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Davis, Gradishar, Zimmerman Semi-Finalists for the Hall of Fame

From NFL.com....

Modern era semi-finalists for Class of 2008
November 28, 2007

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.  The list includes one more than the required 25 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 list of 26 semi-finalists will be reduced by mail ballot to 15 modern-era candidates.  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.  Goldberg, a multi-purpose back starred with the Chicago Cardinals (1939-1943, 1946-48).  Thomas, an all-league cornerback played 13 seasons (1966-1978) for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The results of the modern-era reduction vote to 15 finalists will be announced in mid-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 pro football career.

This is the first year that coaches are affected by the mandatory five-year waiting period; one of three significant changes to the selection process by-laws approved by the Hall of Fame's Board of Trustees effective this year.  The other major changes include increasing the minimum and maximum number of nominees that can be elected from a minimum of three and a maximum of six, to a minimum of four and a maximum of seven.  The Board of Trustees also approved an increase in the number of selectors on the Selection Committee from 40 to 44.

The Class of 2008 will be determined at the Selection Committee's annual meeting on Saturday, February 2, 2008, in Phoenix, Arizona the day before Super Bowl XLII. The election results are announced immediately following the meeting at a press conference at the media headquarters.

The list of modern-era semi-finalists includes:

Cris Carter, WR - 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins

Terrell Davis, RB - 1995-2001 Denver Broncos

Dermontti Dawson, C - 1988-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers

Fred Dean, DE - 1975-1981 San Diego Chargers, 1981-85 San Francisco 49ers

Richard Dent, DE - 1983-1993, 1995 Chicago Bears, 1994 San Francisco 49ers, 1996 Indianapolis Colts, 1997 Philadelphia Eagles

Randy Gradishar, LB - 1974-1983 Denver Broncos

Darrell Green, CB - 1983-2002 Washington Redskins

Kevin Greene, LB/DE - 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers

Russ Grimm, G - 1981-1991 Washington Redskins

Ray Guy, P - 1973-1986 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders

Charles Haley, DE/LB - 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys

Lester Hayes, CB - 1977-1986 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders

Rickey Jackson, LB - 1981-1993 New Orleans Saints, 1994-95 San Francisco 49ers

Joe Jacoby, T - 1981-1993 Washington Redskins

Cortez Kennedy, DT - 1990-2000 Seattle Seahawks

Bob Kuechenberg, G - 1970-1984 Miami Dolphins

Randall McDaniel, G - 1988-1999 Minnesota Vikings, 2000-01 Tampa Bay Buccaneers  

Art Monk, WR - 1980-1993 Washington Redskins, 1994 New York Jets, 1995 Philadelphia Eagles

Andre Reed, WR -1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins

Ken Stabler, QB - 1970-79 Oakland Raiders, 1980-81 Houston Oilers, 1982-84 New Orleans Saints

Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner - 1989-2006 National Football League  

Steve Tasker, Special Teams/WR - 1985-1986
Houston Oilers, 1986-1997 Buffalo Bills

Derrick Thomas, LB - 1989-1999 Kansas City Chiefs

Andre Tippett, LB - 1982-1993 New England Patriots

George Young, GM/Administrator - 1968-1974 Baltimore Colts, 1975-78 Miami Dolphins, 1979-1997 New York Giants, 1998-2001 National Football League

Gary Zimmerman, T - 1986-1992 Minnesota Vikings, 1993-97 Denver Broncos

OK...here comes the annual Denver Broncos screw-over by the Hall of Fame.  The HOF has become a joke in my opinion.  Our only Bronco in the HOF is Elway!!  All this boils down to is the East Coast bias of pinheads in the media and a large sentiment of anti-Broncos bias.

Let's be honest the HOF is like a hot woman approaching you, making you look like you're all she will ever need and then dumps you to the side for the jerk/biker/loser/Oakland Raider.  It's nothing but a big tease.  I don't know about you, but the members of the Broncos Ring of Fame inside Mile High has more clout than Canton.  How about adding Rick Upchurch to the tease session this year too?

Poll
Is the HOF against the Broncos?
Yes
11 votes
No
3 votes

14 votes | Poll has closed

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR

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Also in the Denver Post....
It's still a long ways between Denver and Canton, Ohio, but at least three former Bronco greats have taken the next step.

A board of Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors included linebacker Randy Gradishar, left tackle Gary Zimmerman and running back Terrell Davis among their 26 semifinalists for the Class of 2008.

All three have made it this far before, but only John Elway among Broncos has been allowed through Canton's hallowed doors. The 26 remaining candidates -- plus Emmitt Thomas and Marshall Goldberg, who were nominated earlier by a senior's committee -- will be pared to 17 finalists in mid-January. And then a minimum of four and a maximum of seven former players and executives will be elected the Saturday before Super Bowl XLII, Feb. 2, 2008, in Phoenix.

There are only two newcomers among this year's semifinalists, receiver Cris Carter and defensive back Darrell Green. Among Bronco semifinalists, Zimmerman figures to receive the strongest consideration.

Hey O-Line!!! Block Somebody!!!

by mdierk on Nov 28, 2007 8:19 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

HOF is a relic
I don't know about you, but the members of the Broncos Ring of Fame inside Mile High has more clout than Canton.

Amen.  Screw Canton, we've got the HOF that really matters right here, where it counts.  The excuses are getting old and the hypocrisy is as stale as some of the jock straps in the east wing of the Hall.  The hall of fame is an ancient relic to east coast idolatry and program favoritism.

This is fundamentally an issue of Justice, and you have to ask, is justice served by including any of these players in the HOF?  I say it is not, because they will be enshrined in the same place that recognizes far inferior but biased talent choices.  Justice would be to pull Elway from the HOF and not sanction the irrationalism that dominates that building.

People believe that the fundamental concern of justice is to punish the bad, in this case to MAKE the HOF induct more Broncos into the Hall.  But the true nature of justice is the preservation of the good.  A HOF that does not consider the Bronco legacy to be a good thing is a HOF that does not deserve to have that legacy sanction its worth.

The Broncos fans and the home they have built for them will do more for the remembrance of that legacy than any corrupted Hall of Fame.

by Jeremy Bolander on Nov 28, 2007 8:58 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

I have said...
numerous times that the HOF is a freakin' joke and the biggest travesty in sports is that a team that has been so successful over their history as the Broncos has only 1 HOF'er.  

There was a great atricle on ESPN.com(persuaded by this site, by the way) that discussed the shortage of Broncos in the Hall.  I said then that I think this year, with the lack of sure-fire, first-year candidates could be the year that one, possibly two, former Broncs get in.

I think Zimmerman gets in as well as Gradishar.  I just don't think Davis will make it....

I live an hour away from Canton and haven't been there since Elway.  I won't return until the next Bronco makes it, which I hope isn't Shannon Sharpe because that would just be too damn long....

If we do get some guys in the Hall, whose going to make the trip out??  You can all crash at my place and we can have a MHR weekend!!!

by John Bena on Nov 28, 2007 9:04 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

I'll accept that invite....
pending a Bronco gets in and my wife allows it.  She did go to school at Stubenville at Franciscan.  Maybe she'll want to visit there too.
Hey O-Line!!! Block Somebody!!!

by mdierk on Nov 28, 2007 9:27 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

That's a bit...
on the other side of the state from me, but never-the-less I have my first take for MHR Weekend 2008, should a F'n Bronco get in!

by John Bena on Nov 28, 2007 9:36 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

Well, we may have to agree to just...
meet in Canton.
Hey O-Line!!! Block Somebody!!!

by mdierk on Nov 28, 2007 9:52 PM MST up reply actions   0 recs

It's about a 5 hour drive for me
...and I could probably get the days off.

Sounds like a plan!

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Nov 29, 2007 4:32 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

Let's see...
There will be just 4 allowed in.  As follows:

Cris Carter
Darrell Green
George Young
Randall McDaniel

Gary Zimmerman will make it the farthest but the tarnish on his record of being a Bronco for several years will keep him out another year.

TD will not make it as far as he did last year and forget about Randy.  He'll get in when he is eligible for the senior's committee(if that is possible).  :(

It's 1995 all over again: http://www.milehighreport.com/story/2007/10/1/202724/157

by Tim Lynch on Nov 28, 2007 9:38 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

Gradishar
         Well, then, if Gradishar isn't elected, it is a travesty. He should be in there. So should Zimmerman.

by PABlzrfn on Nov 29, 2007 1:03 AM MST reply actions   0 recs

and TD...

;)

(I'm so shamelessly biased for TD to get in, it's not even funny)

by tunga77 on Nov 29, 2007 9:21 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

Random Question

I'm not sure where to post random questions for the readers and contributors of this site, but...

Does anyone know any compilation or video of Elway's most memorable plays that might be posted online somwhere?

I'm thinking something along the lines of what someone did for Cunningham:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1gI04sb7fhI

I know there is the Champion Forever VHS (which I think the NFL should re-release on DVD), but if you search for Elway on youtube, why do we only get ~2-3 videos, none of which are all that great?!?!?!  =/

by tunga77 on Nov 29, 2007 10:00 AM MST reply actions   0 recs

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