The never sleeping Michael David Smith, who somehow finds time to write for PFT, FO, AOL, and Fox Sports (that I know of) while still finding the time to publish, ceased from his busy schedule to not only write about an issue relevant to Redskins fans but alert this writer of said event. You can find the article here at CNNSI or merely the relevant portions at The Art Monk Hall of Fame Campaign which never misses anything Monk related.
As many of you well know, Paul Zimmerman, Dr. Z of Sports Illustrated, has been one of the most vocal opponents to Art Monk's HoF bid. He's also a voter, which means his dissent alone represents 1/9th of the opposition required to block a candidate. And yet he had this to say in his most recent column:
The Hall of Fame (I thought we were over that last week) comes surging to the fore, and the name that simply won't go away, that of Art Monk, has drawn what Andrew described as "triple-figure e-mails." He has chosen, as the spokesman for this group, Chris of Martinsburg, W. Va., who presents a pretty solid case for this ex-Redskins wideout. Once we get past the usual list of statistics (yawn), we get to the real stuff:
"His team speech about recommitment near the end of the previous season seemed to be a real momentum-builder for the Super Bowl run in 1991. He blocked and never cried about not getting the damn ball. He didn't have a long term relationship with Montana, Young or Marino. He had at least four QBs while in DC."
All a decent setup. There is so much more that needs to be said in support of Art Monk but that's as good a place to start as any. Emphasis mine coming up:
OK, we all know that I have been a Monk negative for many years. My line has been "catching 800 8-yard hooks just doesn't do it for me." Maybe it's time to take a closer look at that rather supercilious observation. Maybe a player who has drawn such a loyal following, year in year out, deserves more serious consideration. And perhaps those Redskin fans aren't mere nudniks, as I've unfortunately come to regard them, but people who might, just might, have a more accurate reading on the situation than I do. I'm not saying that you're swinging me over completely; it's just that I'm a lot closer to Monk's legitimacy as a Hall of Famer than I used to be.
Hardly a firm endorsement, but at this point we'll take what we can get. Thanks again to MDS for bringing my attention to this.
The Fun Bunch, Dr. Z From Sports Illustrated is an Idiot