BLOOMINGTON, MINN. — No more whining from Terrell Owens.
The compelling T.O. to the Pro Football Hall of Fame controversy ended Saturday when he was elected in his third year of eligibility.
He joins wide receiver Randy Moss and linebackers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher, who all made it in their first year, and safety Brian Dawkins, in a strong Class of 2018.
“I’ve been going a long time. And now I can finally rest,” Lewis said. “I want to go fishing with a cigar now and just sit back. I don’t want to work out every day now.”
Moss, ten years to the day after he and the Patriots lost Super Bowl XLII to the Giants, said he cried tears of joy upon election.
“All the emotions caught the best of me because it’s been a long journey and it ends in the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” he said.
For the second year in a row, former Jets center Kevin Mawae made the cut from the list of 15 finalists down to 10. But he was eliminated on the cut to five.
Owens raised a stink when he wasn’t picked the last two years. In fact, he didn’t even make it to the final 10. But the momentum shifted in Owens’ favor this time as the locker room antics and his back stabbing of his quarterbacks didn’t carry the weight it had the last two years.
None of the five offensive linemen who made the final 15 were selected. In addition to Mawae there were Alan Faneca, Tony Boselli, Steve Hutchinson and Joe Jacoby.
Former Cowboys and Giants cornerback Everson Walls didn’t make the cut to 10. The other players in the final 15 were Ty Law, John Lynch, Isaac Bruce and Edgerrin James.
Senior candidates Jerry Kramer and Robert Brazile, as well as contributor Bobby Beathard were also selected.
