Marino among 15 finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame

CANTON, Ohio -- Quarterbacks Dan Marino and Steve Young and wide receiver Michael Irvin were among 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Tuesday.\nThe finalists also include former Miami guard Bob Kuechenberg, who played at Notre Dame, and defensive end Richard Dent, who played for the Indianapolis Colts in 1996 late in his career.\nMarino, who holds many of the NFL's career passing records, and Young, who led San Francisco to the 1994 NFL title, were among four finalists who made the list in their first year of eligibility.\nThe others were Irvin, a member of the Dallas teams that won three Super Bowls between 1992 and 1995, and the late Derrick Thomas, who played for Kansas City and died in 2000 of injuries suffered in an auto accident.\nTwo of the finalists already had been determined -- senior nominees Fritz Pollard and Benny Friedman.\nPollard, who played in the 1920s, also was the first black coach of an NFL team. Friedman played for several teams between 1927 and 1934.\nThe other nominees were linebacker Harry Carson, who played for the New York Giants in the 1970s and 1980s and was a member of the 1986 NFL champions; Dent, the MVP for the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl after the 1985 season; defensive end L.C. Greenwood, a member of Pittsburgh's "Steel Curtain" teams of the 1970s; guard Russ Grimm, a member of Washington's famed "Hogs"; defensive end Claude Humphrey, who played for Washington and Philadelphia between 1968 and 1981; Kuechenberg, who played on Miami's 1972 undefeated championship team; wide receiver Art Monk, a member of three Super Bowl winners with Washington; Roger Wehrli, a cornerback for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1969-82; and the late George Young, who built two Super Bowl winners as general manager of the Giants.