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I'll pass on the coke...
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2753109
MIAMI -- Michael Irvin was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday despite a troubled past, though voters denied entry to retired NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
The former Dallas Cowboys receiver, who won three Super Bowls in the 1990s, got in on his third try.
Irvin pleaded no contest in 1996 to felony cocaine possession. Four years later, he was arrested on drug possession charges, but they were later dropped.
The 40 Hall voters were criticized by two of Irvin's former teammates, Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman, for previously bypassing the wideout, who retired in 1999.
They didn't ignore him this time.
Tagliabue was eliminated in the first round of voting.
Also voted in were running back Thurman Thomas, offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, defensive back Roger Wehrli and two nominees of the veterans' committee -- tight end Charlie Sanders and guard Gene Hickerson.
A 40-member panel deliberated Saturday to determine who among the 17 finalists would be enshrined. Two votes were taken, reducing the finalists from 17 to 11 and then from 10 to six finalists, who were each voted on individually.
Finalists Tagliabue, Russ Grimm, Ray Guy, Bob Kuechenberg, Andre Reed and Gary Zimmerman lost out in the first reduction vote. Fred Dean, Richard Dent, Art Monk, Derrick Thomas and Andre Tippett lost out on the second reduction ballot.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
MIAMI -- Michael Irvin was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday despite a troubled past, though voters denied entry to retired NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
The former Dallas Cowboys receiver, who won three Super Bowls in the 1990s, got in on his third try.
Irvin pleaded no contest in 1996 to felony cocaine possession. Four years later, he was arrested on drug possession charges, but they were later dropped.
The 40 Hall voters were criticized by two of Irvin's former teammates, Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman, for previously bypassing the wideout, who retired in 1999.
They didn't ignore him this time.
Tagliabue was eliminated in the first round of voting.
Also voted in were former Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas, offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, defensive back Roger Wehrli and two nominees of the veterans' committee -- tight end Charlie Sanders and guard Gene Hickerson.
Irvin finished his career with 750 receptions for 11,904 yards and 65 touchdowns. He was selected to five straight Pro Bowls and picked for the NFL's all-decade team of the 1990s.
Thomas was the league's most valuable player in 1991, when he gained more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage. His 13 seasons with 50-plus receptions, nine of them in a row, are exceeded only by Jerry Rice. He joins Jim Kelly, who made the Hall of Fame in 2002, from the Buffalo teams that won four straight AFC les before losing in each Super Bowl.
At OSU, Thomas was a teammate of Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders. Thomas had 897 rushes for 4,595 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 21 100-yard rushing games for the Cowboys.
He was also a Heisman Trophy candidate in his senior year. He was a first team selection on the College Football All-America Team in 1985 and 1987.
Matthews, the only player in his first year of eligibility, spent 19 seasons with the Oilers/ ans franchise, playing more games than any positional player in NFL history when he retired in 2001. He did it as a guard, tackle and center. Matthews never missed a game because of injury.
"I loved playing every one," he said, referring to all the positions. "Big thing was when coaches asked me to switch, they made the team better by doing so.
"I never had to grow up, could play like I was a kid, played till I was 40, and now you are telling me I am in the Hall of Fame. I hadn't been nervous about it until I saw my family and they were ready to melt down," he said by phone from Texas.
Wehrli was a five-time All-Pro cornerback who played 14 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, starting as a rookie in 1969. He once intercepted three passes by Roger Staubach in a win over Dallas and made the league's 1970s all-decade squad.
Sanders spent a decade with the Lions and was one of the few outstanding receivers among tight ends on his way to seven Pro Bowls.
"This has been a journey," he said. "The last few days have been very nerve-racking, not only for me but my family and, I know, a lot of my friends. This is a blessing."
Hickerson played 15 seasons for the Browns as the lead blocker for three Hall of Famers -- Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly, Bobby Mitc -- and has been eligible for 29 years.
"I am honored to be joining such an elite group of individuals and to be remembered as one of the best linemen of all time," Hickerson said.
Tagliabue's legacy was strong, including labor peace throughout his 18 seasons as commissioner; enhancing diversity in coaching and front-office hirings; television deals that now bring the NFL more than $25 billion in revenues; expansion to 32 teams; establishment of the NFL Network; and a rising global presence.
But it wasn't enough to sway the voters this year.
to the playmaker...say what you want about his off the field stuff, but on the field he was never anything less than a great teamate and guy you wanted on your team. And in the early 90's, if you wanted leadership from the wide out position, and you didn't have Jerry Rice, you had better have had Michael Irvin.
The Cowboys played with Mike's hunger and desire to win. Aikman may have the been the brains and Emmitt may have been the heart, but Mike was the soul.
I wonder if there'll be a party at the "White House" tonight.
I'll pass on the coke...
Suck it.
So Irvin is in and Monk still hasn't made it.............that makes a lot of sense.
I have nothing against Irvin being in, but if he gets in, Monk should be there too.
Monk should be in, but that's an argument for a different time.
I am in dire need of seeing a picture of The Playmaker in that mink coat. Please help.
They should both be in...but Irvin changed the position...and he was better than either one of them. Monk was doing good to even be the best reciever on the Skins during his career...
Top 10 finishes in yards, receptions, td etc...Irvin was among the leader in those categories many many more times than Monk.
Monk just racked up a lot of receptions playing a lot of years...commendable but not in Irvin's league as an offensive player...ever.
He does belong in there...but he's severely overhyped. He wasn't better than Irvin. It wasn't even close.
Irvin had a hall of fame quarterback. Who did Monk have throwing him the ball?
Irvin should be in the hall of fame, but Art Monk deserves to be there to, and he wasn't overrated.
Oh get serious...it's not like Troy threw for 40,000 yards and 300 touchdowns or anything. He's in the HOF for winning Superbowls, not for his passing stats.
Monk had Theisman and Williams and um...Rypien...You know those guys that also won Superbowls. He'll I'd be willing to bet all of them had bigger passing seasons than Aikman.
And Monk also had as many as two other Pro Bowl Recievers lining up alongside him.
Monk was a posession reciver....Irvin was a game breaking reciever who redefined the position. Irvin>Monk...
The reason Irvin is in inspite of his offcourt troubles is because everyone knows he was the leader of those Cowboys team. And I'd be willing to bet that Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith would back that claim up.
Monk was good guy...but he was posession reciever, he wasn't a game breaker...not in Irvin's league. And he wouldn't have been even if he had Joe Montana throwing him the ball....he would have still been a possession reciever.
Who cares if Aikman threw for 40,000 yards. Brady didn't put up outstanding numbers when the Pats were winning superbowls either, and you can't possibly be comparing Doug Williams and Mark Rypien to Troy Aikman.
I never said Monk>Irvin, but Art Monk still ranks higher statistically than Irvin in both receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. It took him 16 seasons to do that, but it's still enough to warrant an induction.
Their seasonal averages are very similar.
Monk:
58.75 receptions
795 yards per season.
4.25 touchdowns
Irvin:
62.5 receptions
992 yards per season.
5.41 touchdowns
Art Monk has had a Rafael Palmerio type career. Great numbers mainly due to his longevity, but was never seen as one of the top players from season to season. Monk's a great player, had a great career, and should probably be in the HOF. But he wasn't in Irvin's class as a WR.
Irvin and Monk deserve to be there.
Also glad to see Bruce Matthews in there.
I have no respect for Michael Irvin. I've ran into him on a few occasions, but the last time I did just did it for me. I was at a Wendy's near the Galleria area and in come these dudes being all loud and stuff. I did a double take and realized it was him. So he's there with his friends looking at the menu being all loud. Then he starts looking at people to see if they recognize him. Like he actually wanting people to notice him. Believe me it wasn't hard notice them because of their volume. So they get there food and start to eat it around the ketchup and napkin thingy. Continuing to be loud. Getting in other peoples way that need to get the condiments. They finally left. One of the ladies we went to eat with came in from her smoke and said if we had seen all those loud obnoxious people. She didn't know who he was. Apparently they parked right next to us. When we left all of their trash was on the floor where they had parked. I don't care what you drive, what you wear, what you drink, what you smoke, how big your bank account is. You just don't act like that. Call me old fashioned, but every body bleeds the same color. Oh well, there's my rant about him.
whottt may be the biggest Dallas fan on the forum . . .
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