The International Tennis Hall of Fame have announced that Conchita Martinez and Goran Ivanisevic will be inducted this summer as the 2020 Player Group Inductees.

From Spain, Conchita Martinez made history in 1994 when she became the first Spaniard to win Wimbledon.  That was the only Grand Slam Singles she would capture, but she did win 12 more titles on the tour.  Martinez also won the French Open in doubles twice, and while representing Spain, she helped her country win five Fed Cups and individually she won the Gold Medal in the Atlanta Olympics, and also was a two-time Silver Medalist (1992 & 2004).

From Croatia, Ivanisevic was the most unlikely Wimbledon winner in history, as the previous three-time runner-up was admitted to the tournament in 2001 as a wild card entry.  He would also win 22 other tournaments and was a member of the 1995 Davis Cup Championship team.  In the 1992 Olympics, he won the Bronze in both Singles and Men’s Doubles.

The official induction will take place on July 18 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our congratulates to both Martinez and Ivanisevic.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that the Minnesota Twins will be inducting Justin Morneau in their franchise Hall of Fame.

Playing 11 of his 14 seasons with the Twins (2003-13), the Canadian born First Baseman would go to four consecutive All-Star Games (2007-10) and would win the American League MVP in 2006 when he had 34 Home Runs, 130 RBIs with a .321 Batting Average.  Morneau would win two Silver Sluggers for the team, and overall as a Twin, he smacked 221 Home Runs, 860 Runs Batted In with a Slash Line of .278/.347/.485.

The ceremony will take place on May 23 against the Chicago White Sox. He becomes the 34^thmember of the Twins Hall of Fame.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Justin Morneau for earning this honor.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that New York Giants co-owner, John Mara, stated in a recent interview that Eli Manning and Michael Strahan will have their numbers retired.

Sort of.

This is what he said about Eli’s number:

“It’s retired.”

When asked to clarify, Mara responded:

“Not yet.  We’ll do Michael’s (Strahan) announcement another day, but Eli’s will be retired.”

As for when that will happen is anyone’s guess.  

Wearing #10, Manning announced his retirement this past Friday.  Playing at Quarterback, Manning threw for 57,034 Yards and 366 Touchdowns, and led the Giants to two Super Bowl Championships, both over the New England Patriots.  He was named the MVP in both of those games, and he is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025.

As for Strahan, he has already been inducted into Canton, which occurred in 2014.  Like Manning, Strahan played his entire career with the Giants and he was the 2001 Defensive Player of the Year.  The seven-time Pro Bowl won a Super Bowl in his last game in the league.  He wore #92, which has never been issued since his retirement.

At present, the Giants have retired the numbers of Ray Flaherty (#1), Tuffy Leemans (#4), Mel Hein (#7), Phil Simms (#11), Y.A. Tittle (#14), Frank Gifford (#16), Al Blozis (#32), Joe Morrison (#40), Charlie Conerly (#42), Ken Strong (#50) and Lawrence Taylor (#56).

We here at Notinhalloffame.com are looking forward to these events in the future and are hopeful that the Giants will move on this action soon.

Gladiators were the primary form of entertainment during the Ancient Roman Empire. These powerful, awe-inspiring men-at-arms would fight to the death in what was seen as a very glamorous calling. It’s been a long-held belief among some people that Roman gladiators were merely long-standing criminals and slaves coerced into fighting. While it may be true that the initial ‘wave’ of gladiators tended to be those who were caught red-handed breaking the law, or had been conquered from other lands, the reality is that some of the latter Roman gladiators enjoyed a celebrity status.

While it’s true that many of the world’s biggest wrestlers from WWE have enjoyed celebrity status too, many have gone on to achieve A-list fame far quicker away from the wrestling ring than those who remain in it. You only have to look at ‘The Rock’ Dwayne Johnsonand Dave Bautista, whose Hollywood careers have set them up for long-term stardom. Many years before The Rock, Hulk Hogan was the wrestler on everyone’s lips, appearing in commercials and movies too in a bid to enhance his profile – with clothes on as opposed to solely pants!

Back to the Roman Empire, once some people realized just how exciting and thrilling gladiatorial battles could be, it soon became an absolute free-for-all of locals looking to sign up and become the next unbeatable gladiator, agreeing contracts voluntarily and even spending time at so-called training schools to try and hone their fighting craft before being unleashed into the white heat of battle and fight for cash prizes. This changing demographic saw gladiators become less about the blood and gore and more about the pre-battle build-up and intense promotion of duels.

More recently, the world has developed an undeniable fascination with Roman gladiators and the lengths they would go to achieve notoriety in Ancient Rome. At the turn of the Millennium, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator movie, starring Russell Crowe as general Maximus Decimus Meridius, captured the imagination of millions of viewers at the box office. Heart-broken by the murder of his father by a young upstart named Commodus, who takes to the throne and forces Maximus into slavery, Maximus sees no other way to avenge his father’s death than to fight his way up that gladiatorial ranks. HBO’s Game of Thrones must surely have used gladiatorial arenas as inspiration for Meereen’s fighting pits too. The Spartacus Gladiator video slot, that’s available to sample at VegasSlotsOnline, was another release inspired by a gladiator who led the major slave uprising against the Roman Republic.

Some gladiators had promoters, yes, you heard correctly