The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced their two contributor finalists for the 2019 Class, which are Pat Bowlen and Gil Brandt.

Pat Bowlen became the owner of the Denver Broncos in 1984 and over that time the franchise would win the AFC seven times and the Super Bowl three times. In 2014 due to Alzheimer’s disease he would step down as the CEO of the team.

Brandt worked as a scout for the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers in the late 1950’s and he would take over as the chief talent scout for the Dallas Cowboys in 1960, a position he would hold for nearly 30 years. Brandt’s innovations in scouting would become a template for NFL teams.

Bowlen and Brandt automatically become finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which will be chosen days before the Super Bowl.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate both Bowlen and Brandt for advancing to this stage.

Victor Cruz announced today that he has retired from Pro Football and will be joining ESPN as an analyst.

Cruz was undrafted out of the University of Massachusetts but was able to sign on as a free agent with the New York Giants in 2010 and would see limited action as a rookie, however he was given the opportunity in 2011 and made the most of it accruing 82 Receptions for 1,536 Yards, which noticeably included a 99 Yard Touchdown Reception, the longest in NFL history. More importantly, he would help the Giants win Super Bowl XLVI.

The Wide Receiver would be named to the Pro Bowl in 2012 and again had 1,000 Yards. He would also have a career high 10 Touchdown Receptions. Cruz would be riddled with injuries and regression shortly after and he his numbers would subside. He would miss the 2015 season completely and in his return season of 2016 he only tallied 586 Yards. The Giants would release him in February of 2017 and while he signed shortly after with the Chicago Bears, he was not able to crack their roster.

Cruz is not likely to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame (he will be eligible in 2022) but his end zone Salsa Dance will be missed.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Victor Cruz the best in his new career at ESPN.

The Tennis Hall of Fame has made a slight adjustment to their voting procedures to make it a little more fan interactive. Starting late this month the Hall will have an online poll that will allow fans to vote on who they think should be inducted.

To get inducted a candidate requires 75% of the vote and the members who vote on the Hall of Fame remain the same. What the online vote does do is provide a jump in the percentage. The top vote getter will receive an additional 3%, the second highest will receive 2% and the third place finisher in the online vote will receive a 1% boost. While this may seem like a lot, chances are that one year that it will make the difference on a fringe candidate.

While this is a minor change, it does make this Hall of Fame more fan friendly, which is an easy thing for us to celebrate.

As most of the regular visitors to Notinhalloffame.com are aware we are (very) slowly putting together our top 50 players of every franchise in the “Big 4” of North American sports. After that is completed we will take a look at how each organization honors their past players and executives.

As such, it is important to us that the Cleveland Indians have retired the number 25 yesterday of Jim Thome in a pre-game ceremony.

2018 has been somewhat of a celebration year for Thome who earlier this year was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Last week, the Chicago White Sox honored him for his accomplishments for them and in June the Philadelphia Phillies did the same. The Minnesota Twins will be honoring Thome next Saturday.

Thome played for six teams over his career over half of which was spent with the Indians. He went to three All Star Games as an Indian where he hit 337 Home Runs with a .287/.414/.566 Slash Line. He is the all time franchise leader in Home Runs. His #25 joins Earl Averill (#3), Lou Boudreau (#5), Larry Doby (#14), Mel Harder (#18), Bob Feller (#19), Bob Lemon (#21) and Jackie Robinson (#42).

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Jim Thome for earning this prestigious honor.