In April, we did our standard recap where we wished a player the best in their post-playing endeavors, with the individual person in question being Marshawn Lynch.  Let’s retract that as “Beast Mode” is back.

Lynch resigned with the Seattle Seahawks yesterday, and the five-time Pro Bowl Selection comes back with “unfinished business” as he said in a recent YouTube video.  

We know what the unfinished business is.  At Super Bowl XLIX, the Seahawks were driving late in the game and were on the one-yard line.  It was expected that Lynch would get the ball, but instead a passing play was called that resulted in a Malcolm Butler interception.  That saved the game for the Patriots, and every arm chair quarterback in the world wondered why Lynch didn’t get the ball.

Last season, Lynch had 460 Yards from Scrimmage with the Oakland Raiders, and he has 12,595 in total.  Should the Seahawks win the Super Bowl, and Lynch has a good game, it would be huge for his Pro Football Hall of Fame chances.

As always will be watching.  

The NFL season is not yet over, but we have a significant retirement that was announced today.  Darren Sproles of the Philadelphia Eagles, who is out for the rest of the season with a hip injury, announced that he will officially call it a career.

A fourth round pick from Kansas State in 2005, Sproles was mostly used as a Kick Returner as a rookie.  He missed all of 2006 due to an ankle injury, and returned as the team’s primary returner, a role he held until 2010.  The Chargers would gradually use him more in their offense, and he would see a 59 reception year in 2010, his last in Southern California.

Next up for Sproles was the New Orleans Saints, where he was again the primary returner, but would also see career highs in Rushing Yards (603), and Receiving Yards (710), and he would lead the NFL in All-Purpose Yards.  He would have at least 600 Receiving Yards the next two seasons.

Sproles would join the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014, and while he saw less of a role in the offense, he would be named to the Pro Bowl the next three seasons as a Punt Returner.  He would finish first in Punt Return Yards in 2014 and 2015.  Sproles was a member of the Eagles Super Bowl LII win, the first in franchise history.

Sproles retires with 3,553 Rushing Yards, 4,840 Receiving Yards, 32 Touchdowns, and 19,696 All-Purpose Yards.  That last stat places him fifth all-time in NFL history. He is a member of the 50^thAnniversary All-Time team, and he holds the New Orleans Saints record for the most All-Purpose Yards in a season (2,696 in 2011).

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank Sproles for the many memories on the gridiron.  We wish him the best in his post-playing career.  

We have another retirement in Baseball to look at as Ian Kinsler has announced that he is retiring from the game.  The San Diego Padre cited issues with a cervical disk that ended his 2018 season.

The Second Baseman began his Major League career in 2006 with the Texas Rangers, where he finished seventh in Rookie of the Year voting.  Kinsler played for Texas until 2013, and he would be named an All-Star on three occasions, and twice he had 30 Home Runs campaigns for the Rangers.  He joined the Detroit Tigers for the 2014 Season, and went to his fourth All-Star Game.  With Detroit, he twice had 20 Home Run campaigns.

Kinsler went to the Los Angeles Angels, and would play there briefly before being traded to the Boston Red Sox, where he was a member of their World Series Championship Team.  San Diego was his last stop, where before he was injured, he played 97 Games.

Kinsler will remain with the Padres as an adviser. He retires with 1,999 Hits, 257 Home Runs, 909 Runs Batted In and 243 Stolen Bases.  He is unlikely to make the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he will be eligible in 2025.  We expect that he will be on the ballot.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Kinsler the best in his post-playing career.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com were thrilled that the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced a special blue-ribbon committee to add 10 Senior Players, three contributors and two coaches.  This will commemorate the 100^thanniversary of the National Football League.

The Centennial Finalists Players are:

Cliff Branch

Harold Carmichael

Jim Covert

Roger Craig

Lavern Dilweg

Ox Emerson

Randy Gradishar

Cliff Harris

Winston Hill

Cecil Isbell

Alex Karras

Verne Lewellen

Tommy Nobis

Drew Pearson

Duke Slater

Mac Speedie

Ed Sprinkle

Al Wistert

All of those players are featured on our Notinhalloffame.com list of those to consider for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Centennial Finalists Coaches are:

Don Coryell

Bill Cowher

Tom Flores

Mike Holmgren

Jimmy Johnson

Buddy Parker

Dan Reeves

Dick Vermeil

The Centennial Finalists Contributors are:

Bud Adams

Ralph Hay

Bucko Kilroy

Art McNally

Art Modell

Clint Murchison

Steve Sabol

Seymour Siwoff

Paul Tagliabue

George Young

10 Players, 3 Coaches and 2 Contributors will be chosen, and they will be joined by 5 Modern Era Candidates.