Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  Eventually, this will extend to major American Universities. As such, it is news to us that the Purdue University Athletic Hall of Fame have announced the seven-member Class of 2020.

The Class of 2020 comprises:

Ariel (Turner) Gebhardt (Women’s Volleyball):  Gebhardt would be a four-letterwoman from 2009 to 2012, and she is second all-time in school history in kills (1,906).  As a Senior, she was named the Academic All-American of the Year for Volleyball.  She is also a former Big Ten Player of the Year.

Shaun Guice (Men’s Track & Field):  Lettering every year from 2000 to 2004, Guice was a seven-time All-American in the High Jump.  He would finish in both the 2001 and 2003 NCAA Indoor Championship at that event.

Robbie Hummel (Men’s Basketball):  Hummel played for the Boilermakers from 2008 to 2012, and is the only player in school history to have 1,500 Points, 800 Rebounds and 250 Assists.  He would be named a Second Team All-American in 2010 and a First Team Big Ten Selection in 2008, 2010 & 2012.  Hummel also was the named the 2009 Big Ten Tournament MVP.

Chuck Kyle (Football):  Kyle was a Consensus First Team All-American at Defensive Middle Guard in 1968.  The three-time First Team Big Ten Player would go on to play in the Canadian Football League.  

Casey Matthews (Women’s Diving):  Matthews made school history when she won the 2013 3-Meter Title, making her the first female to win an individual title.  She was also the 2014 Big Ten Champion on the 1-Meter.

Bruce Parkinson (Men’s Basketball):  Parkinson played for the Boilermakers from 1973 to 1977, and he would score 1,224 Points.  He would help them win the 1974 NIT Tournament.

Shereka Wright (Women’s Basketball):  Wright would play for Purdue from 2001 to 2004 and helped them win the Big Ten regular season in 2001 and 2002, and the Big Ten Tournament in 2003 and 2004.  She was a three-time All-American and she scored 2,251 Points and 793 Rebounds.

The group will be officially introduced during their Men’s Basketball Game on February 22 against Michigan.  This is the 20^thClass, and it brings the number of enshrines to 167.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending Purdue University Athletic Hall of Fame members for earning this honor.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such, it is news to us that Dallas Stars have announced that they will be retiring the number #56 of Sergei Zubov next season.

This announcement follows Zubov’s Hockey Hall of Fame selection this summer.  

The Defenseman would join the Stars after being traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins before the 1996-97 Season, and he would stay there until he left the NHL after the 2007-08 campaign.  With Dallas, Zubov would go to three All-Star Games, and would be chosen as a Second Team All-Star in 2005-06.  The Russian blueliner would finish in the top ten in Assists three times and he would lead the NHL in Defensive Point Shares in 2000-01.  He was a vital member of Dallas’ Stanley Cup win in 1999.

As a Star, he would play in 839 Games with 549 Points and a Plus/Minus of +109.

This makes Zubov the second former Dallas Star player to have his number retired.  He joins Neal Broten (#7), Bill Goldsworthy (#8), Mike Modano (#9), Bill Masterton (#19) and Jere Lehtinen (#26).

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Sergei Zubov for earning this honor.

Golden State Warriors or Boston Celtics: Who Has a Better Chance

The Golden State Warriors were outshined by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers this offseason. Both in the media and on the NBA odds boards. With Kyrie gone –and a handful of others–  the Celtics got ignored as well.

Let’s compare the two teams and have a look at their odds to win the NBA title as well as the Eastern and Western Conference Championships and determine if they are getting too much love or too much shade. And of course, who is more worthy of the probability and odds given – remember to check this Intertops review before getting into the futures action.

Recent History

As of Monday, the Celtics are sitting just outside of the top-10 with regards to their offense. Boston is putting up 113.13 points per game and has managed to regain its status as one of the league’s elite defensive units. Currently, the Celtics are No. 5 in the league in points allowed at just 103.75 and are also No. 5 in the league in field goal percentage at 41.77. They are also in the top 10 – No. 8–  in free throw percentage. 

After losing their opening matchup loss against the Philadelphia 76ers, they have gone on a tear, smashing their way through the Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, NY Knicks twice, the Charlotte Hornets, and San Antonio Spurs for seven straight wins.  

On Monday they host the Dallas Mavericks and are coming in as -3.5 point favorites. So if you are to believe the odds, they will increase their run to an 8-game winning streak before Tuesday. 

Even with Klay Thompson out for the foreseeable future, the Golden State Warriors started the season with decent odds to win the NBA title, albeit, behind the LA Clippers and LA Lakers. But the injury to Steph Curry has recently made the Golden State Warriors odds drop like a little kid holding a hot potato. Prior to the injury, the Warriors were around +1200 to win the Championship. However, now they have fallen to +5000 or 50 to 1. This is a huge drop. 

Faith in the Warriors has fallen so hard that they are coming into their Monday matchup against the Utah Jazz as double-digit underdogs. This is a complete role reversal for the Dubs. Their season start is almost the exact opposite of the Celtics. GSW has only won two games so far this season and is on a three-game losing streak. Even without the brothers splash … the Warriors offense isn’t terrible. They rank No. 14 for scoring in the NBA and are the best free-throw shooting team in the league. But they have no defensive identity at the moment. The Warriors rank No. 29th overall on defense, mostly due to their horrible road performances. At home they only marginally improve, allowing 120 per game for the 26th worst home defense in the league. So, it’s clear that Curry and Thompson provide more than just offensive fire-power. They give the Dubs leadership and fantastic perimeter defense.

Odds vs. Power Rankings

The Boston Celtics have taken the No. 6 spot on TeamRankings predictive power rankings. On the Las Vegas odds boards, they are No. 8 in line behind the Nuggets, Jazz, Rockets, Rockets, Sixers, Bucks, and both LAs. 

The Warriors are in 12th place on the NBA odds boards but the predictive algorithms have the Warriors way back at 21st. This makes sense given the fact that their overall defense scoring statistic is No. 29 in the league. So, how do we reconcile the fact that they have the 12th best odds on the board? Well, they are Golden State and Curry will be back, perhaps in time for a run at the playoffs. If they get into the post-season, who knows what happens. Still, I feel they are massively overvalued at the moment. Meanwhile, the Celtics are right about where they should be. Perhaps a tad bit undervalued given the fact that they keep winning. That said, there is a lot of season left, and both of these teams have lot to prove over the next few months.

One of the core lists for us on Notinhalloffame.com is our Football section, which ranked over 100 former players who are worthy of Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration.  In honor of the NFL’s 100^thAnniversary, and announcement that there will be a special committee that will add fifteen senior candidates, we have decreed that our section needed an update.

In looking at our list, we were guilty of not taking a proper look at the pre-Super Bowl era candidates, feeling that they received a proper look by the varying committees who voted for candidates since 1963.  In retrospect, that was wrong.

Before, we continue, a special thank you to Vinny Lospinuso, who has been doing many podcasts with us, in regards to Pro Football Hall of Fame snubs.  Much of his input is reflected in this revision.

We have expanded this list to 300, which is the number we intend to keep it for the unforeseeable future.  You can find the new list here:  http://www.notinhalloffame.com/football?start=0

We here at Notinhalloffame.com thank you all for your support, and we ask you to take a look, and cast your votes and offer your opinions.  Future lists are altered based on your feedback, and we encourage your assistance.