Boom Roasted Sports Hall of Fame Inductee: Nate Dogg

Every respective Hall of Fame should be a representation of the greats that particular brand had to offer. Legends, pioneers, icons.....like how baseball has Babe Ruth or basketball has MJ or Rock N' Roll has The Rolling Stones.

However, lost in the aura of these idols are the little guys who, granted, weren't as great but still carved their niche. For every Michael Jordan, there's a Glen Rice. For every Stones, there's a Foreigner or Boston. For every...well, you get the point.

As "The Little Sports Blog That Could", we figured we should have our own Hall of Fame dedicated to guys who made their mark in the world but didn't leave quite the impact that their more-decorated superstar counterparts did. Underrated guys and gals who deserve recognition for not quite being outstanding but still being pretty damn awesome.....kind of like an "Honorable Mention" Hall of Fame.

You'll get a better grip of what we are trying to achieve as we go along. Each month, we'll dedicate this spot to something noteworthy in pop culture lore(a actor/actress, movie, singer, album, hot chick, athlete, fad, etc.) and they'll get their just due here. Consider it the anti-Milk Carton All-Stars.

Without further ado, here's our first inductee.

Truth be told, when I came up with this idea I was sitting at a friend's house when "Girls All Pause" by Kurupt came on my Pandora and I decided the perfect person to lead off this Hall of Fame concept would be Nate Dogg.

A week later, Nate Dogg died and now this whole concept seems like a tribute. Nate Dogg was the Robert Horry of hip-hop: Not quite a star on his own but a phenomenal addition to any winning team. He latched onto Dr. Dre's camp with Snoop at Death Row and made his mark by carrying Warren G through the classic "Regulate". Before T-Pain was squealing on every half-decent beat on today's rap songs, Nate Dogg was the quintessential "hip hop singer". Most people, as proven by the videos posted on Facebook after his death, mainly know Nate Dogg from "Regulate"(which was a huge rap song in the 90's, running all over MTV and leading to some foolish arguments among my friends of "Warren G is better than Redman" which got squashed REAL quick), but Nate Dogg put down far more amazing choruses than "Regulate". "Area Codes", "Gangsta Nation", "Bitch Please", the aforementioned "Girls All Pause"(my personal favorite), just to name a few.

Beyond that, the guy was SMOOTH....not just his voice complementing the track but just in the way he carried himself. I mean, look at the picture. Who the hell else is pulling off a suit with a bandanna tied around his head with sunglasses on!? Who the hell is can sound cool singing "16 in the clip and one in the hole, Nate Dogg is about to make some bodies turn cold"? You think T-Pain can pull off "Got 10 girls that pay me, just so they can lay me, and when they come see me, I just drop my drawers"? Of course not.

So, while the loss of Biggie and Pac and even Big Pun were more impactful for the hip-hop game, I'm not ashamed to say I miss Nate Dogg as much as any of those guys. I'm sure VH1's Hip Hop Honors will give Nate his just due this year when they do their inductions but we figure we beat those guys to the punch, albeit a couple weeks too late.

MARCH 2011 BOOMROASTEDSPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: NATE DOGG

Credentials: "Regulate" ft. Warren G, "Area Codes" ft. Ludacris, "Bitch Please" ft. Xzibit and Snoop Dogg, "Girls All Pause" ft. Kurupt, "Gangsta Nation" ft. Westside Connection, "Before I Collapse" ft. Eminem, among many others.

"It ain't a hit 'til Nate Dogg spit." - Mack 10, "Gangsta Nation".