A momentous retirement has occurred as Blake Griffin, a player who has left an indelible mark on the game, has decided to call it a career after 14 seasons.

An All-American at the University of Oklahoma, Griffin was named the 2009 National College Player of the Year.  His success with the Sooners landed him the First Overall Pick in the ’09 Draft, joining the Los Angeles Clippers, though in what was then typical Clipper fashion, he missed the entirety of the 2009-10 season with an injured kneecap.  This setback led to one of the best rookie seasons of all-time, averaging 22.5 Points and 12.1 Rebounds per Game, with Griffin winning the Rookie of the Year unanimously.  Griffin was also an All-Star for the first of five straight years.

Named to the All-NBA Second Team in both 2011-12 and 2012-13, Griffin now had Chris Paul as his Point Guard and LOB City was formed.  The Clippers were now contenders and made the playoffs every year (except his first) that Griffin was there.  The Power Forward had his best year in Basketball in 2012-14, when he averaged 24.1 Points per Game and was third in MVP voting.  Griffin was a Third Team All-NBA Selection the following season and was eighth in MVP voting.

As electric as the Griffin and Paul combination was, they never got past the second round.  Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets in the 2017 off-season, and Griffin was traded during the year to Detroit.  In that hybrid Clippers/Pistons year, Griffin had his last good year, with a Third-Team All-NBA and his sixth and final All-Star. Injuries mounted on Griffin and gone were the jaw-dropping dunks and overpowering athleticism.  He finished his career with Brooklyn and Boston, last playing in the 2022-23 Season.

Griffin will be eligible for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2027, and he has an interesting case.  He has six All-Stars and five All-NBAs, but he never came close to leading a team to an NBA Championship. Nevertheless, we have seen players enter with less. 

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Blake Griffin the best in his post-playing career.

We have a new add-on on the Notinhalloffame.com site in the Hockey Futures as we have opened up the 2026 Eligible players.  These hockey players will first be eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2026.   We encourage you to vote and give your opinions on their respective HOF credentials.

The added names are:e

Cory Schneider:  Schneider won the William M. Jennings Trophy as Roberto Luongo’s backup in Vancouver and was an All-Star later in 2016 as a member of the New Jersey Devils.

Craig Anderson:  Anderson had his most success in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators where he led the league in Saves once (2009/10) and Save Percentage and Goals Against Average once (2012/13).  He also won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2017.

David Krejci: Krejci played his entire NHL career with the Boston Bruins, where he scored 786 Points and was a Stanley Cup Champion in 2011.  He also led the NHL twice in Plus/Minus twice and would win two Bronze Medals for the Czech Republic in the World Hockey Championship.

Derek Stepan: Stepan scored over 500 Points in his career and represented the United States in multiple tournaments.

Michael Bodker: Bodker had over 300 Points in the NHL, and the Right Winger represented Denmark multiple times, including a Silver Medal for Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Patrice Bergeron:  Bergeron might be the greatest defensive forward in the last 30 years and perhaps of all time.  Bergeron won the Frank J. Selke Trophy six times (a record), was a three-time All-Star and led Boston to a Stanley Cup win in 2011.  He also won the Mark Messier Leadership Award and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and internationally won two Olympic Golds and one World Cup of Hockey Medal for Canada.

Paul Stastny:  The son of Hockey Hall of Fame entrant Peter Stastny, Paul was an All-Star in 2011 and scored 822 Points in the NHL.  He also represented the United States multiple times and won Silver in the 2010 Olympics.

Tomas Plekanic:  Tomas Plekanic played most of his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens and won multiple medals representing the Czech Republic.

Wayne Simmonds:  Simmonds was an All-Star in 2017 and two years later won the Mark Messier Leadership Award. 

You can find the entire list of 2026 eligible players here.

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

We have a new add-on on the Notinhalloffame.com site in the Hockey Futures as we have opened up the 2026 Eligible players.  These hockey players will first be eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2026.   We encourage you to vote and give your opinions on their respective HOF credentials.

The added names are:e

Cory Schneider:  Schneider won the William M. Jennings Trophy as Roberto Luongo’s backup in Vancouver and was an All-Star later in 2016 as a member of the New Jersey Devils.

Craig Anderson:  Anderson had his most success in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators where he led the league in Saves once (2009/10) and Save Percentage and Goals Against Average once (2012/13).  He also won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2017.

David Krejci: Krejci played his entire NHL career with the Boston Bruins, where he scored 786 Points and was a Stanley Cup Champion in 2011.  He also led the NHL twice in Plus/Minus twice and would win two Bronze Medals for the Czech Republic in the World Hockey Championship.

Derek Stepan: Stepan scored over 500 Points in his career and represented the United States in multiple tournaments.

Michael Bodker: Bodker had over 300 Points in the NHL, and the Right Winger represented Denmark multiple times, including a Silver Medal for Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Patrice Bergeron:  Bergeron might be the greatest defensive forward in the last 30 years and perhaps of all time.  Bergeron won the Frank J. Selke Trophy six times (a record), was a three-time All-Star and led Boston to a Stanley Cup win in 2011.  He also won the Mark Messier Leadership Award and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and internationally won two Olympic Golds and one World Cup of Hockey Medal for Canada.

Paul Stastny:  The son of Hockey Hall of Fame entrant Peter Stastny, Paul was an All-Star in 2011 and scored 822 Points in the NHL.  He also represented the United States multiple times and won Silver in the 2010 Olympics.

Tomas Plekanic:  Tomas Plekanic played most of his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens and won multiple medals representing the Czech Republic.

Wayne Simmonds:  Simmonds was an All-Star in 2017 and two years later won the Mark Messier Leadership Award. 

You can find the entire list of 2026 eligible players here.

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

Baseball lost one of its great Managers today with the passing of Whitey Herzog.  He was 92.

Herzog played in the Majors from 1956 to 1963 (Washington, Kansas City, Baltimore and Detroit) but achieved his best success as a Manager, with an overall record of 1,281 and 1,125.

His road to Cooperstown began as a scout and later coach for the Athletics, and he joined the Mets as their Third Base Coach in 1966 and then was their Director of Player Development, where he won a World Series ring in 1969.  Herzog got his first chance to manage a Texas in 1972, however the club was atrocious, and he was fired before the end of the 1973 Season.  He signed with the California Angels as their Third Base Coach, but that was brief as the Kansas City Royals gave him his second chance to run a team.  Kansas City was more successful for Herzog, who won three consecutive Western Division Titles (1976-78).

Herzog then joined on to manage the St. Louis Cardinals through the 80s, and he maximized the speed and elite defence of the team to three National League Pennants (1982, 1985 & 1987) and a World Series Title in 1982.

Herzog was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 and is also a member of the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals Halls of Fame.  His number 24 was also retired by the Cards.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, friends and family of Whitey Herzog.

At UFC 300, a momentous announcement was made. The first epic clash between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen from UFC 117 is set to etch its name in the annals of UFC history. This legendary bout will be enshrined in the prestigious UFC Hall of Fame, joining the elite ranks of the Fight Wing.

Taking place as the main event of UFC 117, the contest took place on August 7, 2010, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, and saw Silva defend his UFC Middleweight Title against Sonnen.  Going into the fight, Silva (28-4) was considered one of the best fighters in the world.  He won the UFC Middleweight strap in 2006 at UFC 64 by knocking out Rich Franklin.  He had already successfully defended it against Nate Marquardt, Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Patrick Cote, Thaies Leites and Damain Maia.  Silva was favoured over Sonnen, but no previous challenger to Silva had ever trashed talk of “The Spider” like this.  He came into the fight with a 26-10-1 record and was fresh from a win over Nate Marquardt, which was named the UFC 109 Fight of the Night.

The Silva/Sonnen contest was the Fight of the Night, with Silva successfully retaining the championship by submitting Sonnen in the fifth round via a triangle armbar.  It was an instant classic, and even in defeat, Sonnen was cemented as a star.  Although Sonnen never won a title in the UFC, he did participate in several main events.

Silva successfully defended his UFC Middleweight Title twice more, winning against Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami before defeating Sonnen again at UFC 148. It was not until 2013 that he lost his championship when he was knocked out by Chris Weidman at UFC 162.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen for this impending accolade.