Steve Mcnair

Barring a change of mind by voters, former Ravens quarterback Steve McNair will not be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In The Baltimore Sun's poll of selectors this week, the three-time Pro Bowl player would fail to gain the 80 percent approval needed for election. Seventeen of the 24 voters who responded to The Sun - the committee has 44 members - said they did not consider McNair a Hall of Fame quarterback because he lacked elite career numbers. McNair, who was shot and killed Saturday, is eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2013.

THURSDAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS NASCAR K&N Pro Series: Roseville (T) SPEED3 MLB play. NCLS, Gm. 3: San Fran.@St. Louis (T) MLB11 a.m. ALCS, Gm. 5: Yankees@Detroit (if nec.) TBS4 NCLS, Gm. 4: San Fran.@St. Louis 45, 57:30 NBA pre. Utah@Clippers (T) NBANoon Cleveland@Philadelphia (T) NBA2:30 Boston@Brooklyn TNT8 C. foot. Duke@Virginia Tech (T) CSNNoon Richmond@New Hampshire (T)

Nobody spoke Saturday of the sordid details of Steve McNair's death. At the Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, Miss., the former Ravens and Tennessee Titans quarterback was remembered as a father, husband, son, teammate and mentor by some of the nearly 5,000 people in attendance. "Steve was like a hero to me," Titans quarterback Vince Young said, "and heroes are not supposed to die." Article, PG 7

Prior to the current four-division configuration in the AFC, the Ravens had belonged in the AFC Central, a format that pitted them against Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans on a regular basis through the 2001 season. The Ravens and Titans will meet for the 17th time in a series that is often remembered as being one of the most rugged and evenly-played for both franchises. The all-time series is tied at 8-8, and both sides have won four games at home and four games on the road.

OK, time to put that Heisman Trophy-Air II McNair (his brother Fred was Air I) business to rest.To be sure, Steve McNair had an eye-popping season with those numbers recorded against specious competition, and for his work he was rewarded handsomely. The I-AA player ended up third in the voting behind running backs Rashaan Salaam (714 votes) and Ki-Jana Carter (466), his name appearing on 348 ballots, and that's terrific testimony. After all, he garnered 28 more votes than the All-America quarterback, Kerry Collins of 11-0 Penn State.

In discussing Steve McNair yesterday, cornerback Samari Rolle referred to the retiring quarterback as Hall of Fame timber. Certainly McNair's legacy as the consummate NFL "warrior" - to use the well-worn vernacular of the locker room - is without question. His hallmark is that he played with admirable efficiency while suffering injury after injury, with damaged body parts taped and numbed, and did it with perseverance and courage through 13 seasons. However, getting into Canton will be an uphill battle for him. The list of latter-day quarterbacks who have been elected to the Hall of Fame who have not led a team to a Super Bowl title or NFL or AFL championship is short.

In his much-anticipated return to Tennessee, Ravens quarterback Steve McNair will be battling conflicting memories as much as the Titans on Sunday. Stepping onto LP Field for the first time as the opposition, McNair will see flashes of his countless comebacks for the Titans, the run to the Super Bowl in the 1999 season and the co-Most Valuable Player season in 2003. Ravens@Titans Sunday, 1 p.m., Ch. 13, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM Line: Ravens by 7

Quarterback Steve McNair is rehabilitating his shoulder every day, either at the Ravens training facility in Owings Mills or in his home state of Tennessee. He has heard talk about his possible retirement and speculation that the Ravens might trade for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. McNair, 35, doesn't care about either. His only focus is getting completely healthy for this season, because he plans to return as the Ravens' starting quarterback. "Being a competitor, I understand that people are always going to put something, some name out there," McNair said in his first public statements since the end of last season.

Steve McNair played it right out of the Superstar Retirement Handbook. He said the right things. He did it the right way. He retired on his own terms and - best of all - walked off into the sunset without a noticeable limp. There certainly is room to wonder whether there is more to the story than McNair and Ravens officials let on during his farewell news conference yesterday at the Castle, but it didn't really matter because it was - regardless of any internecine intrigue - the right decision for all concerned.

Let's not pretend we didn't see this day coming eventually. We just didn't know it was coming this specific day. Everybody knew the Steve McNair era in Baltimore would end soon -- the fans knew, McNair had to know and certainly the Ravens knew. But it happened yesterday, and now the Ravens have a couple of options. An intelligent one, befitting an intelligent organization. Or a delusional one. The Ravens have to take the intelligent path -- one, by the way, already being followed by the other major league franchise in town, that until now had mastered the art of delusion.

Because Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis is in his 16th season, there is always speculation the current season could be his last. Some have suggested that if the Ravens win a Super Bowl, Lewis and Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed would both retire. Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said he has not heard that from either player, and he'd like to see both retire in Baltimore. But, it won't be at any price. "No, I have not," said Newsome about hearing if Lewis or Reed would retire at the end of this season.

A chance to be special Chris Dufresne Los Angeles Times Just got done watching snippets of former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton's media workout. This just in: Newton is really good. What's hilarious about the NFL is it prods, pokes and measures its quarterback prospects and still drafts Ryan Leaf in the top five and Tom Brady in the sixth round. The NFL gets so caught up on analysis, it sometimes turns into paralysis. I don't need a stopwatch or combine to tell me Newton will make it in the NFL. Sometimes you just need to watch a guy. It's true Newton, like Alex Smith, Vince Young and Tim Tebow, must adjust from the spread-style offense to the pro game.

It's impossible to go through the 2000 Super Bowl season without remembering the Ravens divisional playoff win against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville. There is not a better game in team history. I covered it live and have watched it six times on tape. The game was exciting, exhilarating and exhausting. There were more subplots and story lines than a TV reality show, and it had as much drama and theatrics as any prime time event from World Wrestling Entertainment. In between that 60 minute period, a season was played out in microcosm as Ravens head coach Brian Billick milked every ounce of energy and passion from his players as well as himself.

College football 3 from Morgan State among finalists for Black College Hall The Black College Football Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2011 finalists Monday, and five of the 35 have ties to Maryland schools. Former Morgan State offensive lineman Roosevelt Brown , running back Leroy Kelly and coach Earl Banks are joined by offensive lineman Art Shell and running back Emerson Boozer , both of Maryland State College, now known as UMES. The Hall of Fame's second annual class will include 11 new members at the ceremony Feb.19 in Atlanta.

When the floods came to Nashville in early May, Bishop Joseph Walker III immediately thought about Steve McNair. He knew what the former Tennesee Titans and Baltimore Ravens quarterback would have done to help the victims of his adopted city, where McNair had become as beloved for his compassion and generosity off the field as he had been for his competitiveness and grit on it. As the torrential rains continued and the casualties mounted, Walker's...

A year ago, Vincent Hill was like many others in Nashville caught up in watching and reading news reports on the death of former Tennessee Titans and Ravens quarterback Steve McNair. But as details emerged about what police called a murder-suicide that also took the life of McNair's 20-year-old mistress, Hill became suspicious. "There are too many coincidences in this case for it to be a murder-suicide," Hill, a former Nashville police officer, recalled thinking. There was the manner in which police say McNair was shot.

Samari Rolle knew something didn't seem right with Steve McNair when he saw the Ravens quarterback at the team's complex in Owings Mills yesterday morning. "His eyes were welled up," Rolle recalled a few hours later. "I said, `What were you doing last night?' " It was then that McNair revealed to his longtime teammate in Tennessee and Baltimore that he was retiring after a 13-year NFL career. "He was like, `I'm R-ing today," Rolle said. "R-ing? He said, `I'm retiring.' It felt like the first time you get cut from a team."

A convicted murderer who sold the gun to Steve McNair's mistress that she used to kill the ex- Ravens quarterback and herself was pursuing the young woman romantically. Adrian Gilliam, 33, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on Friday in Nashville, Tenn., for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Metropolitan Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron said after the hearing that text messages between Gilliam and Sahel Kazemi, 20, showed there was "a desired relationship" with Kazemi.

The last man standing from the wide receiver class of 1997 is still stalking defensive backs after all these years. At 35, Derrick Mason has the same burning passion he brought into the NFL 13 years ago. He even has the same burning motivation. "I still have a chip on my shoulder from getting drafted in the fourth round," the Ravens' playmaking wide-out said this week. "It's always going to be on my shoulder, regardless of what my situation is. I've always had a chip on my shoulder because 29 teams thought I was not good enough to be on their team and one decided I was. That's what always motivates me to continue to play."