2010 Hall of Fame candidates announced; offer feedback at Van Heusen site

2010 Hall of Fame candidates announced; offer feedback at Van Heusen site

by | Sep 21, 2009 | Hall of Fame

All-time NFL greats Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith were the biggest names on what had to be one of the most star-studded nominee lists in the NFL Hall of Fame history. The list of 131 players, coaches, and contributors eligible for the 2010 NFL Hall of Fame class was made public Saturday in Canton, Ohio.

Smith is the all-time leading rusher with 18,355 yards. Rice is the leading all-time receiver with 22,895 yards.

From this preliminary list of modern-era nominees, Hall of Fame selectors will choose 25 candidates to advance as semifinalists, according to a Hall of Fame press release. Those names will be announced on November 27.

A mail ballot will reduce the list to 15 finalists who will be announced January 7. The Class of 2010 will be selected from 15 modern-era finalists and two senior candidates (Floyd Little and Dick LeBeau) during voting held the day before Super Bowl XLIV.

We encourage you to continue debating the merits of these Hall of Fame candidates as you have been at Zoneblitz.com. However, the Hall is taking feedback from fans at the Van Heusen Fan’s Choice Web site, where you can vote for the players you’d like to see enshrined or interact with other football fans.

When I checked the site this evening, the early leaders were the obvious ones. Rice and Smith are virtual shoe-ins to be inducted in 2010. Cris Carter and Shannon Sharpe are next in the fan balloting followed, surprisingly (in my opinion), by Ray Guy.

The site also claims to have some big-ticket items to give away, so while we hope you keep coming back here, it could benefit you to check in there once in awhile as well.

We’re working on learning more about the site, such as whether or not the fan vote will have any sway in who does get inducted next summer. As soon as we know more we’ll post an update.

In the meantime, who do you think should join Smith and Rice as members of the class of 2010?

LeBeau, Little Nominated for the 2010 Hall of Fame Class

by | Aug 25, 2009 | Hall of Fame

Former Detroit Lions cornerback and famed assistant coach Dick LeBeau and former Denver Broncos RB Floyd Little were named as the first finalists for the 2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010 by the senior committee earlier today (special thanks to commenter boardgame for bringing it to our attention).

Write ups on both LeBeau and Little follow the jump…but before we get into those details, while both Little and LeBeau were on the list of possible 2010 Senior Candidates assembled by Tony P. back in January, I’m not sure if either would be at the top of my list today.  Little embodies to me the type of player who apparently you had to see play to want in–his statistics alone don’t do much for me, and simply “saving a franchise” doesn’t do much for me in terms of the Hall of Fame. LeBeau was a solid player who never won much in terms of post-season honors, and has probably been bumped up a level with his defensive coaching record.  Overall, I’d say they are two ok selections, but probably not the best–and I’d be surprised if both made it in next winter.

Let us know what you think in the comments.

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Passionate Coniglio keeps AFL alive

by | Aug 24, 2009 | American Football League, Hall of Fame

I consider myself fairly well read on the history of the National Football League. I’ve been watching games since I was six and have long been fascinated by the game and the league’s history pretty much ever since.

I think remembering and recognizing the great personalities and players that made the league what it has become today is important for fans and hope it is important to today’s players, who are benefiting from the work done by their older brethren.

That said, as the 50-year anniversary of the American Football League comes along, I have realized I’m not as well read on the NFL’s former rival league. Sure, I knew about the merger and about some of the personalities – Joe Namath, George Blanda, Len Dawson, et al.

And I’d guess I’m not alone. With the merger that followed and the years that have since passed, the AFL has sadly become a footnote in some fans’ minds.

But not everyone has forgotten. Angelo Coniglio has created a Web site, www.remembertheafl.com, aimed at celebrating the AFL’s history and its contributions to the league that resulted from the merger. He established an AFL Hall of Fame that recognizes more than 120 players, owners, and other contributors to the league’s success. And he’s passionate about informing and reminding today’s fans of the impact the AFL had on what the NFL has become today.

Mr. Coniglio agreed to answer some questions from Zoneblitz about his Web site and his memories of the AFL.

Zoneblitz: On your site you recognize something around 125 players, coaches, owners and other officials at the AFL Hall of Fame – describe how you got started on this project?

Coniglio: I remember the Buffalo Bills of the All-America Conference – a league that was scoffed at by the NFL, which did not accept the Bills when the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) folded. But the Cleveland Browns of that “inferior league” won the NFL championship in their first year in the league, and dominated it for years. When the AFL came along, I became a Bills and an AFL fan, and heard the same disparaging remarks about the AFL by the established league that they had made about the AAFC, and I figured they were just as wrong. (answer continued)
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Hall of Fame Contest

by | Aug 20, 2009 | Hall of Fame

Tony Parslow, one of our regular Hall of Fame commenters, sent us over an idea for a kind of contest post, as it relates to the Hall of Fame and the fact that they are behind in electing some qualified players.

To be honest, I’m not sure I agree with 100% of the list that Tony and other commenters have put together–I think all the guys on the list are very, very good, but not necessarily Hall of Fame worthy.

But, at the same time, we always love a good contest–and while Tony offers the prize of sending the winning entry to the Hall of Fame committee for veterans committee consideration, I’ll take it a step further and offer some Zoneblitz.com memorabilia for the winning entry–because who doesn’t like free t-shirts?

Explanation of the contest & rules are after the jump…and good luck (especially finding punters worthy of Hall of Fame consideration)!

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Zoneblitz Hall of Fame experience

by | Aug 9, 2009 | Football Road Trips, Hall of Fame

CANTON – After months of anticipation and countless hours on the road, Zoneblitz.com finally arrived in Canton, Ohio for the centerpiece of this week-long road trip.

It coincided with the opening of a new Lamar Hunt Super Bowl exhibit and the celebration of the 50 year anniversary of the American Football League.

I loved the new Lamar Hunt Super Bowl gallery, which included video clips from all the games, a Super Bowl trophy located behind glass that was a popular photo opportunity for the thousands of fans milling about the building and other keepsakes.

I also always remain impressed with the photo galleries located in the hallway between the entrance to the hall and the Hall of Fame gift shop.  Among the photos this year was a great shot of NFL Referee Garth DeFelice inadvertently punching St. Louis Ram Kenneth Darby–and as we walked by the picture, we realized that DeFelice himself was there taking it in.

Incidentally, a shout out to Trey Wingo, who was spotted smiling and granting photographs to fans in the gift shop. Athletes and television personalities are often panned when they act like big shots. So it’s only fair that they are acknowledged for doing right.

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Randall McDaniel: Class of 2009

by | Aug 3, 2009 | Hall of Fame

We’ve been quite vocal about our belief that Randall McDaniel not only should be in the Hall of Fame, but that he should have been a first ballot guy.  In a little less than a week, McDaniel will finally be honored by the Hall–and, of course, we’ll be there for it.

In advance of this weekend’s festivities, we’re going to be looking for a lot of the local profiles that are being written by the inductees–starting with McDaniel.  The Star Tribune ran an impressive story about him Sunday, that illustrated many of the reasons that I’ve always found him to be one of my favorite players–from the quality of his play, to what an outstanding & humble person he is off the field, where today he works full time teaching kids with special education needs at a local Minnesota school.

Unfortunately, in their effort to make people buy the print edition of the paper, it appears that they have not put it on their Website (at least yet)–so I can’t link to it.  We’ll update this story with a link when (if) they get around to it–but in the mean time, here’s a video interview that they did with him.

UPDATE: This article isn’t the same one that appeared in the paper Sunday (despite a very similar headline), but it’s decent.