This was not exactly a surprise.

As has been widely speculated for months, Bill Goldberg has been announced as the first entrant to the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2018. He will likely be the headliner of this year’s event.

Goldberg was a star Defensive Tackle at the University of Georgia and would parlay that into a brief career in the National Football League, notably three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. A serious injury would take him out of the game but he would befriend top wrestlers in World Championship Wrestling who urged him to try his hand at Professional Wrestling.

After learning the craft at the WCW Power Plant he would work dark matches before making his television debut on September of 1997 with a pinfall win over Hugh Morrus. Nobody knew who Bill Goldberg was and fans instantly gravitated to the muscled behemoth who while he didn’t speak much, certainly had an undeniable physical presence that made you want to see more.

Goldberg would go on an epic (albeit inflated via kayfabe) winning streak and would win his first title by defeating Raven for the WCW United States Championship on April of 1998. He would become the hottest commodity in WCW and was a large reason that the company remained competitive against the WWE and the company believed it was time to pull the trigger and he beat Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Title in front of 40,000 people at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Monday Night Nitro.

The move might not have been best done on free television but Goldberg would continue to beat opponents including a memorable title defense against Diamond Dallas Page at Halloween Havoc. Goldberg would finally suffer his first loss in a title loss to Kevin Nash (with help from Scott Hall and a taser) at Starrcade.

1999 would be a good year in terms of wins and losses as Goldberg avenged his defeat to Nash (Souled Out) and Scott Hall but horrific booking would see less eyes on the product and despite being one of their best draws, Goldberg never won the WCW World Title again.

Like many of the other big names in WCW, Goldberg elected to let his contact run with Time Warner rather than join the WWE when they purchased WCW. When he did join following Wrestlemania XIX, it can be argued that his one year contract did not exactly go as planned.

Goldberg was not portrayed as the same monster that he was (remember Goldust putting that wig on him?) and while he did win the RAW version of the WWE World Heavyweight Title from Triple H, it was a lackluster and brief run and he clearly did not want to be there. That was certainly on full display at Wrestlemania XX where Goldberg and his opponent, Brock Lesnar were booed out of the building as fans knew both were leaving. Despite winning, Goldberg was met with a Stone Cold Stunner from special referee, Steve Austin and what appeared to be his final appearance with the WWE ended with a whimper...or so it seemed.

Goldberg was announced as a pre-order playable character on the WWE 2K17 video game, a sign to many that he might be looking to come back. Through the use of an interview with ESPN and taunting from Brock Lesnar, a title match was made between the two at the 2016 Survivor Series, a match that saw Goldberg shockingly destroy the Beast in under two minutes. The two would face each other again in the 2017 Royal Rumble where again Goldberg would dispatch Lesnar in short order. Goldberg would then go on to defeat WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens and a rematch with Lesnar was set for Wrestlemania 33, though this time it was Lesnar who would have his hand raised.

This would end the run for Bill Goldberg in the WWE but this time it was about having fun and showing his kids what he used to do in the ring. The WWE fans were more receptive and the promise of Goldberg in the WWE had been fulfilled.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Bill Goldberg for his selection to the WWE Hall of Fame.

It was announced today that Dolores O’Riordan was found dead in her hotel room today. She was 46 years old.

As the lead singer of the Cranberries, the Irish based band became international stars primarily off of the strength of Riordan’s unique high pitched and melancholy vocals. Their debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? Generated their biggest hit, “Linger”, which was penned by O’Riordan. It was an international hit, going as high as #8 in the United States and gaining them worldwide airplay.

Their sophomore album generated the politically charged “Zombie”, which was also did well across the world and for a brief time it could be argued that the Cranberries were among the top Adult-Alternative bands of the world.

The band’s popularity would wane, but O’Riordan still recorded with the band, toured and put out solo albums during the Cranberries’ hiatus. Their last album, Something Else, was released last year and they were in them midst of touring when a few weeks ago they had to cancel dates due to her illness, which was attributed to issues with her back.

While it is unknown at this time how she passed away, she had been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and did attempt suicide in 2014.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com offer our condolences to the friends, fans and family of Dolores O’Riordan at this time.

As the National Football League post season is in the final eight stage we here at Notinhalloffame.com have been working on our 2022 Football Futures section. Before that however, we have added some previously omitted (not retired as of yet when we put up our 2021 section) from our 2021 Football Futures.

The added players are as follows:

Billy Cundiff, a Pro Bowl Place Kicker in 2010.

Brandon Browner, a two time Super Bowl winning Cornerback.

Brandon Fields, a Pro Bowl Punter in 2013.

Dwayne Bowe, A Pro Bowl Wide Receiver in 2010.

Jacoby Jones, A Pro Bowler in 2012 for Special Teams and Super Bowl Champion with the Baltimore Ravens.

Jason Babin, A two time Pro Bowl Linebacker.



Jay Ratliff, a four time Pro Bowl Selection at Defensive Tackle. He was also a Frist Team All Pro in 2009.

LaMarr Woodley, a Pro Bowl Linebacker in 2009 and Super Bowl Champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Michael Vick, a four time Pro Bowl Quarterback.

Miles Austin, a Wide Receiver who was a Pro Bowl Selection in 2009 & 2010.

Owen Daniels, a two time Pro Bowl Tight End who won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos.

Roddy White, a four time Pro Bowl Wide Receiver who was also a First Team All Pro in 2010.

Shaun Phillips, a Pro Bowl Linebacker in 2009.

Steven Jackson, a three time Pro Bowl Running Back who was twice a Second Team All Pro.



Wes Welker, a six time Pro Bowl Wide Receiver who was also a two time First Team All-Pro.

William Moore, a 2012 Pro Bowl Selection at Strong Safety

These former players join Antrel Rolle, Ben Grubbs, Calvin Johnson, Charles Tillman, Charles Woodson, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Greg Jennings, Heath Miller, Jason Hatcher, Justin Tuck, Logan Mankins, Peyton Manning and Rashean Mathis.

The entire 2021 list can be found here.

The 2022 Football Futures will be up shortly.

As always we look forward to your thoughts on the new entries and we thank you for your continued support.

The College Football Hall of Fame has announced the Class of 2018 and let’s get right into who has been selected!

Trevor Cobb, Running Back, Rice: 1989-92. Cobb was an All-American in 1991 and was the winner of Doak Walker Award that year. He would tally 4,948 Rushing Yards with another 892 via Receptions over his four year career with the Owls. He scored 43 Touchdowns.

Kerry Collins, Quarterback, Penn State: 1991-94. In 1994, Collins was a consensus All-American, and the winner of the Maxwell Award, the Davey O’Brien Award, the Sammy Baugh Trophy and the Big Ten MVP. That year he Quarterbacked Penn State to an undefeated season and a win in the Rose Bowl. He threw for 5,304 Yards and 39 Touchdowns that season.

Dave Dickinson, Quarterback, Montana: 1992-95. A legend at the University of Montana, Dickinson holds numerous school and Big Sky Conference records. The Quarterback threw for 13,486 Yards with 116 Touchdowns. He is also a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Dana Howard, Linebacker, Illinois: 1991-94. Howard would win both the Dick Butkus and Jack Lambert Award in 1994 and he was also named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

Calvin Johnson, Wide Receiver, Georgia Tech: 2004-06. Johnson won the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 2006 and was a two time All-American.

Paul Palmer, Running Back, Temple: 1983-86. Palmer was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1986 and was an All-American that year.

Ed Reed, Defensive Back, Miami: 1998-01. Reed won the BCS National Championship with the Hurricanes in 2001 and was a two time All-American. He was also the co-winner of the Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

Matt Stinchcomb, Offensive Tackle, Georgia: 1995-08. Stinchcomb was a two time All-American and was the winner of the Draddy Trophy and Jim Parker Trophy in 1998.

Aaron Taylor, Center/Offensive Guard, Nebraska: 1994-97. Taylor won the Outland Trophy in 1997 and was a two time All-American.

Charles Woodson, Defensive Back, Michigan: 1995-97. Woodson won it all in 1997 where he was National Champion in 1997 with the Wolverines and was also the winner of the Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, Jim Thorpe Award and Big Ten Player of the Year. He was also a two time All-American.

Frank Beamer, Coach, Murray State (1981-86), Virginia Tech (1987-2015). 280-143-4. Beamer was the consensus Coach of the Year in 1999 and turned the Hokies into a national power.

Mack Brown, Coach, Appalachian State (1983), Tulane (1985-87), North Carolina (1988-97), Texas (1998-2013). 244-122. Brown took the Longhorns to the National Championship in 2005 and won 13 Bowl Games.

Mel Tjeerdsma, Coach, Austin College (1984-93), Northwestern Missouri State (1994-10). 246-82-4. Tjeerdsma took NMS to three Division II Titles.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018.