After a year at Michigan, Jamal Crawford declared for the NBA Draft where the Chicago Bulls took him ninth overall.

Crawford would not blossom into a superstar, but he is one of the rare men to have competed in 20 NBA seasons, an astounding achievement for any athlete.  The sharpshooter began a 16-year streak of at least 10 Points per Game in 2002-03, with half of them exceeding 17, peaking with a 20.6 PPG when he was a Knick in 2007-08.  New York traded him to Golden State early in the 2008-09 Season, and that was his last year as a starter, but it would be far from the end of his career, as he would become one of the best bench players in Basketball.

Signing with Atlanta in 2009, Crawford was now coming off the bench, but he excelled in that role.  He won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in his first year in ATL, and would win two more as a Clipper (2014 & 2016).  Also, a Trail Blazer (2011-12), Crawford’s work ethic and mentorship earned him the NBA Teammate of the Year Award in 2017-18, his lone year with the Timberwolves.  

Crawford finished his career with Phoenix and Brooklyn, and retired with a career average of 14.6 Points per Game.  He won’t get a look from Springfield, but his career should never be forgotten.

Depending on where you are in the world, certain sports will be incredibly popular, whereas others are barely acknowledged and hardly watched. This can be down to a multitude of factors, such as if a particular sport is taught at schools, if the sport has a thriving, successful or wealthy league in a particular nation, or if there is a particular star player from that country, who is so popular that people who never previously watched that sport decide to start tuning in, just to lend their support to their famous star.

For instance, in the world of Formula 1, it is likely that the people of the Netherlands never paid much attention to the sport for great periods of time. There wasn’t a race held there, and while there were odd seasons when a Dutch driver was participating, it never seemed to be for more than a season at a time. This all changed in 2015 when Max Verstappen entered the sport and was soon driving for one of the top teams, Red Bull. In addition, for the first time in 36 years, a race was held in the Netherlands this year, with Verstappen thankfully winning it with relative ease, which lead to the crowd going absolutely wild for him.

Formula 1 is a very popular sport, with an estimated 87.4 million people watching each race in 2020. These numbers have certainly been increased since the Netflix series ‘Drive to Survive’ was first broadcast in 2019, as the show has introduced the sport to millions of people who would never previously have been interested in it. However, it is still not estimated to be in the top ten most popular sports in the world. Which sports do make it into this exclusive list? Read on to find out.

Big in the U.S. but not elsewhere

If you have ever travelled to the United States of America, you’d easily assume that because American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey are so popular there, that they must be all around the world. In fact, three of the four are relatively low down the list. American football is certainly the most popular sport in the U.S, with millions each week sitting down to watch the games, looking through their sports betting apps to find the best NFL picks for each game. But most of the viewers are located in North America, with not that many watching elsewhere in the world. In total, it is estimated around 425 million people regularly watch American football.

Baseball is in eighth position (golf is in ninth) which may come as a surprise to many. It is hugely popular in the US, but also parts of Central America, and most importantly Japan. In total, around 510 million people would call themselves fans of the sport.

Basketball is in seventh. Another sport popular in the U.S., it also attracts fans and viewers in parts of Eastern Europe and the Pacific.

A few surprises higher up the table

Seeing Table Tennis in sixth and Volleyball in fifth will certainly come as a surprise to many people. Table Tennis picks up a lot of its viewers in Asia, specifically China, which makes sense given some of the most famous table tennis players come from there.

Volleyball is estimated to have 900 million followers, and spread evenly around the world, in places such as Asia, Europe, the Americas and Australia.

Tennis places in fourth, with around 1 billion fans worldwide. Considering major events are held in North America, Europe and Oceania, it makes sense that there is a split across these continents for where the bulk of tennis fans are from.

We were very surprised to see hockey quite so high in fourth place, even if it encompasses both field hockey and ice hockey. It certainly appeals to a wide range of people, with an approximate 2.2 billion people tuning in in Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia.

Who comes out on top?

For readers outside of Europe, Oceania or parts of Asia, you will be surprised to see Cricket quite so high on the list. It cannot be overstated just how popular the sport is. Yes, many people watch it in England, Australia and New Zealand, but the majority of fans come from Asia, specifically Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. The people of India adore the sport, with the players worshipped like they are gods. The captain of the men’s cricket team, Virat Kolhi, has 150 million Instagram followers, which truly emphasises just how popular Cricket is.

Out on top is soccer. According to some statistics, there are nearly 4 billion fans across the globe, which is more than half of the world population. It is played in every country, doesn’t require much equipment, and is very easy to watch on television. Therefore, it is no surprise to see it at number one.

Let’s face it, we all know why we tune in to the Super Bowl. We tune in for the action on the pitch, and to see if the NFL Super Bowl odds are true for the match in question. We watch for the exhilarating, edge of your seat excitement that comes with figuring out who will hit the next touchdown, and for the sigh of relief and ecstasy that we get at the end of the game when our favorite team wins that Super Bowl Championship trophy.

Of course, there are a lot of things to love about football beyond just the game itself. We get the chance to enjoy the companionship of friends and family as we watch the action unfold - it’s even a ritual TV watching experience for many. But there’s another reason why we often watch the Super Bowl. That’s right - it’s for the Halftime shows.

The half time shows in the Super Bowl are often something to really sing and dance about. They often feature big names and fantastic performances to remember, making each year a unique one. In order to illustrate our point, we’ve written this list of the 10 best star performances from Super Bowl halftime shows. Why not watch some of them back while you read? We’re sure you won’t regret it! 

1. Michael Jackson – 1993

Going way back to the 90’s to 1993, we have the acclaimed performance from the King of Pop Himself - Michael Jackson! This performance was truly spectacular and something to remember, featuring Jackson starting the show on two jumbotrons with a few body doubles. He sang a few crowd pleasers, including Jam, Billie Jean, and Black or White. We even got a treat watching his famous moonwalk! The show ended with a gorgeous performance of Heal the World alongside Los Angeles children. 

     2. Madonna – 2012

Before she released her big MDNA album in 2012, pop icon Madonna made her way onto the Super Bowl halftime show with a breathtaking 12 minute long performance. In the performance, guest stars were included - such as LMFAO, M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj. Cee Lo Green even got in on the action! A few big highlights included renditions of Vogue, Party Rock Anthem/ Sexy and I Know It, Like a Prayer and more. We especially enjoyed watching the performance, since it was so aesthetically pleasing with unique costumes. 

     3. Justin Timberlake - 2018

Who doesn’t like a bit of Justin Timberlake? Everyone loved his performance in 2018, and it was certainly a huge improvement from a situation with Janet Jackson 14 years earlier. He certainly redeemed himself in this 2018 show. In the show, Timberlake chose to sing some songs from his new album at the time, entitled Man of the Woods.

     4. Lady Gaga – 2017

If you wanted an eccentric Super Bowl Halftime show, you were most certainly going to get one with Lady Gaga. It was truly a sight to behold. Gaga graced us all with a fantastic show with hits such as Born This Way and an arrangement of the anthem, Star Spangled Banner. She also sang a few fan favorite songs like Poker Face and Telephone. At the end, she jumped off the stage and caught a glitter covered football as the sky lit up with gorgeous fireworks.

     5. Katy Perry – 2015

2015 brought with it a pop princess and… Sharks? This quirky performance was pretty exciting, with the titular artist riding onto the stage on a massive metallic lion. She delighted fans with a few hits including I Kissed a Girl, Roar and more. A massive 118.5 million people tuned in to watch, which at this point made it the single most watched halftime show in history. This record has since been beaten, but it’s an impressive feat nonetheless.

      6 . Beyonce - 2013

People had been wanting a Beyonce performance in the Super Bowl for many years, and they finally got it in 2013. She was even joined on the stage by Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland and they sang some Destiny’s Child favorites. The costumes were wonderful, the performance was spectacular - it was basically the performance of any super bowl fan’s dreams. We certainly love to see it! 

      7. Beyonce, Coldplay and Bruno Mars – 2016

Of course, that wouldn’t be the only time that Beyonce performed in the Super Bowl either. We were also delighted to see her make her way onto the stage with Coldplay and Bruno Mars in 2016. The audience participation here was fantastic, with fans holding up cards in various colors to create sunset colors before Coldplay began singing Viva La Vida. The show had energy, spunk and intrigue that fans went wild for, accumulating in a combined performance at the end from the three artists.

      8. Shakira and J-Lo – 2020

What better duo than Shakira and Jennifer Lopez for the 2020 54th Super Bowl? This performance consisted of a few great Shakira hits like She Wolf, Whenever, Wherever and More. J-Lo, on the other hand, sang Jenny from the Block, Get It Right, On The Floor and other hits. For the final performance, they sang together. It was great to watch! 

      9. Prince - 2007 

The first instance of rain in the Super Bowl came in 2007 with the Prince performance. It was a wonderful performance, including many great songs like Let’s Go Crazy, and covers of The Best of You from The Foo Fighters.

      10. Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney was a great choice for a half time performance as a former Beatle, and he certainly did not disappoint! He sang a few major hits like Drive My Car, Live and Let Die and for the finale, a stunning rendition of Hey Jude. It was most certainly one that Super Bowl fans would not soon regret in the many years to come. 

We’ve had many performances through the years, but these are just some of the best. We’re certainly excited to see what the 2021 Super Bowl brings! 

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 our pre-2021-22 revision of our top 50 Anaheim Ducks.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NHL. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Please note, that this is our first revision, reflective of the last year.

With the Ducks being a weak team in 2020-21, very little changed, and the top five remains the same as last year, and only had two modest climbs.  As always, we present the Top Five.

1. Teemu Selanne

2. Ryan Getzlaf

3. Paul Kariya

4. Corey Perry

5. Jean-Sebastian Giguere

You can find the entire list here.

There were two slight changes, both of which moved up one spot, that being Rickard Rakell (to #15) and Jakob Silfverberg (to #17). 

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.