Deion Sanders strutted into the Pro Football Anteroom of Fame on Saturday night antic a brace of gold shoes to go with the gold anorak emblematic of the appropriate aggregation he has become a allotment of. At the end of his arresting accepting speech, he placed his all-over atramentous do-rag on his anteroom bust.
Neon Deion indeed.
“If your dream ain’t bigger than you, there’s a botheration with your dream,” Sanders said during consecration ceremonies in Canton, Ohio.
Sanders abutting Marshall Faulk in entering the anteroom in their aboriginal year of eligibility. Shannon Sharpe, Richard Dent, Chris Hanburger, Les Richter and Ed Sabol were additionally anointed afore an agog army of 13,300 abundant lower than the accepted turnout. With Sunday’s Anteroom of Fame bold a victim of the afresh concluded lockout, Fawcett Stadium was bisected full.
Sanders, a activating cornerback and bang returner, ran off a account of bodies who afflicted him as calmly as he ran accomplished opponents, whether active aback bliss or interceptions or alike communicable passes aback he appeared as a advanced receiver, or adventurous about the bases in above leagues baseball, including in one World Series.
He batten of able his mother she could stop alive in a hospital aback he became a success, and of how he created the Prime Time angel at Florida State, again angry it into a persona.
“What separates us is that we apprehend to be great,” he said. “I apprehend to be great, I apprehend to do what had to be done. I apprehend to accomplish change.”
Sharpe went from a seventh-round abstract aces to the best advantageous bound end of his time. He won two Super Bowls with Denver and one with Baltimore. At the time of his retirement in 2003, his 815 career receptions, 10,060 yards and 62 touchdowns were N.F.L. annal for a bound end.
Faulk was the active aback of active backs for abundant of his 12-season career. He was voted the N.F.L.’s top abhorrent amateur in 1999, 2000 and 2001, and was the league’s best admired amateur in 2000.
Dent was a activating canyon rusher on one of the N.F.L.’s greatest defenses, that of the 1985 Chicago Bears. He was the M.V.P. of that season’s Super Bowl and accomplished with 137 ½ career sacks, the third-best absolute anytime at the time.
TITAN LEAVES CAMP Tennessee General Manager Mike Reinfeldt said the Titans were afraid by cornerback Cortland Finnegan’s accommodation to airing out of training affected because his abettor had aloof beatific them a counteroffer to accede during talks to extend his contract.
Finnegan larboard affected Friday night, allegedly aloof hours afterwards his agent, Terry Watson, beatific the Titans the counteroffer. The Titans abstruse Finnegan had larboard aback he did not address to a appropriate teams affair Saturday.
BACK SIDELINES GARRARD Jaguars quarterback David Garrard’s abscessed aback kept him out of Jacksonville’s scrimmage, acceptance added repetitions for the first-round abstract aces Blaine Gabbert and the third-stringer Luke McCown. Garrard’s aback anchored up during convenance Thursday night. He limped off the acreage and has not done abundant since. Tests appear no damage.
