Guess who’s a finalist — for the third time — for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Devin Hester, former Bears return man extraordinaire.
Nobody ever did it better. In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on the site formerly known as Twitter, we asked if Hester deserves to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio. The vote was — overwhelmingly — yes.
“He 100% does,” @tedgruber commented. “His return skills were and still are unmatched.”
“Devin is the greatest special-teams player ever,” @pamela_abrell wrote. “He should have already been in.”
And from @aherrmann350, poetically, “He turned what has gotten to be the most boring play in sports into a must-see, ‘Could it be?’ event.”
Also, we asked which team will sign free-agent outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger: the Cubs, the Blue Jays or another squad?
“The Cubs haven’t done a whole lot during this offseason,” @sportscubs astutely pointed out.
Last, we asked for your winners of the College Football Playoff semifinals. Michigan takes on Alabama, followed by Washington against Texas, on New Year’s Day.
On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: Former Bears star Devin Hester is a third-time finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Does he deserve to be in it?
Upshot: The dude had 20 punt or kickoff returns for touchdowns — all but one of them as a Bear — including one in a Super Bowl that a few of you might remember. As @SueBeeHun tells it, the NFL changed its kickoff rules because Hester was so dangerous. True or not, he performed the gig so well that it expanded our collective imagination.
Poll No. 2: Which team will sign free-agent star Cody Bellinger?
Upshot: The Cubs don’t exactly have the most loving relationship with Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras. Writes @00723maui, “Boras will have to greatly adjust downward for the Cubs to be in this.” Boras just read the D-word — “downward” — and recoiled spasmodically, but, sure, maybe it’ll happen.
Poll No. 3: The College Football Playoff semifinals (Michigan-Alabama, Washington-Texas) are New Year’s Day. Your winners?
Upshot: “Pretty even,” @HokaToka surmised. That’s what’s so cool about this final rendition of the four-team playoff — for a change, each semifinal seems winnable by either team. The vote tally backs that up.
