Waving THE TERRIBLE TOWEL in Support of L.C. Greenwood

"Yippies, Hippies, Yahoos, Black Panthers, lions and tigers alike -- I would swap the whole damn zoo for the kind of young Americans I saw in Vietnam." - Spiro T. Agnew

PATRIOT GAMES - Dr. Thompson on the state of American journalism post 9/11; Walter Cronkite is also interviewed.

Photograph by KILORY_60

The first round of cuts has been made. The original 112 preliminary nominees being considered for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 has been narrowed to 25.

15 of my 25 picks are included in the field. The 25 will now be narrowed to 13 modern-era candidates by a mail vote of the Hall of Fame's 39-man Board of Selectors. Senior Committee nominees John Madden and Rayfield Wright, who were announced in August, will be added to finalize a roster of 15 finalists for consideration. The group of 15 will be announced in mid-January.

The Board of Selectors will hold their annual meeting Super Bowl weekend in Detroit. A candidate must receive 80% of the vote during that meeting to be included in the three to six person Class of 2006. Announcement of the Hall's newest enshrinees will be made February 4; the day before Super Bowl XL.

Pittsburgh Steelers center Dermontti Dawson was not on my list of picks. I am pleased to say he is among the 25 still in contention. Dawson followed Hall of Famer Mike Webster as the Steelers snapper and played his entire 13-year career in the Steel City. This was Dawson's first year of eligibility. It won't be his year, but Dawson will follow Webster to Canton.

Another semifinalist who was not on my list with a Pittsburgh connection is Russ Grimm. Grimm was an All American center at The University of Pittsburgh and is currently a coach with the Steelers.

I also missed on Pittsburgh's Donnie Shell who was on my list. The five-time Pro Bowler, who played on each of the Steelers four Super Bowl champion teams, was a bone crushing hitter. He retired as the NFL strong safety career leader in interceptions with 51. Shell, who was undoubtedly one of the most ferocious hitters on special teams the NFL ever saw, started 11 straight years in the Pittsburgh defensive backfield. He is a member of the Steelers All-Time Team as well as the NFL Silver Anniversary Super Bowl Team. Donne Shell's time will come to be inducted in Canton; he will be the last member of the Steel Curtain defense so honored.

I DID score with my pick of L.C. Greenwood who is included among the 25 semifinalists. L.C. has been eligible for two decades and has been a finalist candidate five times including 2005. Join me in contacting the members of the Board of Selectors to support L.C. Greenwood for inclusion in the Class of 2006!

Along with Greenwood, the semifinalists I correctly predicted are Troy Aikman, Harry Carson, Ray Guy, Claude Humphrey, Michael Irvin, Bob Kuchenburg, Art Modell, Art Monk, Ken Stabler, Derrick Thomas, Thurman Thomas, Reggie White, Ralph Wilson Jr. and George Young.

Joining Dawson and Grimm, among those I missed, are Fred Dean, Richard Dent, Randy Gradishar, Lester Hayes, Warren Moon, Andre Reed, Roger Wehrli and Gary Zimmerman.

KILROY_6o's picks for Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2006 FINALIST NOMINEES:

L.C. GREENWOOD

Troy Aikman, Reggie White, Ralph Wilson Jr., George Young, Ray Guy, Art Monk, Bob Kuchenburg, Derrick Thomas, Randy Gradishar, Lester Hayes, Roger Wehrli, Ken Stabler.

I'm sticking with my prediction that John Madden will be inducted as part of the 2006 class.