TAMPA, Fla.--A long wait for Richard Dent will continue.
The defensive end, who spent the majority of his career with the Bears, was denied in his fifth bid as a finalist on the ballot for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Bruce Smith was elected in his first year on the ballot as was cornerback/safety Rod Woodson, who spent the majority of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The others who will be inducted in ceremonies Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio, are Randall McDaniel, Derrick Thomas and Ralph Wilson Jr. Wide receiver Bob Hayes, a senior player, was also elected.
Dent made the first cut from 15 modern-era players to 10 but did not make it beyond that to the final five who were considered. It is the second straight year that two pass rushers have been elected ahead of Dent. The other final 10 who did not make the last cut were Cris Carter, Russ Grimm, Shannon Sharpe and John Randle. Eliminated in the first cut-down were Dermontti Dawson, Cortez Kennedy, Bob Kuechenberg, Andre Reed and Paul Tagliabue.
The class for 2010 will have some top names, too, in Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Aeneas Williams and Eddie George.
Dent deserves to be in the hall of Fame. I hope they finally get him in next year. What more does it take, on one of the best defenses of all time, the MVP of the Super Bowl and all of the sacks and more important all of the turnovers from strips of the QB.
Come on, Dent is an absolute for the Hall of Fame and needs to join the other Bears from this great era of defensive dominance.
Good luck Richard Dent in 2010, I hope they get it right and you get in as you deserve.