Committee Chairman

Chauncey Billups Retires

Sep 10, 2014

Very quietly, a major Basketball retirement took place as Chauncey Billups announced that he will not seek another year in Professional Basketball. Billups, a Shooting Guard who last played for the Detroit Pistons, did not have his contract renewed, and elected not to seek employment with another NBA team, citing that “it’s just time.”

Billups was drafted third overall in 1997 from the University of Colorado by the Boston Celtics, but his rookie year was not a successful one as clashes with Celtic’s Coach, Rick Pitino, found him unable to really find his game. A late season trade to Toronto did little to help his career and neither did a stint in Denver.

His fortunes turned around in his second season with the Minnesota Timberwolves where he would take over the starting Shooting Guard role from Terrell Brandon who went down due to a knee injury. Billups, who was labeled a first round bust by many, reversed his fortunes and averaged 22 Points per Game in Minnesota’s brief run in the playoffs.

Now a free agent, Billups would sign on with the Detroit Pistons as their starting Point Guard. Now a more complete player, Billups’s clutch shooting and defensive prowess earned him league wide respect and in 2004, the Pistons, who did not have a traditional superstar shocked the world by winning the NBA Championship.

Billups was now receiving personal accolades, earning six straight All Star Game appearances (2005-10), a Second Team All-NBA, two Third Team All-NBA and a pair of Second Team Defensive selections. Statistically, Billups retires with a 17.2 Points per Game Average, a PER of 18.8 and a resume that could put him in the Basketball Hall of Fame, or at least receive some consideration for a retired number with the Pistons.

We would like to thank Chauncey Billups for entertaining up on the court for all of these years and wish him the best in his post NBA life.

UCLA to retire Troy Aikman's number

Sep 08, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

Legendary Dallas Cowboys Quarterback, Troy Aikman will finally have his number retired, but not in Texas. The Cowboys do not retire numbers, but his collegiate alma mater, UCLA does. It was announced today that his number 8 will become the ninth number retired by the UCLA Football program.

Aikman actually began his College career at the University of Oklahoma with Barry Switzer in 1985 and found himself as the starter as a rookie. Aikman would unfortunately suffer a broken ankle in an October game, causing him to miss the season and prompting the Sooners to utilize Jamelle Holieway, who was a great fit for Switzer’s type of offense. Oklahoma would win the National Championship that season.

Knowing that Holieway would remain the Oklahoma starter for some time to come, Switzer would help facilitate a transfer to UCLA and after sitting out 1986 as a redshirt he would take over the pivot role in 1987 for the Bruins.

In UCLA, Aikman would prove to be the top Quarterback in the Nation, taking the Bruins to a 20 and 4 record over his two seasons and throwing for 41 Touchdowns and 5,298 Yards, which were impressive numbers by any standards.

As a Junior, he would lead the Bruins to a win in the Aloha Bowl over Florida and would nab the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. The following season, he would win the Cotton Bowl with a convincing win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. That year, his senior year, saw Aikman finish third in Heisman Trophy balloting and winning the Davey O’Brien Award as the Nation’s top Quarterback. The consensus All-American would enter the NFL Draft, and go first overall by the Dallas Cowboys, where he would take them to three Super Bowl Championships.

Aikman is a member of both the Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fame. We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Troy Aikman at this time for this honor.

Roger Glover (Deep Purple) discusses the RRHOF

Sep 06, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

Longtime Bass Player of Deep Purple, Roger Glover, was asked about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the radio show, Noize in the Attic. Glover responded that the band was “kind of ambivalent” about the prospect of entering the Cleveland based institution and that they were “up in the air” whether they would accept an induction or not. The British based Hard Rock band has been eligible for the Hall since 1993, but has only been nominated in the last two years.

It is easy to understand Glover, and his bandmates frustration. Glover continued to add that they “might just say, you know, forget it, too late. They’re at least twenty years too late as far as I’m concerned. They should have done it when Jon Lord was still alive when it would have had a bit more meaning”.

Lord passed away in 2012 and was a co-founder of the band. He was the band’s organist and is to this day considered one of the most talented organists of all time.

Glover would add an interesting comment that “one of the jurors was heard to say ‘Deep Purple, they’re just one hit wonders” likely referring to “Smoke on the Water, which was released in 1972, and is a staple still today of beginning guitarists.

Deep Purple may have only had two songs crack the top ten (Smoke on the Water and Hush) but since when did “hits” make a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee? Besides, it is not like they did not have true commercial success, as they are one of the few bands in history to sell over 100 million albums over their career.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com had Deep Purple ranked in the top five since our website’s inception in 2009 and have moved up to the number one slot based on your votes.

The Everly Brothers to be Music Master Honorees

Sep 04, 2014

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will celebrate the career of the Everly Brothers this October 25 at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square with a tribute concert celebrating them as this year’s “Music Masters Honorees”. There will be a week’s worth of tributes to the Everly’s leading up to the concert which will have Country Singer/songwriter, Rodney Crowell.

Crowell will have an incredible list of talent to work, all of which who have credited the Everly Brothers as major influences on their career. This lineup includes Vince Gill, Graham Nash, Peter Asher, Shelby Lynne, Emmylou Harris and Albert Lee.

Don Everly will be on hand to accept the Award. This will be his first public appearance since the death of his brother Phil last January. The Everly Brothers were part of the first group of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. The influential duo was also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

Historically speaking, the Everly’s Pop/Country harmonies remain amongst the most influential sound in Rock music history. We wish we could be on hand to be at the concert, but you can believe that it will be a great one. Bye Bye Love!