At first, it feels like normal wear. A little stiffness after a long drive. A pinch on the first few squats. A dull ache that fades once you warm up.

Then you start planning around it. You pick parking spots based on distance. You avoid stairs when you can. You skip movements you used to love because you already know what tonight will feel like. You tell yourself you will “take it easy” next week, then next week turns into the same cycle.

For athletic people, hip pain can be hard to read. You have a high tolerance and a strong habit of pushing through. The problem is that “pushing through” works best when the body can still bounce back. When it stops bouncing back, the decision gets real.

Why This Decision Feels So Messy for Athletic People

Retired athletes and weekend warriors tend to arrive at the same crossroads from different directions.

Retired athletes often carry identity in their movement. Even if competition is in the past, performance is still part of daily life. Coaching, lifting, golf, travel, and keeping up with family all require a hip that can handle volume. That makes it easy to delay a big decision because you can still do a lot, at least on good days.

Weekend warriors face a different trap. Training often comes in bursts. You sit all week, then go full speed on Saturday. Some days feel fine, some feel rough, and the inconsistency makes you second-guess everything. You may rest and feel better, only to flare up the moment you return to normal life.

The hardest part is that pain is not always a clean line. Imaging, symptoms, and function do not always align as people expect. That’s why a better approach is to focus on your lifestyle goals and your trend over time.

The Real Tradeoff: Pain Management vs. Your Performance Lifestyle

Instead of asking, “How bad is the pain?” ask, “What is this taking away from my life?”

Get specific. “Stay active” is too broad to guide a decision. Write down what you want back:

• Sleeping through the night without hip discomfort
• Sitting, standing, and stairs without thinking about it
• Lifting with confidence and good depth
• Running, hiking, or court time without paying for it for days
• Traveling without building recovery days into the itinerary

Next, look at your bad-day pattern. Bad days are not only about the intensity of pain. They are about function and recovery. Pay attention to signs such as sleep disruption, limping, persistent stiffness, or flare-ups that take longer and longer to settle.

Finally, notice compensation. If your hip changes how you move, the rest of your body pays the price. Low back tightness, knee irritation, and the feeling that one side is carrying the load can be your early warning that the problem is spreading.

Timing Matters More Than You Think

Waiting has a cost. Rushing has a cost. Timing is personal, but understanding the common traps helps.

The first trap is the good-week illusion. A calm stretch can make you feel like you turned the corner, even if the overall trend is downward. The second trap is waiting until your world gets small. When you stop doing the things you love, your baseline fitness drops, and the road back can feel steeper.

A simple decision filter can help: If things look the same 12 months from now, would you regret not acting? If the honest answer is yes, that’s worth discussing with a clinician sooner rather than later.

The Athlete Checklist: Questions to Ask Before You Commit

Bring questions that force clarity regarding hip replacement surgery:

• What is the diagnosis, and what options exist before surgery?
• What procedure is being recommended, and why that approach for my body and goals?
• What does “return to sport” mean for my specific sport or training style?
• What does rehab look like week by week, and what are the common bottlenecks?
• What complications should I watch for, and what symptoms should trigger a call?
• What implant or device is being proposed, and what is the follow-up plan?

Device Details, Documentation, and What to Do if Something Feels Off

If surgery is on the table, get organized. Keep copies of consult notes, imaging reports, and your treatment plan. If you move forward, ask for the implant details and your operative records, then store them somewhere you can actually find them later.

Keep a simple symptom log during rehab: pain location, swelling, instability, noises, changes in range of motion, and what triggers setbacks. If something feels off, details matter, especially over weeks and months.

This is also where some people want to understand the bigger landscape around certain devices. If you are specifically researching claims tied to Stryker hip implants, you can read Stryker hip implant lawsuit information from Rosenfeld Injury Law as a starting point for that topic.

No matter what you read online, your first move with new or worsening symptoms should be to see a doctor. Call your surgeon or clinician, explain what changed, and bring your notes. Advocacy gets easier when you can describe the pattern clearly.

Recovery Reality: How Athletic People Win the Rehab Phase

Rehab rewards consistency. Athletic people often struggle when they treat recovery like a test of toughness. The best outcomes usually come from practicing injury-prevention habits, patience, good form, and progressive load, not big spikes in effort.

Common mistakes include doing too much too soon, skipping foundational strength, or comparing timelines with someone else. Your job is to rebuild movement quality, then rebuild capacity. That takes time.

Redefining Strong for Your Next Season

Choosing surgery, delaying it, or exploring alternatives can all be informed decisions for athletes. The goal is clarity: what you want back, what the plan requires, and what the risks look like for your life.

A hip that hurts can shrink your world. A clear plan can expand it again.

1991 PRELIMINARY RESULTS:

Thank you to all who participated in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project. If you are still determining what that is, we acted like the PFHOF had its first class in January 1946.

We have completed the first 46 years.

For “1991,” a Preliminary Vote with close to 100 players whose playing career ended by 1990. We also follow the structure in which players have 20 years of eligibility, and if they do not make it into the Hall, they are relegated to the Senior Pool.

Each voter was asked to select 25 names from the preliminary list, and the top 25 vote-getters were named Semi-Finalists.

A week later, the voters will be asked to select 15 names from the 25 Semi-Finalists and then choose five from the remaining 15. We will continue this process every week until we catch up to the current year.

Please note that a significant change occurred “years ago,” allowing voters to submit fewer than the allotted spots. 

31 Votes took place.

This is for the “Modern Era”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

*Indicates they have been removed from future ballots

This is for the Senior Era

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

*Indicates that they will be removed from the ballot permanently.

This is for the “Coaches/Contributors”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

*Indicates that they will be removed from the ballot permanently. 

Next week, we will announce the Semi-Finalists for the 1991 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project.

Chris Paul announced that he is now retired from basketball in an Instagram post today.  Paul, 40, was a 21-year veteran whose accolades include 11 All-NBA Selections, 12 All-Star Selections, nine All-Defensive Selections, two Olympic Gold Medals, and a spot on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

The celebrated Point Guard played for the New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, and San Antonio Spurs, collecting 23,058 Points and retiring second all-time in Steals (2,728) and Assists (12,552).  He is also a six-time Steals Leader, a five-time Assists Leader, the 2006 Rookie of the Year, and finished in the top ten in MVP voting ten times. 

Paul had stated that this would be his last season, but he was unceremoniously told that he would no longer be on the roster after the Clippers’ December 1st loss to Miami.  He was traded to the Raptors weeks later, but it was nothing more than a salary move for both teams.  

While this was not the way that CP3 expected his career to end, his run in basketball has few peers.  Already a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame with the 2008 Olympic Redeem Team, Paul is a lock to enter the Hall individually.  He is eligible in 2029.

Thank you, Chris, for the memories!

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the Finalists for the Class of 2026 

The Finalists are:

1996 U.S. Women’s National Olympic Team:  This was one of the most dominant squads in Olympic history, averaging a 20-point-plus differential throughout the tournament.  They beat Brazil in the Finals.  The team consisted of Jennifer Azzi, Ruthie Bolton-Holifield, Teresa Edwards, Venus Lacy, Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo, Katrina McClain, Nikki McCray, Carla McGhee, Dawn Staley, Katy Steding, and Sheryl Swoopes, with Tara VanderVeer as their Head Coach.

Jennifer Azzi (PLA):  Azzi was the Naismith Basketball Player of the Year in 1990, leading Stanford to a National Championship.  She was also on the gold medal-winning 1996 Olympic Women’s Team and won two more gold medals at the FIBA World Championship (1990 & 1998).  She was also inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and was a Naismith Basketball Finalist in 2023.

Molly Bolin (PLA).  Bolin was one of the biggest stars of the Women’s Professional Basketball League in the late 70s, the first pro basketball league for women.  She was a three-time league All-Star and was the Co-MVP in 1980.

Tal Brody (COA).  Brody played collegiately at Illinois, but after competing at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, he was asked to stay, which led to a successful career in which he put Maccabi Tel Aviv and Israeli basketball on the map, a tagline he is known for.

Joey Crawford (REF).  Crawford was an NBA Referee from 1977 to 2016 and worked 50 NBA Finals Games.  He was a controversial figure in the NBA, known for his confrontational and aggressive approach to assessing technical fouls.

Mike D’Antoni (COA).  D’Antoni had a long and travelled career as a Coach throughout the NBA and Europe.  In the United States, he is best known for leading Phoenix to two Conference Finals and his runs as the Head Coach for New York and Houston, and he is also a two-time NBA Coach of the Year.  D’Antoni also won two Italian Leagues as Benneton Trevioso’s HC, and he owns two Olympic Gold Medals as an Assistant Coach for the United States.

Elena Delle Donne (PLA).  Delle Donne was a superstar at the University of Delaware, where she was a two-time All-American.  Professionally, she split her WNBA career between Chicago and Washington, winning a WNBA Title with the Mystics. She also won two WNBA MVPs, was a four-time First Team All-WNBA Selection, and a seven-time All-Star.  She was also on the United States team that won the 2016 Gold Medal.

Mark Few (COA).  Few are arguably the most important men in Gonzaga's history; as of this writing, he is still their head coach.  He took the Bulldogs to two Final Fours (2017 & 2021) and won 19 WCC Tournaments.  He is also a two-time Naismith Coach of the Year and a 12-time WCC Coach of the Year.

Blake Griffin (PLA):  Griffin was one of the most exciting players in the first half of the 2010s and came as advertised after his 2009 National Player of the Year campaign at Oklahoma.  Known for his powerful dunks and prolific rebounding, Griffin made the Los Angeles Clippers must-watch basketball.  He won the 2011 Rookie of the Year, was a five-time All-NBA Selection (three Second Team and two Third Team), and a six-time All-Star. 

Chamique Holdsclaw (PLA).  Holdsclaw won three consecutive NCAA Championships at Tennessee (1996-98) and was the Naismith College Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons (1997 & 1998).  Professionally, she went to six WNBA All-Star Games and won one Scoring Title and two Rebounding Titles in a career spent with Washington, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and San Antonio.  She is already in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Dusan Ivkovic (COA).  A FIBA Hall of Fame inductee, Ivkovic played ten seasons for Radnicki Belgrade in the Yugoslavian League.  Although the Point Guard had a nice career and was nominated as a player, he had far more success as a coach at the club level and for Yugoslavia and Serbia, winning three EuroBasket Gold Medals and a FIBA World Gold Medal in 1990. 

Kevin Johnson (PLA).  Johnson played his college ball at California and was drafted seventh by Cleveland, but was traded soon after to Phoenix, where he played the rest of his career.  With the Suns, Johnson was a four-time Second Team, one-time Third Team All-NBA Selection with three All-Stars, and he scored 13,127 Points and 6,711 Assists in the Association.

Marques Johnson (PLA).  Johnson was recently considered in the North American era and is now in the Veterans’ category.  An NCAA Champion at UCLA, where he was the National College Player of the Year, Johnson was a one-time First Team All-NBA and two-time Second Team All-NBA Selection, and a five-time All-Star who mainly played with Milwaukee.   He averaged 20.1 Points per Game, and also played for the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State.

Gary McKnight (COA).  One of the most successful Coaches on the high school level, McKnight led Mater Dei High School to a National Championship, 11 California State Titles, and 39 League Titles.

Dick Motta (COA).  Motta helmed Weber State to three Big Sky Titles (and a Big Sky Coach of the Year), but his best work was in the NBA, where he coached the Washington Bullets to a championship in 1978.  He was also the NBA Coach of the Year in 1971 with the Chicago Bulls and was the HC in the NBA for Dallas, Sacramento, and Denver.

Candace Parker (PLA).  Considered one of the greatest women’s players of all time, Candace Parker won a truckload of awards at the University of Tennessee, capped by leading the Lady Vols to two National Championships.  Professionally, Parker led three different teams to WNBA Titles (Los Angeles, Chicago, and Las Vegas), and she also won a Defensive Player of the Year Award, two MVPs, was a seven-time First Team All-WNBA, and went to seven WNBA All-Star Games.  She also led the United States to two Olympic Gold Medals.

Doc Rivers (COA).  Nominated for the second time, Rivers is the current Head Coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and holds an NBA Championship, having led the Boston Celtics to a title in 2008.  A former Coach of the Year, Rivers was named one of the NBA’s 15 Greatest Coaches.  He is also a former Head Coach of the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Philadelphia 76ers, and is currently eighth all-time in Wins.

Kelvin Sampson (COA).  Sampson first served as a Head Coach at Montana Tech, where he led his team to three Conference Tournament titles.  Washington State later hired him and then hired him as the HC at Oklahoma, where he led the Sooners to a Final Four and four Big 12 Tournament championships.  Currently, Sampson is the Head Coach at the University of Houston, where he has led the Cougars to two Final Fours.  As of this writing, he has 808 wins.

Amar’e Stoudemire (PLA).  Stoudemire was a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA Selection (one first Team and four Second Team) who had 15,994 Points and 6,632 Rebounds in a career with Phoenix, New York, Dallas, and Miami.  After his NBA career ended, he moved to Israel and won two Premier League Titles.

Jerry Welsh (COA).  Welsh was the Head Coach at SUNY Potsdam, where he had a record of 494-141 from 1968 to 1991 and won two National Championships in 1981 and 1986.

Buck Williams (PLA).  Williams won the 1982 Rookie of the Year Award and was a three-time All-Star in his time with the New Jersey Nets.  He also played for Portland and New York, was a four-time All-Defensive Selection (two First Team and two Second Team), and had 16,784 career Points and 13,017 Rebounds.

We here at Notinhalloffame would like to congratulate the candidates who have made it this far.