By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk
BOSTON – Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, hands-down the greatest coach in pro football history, was snubbed by Pro Football Hall of Fame voters and will not be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.
Football aficionados everywhere were stunned at the news of Belichick falling short of the necessary 40 of 50 votes to become a first-ballot, no-brainer selection to the Hall. The news leaked to multiple media outlets on Tuesday, January 27th or about nine days before the NFL Honors show plans to announce the Canton Class of ‘26 on February 5 – in the lead-up to Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.
The voting outcome, apparently broken to Belichick on January 23, casts a pall on the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The only comparisons might be snubs to the likes of Red Auerbach (Celtics) and John Wooden (UCLA) in basketball, Scotty Bowman (Montreal Canadians) in ice hockey, Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) in soccer, or, maybe to the likes of the NFL’s Vince Lombardi.
According to an early ESPN report the coach was “puzzled” and “disappointed” by his inability to secure enough support to be “on to Canton.”
“Six Super Bowls isn’t enough?” Belichick reportedly asked an associate, referring to the NFL Super Bowl championships he won as head coach of the New England Patriots. He also won two more Super Bowl rings as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. To another associate, he said, “What does a guy have to do?”
The coach is right.
This snub is an all-timer.
For the record, Belichick has:
- 333 career victories, including playoffs, second only to Don Shula’s 347
- 12 Super Bowl appearances and eight wins, six as a head coach of New England and two as a New York Giants assistant coach
Not having Belichick in the Hall this year is like the great actress, Katharine Hepburn, never winning an Oscar, or like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola never being recognized as great film directors by the Academy. Or, maybe like The Beatles or the Rolling Stones being snubbed at the Rock Hall of Fame in Cleveland?
Not inviting Bill Belichick to the Pro Football Hall of Fame is like not inviting Santa to Christmas. It’s like not naming Jack Nicklaus, Arnie Palmer and Tiger Woods to the foursome you’d love to play a round with at Augusta. It’s like telling Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain to await a call from Springfield, or telling Larry Bird and Magic Johnson they should’ve played hopscotch instead of NBA basketball.
“Sorry,” Coach Dean Smith (Carolina) and Coach Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), you might’ve tried a different profession, “there’s no room for you at the Inn.”
To NASCAR driver and all-time great Richard Petty? “Hey, “take another lap at the Daytona 500 before you expect anything close to gaining immortality.”
To Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Bobby Orr, or Pele – go take a powder.
To John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Shepard, Jim Lovell or Sally Ride, “try another profession, maybe try to stay grounded.”
To Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger III, “Go take a dip in the Hudson before you come calling in Canton.”
To Jack Nicholson? “Sorry, you can’t handle the truth.”
Yes, snubbing Bill Belichick really took balls, fully inflated balls.
If Bill Belichick was on Secretariat at The Belmont, they would’ve told him to go race another mile at Aqueduct.
If Belichick were hitting home runs in Japanese baseball, they would’ve said, “Sadaharu Oh – No.”
If Belichick was Rodney Dangerfield, in his prime? “Hey, we hope you can take a joke.”
“Eh, no more Tonight Shows for you, Rodney, and by the way, your wife – yeah, your wife was fat and ugly. “In fact, she was so fat, when she went dancing in high heels, she struck oil. And, when we took her to the MACYs Thanksgiving Day parade, she was wearing ropes.”
Bill Belichick just “Don’t get no respect.”
That lack of R-E-S-P-E-C-T prompts the question: Is there another side to this strange Super Bowl coin? Is there a reason Bill Belichick wasn’t invited to pro football’s prom? Did Indianapolis’ Bill Polian have something to do with tainting the vote, making Belichick wait – doing a year penance from alleged high NFL crimes and misdemeanors – namely SpyGate and DeflateGate?
He claims he did not.
“As a Hall of Fame member and selector, I realize the import of what we do,’’ Polian said during his Wednesday appearance on SiriusXM Radio. “I’ve always tried as a selector to make these difficult choices with the utmost objectivity.
“I’ve said on SiriusXM Radio and numerous other media outlets that I believe Coach Belichick to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. My vote confirms that.’’
Pretty strong statement, but in my first hand experience of dealing with the various NBA postseason awards, it wasn’t uncommon to have voters write one thing, say another thing, then vote a third way.
Were their co-conspirators in the January 13th psuedo-meeting of Pro Football Hall voters? It was reported that meeting attendees gave-up Polian as the one who brought up the Patriots’ scandalous ways, and maybe Polian and his Colts’ coach Tony Dungy had their say?
No one wants to go on the record, and Polian denied the accusation of tipping the vote in the meeting.
Lastly, where does Patriots’ franchise owner Robert Kraft stand in this messy mix? Kraft is up for Pro Football Hall induction this year, too. At the time of the reports, it was not known whether Kraft had enough support or if he, too, would be left in NFL limbo. Would he dare go to Canton side-by-side with Big Bill (and Jordan)?
Regardless, they’ll be saying, “Wait ‘til Next Year,” to BB.
Instead of being enshrined at Canton, Belichick will need to wait in the Red Zone – somewhere near Akron, maybe?
Yeah, next year? What do you think Bill Belichick will do next year?
He just might tell them to “Go to Hall”
HERE NOW, THE NOTES: As long as the subject of lack of respect to Bill Belichick has come up so prominently, it might be time to look at some others who “Don’t Get No Respect.” There are a few to highlight.
- Winter Olympics Ice Hockey: The event is right on our doorsteps, ice hockey at the Winter Olympic Games – it gets no respect. Clearly, TEAM Canada gets a load of respect from our neighbors to ‘da North, but in the USA, casual sports fans more of less say, ‘let me know when they can win a gold medal.’ And, it’s the same way for the women. Ever since Cammi Granato took the gold with TEAM USA in ‘98 at Nagano, there’s been a general lack of interest in the US, and that includes 2002 when the USA took home silver in a 3-2 loss to Canada. (See below).
- The Preakness: Yes, “the Preakness “don’t” get no respect. Pimlico Race Course is only 6.5 miles from Inner Harbor Baltimore but the downtrodden horse racing venue gets little to no attention other than one day a year. The Preakness, held at Pimlico every May, is the second leg of a potential Triple Crown in horse racing, but as of late, some thoroughbred horse owners do some load management and don’t even enter the Preakness, thus avoiding the heat, humidity and only a two week break from the first race of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby.
- The French Open: The Australian Open serves up the new tennis season, Wimbledon highlights the summer grand slam schedule and the U.S. Open crowns the champions of the season. Lost in the shuffle is the French Open – more often called Roland Garros – as the venue and tournament itself (not to mention the tournament logo) are named after a French aviator. It’s a great tennis tournament, the ultimate competition on clay surface, but it’s lost in the shuffle.
- The Athletics, the Clippers, the Nets and the Raiders: The Swingin’ A’s were once World Champions, the Raiders had the NFL in the palm of their hands – both teams well established in Oakland. Nowadays, forget it. Lost franchises they are. The Nets were once high and mighty with Julius “Dr. J” Erving leading the club to ABA titles. The Clippers? Perennial also-rans toiling next to the LA Lakers. The Clippers? They Don’t Get No Respect.
- Aqueduct Racetrack: Aqueduct Racetrack, a thoroughbred horse racing facility in South Ozone Park and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, NY (near JFK Airport), is a dump. Built in 1894, and 11 years senior of Belmont Park (1905), Aqueduct is the ultimate hang for low life gamblers. You gotta love it, but Aqueduct Don’t Get No Respect.
TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Wednesday in Prince Spaghetti Day, but Monday, this Monday is Red Sox Truck Day! The departure of the Red Sox equipment truck for the club’s Spring Training home at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida, is scheduled for Monday, February 2. The truck will be loaded at 7:00am and is scheduled to leave Fenway Park for the 1,480-mile trip from Fenway to Fort Myers between 11:00am and 12:00 Noon. The famed equipment truck, which will depart from Fenway Park on the Van Ness Street side of the ballpark, will be led by a flat-bed truck carrying Wally the Green Monster, his sister Tessie, and Fenway Ambassadors who will be tossing soft Red Sox baseballs to fans. As always, the truck will carry an assortment of baseball equipment and supplies, including:
- 20,400 baseballs
- 1,100 baseball bats
- 200 batting gloves
- 200 batting helmets
- 320 batting practice tops
- 160 white game uniform jerseys
- 300 pairs of uniform pants
- 400 t-shirts
- 400 pairs of socks
- 20 cases of bubble gum
- 60 cases of sunflower seeds
The celebration of Truck Day has been a Red Sox tradition since 2003, signaling the unofficial start of Spring Training.
HEADING OUT: While EuroLeague Basketball is at the crossroads once again, the league’s Board has decided to move on from their third CEO in recent memory. Gone are Jordi Bertomeau and his interim replacement in longtime EuroLeague consultant Marshall Glickman of American descent. Now, it’s bye-bye to the CEO who guided EuroLeague over the last three years.
“After consideration by the ECA Board, my duties as CEO of Euroleague Basketball come to an end, wrote now departing CEO Paulius Motiejunas of Lithuania in a statement. “While this may sound like sad news, my overwhelming feeling today is one of pride and gratitude.
“The last three years have been incredibly intense, demanding, and deeply rewarding. I have learned immensely, and together with an outstanding management team, clubs, and partners, we have made meaningful and measurable progress.
“During my tenure, we achieved milestones that speak to both growth and sustainability – always with the long-term interests of European basketball in mind. Among them:
- 44% growth in overall revenues
- 50% growth in team economic distributions
- 50% growth in sponsorship revenues over the last two years
- 3x-5x increase in Final Four value compared to the previous most successful edition
- 3x growth in content views, reaching more than 1.1 billion
- 4x growth in ELTV revenues
- Unlocked the Middle East market, expanding the league’s footprint and exporting the European game to an entirely new region
- Launched the new FFP Competitive Balance Standards, a first in European sports
- And perhaps most importantly, built a revamped front-office structure – fit for purpose, resilient, and ready to take the league to the next level, regardless of who sits in the CEO seat.
“None of this progress was ever about one individual. It belongs to the fans – the ones who fill the arenas, stay up late, argue, celebrate, and pass the love for this game from one generation to the next. They are the soul of European basketball. Alongside them, the Euroleague Basketball team, the clubs, and our commercial and strategic partners work relentlessly behind the scenes to strengthen the league.
“European basketball today stands at a crossroads. Its growth and increasing value naturally attract external interest. The responsibility is to ensure this growth remains rooted in our culture, traditions, and collective model, rather than becoming a tool for external control or short-term financial gains that do not revert into further investment in European basketball. Protecting European basketball is not about resisting change; it is about shaping it wisely, from within, and with unity.
“From the sidelines, I will continue to support the success of European basketball and of Euroleague Basketball, confident in the strong foundations that have been built and in the people who will carry this work forward. Thank you for the journey. The mission continues,” concluded Motiejunas.
