The University of Nebraska Football Hall of Fame has announced four former players to their institution.

The new class consists of:

Donnie McGhee: Playing on the Offensive Line from 1968 to 1970, McGhee was a one time First Team Big Eight Selection.

Randy Theiss:  Another Offensive Lineman, Theiss played for the Sooners from 1980 to 1982.  He would be named a Third Team All-American in ’82 and was also named a First Team Big Eight Selection that year.

Chad Kelsay:  A member of two National Championship Teams (1995 & 1997), Kelsay was a powerful Defensive End who was a one time Second Team Big Twelve Selection.

Zac Taylor:  A Quarterback for Nebraska in 2005 & 2006, Taylor was named a First Team Big 12 Selection in his final year as a Cornhusker.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the latest Hall of Fame Class from the University of Nebraska football team.

The Poker Hall of Fame doesn’t waste much time.

Less than a week after announcing their 2017 Finalists the institution officially selected Phil Ivey and David “Devilfish” Ulliott into their Hall of Fame. 

The induction of Ivey is especially impressive as he just turned 40, the minimum to be selected.  The 10 time WSOP Bracelet winner becomes the youngest member of the Hall.

The induction of Ulliott is posthumous as “Devilfish” passed away in 2015 from cancer.  The Englishman helped spread the game in the United Kingdom.

Ivey and Ulliott become members 53 and 54 of the Poker Hall of Fame.

The Poker Hall of Fame has announced the 10 Finalists for their Class of 2017.

They are:

David Chiu:  Born in China, David Chiu was the first ever winner of the Tournament of Champions.  Chiu is also a five time Bracelet winner on the WSOP and finished in the money 60 times.

Mori Eskandini: Eskandini is former 16 time money finisher and the WSOP but is more known for being the producer of Poker After Dark, High Stakes Poker and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

Thor Hansen:  From Norway, Hansen is a two time Bracelet winner on the WSOP.

Ted Forrest: AKA “Professor Backwards” is a six time WSOP Bracelet winner and a one time Champion on the World Poker Tour.

Phil Ivey: “The Tiger Woods of Poker” is the youngest Finalist at age 40.  He is a ten time WSOP Bracelet winner.

Mike Matusow: Matusow is a four time WSOP Bracelet recipient.

Max Pescatori: From Milan, Italy, Pescatori is a four time WSOP Bracelet winner.  “The Italian Pirate” has finished in the money on the World Poker Tour 7 times.

Matt Savage: A fine poker player in his own right but mostly known for helping founding the Tournament Directors Association, which standardized poker tournaments internationally. 

Huck Seed: The 1996 WSOP Champion is also a four time Bracelet winner.

David Ulliott: The late Englishman is a one time WSOP Bracelet winner and one time World Poker Tour Champion.  “Devilfish” allegedly had ties to the Hull underworld.

To qualify for the Hall, a player has to be at least 40 years of age and have “played poker against acknowledged top competition” and “for high stakes”.

At present there are 52 members of the Poker Hall of Fame and two of these ten Finalists will bring the total to 54.

The Poker Hall of Fame was established in 1979.

Damn we love social media.

How can we not?  It brings us a continuous source of news!

Today, former Running Back Fred Taylor lamented on Twitter about his exclusion from the upcoming induction of the 2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2017.

On Twitter, he had the following to say:

“I earned respect on the field.  Numbers better than majority of RBs in history.  Still don’t understand why the writers don’t respect it.”

“Not just backs that have come and gone in NFL HISTORY…but better than majority of the backs in the HOF…” 

“Don’t tell me anything about eras. AFC had top defenses in my division alone (Ravens, Steelers, Titans) to name a few.  That’s twice a year”

“I was once asked a rhetorical question like ‘do you want to be nominated’ ummm, I bust my ass for 13 years! Figure it out lol”

Taylor does make some valid points.  At present, Taylor is ranked 17th overall in Rushing Yards with 11,695, which is a number that does exceed many Hall of Fame Backs, including Terrell Davis who was chosen for this year.  Notable too, is that Taylor was exceptionally durable, an ever increasing rarity in the National Football League. 

There are however some significant notes on the other side of the ledger. 

Taylor was a Pro Bowler once and only made an All Pro Team (2nd in 2007) once.  This indicates (and is true) that Taylor was never really considered an elite Running Back in any year and was essentially regarded as a very good one.  While he did finish in the top ten in Rushing Yards six times, his highest rank was 6th.

The longtime Jacksonville Jaguar has never been a Semi-Finalist for Hall of Fame consideration.  Neither has Tiki Barber or Shaun Alexander, who is a former MVP.

The bar just to make it to the cut of Semi-Finalists is hard enough let alone advancing to Canton.

While we considered Fred Taylor on our Notinhalloffame.com Football list, he did not make our cut, though we are looking to expand it soon.