by Matt Barr

Squirmin' Thurman

Even though he committed what I consider the cardinal sin of a Bill by playing a year for the Dolphins, there is no sensible case that Thurman Thomas isn't a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Jerry Sullivan says it best.

When I heard that Thomas hadn't made the final cut to six, I felt like running all the way to Canton and booing the place. This vote is an injustice. Thomas should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer. If six men can be voted into the Hall and Thomas not be among them, there's something wrong with the process.

Thomas will get in eventually. That's supposed to soften the blow. All he has to do is be patient, put on a brave face and wait his turn. But that's a pile of malarkey. The knowledge that he'll get in later can't make it easier. It's a blow to Thomas, who always chafed at the notion that he was perceived as a cut below the true greats.

Apparently, Thomas didn't pass what one voter referred to as "the smell test." There's this conceit among some of the 39 voters that says only the greatest players are worthy of induction in their first year. Len Shapiro of the Washington Post said he would vote for Thomas "at some point." He said only the Jim Browns of the sport should go in right away.

I'm sorry, but either a player is a Hall of Famer or he isn't. If I had a vote and thought a guy belonged, I'd vote for him. Why the wait? There's a five-year waiting period built into the process. What do they accomplish by making a great player squirm?

My wife is a Steelers fan and we have the Steelers blanket draped up and a big Steelers cookie we decorated in icing with a Steelers helmet and everyone but me is wearing Steelers attire. I posted a prediction at Red State but will not post one here so as to not jinx anything -- or, more accurately, get blamed for jinxing anything.

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