What's left of radio row at the NFL media center

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — All the hype for two consecutive weeks, and everyone sort of disappears only 24 hours before the game itself. Tumbleweed just rolled past my chair here in the media workroom.

Everyone hits the beach today, I suppose. But after recovering from a crazy Friday night on Miami Beach, I’m back to work, putting together a football blogger “roundtable” that I’ll be publishing to the blog at some point next week, while I return to hibernation in blustery Toronto.

At 5:00, this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame class will be announced here. I’ll be at the press conference and will have the real-time results on my Twitter account. Tonight, I’ll be back on Miami Beach checking out some of the parties. I plan on doing a blog post Sunday afternoon recapping the atmosphere of the evening.

It’s been a big week for the Goal-Line Stand. Thanks for reading and keep coming back for more.

Oh, and here’s a list of the finalists for the Hall of Fame, with my picks in bold:

Tim Brown – Wide Receiver/Kick Returner – 1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Cris Carter – Wide Receiver – 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins

Don Coryell – Coach – 1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers

Roger Craig – Running Back – 1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings

Dermontti Dawson – Center – 1988-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers

Richard Dent – Defensive End – 1983-1993, 1995 Chicago Bears, 1994 San Francisco 49ers, 1996 Indianapolis Colts, 1997 Philadelphia Eagles

Russ Grimm – Guard – 1981-1991 Washington Redskins

Charles Haley – Defensive End/Linebacker – 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys

Rickey Jackson – Linebacker – 1981-1993 New Orleans Saints, 1994-95 San Francisco 49ers

Cortez Kennedy – Defensive Tackle – 1990-2000 Seattle Seahawks

Dick LeBeau* – Cornerback – 1959-1972 Detroit Lions

Floyd Little* – Running Back – 1967-1975 Denver Broncos

John Randle – Defensive Tackle – 1990-2000 Minnesota Vikings, 2001-03 Seattle Seahawks

Andre Reed – Wide Receiver – 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins

Jerry Rice – Wide Receiver – 1985-2000 San Francisco 49ers, 2001-04 Oakland Raiders, 2004 Seattle Seahawks

Shannon Sharpe – Tight End – 1990-99, 2002-03 Denver Broncos, 2000-01 Baltimore Ravens

Emmitt Smith – Running Back – 1990-2002 Dallas Cowboys, 2003-04 Arizona Cardinals