2011 Hall of Fame/Hall of Infamy: Part I

Well, it's finally here: the First Annual JTG Hall of Fame/Hall of Infamy inductions. After a thorough nomination process, the selection committee (me) has narrowed the finalists down to 10 entrants.

Players, coaches, refs, places, all were considered for entry into the Hall. What is a Hall of "Fame" anyways? Should it be reserved for the best players, or as the title implies, the most famous? Or in some cases, the most in-famous (that means "more than famous" - bonus points for getting that reference).

The selection committee (me) did have a few criteria:

1. The inductee cannot be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame already


2. The inductee cannot be even close to being considered worthy of entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame


3. The inductee must be famous FOR something, not just for stats or the other random things the joke that is the pro sports HOF's consider when voting


4. It's my HOF/HOI, so if you don't like it, that's a you problem!

Without further adieu, the First Annual JTG Hall of Fame/Hall of Infamy, inductees 1-5 out of 10

• Chris Hanson - Punter - Jacksonville Jaguars. Famous for: Chopping his leg with an axe! Special teams players tend to get no love in the "Real" Hall of Fame, well my first inductee is not only a special teamer, but a GODDAMNED PUNTER. Hanson put himself on IR in 2003 when he chopped into his leg with an axe that Coach Jack Del Rio set up with a wood stump in the locker room as motivation to keep choppin wood. The Jaguars were really lucky that Gilbert Arenas didn't go into a career in the NFL, but I digress. In a post-9/11 world, where you can't even take nail clippers on an airplane, who thought it would be a good idea to put an AXE in an NFL locker room full of jacked up/roided out (allegedly) Neanderthals?


• Bert Emanuel - Wide Receiver - Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Famous for: Having a rule named after him! No easier to way to reach sporst immortality than to have something go wrong and forever have your name attached to it. Emanuel made a clutch second and long catch to move the Bucs into a third and 10 deep in Ram terriroty near the end of the 1999 NFC Championship game. The Bucs D had held the Greatest Show on Turf Rams offense to 11 points, but with Shaun King at the helm, the Bucs only had 6 of their own points. Turns out the catch was reviewed, and then overturned, because the ball came into brief contact with the turf, despite Emanuels vice grip control of the ball. But the rule is the rule, no matter how lame (see Rule, Tuck) and the Bucs ended up with 3rd and forever and lost posession on downs. Everyone and their brother could see that Emanuel controlled the ball all the way through the catch, and now every time we see a receiver control the ball during a catch, even if the ball briefly touches grass, some announcer will harken back to this play, probably just to make himself sound smart. After the 99 season, the NFL changed the rule, and Bert Emanuel would be forever immortalized, even though his team got jobbed.


• Phil Luckett - Referee - The Wrong Place at the Wrong Time...Every Time. Famous for: pretty much being the unluckiest bastard ever! Can one referee be a part of as much controversy and idiocy as Phil Luckett. We'll forever remember him as the guy who got a coin toss wrong. He's the guy that caused the league to change the coin toss to "call it in the air" to calling it before the toss. But wait, there's more! Luckett was also the ref of the greatest moment in IMLD picking history (if you are me): The Music City Miracle. To this day, Dre contends it was a forward pass, but Luckett knew better. But wait, theres MORE! Luckett was head referee of the infamous "We Thought Vinny Testaverde's Head Was the Ball" Game, the fallout from which sparked the NFL to adopt instant replay. Cherry on top, you say? Luckett also owns a pass defense, as he got in the way of a WIDE open Joe Horn on a sure touchdown pass. Would have only been better if Dre owned Joe Horn that year in fantasy and had him active. Oh wait, he DID!


• Frank Reich - Quarterback - Buffalo Bills. Famous for: Two Words....The Comeback! Reich was the longtime backup to Jim Kelly during the Bills infamous 4 year run of losing Super Bowls. In the first round of the 1993 playoffs, Reich was substituting for an injured Jim Kelly (ironically injured the previous week against the Oilers) in a Bills/Oilers wild card weekend tilt. What you'd expect to happen happened: The Warren Moon led Run and Shoot Oilers jumped out to a 35-3 lead by the early third quarter. Then, mayhem. The Bills got hot and the Oilers started collapsing, and leading it all was a backup quarterback, whose name will forever be synonymous with NFL immortality.


• Freddie Mitchell - Wide Receiver - Philadelphia Eagles. Famous for: The best football quote ever from a crap player! Want to make Packer fans cringe? No, don't tell them Brett Favre is contemplating a comeback, rub this in their face: 4th and 26. In a 2004 division round matchup against the Eagles, the Packers had the game all but sewn up, and had the Eagles down to a desperate 4th and 26 with time running out. The Packers brain farted on defense, allowing classic underacheiver Freddie Mitchell to catch a 27 yard pass and proclaim after the game "I just want to thank my hands for being so great." Classic!

Part Two will follow in the days to come...