Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

(Oh, and PSA announcement #1: Michael Irvin sucks)

1st announcement:

1) The first paired down list to be announced:

a) Ten of the 15 modern players move on, the 5 winners to be announced: Dermonti Dawson, Richard Dent, Russ Grimm, Ricky Jackson, Cortez Kennedy, John Randle, Andre Reed, Jerry Rice, Shannon Sharp, Emmit Smith.

Charles Haley didn't make it.
Others that didn't make it: [Edit additions: Tim Brown, ____________________

They apparently will announce the winners after the next commercial

I guess the seniors come after that.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

The final five ... somehow this list can be cut ... (?)

Russ Grimm

Rick Jackson

John Randle

Jerry Rice

Emmit Smith.

Dick LeBeau*

Floyd Little*

* Old timers.

Dirt didn't make it.

Winners to be announced after the commercial

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

The Winners!

The envelope from DeLoitte and Touche accounting:

1) Jerry Rice

2) Emmit Smith

3) Russ Grimm

4) Randy Jackson

5) D*ICK LEBAU

6) Floyd Little

7) John Randall


Congratulations Mr. LeBeau!

[ghettoscott]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

Congratulations Mr. LeBeau!

[Shoe]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

The Winners!

The envelope from DeLoitte and Touche accounting:

1) Jerry Rice

2) Emmit Smith

3) Russ Grimm

4) Randy Jackson

5) D*ICK LEBAU

Damn, that's a lot of inductees. BTW, for the record: Charles Haley should be in the Hall of Fame.

6) Floyd Little

7) John Randall


Congratulations Mr. LeBeau!

[SteelCrazy]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

Congrats Dick LeBeau! It is a shame Dawson didn't get in.....he is arguably the best OL of all time.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

congratulations D*ick LeBeau!

it's a shame/crime that Dirt didn't make it though, maybe next time...

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

I just got to wondering ... these guys when they get enshrined often choose mentors that helped them when they got started to be the ones that present them ... who do the old timers choose? I mean, it's like Dick LeBeau's 3rd grade football coach is probably not going to be bounding up on the stage ... ?

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

Congrats to all of the enshrinees, but especially to those with Steeler connections as assistant coaches here: "Saint" LeBeau and Russ Grimm. I am disappointed that Dawson was passed over yet again, but with Rice and Smith being automatic, there was only a maximum of 3 spots available for other modern era candidates. Maybe next year for Dirt (he did make the top 10 at least).

To clarify the voting process of this morning, one of the voting members got up and made a presentation for each of the 15 modern candidates and 2 senior candidates (for example, Ed Bouchette made the case for Dermontti Dawson in front of all of the rest of the voters this morning). The senior candidates (LeBeau and Little) were voted on (simple "yes" or "no"). They needed to get 80% of the votes to qualify. Both did. Next, all of the voters voted on the 15 modern era guys (I believe each voter could vote for up to 5 guys only). The votes were counted, and the top 10 vote getters moved on, and the bottom 5 were eliminated (Tim Brown, Cris Carter, Don Coryell, Roger Craig, Charles Haley were gone). Then they voted again on just those top 10 guys (again, each voter could pick their own top 5 among the remaining candidates...if they voted for one of the eliminated guys previously, now that vote can go to one of the remaining candidates). The votes were counted, and 5 more were eliminated (Dermontti Dawson, Richard Dent, Cortez Kennedy, Andre Reed, Shannon Sharpe). Then among those final 5 modern era candidates (Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, John Randle, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith), they still had to go back and do the same "yes" or "no" votes for each of those 5 guys. Just because you are in the final 5 does not mean that you are elected. You still must get at least 80% "yes" votes, and all 5 of those guys did.

As for who you choose to introduce you, it is entirely a personal thing. Could be a parent, a child, a spouse, a friend, a teammate, a coach, an owner, a teacher, whoever.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

Question for Ruth or anyone else who knows - can LeBeau make it into the Coaches HoF, as a DC?

BTW, here's steelers.com writeup on D*ick LeBeau's initiation:

[url="http://steelers.com/article/117096/"]http://steelers.com/article/117096/[/url]
Dick_LeBeau_HallofFame_Coac.jpg
LeBeau headed to the Hall of Fame
Saturday, February 6, 2010

PITTSBURGH ? Known to contemporary NFL fans as the mastermind behind the Steelers defensive successes of the past 18 seasons, Dick LeBeau was honored with the highest individual award in professional football when Pro Football Hall of Fame announced him today as a member of its Class of 2010 for his 14-year career as a player.
LeBeau is part of a seven-member class that also includes offensive guard Russ Grimm, linebacker Ricky Jackson, running back Floyd Little, defensive tackle John Randle, wide receiver Jerry Rice and running back Emmitt Smith.

In August 2009, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee had named LeBeau and Little as finalists for the Class of 2010, and then they both received at least 80 percent of today’s vote by the overall selection committee to be elected.

“I would like to congratulate Dick on his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Steelers’ President Art Rooney II said. “Few men in the history of the NFL have contributed more to the league as a player and coach than Dick LeBeau during his 51 years in the league. All of us with the Steelers are thrilled with his selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010.”

LeBeau spent all of those 14 seasons as a cornerback for the Detroit Lions, and he still holds the NFL record for that position with 171 consecutive games played. His 62 career interceptions currently rank seventh on the NFL’s all-time list and were third in the league at the time of his retirement following the 1972 season. LeBeau earned three trips to the Pro Bowl (1965-67) and led the NFC in interceptions with nine in 1970. He originally was drafted by the Cleveland Browns out of Ohio State, but he was waived during training camp and claimed by the Lions before the start of the 1959 NFL season.

In addition to his Hall of Fame resume as a player, LeBeau has had a stellar career as an NFL coach. Acclaimed as the inventor of the “zone-blitz” schemes that still are widely used throughout the NFL, LeBeau has spent the past six seasons in a second tour as the Steelers’ defensive coordinator. Hired to be the secondary coach on Bill Cowher’s first staff in 1992, LeBeau became the defensive coordinator in 1995. He was the Steelers’ defensive coordinator in 1995-96 before leaving the team to take a job with the Bengals that set him up with the chance to be an NFL head coach.

The Steelers led the NFL in total defense in 2008 and have led the AFC in rush defense in three of the past six seasons under LeBeau’s direction. Pittsburgh has been at or near the top in several defensive categories during his two tenures with the Steelers and he has helped the team reach three Super Bowls as a coordinator, with wins in Super Bowls XL and XLIII and the loss coming in Super Bowl XXX.

LeBeau has spent a total of 37 seasons as an NFL coach – as an assistant with the Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills, and as the head coach of the Bengals from 2000-02.

LeBeau will be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday, Aug. 7, at Fawcett Stadium.

[papillon]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

The HOF is officially a joke as far as I'm concerned. Russ Grimm in the HOF before Dermontti Dawson? Yea, right, a player who is debated among those that have played and coached against him as the best ever at his position gets left out for a player that had a very good career, but will never be talked about as the best offensive guard ever.

It's a joke and biased against Steelers.

Pappy

[proudpittsburgher]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

D!ck Lebeau

[SteelBucks]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

Maybe next year for Dirt (he did make the top 10 at least).

Yep, he's getting closer. IMO, it'll happen sooner or later....but this is long, long overdue.

Congrats, Coach LeBeau!

[BURGH86STEEL]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

The HOF is officially a joke as far as I'm concerned. Russ Grimm in the HOF before Dermontti Dawson? Yea, right, a player who is debated among those that have played and coached against him as the best ever at his position gets left out for a player that had a very good career, but will never be talked about as the best offensive guard ever.

It's a joke and biased against Steelers.

Pappy

I agree with you that the HOF selection process is becoming a joke.

[flippy]

Re: Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 2010 Hall of Fame:

The HOF is officially a joke as far as I'm concerned. Russ Grimm in the HOF before Dermontti Dawson? Yea, right, a player who is debated among those that have played and coached against him as the best ever at his position gets left out for a player that had a very good career, but will never be talked about as the best offensive guard ever.

It's a joke and biased against Steelers.

Pappy

+1 I'm floored Grimm got in instead of Dawson.

Dawson is the Jerry Rice of linemen. Heck that may even belittle how good Dirt was.