A call for Cortez?
<p>FILE- In this Aug. 11, 2006 file photo, former Seattle Seahawks tackle Cortez Kennedy smiles following a news conference at the football team's stadium in Seattle. Corter a Former Defensive of the Year and University of Miami graduate is waiting to see if he gets the call to join Pro Football's Hall of Fame announcement this weekend. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)</p>
Cortez Kennedy's home resembles a museum devoted to his football career.
His last Seattle Seahawks helmet is perched on a shelf, and his Miami degree - the one he went back to finish at his own expense after leaving school early for the NFL - is on the wall, not far from photos of him posing with two U.S. Presidents. There's a street sign bearing his name from his hometown, framed letters from giants of sport, palm trees around the pool, unbelievable golf-course views and just about anything else he would want.
Some days, his biggest dilemma is deciding whether to catch the afternoon flight from Florida back home to Arkansas for a quick deer hunting trip.
His life is happy, full, complete. Well, almost complete.
"People always ask me, 'Do you think you should be in the Hall of Fame?'" Kennedy said, sitting in the office of his home near Orlando. "I always say yes."
On Saturday, he'll find out if others agree.
For the fourth time, Kennedy is a finalist for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This year's class will be decided Saturday, on the eve of the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. He would be the 14th defensive tackle to be chosen, and his numbers - eight Pro Bowls, three All-Pro nods - compare with others who have gotten the Hall's call.
"I can honestly tell you, if getting in the Hall of Fame is my biggest worry, then I'm doing OK," Kennedy said. "So I guess I'm doing OK."
He was the league's defensive player of the year in 1992 - for a team that won two games. He made 58 sacks, went through his first seven seasons without missing a single game, played in at least 15 games 10 times in his 11 seasons, and turned down some fairly lucrative contracts at the end of his career so he could retire saying he only played for one NFL team.
Here's a peek at how things will be around Kennedy this time while waiting for the Hall's deciders to make their choices: His daughter will be nervous and pacing all day. His friends will be waiting in the nearby Lake Nona clubhouse, most watching television for the announcement. Kennedy will not stray too far from the phone, just in case.
He wants to hear it ring. Badly.
"I do want to get in, one day," Kennedy said. "Once you get the call, then you work on your speech. So I won't worry about the speech until I get the call."