Football Hall reveals 26 semifinalists
Pass rusher Demarcus Ware, wide receiver Andre Johnson and return specialist Devin Hester are among the seven players eligible for the first time for induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
They were part of the 26 modern-era players announced Wednesday as semifinalists for election to the Class of 2022.
The other first-time eligible players are wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Steve Smith, edge rusher Robert Mathis and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork. Each last played during the 2016 season. The remaining semifinalists are listed alphabetically along with the number of times they have made it this far in parentheses:
CB Eric Allen (two times), DE Jared Allen (two), T Willie Anderson (two), CB Ronde Barber (five), T Tony Boselli (seven), S Leroy Butler (five), RB Eddie George (one), WR Torry Holt (eight), LB Sam Mills (five), DL Richard Seymour (five), special teamer Steve Tasker (nine), RB Fred Taylor (three), LB Zach Thomas (four), WR Hines Ward (six), RB Ricky Watters (two), WR Reggie Wayne (three), LB Patrick Willis (three), S Darren Woodson (six) and DT Bryant Young (three).
The 26 semifinalists will be reduced to 15 finalists before the final voting process takes place over the Super Bowl weekend in February.
U.S. Soccer has selected two cold-weather venues for the men’s national team’s key World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador and Honduras early next year.
The United States, who are second in CONCACAF’S eight-nation qualifying competition that will send the top three to the 2022 World Cup, will play El Salvador on Jan. 27 in Columbus, Ohio and Honduras on Feb. 2 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Canada, who hold top spot in CONCACAF’S final round of qualifying with six games to go, beat Mexico 2-1 last week in Edmonton where snow and frigid temperatures may have helped them to victory. The conditions even became part of the celebrations when Canadian defender Sam Adekugbe dived into one of the many snowbanks lining the side of the pitch.
When asked if Canada’s win over Mexico played into the decision behind the venues for the qualifiers, a U.S. Soccer spokesman said they consider several factors when selecting venues, including weather and location.
Kendall Coyne Schofield never wanted to be a figure skater.
She preferred spending hours playing the informal game of shinny hockey with her older brother but found herself in a pair of figure skates aged three with the rest of the girls at the local ice rink when it came time for skating classes.
Coyne Schofield, who would grow up to become an Olympic gold medallist in ice hockey, lasted two days before she insisted on skating with the boys on the Nhlstyle rink. Today, she’s gunning for a spot at the Beijing Games in an entirely new era for girls sports.
“Girls are growing up knowing that there is a place for them in this sport,” said Coyne Schofield.
“We’re not where we need to be — we have a ways to go — but I’ve worked with thousands of girls and they don’t have older brothers.
“They just started the game because they may have seen me, they saw my teammates, they saw women’s hockey on TV.”
The 29-year-old, who won Olympic gold in 2018 and silver in 2014, hopes to inspire the next generation with her new book As Fast As Her: Dream Big, Break Barriers, Achieve Success, which melds memoir with practical advice for young adults.
The next step in her journey could be Beijing 2022, as she has trained full-time since Oct. 1 in Minnesota with other hopefuls for Team USA.