Committee Chairman

Tony Gonzalez: Next Stop Canton

Dec 29, 2013

Tony Gonzalez played his final game today in the National Football League today, ending what should be a Hall of Fame career. Gonzalez joined the Atlanta Falcons four seasons ago in hopes of playing for a Super Bowl winner, but unfortunately, the Falcons failed to get there, and in his last year the team was decimated injuries and finished with a losing record.

Gonzalez played both Football and Basketball at the University of California. He elected to focus on the gridiron and forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft, where he was taken in the First Round by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1997.

Two years later, he would be named to his first of thirteen Pro Bowls which would be the most ever by a Tight End. Gonzalez was also selected to be a First Team All Pro six times. Statistically speaking Tony Gonzalez retires holding the record for the most receptions and yards by a Tight End by a wide margin. He was the first at his position to ever hit the 1,000 mark in receptions and he holds a plethora of receiving records.

By all accounts, there is little reason to think that Tony Gonzalez will not go into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. He will be eligible in 2019. We would like to thank Tony Gonzalez for all the memories and we wish him well in his post NFL life.

RIP: Paul Blair

Dec 27, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer, Paul Blair died yesterday at the age of 69. Blair was considered one of the finest defensive Centerfielders ever, capturing eight Gold Gloves (all with Baltimore) and recording a very good defensive Career WAR of 18.6.

Blair had his best seasons with the Orioles where he was an All Star twice and helped them win two World Series titles. Late in his career he would win two more World Series with the New York Yankees. His overall numbers in his seventeen year career saw him get 1,513 Hits, with 134 Home Runs and 171 Stolen Bases.

Blair was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1984. We here at Notinhalloffame.com offer our condolences to the friends of family of Paul Blair at this time.

Nnamdi Asomugha Retires

Dec 27, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

His career may have ended with a whimper, but at least it is ending in the right place. Nnamdi Asomugha has returned to the Oakland Raiders where he had his greatest success and will retire wearing the black and silver.

Asomugha joined the NFL after being drafted in the first round (31^st Overall) by Oakland in 2003. By 2005, he took over the starting job at Left Cornerback where he would emerge a year later as one of the top players in the league. Opposing offences threw to his side of the field sparingly, and in 2006 he was named the MVP of the team. His play continued to improve to where he was named to three consecutive Pro Bowls (2008, 2009 & 2010) and was named a First Team All Pro twice (2008 & 2010).

After a three year period where he was arguably the least thrown to Cornerback in the National Football League, Asomugha became a free agent and was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles on a five year deal worth sixty million dollars. The Eagles had put a lot of effort into building their team that offseason and Asomugha was expected to be a huge part of that. Unfortunately, the collection of stars failed to gel and many underperformed, including Asomugha, who was still playing at a high level, but not at the All-Pro status he had in Oakland.

After failing to restructure his contract with Philadelphia, Asomugha was signed by the San Francisco 49ers but had an ineffective year and was waived by the team last month. With four dominant years and a couple of average ones, Nnamdi Asomugha is probably not going to make the Hall of Fame, but his career is one worth taking a look at and should have made larger headlines than it did.

Who should be on our logo?

Dec 22, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

We here at Notinhalloffame.com are looking for your help! First off, we are starting to think that we might be a special charm in regards to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As you have noticed, we have a logo that represents a member of Rock and Roll, Hockey, Baseball and WWE genres that have yet to be honored in their respective Hall of Fame.

When we began this website, the representative for the Rock and Roll logo was Alice Cooper. In our eyes, it was a logical choice, as the golf aficionado had at that point never been nominated for the Hall of Fame, and was a recognizable face amongst even those who were not the most Rock savvy.

To our surprise, in the initial year of having Mr. Cooper on our logo, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This was a nice revelation, as he had been eligible for Cleveland for more than fifteen years without a nomination. This necessitated a replacement in that grid, so we elected Rush, the Canadian Progressive Rock Band who also had failed for over fifteen years to garner a nomination.

They took over the Rock and Roll slot on the logo, and what happened? They were nominated for the first time ever and were subsequently selected for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

After that, we thought we would go to the most visually recognizable act on the list, KISS to get a spot on the official logo, and even when they were nominated for a second time, we did not think we would have to change it. Jan Wenner himself stated that he did not want them in the Hall, so we viewed this as just a token nomination, as critics hated KISS, and it is critics who essentially decide who get inducted. To our shock (and we are still stunned) we will have an acceptance speech from Gene Simmons next April.

That makes us three for three, but we are going to ask your help for “four for four” as we want your opinion on who the next act should be on the logo.

We are going to give you ten choices and a brief pro and con of each choice.

Deep Purple

Pros:

They have been nominated the last two years, after nearly twenty years of snubs. They are the highest rank act on our countdown, that are not yet in and if you are visiting this site and don’t know “Smoke on the Water”, then why the hell are you here?

Cons:

Remember this is a visual question here. Deep Purple may be a Classic Rock staple, but you might have walked by them without even knowing it.

Kraftwerk

Pros:

Like Deep Purple, they have also been nominated twice, but unlike DP, they have a very distinct look and might give a very unique look to the logo.

Cons:

Unlike DP, their fans could care less if they get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or not. Hell, we doubt if Kraftwerk themselves give a crap.

Roxy Music

Pros:

This is a top ten entry every year we had this site, and they certainly have a distinct look. This also satisfies a Brian Eno continuing oversight by the Hall.

Cons:

Everyone agrees that Roxy Music is an oversight by the Hall, but the passion to get them inducted isn’t there, like it was with Alice Cooper, Rush and KISS,

The Smiths

Pros:

A unique choice we think that would pay homage to the United Kingdom, Modern Rock and Roll and the 1980’s. We like that trifecta. Besides, Morrisey on a logo would be very interesting.

Cons:

We go back to Morrissey here; as there is much anti-Rock as there is Rock about him. We might also play the Kraftwerk card here, as we doubt he even cares if his band was selected or not.

New Order/Joy Division

Pros:

Like the possibility of a Smiths logo, we have a nod to the U.K., the 1980’s and the Modern Rock scene.

Cons:

We would then have to do a separate poll as to which one; with Ian Curtis or without?

MC5

Pros:

Any picture from this Proto-Punk band is pure Rock and Roll and would look great visually. They have also been nominated in the past.

Cons:

Unlike the Stooges, there is no real push from the masses to get them inducted.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Pros:

It would be a great image, he is climbing the ranks based on votes from all of you and though he is a “Blues” guy, the Rock and Roll set loves him.

Cons:

Is SRV really the biggest snub at this point?

N.W.A.

Pros:

This was a snub in our eyes last year, and their image shows a lot of the diversity that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tries (though not always successful) to convey.

Cons:

I am sure you can imagine how many times we read from people on this website that groups like this are not “Rock and Roll”.

T. Rex

Pros:

This is another former nominee, another iconic looking man to put on the logo (Bolan) and a legitimate snub to many music fans.

Cons:

The Glam music scene is not exactly one where people say “you need to put someone in”. Many feel that was taken care of by David Bowie’s selection.

Motorhead

Pros:

We could have said Iron Maiden or Judas Priest here, but who is more visually known more than Lemmy? Well, maybe Eddie.

Cons:

Is there really any belief that Motorhead can get in?

So here it is gang, let us know who you want of these ten to take KISS’s spot on the Notinhalloffame.com logo, or is there someone else you think would be more effective?

The ball is in your court!