It was announced that Jabari Greer, the Cornerback, most recently with the New Orleans Saints has called it a career in the National Football League. Greer was an undrafted Cornerback from the University of Tennessee in 2004 who latched on with the Buffalo Bills, eventually securing a starting role with the team. As his skills improved, Greer would sign with the New Orleans Saints and would not just be a starting Cornerback, but become a big part of the Saints defense. As such, Greer would become a part of the Saints team that won Super Bowl XLIV, and would overall accumulate 13 Interceptions in his career and make ten seasons in the National Football League, a rare feat in Professional Football. Although Greer is not a legitimate contender for the Football Hall of Fame, nor really someone who will be honored by the New Orleans Saints, we here at Notinhalloffame would like to congratulate Jabari Greer in his professional football career and wish him luck on the next stage of his career.
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We don’t generally discuss the death of actors on this website, but with the launch of our Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame, we thought we would change our thought process to commemorate the passing of our “fictitious” heroes. With that said, today we mourn the loss of Richard Kiel, the seven foot plus behemoth that was known mostly as James Bond super villain, Jaws. Kiel’s character had the rare distinction of appearing in two films opposing “007”, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. However, when you are the size of Kiel, it can be expected that he would appear in some athletic films, two of which were nominees for our Hall of Fame. Kiel played “Sampson” in Burt Reynolds’ 1974 film, the Longest Yard. Kiel’s role was of one of the prison inmates who were recruited to play Football against the Guards, and was granted a few memorable lines in the film. Two decades later, Kiel played a brief but memorable supporting role in Happy Gilmore, as “Mr. Larsen”, Happy’s one time employer known specifically for having a large nail in his head. This character actually made the semi-final round for Contributors of our Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame. Kiel also had a role as a mechanic/driver in the Cannonball Run II. We would like to extend our condolences to the friends of family of Richard Kiel and invite you to have a Richard Kiel film fest. It will be entertaining, we guarantee!
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While we may never get to doing a Notinhalloffame.com rank of those who should be in the Poker Hall of Fame, we have a lot of respect for the game and how much it has grown in popularity in the past two decades. As such, a brief synopsis of this year’s ten Finalists, which were announced today. In the last three years two people were selected, and it is expected that this trend will continue this year. This year’s Finalists are: Chris Bjorin: Considered one of the best European Poker players ever, and the most successful Swedish player, Chris Bjorin is a two time Gold Bracelet winner and is sixth all time on WSOP cash list. Humberto Brenes: Currently third place all-time on WSOP cashes list, and is regarded in the game for his consistency. The Costa Rican born Brenes is credited with elevating Poker in Latin America. Bruno Fitoussi: The French born Poker star has elevated the stature of the game in France and is credited with brining Texas Hold ‘Em to that country. Ted Forrest: Six times a WSOP gold bracelet winner and is one of the most successful money winners in recent years. Jen Harman: The first female to win multiple bracelets in open events and has appeared in 12 WSOP Final Events. Bob Hooks: The oldest nominee at 85 Years Old, Bob Hooks played with the legends of Poker decades ago, and held his own with the best from generation to generation. He played competitively or six decades until he retired last year. Mike Matusow: “The Mouth” is a four time bracelet winner and final tabled the WSOP Main Event twice. Jack McClelland: A one time Semi-professional bowler, McClelland wound up directing the WSOP from 2002 to 2013. Daniel Negreanu: At 40 years old, Negreanu is the youngest nominee on this year’s ballot and “Kid Poker” has won six gold bracelets, two WPT Titles, and is second all-time on the WPT money list and third all-time on the WSOP money list. Huckleberry Seed: The tall Californian is a four time bracelet winner and one of the most recognizable figures in the game. To qualify for the Poker Hall of Fame, the player has to meet the following criteria: He or she must be at least 40 Years of Age He or she must have played Poker against recognized high level of competition. He or she must have played for high stakes. He or she must have gained the respect of their peers. He or she must stand the test of time. Some of those are a little ambiguous wouldn’t you say? The Poker Hall of Fame was first established in 1979 and was acquired by Caesar’s Entertainment along with the World Series of Poker. Although there is no physical Hall of Fame, the ceremony is heled in conjunction with the Final Table at the WSOP, which is held annually in November.
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Very quietly, a major Basketball retirement took place as Chauncey Billups announced that he will not seek another year in Professional Basketball. Billups, a Shooting Guard who last played for the Detroit Pistons, did not have his contract renewed, and elected not to seek employment with another NBA team, citing that “it’s just time.” Billups was drafted third overall in 1997 from the University of Colorado by the Boston Celtics, but his rookie year was not a successful one as clashes with Celtic’s Coach, Rick Pitino, found him unable to really find his game. A late season trade to Toronto did little to help his career and neither did a stint in Denver. His fortunes turned around in his second season with the Minnesota Timberwolves where he would take over the starting Shooting Guard role from Terrell Brandon who went down due to a knee injury. Billups, who was labeled a first round bust by many, reversed his fortunes and averaged 22 Points per Game in Minnesota’s brief run in the playoffs. Now a free agent, Billups would sign on with the Detroit Pistons as their starting Point Guard. Now a more complete player, Billups’s clutch shooting and defensive prowess earned him league wide respect and in 2004, the Pistons, who did not have a traditional superstar shocked the world by winning the NBA Championship. Billups was now receiving personal accolades, earning six straight All Star Game appearances (2005-10), a Second Team All-NBA, two Third Team All-NBA and a pair of Second Team Defensive selections. Statistically, Billups retires with a 17.2 Points per Game Average, a PER of 18.8 and a resume that could put him in the Basketball Hall of Fame, or at least receive some consideration for a retired number with the Pistons. We would like to thank Chauncey Billups for entertaining up on the court for all of these years and wish him the best in his post NBA life.
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Legendary Dallas Cowboys Quarterback, Troy Aikman will finally have his number retired, but not in Texas. The Cowboys do not retire numbers, but his collegiate alma mater, UCLA does. It was announced today that his number 8 will become the ninth number retired by the UCLA Football program. Aikman actually began his College career at the University of Oklahoma with Barry Switzer in 1985 and found himself as the starter as a rookie. Aikman would unfortunately suffer a broken ankle in an October game, causing him to miss the season and prompting the Sooners to utilize Jamelle Holieway, who was a great fit for Switzer’s type of offense. Oklahoma would win the National Championship that season. Knowing that Holieway would remain the Oklahoma starter for some time to come, Switzer would help facilitate a transfer to UCLA and after sitting out 1986 as a redshirt he would take over the pivot role in 1987 for the Bruins. In UCLA, Aikman would prove to be the top Quarterback in the Nation, taking the Bruins to a 20 and 4 record over his two seasons and throwing for 41 Touchdowns and 5,298 Yards, which were impressive numbers by any standards. As a Junior, he would lead the Bruins to a win in the Aloha Bowl over Florida and would nab the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. The following season, he would win the Cotton Bowl with a convincing win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. That year, his senior year, saw Aikman finish third in Heisman Trophy balloting and winning the Davey O’Brien Award as the Nation’s top Quarterback. The consensus All-American would enter the NFL Draft, and go first overall by the Dallas Cowboys, where he would take them to three Super Bowl Championships. Aikman is a member of both the Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fame. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Troy Aikman at this time for this honor.
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Longtime Bass Player of Deep Purple, Roger Glover, was asked about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the radio show, Noize in the Attic. Glover responded that the band was “kind of ambivalent” about the prospect of entering the Cleveland based institution and that they were “up in the air” whether they would accept an induction or not. The British based Hard Rock band has been eligible for the Hall since 1993, but has only been nominated in the last two years. It is easy to understand Glover, and his bandmates frustration. Glover continued to add that they “might just say, you know, forget it, too late. They’re at least twenty years too late as far as I’m concerned. They should have done it when Jon Lord was still alive when it would have had a bit more meaning”. Lord passed away in 2012 and was a co-founder of the band. He was the band’s organist and is to this day considered one of the most talented organists of all time. Glover would add an interesting comment that “one of the jurors was heard to say ‘Deep Purple, they’re just one hit wonders” likely referring to “Smoke on the Water, which was released in 1972, and is a staple still today of beginning guitarists. Deep Purple may have only had two songs crack the top ten (Smoke on the Water and Hush) but since when did “hits” make a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee? Besides, it is not like they did not have true commercial success, as they are one of the few bands in history to sell over 100 million albums over their career. We here at Notinhalloffame.com had Deep Purple ranked in the top five since our website’s inception in 2009 and have moved up to the number one slot based on your votes.
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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will celebrate the career of the Everly Brothers this October 25 at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square with a tribute concert celebrating them as this year’s “Music Masters Honorees”. There will be a week’s worth of tributes to the Everly’s leading up to the concert which will have Country Singer/songwriter, Rodney Crowell. Crowell will have an incredible list of talent to work, all of which who have credited the Everly Brothers as major influences on their career. This lineup includes Vince Gill, Graham Nash, Peter Asher, Shelby Lynne, Emmylou Harris and Albert Lee. Don Everly will be on hand to accept the Award. This will be his first public appearance since the death of his brother Phil last January. The Everly Brothers were part of the first group of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. The influential duo was also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Historically speaking, the Everly’s Pop/Country harmonies remain amongst the most influential sound in Rock music history. We wish we could be on hand to be at the concert, but you can believe that it will be a great one. Bye Bye Love!
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The San Diego Chargers has officially announced that former Defensive standout, Leslie O’Neal will be the 37th member inducted into their franchise’s Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place on their October 19th home game against their division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chargers Hall of Fame inducted their first group in 1976. O’Neal was the eighth overall pick of the 1986 Draft and the two-time All American from Oklahoma State made an immediate impact on the Chargers with 12.5 Quarterback Sacks and the capture of the Defensive Rookie of the Year of the Award. It was a bittersweet season fro O’ Neal, who did not finish out the season due to a knee injury, which was so severe, he missed the entire ’87 campaign and did not return to Mid-October of 1988. The rehab proved successful as O’Neal returned to form and in 1989 made his first of what would be six Pro Bowls as a representative of the Chargers. Overall in the nine seasons he spent in San Diego, Leslie O’Neal recorded 105.5 Sacks and made three Second Team All Pro squads. His last game for the Chargers was in ’95, and he would continue playing in the NFL for more seasons where he totaled 132.5 Sacks for his career, currently placing him tenth overall all time. We would like to congratulate both the San Diego Chargers and Leslie O’Neal at this time.
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Last November, The Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame announced Rocky Balboa as their inaugural inductee. The Class of 2014 will be decided on an online vote, which will conclude on November 30th of this year. The opening round began with over 300 Athletes and 100 Contributors in the Preliminary Round, which was reduced to 50 Fictitious Athletes and 30 Fictitious Contributors in the Semi-Finalist Round. After three months of voting open during the Semi-Finalist Round, the 15 Athletes and the 11 Contributors with the most votes have advanced to become the Finalists for the Fictitious Hall of Fame Class of 2014. All previous votes have been wiped clean, and one ballot can be entered per person. This vote will be open to the public until November 30, 2014, when the top three vote getting Athletes and top vote getting Contributor will enter the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame. The 15 Fictitious Athlete Semi-Finalists are: Al Bundy (Married…With Children) Apollo Creed (Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III & Rocky IV) Bobby Boucher (The Waterboy) Crash Davis (Bull Durham) “Fast” Eddie Felson (The Hustler & The Color of Money) Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump) Jimmy Chitwood (Hoosiers) Happy Gilmore (Happy Gilmore) Hanson Brothers, The (Slap Shot) Paul “Wrecking” Crewe ’74 (Burt Reynolds) (The Longest Yard) Reggie Dunlop (Slap Shot) Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn (Major League and Major League II) Roy Hobbs (The Natural) Sam Malone (Cheers) Willie “Mays” Hays (Major League) The 30 Fictitious Contributors Semi-Finalists are: Carl Spackler (Caddyshack Chubbs Peterson (Happy Gilmore) Gordon Bombay (The Mighty Ducks Trilogy) Harry Doyle (Major League & Major League 2) Hayden Fox (Coach) Jerry Maguire (Jerry Maguire) Jimmy Dugan (A League of Their Own) Mickey Goldmill (Rocky, Rocky II & Rocky III) Morris Buttermaker (The Bad News Bears) ‘76 Mr. Miyagi (The Karate Kid) Norman Dale (Hoosiers) The 1989 Baseball film, Major League had three Finalists, the most of any movie. Adam Sandler (The Waterboy & Happy Gilmore) is the only actor to have two characters who made the Finalist Ballot. Narrowly missing the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame Final Round were such notables as Daniel LaRusso (The Karate Kid trilogy), Al Czervik (Caddyshack), Randy “The Ram” Robinson (The Wrestler), Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez (The Sandlot), Clubber Lang (Rocky III), Ricky Bobby (Talladega Nights) and Jesus Shuttlesworth (He Got Game). Gang, you know what we want you do! Click on the links and let us here your votes! The direct voting on the Athletic Finalists can be found here, and for the Contributor Finalists can be found here:
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Chasing his first berth in the Major League Baseball Playoffs, Adam Dunn, who was just traded to the Oakland A’s has announced that this will be his final season in the game. Dunn, who currently has 460 career Home Runs, and hit the 40 Home Run mark in a season five consecutive years (2004-2008) currently is 36th all-time and fifth among active players. Dunn, an All Star twice in his career (2002 & 2012) may possess a low career Batting Average of .237, but he did lead have two seasons leading his respective League in Walks twice and has a more than respectable On Base Percentage of .365, though this is countered with four seasons leading in the category of Strikeouts. As potent as Adam Dunn could be with his bat, he was far from equal with his glove. He would never have a positive number in Defensive bWAR and has a career number in that regard and plummeted his overall bWAR to 16.6, which is not exactly a number that would get him off of the first ballot for Hall of Fame voting. Still, the fans of Adam Dunn paid to see him hit the long ball, which he was one of the best at. We thank him for the Homers and the memories and will have a soft spot for Oakland this September.
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