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 and executive. As such, it is news to us that the Pittsburgh Pirates have announced that they will be creating their own franchise Hall of Fame in 2020.

It was also announced their Steve Blass will be part of the Pirates’ inaugural Hall of Fame Class.

Blass played ten seasons for Pittsburgh where the Pitcher posted a record of 103-76 and earned a World Series Ring in 1971.  Following his playing career, he would become a broadcaster for the team, which began in 1983, a role he still has today.

It is unknown at this time whether or not Blass will be joined by others in the inaugural class, but we suspect there will be more.

The Hall of Fame will be located at PNC Park.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Steve Blass for this prestigious honor and the Pittsburgh Pirates for establishing this institution.

As part of the celebration of the National Football League’s 100^thAnniversary, 20 members will be named to the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class.

In addition to the five Modern-Era Inductees, a special “Blue Ribbon Panel” will name 10 Seniors, 3 Contributors and 2 Coaches for the Centennial Class.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has now announced the 25 people who comprise the Blue Ribbon Panel.  This is a collection of people who are regular followers of Canton are familiar with.

They are:

As of this time, we do not know when the panel will meet or when they will decide.  They will be presented on February 1, where the entire group will be subject to a yay or nay vote (they won’t possibly vote nay, would they?) to the 48-member Board of Selectors, some of which as you can see are on the Blue Ribbon Panel.  They will require 80 percent of the vote and will be voted in as a group.

ERNIE ACCORSI – Former GM Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns and N.Y. Giants.

BILL BELICHICK – New England Patriots head coach.

JARRETT BELL – Hall of Fame selector, USA Today.

JOEL BUSSERT – Former NFL executive, pro football historian.

JOHN CLAYTON – Hall of Fame selector, Washington Post.

FRANK COONEY – Hall of Fame selector, SportsXchange.

JOHN CZARNECKI – Hall of Fame selector, Fox Sports.

RICK GOSSELIN – Hall of Fame selector, Talk of Fame Network.

ELLIOTT HARRISON – Pro football historian, NFL.com.

JOE HORRIGAN – Former Pro Football Hall of Fame executive, pro football historian.

IRA KAUFMAN – Hall of Fame selector, JoeBucsFan.com.

DICK LEBEAU – Hall of Fame cornerback, former NFL coach.

JEFF LEGWOLD – Hall of Fame selector, ESPN.com.

JOHN MADDEN – Hall of Fame coach.

JOHN McCLAIN – Hall of Fame selector, Houston Chronicle.

GARY MYERS – Hall of Fame selector, The Athletic.

OZZIE NEWSOME – Hall of Fame tight end, former GM Baltimore Ravens.

CARL PETERSON – Former GM Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs.

SAL PAOLANTONIO – Hall of Fame selector, ESPN.

BILL POLIAN – Hall of Fame contributor, former GM Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts.

DAN POMPEI – Hall of Fame selector, The Athletic.

CHAREAN WILLIAMS – Hall of Fame selector, Pro Football Talk.

CHRIS WILLIS – Producer/head of research library NFL Films, pro football historian.

BARRY WILNER – Hall of Fame selector, Associated Press.

RON WOLF – Hall of Fame contributor, former executive Oakland/L.A. Raiders, GM Green Bay Packers.

That part seems strange, doesn’t it?

We will add more news as we here it!

The 2019-20 NBA Season will tip off next month and unlike in years past, there is no consensus pick to win the Championship.  

Star upon star has switched team leading to an unprecedented amount of uncertainty on the top of the NBA’s food chain.  As you can imagine, this has led to wide speculation as to who could possibly emerge as the 2020 NBA Champions and pundits like us here at Notinhalloffame.com and Sports Booking sites like Sports Interaction. But before you take the step and join this operator, you have to remember that you always need to read reviews. By doing so, you prevent the chances of being fooled or scammed by fake or un-secured websites. This is why reading a sports interaction review is very important before taking any step. There are many aspects that have to be checked before deciding if a certain website is legit or not. Now, let's get back to our review!  

We have seven teams that we think could take it all, and notably last year’s Finalists (Golden State and Toronto) are not among them.

East:

Milwaukee Bucks:  Giannis Antetokuonmpo is the reigning MVP and he hasn’t turned 25 yet, meaning he is likely to only get better.  With a returning Khris Middleton, the Bucks won’t creep up on anyone this year but the added playoff experience can only make them better.  Anytime, you have a situation where the best player is on the court is on your team, you have an excellent chance to win.  Milwaukee has that in every game they play.

Brooklyn Nets:  Can Kyrie Irving do for Brooklyn, what he couldn’t do for Boston? Kevin Durant, the other big name the Nets signed in the off-season won’t be able to help much (if at all) and Irving does not have as good a supporting cast as he did with the Celtics.  What he might have his chemistry, and he does have a chip on his shoulder.  

Philadelphia 76ers:  Joel Embiid and the rest of the “process”was one Kawhi Leonard bucket from the Eastern Finals.  Like the Bucks, this is a team that will benefit from post-season experience and Embiid is only getting better.

West:

Los Angeles Clippers:  Kawhi Leonard is returning home to L.A. and he is bringing Paul George with him.  Leonard is already a two-time NBA Champion and was the Finals MVP in both of them. George is coming off the best season of his life where he finished third in MVP voting.  This is a more dynamic combo than Chris Pail and Blake Griffin and could take the Clippers to their first Finals and possible Championship.

Los Angeles Lakers:  The Clippers crosstown rivals have added Anthony Davis, who now has the elite teammate (LeBron James) that he never had in New Orleans.  The question that people should be asking is how much elite that James has left.  At age 34 and a lot of mileage from long playoff runs it is conceivable that we are not that far off from seeing him hit the athletic wall.  

Denver Nuggets:  The Nuggets are a very good team that finished second in the regular season in the West.  Their star player from Serbia, Nikola Jokic, could be a sleeper candidate for the MVP. They are the best team that nobody talks about.

Houston Rockets:  It is James Harden and Russell Westbrook 2.0 and in terms of offensive excitement, this is the must watch team in the NBA.  Harden and Westbrook are former MVPs and both could win it again, but both want their first Championship.  Could this be their year?

We know that we will be watching intensely with this being the most up in the air season in recent memory.

After being dormant since 2012, the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame has announced their newest Class.  They will be officially inducted on November 1, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The new class consists of:

1998 Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team:  This was the first time that Women’s Hockey was featured in the Olympics and the U.S. defeated the favored Canadian team in the Gold Medal Game.

Candace Cable (Paralympics): Cable would become the first person to medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.  She has won 12 medals, eight of which were Gold.

Lisa Leslie (Women’s Basketball): Leslie is arguably the best women’s basketball player ever and she would lead the Americans to four Olympic Gold Medals in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008.

Nastia Liukin (Women’s Gymnastics):  In 2008, Liukin would win the Women’s All-Around Gymnastic Gold Medal.  She would also win in those same Games, Silver in the Team Competition, Uneven Bars and Balance Beam and Bronze in the Floor Exercise.

Misty May-Treanor (Women’s Beach Volleyball):  May-Treanor is the most successful women’s beach volleyball player ever.  Along with her partner, Kerri Walsh, she won Gold in the 2004, 2008 & 2012 Olympics.

Tim Nugent (Contributor):  Nugent was the founder of the Wheelchair Basketball Association.

Ron O’Brien (Diving Coach): O’Brien has coached divers to twelve Gold, three Silver and four Bronze Medals in the Olympic Games.

Apolo Anton Ohno (Men’s Short Track Speed Skating):  Ohno competed in three Olympic Games (2002, 2006 & 2010) and would win eight medals. This comprised of two Gold, two Silver and four Bronze.

Erin Popovich (Paralympics): Popovich is a swimmer who won 14 Paralympic Gold Medals and 19 in total.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos (Men’s Track & Field):  Smith won Gold and Carlos won Bronze at the 1968 Olympics in the 200 meter dash.  The two wore a black glove and raised in it the air during the playing of the American National Anthem bringing attention to civil rights issues in the U.S..

Dara Torres (Women’s Swimming): Torres won medals in five Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 & 2008) and would collect 12 Medals.  That was an even distribution of four Gold, four Silver and four Bronze.

Chris Waddell (Paralympics): Waddell has competed in both the Summer and Winter Paralympics and has five Gold, five Silver and two Bronze Medals.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate to newest members of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and the institution itself for its revival.