Committee Chairman

MLB Relief Pitchers get new Awards

Apr 10, 2014

The Relief Pitcher in Baseball still struggles for respect amongst the traditionalists of the game as only five Relievers (Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Goose Gossage and Dennis Eckersley) have entered Cooperstown, but we expect that two more will enter in the upcoming years; at least we think that Major League Baseball thinks that will happen based on the revamping of their post season awards.

The top reliever in the American League will win the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award. This is to honor the recently retired Rivera, who spent his entire career with the New York Yankees and set the Major League record for Saves. Rivera is considered a surefire Hall of Fame entry, and should enter on the first ballot.

In the National League, it will be named after Trevor Hoffman, who spent his entire career in the National League, mostly with the San Diego Padres. Hoffman, who may not be held in the same regard as Rivera, is a Hall of Fame candidate himself.

The awards will be voted on a by an elite group of nine former Relief Pitchers which include Rivera and Hoffman. The remaining seven are the Hall of Famers; Fingers, Sutter, Gossage and Eckersley and Lee Smith, John Franco and Billy Wagner.

Prior to the change in the awards, Major League Baseball only had one award for both leagues, named the Delivery Man of the Year.

Joan Jett to front Nirvana?

Apr 09, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

An interesting rumor has been floating around that Joan Jett will be performing with the former members of Nirvana at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony. The speculation began when on the Foo Fighters’ Instagram page which showed a photo of Dave Grohl’s drumkit, Krist Novoseic’s bass, Pat Smear’s strat and what looks to be Joan Jett’s Melody Maker.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts have been past nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and her first band, the Runaways altered the perception of women in the Rock and Roll industry. It was speculated by many that former R.E.M. frontman, Michael Stipe would be fronting the band as he will be inducting the band, but the belief has now changed to Jett.

Jett and Grohl have performed together in the past, on the David Letterman show in 2011, and on Jett’s album in 2013. Regardless of who fronts the Nirvana reunion, we are looking forward to seeing it!

RIP: The Ultimate Warrior

Apr 09, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

In what can only be described as a major shock, WWE.COM has just reported that the Ultimate Warrior has passed away at the age of 54. The cause of his death has not been announced, but as the man born as Jim Hellwig had a busy weekend with the WWE as he was officially inducted into their Hall of Fame on Saturday, and made an appearance on both Sunday’s Wrestlemania XXX and last night’s Monday Night Raw. The Warrior looked healthy, and there was no visible evidence that he was sick in any capacity.

The Ultimate Warrior first arrived in the World Wrestling Federation in 1987, and in an industry with larger than life characters, he did not just stand out, he was a superstar. He had huge muscles, unequalled intensity, and bizarre promos that may not always be comprehensible, but were always entertaining.

At Summer Slam 1988, the Warrior defeated the Honky Tonk Man in under a minute to win the Intercontinental Championship, cementing him as a star on the rise in the WWF. His ascension culminated at Wrestlemania VI in the SkyDome in Toronto, Canada, where he pinned Hulk Hogan cleanly to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a match that was well received by the fans and critics alike.

The Warrior’s title reign was not the most successful one, as business did decline (though other factors were in play), and he lost the championship to Sgt. Slaughter at the 1991 Royal Rumble. Still, he would steal the show at Wrestlemania VII, pinning Randy “Macho King” Savage in a “Career VS Career” Match, though only months later he would hold the organization up at Summer Slam 91 (where he was in the main event) refusing to perform unless he received a lump sum payment.

Realistically, this would end the apex of his career. He would return twice more to the WWF though the duration would never reach a year; and each departure would lead to acrimonious feelings on both sides. Warrior would try his hand in World Championship Wrestling leading to a match against Hulk Hogan, though they were unable to replicate the magic they had in Toronto.

Years ago, the now named WWE would produce a DVD chronicling the career of the Ultimate Warrior, though unlike all of their other DVD sets celebrating a career, the titled “Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior” showcased commentary from past and present WWE employees mocking him openly and belittling his impact in the industry.

Still, this is a company where “Never Say Never” is a mantra, and a year ago, the Ultimate Warrior was slowly returning to the fold, where he was included in their latest video game. Rumblings had begun that he would enter the Hall of Fame and a DVD was released on his career, though this time with his input, and in January the WWE announced that he would be the headliner of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2014. The hatchet on both sides was buried.

Wrestling fans watched the Warrior this past weekend and expected to see a lot more of him as he announced that he was signed to the WWE as an ambassador. As sad as we are that he passed away, we take solace in that he was able to enter the WWE Hall of Fame before he died and hopefully found closure with the company that defined him professionally.

Basketball 2014 Class set

Apr 07, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

If you have been paying attention to the Basketball Hall of Fame (and a lot of NBA fans don’t) you have heard the trickling in of names to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2014. This is a common occurrence, as annually names are leaked ruining the element of surprise and circumventing the anticipation that the other major North American Sports Hall of Fames are able to achieve.

Today at Noon (ET), the Hall has made it official and announced the official class of 2014, and the leaks have turned out to be true. We need to mention this, as last year Spencer Haywood was informed erroneously that he was chosen for the Hall, only to be told later that he wasn’t an inductee. As such, we wanted to wait until the official Class came out before we wrote our piece.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame does not just recognize accomplishments in the Professional ranks as it includes International and Collegiate achievements as well.

Announced today are the four members selected by the North American Committee:

The headliner in many eyes is Alonzo Mourning who enters the Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility. Mourning was a star at Georgetown earning First Team All-American honors and was named the Big East Player of the Year in 1992. As a professional, Mourning was known for his all around game averaging 19.8 Points and 9.9 Rebounds over his career, which was complimented nicely with a 3.3 Blocks per Game average. “Zo” was twice named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and was a First Team All-NBA selection in 1999. The Center’s career PER of 21.2 is more than Hall of Fame worthy and he was able to reach the NBA pinnacle winning a championship with the Miami Heat in 2006. Miami granted Alonzo Mourning a huge accolade, when his number was retired, which was the first time for the franchise. We had Mourning ranked #3 on our list.

The Naismith Hall of Fame also selected Mitch Richmond who was a consensus All-American at Kansas State. The Shooting Guard was selected to six consecutive All Star Games and made the All-NBA Second Team three times and the All-NBA Third Team twice. Richmond had a 20.1 Points per Game average and had his number retired by the Sacramento Kings. In his final season (2002), he earned a championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers. We had Mitch Richmond ranked #9 on our list.

The North American Committee also selected two Coaches. Nolan Richardson had a coaching career Winning Percentage of .711 and famously took the Arkansas Razorbacks to three Final Four Appearances and won the National Title in 1994. The second Coach chosen was Gary Williams who helmed the University of Maryland for twenty-two seasons and won the National Title in 2002. We don’t rank coaches on our list.

These four North American Selections are joined by the Women’s Selection, Immaculata University, who compiled a 60-2 record between 1972 and 1974. They won the AIWA all three years.

There were already people chosen to the 2014 Class by the direct elect method. This included:

The ABA Committee selected Bob Leonard, who was the Head Coach of the Indiana Pacers who won three ABA Titles and was in a total of five ABA Finals.

The Contributor Committee chose David Stern, who was arguably the best Commissioner in North American Sports over the past fifty years. Nobody can say that the NBA is not substantially better off than it was since the day he took it over.

The Early African American Pioneers selected Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton who was one of the first black players signed by the NBA. Clifton played sight seasons in the NBA, and had extensive previous experience with the Harlem Globetrotters.

The International Committee went with the first Soviet Union born player in the NBA. Now from Lithuania, Saruna Marcuilionis, had a decent NBA career, but his work in resurrecting the Lithuanian Basketball program earned him this honor.

The Veteran’s Committee chose Guy Rodgers, who was an All American at Temple and part of two Final Fours (1956 & 1958). Rodgers was a two time Assists Champion in the NBA.

Spencer Haywood, who we had at #2 on our list, was not chosen after making it as a Finalist for the second year in a row. Our number #1 selection, Chris Webber, was not named as a Finalist, likely because of the sanctions incurred at Michigan when he took funding from a booster.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on August 9, 2014.