Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

In truly clichéd fashion LaDainian Tomlinson signed a one-day contract with the San Diego Chargers so he could carry on the time honored tradition of all Charger greats by leaving the game without a championship ring. I guess this should be the point in time when I set aside my grievances with all things San Diego to show proper respect for one of the best running backs to enter the game in the last 20 years. But I just can’t.

I can’t strip from my mind the many images of Tomlinson running through, around and over silver and black jerseys like Warren Sapp does a group of children when oven-fresh pizza is served at Chuck E. Cheese’s.

I’ll never forget 2006 when my girlfriend at the time made a noble effort to snap me out of a funk I was in by buying Raiders-Chargers tickets. We made the trek from L.A. to the Bay just to see Randy Moss suffer a rib injury in the first quarter and to watch in horror as LT ran, caught and threw for a TD.

Many moments like that are frozen in my mind. I would have reoccurring nightmares of that visor running by me in a blur so fast you weren’t sure if it was a Hall of Fame running back or Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe that just sped past.

Now let me make something clear. I’m not a complete hater. I had nothing but respect for Junior Seau. I always admired the way Derrick Thomas went about his business. To this day I’ll even argue that John Elway was the best quarterback I’ve ever seen. I even grew to like Steve Largent at one point in time. Every one of them an AFC West rival and every one of them I’d have gladly welcomed to the silver and black.

With LT it’s just something different. I know how nice the dude was. He killed my favorite team plenty of times and did the same to a few of my fantasy teams for good measure. However I’m not even going to debate his place in history. He’s not even in the convo for best running back ever in my mind. But I will say this much. He had a stretch of years that were as dominant as any we’ve ever seen from a running back.

That’s about as close as I’ll come to complimenting Tomlinson. Otherwise to me he’s just another Charger that teased his bandwagon fans with false Super Bowl aspirations. Say whatever you will of his absolute ownership of Oakland – it never amounted to anything more than bragging rights. You Dolt fans can have those. Bragging rights don’t come with a Lombardi trophy, at least not in San Diego.

Before we praise Tim, let us first have another moment of silence for Ray Guy. By far the most disrespected player in the history of American sports, Guy again failed to make the final cut. This is a topic that will never die amongst Raider Nation. Nobody is arguing that the Hall should start opening its doors to all punters, just the one that is the consensus greatest ever.

Back to the topic at hand…

For Brown, the resume alone merits the right to don a yellow blazer and get a bust of his likeness in Canton. Brown is the hands down greatest receiver in Raiders history and his numbers still place him among the all-time greats to ever play the game.

Currently, Brown ranks 4^th in receptions, 4^th in receiving yards and is tied with Steve Largent for 6^th all-time in receiving TDs. There are two other receivers on the ballot with Brown, Andre Reed and Cris Carter. Of the two, Carter outranks Brown in receptions and TDs. Though it should be noted Carter hauled in a mere seven more balls than Brown. Now TDs on the other hand…let’s just say Carter has that one in a walk-off. But that’s all Carter did so it’s expected.

In addition to the aforementioned names, there are a few other finalists that jump out at you. Among them are Deion Sanders, Jerome Bettis, Marshall Faulk and Shannon Sharpe.

There is no telling how the vote will go but in years past receivers haven’t fared well in HOF votes. You feel like Brown will eventually get in even if it takes a third time around.

Best of luck to Tim! We’re all hoping he gets that well deserved call.