PHOENIX — As a sportwriter, this is one of my favorite days of the year.

It was election day for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I’m on the selection committee. I take the responsibility seriously and consider it a tremendous honor to participate in the process.

Saturday morning at the Phoenix Convention Center, we went into a large meeting room — there were 40 voters this time — and discussed the 17 finalists for nearly six hours.

I find this process superior to the voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, because it requires dialogue and debate. If someone favors a candidate, they explain why. If someone isn’t sure about a candidate, they raise questions. If someone is opposed to a candidate, they can speak out. You can turn to a person and try to convince them why they’re wrong, or missing the point. You can relay information about a candidate that might be overlooked. The panel is well prepared, so the dialogue is usually intelligent.  The exchanges are mostly thoughtful and civil and devoid of hostility.  

Saturday, we elected six new members. I’ll talk about them in a minute. But the best part of the day is when the new Hall of Fame class is revealed. At the announcement press conference, invariably a couple of the newly elected players show up to speak, and their emotional reactions are moving. You can see, first-hand, how meaningful this is to them… powerfully so. To see the joy on their faces … well, it’s just something that touches me. I savor those moments.

Before I do a review of this six enshrinees, let me say this: there are always disappointments, and frustrations, inside that room. There are never enough ballot spots for the many worthy candidates. When we boted to reduce the roster of finalists from 15 to 10 on Saturday, it was tough.  When we voted to cut it from 10 to five, it was excruciating.

I was disappointed that the late Kansas City Chiefs linebacker, Derrick Thomas, didn’t get in…again. But his time is coming. I felt bad for the great Denver inside linebacker, Randy Gradishar, who didn’t make it. It was his last year on the ballot. He was a tenacious, prolific tackler. And I think Cris Carter and Andre Reed are Hall of Fame receivers. They’ll get in. This was Carter’s first year of eligibility, and I think he’ll make it next year. That’s what happens to a lot of guys — squeezed out in the first year on the ballot, then a touchdown on the second try. 

I think the Committee did a positive thing by voting in four defensive players. There’s been an inexplicable imbalance in voting patterns in the modern era (post-1960). Before Saturday, of the previous 164 players enshrined in the Hall of Fame, 105 played offense, 58 played defense and there was one one kicker. The defense needs to be better represented in Canton, and Saturday was a start.

OK, here’s who we elected Saturday:

ART MONK: The belated election of the Redskins wide receiver after a long wait pleased me most of all. I’ve been a big Monk guy through the years. When Monk retired, he had 121 more catches than anyone in NFL history at that point. But he was underappreciated for a couple of reasons. Monk didn’t have a great yards-per-catch average (13.5) and a seemingly low touchdown total (68). But there were reasons for that: Monk was just doing the job and performing the role that coach Joe Gibbs mapped out for him. If Gibbs wanted Monk to be a deep threat, Monk easily could have stretched the defense and made those signature deep-ball receptions. But Monk was more valuable in other areas. Tall, strong and physical, Monk was a highly effective blocker who willingly and capably took on linebackers and safeties. His blocking skills were a real plus for the Redskins’ power running game. In Saturday’s meeting, I made this point to my colleagues: Monk was a starting receiver for the Redskins from 1980-1992, and during that time the team rushed for 216 TDs. Counting the postseason that was second-most by an NFL team during that period. We couldn’t have it both ways. We can’t criticize Monk for his low TD count and fail to respect that he was throwing blocks that helped Washington RBs charge into the end zone for TDs. In other words, don’t penalize Monk for having the kind of blocking ability that’s rare among WRs. A selfish, lazy player wouldn’t have blocked the way Monk did. A selfish, lazy player would have pouted because he wasn’t catching more TD passes. Not Monk; he happily sacrificed TD opportunities if it meant getting a TD for someone else. Monk was a great teammate. A winner. And a total football player. It’ll be great to see this man of few words stand tall on that stage in Canton on Aug. 2.

DARRELL GREEN: Another Redskin is on the way to Canton. Green, a total class act as a human being, had an amazingly durable and distinguished career. He played 20 NFL seasons, and retired in 2002 at age 42. He made 7 Pro Bowls, intercepted 54 passes, and was a sensational punt returner when used in that role. When the gracious and humble Green stepped to the microphone Saturday afternoon, he thanked Jesus Christ and wept when he mentioned his parents. His sincerity is 100 percent pure. He also thanked many of the wide receivers he went against during his career for challenging him and making him a better player. He even mentioned two St. Louis Cardinals, Roy Green and Pat Tilley. On our Team 1380 radio show Friday, D. Green said that the best battles of his career were against the Cardinals’ Roy Green. I told Darrell Green on the air that he had my vote, and that he would make it in on the first time. He didn’t like hearing that; he was nervous. I’m glad I was right for once. I told D. Green we shared the same birthday, Feb. 15. Happy Birthday, Darrell. A great person, a great CB.

ANDRE TIPPETT:  Some Chiefs fans are probably wondering why Tippett, who starred for New England, made it over Derrick Thomas. First of all, I want to say this: with two terrific pass rushers going in Saturday (Tippett and Fred Dean) it’s a good thing for the Thomas campaign, because it eases a logjam of quality pass rushers and opens a wider path to Canton. But please understand this, and I say this as a D. Thomas advocate: Tippett spent his career on the the strong side, which means he was lined up against the tight end. His coaches rarely freelanced with Tippett; he had to take on the TE and an OT on most snaps and encountered a lot of resistance en route to the QB. And Tippett still managed 100 sacks, and was second to Lawrence Taylor in sacks among LBs in the 1980s. That’s why Tipp made the All-Decade Team for the 1980s. And he was tough against the run. It is extremely difficult to find a strong-side LB who can get after the QB the way Tippett did. They are unique. That’s why he’s headed to Canton.

FRED DEAN: After the Chargers traded Dean to the 49ers in 1981, the fierce pass-rush specialist made a mark on the way the NFL game is played. Dean was the first guy consistently deployed as a QB-seeking missile on obvious passing downs, and amassed around 100 sacks. It was the advent of the edge rusher, and Dean helped the Niners win two Super Bowls. Once other teams looked at the 49ers to see how they were using Dean, they copied the idea, and the era of pass-rush specialists was on. I also like Richard Dent (Bears), and though Dent didn’t make it this time, I think he’ll get in soon. (Though Bills DE Bruce Smith appears on the ballot for the first time next season).

GARY ZIMMERMAN: Only the second Denver Bronco to be voted into the Hall (which is strange, given the team’s success over several decades). Zimmerman was a near-perfect left tackle. He’d go through entire seasons allowing only a sack, or a sack and a half, and sealed off the blind-side rush to give John Elway all the time he needed to rifle passes downfield. Elway had his most productive seasons with Zimmerman as his bodyguard. Amazingly, Zimmerman made two All-Decade Teams, the 1980s and the 1990s. (He started his NFL career at Minnesota in 1986). This was a slam-dunk candidate.

EMMITT THOMAS: Thomas, a tall (6-2) and physical bump-and-run cornerback, is the fifth member of that memorable late 1960s Chiefs defense to make it to Canton, following Willie Lanier, Bobby Bell and Buck Buchanan. Thomas had all of the credentials you’d want to see; his absence was a real oversight until now. The Senior Committee took up the cause and we voted him in. Emmitt had 58 regular-season interceptions, the fifth-most in NFL history at the time of his retirement in 1978. He made several big INTs in the postseason. Just a winning player, in every way. On a personal note, I was really happy to see Emmitt Thomas make it. He started his NFL coaching career in St. Louis, hired by Jim Hanifan. (Thomas thanked Hanifan and Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill on Saturday). And I got to know Emmitt in the mid-1980s. He’s a wonderful man. His son, Derek Thomas, coached basketball at CBC in St. Louis, and was an assistant at St. Louis U. and Illinois before becoming head coach at Western Illinois. I thought it was a shame that Emmitt Thomas never got the chance to be a head coach in the NFL (save for his interim-coach appointment in Atlanta this past season, after Bobby Petrino quit). As an assistant, Emmitt Thomas played a role in shaping Darrell Green in Washington, coaching the young CB in the early stages of his career. Thomas also coached the Redskins WRs, so he also worked with Monk.

It was a Washington Redskins’ World on Saturday.

And that’s a good thing — some joy and happiness after the pain that followed the tragic murder of defensive back Sean Taylor this past season.

Thanks for reading.

And thanks in advance for your comments…

If you have any questions about this election, I’ll be happy to try and answer … but not tonight.

It’s been a long day. Up at 6:15 a.m., in the meeting room at 7 a.m., the meeting, the Hall of Fame press conference, writing a column,  writing this blog. It’s 9:35 p.m., Phoenix time. I desperately require a beer.

–B