"Colin Cowherd?"
>> Friday
That was my first reaction this morning when Mike Golic and some fill-in for Mike Greenberg were discussing the topic of Jimmy Smith's Hall of Fame candidacy on the Mike and Mike Show TV simulcast this morning. My reaction stemmed from this, my only actual familiarity with ESPN radio personality Colin Cowherd. (And yes, I was watching a radio simulcast, and no, I'm not proud of it. But what else was I supposed to do when I unexpectedly found myself awake at 8:45am...read? Pshya, right.)
Well, it turns out it was actually some guy from USA Today who had equally suspect opinions on Hall of Fame candidacy. More or less, he summed up his position (on which Golic concurred) by saying, "To me, if I hear a guy's name mentioned with regard to the Hall of Fame, and I don't immediately say, 'Yes, Hall of Famer,' then he doesn't get in."
It just continually blows my mind that this thought seems to prevail among HOF voters of all sports. Any way you dice it, knee-jerk reactions are not good policy when analyzing--well--anything, really. In fact, knee-jerk reactions pretty much preclude analysis altogether.
In regard to HOF consideration, this thought process almost invariably drags in "criteria" like having-that-one-huge-memorable-moment or being-a-Yankee. (Bill Mazeroski or Phil Rizzuto, anyone? By the way, huge "props," as the kids say, to the guy who sponsors Rizzuto's page.)
In conclusion, my advice to Hall of Fame voters: relinquish your votes, and just let me and my infalable judgment decide who belongs!
Love,
Colin Cowherd
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4 comments:
Actually, I sort of agree on the sentiment that if you don't jump out as a Hall of Fame candidate, you probably are not a Hall of Famer. Grant it, statistics can occasionally override this sentiment. However, for the most part, if you know the stats well, you can easily state whether this guy is a Hall of Famer or not. On the case of Jimmy Smith, I say no. He's never had more than 8 TD's in a season, and I don't think he was a top three to five receiver in the NFL at any point in his career.
Oh, I certainly don't dispute that Jimmy Smith may not be a HOFer. I'll leave that judgment to people who know much more about football than I. I understand, like you said, you really have to "jump out." My problem with that first perception is that it always is skewed by overrating guys with better name recognition and members of championship teams.
One point they made that I thought was pretty good is that with football, stats are a much less reliable criterion. Just because analyzing stats specifically may not be a great way to consider guys for Canton doesn't mean that in depth analysis should not go into the process. At the very least, challenge that first perception.
Zuch: don't use lame, undefinable phrases like "jump out." While you're at it, avoid calling Jimmy Smith a "gamer," or "blue-collar type."
And, as much as I like Jimmy Smith, he's probably not a hall of famer, simply because he played in a pass heavy era and was probably (at best) the 5th best of his era, behind (at various points in his career) guys like Tim Brown, Rice, etc.
However, in his defense, Jimmy Smith was always regarded as one helluva blocker!
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