff Hostetler:  1985-97, NYG, RAI, OAK, WAS.  Hostetler won two Super Bowls and was the winning Quarterback in Super Bowl XXV. He would later be a Pro Bowl in 1994 with the Raiders. Dave Krieg:  1980-98, SEA, KAN, DET, ARI, CHI, TEN.  Krieg went to three Pro Bowls with the Seahawks and threw for 38,147 Yards and 261 Touchdowns over a 19-year career.  Ranked #89 on Notinhalloffame.com. Donovan McNabb:  1999-01, PHI, WAS, MIN.  McNabb took the Eagles to the Super Bowl and was a six-time Pro Bowler.  He threw for 37,276 Yards with 234 Touchdowns and ran for another 3,459 Yards and 29 TDs.  Ranked #67 on Notinhalloffame.com. Running Backs: Shaun Alexander:  2000-08, SEA, PHI.  Alexander went to three straight Pro Bowls and in the last one he won the Rushing Title and was named the AP MVP.  Alexander retired with 10,973 Yards From Scrimmage and 112 Touchdowns. Mike Alstott:  1996-06, TAM.  Alstott won a Super Bowl with the Bucs and was a six-time Pro Bowl and three-time First Team All-Pro.  He would total 7,373 Yards From Scrimmage with 71 Touchdowns. Tiki Barber:  1997-06, NYG.  Barber rushed for over 10,000 Yards and was a three-time Pro Bowler.  He also caught another 5,000 Yards and was a two-time leader in Yards From Scrimmage.  Ranked #93 on Notinhalloffame.com. Earnest Byner:  1984-97, CLE, WAS, BAL.  Byner won a Super Bowl with the Washington Redskins and he was a two-time Pro Bowler. He would accumulate 12,866 Yards From Scrimmage with 71 Touchdowns over his career. Larry Centers:  1990-03, PHO, ARI, WAS, BUF, NWE.  Centers was a three-time Pro Bowl Selection…

The Toy Hall of Fame has announced their Finalists for the Class of 2019. The Finalists are:   Care Bears Coloring Book Fisher-Price Corn Popper Jenga Magic the Gathering Masters of the Universe Matchbox Cars My Little Piny Nerf Blaster Risk Smartphone The Top   The winners will be inducted on November 7.  The Magic 8 Ball, Pinball and Uno were chosen last year.The Toy Hall of Fame is part of the Strong Museum in Rochester, New York. We here at Notinhalloffame.com will certainly be paying attention!

Rutgers University has announced their latest Hall of Fame Class. The Class will be officially inducted on October 18 at their annual hall dinner and will be honored the following day during the Scarlet Knights’ home game against Minnesota. Todd Frazier, Baseball 2005-07: Nicknamed “The Toddfather”, Frazier was a First Team All-American in 2007 and was the Big East Player of the Year.  He would leave Rutgers as the all-time leader in Home Runs (42) and Runs Scored (210). Frazier would later become a two-time All-Star in the Majors.   Fred Gruninger, Athletic Director 1973-98: Gruninger oversaw a substantial growth in the Rutgers sports programs over his tenure, especially on the women’s side. Greg Rinaldi, Men’s Lacrosse 1987-90: Rinaldi scored 144 Goals for Rutgers, which was a school record at the time. He would be a three-time All-American and was named to the First Team in 1990. He would take the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Tournament in 1990. 1919-20 Men’s Basketball Team: This induction celebrates the 100thanniversary of the first Rutgers team to play in the postseason. They would defeat Georgia, Utah and the Young Men’s Organization of Detroit before falling to NYU in the Finals of the National Amateur Athletic Union Basketball Tournament. 1981 Men’s Track & Field Two Mile Relay Team: Comprised of Brian Grimes, Stan Belin, Walter Kirkland and James Westman. The quartet would win the National Indoor Championship. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the Rutgers Athletic Hall of Fame.

The University of Tennessee has announced their six-person Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2019: Doug Dickey, Football Coach 1964-69 & Administrator 1985-2003: Under Dickey’s tutelage, the football program really took shape and he would take them to two SEC Championships while going 104-58-6.  As the Athletic Director, the University would 10 National Championships and 38 SEC Titles. R.A. Dickey, Baseball 1994-96: Named the Baseball America Freshman of the Year and would win 38 Games for the Volunteers, a school record and would lead Tennessee win the 1995 College World Series.  Dickey would go on to have a successful career in the Majors, highlighted by winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2012. Christine Magnuson, Swimming & Diving 2005-08: Magnuson was the 2008 NCAA Champion in the 100-Yard Butterfly and was also the SEC Swimmer of the Year. She was a 23-time All-American. Gus Manning, Administrator 1951-2000: Holding a variety of different positions over his 50-year career serving under eight different Assistant Directors. Candace Parker, Women’s Basketball 2005-08: Parker was an absolute superstar leading the Lady Vols to the NCAA Championship in both 2007 and 2008.  She would also win the Naismith College Player of the Year in 2008 and the John R. Wooden Award in 2007 and 2008.  She would score 2,137 Points and made history as the first woman to dunk in an NCAA Tournament Game.  Parker would later become the number one draft pick in the WNBA and is a two-time league MVP.  She is also a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist for Team U.S.A. Tony Parrilla, Men’s Track & Field 1991-94: Parrilla won four 800-Meter Titles and was a 10-time All-American.  He was named the 1994 SEC Men’s Track & Field Outdoor Athlete of the Year. The Class of 2019 will be officially inducted on October 25 and they will be recognized the following day during their football game against South Carolina.   We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the future University of Tennessee Hall of Famers.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while! As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Los Angeles Rams.  The Rams were formed in Cleveland in 1936 and would win the NFL Championship in 1945.  In typical of the luck that Cleveland has, the Rams relocated to Los Angeles and won their second championship in 1951. Los Angeles would be a popular team but as owners do, they moved seeking a better stadium deal, which they found in St. Louis in 1994.  It was there where they won Super Bowl XXXIV with their “Greatest Show on Turf” team. St. Louis would again be left without a team as Los Angeles wooed them back in 2016.   As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following:  Advanced Statistics. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NFL. Playoff accomplishments. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet. Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories. This list is updated up until the end of the 2018 Season. The complete list can be found here, but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are: Merlin Olsen Deacon Jones Jack Youngblood Orlando Pace Marshall Faulk We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.   As always we thank you for your support.

The United States Hockey Hall of Fame has announced the five-member class that will comprise their Class of 2019. Gary Bettman:  Bettman has been the commissioner of the National Hockey League since 1993 and since his tenure, the league expanded from 24 to 32 teams with significant increases in attendance and a six-time increase in overall revenue. The choice may be controversial as he was the instrumental figure in the pro players (including Americans) not appearing in the last Winter Olympics.  It was also under Bettman’s watch that an entire NHL season (2004-05) was lost. Incidentally, this follows Bettman’s induction last year into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Brian Gionta:  A veteran of 1,026 NHL Games, Rochester, New York native, Brian Gionta played for the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins scoring 595 Points.  Gionta would help the Devils win the Stanley Cup in 2003 and would play for Team U.S.A. in three World Hockey Championships and in 2006 at the Olympics.  Rather than play professionally in 2018, he would play again for the Americans in the 2018 Olympics. Neal Henderson:  Henderson co-founded the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, which is the oldest minority hockey club in North America.  A fixture in advocating hockey in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore areas, he was a part of the NHL’s “Hockey is for Everyone” campaign. Tim Thomas:  From Flint, Michigan, Tim Thomas was a late bloomer in the professional ranks as he did not reach the NHL until he was 28 in the 2002-03 season.  The Goalie would become Boston’s starter a few years later and in both the 2008-09 and 2010-11 season he was a First Team All-Star and Vezina Trophy winner.  In that latter season, Thomas would backstop the Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011 where he would win the Conn Smythe Trophy.   On the International Level, Thomas (who was still playing college hockey at the University of Vermont) was a member of the 1996 Bronze Medal winning team and would play in five World Hockey Championships.  He was also a member of the 2010 Silver Medal winning Olympic Team. Krissy Wendell:  Wendell was a star player at the University of Minnesota where she was the Patty Kazmaier Award as the nation’s top female hockey player in 2005. Wendell represented the United States often winning Gold at the 2005 World Hockey Championship and Silver in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 & 2007.  She also won Silver in the 2002 Olympics and…

We are excited here at Notinhalloffame.com that we are unveiling a new section, which looks at the top active players in the big four of sports and how they are positioned at the start of each seasons in regards to Hall of Fame credentials. We are beginning with Pro Football, and how perfect is that considering the seasons kicks off this week.  Rather than list everyone directly, we have isolated them based on their position and with the exception of Special Teams, we have created a new stat based on the last five modern players (not senior inductees) of their respective position and how the current player compares with that. This will be updated annually, so this 100 was finalized this week. We will not be updating again until the end of the season. The new section begins here We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank you all for your continued support and we hope that you enjoy this new section!

It was announced today that Pro Football Hall of Famer, Jim Langer passed away today at the age of 71 due to a heart related issue. An undrafted player from South Dakota State, Langer signed with the Cleveland Browns in 1970 but was cut in pre-season.  The Miami Dolphins would sign him after and Langer made the team.  In his third season, Langer was the starting Center and this was the year that the Dolphins would go undefeated and win Super Bowl VII. Langer would help Miami win Super Bowl VIII the following year but he would also go on a six-year streak of Pro Bowls, four of which would see him named a First Team All-Pro.  He played with the Dolphins until 1979 and finished his career with the Minnesota Vikings for two seasons.  He would enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987, his first year of eligibility.   We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, fans and family of Jim Langer at this time.  

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive. As such, it is news to us that the Oakland Athletics have announced that Dave Stewart will have his #34 retired by the team. This announcement concluded the 30thanniversary celebration of their 1989 World Series Championship. Stewart was signed early in the 1986 season after being released by the Philadelphia Phillies and prior to that he had unremarkable statistics over five seasons with the Lod Angeles Dodgers and the Texas Rangers.  Very few fans of the A’s had reason to think that Stewart would do much with Oakland, and frankly most of them likely never noticed he was signed at all, but it was in Oakland where he would live up to everything that the Dodgers originally envisioned when they converted him to a pitcher almost a decade before. He would finish the season going 9-5, but in 1987 as a fixture in the A’s rotation, he would go on one of the best four-year runs for a Pitcher in franchise history.  Stewart finished 1987 by leading the AL in Wins (20) and finishing third in Cy Young voting.  He was without a doubt the ace of the Oakland staff and in 1988 he would win 21 Games while leading the league in Innings Pitched (275.2).  More importantly, Stewart took Oakland to the World Series, though they would lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  1989 would again see Stewart win 21 Games and he was the runner-up for the Cy Young.  The A’s returned to the World Series (this time winning) where he won two Games in both the ALCS and the World Series winning the MVP in both.  In 1990, he would win a career high 22 Games, with a third place Cy Young finish.  The A’s returned to the World Series and though they lost to Cincinnati, Stewart was the ALCS MVP on the road to get there. He would remain with Oakland until he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays after the 1992 Season.  As an Athletic, he would post a record of 119-78 and 1,152 Strikeouts. Stewart becomes the sixth former Athletic to have his number retired as he joins Denis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter, Rickey Henderson and Reggie Jackson. We…

This is a stunner. A couple of weeks ago, The Indianapolis Colts were hopeful that their star Quarterback, Andrew Luck would be able to start Week 1 after dealing with a calc/ankle injury.  A few days ago, they weren’t certain that he would be able to make it for the first regular season game, but would eventually be ready early in the season.  Not only is he not going to play this season, he has announced that he will formally retire for the National Football League at age 29. Luck was the first overall pick in the 2012 Draft and would be named to the Pro Bowl in his first three seasons. In 2014, he threw for a league leading 40 Touchdown Passes, with a career high 4,761 Yards. Injuries piled up on the pivot and he was forced to sit out the entire 2017 season, though came back last year to throw for 4,593 Yards and 39 TDs.  He would go to his fourth (and presumably, final) Pro Bowl and was named the Comeback Player of the Year. Often, when players retire, we assume they will stay retired, despite the fact that players have bucked that and returned shortly after.  Perhaps, because of his age and his citing of “mental” reason as opposed to physical, we think there is a good chance that we will see him again and selfishly we hope so.   This was one of the best QBs at one time, and pundits and fans still felt that there was a lot left in what was pegged once as a future Pro Football Hall of Famer.   As it stands now, Luck is unlikely to make Canton. Taking our “Hall of Fame” hat off, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are hopeful that Andrew Luck heals and enjoys his post-playing career.  

The College Baseball Hall of Fame has announced their Class of 2019. The nominees are: Dave Chalk:  Chalk competed at the University of Texas from 1969 to 1972 where he batted .362 and would lead the Longhorns to three College World Series appearances.  He would later be a two-time All-Star with the California Angels. Andre Dawson:  Dawson played at Florida A&M, leading the All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in hits, doubles, home runs and RBIs in 1974 and 1975.  He would enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010. Wally Hood:  Hood played at USC, where in 1948, he went 21-2 in 1948.  He would later have a cup of coffee with the New York Yankees. Mark Kotsay:  Kotsay was an absolute stud at the Cal-State Fullerton where he was a two-time All-American and took his school to a College World Series Championship in 1995.  That year he won the Golden Spikes Award and was also named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player.  A regular Outfielder, he pitched the final five outs to win the title that year. Kotsay would go on to hit 127 Home Runs in the Majors in a career that spanned over eight teams. Mike Martin:  Martin finished his legendary career this year after helming Florida State since 1980.  He retired with 2,029-736-4 with a tournament record of 142-83.  No manager has more wins in College Baseball and although the Seminoles did not win a championship under his tenure, he never missed the post-season and his teams appeared in 17 College World Series.  He is also a two-time Baseball America Coach of the Year. Dennis Poppe:  Poppe worked for the NCAA for 39 years, specifically earning this honor for overseeing the College World Series from 1987 to 2013. Lloyd Simmons:  Simmons won 1,804 Games as the Manager of Seminole State.  He led 13 teams to the NJCAA College World Series. Billy Wagner:  Wagner played at Division III Ferrum College where he averaged 16 Strikeouts per nine innings.  He would go 17-3 with a 1.63 ERA. The ceremony will take place on November 1stand 2ndin Baton Rouge. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the College Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2019.    

The International Tennis Hall of Fame has announced the four Finalists for the Class of 2020. The nominees are: Jonas Bjorkman:  As a Singles player, Bjorkman would reach the #4 ranking while winning six titles.  The Swede’s biggest success was in Doubles where he won 54 Titles including 9 Grand Slams. Sergi Bruguera: From Spain, Brugera won 14 Titles, most notably the French Open in both 1993 and 1994.  He was ranked as high as #3 in 1994. Goran Ivanisevic: From Croatia, Ivanisevic would reach the Wimbledon Finals three times in the 1990s, and would also win two Bronze Medals at the 1992 Olympic Games, which was extra special because this was the first Olympics for the country.  He will always be best known for his spectacular Wimbledon Championship in 2001, where he entered ranked #125 and entered as a wildcard.  Nobody ever won it before or since as a wildcard. Conchita Martinez: Conchita Martinez would win the Wimbledon Title in 1994 making her the first Spaniard to do so.  She climbed to #2 in the rankings (1995) and was also a Finalist in the Australian Open (1998) and the French Open (2000). Overall, she would win 13 Titles on the WTA. The Class of 2020 will be announced in January where the ceremony will take place on July 18 in Newport, Rhode Island.    

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive. Eventually, we will look at major Universities and as such it is news to us that the Stanford has announced their franchise Hall of Fame Class of 2019. The newest member are: Foluke Akinradweo, Women’s Volleyball ’09:  Akinradewo was named the National Player and Pac-10 Player of the Year in both 2007 and 2008 and she would take Stanford to a runner-up spot in the NCAA Tournament three years in a row.  She would represent the United States in the Olympics winning Silver in 2012 London Games and Bronze in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. Jeff Austin, Baseball ’99:  Austin pitched for the Cardinal where he would help them reach 1997 College World Series.  He would throw 309.2 Innings with 317 Strikeouts and a 3.61 ERA and was named the Baseball America National Player of the Year.  He would go on to pitch in 38 Games in the Majors. Tanner Gardner, Wrestling ’08:  Gardner won 145 matches for Stanford and is the all-time school leader. Wrestling at 125 pounds, Gardner would win the Pac-10 title in 2007 and 2008. Mark Madsen, Men’s Basketball ’00:  Madsen was a two-time All-American at Stanford and would average 10.9 Points and 7.9 Rebounds per Game.  He would be a major factor in the school’s Final Four appearance in 1998.  Madsen would later win two NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. Susan Hagey Wall & Diane Morrison, Women’s Tennis ’79:  Hagey Wall was the first four-time All-American in the program’s history and with Morrison they would win the AIAW doubles title in 1975 and 1976.  Together they helped Stanford win the AIAW Title in 1978. Bill Tarr, Football ’55:  Tarr at one time was the leading rusher in school history with 1,593 Rushing Yards and defensively he played at Linebacker. Tabitha Yim, Women’s Gymnastics ’08:  Yim was a fourteen-time All-American and as a Senior was named the Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year.  In 2017, she would return to Stanford as the Head Coach of Women’s Gymnastics Team. The Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame was created in 1954 and now boasts 441 members.  The group will be inducted on September 20 and will be formally recognized on the following day during Stanford’s home football game against Oregon. We…

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that the Oakland Athletics have announced their franchise Hall of Fame Class of 2019. The six-member class is: Ron Bergman:  Bergman becomes the first journalist to enter the Hall and going forward there will be the Ron Bergman Award, which will be given annually to the journalist for “contributions to the coverage of Athletics”. Vida Blue:  Blue was a member of the A’s three straight World Series wins in the 70s where he was a three-time All-Star.  Blue would win the MVP and Cy Young in 1971 when he went 24 and 8 with a 1.82 ERA and 0.952 WHIP.  He would win 124 Games with 1,315 Strikeouts. Bert Campaneris:  The Shortstop played for the Athletics from 1964 to 1976 and like Blue was part of A’s dynasty of the early 70s.  As an Athletic, Campaneris went to five All-Star Games, would lead the AL in Stolen Bases six times and would accumulate 1,882 Hits. Walter Hass:  Haas bought the team in 1980 and is credited with keeping the team in Oakland.  Under his watch, Oakland won the World Series in 1989. Tony La Russa:  La Russa managed Oakland from 1986 to 1995 and had a record of 798 and 673.  He would win three American League Pennants (1988-90) with a World Series Title in 1989. Mark McGwire:  McGwire won the Rookie of the Year in 1987 and he would go to nine All-Star Games as an Athletic.  He would win the Home Run title twice with Oakland and blasted 363 with an OPS of .931 for the team. This group joins Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Charlie Finlay, Rickey Henderson, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson and Dave Stewart who were in the inaugural class. The 2019 class will be honored in a pregame ceremony on September 21. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to newest members of Oakland Athletics Hall of Fame.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that the Cincinnati Reds have announced that next year, they will be inducting their long-time broadcaster, Marty Brennaman, to their franchise Hall of Fame in 2020. Brennaman is wrapping up his final season as a broadcaster for the Reds, this being his 46thwith the organization.  For his work in Baseball, he was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award in 2000. Out of respect to Brennaman, he will be the sole inductee next year. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Marty Brennaman for earning this impending honor.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that the French newspaper, Le Parisien has reported that the San Antonio Spurs will be retiring the number 9 during their home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on November 11. We do want to state that this has not been reported by the Spurs as of this writing, but this certainly seems like a plausible story. The French native played all but his last season in the NBA with San Antonio, the team who drafted him 28thOverall in 2001.  The Point Guard would go onto be a six-time All-Star who was part of the Spurs’ “Big Three” with Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan. Parker would help San Antonio win the NBA Championship four times (2003, 2005, 2007 & 2014) and was a NBA Finals MVP in 2007.  Individually, he was a three-time Second Team All-NBA Selection and a one-time Third Team All-NBA Selection.  He would average 15.8 Points and 5.7 Assists with a PER of 18.3. Parker becomes the 10thman in franchise history to have his number retired.  He joins Johnny Moore (00), Avery Johnson (6), Bruce Bowen (12), James Silas (13), Manu Ginobili (20), Tim Duncan (21), Sean Elliott (32), George Gervin (44) and David Robinson (50).  He is eligible for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to Tony Parker for earning this impending honor.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that the Washington Redskins have announced that they will be honoring Chris Samuels and London Fletcher to their Ring of Honor. Chris Samuels played all ten of his seasons in Washington where he would start all 141 of his Games at Left Tackle.  Drafted 3rdoverall in 2000, Samuels would be named to the Pro Bowl six times. London Fletcher played the last seven of his sixteen seasons in the NFL with the Redskins and it was the most successful tenure of the Linebacker’s career.  Fletcher was chosen for four straight Pro Bowls (2009-12) and never had a season where he finished with less than 111 Combined Tackles.  He would lead the NFL in that statistic in 2011 and he would also contribute with 12 Interceptions and 11.5 Sacks. Samuels and Fletcher become the 50thand 51stmembers of the Ring of Honor. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate both Chris Samuels and London Fletcher for earning this impending honor.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while! As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present the first revision of our top 50 Houston Astros of all-time. As for all of our top 50 players in baseball we look at the following:  Advanced Statistics. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the American League. Playoff accomplishments. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet. Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories, which has altered the rankings considerably. This list is updated up until the end of the 2018 Season. The complete list can be found here, but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are: Jeff Bagwell Craig Biggio Lance Berkman Cesar Cedeno Jose Altuve There is a significant shift in many of the players and a few new ones based on shuffling of the metrics we have used for our Top 50s. The biggest change based on recent play is Altuve’s rise to number 5. As always we thank you for your support.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that the Florida Panthers have announced that next season, they will be retiring the number 1 of Roberto Luongo on their March 7 home game against the Montreal Canadiens. The Goalie joined the Panthers after being traded from the New York Islanders where he only played 24 Games after being drafted fourth overall in 1997.  Splitting netminding duty with Trevor Kidd for the 2000/01 Season, he would quickly become the team’s primary Goalie.   Florida would struggle to put together a competitive hockey team but it would become quickly clear that this was no fault of Luongo, who was the main reason why they were even in most games.  In each season from 2002-03 to 2005-06 (2004-05 never occurred due to the lockout) Luong would finish first in Goalie Point Shares and he was named a Second Team All-Star in 2003-04. Luongo would be traded to the Vancouver Canucks before the 2006/07 season as he was set to become a free agent the year after and negotiations were not going well.  With the Canucks, he would take them to the Stanley Cup Finals and after seven and a half years in Vancouver, he was traded back to the Panthers during the 2014/14 campaign where he would still thrive and have two top ten Vezina voting finishes before retiring at the end of last season. Luongo would record 230 of his 469 Wins with the Panthers while posting a 2.61 Goals Against Average. This marks the first time in franchise history that a jersey is being retired. Luongo is eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Roberto Luongo for earning this impending honor.

When it comes to the Olympics, there is no more dominant overall nation then the United States of America. With that fact, it should go without saying that if you are a Finalist for the United States Olympic Hall of Fame, you were clearly one hell of an athlete! Today, the Hall has announced their Finalists for the Class of 2019. The nominees are: Olympians: Gary Anderson: Anderson won the Gold Medal in the 300m three position rifle in the 1964 and 1968 Games. Greg Barton: Barton won two Gold Medals in the 1988 Games with wins in the K-1 and K-2 1000m canoe sprint.  He also won the Bronze in the K-1 1000m canoe sprint in both the 1984 and 1992 Games.  He is the most successful canoe/kayak athlete in U.S. history. Laura Berg:  Berg led the Women’s Softball Team to three straight Gold Medals (1996-2004) Anne Donovan: Donovan was a two-time Gold Medalist as a women’s basketball player in 1984 and 1988 and she would win a third as the Head Coach of the women’s team in 2008. Lisa Leslie: Arguably the most successful female basketball player in Olympic history, Leslie won gold in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008.  She holds the record for the most points in a game (35) and overall (488). Nastia Liukin:  In the 2008 Games, Liukin won five medals, Gold in the All-Around, Silver in the Team, Uneven Bars and Bronze in the Floor Exercise. John Mayasich:  Mayasich represented the United States in Men’s Hockey in the 1956 and 1960 Games where he Center would anchor the Silver Medalist (’56) and Gold Medalist Team (’60).   Misty-May Traynor:  Along with Kerri Walsh Jennings, she would win the Gold Medals at three straight Olympics (2004-12) in Women’s Beach Volleyball. Jonny Moseley:  A pioneer in moguls, Moseley would win the Gold Medal in that event in 1998. Apolo Anton Ohno:  Ohno was star in Short Track Speed Skating winning eight medals (two Gold, two Silver and four Bronze) over three Games (2002-10). Mark Reynolds:  A three-time Olympian in Sailing, Reynolds won Gold in 1992 and 2000 and Silver in 1988. Angela Ruggiero:  Playing defense for the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team in four Olympics, winning Gold in 1988, Silver in 2002 and 2010 and Bronze in 2006. John Smith:  Smith won Gold in Freestyle Wrestling in 1988 and 1992. Dara Torres:  Torres swam in five Olympic Games and would win 12 Medals (four Gold, four Silver and four Bronze) in…

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that the San Francisco Giants have announced that next season they will be retiring the number 22 of Will Clark. Clark was the second overall draft pick of the 1985 Amateur Draft and he was already on the main Giants roster in 1986 finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.  He would continue to improve, finishing fifth in MVP voting in the next two seasons, with 1988 seeing him begin a five-year streak of All-Star Game appearances.  Clark peaked with a second-place finish in MVP voting in 1989 and won the first of two Silver Sluggers.  More importantly, he would help the Giants make the playoffs and won the NLCS before his team was defeated by the Oakland A’s in the World Series.  He would continue to play for San Francisco until he signed with the Texas Rangers before the 1994 Season. As a Giant, he would accumulate 1,278 Hits, 176 Home Runs with a Slash Line of .299/.373/.499.   We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Will Clark for earning this honor.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while! As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present the first revision of our top 50 Texas Rangers of all-time. As for all of our top 50 players in baseball we look at the following:  Advanced Statistics. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the American League. Playoff accomplishments. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet. Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories, which has altered the rankings considerably. This list is updated up until the end of the 2018 Season. The complete list can be found here, but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are: Ivan Rodriguez Rafael Palmeiro Juan Gonzalez Adrian Beltre Frank Howard There is a significant shift in many of the players and a few new ones based on shuffling of the metrics we have used for our Top 50s. As always we thank you for your support.

During halftime of the Philadelphia Eagles home game pre-season game it was announced that Bobby Walston will be inducted into their franchise Hall of Fame on September 21, during their home game against the Detroit Lions. Walston played his entire 12-year career (1951-62) with Philadelphia where he was one of the most versatile offensive weapons that the team would have as he played at Wide Receiver, Tight End and Kicker.  He was a member of the 1960 NFL Championship Team and was a two-time Pro Bowler (1960 & 1961) and his 5,363 Receiving Yards during his time was the fourth most in the NFL during the time he played.  His 881 Points Scored is still second all-time in franchise history. Sadly, this accolade will be posthumous, as he passed away in 1987.

The University of Nevada has announced their Athletic Hall of Fame Class and it is making history as it an all-female class, the first in their history.  This commemorates the 100thanniversary of women’s sports at the school. The members of the Class of 2019 are: Teal Ericson– Volleyball (2004-07) Ericson was a First Team All-WAC Selection in 2007 and helped the Wolf Pack make the NCAA Tournament in both 2004 and 2005. She is second all-time in kills and third all-time in points for the school. Pat Hixson– Volleyball, Women’s Basketball & Softball (1974-77), Softball Assistant Coach (1978-79), Softball Head Coach (1980-89) A three-sport athlete at Nevada, Hixson would have more success as a coach as she took Nevada to their first AIAW World Series in 1980.  She would take them there again in 1982.  As a player, she set single-season records for Home Runs, Hits and Walks. Meghan Morrill– Rifle (2004-08) Morrill was a First Team All-American in 2006 and 2008 and had the highest individual air rifle score at the 2005 NCAA air rifle championships. Brittany Puzey– Softball (2006-09) Puzey was a First Team All-WAC player in her last three seasons and is the all-time school leader in Stolen Bases.  She is also second all-time in Home Runs and Runs Batted In and was vital in their run to the WAC Tournament Championship in 2006.  Regina Ratigan– Women’s Basketball, Softball and Volleyball (1977-80 A three-sport athlete, Ratgan was best at Basketball where she at one time held the singles season scoring record. Cindy Rock– Women’s Basketball, Softball & Volleyball (1977-79) Rock was another three-sport athlete at Nevada and she set a since broken single-game women’s basketball record for points with 44.  She would make history as the first out of state scholarship recipient for a female student-athlete. Karly Siphers– Volleyball (2004-07) Siphers was a First Team All-WAC player in 2007 and was Second-Team in the three seasons before. Angie Taylor– Women’s Basketball (1981-85), Athletics Administration 1987-2000) After her playing career, she would serve for 14 years in Athletics Administration for the University of Nevada. Ellen Townsend– Volleyball & Softball (1976-77) Women’s Basketball (1976-79) Townsend was a three-sport athlete who was especially talented in Softball, playing at third base for the Lobos.  The Nevada Athletic Hall of Fame was first formed in 1973 and it boasts over 200 inductees.  This group will be honored at halftime of their home football game against Weber State on…

It is a sad day in Raider Nation as Cliff Branch has passed away at the age of 71.  He was found dead in his hotel room and is believed to have died of natural causes. Branch played his college ball at the University of Colorado where he was also a track star.  The Oakland Raiders would select him in the fourth round of the 1972 Draft and that was the team he would play his entire 14-year career. Branch had his best seasons from 1974 to 1974 where he was named to the Pro Bowl each year with First Team All-Pro Selections in the first three.  He would lead the NFL in Receiving Yards in 1974 and Touchdown Receptions in 1974 and 1976.  Branch would also be a member of three Super Bowl Championship Teams (XI, XV and XVIII) and before it was broken by Jerry Rice, he was the all-time playoff leader in Receptions and Receiving yards.  He would overall catch 501 passes for 8,685 Yards and 67 Touchdowns. While Branch had not been chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he was a two-time Semi-Finalist (2004 & 2010).  He is ranked #13 on our latest Notinhalloffame.com list for those to consider for Canton. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Cliff Branch at this time.

We have seen a lot lately of Donovan McNabb and his plight for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, from Terrell Owens simply saying “Who?” when asked about McNabb and McNabb himself comparing his stats to Troy Aikman and saying that he is a Hall of Famer. McNabb’s candidacy has been much aligned by critics and fans and even on our site, he has not received a lot of support. He does, however, have a great fan for his potential Hall of Fame bust in his former coach Andy Reid, who had this to say: “Listen, I’m his biggest fan. I was there. I know he belongs there.  You talk about the great players in the National Football League? Five championship games, a Super Bowl? All those things? Good football player. Great football player, and did some things that weren’t being done at that particular time in a lot of areas. I think the world of him.” Reid makes a lot of good points, but they seem to have gone on deaf ears in terms of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  McNabb has yet to be a Semi-Finalist and based on history it does not seem that he will be chosen this year. Either way, we will be paying attention.

It was announced today that Harley Race, former seven-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion of the World passed away today at the age of 76 after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. Race began in career in the early 1960’s and he would first achieve significant success as a tag team with Larry Hennig in the American Wrestling Association where they would hold the AWA World Tag Team Championship three times.  Race sought a singles career and he would cut his teeth in the Midwest, impressing NWA promoters enough to put the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on him.  In what was considered an upset at the time, Race defeated Dory Funk Jr. for the title in 1973 in Kansas City, though it was not expected that he would be the World Champion for long.  In reality, the NWA had Race beat Funk Jr. as they wanted to eventually put the title on Jack Brisco as they were not certain that Dory would do the honors for Brisco. With Race as his opponent, Funk Jr. would have a hard time escaping with the title as Race had already established himself as the toughest man in the business and one would only lose if he allowed himself to. Race’s title run was brief, as he lost to Jack Brissco a few months later but Race’s profile was raised, which he continued to add to by wrestling all over the world and winning titles everywhere.  This included the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title and the Mid-Atlantic United States Championship, the latter of which he would be the first ever champ.   When Brisco wanted to relinquish the title, the NWA board voted 4 to 3 in favor of Terry Funk to be the champion but Funk himself would ask to lose the title for personal reasons and in 1977, Harley Race would defeat Funk for the World Heavyweight Title.  Save for brief one-week reigns by Dusty Rhodes, Giant Baba and Tommy Rich, Race was a dominant champion for four years.  He lost it again to Rhodes, who in turn lost it to Ric Flair, and Race would beat Flair for his 7thWorld Title reign in June of 1983, which would set up Starrcade, a closed-circuit broadcast that was main-evented by Race defending his title in a Steel Cage Match against Flair.  Race lost, and focused on the Central States and St. Louis territory of which he was a part-owner as the World Wrestling…

As we approach the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, we have been working on our future eligible section.  As football players don’t always retire after they played their last game (usually to see if they can land another job while sitting out as a free agent) we aren’t able to immediately add them.   With that being the case, we have added to our site, 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame eligible list. The people eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame whom we are featuring are: Alterraun Verner:  Verner would be named to the Pro Bowl at Cornerback in 2013 when he was with the Tennessee Titans. Brian Cushing:  The Linebacker was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2009, but this would be the only year that the career Houston Texan would be named to the Pro Bowl. Carson Palmer:  Palmer was a three-time Pro Bowl Quarterback who led the NFL in Touchdown Passes in 2005. Chris Johnson:  Johnson was the Offensive Player of the Year in 2009 and the Running Back would go on to three Pro Bowls. Cliff Avril:  Avril was a Pro Bowl Linebacker in 2016 and was a Super Bowl Champion with the Seattle Seahawks. Danny Woodhead:  Woodhead was a popular and undrafted Running Back who would have nearly 5,000 Yards from Scrimmage. Darrelle Revis:  Revis was the greeter of “Revis Island”, where the Cornerback would be named to seven Pro Bowls and four First Team All-Pros.  Revis would win a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. Darren McFadden:  McFadden played at Running Back where he would have 7,535 Yards from Scrimmage. DeAngelo Hall:  Hall would become a three-time Pro Bowl Defensive Back. DeMarco Murray:  Murray was explosive in 2014 where the Running Back would be named the Offensive Player of the Year.  He was also a three-time Pro Bowl Selection. Dwight Freeney:  Freeney was a First Team All-Pro Defensive End three times and he would be named to seven Pro Bowls.  Freeney won the Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts and he retired with 125.5 Quarterback Sacks. Elvis Dumervil:  At Defensive End, Dumervil was a five-time Pro Bowl and two-time First Team All-Pro who led the NFL in Sacks in 2009.  He retried with 105.5 Sacks over his career. Eric Decker:  The Wide Receiver would have over 50 Receiving Touchdowns over his career. Eric Weems:  Weems would record over 5,000 Return Yards and was 2010 Pro Bowl Selection. Eric Wood:  Wood would be a Pro Bowl Selection…

As we approach the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, we have been working on our future eligible section.  As football players don’t always retire after they played their last game (usually to see if they can land another job while sitting out as a free agent) we aren’t able to immediately add them.   With that being the case, here are some new additions to the 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame eligible list. Antonio Smith: Smith played on the Defensive Line where he was a 2011 Pro Bowler with the Houston Texans. Darrell Stuckey: Stuckey played at Safety for his entire career with the San Diego Chargers where he was a Pro Bowl Selection in 2014. Dashon Goldson: Goldson would twice be name to the Pro Bowl (2011 & 2012), the latter of which seeing the Free Safety win the First Team All-Pro. DeAngelo Williams:  Williams was an eleven-year veteran, all with the Carolina Panthers and he was a Pro Bowl Selection in 2009. D’Qwell Jackson: Jackson was a Pro Bowl Linebacker in 2014 and he would lead the NFL in Solo Tackles in 2011.   Gary Barnidge: Barnidge was a Pro Bowl Tight End in 2015. Jon Dorenbos: Dorenbos was a two-time Pro Bowl Long Snapper. Marc Mariani: Mariani would be named to the Pro Bowl as a Returner in 2010. Mario Williams: Williams was the first overall pick in 2006 and would become a four-time Pro Bowl Selection. Michael Griffin: Griffin would go to two Pro Bowls at Free Safety as a Tennessee Titan. Paul Soliai: Soliai was a Pro Bowler in 2011. Roman Harper: Harper was a two-time Pro Bowler and would win the Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints. Ryan Matthews: Matthews was a Pro Bowl Running Back in 2011 and he would have two 1,000 Rushing Yard seasons. Trent Cole: Cole was a two-time Pro Bowl Linebacker (2007 & 2009) who would accumulate 90.5 Quarterback Sacks. Victor Cruz: Crus would win a Super Bowl with the New York Giants and was a Pro Bowl Selection in 2012. This group joins A.J. Hawk, Andre Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Antonio Cromartie, Arian Foster, Branden Albert, Brandon Flowers, Chad Greenway, Chris Chester, DeMarcus Ware, Devin Hester, Evan Mathis, Jake Long, James Laurinaitis, Jeremy Zuttah, Jerome Felton, Jordan Cameron, Josh Brown, Justin Forcett, Nick Mangold, Pat McAfee, Percy Harvin, Robert Mathis, Ryan Clady, Steve Smith, Tony Romo, Vince Wilfolk and Vincent Jackson who are already featured. The entire group eligible…

It is a sad day in the world of the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins as it was announced that former Linebacker, Nick Buoniconti, passed away today at the age of 78. The undersized Linebacker was drafted in the 13thRound out of Notre Dame by the Boston Patriots in 1962, where he would be a five-time AFL All-Star for the Pats.  He would be traded to the Miami Dolphins in 1969 where he would anchor their “No-Name Defense” and help them win Super Bowl VII and VIII.  He would be named to two Pro Bowls as a Dolphin. Buoniconti would be chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, fans and family of Nick Buoniconti.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while! As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Atlanta Braves who first came into fruition as the Boston Red Stockings, a charter member of the National League.  After multiple name changes, they settled on the name of the Braves in the early 1910’s. The team would relocate to Milwaukee in 1953 and then to Atlanta in 1966.  Despite their longevity, they have only won three World Series (1914, 1957 & 1995). As for all of our top 50 players in baseball we look at the following:  Advanced Statistics. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National League. Playoff accomplishments. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet. Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories. This list is updated up until the end of the 2018 Season. The complete list can be found here,but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are: Hank Aaron Warren Spahn Kid Nichols Greg Maddux Eddie Mathews We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.   As always we thank you for your support.

Derek Jeter is eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020 and barring voters forgetting to submit their ballots, the induction of Jeter is a sure thing.  It also looks like there will be two former Baseball Hall of Famers who won’t be in attendance. In an interview with Bleacher Report during the Hall of Fame weekend, Andre Dawson was asked if he would be in attendance for the 2020 ceremony.  He had this to say: "I sincerely doubt [that I will attend] at this point.  All indications are likely not. ... I can't speak for Tony. But I don't have a sense or feeling like I want to sit on that stage to hear what [Jeter] has to say." Dawson was employed with the Miami Marlins as a special assistant and upon Derek Jeter’s group buying the team, he was relieved of his duties.  Jeter did not do the job himself, as he had David Samson, then the President of the team do it.  Dawson wasn’t alone as fellow Hall of Famer and special assistant, Tony Perez was also let go in the same manner. To add to the perceived insult, both Dawson and Perez were offered their jobs back at a substantially less salary ($85,000 to $25,000) and they would no longer have clubhouse access. As for Perez, he hasn’t stated whether he will be in attendance.  He did state that if he doesn’t attend, he will be open about why, which could include boycotting because of Jeter.   The man who swung the ax, Samson, he was let go shortly after.

Generally speaking, this is the season for football retirements but we have a mid-season baseball retirement that is significant as New York Yankees Shortstop, Troy Tulowitzki has announced his retirement from Baseball. Debuting for the Colorado Rockies in 2006, “Tulo” would be the runner-up for the National League Rookie of the Year in 2007, the same season that he helped the Rockies reach their only World Series to date.  The Shortstop would quickly ascend to the top of Colorado hitters and from 2009 to 2011 he would finish in the top ten in MVP voting and was twice named a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove.  He would also go to the All-Star Game five times for Colorado.  In the middle of the 2015 season, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for their playoff drive. Unfortunately, injuries to his legs piled up and he would miss all of 2018 and only had 13 Plate Appearances this year Tulowitzki accumulated 1,381 Hits with 225 Home Runs and a Slash Line of .290/.361/856.  While his career bWAR of 44.2 is good, in the modern era it will be difficult to see him making the Baseball Hall of Fame when he is eligible in 2025.   We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank Troy Tulowitzki for his on-field memories and we wish him the best in his post-playing career.  

A bias against the New England Patriots by the Pro Football Hall of Fame?   According to Rodney Harrison, that is what is transpiring. In a conversation with the Boston Globe, he had the following to say: “It’s just unfortunate.  It’s almost a form of discrimination.  People don’t want to elevate us, or recognize or acknowledge how great we are because they’re such haters.  Everywhere I go, people hate on the Patriots.  So we don’t get credit.  All I hear is Tom and Bill.  But that’s such lazy analysis… …I’m like, Ty Law was the greatest defensive back I’ve ever played with.  Richard Seymour, Willie McGinest, Troy Brown, Kevin Faulk, these dudes were bad, bad dudes.  They weren’t just system guys.  It’s unfair when people say (that).” While the “hate” against the Patriots might be there, the Hall of Fame process for former Patriots is proceeding fairly based on the current system. Harrison referred to Ty Law, who will be inducted this year into the Hall.  In terms of the Patriots dynasty (which is still ongoing), Richard Seymour is likely to get inducted soon.  Whether or not Harrison is referring to himself, he was a preliminary nominee, but has not made the Semi-Finals as of yet.   The New England Patriots are still in the midst of a lengthy dynasty and when it is all said and done there will be a plethora of former Pats inducted into Canton. Sorry, no bias! The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019 will be officially enshrined on August 1, 2019.  

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that as part of the $100 million dollar renovation project at Dodger Stadium, a statue of Hall of Fame Pitcher, Sandy Koufax, will be erected. The statue of Koufax will be the second one outside of Dodger Stadium as there is currently one of Jackie Robinson, which is currently in the leftfield reserve, though that will be moved to the new centerfield plaza. Dodger Stadium is the third oldest stadium in Major League Baseball after Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Dodgers hope to have everything complete ahead of hosting the 2020 All-Star Game. We here at Notinhalloffame.com are excited about the new changes to Dodger Stadium and for Sandy Koufax who has achieved another level of baseball immortality.

As training camp begins in the National Football League, we have another retirement to look at in Pro Football as Quarterback, Mark Sanchez has announced his retirement to pursue a career as a college football analyst.   It was in college, specifically USC where he had his best success.  As a Senior, Sanchez took the Trojans to a 12 and 1 record and a Rose Bowl win over Penn State.  The New York Jets would draft him 5thoverall in 2009 where he would be their starter but he would throw more Interceptions than Touchdowns in his four seasons in Gotham though as a rookie he did take the Jets to the NFC Championship Game. He would repeat that feat in 2010, making him the second Quarterback after Ben Roethlisberger to do that in his first two seasons. Sanchez would never be a starter after 2013 and he would bounce as a backup Quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins.  He retires with 15,357 Passing Yards and 68 Touchdown Passes.   We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Mark Sanchez the best in his post-playing career.  

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  Eventually, this will extend to the major programs in the NCAA and as such it is news to us that LSU Basketball has announced that the #35 of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf will be retired this season. As a Tiger, Abdul-Rauf was named Chris Jackson, the name he had before he converted to Islam in 1991.  The Point Guard played two years at LSU and was a Consensus All-American and SEC Player of the Year both years.  He would set records as a freshman for Points (965) and Points per Game (30.2).   He would go on to have a long career in pro basketball, both in the NBA and abroad. Abdul-Rauf becomes the fifth former Tiger to have his number retired. He joins “Pistol” Pete Maravich (#23), Shaquille O’Neal (#33), Durand “Rudy” Macklin (#40) and Bob Pettit (#50). We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf for earning this very prestigious honor.

The Hockey Hall of Fame recently had their most bizarre Hockey Hall of Fame Class as for the first time in any of our lists we had NOBODT from our top 25 were chosen for their respective Hall of Fame.   Now before we unveil our new list, a couple of caveats about the impending Class of 2019 and our list in general: At present, we don’t rank female players.  This is not because we do not respect the women that have been inducted but at this time there has not been a lot of call for us to do so and we have decided at this time not to merge eligible female players with our core list.  Had we done so, Hayley Wickenheiser, who was chosen this year would have likely been ranked #1 by us. We also don’t rank builders as of yet.  We do have an exception with Don Cherry, but are looking to create a builders list and migrate him to that one. As such, only two former players were removed from our list, Guy Carbonneau (#29) and Sergei Zubov (#44) and they are slated to join Wickenheiser as the Class of 2019. Three new names enter our list, which is now at 131.  There will be a future expansion to 150, which will occur later this year. Let’s look at our new top ten, and based on our new #1 we feel confident that there will not be a repeat of not having a top ten (let alone a top twenty-five) not make the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2020. Our new Notinhalloffame.com Hockey Top Ten is: #1. Jarome Iginla:  Iginla is entering his first year of eligibility and point blank he is the reason why we feel confident that there will be a top ten entry entering the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020 as he should enter on his first ballot.  The six-time All-Star was named to the First Team All-Star post season squad three times and he is also a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist with Team Canada. #2. Alexander Mogilny:  Mogilny drops one spot, as he was our top rank last year.  One of the last creations of the Red Army, Alexander Mogilny was the first Soviet player to defect to play in the NHL and he would have a legendary 76 Goal season for the Buffalo Sabres in 1992/93.  Eligible since 2009, Mogilny is a two-time Second Team All-Star.…

We don’t often discuss the Musicians Hall of Fame, and with all due respect, there is a good reason for it. Since its inception in 2007, the Nashville based Hall has only had six classes, including the one we are about to discuss.  After their third class in 2009, the city of Nashville took over their property to make room for the Music City Center and they would reopen in 2013 on the first floor of the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.  They would induct their fourth class in 2014 and fifth in 2016, thus bringing us to the sixth class announced yesterday. Before we get to that class, let’s look at what the Musicians Hall of Fame is first.  Their mandate is to recognize the contributions of performers, producers in rock and roll, country music and beyond.  As it is based in Nashville, it is not surprising that there has been more of a country flavor to the inductees, but nevertheless, we love the idea of this Hall of Fame, so let’s look at the Class of 2019. Alabama:  The headliners of this class can make a claim as the most successful country music band of all-time.  Coming into prominence in the 1980s, Alabama would sell over 75 million records and had 40 number one hits.   Steve Wariner:  Wariner has charted on the Country Music Charts 50 times and has written number 1 hits for Clint Black and Garth Brooks. Don Everly:  Don Everly was one-half of the Everly Brothers, who are Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.  Everly enters specifically winning the “Iconic Riff Award” for the intro to their hit, “Wake Up Little Susie”. Felix Cavaliere:  A member of the Rascals and Joey Dee and the Starliters, Felix Cavaliere is a successful keyboardist.  He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Rascals. Owen Bradley:  Bradley enters posthumously in the Musicians Hall of Fame Producer category.  He was a large part of developing the “Nashville Sound” and bringing Country Music sound to the modern era.  He entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1974. Billy Sherrill:  Sherrill enters by receiving the Musicians Hall of Fame Engineer Award. He led recording sessions for George Jones and Tammy Wynette among others. The Surfaris:  The California surf music group enters by earning the inaugural Musicians Hall of Fame Instrumental Song Award for their 1963 hit, “Wipe Out”. Three groups of sessions musicians are also being inducted.  They are the modern “A-Team” (Eddie Bayers,…

The Country Music Hall of Fame does a lot right, one of which we would like to focus us on is their regular exhibits on selected musicians in the country music industry.  They will be doing that again, this time focusing on Brooks & Dunn, starting on August 9, running until July 19, 2020.  This will coincide with the duo’s impending induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame this fall. Titled, Brooks & Dunn: Kings of Neon, will display many of their trophies, custom guitars, stage wear and an early draft of their #1 Hit, “Red Dirt Road”. While we here at Notinhalloffame.com will not be in proximity to view the festivities in Nashville, we again congratulate the Country Music Hall of Fame for being one of the most progressive in their institutional field.    

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have announced that former Cornerback, Less Browne will be inducted into their franchise Hall of Fame. Playing his college ball at Colorado State, Browne would play for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats where he was a two-time CFL All-Star before joining the Blue Bombers in 1989.  He was only there for three seasons, but he was selected for two more CFL All-Star teams and helped Winnipeg win the 1990 Grey Cup. He would have 27 Interceptions for the team. Browne would later become an Assistant Coach for the team. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2002. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Less Browne for receiving this honor.  

Normally we don’t talk about retired numbers until it become official, but we will touch on this story as some more meat on the bone has been added. Following the moves of Kevin Durant to Brooklyn and Andre Iguodala to Memphis, the Golden State Warriors announced that sometime in the future that they would retire their numbers.  Both were vital to the recent championships for the franchise so it is not unexpected, though this announcement does seem early. When asked about this, former Warriors star, Tim Hardaway said that his friends had the following to say in an interview to SF Gate:   I'm laughing because as soon as they said Kevin Durant's number's gonna get retired, here they go, he said, 'Man that's some BS.  How they gonna retire his number and he only played there for three years and you played there for six years, and you giving them all the sweat and tears and everything like that and they're not gonna retire your number.'" But, you know they deserve it, you know they won championships, man. They won championships, they was there, not to say I shouldn't be up there, but you know I can feel what Joe Lacob is saying and he wanna bring them joy and show them gratitude for what they did for the city.” In the interview, Hardaway wanted to make it clear that it was the opinions of his friends and not of himself. Hardaway was a member of the famous RUN-TMC trio with Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond.  Mullin’s number has been retired, but he is also in the Basketball Hall of Fame.  As of this writing, Hardaway and Richmond are not. At present, Golden State had retired six numbers: Wilt Chamberlain (#13), Tom Meschery (#14), Alvin Attles (#16), Chris Mullin (#17), Rick Barry (#24) and Nate Thurmond (#42). We will definitely be paying attention to this one!

It is the 25thanniversary of the creation of Conference USA and in recognition of this the athletic coalition has created a Hall of Fame. The first class consists (appropriately) of 25 people, 20 student-athletes, three coaches and two administrators. To qualify for the Hall, a candidate must meet the following criteria: Student-athletes must have played a minimum of two years.For coaches or administrators, the minimum requirement is five years of service. Student-athletes must have last played for the institution at least five years. Considerations for student-athletes are based on national honors, conference honors, academic standing and off-field contributions. Considerations for coaches and administrators are based on C-USA as a whole. The 25 inductees are: Players: Courtney Blades, Southern Mississippi, Softball 1999-2000:  Blades was the National Softball Player of the Year in 2000 and made history as the first player to record 600 Strikeouts in a season.  She took Southern Miss to two straight College World series appearances. Arnau Brugues, Tulsa, Men’s Tennis 2006-09:  From Spain, Brugues was a four-time Conference USA Player of the Year and would win the 2006 Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championship. This marked the first time that a C-USA player won the title. Tori Bowie, Southern Miss, Track & Field 2009-12:  Bowie was the 2011 and 2012 C-USA Field Athlete of the Year and she would also win the NCAA Long Jump Championship twice.  After college, she represented the United States at the 2016 Olympics where she won Gold in the 4x100 m relay, Silver in the 100 m, and Bronze in the 200 m. Jon Busch, Charlotte, Men’s Soccer 1994-96:  A First Team All-American and Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year in 1996, Busch would take Charlotte to their first College Cup appearance that same year. He would later play in Major League Soccer for fifteen years and was named the Goalkeeper of the Year in 1998. Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis, Men’s Basketball 2005-08:  An All-American in 2008, Douglas-Roberts was also named the C-USA Player of the Year in 2008.  That year, he led the Tigers to the National Championship Game. Jarett Dillard, Rice, Football 2005-08:  Dillard was a First Team All-American in 2008 and would set a record with a touchdown reception in 17 straight games.  In 2008, He was a vital part in Rice’s first bowl win in 54 years. Jake Gautreau, Tulane, Baseball 1998-2001:  Gautreau was the C-USA player of the year in 2000 and 2001 and took the Green Wave to the…