[CBFF] Dent awaits Hall call :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears - Sent Using Google Toolbar

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Dent awaits Hall call :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears

Dent awaits Hall call



January 31, 2008
BY BRAD BIGGS Staff Reporter

 PHOENIX — ''The Colonel'' did one thing right during his 15-year NFL
career: He got to the quarterback like few players before him or
since. Now Richard Dent is hoping the Board of Selectors for the Pro
Football Hall of Fame does right by him when it meets Saturday
morning.

 Dent, the MVP of the Bears' Super Bowl XX triumph, took part in a
Gridiron Greats function Thursday morning and will be in town through
the announcement of the Hall's 2008 class Saturday afternoon. Wide
receiver Cris Carter and cornerback Darrell Green are considered
decent bets to be chosen, but the rest of the field is open among the
17 finalists. Dent needs 80 percent of the vote, and at least four
players must be elected.

 ''I'm not anxious,'' Dent said. ''That's been upon me a few times,
and I look forward to the opportunity. Is it deserving? Yes, it is.
You've got to bring me home sooner or later.''

 When Dent retired after the 1997 season, he ranked third all-time
with 137œ sacks, trailing only Reggie White and Bruce Smith. He was
first- or second-team All-Pro four times and was selected to four Pro
Bowls. His 17œ-sack season in 1984 began a stretch of double-digit
sacks in eight of 10 seasons.

 The '85 Bears already have three players enshrined: Walter Payton,
Mike Singletary and Dan Hampton. One hurdle Dent has faced is that
some view Hampton, who was honored in 2002, as the best defensive
lineman on that team.

 ''A lot of people have been disappointed, for whatever reason, but
that's out of my control,'' said Dent, 47. ''My work is done. The hay
is in the barn. What I did and how I did it, it fits up there as, if
not the best, right up there.''