CANTON, Ohio -- Andre Reed delivered the emotion and managed to hook up for one more catch from Jim Kelly on the Pro Football Hall of Fame stage. And leave it to Michael Strahan and his familiar gap-toothed grin to bring the laughs in closing the ceremony honouring the seven inductees Saturday night. The defensive end cracked he was still a little scared of former New York Giants teammate Lawrence Taylor. Strahan singled out former Philadelphia tackle Jon Runyan in the crowd and referred to him as his toughest opponent and "350 pounds of twisted steel and non-sex appeal." And Strahan even had a kiss blown to him on stage from Kelly Ripa, his morning TV show co-host. "Thank you, baby," he said. Strahan, one of the games most dominant pass-rushers, closed the ceremony that ended just before midnight -- nearly two hours later than scheduled. The ceremony went so late that Strahan noted that it was past his bedtime and joked that if the event lasted any longer he and his fellow inductees would be considered the 2015 class. Also inducted were offensive tackle Walter Jones, linebacker Derrick Brooks, defensive back Aeneas Williams, defensive end Claude Humphrey and Ray Guy, who became the first full-time punter to be selected. It was Reed, the former Buffalo Bills receiver, who stole the spotlight by closing his induction speech with a poignant surprise. Turning his back to the crowd, Reed caught a pass from Kelly before sharing a lengthy hug with his former teammate and now fellow Hall of Famer. It was a fitting finish for a tandem that set a then-NFL record by hooking up 663 times in Buffalo. And it was a moment that paid homage to the quarterback, who has spent the past 14 months battling cancer. "You taught us not to quit," Reed said about Kelly. "You have endured a lot in your life. The loss of your son, and most recently your battle with cancer. Youre an inspiration to all you touch." Kelly was near tears, and the thousands of Bills fans in the crowd cheered. Even louder cheers went up when Reed delivered a message to any Bills prospective ownership group having an intention of buying and relocating the franchise. "Oh yeah, and the Bills will stay in Buffalo, too," Reed said. The Bills are on the block after founder and Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson died in March. The ceremony began with Brooks, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers star, who was selected for induction in his first year of eligibility, and followed by the 70-year-old Humphrey, who retired after the 1981 season. "Now they tell me I only had 10 minutes up here, but let me start off by telling you that Ive waited 30 years to get to this podium, so dont rush me guys," said Humphrey, a six-time Pro Bowl selection who split 13 NFL seasons between the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles. Guys wait was nearly as long. The seven-time Pro Bowl selection spent his 14-year career with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. At 64, he was selected for induction in his 23rd year of eligibility. "Its been long, long overdue, but now the Hall of Fame has a complete team," said Guy, who had as many as 20 former punters in the crowd to help him celebrate. "To know my legacy will be forever part of pro football history and that my bust will be alongside the greatest athletes of all time, it leaves this old punter speechless." Williams livened up the mood late in his speech during which he had one side of Fawcett Stadium chanting: "Begin with the end in mind," to remind people how important it is to set goals. And he had the other side chanting: "Die empty," to remind people to give their all. It was a fitting message from an eight-time Pro Bowl selection. He was an accounting major at Southern University, who walked on to the football team a week before the start of his junior season. Selected in the third round of the 1991 draft, he proceeded to split 14 seasons between the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams. Williams retired after the 2004 season and was selected for induction in his fifth year of eligibility. "If you would have told me, Aeneas, you have to the potential to be one of the best cornerbacks, I would have thought you were crazy and hit you with my right hand," Williams said. "Ill just take a moment to soak this all in." Brooks, an 11-time Pro Bowl selection, paid tribute to family members, teammates and coaches, from his Pee-Wee playing days to his 14 NFL seasons in Tampa Bay. He thanked his late mother Geraldine Brooks-Mitchell for instilling humility in him. He referred to former Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy as his mentor. And Brooks thanked Dungys successor, Jon Gruden, for helping the Buccaneers believe they could be champions. It was under Gruden when the Bucs blossomed into Super Bowl winners during the 2002 season in which Brooks earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honours. "There is no higher place to go in this game, and I thank you guys," Brooks said. Jones, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection who spent his 12-year career in Seattle, thanked Seahawks fans for their overwhelming support. And he was honoured to be only the third player who spent their entire careers in Seattle, joining receiver Steve Largent and defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy. John Gant Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Wild getting Matt Moulson from Buffalo. The Wild Get: LW Matt Moulson and LW Cody McCormick. Brett Cecil Cardinals Jersey . - Rookie Kyle Larson will start from the pole position Saturday night in the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway after a thunderstorm arrived just in time to wash out qualifying. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/. The three Calgary natives will compete after the sport was skipped by the Vancouver Games in 2010 but later included on the program for Sochi, Russia. The fight to include womens ski jumping prior to Vancouver went to the courts only to have the Supreme Court of Canada rule against the athletes appeal in 2009. Ken Boyer Cardinals Jersey .C. -- When Michael Jordan speaks, people still listen. Cardinals Jerseys China . The top-ranked Spaniard won his fourth Madrid Open on Sunday after Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw with a hip injury when trailing 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 in the final. And Nadal, who is coming off to uncharacteristic quarterfinal losses on clay, said his mental strength is still lacking just two weeks ahead of the French Open.(SportsNetwork.com) - With a chance to grab second in the Atlantic Division the Toronto Maple Leafs will have extra motivation as coach Randy Carlyle makes his return to the Honda Center to face his former team, the Anaheim Ducks tonight. Listen to the game live on TSN Radio Toronto 1050 at 10pm et. Carlyle served as head coach of the Ducks for six-plus seasons before getting fired on Nov. 31, 2011 and replaced by Boudreau. The Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007 under Carlyle, who went 273-182-61 during his time with Anaheim. The Maple Leafs currently sit third in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of the fourth-place Tampa Bay Lightning and one point behind the Canadiens. Carlyle won his first matchup versus the Ducks since getting fired, a 4-2 victory at home on Oct. 22. Phil Kessel had a hat trick for Toronto and Dion Phaneuf notched a goal in the Leafs fourth straight victory over the Ducks. Toronto also has won eight of the previous 11 meetings overall and four of the last six in Anaheim. "Toronto is a great team," Boudreau told his clubs website. "They have the highest scoring line in the league, and they can skate. And, its Randys first trip back. Theyre going to be all pumped up. It should be an exciting game, and it should be a really tough game." Hiller made 19 saves in that October loss and is 0-4-0 in his career versus the Maple Leafs with a 4.84 goals against average. Jonathan Bernier made 23 saves and is 3-1-1 lifetime versus the Ducks with a 2.22 GAA and will start in goal tonight. Toronto is beginning a five-game road trip tonight and is just 12-12-7 as the guest compared to 22-11-1 at home. The Maple Leafs hit the road having gone 4-1-2 in their last seven games, winning two straight in overtime. That includes a 4-3 triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Toronto led 2-0 after the first period and 3-2 with 6:26 lefft in the third period, but Philadelphia forced overtime on a goal with 2:32 on the clock.dddddddddddd Joffrey Lupul was able to secure the extra point for his club when he scored 2:21 into the extra frame. "We dont want to make a habit of blowing third-period leads, but things are going to happen and other teams are going to make plays," said Lupul. "We stuck with it and there was a good feeling on our bench going into overtime." Mason Raymond, Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner also lit the lamp in the win. Troy Bodie supplied two assists and Bernier made 28 stops. The Ducks, idle since Friday, have followed up a three-game winning streak with back-to-back shootout losses, giving them 93 points on the season and a four-point edge over the San Jose Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division. However, Anaheim now sits a point behind St. Louis for the most in the league after the Blues recorded a shootout victory on Sunday. The Ducks have been defeated in consecutive six-round shootouts, first falling to the Montreal Canadiens last Wednesday before a 3-2 defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins two nights later. In the sixth round, Pittsburghs Brandon Sutter went to the backhand and lifted it high past Jonas Hiller. Ryan Getzlaf had the last chance for Anaheim, but he missed with a backhand attempt. Corey Perry had both goals in regulation for the Ducks, while Hiller turned away 15 shots in the loss. "I thought we played a great game," said Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau. "Take away their power play, and I think they had 10 or 11 shots, which is great. We followed our game plan to a tee. We just lost in a shootout." Anaheim lost defenseman Luca Sbisa to a lower-body injury on Friday and he may sit out tonight when Carlyle returns to Anaheim for the first time as the coach of the Maple Leafs. ' ' '
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