You have to wonder what it takes for a guy to make the Hall of Fame.

Art Monk gets in … on his EIGHTH try?!?! Maybe that makes the denial of former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue a tad easier to understand. But not much more.

Tagliabue was never popular with newspaper reporters, and, unfortunately for him, they make up a large chunk of the 44-member Hall of Fame committee. And boy, those guys sure showed him their muscle, leaving him out of the hall.

Please. Spare us.

Pete Rozelle may have laid the groundwork, but Tagliabue presided over the most successful period in NFL history (and perhaps sports, too). From 1989-2006, the NFL players never struck and the owners never locked them out (the only major sports league to do so). Tagliabue succesfully integrated free agency (something the old guard fought tooth and nail), expanded the NFL to 32 teams, brought in record TV deals, and has many teams value nearing $1 billion. His decision to cancel games after 9/11 led every other sport to do the same, and while baseball was the national past time when he began, there’s no question the NFL is king now.

And he helped push through rules making the game better: Moving kickoffs to the 30-yard line, the two-point conversion, and stopping defensive backs from bumping so frequently down the field. Of course, the HOF voters don’t need to hear that.

All the reports we read say they criticized Tagliabue’s record on minority hiring (flawed — while it came later than needed, Tagliabue did create “The Rooney Rule”, forcing organizations to interview at least one minority candidate); they criticized the 2006 collective bargaining agreement, one that may get shredded soon (one deal? Did you miss the part about 17 years of labor peace?); and they criticized him for not being proactive enough in player discipline (unlike sheriff Roger Goodell, who suspends Pac-Man Jones for a lifetime but won’t suspend Bill Belichick one game for cheating).

Basically, a power play by guys like SI.com’s Peter King. Congrats, guys.

Tagliabue should be commended for what he did off the field, too. His son, Mark, is gay, and not only has Tagliabue been supportive, he’s given so much money to the organization Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays the group honored him in 2005 (and according to outsports.com, the NFL office now offers same-sex domestic partner benefits). Such progressive thinking should be celebrated by NFL writers and Hall of Fame voters, not shunned.

Of course, these are the same ones using the term “classy” to describe the Indianapolis Colts coach and homophobe Tony Dungy. Sigh.

To be fair, Pete Rozelle didn’t get into the Hall of Fame until his eighth try. So it may take Paul a few more tries.

Still, you have to wonder just what else he had to do? We won’t know, of course, because the voters site “confidentiality”. So we’ll guess, and wait. And so will Tagliabue, fair or not.