Committee Chairman

RIP: Nelson Frazier

Feb 19, 2014

It was sad news that we learned of the passing of former WWE superstar, Nelson Frazier who passed away at the age of 43 due to a massive heart attack. Frazier had multiple personas in World Wrestling Entertainment, most recently as “Big Daddy V” in the ECW brand.

Frazier was known for his large size (his billed weight was over 500 pounds) and as such could always be used as a large man who could constantly be reinvented to keep him relevant in the world of wrestling. He would have many stints in the WWE and has a tenure in the largest professional wrestling organization in the United States that few can match.

Frazier debuted in the WWE in 1993 as Mabel, one half of Men on a Mission, a pair of positive African-Americans looking to make a difference from the ghetto. They would hold the WWF World Tag Team Championship for a week, winning and losing them back to the Quebecers (Jacques Rougeau and Pierre Oullette), but it was a heel turn that launched Mabel to his highest profile run.

Mabel would win the 1995 King of the Ring and compete in the main event at that year’s Summer Slam, in a World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title Shot against Diesel (Kevin Nash). He would spend the rest of the year feuding with the Undertaker, before leaving in early 1996.

He would return a few years later, with coloured contacts and a vinyl body suit as “Viscera”, a member of the Undertaker’s “Ministry”. Once that petered out, he would leave and return, though enjoy a rare face turn as Viscera; “The World’s Largest Love Machine”. It was entertaining watching the big man in his Hugh Hefner like pyjamas, but he would be repacked as “Big Daddy V” with his large frame and extensive tattoos exposed. He would stay with the WWE until 2010, but the big man would find success with All-Japan, and with the Asian Tag Team Titles there a couple of years ago.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family of Nelson Frazier at this time.

RIP: Bob Casale

Feb 19, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

Today it was announced that Bob Casale, a founder of the influential band, Devo passed away today of heart failure at the age of 61. The Ohio based band was best known for their biggest hit, “Whip It”, which was a heavy staple on the early days of MTV. They did not have any other song that even approached that popularity, but their music charted new ground.

Devo, and the New Wave movement was in direct contrast to the traditional Blues Rock, and was a reaction to Punk Rock. The band’s name was short for De-Evolution, which was a commentary on the band’s view that the world was devolving as opposed to evolving. Devo embraced the visual medium in their work in their videos and embraced the concept of putting video to music long before MTV was ever conceived.

They received a warm response at their appearance at the Coachella Festival in 2010 and released their first album in nearly twenty years, and toured extensively after. The death of Casale marks the second passing of a Devo member in the past twelve months. Last June, drummer Alan Myers died of stomach cancer.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com offer our condolences to the friends and family of Bob Casale at this time.

Paul Stanley speaks out

Feb 16, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

We don’t normally cut and paste articles from other sites but the Classic Rock website interviewed Paul Stanley of KISS, which were finally inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after fifteen years of being eligible. Stanley and his bandmate, Gene Simmons have long trashed the Cleveland based institution and we were curious to see if maybe they changed their position now that have finally been chosen. As we see from this Q&A, at least where Paul Stanley is concerned, nothing has changed.

Say what you want about KISS, but we have to hand it to Stanley for maintaining his stance about the Hall of Fame. You can never call him a hypocrite!

Did you feel honoured at being inducted in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?

No, it was done begrudgingly and because it had become absolutely ludicrous that they were choosing to ignore us. At the end of the day most people don’t realise that the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was a privately created establishment and that it has a self-appointed board. It’s a perfect case of perception becoming reality. People heard ‘Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’ and gave it credibility. So whether it deserves the title has to be weighed against who it inducts.

So was it an honour to be nominated?

No. It means a lot to the fans and I understand it because it’s validation for them. So for that reason I accept graciously and accept on their behalf. My feelings and my ambivalence about the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame hasn’t changed any. Their attitude is elitist and it doesn’t reflect the public. It reflects a small group who dictate who meets the criteria that they set up as ‘rock and roll’. I’ve always felt the spirit of rock and roll meant not only ignoring your critics, but ignoring your peers and going your own way. I think we’ve done that pretty much with few exceptions for forty years. So that same criteria that kept us out has not gotten us in. I scratch my head a little and I also take issue with a certain arrogance within that group. Nonetheless I look at some of the inductees and any club that has Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and The Who and the Beatles and the Stones is company I don’t mind being in and my feelings have nothing to do with any of them, it purely has to do with a system which I think is tainted, corrupted and distorted.

Are you looking forward to playing it?

Honestly, I have no plans at the moment to do anything, and that includes playing with Ace and Peter or anyone else. My plan at the moment is to go and accept the award. Anything else, we’ll see how it unfolds or unravels. It was interesting to me, or offensive to me, that when the question was broached with the hierarchy about inducting additional members it was shut down immediately as ‘a non starter,’ which to me is arrogant. People who sit behind desks need to respect the people who are actually either inductees or possible inductees into this so-called hallowed organization. So the fact that there are 30 or 40 or 50 or some absurd number of Grateful Dead members all inducted, the fact that all of the Chili Peppers, including people who played on early albums that never amounted to very much are inducted, the fact that John Rutsey, the drummer on the first Rush album is not inducted, the fact that Rob Trujillo, who’s a great guy but didn’t play on any of the classic Metallica albums, was inducted after being in the band six years makes me wonder exactly what are the rules? If the rules don’t apply to everybody then they’re not rules.

Do you plan to bring Ace and Peter up on stage with you?

Of course it goes without saying that Ace and Peter deserve this moment in the spotlight. We wouldn’t be here without them. We couldn’t have built what we did without them at the foundation. That being said, we couldn’t have built what we built without a lot of people who followed them. We couldn’t have been here without them and we couldn’t be here today with them. So absolutely, of course they deserve and belong up there.

Ace and Peter jammed together at recent party for That Metal Show presenter Eddie Trunk. How did you feel about that?

I didn’t feel one way or the other. I don’t own those songs, I only wrote ‘em. There’s nothing to guard or lock away. Those songs are public domain and they played on those songs so why wouldn’t they play them? For that matter, why wouldn’t anybody play them?

David Stern headlines first batch of 2014 Basketball HOF inductees

Feb 16, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

The first wave of inductees for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has been announced and the undisputed headliner thus far is the recently resigned commissioner of the National Basketball Association, David Stern. Stern served in that capacity for thirty years, and during that time the NBA flourished becoming one of the biggest entities in all of sports. Not only did the players make a lot more money, they became a lot more famous, as ESPN analyst Colin Cowherd often stated, he made the names on the back of the jersey matter.

Stern will be joined International Committee selection, Sarunas Marciullonis from Lithuania. From 1981 to 1989 he played for Statyba Vilnius in the Soviet League and twice won the Lithuanian Championship. Internationally, he was a big part of the U.S.S.R.’s Gold Medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

With Lithuania breaking away from the Soviet Republic, Marciullonis joined the Golden State Warriors and would play for four teams in a nine year period, but again internationally he would make a huge impact as the man who resurrected the Lithuanian National Team. He did everything he could, including contacting players, negotiating shoe deals and other sponsorships. Literally, it can be argued that without him they would have never won the Bronze Medal in 1992 and again in 1996.

The ABA Committee has once again selected someone representing the Indiana Pacers as former Head Coach, Bob “Slick” Leonard will be inducted this year. Leonard coached the Pacers from 1968 and stayed with them through the move to the NBA. He was at the helm when Indiana won three ABA Championships.

Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton will also be inducted. He was chosen by the Early African-American Pioneers Committee and was one of the first black players in the NBA. Prior to joining the Association he was with the barnstorming New York Rens and the famed Harlem Globetrotters. He was an NBA All Star in 1957.

The final man who has already been chosen for the 2014 Basketball Hall of Fame Class is Guy Rodgers from the Veteran’s Committee. The Point Guard was a two tine Assists leader in the NBA as well as a four time All Star. Rodgers held the #98 spot on our list.

The Finalists for the Hall of Fame in the traditional vote was also announced. Alonzo Mourning who is in his first year of eligibility is the biggest name and the number #3 man on our Basketball list. Spencer Haywood, who was told that he was going to be inducted last year, returns as a Finalist and is ranked number #2 by us. Mitch Richmond (#9), Tim Hardaway (#10) and Kevin Johnson (#13) are also Finalists.

They are joined by NCAA coaches Nolan Richardson, Eddie Sutton and Gary Williams. The group is rounded out by Women’s Coach, Harley Redin and the three time AIAW champion in the 70’s, Immaculata University.

Our number one choice, Chris Webber was not chosen as a Finalist. As much as he has the statistics to make a Hall of Fame claim in both College and Pro, his banishment from the Michigan program after accepting funding from a local booster clearly played a part in his omission.

The announcement of the complete class will be announced on April 7^th, prior to the Final Four.