HOF WILL INDUCT 7, MORE AWARDS, SCHLICHTER CRAWLS OUT FROM UNDER HIS ROCK & THE DEION HATERS VOICE THEIR OPINIONS
The Hall of Fame committee spent nearly 10 hours listening, arguing, voting & voting & voting. There was a bumper crop of finalists & it was very hard to pare the list to seven. There were 2 no-brainers, Marshall Faulk & Deion Sanders were going in on the first ballot, which they did. It was the remaining 5 that took till late last night. Richard Dent had been eligible for several years without coming real close, but he made the grade yesterday. Shannon Sharpe was very deserving, when you leave the game as the best ever statistically at your position, you should be in the Hall. Being a major contributor on 3 Super Bowl Championship teams helps your cause too. Ed Sabol will be enshrined for founding NFL Films. There was a lot of controversy regarding Sabol, many NFL people didn't want him in before Paul Tagliabue. I was never a fan of Tagliabue & his lame labor agreement is why we're where we are currently. Sabol's NFL Films has long been a football institution, hard to argue his election in my book. I can't recall ever seeing Richter play, he retired in '62. I do remember Chris Hanburger quite well, he was a member of George Allen's "Over the Hill Gang" Redskin team that went to Super Bowl VII. He was a smallish linebacker but he was very smart & fast. He called defensive signals for the Skins, he made nine Pro Bowls & recorded 46 sacks when linebackers didn't rush the QB that much. He also liked to clothesline backs & receivers when they came into his zone. The NFL wrote a rule barring such tactics aimed directly at Hanburger. Left out this year were Curtis Martin, Cris Carter, Willie Roaf, Tim Brown, Jerome Bettis, Dermonti Dawson, Cortez Kennedy & Andre Reed. Becoming eligible next season is former Chiefs' great Will Shields(I'm wearing a Shields' jersey right now).
As I'm writing this, I have the pregame crap on & it's turning my stomach. If you have a TV show on FOX, F/X or FOXSports, you're on the red carpet, being interviewed like it's the Oscars or something. I'm about to spit up, the total football knowledge of Harrison Ford, Jennifer Anniston, Michael Douglas & the rest wouldn't fill a thimble. The hosts have to carry them, in some cases they don't even know who's playing in the game. When I think of all the real lifelong football fans who will never get the opportunity to attend a Super Bowl.......well don't get me started.......I'll just have to enjoy the game in my lounge chair with my Buffalo wings.
The NFL announced their rookies of the year on Friday. Neither came as a surprise. On the offensive side, St' Louis quarterback Sam Bradford won & on the defensive side, Lions' defensive tackle Ndamakong Suh won. They were drafted #1 & #2 overall last April, this is how it's supposed to work. Both are former Big-12 stars.
I'm sure you've seen the "I've never missed a Super Bowl" club commercials for Visa. The ad is a little deceiving, until they shot this commercial, these guys had never met, they're not old pals who go to every game like the ad makes you believe. One is a Steeler fan, another a Patriot supporter, the third a Niner fan & there is 79-year old Robert Cook of Wisconsin, a lifelong Packer fan. Cook's string will be broken today, he became ill Thursday when he & his wife were preparing to depart for the airport. His daughters will take his tickets & cheer on Green Bay.
Packer defensive end Jarius Wynn got the call he was waiting for last night. His wife went into labor & shortly before sunup, she delivered a healthy baby boy. The couple named their newborn son Jarius Wynn Jr. No middle name for now, if the Packers win tonight, they claim they'll make his middle name "Super" as in Jarius Super Wynn Jr.
Former Titans coach Jeff Fisher did a very classy thing today. He took out a full page ad in the Nashville Tennessean's Super Bowl edition. He thanked owner Bud Adams, the entire organization, his coaches & players but most of all the fans of the Tennessee Titans.
When I worked at Treasure Island on the Las Vegas Strip I first encountered former Ohio State Buckeye & Indianapolis quarterback Art Schlichter on a craps table. From that day forward I saw Schlichter numerous times. It was obvious to anyone with even a pea brain that he was a diseased, degenerate gambler. As bad as I ever saw at anytime in my 20+ years out there. He blew his entire signing bonus by mid season betting football games. Schlichter lost a small fortune betting during the NFL players strike, he bet on replacement games, how sick is that? He has been in & out of jail, he was suspended from the NFL twice before being barred for life because he couldn't overcome the hold gambling had on his life. He would do anything to get money to bet. No matter how much he won, he ended up broke in the end because it wasn't about winning, it was about the rush he got playing. He''s in trouble again, arrested for screwing people out of a helluva lot of money. He convinced a number of folks he could get them prime Super Bowl tickets. Don't these people ever read a newspaper or check out a stranger's claim? Anyway, Schlichter is back in jail & he'll be tried & imprisoned because there's no way he can work at a straight job to payback even a small portion of this money, he'd gamble that away too. From the #4 overall pick in the 1982 draft to a 3-time loser.
Wow, there was some strong response to the Hall of Fame electing Deion Sanders yesterday. I got several comments I can't print & a few strongly-worded emails. I'm not going to argue Deion's shortcomings, he was an unabashed showboat, he didn't like tackling & he got himself into trouble off the field with his claim of sexual addiction. But when some of you claim his stats don't warrant HOF inclusion, you're wrong. I don't care about his baseball career, I'm only going to speak about his NFL stats.
1. Only one of two NFL players in history to score a touchdown 6 different ways: Kickoff return(3), punt return(6), interception return(9), receiving(3), fumble recovery(1) & rushing(1).
2. He intercepted 53 passes & returned them 1,331-yards, a 25.1 average(by far the best in NFL history by any player intercepting at least 20 passes).
3. While providing shutdown corner play, he returned 155 kickoffs & 212 punts. He was forced to play wide receiver for the Cowboys when Michael Irvin was serving a 5-game drug suspension.
4. Deion made 8 Pro Bowls, was elected to 6 1st team All-Pro teams, was a 2-time NFC Defensive Player of the year, he was the NFL's 1994 Defensive Player of the year, won a couple of Super Bowl rings with Frisco & Dallas.
5. Deion was named the 37th best player of all-time by The Sporting News.
6. Tho not much of a tackler in run support, he was a true shutdown corner, he took away half of the field from any offense he played against.
To answer several of you regarding the HOF voting process, there are 44 voting members of the HOF committee. The same 44 voted this year as last. Each of the finalists is represented by someone who presents their case to the 44-man panel. There's discussion & sometimes a vote, but often a vote is tabled until more candidates are considered.
Personally I had no problem with Deion getting into the HOF, he was an impact player from his sophomore season at Florida State on, offenses & special teams always had to account for Deion on every single play. Those are the facts. When opponents pay that much attention to one player, there's a reason, they respect his playmaking ability.
For those who said Bettis deserved it more or someone else, their time will come, I expect every one of the remaining finalists to find their way into the HOF, but Deion deserved his election yesterday as did all the others. I had a conversation Monday night with my buddy Joe Z. from Vegas & we were discussing the upcoming HOF elections. He started in on one of his pet peeves, Chicago Cub's 3rd baseman Ron Santo not being elected until he passed away. His lifetime stats were better than any 3rd baseman outside Matthews,Schmidt & Brett, yet he couldn't get in, Brooks Robinson could, but he was elected because of his glove. Santo won 5 Gold Gloves & he still couldn't get elected. Pirate 2nd baseman Bill Mazeroski got elected with a batting average 22-points less than Santo & 200 fewer homeruns. What do you have to do? Santo had to die this past December to get elected. I'm not saying the Halls of Fame are fair, but usually the truly deserving get in.....eventually......except for Otis Taylor.
It's a crime he doesn't get more consideration, he richly deserves the honor. He's very ill & I wish him well, he's always been my very favorite Chief.
Enjoy the game tonight.
As I'm writing this, I have the pregame crap on & it's turning my stomach. If you have a TV show on FOX, F/X or FOXSports, you're on the red carpet, being interviewed like it's the Oscars or something. I'm about to spit up, the total football knowledge of Harrison Ford, Jennifer Anniston, Michael Douglas & the rest wouldn't fill a thimble. The hosts have to carry them, in some cases they don't even know who's playing in the game. When I think of all the real lifelong football fans who will never get the opportunity to attend a Super Bowl.......well don't get me started.......I'll just have to enjoy the game in my lounge chair with my Buffalo wings.
The NFL announced their rookies of the year on Friday. Neither came as a surprise. On the offensive side, St' Louis quarterback Sam Bradford won & on the defensive side, Lions' defensive tackle Ndamakong Suh won. They were drafted #1 & #2 overall last April, this is how it's supposed to work. Both are former Big-12 stars.
I'm sure you've seen the "I've never missed a Super Bowl" club commercials for Visa. The ad is a little deceiving, until they shot this commercial, these guys had never met, they're not old pals who go to every game like the ad makes you believe. One is a Steeler fan, another a Patriot supporter, the third a Niner fan & there is 79-year old Robert Cook of Wisconsin, a lifelong Packer fan. Cook's string will be broken today, he became ill Thursday when he & his wife were preparing to depart for the airport. His daughters will take his tickets & cheer on Green Bay.
Packer defensive end Jarius Wynn got the call he was waiting for last night. His wife went into labor & shortly before sunup, she delivered a healthy baby boy. The couple named their newborn son Jarius Wynn Jr. No middle name for now, if the Packers win tonight, they claim they'll make his middle name "Super" as in Jarius Super Wynn Jr.
Former Titans coach Jeff Fisher did a very classy thing today. He took out a full page ad in the Nashville Tennessean's Super Bowl edition. He thanked owner Bud Adams, the entire organization, his coaches & players but most of all the fans of the Tennessee Titans.
When I worked at Treasure Island on the Las Vegas Strip I first encountered former Ohio State Buckeye & Indianapolis quarterback Art Schlichter on a craps table. From that day forward I saw Schlichter numerous times. It was obvious to anyone with even a pea brain that he was a diseased, degenerate gambler. As bad as I ever saw at anytime in my 20+ years out there. He blew his entire signing bonus by mid season betting football games. Schlichter lost a small fortune betting during the NFL players strike, he bet on replacement games, how sick is that? He has been in & out of jail, he was suspended from the NFL twice before being barred for life because he couldn't overcome the hold gambling had on his life. He would do anything to get money to bet. No matter how much he won, he ended up broke in the end because it wasn't about winning, it was about the rush he got playing. He''s in trouble again, arrested for screwing people out of a helluva lot of money. He convinced a number of folks he could get them prime Super Bowl tickets. Don't these people ever read a newspaper or check out a stranger's claim? Anyway, Schlichter is back in jail & he'll be tried & imprisoned because there's no way he can work at a straight job to payback even a small portion of this money, he'd gamble that away too. From the #4 overall pick in the 1982 draft to a 3-time loser.
Wow, there was some strong response to the Hall of Fame electing Deion Sanders yesterday. I got several comments I can't print & a few strongly-worded emails. I'm not going to argue Deion's shortcomings, he was an unabashed showboat, he didn't like tackling & he got himself into trouble off the field with his claim of sexual addiction. But when some of you claim his stats don't warrant HOF inclusion, you're wrong. I don't care about his baseball career, I'm only going to speak about his NFL stats.
1. Only one of two NFL players in history to score a touchdown 6 different ways: Kickoff return(3), punt return(6), interception return(9), receiving(3), fumble recovery(1) & rushing(1).
2. He intercepted 53 passes & returned them 1,331-yards, a 25.1 average(by far the best in NFL history by any player intercepting at least 20 passes).
3. While providing shutdown corner play, he returned 155 kickoffs & 212 punts. He was forced to play wide receiver for the Cowboys when Michael Irvin was serving a 5-game drug suspension.
4. Deion made 8 Pro Bowls, was elected to 6 1st team All-Pro teams, was a 2-time NFC Defensive Player of the year, he was the NFL's 1994 Defensive Player of the year, won a couple of Super Bowl rings with Frisco & Dallas.
5. Deion was named the 37th best player of all-time by The Sporting News.
6. Tho not much of a tackler in run support, he was a true shutdown corner, he took away half of the field from any offense he played against.
To answer several of you regarding the HOF voting process, there are 44 voting members of the HOF committee. The same 44 voted this year as last. Each of the finalists is represented by someone who presents their case to the 44-man panel. There's discussion & sometimes a vote, but often a vote is tabled until more candidates are considered.
Personally I had no problem with Deion getting into the HOF, he was an impact player from his sophomore season at Florida State on, offenses & special teams always had to account for Deion on every single play. Those are the facts. When opponents pay that much attention to one player, there's a reason, they respect his playmaking ability.
For those who said Bettis deserved it more or someone else, their time will come, I expect every one of the remaining finalists to find their way into the HOF, but Deion deserved his election yesterday as did all the others. I had a conversation Monday night with my buddy Joe Z. from Vegas & we were discussing the upcoming HOF elections. He started in on one of his pet peeves, Chicago Cub's 3rd baseman Ron Santo not being elected until he passed away. His lifetime stats were better than any 3rd baseman outside Matthews,Schmidt & Brett, yet he couldn't get in, Brooks Robinson could, but he was elected because of his glove. Santo won 5 Gold Gloves & he still couldn't get elected. Pirate 2nd baseman Bill Mazeroski got elected with a batting average 22-points less than Santo & 200 fewer homeruns. What do you have to do? Santo had to die this past December to get elected. I'm not saying the Halls of Fame are fair, but usually the truly deserving get in.....eventually......except for Otis Taylor.
It's a crime he doesn't get more consideration, he richly deserves the honor. He's very ill & I wish him well, he's always been my very favorite Chief.
Enjoy the game tonight.
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