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Four first-year eligible players — John Randle, Shannon Sharpe, Bruce Smith, and Rod Woodson — are among the 25 semifinalists being considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2009. The Hall of Fame’s Board of Selectors announced the 25 semifinalists today from the recently revealed list of 133 preliminary nominees. Even though he has been eligible since 1999, this is first time that Roger Craig has been a semifinalist. Each of the remaining 20 nominees has been on the semifinalist list at least once prior to this year. And while no coaches are among the semifinalists, the list includes three contributors — Art Modell, Paul Tagliabue and Ralph Wilson.

The complete list of 25 modern-era semifinalists is as follows:

• Cris Carter, WR
• Roger Craig, RB
• Terrell Davis, RB
• Dermontti Dawson, C
• Richard Dent, DE
• Chris Doleman, DE/LB
• Kevin Greene, LB/DE
• Russ Grimm, G
• Ray Guy, P
• Charles Haley, DE/LB
• Lester Hayes, CB
• Cortez Kennedy, DT
• Bob Kuechenberg, G
• Randall McDaniel, G
• Art Modell, Owner
• John Randle, DT
• Andre Reed, WR
• Shannon Sharpe, TE
• Bruce Smith, DE
• Ken Stabler, QB
• Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner
• Steve Tasker, Special Teams/WR
• Derrick Thomas, LB
• Ralph Wilson, Owner
• Rod Woodson, CB/S

The list of 25 semifinalists will be reduced by mail ballot to 15 modern-era candidates. That list increases to 17 finalist nominees with the inclusion of the two recommended candidates of the Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee. The Seniors Committee nominees, who were announced in August, are Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey. Bob Hayes is a three-time All-NFL pick spent 11 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (1965-1974) and one season with the San Francisco 49ers (1975). Claude Humphrey is a five-time, first-team All-Pro defensive end who played with the Atlanta Falcons (1968-1978) and Philadelphia Eagles (1979-1981). The results of the modern-era reduction vote to 15 finalists will be announced in early January.

To be considered for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a nominated player or coach must have been retired at least five years. A contributor, who is a nominee who has made outstanding contributions to pro football in capacities other than playing and coaching, may still be active in his career.

Although there is no set number for any class of enshrinees, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s current ground rules do stipulate that between four and seven new members will be selected each year. No more than five modern-era nominees can be elected in a given year and a class of seven enshrinees can only be achieved if both senior nominees are elected.

The Class of 2009 will be determined at the Selection Committee’s annual meeting on Saturday, January 31, 2009, in Tampa, Florida the day before Super Bowl XLIII. The election results are announced immediately following the meeting at a press conference at the Super Bowl media headquarters.

Source: NFL Media, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Pro Football HOF Modern-Era Semifinalists

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He is a prototypical Denver Broncos running back. He hits the hole quickly. He’s a downhill runner. And he fits with the team’s zone-blocking scheme. His name is Ryan Torain. And he was a 5th round Draft pick out of Arizona State this year. Maybe you’ve never heard of him. It doesn’t matter. If history repeats itself, he’s in for a successful NFL career. Just ask former Denver Broncos running backs Terrell Davis (6th round), Mike Anderson (6th round), Olandis Gary (4th round), Mike Bell (undrafted) or Selvin Young (undrafted). When training camp begins in a couple weeks, Ryan will join Selvin, Michael Pittman and Andre Hall in the Denver backfield. Head coach Mike Shanahan likes what he sees:

“We have good young players at running back. It is going to be interesting in training camp with a lot of good, hard competition. I like what I have in all my guys.”

I think what Ryan brings to the Broncos, especially his ability to carry the ball 20+ times/game if needed, gives him an advantage. One of these running backs will need to step up and take the bulk of the carries. In Denver, Ryan has as much chance (maybe more) as any of the others of being that player.

Source: ESPN.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Ryan Torain Hopes History Repeats Itself

Wide receiver Cris Carter and cornerback Darrell Green are the only first-year eligible players to make the list of 26 semi-finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2008. The Hall of Fame’s Board of Selectors chose the 26 semi-finalists from the recently announced list of 124 preliminary nominees today. The list includes one more than the required 25 nominees since there was a tie for the twenty-fifth position. Hall of Fame selection by-laws provide for the inclusion of all ties for the twenty-fifth position on the ballot.

Nominees included on the semi-finalist list for the first time, although eligible prior to this year, include linebacker Rickey Jackson and defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy. Each of the remaining 22 nominees has been on the semi-finalist list at least once prior to this year. The complete list of 26 modern-era semi-finalists is as follows:

Cris Carter, Terrell Davis, Dermontti Dawson, Fred Dean, Richard Dent, Randy Gradishar, Darrell Green, Kevin Greene, Russ Grimm, Ray Guy, Lester Hayes, Rickey Jackson, Joe Jacoby, Cortez Kennedy, Bob Kuechenberg, Randall McDaniel, Art Monk, Andre Reed, Ken Stabler, Paul Tagliabue, Steve Tasker, Derrick Thomas, Andre Tippett, George Young, and Gary Zimmerman.

I know some of you have had very strong opinions about who should be in the 2008 class. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this latest round of finalists. The list of 26 semi-finalists will be reduced by mail ballot to 15 modern-era candidates (announced in mid-January). That list will increase to 17 finalist nominees with the inclusion of the two recommended candidates of the Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee. The Seniors Committee nominees, who were announced in August, are Marshall Goldberg and Emmitt Thomas. The Class of 2008 will be determined at the Selection Committee’s annual meeting on Saturday, February 2, 2008, in Phoenix, AZ the day before Super Bowl XLII.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Pro Football Hall of Fame Board Selects Semi-Finalists for Class of 2008