Tedy Bruschi Selected For The Patriots Hall Of Fame

When you think of the Patriots, one of the most influential players during their unforgettable dynasty stretch (3 Super Bowls in 4 years) last decade was linebacker Tedy Bruschi. It's hard to come up with a more likable, productive or clutch guy. He was never the most talented player but he always seemed to make plays in the biggest spots, something that has been lacking in the past eight years since New England's last Super Bowl win (2005 vs. Philadelphia). Today, the team revealed that he was rightfully elected to the Patriots Hall of Fame along with former radio broadcaster Gil Santos.

Bruschi was voted in by fans, beating out offensive tackle Leon Gray and head coach Chuck Fairbanks. He'll become the 19th former Patriot to be inducted into their Hall of Fame. It is to be determined when that ceremony will take place next season but whenever it happens, it will definitely be one of the marquee events of the 2013 season during one of the Patriots' home games.

There is a reason that you still see tons of Bruschi jerseys when you go to Gillette Stadium for Pats games. It is basically impossible to not like Bruschi since as corny as it sounds, he stood for everything that was good in pro sports and we were extremely lucky to have him play his entire career (13 seasons) in New England. Not that we didn't know it already but since he retired, you appreciate the fact even more that there are very few Tedy Bruschis in the NFL and especially on the Patriots.

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Legendary Patriots Radio Announcer Gil Santos Headed To The Patriots Hall Of Fame

This afternoon, the Patriots honored longtime radio announcers Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti with a classy pre-game ceremony. In addition to that, Pats owner Robert Kraft announced that Santos would be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2013 as a contributor.

2012 is the final season of broadcasting for Santos, who battled serious health issues last year. He will become the 20th member of the team's Hall of Fame and only the second contributor following Billy Sullivan, the franchise's founder and first owner.

It will be a very sad day next August when we fully come to grips with the fact that Santos is done. He's been my favorite New England related sports announcer in my lifetime. We are blessed with many good ones in the region but what makes him the best is that he didn't rely on schtick, blatant homerism or over the top calls. He was simply a professional that showed up every day and did his job, sound familiar?

Cappelletti retired after last season and was ably replaced by Scott Zolak. Finding someone to fill Santos's shoes will be much more difficult. I don't envy the person that has to replace a legend, that is never easy. After all these years and the innumerable big games (playoffs, Super Bowls) he's covered, Santos had become part of our extended family. He was always there and he never let us down.

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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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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.