Sez Me …
It’s as though the Nobel Committee denied Hemingway the prize in literature for having a comma out of place.
Bill Belichick going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was a cliché. A no-brainer. How would Chick Hearn put it? Slam dunk.
But, in all the Halls of Fame, in all the towns, in all the world, he had to try to walk into this one. And Vichy Prefect of Police Renault stopped him at the door.
Obviously, after being born, at least 11 of the current 50 Hall voters who turned against him were busy seeking more milk when brains were handed out.
Has to be that. It’s a little early in life for brain flatulence.
Is this what Bill gets for being the — what, 10 millionth? — coach in the history of the world to be accused of cheating? Or was it something else? Eh?
Does this mean Tom Brady isn’t first ballot? Why not? Hard to settle for one without the other.
No matter how Belichick treated the press — and, as a former member of that voting group, I can tell you, don’t for a second believe his truculence had nothing to do with this — Bill’s snub is a black eye for the Hall.
What a candidate does off the field isn’t supposed to matter — it does for baseball’s Hall — but in some cases, it does. I’m sure the writers didn’t vote for receivers Terrell Owens and Cris Carter right away because of their attitudes.
I can remember a long debate in that room when Lawrence Taylor’s name first came up. He had problems, but he made it.
At least one voter says he didn’t go with Belichick now because he’s mixed in with senior candidates L.C. Greenwood, Ken Anderson and Roger Craig, and he prefers to vote for players.
These seniors have been up for years and haven’t made it. No shame in that. L.C. Greenwood? Why doesn’t the Hall just put in every 1970’s Steeler and be done with it? How did they ever lose? Leslie O’Neal was far better than L.C.
So does Robert Kraft, an owner — owner! — who probably was going to fire Belichick before Brady was discovered, get in?
I can’t believe Bill Polian had the pull to sway voters on Belichick. Who the hell is Bill Polian? And what was he doing when his Indy team was tanking to draft Andrew Luck?
Polian says he doesn’t remember if he voted for Belichick. Can’t recall? How can he be allowed to vote for anybody?
Belichick could have won or lost every Super Bowl he was a part of.
He supposedly had the Rams’ walk-through filmed and spied on prior to the Super Bowl when the Pats upset St. Louis, although I’m not buying that’s why New England won.
Deflategate? Minor league.
He supposedly won because of Brady. But he was a great defensive coach. And it’s hard to find a coach in the Hall who didn’t ride a good quarterback.
Belichick will get in. But I have never been enamored with the Hall’s procedures, and this isn’t getting reversed.
Canton doesn’t have that gear. …
At least Sean Payton won’t have to convince the media and opposing players — always possible — that Santa Clara, site of the Super Bowl, is 5,280 feet above sea level. …
The Broncos pooh-pooh their altitude advantage. If so, why do they have altitude signs above the visiting locker room? Why do they keep “Mile High” in their stadium name? …
Remember the Aztecs’ first road WAC football win at New Mexico.? They ripped down a locker-room sign saying “Welcome to Albuquerque 5,312 feet.” They brought it home. …
Going for it fourth-and-1-or-2 from the Pats’ 16. Up 7-0. At home. Great altitude advantage. Snow in the forecast. Quarterback who hasn’t thrown a real pass since birth. And you go for it, Sean? …
Payton coached that game scared. …
Sam Darnold, who led the NFL in giveaways, was brilliant on third downs. Matthew Stafford, who’s going to be the MVP, was 0-for-7 on third-down passes. …
The Judases have re-signed defensive tackle Teair Tart. A real good thing. …
Keenan Allen is a priority keep. …
The more I watch football, the more I’m convinced pressures are more important than sacks. …
All Tony Romo had to say last week in Denver was about the quarterbacks “calming down.” They’re professionals. How calm was Tony when he wasn’t winning anything? …
Rams receiver Davante Adams has gone viral for having an open can of Michelob Ultra in his locker following the playoff loss to Seattle. Was he driving? …
The Jets firing assistant coaches a few weeks after the regular season ends shows you what kind of organization they are. Horsecrap. …
Torrey Pines is in San Diego, not La Jolla, which is for now a community. …
Just because a golfer is from here and played Torrey doesn’t make him or her the favorite. It’s golf. …
San Diego State’s men’s basketball team is 12-20 at Utah State. Hard, especially when you’re damaged. …
Guess Nik Bonitto won’t be in the Winter Olympics. The Broncos’ ace pass rusher had no sacks in the playoff game. Also? No solo tackles. No assists. No pressures. Nada. Nothing. Whiffed. Twenty-one other Broncos defenders had at least something. …
RIP, Catherine O’Hara. A wonderful, gifted talent. …
Ohio State now has two NFL coordinators — Arthur Smith on offense and Matt Patricia on defense. Problem. How do they handle so much professional talent? …
So tired of: “Don’t punt to this guy.” Why not? Most returners have no idea what they’re doing. …
Skippylongstocking. What a horrible name. Poor horse. …
Did you know Walter Johnson once shut out the Yankees three times in four days? Wonder what his pitch count was …
Why were arms more resilient then than now? There were no computer geeks. …
Balboa Park is for the people, not the Bicycle Mayor and his Ham & Eggers. They — and their predecessors — soiled the bed and continue to order the public to change the sheets. …
What’s the over/under on the number of questions asked to Sam Darnold during Super Bowl Week on his grandfather, Dick Hammer, the original Marlboro Man? …
Darnold will not be the first USC quarterback to play in a Super Bowl, as is being reported. Pete Beathard got in at the end of Super Bowl I, and Willie Wood, the (undrafted) Hall of Fame Packers safety, was a Trojans QB in the 1950s. Thanks for this, Michael. …
Shedeur Sanders making the Pro Bowl is like Lizzy Borden making the Lumberjack Hall of Fame. …
Sean Payton calls his own plays. He is his own offensive coordinator. Joe Lombardi is the fall guy? Payton should have fired himself. …
Big week for Sean. He announces to the world that QB Bo Nix is now on his third ankle surgery, ticking off Bo. I think he’s telling us nix on Nix, that he can’t get them where they want to go. …
Survey says: Parents are the primary reason coaches quit youth sports. No! Can’t be true! Next survey proves water is a primary reason for oceans. …
Just in: Philip Rivers didn’t get the head coaching job with the Bills because he doesn’t cuss. Can’t have that.