Some people have Christmas. We here at Notinhalloffame.com have the annual announcement of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class.  

This isn’t an exaggeration. As we have discussed before, the idea for the website originated from a bar discussion about the glaring omissions to the Rock Hall.  This begat a list, and another, and another, to where are the go-to site to discuss all things Hall of Fame related.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame houses the most hotly debated assortment of entries and snubs, and when you have something as subjective as music, how can it not?

We’ll go one step further. Unlike the sports halls that we regularly discuss, the words Rock and Roll, are even debated.  While people might debate the origin of baseball or football, nobody debates what it is.  With Rock, not only is the origin mudded, the definition of rock music varies depending on who you ask.  The only rule they have is that an artist is eligible 25 years after they recorded their first album, and they even broke that when they inducted Smokey Robinson as a solo well under that threshold, this leaving out the rest of the Miracles: who had to wait decades later.

Clear as mud, right?

Regardless, of that quasi-critical into, we do this because we care, and you are here because you care. Let’s look at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

Depeche Mode: Eligible since 2006, Depeche Mode has been a Finalist three of the last four years.  This induction helps open up the door for other 80s Alternative groups, namely The Smiths and New Order/Joy Division

The Doobie Brothers:  The Class Rock band have been eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 1996, and it took until this year before they finally got nominated.  

Nine Inch Nails:  Approximately 18 months ago, Trent Reznor trashed the Rock Hall, but then he was an inductor for the 2019 Class.  Eligible since 2014, NIN enters in its third nomination making it the first (and likely only)

The Notorious B.I.G.:  This is the first year of Biggie’s eligibility and many expected him to enter immediately.  This will be a posthumous induction, as he was shot and killed in 1997.

T. Rex:  It took until this year for the glam rockers to receive their first nomination and after being eligible since 1994, Marc Bolan and company finally got in.

Whitney Houston:  Like Biggie, this is a posthumous induction.  The diva was first eligible in 2010.  Houston’s selection help artists like Mariah Carey get in later.

While fans of any of the other group/artist will point that the omission of their respective favorite is a snub, some are a little more surprising than others.

The Dave Matthews Band won the fan poll, but did not advance through marking the first time in five years that this has transpired. They have only been eligible for three years, and this was the first time that the popular jam band was nominated. 

It was widely speculated that Pat Benatarcwas going to get in (including us), but that didn’t happen. The 80’s rocker has been eligible since 1999, but this was her first nomination.  If any artist will elicit a backlash for a perceived snub, this is the one. 

Many pundits thought that comments made about the Heavy Metal genre being underrepresented by new Hall of Fame CEO, Joel Peresman, could result in Judas Priest entering.  This did not happen.  This was their second nomination, and the British rockers have been eligible since 1999.

The other Finalists who did not make the cut are:

Kraftwerk:  Eligible since 1995, this was their sixth nomination, and fourth in the past six years. In terms of influence, there is no greater act left who belongs in the Rock Hall, though their music does not make most music fans think of rock at all.

MC5:  The proto-punk band fails to get in on their fifth nomination, and they have been eligible since 1991.

Motorhead:  It took until this year for Lemmy and company to be nominated after being eligible since 2002.  The failure to induct Judas Priest this year, likely makes this a longer wait for them.

Rufus and Chaka Khan:  Chaka Khan has been nominated multiple times both as a single and with Rufus.  She is a clear favorite of the nominating committee and this could very well be a potential Nile Rodgers situation.

Soundgarden:  After being eligible since 2011, Soundgarden received their first nomination this year.

Thin Lizzy:  The Irish rockers have been eligible since 1995, and this was their first nomination.

Todd Rundgren:  We had speculated that he might enter via the Ahmet Ertegun Award for Musical Excellence, but this went to Irving Azoff and Jon Landau instead. This was his second straight nomination, and he has been eligible since 1995.

We also expect that there will be more articles published how the Hall has snubbed women (they haven’t, and we are working on a giant piece about that), and others comments that begin with “It’s a joke that ___ is not in the Hall.”  We will continue with our opinions, and we certainly encourage all of yours.

All of this year’s group of impending inductees will be removed from our core Notinhalloffame.com Rock and Roll list.  We will add those who are now eligible, and redo rankings based on the new entries, and the votes and comments that we have received.  Look for our revised list by early March.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the new members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and we are looking forward to the ceremony this spring.

Following the somewhat expected retirement of Antonio Gates, a shocking one took place this evening as Carolina Panthers Linebacker, Luke Kuechly has announced his retirement from the NFL.  He is only 28 Years old, but has had issues with concussions in recent years.

In a video shared by the Panthers, Kuechly cited that it was “the right time” to retire and that it was the “right time to move on.” Kuechly was the best Linebacker in the NCAA in 2011, where the Boston College player would win the ACC Defensive Player of the Year Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Butkus Award, Lombardi Award and Lott Trophy.  He was drafted ninth overall in that year’s draft by the Carolina Panthers, and he would immediately establish himself as one of the best interior lineman in the pro ranks. 

Kuechly started originally but was playing at the exterior until Jon Beason was injured, and Kuechly would take over at his natural Middle Linebacker position.  He would win the Defensive Rookie of the Year, and astounding as that was, this was arguably the weakest of his career.

From 2013 to 2019, he would be named to the Pro Bowl, with five of those seasons, seeing Kuechly be named First Team All-Pro. In the two that he didn’t win that honor, he was a Second Team All-Pro.  Kuechly would win the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2013.  With the exception of this rookie season, he had an Approximate Value of at least 10, and he was a two-time leader in Tackles.

Keuchly did it all.  He was an excellent pass rusher, could stuff the running game, and dropped back at ease.  Also, an exemplary tackler, he was the leader of the Panthers defense almost from the time he got there, and few players ever matched his natural instincts on the gridiron. The Panthers were a successful team while he was there, and he was a huge reason that they reached Super Bowl 50.

He retires with 18 Interceptions and 1,092 Tackles, the latter being the most by any Linebacker since 2012.  Kuechly becomes another player in recent years to retire at the height of their game.

In our pre-season ranking of active players for Hall of Fame consideration, Kuechly was ranked at #17, and based on his 2019 season, he would have entered the 2020 season even higher.

Barring a comeback, he is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025. 

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank Luke Kuechly for all of the moments he gave us on the field, and we wish him the best in his post-playing career.

A huge name has called it a career in professional football has called it a career as Tight End, Antonio Gates, announced that he is officially retiring.  Gates was an unsigned free agent in 2019, having last played in 2018.

Gates was a dual sports star in high school in football and basketball, and would play the latter at Easter Michigan, The College of the Seqioias and at Kent State.  He was not drafted in the NBA, but despite not playing football in college, his agent arranged a pro football tryout with the San Diego Chargers who would sign him as an undrafted free agent.

Gates made the team at Tight End, and as a rookie, he would record 24 catches, which again was phenomenal considering that he was not even playing college football the year before.  While he seemingly came out of nowhere, he was then prognosticated to have a breakout season in 2004.  Gates shattered the hype, and he would begin an eight-year streak of Pro Bowl Selections, with the first three seeing him named a First Team All-Pro.  

Also making the Second Team All-Pro twice, Gates would have nine seasons where he would have at least 800 Yards, and four years of 10 Touchdowns.  Gates played with the Chargers until 2018, and he leaves the game with 955 Receptions, 11,841 Receiving Yards and 116 Touchdown Receptions, all of which are franchise records.  He would be named to the 2000’s All-Decade Team.

In our pre-season ranking of active players for Hall of Fame consideration, Gates was ranked #9.

Gates is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank Antonio Gates for the on-field memories and we wish him the best in his post-playing career.

The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York will soon be announcing their Class of 2020.  On the other side of the world, they have just inducted their latest class to the Japanese Hall of Fame.

The headliner is Koichi Tabuchi, who is one of three members who were chosen for the Hall.  Tabuchi, who was chosen by the Expert Division, played from 1969 to 1978 with the Hanshin Tigers, and from 1979 to 1984 with the Seibu Lions.  The Catcher would have 1,532 Hits with 474 Home Runs over his career, and is a former Rookie of the Year, one-time Gome Run Champion, five-time Best Nine Award winner and a two-time Golden Glove Award winner.

He was joined by former college level managers, Yukichi Maeda and Renzo Ishii. Who were inducted by the Special Selection Committee, which focuses on the amateur side of the game.  

Notably, nobody from the Players Division was chosen.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com, would like to congratulate the newest members of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.