Top moments during the Hall of Fame enshrinement

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The 54th NFL Hall of Fame class was inducted Saturday night, pushing the total of enshrined football greats to 303.

The busts of Brett Favre, Kevin Greene, Eddie Debartolo Jr., Ken Stabler, d**k Stanfel, Orlando Pace, Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison were unveiled. Here are the highlights from all of the speeches:

Brett Favre

"Go Pack Go!" The chant echoed throughout the bowels of Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Throngs of Green Bay Packers fans had waited all night to greet their football legend, Brett Favre.

The ol" gunslinger didn"t disappoint.

Favre spent the first 22-plus minutes speaking emotionally about his family. He dove deep on the motivation he received from his father, who passed away in 2003.

He spent the rest reliving his time on the football field.

The three-time MVP credited former Packers GM Ron Wolf for remaking the Packers into its modern dynasty.

"Ron Wolf is the single most important person to the Packers" rebirth than any other person out there -- player, coach, GM," Favre said, noting he wouldn"t have been in Green Bay without Wolf"s bold move to trade for him. "...The single biggest free-agent acquisition in NFL history is Reggie White. Ron Wolf made it cool to come to Green Bay."

Favre acknowledged his time with the Falcons, Jets and Vikings (the last of which brought on boos from the Green Bay faithful). But added: "Make no mistake about it: I will be remembered as a Packer."

He also marveled at his own feats.

"Who ever thought a kid from Kiln, Miss., whose father ran the wishbone, would hold every NFL passing record at one time," he said.

He ended noting that the thing he was proudest of was not the records, it"s that he left everything he had on the football field.

"Did we win every game? No. Did I make mistakes? More than I can count. But there was never one time I didn"t give it all I had," he said.

Kevin Greene

Kevin Greene spoke with the intensity he brought to the football field.

After compiling the third-most sacks in NFL history, the former Rams, Steelers, Panthers and 49ers linebacker relished that his bust would sit next to Brett Favre"s in the Hall of Fame.

"I"m next to Brett Favre for eternity, right where a linebacker needs to be," he quipped.

The son of Col. T.R Greene discussed his life as the son of a military man, the importance that discipline brought to his life and the character it formed within.

Greene spoke charismatically about the players he faced.

A walk-on at Auburn, Greene talked about facing Bo Jackson in practice.

"He ran my a*s over," Greene said of Jackson. "I"ve got a peace about it because he ran a lot of a***s over."

And about going up against offensive tackle Jackie Slater with the Rams: "That man would carry a bible in one hand and a switchblade in the other."

Of Greene"s 160 career sacks, 97.5 came after age 30. He joyed in remembering the slobber-knocker Steelers defenses he played in during his tenure in Pittsburgh, calling it the "pinnacle of my football life."

Greene"s speech echoed the fierceness with which he played that football life.

"If you think about it, that"s the best a football player can do, is to exhaust his passion and go out on his own terms, and along the way, have fun, kicking people"s a***s with your brothers -- that"s always fun -- entertain some folks, develop some life-long relationships and enough health to play some football with your son and daughter in the front yard. So that was good."

Edward DeBartolo Jr.

"When Eddie DeBartolo took over the 49ers, they were horrible," Chris Berman began his introduction of the former San Francisco owner.

They weren"t bad for long.

During his ownership, the 49ers had the best winning percentage in the NFL in the 1980s and 1990s, won five Super Bowls, had 16 playoff appearances, went to 10 NFC Championship Games and averaged 13 wins per season from 1981-1998 (including playoffs; but not including the strike-shortened 1982 season).

DeBartolo"s speech signified his ownership: Family and football.

"For me, one of the biggest honors today is joining my guys Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Charles Haley, Freddy Dean, Steve Young and of course the great Bill Walsh. It"s no secret what a big part they played in me being here today," he said.

It was obvious why DeBartolo was one of the most well-loved owners in NFL history. He gave credit to all his players, coaches, training staff, grounds keepers, accountants and everyone who worked for his team.

"We did not see players as simply players, we saw them as men," he said. "We saw them as sons, husbands, fathers, brothers with families and responsibilities."

He even got in playful jabs at his former players, like telling the world teammates once called Jerry Rice "Fifi" and the greatest receiver in NFL history would change jerseys during the game if he was wet.

DeBartolo said he wished the NFL today would have more of that family feel.

"I think we could use more of that sense of family in the NFL today," he said. "...When the uniform comes off too."

Ken Stabler

"The Snake" led Oakland to a winning record in each of his nine seasons as a starter, including five straight division titles.

Sadly, Stabler died last year, having waited 27 years without getting the Hall of Fame call.

In his memory, a video tribute displayed Stabler"s lasting football impression. He led the NFL in TD passes in 1974 and 1976 and won Super Bowl XI with the Raiders

John Madden, after Stabler"s death, said: "I"ve always said, if I had one quarterback to make a drive the length of the field, at the end of the game, to win that game, that guy would be Ken Stabler, No. 12."

d**k Stanfel

The former Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins guard was one of the greatest blockers of his era. He made first-team All-Pro five times in seven seasons.

Stanfel was one of the best offensive linemen to ever play in the NFL.

He died in June 2015. He was posthumously inducted after waiting 54 years.

Stanfel was also known as one of the best offensive line coaches in football.

Marv Levy, who introduced Stanfel on Saturday, hired the blocker as a college assistant in 1963.

"Once I hired him as the coach at the University of California, sometimes he would demonstrate to our players without a helmet, without shoulder pads, how to trap an outside linebacker. And he not only blew them away, he blew me away watching. It was fantastic," Levy said in a video tribute.

Stanfel went on to coach as an assistant in the NFL for more than 30 years.

"I think he was the guard of the century," Levy said. "He was a credit to the game. His bust belongs here in Canton."

Orlando Pace

Orlando Pace became just the 15th No. 1 overall selection to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The theme of Pace"s speech was simple. He had one goal: Make the Hall of Fame.

"When you set your goal to be the very best, there is no other path," he said.

Pace, a Sandusky, Ohio, native, said he never spoke of his goal, but "unleashed the fire" on the field.

Boy did he ever.

As one of the greatest left tackles ever, Pace was the anchor for the Greatest Show on Turf. He blocked for three straight NFL MVPs (QB Kurt Warner -- 1999, 2001; RB Marshall Faulk -- 2000) and seven 1,000-yard rushers. The Rams" offense also threw for more than 3,000 yards in each of his 12 seasons with the team.

Pace thanked his high school, college and Rams coaches for challenging him "to be great every day."

He also thanked St. Louis fans, saying: "We brought a championship to that city. Nobody can take that away."

Tony Dungy

Tony Dungy spoke as he coached: A family-first man who won.

He began with a theme of disappointment, which he always overcame.

Dungy wasn"t drafted as a quarterback out of college, despite there being 12 rounds in the draft at the time. But he made the Pittsburgh Steelers as a cornerback. After two seasons, he was traded to San Francisco. His pro career ended a year later.

His career as a coach was just beginning.

Dungy credited all the coaches he worked under as an assistant, but gave special praise for the leadership the late Dennis Green taught him.

"(He) taught me about things on and off the field," Dungy said, noting that Green always made sure his staff spent time with their families.

Dungy took over a Buccaneers team in 1996 that had suffered 12 double-digit loss seasons in the previous 13 years. He finished at or above .500 in five of six seasons with Buccaneers.

After being fired, he then led the Indianapolis Colts to 12-plus wins in six of his seven seasons, including a Super Bowl championship.

"The reason I"m here, is the people I"m able to work with," Dungy said, acknowledging his former players in attendance.

As the first African American head coach ever to win a Super Bowl, Dungy ended by acknowledging all the minority coaches who came before.

"And finally I"d like to say thank you to 10 men (who were assistants when he entered the NFL in 1977)," he said. "It was a small group of men, just 10 of them if you can believe that. Ten African American assistant coaches in the entire NFL. Many of them never got the chance to move up the coaching ladder like I did. But they were so important to the progress of this league.

"Those men were like my dad. They didn"t complain about the lack of opportunities. They found ways to make the situation better. They"re role models and mentors to me and my generation to young African American players like Ray Rhodes, Terry Robiskie and Herm Edwards, (who) in the "80s were trying to decide whether we could make coaching a career or not. Without those 10 coaches laying the ground work, the league would not have the 200-plus minority assistant coaches it does today. And we would not have had Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy coaching against each other in Super Bowl 41.

"So tonight, as I join Fritz Pollard as the second African American coach in the Hall of Fame, I feel like I"m representing those 10 men and all the African American coaches who came before me and paved the way. I thank them very, very much."

Marvin Harrison

The soft-spoken Marvin Harrison marveled at the highlight reel shown during his introduction.

The former Indianapolis Colts receiver ranks third in the NFL history in receptions (1,102), seventh in receiving yards (14,580), and fifth in receiving touchdowns (128). He earned 1,000-plus yards and 10-plus touchdowns in eight straight seasons from 1999-2006 and set an NFL record with 143 receptions in 2002.

"I"ve broken a lot of records, I"ve held a lot of records, but records were made to be broken," he said, quipping that he wouldn"t have the shortest speech in Hall of Fame history.

Many of those catches were of the spectacular variety.

"They may look tough to me, but they were routine," he said.

Harrison credited former Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore with helping him set the all-time receiving record.

"Any time you come off a record-breaking season, you have 143 catches and the first day of training camp your coach comes over to you, he"s upset, he"s sad," Harrison said. "... He said "I"m a little upset with you." (I said) "Why would you be upset, I just had 143 catches?" "Because you should have had 150. I"m a little upset at that." ... Tom played an extremely big role in me being here today. He would always tell me, "I"m going to throw you the ball whether it"s double coverage. I don"t care who is guarding you so you better get over it because I"m going to keep throwing you the ball.""

And Harrison caught most of those b***s.

Chris Mortensen

Chris Mortensen is battling throat cancer, but that wouldn"t keep him away from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The long-time ESPN NFL Insider was on hand Saturday night to accept the d**k McCann Award, given by the Professional Football Writers of America for long and distinguished reporting on pro football.

NFL Media"s Steve Wyche noted that during the HOF induction ceremony, Hall of Famers Anthony Munoz, Bill Polian, Marcus Allen, Jim Kelly and others lined up backstage to speak and take pictures with Mortensen.

Everyone in the football world is praying for you, Mort.

Source: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000681220/article/top-moments-during-the-hall-of-fame-enshrinement

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NFL playoff format needs some adjustments

Christmas is Sunday for the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers. Instead of an ugly sweater or pair of tube socks, one of them will get the gift of an NFL playoff spot. And what a gift it is.

The teams will play for the NFC South title Sunday at the Georgia Dome. The division champion is guaranteed of two paradoxical occurrences it will finish with a losing record and host a playoff game. Its been a race to the bottom for the top spot in the NFC South all season, and the 6-9 Falcons and 6-8-1 Panthers are the last two teams standing in Weak, err, Week 17.

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And some people think the AFC East is the equivalent of the Staples easy button.

Bestowing playoff berths and home playoff games on teams with losing records that win divisions with fewer occupants than a college dorm room is what former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein would call a fatal flaw in the NFLs playoff system.

It devalues the chase for the Lombardi Trophy and undermines the notion that the 16-game regular season serves to distill the league to the most deserving teams.

There shouldnt be more teams to beat out to win your fantasy football league than earn an NFL playoff berth.

This season will mark the fifth time since 2008 that a division winner will make the playoffs despite having a worse record than a non-playoff team (2008, 2010, 2011, 2013). Its the second time since 2010 that a division winner is going to make the playoffs with a sub-.500 record the 2010 Seattle Seahawks went 7-9 to shut out 10-win Tampa Bay and New York Giants teams.

Patriots fans recall 2008, when the Matt Cassel-led Patriots were left standing outside the playoff club door with an 11-5 record, while the San Diego Chargers and their 8-8 record sauntered right in with the AFC West winner stamp.

Its unfathomable that a league that wont tolerate players wearing too colorful cleats would allow non-winning teams to keep moonwalking into the playoffs.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is on record saying he expects the league to expand the playoffs from 12 teams to 14 teams, adding a seventh team in each conference, for the 2015 season.

The league considered expanding the playoffs this season, but NFL owners tabled the discussions in May.

A 14-team playoff will go a long way to ameliorating the problem of rewarding mediocrity by geography. The leagues pigskin patricians shouldnt stop there. They should re-write the playoff format to preclude a division-winner with a non-winning record from being a higher seed than a wild-card club with a winning record.

This year that would mean that instead of the NFC South winner automatically getting the fourth seed in the playoffs and a home playoff date, they would drop to fifth and have to travel to face an opponent with double-digits wins (Detroit, Green Bay, Seattle, or Arizona).

Traditionalists are regurgitating their Cheerios at the idea that a division championship would be so devalued, some would say desecrated. A division title should mean something is the oft-recited retort.

It does. It means you get to make the playoffs, even when youre a lousy team.

What does a division championship really mean in todays NFL? It means you beat out three of the other 31 teams. Congratulations.

The NFL has set up four-team divisions too small to fail, even when the teams in them do.

The league went to the current playoff format, which has four four-team divisions in each conference and two wild-card entries, in 2002. From 1990 to 2001, each conference had three divisions and three wild-card berths.

The playoff expansion for 2015 is really a playoff correction, restoring access for a third wild-card team.

ESPNs Mike Sando crunched the numbers on playoff expansion. He found the average win total of the additional playoff team in each conference from 2002 to 2013 would be 9.1 wins. The average win total for the lowest-seeded division winners in each conference over that same time period was 9.6.

From 2008 to 2013, Sando found that the first teams out of the playoffs and the worst division winners averaged an identical 9.2 wins per season.

Thats proof that some deserving teams are being left out of the playoffs on the basis of semi-random, semi-accurate geographical groupings.

Not having the right teams in the postseason waters down the playoffs more than having additional teams.

Even with a move to 14 teams, the NFL isnt handing out playoff berths as participation trophies. Fewer than half the 32 teams would make the postseason. In the everybody-in-the-playoff-pool NBA and NHL more than half the league makes the playoffs.

This year, the seventh team in the AFC is guaranteed to have at least nine wins. The same goes for the NFC, where the 9-6 Philadelphia Eagles can only look on in envy as their avian brethren in Atlanta play for a playoff berth.

Its tough to advocate for the playoff worthiness of an (Off the) Mark Sanchez-quarterbacked team. If anyone questions whether Rex Ryan can coach in the NFL, look at the fact he went to two AFC title games with Sanchez. Even offensive savant Chip Kelly cant save Sanchez.

But fading Philadelphias three-game losing streak is nothing compared to the sinkholes in the rsums of the Falcons and Panthers.

The Panthers had a six-game losing streak this season and went seven consecutive games without a win. The Falcons had a five-game losing streak and havent been above .500 since September.

Teams with losing streaks like that make the NBA playoffs, not the NFL ones.

Bigger really is better if the NFL wants to fix its playoff format.

Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at cgasper@globe.com.

Source: http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/12/23/bigger-would-better-nfl-wants-fix-playoff-format/pKdCJYbDlr97hXqbao1O9N/story.html

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Donte Stallworth, former NFL wide receiver, working as a Huffington Post fellow

Donte Stallworth was on his morning commute last month, a five-block morning ritual in this attempt at a new life, when he walked past the White Houses north lawn. He smiled as he recalled an old memory.

Back in his old life way, way back when he was a football player, he and his University of Tennessee teammates were national champions and guests at the White House. Stallworth, a talented freshman wide receiver, hadnt played that 1998 season, sitting out as a redshirt, but he joined his team anyway as it presented President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore with orange Volunteers jerseys.

That was August 1999, and back then Stallworth was just an 18-year-old with his future in front of him, a kid with a small role in something big. Life, he said, looking back on this November morning, as a rookie.

Stallworth, now 34, went on to become a star at Tennessee, a first-round pick in the 2002 NFL draft, and a 10-year NFL veteran scarred and stigmatized by a reckless mistake that left one man dead . But as he walked west on Pennsylvania Avenue, his thumbs looped around backpack straps as he waited to cross 17th Street NW, Stallworth is a rookie again trying to make that difficult and unnerving transition from NFL life into the real world.

Three months ago, the Huffington Post, the internationally known Web site, named Stallworth as one of its national security fellows, a six-month internship of sorts that exposes hopeful journalists to the basics of reporting. He attends news conferences and forums, conducts interviews and writes stories, goes to budget meetings and works with editors who, at least for a while, found it difficult to look beyond Stallworths past. Im editing somebody who was [once] on my fantasy team, senior politics editor Sam Stein said.

Stallworth is, beneath so many other labels, a news junkie with strong opinions he has had no problem sharing over the past five years, for better or worse. During an era in which ex-athletes make headlines for blowing great fortunes and making life-altering mistakes, bouncing without purpose as they seek a new identity after their retirement, Stallworth believes he has found his new calling.

I never wanted to be defined by one thing, said Stallworth, who, six years after signing a contract with the Cleveland Browns that guaranteed him $10 million, now earns $10 per hour.

Before this Mondays shift began, he stopped for a mocha and an egg sandwich. He waved at an employee who recognized Stallworth from his NFL days, and he sat and took a bite when his phone buzzed.

Holy [expletive], he said. Chuck Hagels stepping down. Stallworth read an inter-office e-mail about how the resignation of the Secretary of Defense would be covered, curious if the plan would include him. Give me a second, he said, chewing as he consumed the words.

What I live with

Fifteen months ago, Stallworth still saw himself as a football player, even after the Washington Redskins cut him during the preseason. He kept training as he always had, rising at 7 a.m. and immediately hitting the gym. Like many ex-players, denial was the prevailing emotion after his football career ended. He was certain the phone would ring with another contract offer.

Since he was an 11-year-old in California, Stallworth had identified as a football player, though he liked to think of himself as more complex. He studied psychology at Tennessee and came to enjoy writing and architecture and politics, later keeping a daily journal and, during meals at a teams practice facility, turning one television from sports highlights and debate shows to cable news. He indulged his teammates with endless discussions about the issues of the day: Obamacare, Americas racial disparity, government surveillance programs.

Im sitting there, like: The h**l are you talking about? said Washington tight end Niles Paul, a former teammate of Stallworths and still a friend. But he makes you question certain things. It challenges you as a man.

Those interests, though, were hobbies and little more. Stallworth wore a helmet and caught footballs for a living, feeding his ego and fattening his bank account. He bought a house for his mother, bought expensive cars and, without fail, picked up the nights dinner or bar tab, no matter how many friends brought friends. You feel like its bottomless, said Stallworth, who in 2008 signed a seven-year, $35 million contract with the Cleveland Browns.

During the early-morning hours of March 14, 2009, Stallworth awoke to his ringing phone. Friends were celebrating a birthday at a Miami bar, and Stallworth was in a festive mood, too: A day earlier, he had earned a $4.5 million roster bonus from the Browns. He joined the group, ordering a bottle of Patron for the table and draining tequila shots with his friends. After driving home and sleeping for a short while, he awoke and went in search of food, speeding in his 2005 Bentley down the MacArthur Causeway when a 59-year-old pedestrian raced across the road to catch a bus. Im thinking hes going to stop, Stallworth recalled. He didnt stop.

The Bentley hit the man, a crane operator named Mario Reyes, killing him, and a test showed Stallworths blood-alcohol content was .126, above Floridas .08 legal limit. Stallworth eventually pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter. He served 24 days of a 30-day jail sentence, had his drivers license suspended for life, and was suspended from the NFL without pay for the 2009 season. He later avoided a civil lawsuit by settling with Reyess family for an undisclosed sum.

He said recently that no punishment was as severe as the guilt that he still feels, imagining Reyess children growing up without their father. You dont want to live with what I live with, said Stallworth, who has spent much of the past five years trying to atone further for his lapse in judgment, speaking to NFL rookies last summer about the dangers of drunken driving.

When Stallworth was reinstated, the Browns terminated his contract, turning Stallworth into an NFL drifter. He signed with Baltimore but broke his foot in the preseason. He turned 30. He grew slower. His reaction times diminished. The Ravens didnt re-sign him. He joined Washington, which cut him after the 2011 season. He injured his hamstring. New England signed him and, after a foot injury ended his season after just one game, he did not return to the Patriots. Coaches promises, a source of hope, turned dim and desperate. Washington released him after training camp last year, but Coach Mike Shanahan told him to keep in shape and close to the phone.

Weeks passed. He kept training, and then one morning, he awoke at the usual time.

But rather than heading to the gym, he lay in bed, denial finally giving way to acceptance. He was no longer a football player, so he clicked on the television and watched The Newsroom for six hours, thinking the characters seemed to have interesting jobs.

Hes here to be a reporter

Three months after Reyess death, Stallworth filled the summer hours by experimenting with Twitter, joining the service in June 2009 amid a suspicion it would be too Orwellian for him.

He tweeted often, and after a month he was comfortable enough to share a few political opinions and conspiracy theories, including his belief that a commercial jet had never crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. At the time, he admitted recently, he believed that Osama bin Laden had not been responsible for the terrorist acts on one of the most infamous days in American history. NO WAY 9/11 was carried out by dying Bin Laden, 19 men who couldnt fly a d**n kite. STILL have NO EVIDENCE Osama was connected, like Iraq, Stallworth tweeted in July 2009.

He later shared his doubts about the purpose of vaccines and the global warming hoax, as he once put it, earning a following not just because of his NFL fame but because of his willingness to share his thoughts on any subject. Stallworth, a willing and thoughtful interview subject throughout his football career, began receiving requests to appear on cable news shows. Amanda Terkel, a politics managing editor at Huffington Post, later interviewed Stallworth for a story about marriage equality, and by October 2013, Stallworth had a standing invitation to contribute occasional blog entries for the outlet.

At the time, he was hoping to continue his NFL career, if no longer as a player then as a potential coach, and later interned on Ravens Coach John Harbaughs staff. When Stallworth passed through Washington, he visited the Huffington Post office, chatting with staffers.

He was packing his things in Miami this past September, planning to move to New York, when his phone rang. Huffington Post offered him the fellowship, and Stallworth accepted; because he cannot legally drive, he asked a friend to drive him to Washington.

A few journalists saw the maneuver as a publicity-fueled gimmick, bringing on a former NFL player with a complicated, well-known past as a contributor in a click-bait environment. Ben White, chief economics correspondent for Politico, tweeted that Stallworths addition was one of the stupidest media stunts Ive seen in a while, followed by a thorough lampooning by ESPN commentator Keith Olbermann.

Terkel, the Huffington Post editor who oversees the fellowship, said the program is designed to provide instruction and experience to potential journalists from various backgrounds and ability levels. If anybody thought he was here as a publicity stunt, Donte doesnt think that, Terkel said. Hes here to be a reporter.

The morning after Stallworths fellowship was announced, he took to Twitter to post the following: Just to be clear, I no longer feel the way I did in that tweet 5 years ago. After a lot of reading and researching on it, my views changed... and thats ok.

When Stallworth was asked about his theories, or former theories, he answered simply: Its what I believed at the time, he said.

Brand new training camp

During the first two months of his fellowship, Stallworth borrowed a tape recorder from a colleague and learned that enthusiasm for transcribing interviews is among the first casualties of day-to-day journalism. He learned the curiosity and disappointment when Capitol Hill interview subjects breezed past without acknowledging reporters That used to be me! Stallworth said the fascination and satisfaction of a 96-year-old World War II veteran sharing her memories, the hope and fear of sitting down to write.

Stallworths introduction to full-time journalism was that it takes more than a casual interest to survive. He missed his first deadline, suffered his first thorough edit, reminded himself that a cliche was like a dropped pass and unverified sentences are like a fumble near the end zone. He asked questions, admitting that he is a former athlete in an unfamiliar environment.

There are no pretenses to it, said Stein, the politics editor. Hes a person in a totally new field, who doesnt want to embarrass himself.

Stallworth, who played in Super Bowl XLII, volunteered to make a doughnut run for the staff and sat in a corner during a recent staff meeting. When he was walking toward his apartment shortly after President Obamas immigration speech last month, Stallworth followed the remarks and, to his colleagues surprise, had the instincts to stop and interview strangers near the White House.

Stallworth said his fellowship has been like his first NFL training camp: humbling but essential. And like a training camp, these months will determine whether Stallworth is simply a brief guest in journalism or, after his fellowship expires in March, whether he belongs. He said he hopes to join Huffington Post on a full-time basis, calling it his dream job.

After his shift ended on a Monday in late November, he walked to a restaurant in Penn Quarter and sipped imported beer with his eyes fixed on televisions showing the intersection of Stallworths two worlds, a pair of NFL games and news coverage from Ferguson, Mo., where demonstrators had gathered and a prosecuting attorney was about to speak.

The Saints and Ravens, two of Stallworths former teams, were playing, the jersey numbers of a few friends flashing occasionally across the screens. Stallworth cheered when he saw them. Otherwise, he checked Twitter, sent texts, read e-mails.

I just knew football wouldnt be the end of my story, he said as he watched the TVs, eyes fixed mostly on the one in the center, showing images that made him hopeful for the future, rather than the ones that reminded him of the past.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/donte-stallworth-former-nfl-wide-receiver-working-as-a-huffington-post-fellow/2014/12/22/22bcce04-87a9-11e4-9534-f79a23c40e6c_story.html

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