* More than most, Florida native and FSU alum Deion Sanders earned his way into the NFL Hall of Fame. A great athlete as well as a great football player. A
consummate difference maker.
Unfortunately, Sanders’ legacy isn’t limited to touchdowns and interceptions. His “Prime Time” persona embodied the conversion of the NFL from a game played by the very best football players to an exercise in look-at-me show business. The media has been a co-conspirator as it salivated over star-quality boorishness, and the Sanders-like personalities were routinely lionized and commercialized. Any wonder that at his HOF induction he affixed a do-rag to his Canton bust?
And one other facet of Sanders’ legacy. He even has an NCAA rule named after him. The “Deion Sanders Rule” says that a college player who has stopped going to classes is not eligible to play in any games (read: bowl games) during that period.
Yes, “Neon” Deion deserves his HOF status. Just don’t confuse him with being a class act. He’s no Ronde Barber, who should join him in the HOF in a few years.
* The best American tennis player in the world is Tampa resident Mardy Fish, 29, currently ranked 8th. He’ll definitely be the highest-seeded American in the upcoming U.S. Open. The only downside: The best American player in the world used to be ranked a lot higher than 8th.