We here at Notinhalloffame.com are always looking to add new sections to our website.  Last month, we uploaded our top 100 active NFL players and how their Hall of Fame resumes stack up.  

We are doing the exact same thing with the NBA.

As opposed to 100 like we did in Football, we are going with only 50 in Basketball.  

We liked the idea that we used in Football with a modern “Modern Positional Average”, so we are doing something similar here.  With advanced analytics, we decided that we don’t have to isolate based on position so they are all on one list.

Inspired by Jay Jaffe’s JAWS statistic that looks at the best seven-year stretch of a baseball player according to bWAR, we are doing the same with current basketball players.  Specifically, we compiled the average PER, Win Shares and VORP for each of the past Hall of Famers based on their best seven-year period.  The additional thinking behind this is that in Basketball, there is an additional focus on periods of greatness as opposed to sports like Baseball, where compiling statistics is more glorified.

To keep everything modern, the average we used is the last 14 inductees, but only the ones who were Modern Era Inductees.  This excludes Direct-Elect Candidates (contributors, Early African-American Pioneers, International and Veterans).  The only exception is Vlade Divac, who was chosen via the International Committee, but has a healthy NBA career to draw upon.

As of this writing, the 14 players from the last four induction classes who we are using for the composite averages are:

Ray Allen, Maurice Cheeks, Vlade Divac, Bobby Jones, Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Sidney Moncrief, Steve Nash, Shaquille O’Neal, Jack Sikma and Paul Westphal. 

While we are not looking at traditional statistics, we are averaging out All-Star Games and All-NBA Selections.  With the latter, we are looking at this in weighted fashion.  In terms of Third Team All-NBA Selections, one point will be assigned, Second Team All-NBA Selections will have two points will be granted, and First Team All-NBA Selections will have three points.  

Here are the averages:

Based on their elite seven-year stretch the average PER of the last 14 Modern Era Hall of Famers is 21.5.

Based on their elite seven-year stretch, the average Win Shares of the last 14 Modern Era Hall of Famers is 65.1.

Based on their elite seven-year stretch, the average VORP of the last 14 Modern Era Hall of Famers is 27.8.

With All-Star and All-NBA Selections, we look at the entire career of the player.  

The average All-Star Selections of the last 14 Modern Era Hall of Famers is 7.4.

The average All-Pro Selections (based on the pointed average of one for a Third Team, two for a Second Team and three for a First Team Selection) is 9.8.

We are also adding NBA Championships. Often,  players in this team sport more than any other (except for NFL Quarterbacks) are judged by the number of rings they have.  Perhaps, that shouldn't be as regarded as it is, considering the average amount of titles of our last 14 Modern Era Hall of Famers is less than 1.  Specifically, it is 0.79.

Wrapping this up in a bow, the six variables we are looking at Elite Period PER, Elite Period Win Shares, Elite Period VORP, All-Star Games, Weighted All-Pro Selections, NBA Championships.

This will be a regular feature on Notinhalloffame.com, and we will be updating this at the end of the season.

You can find our new section HERE.

As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thank all of you for your support!

We love this day!

One of our pet projects, The Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame is announcing the Finalists for the Class of 2019.

This will be the 6^thfull class, and it is all based on your online votes.

As in past years, we have a Preliminary Group, which is pared down to Semi-Finalists. After four months of your voting, here are the results:

The Fictitious Athlete Finalistsare:

Al Bundy:Married With Children (Football star at Polk High in Chicago, IL).  Every year that we have been doing this, Al Bundy had reached the Finals.  In two occasions, he finished fourth in voting, just missing out on induction. Will this be the year for the down on his luck shoe salesman?

Al Czervik: Caddyshack (Amateur golfer who challenged the status quo at Bushwood Country Club).  After many years as a semi-finalist, the less than posh (but very rich) amateur golfer makes his debut as a finalist.  He could join Carl Spackler, the Bushwood groundskeeper as a Caddyshack inductee.

 “All The Way” Mae Mordabito: A League of Their Own (Centerfielder for the Rockford Peaches).  Arguably the best comedic performance that Madonna ever had, “All The Way” Mae could join teammate, Dottie Hinson, who got in last year,

Amanda Whirtlitzer: Bad News Bears: (Female Little League Pitcher for the Bears).  From the original film, Whurlitzer’s arrival to the team changed the fortunes of the Bears.  This is the first time that she has been a Finalist.

Billy Chapel: For Love of the Game (Aging Starting Pitcher for the Detroit Tigers).  Should Chapel get in, this will be the second induction for a baseball player portrayed by Kevin Costner.  The first was as Crash Davis in Bull Durham.

Chazz Michael Michaels: Blades of Glory (Champion Singles and Pairs Figure Skater).  If it always seems that there is a Will Ferrell character as a Finalist, it is because there always is.  This is the only fictional figure skater to make the Finals.

Clubber Lang: Rocky III: (Former Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World).  Lang has been a Finalist three times and is one of the best sports villains ever.

Dean Youngblood: Youngblood (Left Wing for the Minor League Hamilton Mustangs).  Youngblood led voting of all the semi-finalists but all votes are wiped clean for a fresh start.  This is his second time as a Finalist.

“Fast” Eddie Felson: The Hustler and The Color of Money (Pool Shark).

“Fast” Eddie returns as a Finalist for the third time.  To date, there is no billiards player in the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame.

Hamilton Porter: The Sandlot (Pre-teen who played baseball at the local sandlot).  This is the first time that Hamilton Porter has made the Finals, and if he gets in, he would join his former Sandlot teammate, Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez.

Homer Simpson: The Simpsons (Softball player on his company team, Mixed Curler Olympian and Heavyweight Boxer).  The “Homer at the Bat” episode is featured in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Could he get in here too?

Ivan Drago: Rocky IV (Former Soviet Heavyweight Boxer).  Drago is a Finalist for the third time.  With Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed already in the Hall, an induction for either Clubber Lang or Drago would give the Rocky franchise its third Fictional Athlete.

Jake Taylor: Major League & Major League 2 (Catcher and Interim Manager of the Cleveland Indians). This is the first time that Taylor has made the Finals, and there are already three representatives from Major League in.

Jimmy Chitwood: Hoosiers (Forward at Hickory High).  Chitwood is a Finalist for the third time.

Pedro Cerrano: Major League, Major League 2 & Major League 3: Back to the Minors (Outfielder for the Cleveland Indians).  Cerrano is a Finalists for the second straight year.

Shane Falco: The Replacements (Quarterback who once starred for Ohio State and becomes a replacement player for the Washington Sentinels).  Falco is once again a Finalist, and to date there are no inductees from The Replacements.

You can vote for the Fictitious Athletes HERE.

The Fictitious Athlete Contributor Semi-Finalistsare:

Adrian Balboa: Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV and Rocky V (Girlfriend, and later Wife of Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Rocky Balboa).  Yo! Adrian! The late wife of Rocky Balboa has been a Finalists every year since we began, but has always come up short.

Coach Ernie Pantusso: Cheers (Former Baseball Coach turned bartender).  Pantusso had made it all the way up to the majors as a coach with the Boston Red Sox

Darcy Sears: Varsity Blues (High School student who dates West Cannan Quarterbacks).  This may not be the most empowered female on the ballot, but here she is, as a Finalist for the first time.

Irv Blitzer: Cool Runnings (Coach of the 1988 Jamaican Bobsled Team).  While there really was a 1988 Jamaican Bobsled Team, they were not coached by an American named Irv Blitzer.  This is the first time that he has been a Finalist.

Jimmy Dugan: A League of Their Own (Former Baseball Player and Manager of the Rockford Peaches).  Dugan has been a Finalist every year since the Hall’s inception, and missed out twice as the runner-up.

Ken Reeves: The White Shadow (Head Basketball Coach at Carver High).  This is the second time that the former Chicago Bull turned high school basketball coach has been a Finalist.

Lou Brown: Major League and Major League 2 (Manager of the Cleveland Indians).  Major League has many inductees, but the former employee of Tire World is not one of them…yet.

Norman Dale: Hoosiers (Head Basketball Coach at Hickory High)  Dale has been a Finalist every year, and to date there is nobody from Hoosiers in the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame.

Patches O’Houlihan: Dodgeball (Former Dodgeball star and Dodgeball Coach for Average Joe’s Gym).  In the fictional sports world, there is no greater star than Patches O’Houlihan.  As we see him as a trainer, he qualifies as a contributor.  This is his first time as a Finalist.

Ray Kinsella: Field of Dreams (Builder of a baseball diamond in a cornfield that attracted dead baseball players).  If you build it, he will come.  If you vote for him, he gets in.  This is Kinsella’s second time as a Finalist.

You can vote for the Fictitious Contributors HERE.

The Fictitious Veteran Finalistsare:

Joe Boyd/Joe Hart: Damn! Yankees (Superfan of the Washington Senators who becomes a player for them)

Luis “Mountain” Rivera: Requiem of a Heavyweight (Heavyweight Boxing Contender)

Sport Goofy: Multiple films and television (Multi-Sport Athlete)

You can vote for the Fictitious Veterans HERE.

The Existing Inductees for our Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame are:

Fictitious Athlete:

Apollo Creed: Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III and Rocky IV

Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez: The Sandlot

Bobby Boucher: The Waterboy

Charlie Conway: The Mighty Ducks, The Mighty Ducks 2 and The Mighty Ducks 3

Crash Davis: Bull Durham

Daniel LaRusso: The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid 2 and The Karate Kid 3 

Dottie Hinson: A League of Their Own

Forrest Gump: Forrest Gump

The Hanson Brothers: Slap Shot

Happy Gilmore: Happy Gilmore

Paul “Wrecking” Crewe: The Longest Yard ‘74

Reggie Dunlop: Slap Shot

Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn: Major League and Major League 2

Rocky Balboa: Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V & Rocky Balboa

Roy Hobbs: The Natural

Willie “Mays” Hayes: Major League

Fictitious Contributors:

Carl Spackler: Caddyshack

Chubbs Peterson: Happy Gilmore

Gordon Bombay: The Mighty Ducks, The Mighty Ducks 2 and The Mighty Ducks 3

Harry Doyle: Major League, Major League 2 and Major League 3: Back to the Minors

Mickey Goldmill: Rocky, Rocky II and Rocky III

Morris Buttermaker: The Bad News Bears

Mr. Miyagi: The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid 2, The Karate Kid 3 and The Next Karate Kid

Fictitious Veterans:

Andy “Champ” Purcell: The Champ ‘31

Dennis Ryan: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Guffy McGovern: Angels in the Outfield

Huxley College: Horse Feathers

When you can, please support our site and cast your vote for the Class of 2019!

As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thank you for your support.

We have what we like to consider a distinct “Holiday Season” at Notinhalloffame.com.  Today is the start, our “Thanksgiving” of sorts, as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has made their announcement as to their Finalists for the Class of 2020.

This is the first year that the Rock Hall is under new guidance (sort of) as Jann Wenner, the co-founder of the institution is set to step down officially on January 1.  The new Chairman, John Sykes, has been doing the press junket, and this will be the first induction under his watch; although the induction process won’t be.  

Let’s get right to the Nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 2020:

Pat Benatar:  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame claims it wants more women, and Pat Benatar was the queen of early 80s Rock and Roll.  This is her first nomination and she has been eligible since 2004.  Ranked #44 on Notinhalloffame.com.

The Dave Matthews Band:  The Dave Matthews Band is one of the most successful touring bands ever and this is their first nomination.  They were first eligible last year.  Ranked #77 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Depeche Mode:  Depeche Mode is nominated for the third time and the first since 2018. Last year’s selection of The Cure bodes well for Depeche Mode and should they get in, look for groups like New Order and The Smiths to follow.  Ranked #18 on Notinhalloffame.com.

The Doobie Brothers:  A Classic Rock staple, The Doobie Brothers have finally garnered their first nomination since being eligible in 1997.  Ranked #25 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Judas Priest:  The metal band from England are nominated for the second time, the first coming in 2018.  Ranked #9 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Kraftwerk:  In terms of influence, nobody deserves it more than Kraftwerk, who is nominated for the sixth time.  Ranked #1 on Notinhalloffame.com.

MC5:  This is a very influential proto-punk band who is nominated for the fifth time.  Despite this group receiving multiple nominations, they have not received a lot of online support.  Ranked #5 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Motorhead:  This is the first nomination for Motorhead, who have been eligible since 2002.  Sadly, this nomination has happened after the death of their lead singer, Lemmy Kilmister, who passed away in 2015.  Along with Judas Priest, they are one of two heavy metal bands who are nominated.  Ranked #30 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Nine Inch Nails:  This is the first nomination since 2016 and third overall for Nine Inch Nails, who is basically just Trent Reznor.  Ranked #26 on Notinhalloffame.com.

The Notorious B.I.G. This is the first year of Biggie’s eligibility and with all due respect to the other Hip-Hop artists who are eligible, there is no one else who has a bigger name in the genre.  Should he be inducted, it will be a posthumous one, as he was shot and killed in 1997.  Ranked #6 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Rufus featuring Chaka Khan: Rufus and Chaka Khan are nominated for the third year in a row, and Chaka Khan herself had been nominated as an individual once before.  Ranked #183 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Soundgarden:  Soundgarden gets the early 90s Alternative Rock Spot and this is their first nomination.  They have been eligible since 2011.      Ranked #31 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Thin Lizzy:  Thin Lizzy finally receives their first nomination since being eligible in 1996.  Ranked #90 on Notinhalloffame.com.

T.Rex:  This was a long time coming.  The influential Glam Rock band from London, England has never been nominated despite being eligible since 1993.   Ranked #14 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Whitney Houston:  Houston was the owner of one of the best voices in musical history and was a pop sensation in the 1980s before transitioning into more soul influenced music.  She has been eligible since 2009 and this is her first nomination.  Ranked #271 on Notinhalloffame.com.

We expect that there will be a lot more controversy and news between now and the official announcement of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2020.  By the way, that is our Christmas Day!

So, rock fans, what do you think of this group?

Our initial reactions are that this is a hard rock driven group, far more than we have seen in years.  As usual, there are new nominees who are have been eligible for a long time.  The curious omissions to us is that Motley Crue, who were leading the fan vote at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame kiosk and Oasis, who were the biggest group in BritPop.  Now we wait for the drama to unfold.  Much like the sun, we know it is coming!

Days after Brian McCann announced his retirement from Major League Baseball, we have another former World Series Champion who has announced that he is hanging up the cleats.

David Freese announced on Twitter today that he will be retiring from Baseball after an 11-year career.  

Freese was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2006 and was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, the team he would debut for in 2008.  The Third Basemen will always be remembered for his 2011 post-season, where he won the NLCS and the World Series MVP and collected a record 21 RBIs.  He would make the All-Star team the following season.

He would be traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim after the 2013 season and would later sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a Free Agent in 2016.  Freese was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers before 2018 and he appeared in their playoff run this year.

He retires with 1,041 Hits, 113 Home Runs and a Slash Line of .277/.351/.427.  He is 36 years old.

Freese likely will not be chosen for the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he will be eligible in 2025.  Anyone, who won the World Series MVP is someone who we want to see on the ballot.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank David Freese for all his excellent career and we wish him the best in his post-playing career.