Ty Law Will Be Inducted Into the Patriots Hall of Fame This Summer

The best cornerback in Patriots history will be rightfully inducted into the team's Hall of Fame this summer. In his first year of eligibility, Ty Law was voted in by the fans over fellow cornerback Raymond Clayborn and head coach Bill Parcells. Law's induction ceremony will take place on Friday, August 1 at 4:30 p.m. (it is free and open to the public).

"Ty Law was one of the greatest players in franchise history and one of the premier corners in the NFL during his Patriots career,” Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft said in a statement. "The fans have helped validate that with this year’s hall of fame selection. We have had an incredible run of success and the building blocks started with players like Ty. He was an important part of three Super Bowl championship teams. It will be an honor to bring Ty back to celebrate his career as he takes his rightful place in our team’s hall of fame. I am sure he will deliver another memorable moment during his hall of fame ceremony, too."

The three finalists were chosen by a committee made up of media members (try not to laugh), team officials and former Patriots. Clayborn had no chance since he played not that recently (hence people that saw him probably aren't voting in this) while apparently New England fans still hold a grudge (surprise, surprise) against Parcells for leaving immediately after the Super Bowl for the Jets. He's been a finalist before and lost so you can expect to see this happening over and over again as all the great players from Law's era start to get nominated.

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Troy Brown Elected To Patriots Hall Of Fame, Bill Parcells Still Missing Out

When I visualize the prototypical New England Patriots from the past decade, namely the three Super Bowl winners, Troy Brown is always one of the first players that comes to my mind. No ego, tough, hard working, would do whatever it takes to help the team win, that's what he was all about. It was impossible not to root for him and I didn't even mention how he was undersized and an eighth-round draft pick.

Today, it was announced that Brown will be the 2012 inductee into the New England Patriots' Hall of Fame. He'll be honored at a ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 15 outside Gillette Stadium which I assume will be free and open to the public. If that's the case, I might have to dig out my old blue No. 80 jersey (assuming the weather is nice) and head on down to Foxborough. That happens to be a big weekend too since the Pats host the Arizona Cardinals the next day in their 2012 regular season home opener.

Brown was the winner of the fan vote, who interestingly enough beat out his first professional head coach Bill Parcells and safety Fred Marion (they were all selected by a 17-person nomination committee in April). This was Brown's first year of eligibility while Parcells missed out for the second straight year (he lost to Drew Bledsoe last season). The Marshall University product has never really left the spotlight in New England since he retired following the 2007 season because he's featured regularly on CSNE during Patriots season with his former teammate Ty Law.

Patriots owner Bob Kraft should make a special exception for Parcells, otherwise he will probably lose out to more popular players from the Patriots' glory days year after year. Old school Pats footie pajama fans will probably never give Parcells enough credit since he bolted to the Jets right after the Super Bowl loss to the Packers in 1997 but let's be real: who did more than Parcells? Especially in such a short time frame. He was the main component that began to turn one of the NFL's laughingstocks into what can now objectively be called its model franchise.

Brown's credentials speak for themselves: he is the franchise's all-time leader in receptions (557) and second in receiving yards (6366). Numbers don't even do him justice though since he was about so much more than that. He was the most clutch Patriots wide receiver that I've ever seen, he always made key catches and first downs. Plus, late in his career he started playing cornerback as well when New England had a rash of injuries in the secondary. I don't think it's hyperbole to say that every NFL team would dream of having a guy like Troy Brown play for them at some point.

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3 New Patriots Hall Of Fame Nominees: Troy Brown, Bill Parcells & Fred Marion

Today, the New England Patriots unveiled their three nominees for the Patriots Hall of Fame class of 2012: former wide receiver Troy Brown (1993-2007), former head coach Bill Parcells (1993-1996) and former safety Fred Marion (1982-1991).

From ESPNBoston.com
It is Brown's first year of eligibility, while it is the first time Marion was nominated and the second year in a row that Parcells has been selected as a finalist.

Earlier this month, the three candidates were chosen by a 17-member nomination committee. Since 2007, the three nominations by this committee have been put to a fan vote to decide the inductee into the team's hall of fame. Fans can vote for who they think is the most deserving candidate on the team's website through May 31, 2012. The winner and inductee will be announced in June.

Last year, fans chose quarterback Drew Bledsoe as the 17th inductee into the Patriots' hall of fame.

First things first, he played before my time but I've honestly never heard of Marion so thanks for everything Fred but you're not getting in this year. I think Brown will run away with it since maybe some old-timers will have hard feelings about Parcells leaving Foxborough after only a few seasons. More importantly, Brown was here for his entire career-a much longer span of time.

Regardless, make sure you vote on patriots.com and stay tuned to see who will be the latest inductee. You really can't go wrong with either Brown or Parcells. Eventually they will both be in there, it's only a matter of time. Although, now that most of the players from the dynasty years are retired, there will be a real bumper crop of deserving candidates. Maybe to ease up the process, they'll allow more than one induction per season. We shall see.

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As Always, Sports Media Prove Incapable Of Making Simple Decisions

I can never take Sports Hall of Fames too seriously for as long as media members are the ones to elect their members. The only way to make it objective is to take the ballwashing writers out of it.

Otherwise, you'll be stuck with jokes like the one that happened today: former Patriots running back Curtis Martin was one of five elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame while former Pats head coach Bill Parcells didn't make the cut.

It was Martin's second year of eligibility while it was Parcells' first. The good news for Parcells is that he'll still be in Canton, Ohio this August to present his former star Jets running back (Martin).

The four other guys to join Martin in the Class of 2012 are Jack Butler (Steelers cornerback), Dermontti Dawson (Steelers center), defensive end Chris Doleman, defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy (Seahawks) and offensive tackle Willie Roaf.

Martin was New England's third-round pick out of Pitt in 1995. He was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowler his first two seasons in Foxborough. After three seasons with the Pats, he signed with the Jets as a restricted free agent. In return, New England received first (running back Robert Edwards) and third round (fullback Chris Floyd) in return for Martin.

Yikes, what an awful move especially considering that Edwards' career basically ended thanks to a freak injury playing flag football at the Pro Bowl after his rookie year. It seems so old school to see a fullback picked in the third round but I digress.

Martin made the Pro Bowl three times in New York (1998, 2001, 2004) while Parcells coached the Patriots from 1993-1996 (bolting right after they lost Super Bowl 31 to the Packers) and the Jets from 1997-1999.

On top of everything, Toni Braxton's former main squeeze was a true professional, well spoken and responsible which made him much easier to root for. I have no doubt that Parcells' introduction and Martin's speeches will be awesome. I look forward to listening to both while I wear my Pats footie pajamas and Sack the Pack cut-off t-shirt.

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Bill Parcells & Curtis Martin Among 15 NFL Hall Of Fame Finalists For Class Of 2012

Some good news for longtime New England Patriots fans as former running back Curtis Martin and head coach Bill Parcells were among the 15 finalists for induction into the NFL Hall of Fame.

Look at this picture of the two of them that I found using a quick Google images search. It looks like its from 30 years ago. The crazy thing is that as you can tell, Parcells was the Jets coach at the time so it was the late 1990s.

This is the Tuna's first chance to get in (and I guarantee that he will) while Martin was previously eligible but didn't make the cut.

Martin is still the best running back on the Patriots that I've seen in my lifetime in terms of career span, ie. more than Corey Dillon's couple of great years. Martin was a professional on some good Patriots teams, including the one that made it to the 1997 Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers. Seeing him go to the Jets, joining Parcells, was one of the toughest periods in recent franchise history.

Like most great coaches, Parcells was an egomaniac and he eventually clashed with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and escaped to the Jets for more control of the team (the famous groceries quotes). If it's any consolation, he's the second best coach in team history behind his former protege, Bill Belichick.

Voting for the 2012 Hall of Fame inductees takes place on Saturday, February 4 in Indianapolis (site of this season's Super Bowl). Let's hope that New England is in town, making this weekend extra special. If Martin gets in, can Tony Braxton introduce him?

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Drew Bledsoe holds the ball for too long, gets sacked and enters the Patriots Hall of Fame

It's hard to think of a professional athlete in New England that has seen their legacy get tarnished more in the last decade than former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe.

It's ironic because from all accounts, the former No. 1 overall pick is a great guy and he left Foxborough on good terms. What hurt him so much rather than off the field drama was the fact that one of the alltime great quarterbacks in NFL history (Tom Brady) directly followed him and led the Patriots to three Super Bowl wins in four years and four Super Bowls overall (so far).

Still, Bledsoe deserves his share of credit from turning that hopeless franchise from a joke when he joined them in 1993 to a legitimate playoff team year after year when he left (after 2001). It was nice to see the fans respond as they voted Bledsoe into the Patriots Hall of Fame.

The announcement was made yesterday as Bledsoe was the 17th player and 18th member of the team to make the Hall of Fame. Since the new voting process was instituted in 2007, Bledsoe earned the highest percentage of votes (beating former head coach Bill Parcells and defensive lineman Houston Antwine) from fans and also became the first player to get voted in during his first year of eligibility.

Bledsoe will join Jon Morris, who was selected to the hall of fame by the senior selection committee, as the 2011 honorees. Bledsoe and Morris will be inducted in a public ceremony outside The Hall at Patriot Place on Saturday, Sept. 17.

During his nine-year Patriots career, he broke the Patriots' career passing records for attempts (4,518), completions (2,544) and yards (29,657). Bledsoe still holds the Patriots' single-season passing records for attempts (691) and completions (400) and is the only player in franchise history to pass for over 400 yards multiple times (4). He still holds the NFL record for attempts in a season (691 in 1994) and both attempts (70) and completions (45) in a game against Minnesota in 1994 that sparked a seven-game win streak, propelling the Patriots to their first playoff berth in eight years. Bledsoe led the Patriots to the playoffs four times in his first six seasons, helping the team earn back-to-back division titles and three consecutive playoff berths for the first time in franchise history. In 1996, he guided the Patriots to their second AFC Championship in franchise history and a trip to Super Bowl XXXI. Bledsoe is the only quarterback in NFL history with four seasons of at least 600 pass attempts, including three straight from 1994-96 with the Patriots.