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    Thumbs up #22 Retires..

    Incredible live news conference i saw on NFL network today..
    great career, & saluted his heros before him, class act!





    End of an era

    NFL’s leading rusher Smith calls it quits just days after denying retirement talk

    By Eric Edholm
    Feb. 3, 2005


    Emmitt Smith announces his retirement in Jacksonville Thursday afternoon

    JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Initially denying that reports of his retirement were greatly exaggerated, Emmitt Smith — the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 18,355 yards and the league’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns with 164 — announced his retirement Thursday.

    Smith, 35, played the past two seasons with the Cardinals after 13 years with the Cowboys. He won three Super Bowl titles with Dallas in the 1990s, playing alongside QB Troy Aikman and WR Michael Irvin, a Hall of Fame finalist this week.

    The Dallas Morning News, one of the various news agencies reporting Smith would retire Tuesday, contacted Smith Wednesday evening but he wasn’t ready to announce his intention to retire just yet. Smith told them, “Did you see my year last year? Do you think I’m ready to retire?”

    But he changed his mind after learning that the Cardinals were not going to re-sign him despite the fact that he rushed for a team-high 937 yards and nine touchdowns in his contract year in 2004. He would have become a free agent March 1.

    Smith entered his press conference with his wife, Pat, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who flew in today to be with Smith. Cardinals head coach Denny Green and former Cowboys FB Daryl Johnston — Smith’s lead blocker for many years — also were in attendance.

    “I think it’s only fitting for me to leave the game of football and retire a Dallas Cowboy,” Smith said. “It was a tremendous ride, one I am very proud of.”

    In his farewell speech, Smith thanked hundreds of former coaches, teammates, doctors and staff along with family members and friends.

    Smith joked that his list was “extremely long.” No one seemed to mind.

    Among the people Smith thanked, he made extra mention of former Cardinals head coach Dave McGinnis, the Bidwill family (owners of the Cardinals), Green, Johnston and Jones. Smith got a nice laugh, too, when he thanked “even Troy Hambrick,” the man who was supposed to replace Smith in Dallas but ironically became his backup in Arizona after Hambrick was cut by the Cowboys.

    When Smith looked over Johnston’s way, he broke out in tears for the first time. “I don’t know why, but every time I think of you I start to break down,” Smith said, crying and laughing. “I thought I could make it (without crying).”

    Smith finished the first part of his speech with his longest thanks for Jones. He thanked the Cowboys owner and former coach Jimmy Johnson for “taking a gamble on me. They gave me an opportunity for a life greater than I could imagine.”

    He then pointed to the insignia on the Cowboys helmet on the table in front of him, saying “you don’t know how much this star means to me.”

    Jones then spoke briefly, thanking the Bidwill family for giving Smith a chance to play beyond his years in Dallas and extolling Smith’s virtues for his time as a Cowboy. “From Day One, (Smith) had an inordinate respect for the game. That’s why I am honored to be here. You were always a Cowboy,” Jones said. “When you are royalty, there are a lot of people to thank.”

    Smith then spoke once more and took questions from the media.

    The Patriots and Eagles players in Jacksonville have been well aware of the talk surrounding his potential retirement the past few days. Patriots RB Corey Dillon said Smith was a player he has watched and respected for years.

    “He’s a tremendous running back. He may go down as the best of all-time. There are a lot of backs that have come through this league, but for a guy like that to accomplish what he has, it’s unheard of,” Dillon said. “I have a lot of respect for him. In high school and through my junior-college years I used to watch him. I’ve always admired him. He’s one of the best.”

    Eagles QB Donovan McNabb feels Smith could have extended his career by at least one more season.

    “You are talking about a guy that ranks among the top in running backs,” McNabb said. “He definitely deserves all of the attention he is going to get. Just meeting the guy and knowing him a little bit, it (was) a tough decision for him. … I believe he had 900 yards rushing this year and he sat out a couple of games. That shows a lot right there. People talk about his age, but what about his effectiveness? I think he showed that.”

    Added Patriots LB Ted Johnson: “He’s such a low-key, classy individual. And what he’s been able to achieve hasn’t been given just due. He’s such an ambassador of the game. Football has been good to him, and I hope he reciprocates it by staying close to the game. I hope he doesn’t completely walk away; I hope he doesn’t fade away.”

    Smith’s 18,355 rushing yards rank first in NFL history. The current active rushing leader is Jets RB Curtis Martin, who ranks fifth all-time with 13,366 yards through 10 seasons. Steelers RB Jerome Bettis, right behind Martin in sixth place on the list with 13,294 rushing yards, has been rumored to be mulling retirement as well.

    Smith rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 11 consecutive seasons from 1991-2001 and led the NFL in rushing three times. He was named NFL MVP once (in 1993) and was the Super Bowl MVP the same season.
    =================================================

    Courtesy Profootball weekly-
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    damn just scrolled down, 2 threads on this..close it then, sorry-

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