Committee Chairman

Pro Football HOF Weekend!

Aug 04, 2013

A week after the Baseball had their Hall of Fame Weekend and inducted no live bodies, Canton added to their legacy by putting in a solid group of (and alive) inductees into the Football Hall of Fame. Relatively speaking, this Hall has been controversy free and has been a model of how Halls should induct players and contributors. We also love the way how the Hall of Fame induction ceremony kicks off the Pre-Season and gets us excited about the upcoming season. We thought we would take one final look at the Class of 2013.

Larry Allen was a mountain of a man, and considered by many to be the strongest player in the NFL. He used that physical skill to dominate the Cowboys Offensive Line and was named to both 1990’s and 2000’s All Decade Team. This 11 Time Pro Bowl selection also won the Super Bowl twice with the Cowboys. This was a no brainer.

Cris Carter took a while to get enshrined into the Hall of Fame. The logjam at Wide Receiver likely delayed the former Minnesota Viking star, though we were always fascinated by an attribute that some found one-dimensional: that all “he ever did was catch touchdowns”. Funny, we thought that was the idea of the game. We always felt he should have gotten in earlier.

Curley Culp was a Senior nominee selection. Culp had a great run with the Kansas City Chiefs, helping them win their lone Super Bowl in 1970. Culp was a five time Pro Bowl selection who was a dominating interior lineman in his day. Culp was not initially on our top 100 list, but through another retrospective on his career, we may have erred in that assessment.

Jonathan Ogden could have been the easiest no-brainer for induction this year. Ray Lewis may have gotten all the press on the Defensive side for the Baltimore Ravens, but Ogden was the Offensive Lineman who protected a lot of “average at best” Quarterbacks ensuring that they would do just enough to win. It may be arguable that Ogden is the best Left Tackle of all time, but he is the one whose worth was showcased first on a financial statement. When people describe Left Tackle as the second most important position in Football, much of that is because of Jonathan Ogden.

How did Bill Parcells not get in last year? We don’t rank non-players on our list, but if we did, he would have been a lock for the top five. The two-time Super Bowl winner was not just a great coach, but a great motivator and a man known for taking mediocre teams and turning them around rapidly. In our eyes, Parcells is the headliner of this Class.

Dave Robinson was another Green Bay Packers great who was the second of two Senior nominees inducted. The Linebacker had 27 career Interceptions and excelled at tackling opposing receivers and rushers for no gain. Robinson’s induction was a little overshadowed by the constant plight of his long time teammate, Jerry Kramer, who we (and virtually everyone else) has championed for the Football Hall of Fame.

The final inductee for this year’s class is Warren Sapp, a great Defensive End who was known equally for his Defensive prowess as his swagger. Sapp was our lowest ranked player to get in from last year’s list, but statistically has every right to be enshrined. Much has been made (though we are not sure why) about his bust being the first one with braids; which may make Sapp stand out a little more in this year’s class; which we are sure he enjoys.

We congratulate this year’s inductees, but mostly the Pro Football Hall of Fame; which is becoming the class of the Sporting Halls.

Donovan McNabb: Retired for good

Jul 30, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

Donovan McNabb officially retired from the National Football League and did so as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Quarterback last played in with the Minnesota Vikings in 2011, where his last few years were not exactly at a level of his glory years with Philadelphia.

Although McNabb heard his share of boos in Philly (but what athlete hasn’t), he set virtually every Quarterback record for the franchise. As such, he secured the right to have his number retired in Philadelphia, but does it translate to a bust in Canton? We aren’t so sure.

Although he was a six time Pro Bowl Selection, he never made an All Pro Team. He took the Eagles to the NFC Championship Game five times, but only one once. In his lone Super Bowl appearance, he did not have a great game and is remembered for being criticized (fairly) by controversial Wide Receiver Terrell Owens, who played the game of his career, coming back early from injury.

McNabb is ranked 17^th overall in Passing Yards, but only finished in the top ten twice. His highest rank in a season for Pass Completion is 10^th, and his Quarterback Rating only exceeded 100 once. Still, his accuracy was well above average and his Yards per Reception were very high; which should be noted.

As good as he was in Philadelphia; McNabb was essentially ushered out for an unproven Quarterback (Kevin Kolb). He landed in Washington, where he was criticized for his conditioning and was replaced by (gasp….Rex Grossman). He would go to Minnesota, where he only held the starting position for a handful of games.

So, we ask…is Donovan McNabb a Hall of Fame Quarterback? He thinks so. Is he a “Hall of Very Good Candidate”? Possibly. Or is he a man who played his way out of Canton (our opinion). We would love to hear yours.

2013 Baseball HOF Weekend

Jul 28, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

          You may not have noticed, but this is the Baseball Hall of Fame weekend. Or maybe you did notice, and decided not to be too interested. If it is the latter, count us among that group.

          In many articles that permeate this website we have openly stated that we are for many of the PED users to get in; however only those who partook in that prior to Major League Baseball having a set policy in place against the aforementioned unnatural boost.   Actually, we want to applaud MLB, which has dramatically changed its culture and is even overzealous at times in their search for “cheaters”.

          So no…this article is not about our opinion on the matter (we’ve already written it) and the internet is full of articles about how the all-time hit king, all-time home run king and the man with the most Cy Young Awards are out of the Hall of Fame, and will likely remain such. No, right now we are curious about those who made their trek to Cooperstown to see this Class of 2013, because other than family members, we really don’t see why anyone would visit the shrines of these people.

          We aren’t trying to be cynical. The lone player inducted is Deacon White, who last played in ’90…..1890 that is. Is there anyone who is going there who even remembers him alive? Let’s say there is; but we know for certain that nobody who attended this weekend’s events saw him play live. How about a step further and say that nobody there even saw him play on film?

          Not excited? Well how about the excitement for Umpire, Hank O’Day? Oh…wait; we said Umpire. Ok, well we have former New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, who owned the Bronx Bombers during many championships in the 20’s. Of course, he kept the color barrier afloat in Baseball; so let’s move on.

          How about radio commentator, Tom Cheek, who was an excellent broadcaster for the Toronto Blue Jays? Unfortunately, he passed away several years ago (marking our total of dead Hall of Famers to four). Ask Blue Jays fans and they will tell you he deserves it, but will they visit upstate for New York to see his plaque?

          We have Dr. Frank Jobe, who developed Tommy John surgery which has saved the career of many Pitchers; including of course Tommy John. Maybe the medical community will come out in full force to show support? At least Jobe is alive.

          Any wonder why attendance is down in Cooperstown? End of our little tangent.

Coming Soon at NIHOF

Jul 27, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

           It may be the “Dog Days of Summer” and the sports world may not be at its most eventful, but that does not mean that we here at Notinhalloffame.com do not have some serious plans for the remaining hazy days of the season.

          Coming soon will be the next Basketball revisions. We can tell you that a brand new #1 will be crowned as last year’s #1 & #2 (Gary Payton & Bernard King) were selected for enshrinement.   Overall, eight new first year eligible players will be making their way onto our Basketball 100, two of which will be entrenched in the top five.

          Once that is done, we will look to world of Hockey. Unlike Basketball, the #1 Selection (Don Cherry) remains, but four of the top ten were selected last month. With Dominek Hasek, Mike Modano and Peter Forsberg entering their first year of eligibility, a major reshuffling of the top ten will occur.

          Once Hockey has been revamped, we are planning a retooling of the WWE List. It will expand to 300 with the addition of old school candidates that were not previously considered. Unlike the large sports, the WWE has consistently pushed in candidates who were outside our top 50. A top 300 is not as farfetched as you think.

          Finally, a MAJOR new section is coming. We have been working on this for a few months, but it will be a separate Hall of Fame, created by us for all of you. We will decide the inaugural entry, but after that, it is all up to you. A bit of a tease, we want you think about your favourite sports “characters” of the last forty five years. Look for that in September.

          We thank all of you for your support, and we look forward to growing the website together with all of you.