I have worn tired of the “future Hall of Famer” discussion. You pick the sport, and I will find some gabber telling me about who is a future Hall of Famer after one hot playoff series. Every game has a lot of Hall of Fame criteria. It’s more than just a talk show host man crush.
Let’s get a few parameters straight.
First, a Hall of Famer is not decided by how many championship rings they wear. Championships are won as a team and not by individuals. While an individuals may play well in championship rounds, it is still about teammates who put that individual in the position to perform at a high level. Yes, it’s still about the team. That’s why they have team trophies for winning championships.
Second, can we all forget about the shining moment on prime time TV that we all remember? After all, a more comprehensive examination of an athlete’s body of work should be considered.
Third, just because he is an analyst after his career on TV does not give him a free pass of entry. Although their name does continue to stay in the limelight, I never understood how a guy all of a sudden got better after his playing career just by talking about other athletes’ performances.
Finally, the Hall of Fame should be considered only if that player was dominant during his era. In many cases, longevity is overlooked. How many years you played at a high level is more important than how many years you played. Numbers certainly come into play, but the meaning of stats changes over time and by changed circumstances. Smaller ball parks spawn more home runs, and changes in the passing game have inflated the numbers for receivers and quarterbacks. Now that the three-point shot is an essential part of an offense, not just a sign of desperation, those numbers will go up. As for hockey, it was teams deciding to open up the game and forego defense that helped create Wayne Gretzky.
With the exception of basketball, changes in equipment have made a significant difference in athletic output. Could you think about what Stan Musial would have done with the new maple bats? What if Gretzky or Brett Hull had a chance to use the new composite sticks? There is a reason why golfers now hit 300-yard drives with more regularity.
Throw in the allegations of performance-enhancing drugs contributing to the achievements of many “great” players in recent decades and you have to wonder just who is a true Hall of Famer?
Here is a list of players who would have a very hard time making the Hall of Fame if I am at the door:
Basketball: Dwayne Wade
Football: Michael Strahan
Baseball: Alex Rodriguez
Hockey: Chris Osgood.
Here is a list of athletes who should be Hall of Famers but are not for some strange reason:
Football: Charles Haley
Baseball: Lee Smith
Hockey: Sergei Federov
Basketball: Bernard King.
Hall of Famers should not be determined by a popularity contest, a measure that comes into play more often than it should. The determination should not involve what they have done after they retire from the game. So when that “future Hall of Famer” hogwash surfaces, remember it is about being the best at your trade and not who likes you for one hot night.
Jamal’s name on Cup
Congratulations to former St. Louis Blue Jamal Mayers as he was part of the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Black Hawks. It took 16 long years to get there, but he now has his name on the Stanley Cup. He and Black Hawk goalie Ray Emery join Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr as the only men of color to be on a Stanley Cup championship team.
NHL Draft diversity
While other team sports have had athletes of color selected in the first round of the draft many times, the National Hockey League had it happen only once before this past Sunday when Seth Jones (son of former NBA player and now assistant coach Popeye Jones) was selected fourth overall by the Nashville Predators and Darnell Nurse was taken seventh overall by the Edmonton Oilers.
Nurse comes from an athletic family. His father, Richard Nurse, played wide receiver for Hamilton in the Canadian Football League. His mother, Cathy Nurse, starred with the McMaster Marauders basketball team in Hamilton, Ont. His older sister, Tamika Nurse, played basketball at Oregon and Bowling Green. And his younger sister, Kia Nurse, has represented both Ontario and Canada in basketball. His uncle is former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb and his aunt, Raquel Nurse, is a former Syracuse basketball standout.
It was a good day for Jones and Nurse and for future people of color who want to venture into the National Hockey League in the future.
