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Retired, but as busy as ever
Q&A WITH JERRY RICE
By CHAREAN WILLIAMS
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Former NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice, the all-time leader in receiving yards and touchdowns, spoke Tuesday at the SMU Athletic Forum.
DALLAS -- Future NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice laughs at the notion that he is retired. He has a show on Sirius NFL Radio. He appeared in the first episode of Spike TV's Pros vs. Joes, and he finished third on the second season of Dancing with the Stars. He recently filled in for Regis Philbin on Live with Regis and Kelly. He has written a book, Go Long!. And he has joined DeBartolo Sports and Entertainment, helping recruit NFL prospects Steve Smith of USC and David Ball of New Hampshire to his former agent, Ralph Cindrich.
On Tuesday, Rice was the guest speaker at the SMU Athletic Forum.
"Life after football is a little busier than when I played," said Rice, who retired after 20 seasons, 13 Pro Bowls and every major receiving record, including receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895) and touchdowns (197).
Rice answered the Star-Telegram's questions in a one-on-one interview before the forum.
On NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's new code of conduct policy:
Excellent. He has to lay down the law with these guys. These guys are making a lot of money, and they're not setting the right example. What he did with "Pacman Jones" of the Tennessee Titans [suspending him for the season] I think it was the right move. All of these players now know if they don't conduct themselves in the right way, there are going to be consequences.
On Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens, with whom Rice played for five seasons in San Francisco:
I don't know what happened. I'm not saying he's not a great receiver now, but when I left San Francisco, I felt like this guy was going to be an excellent receiver with what he brought to the game. You can't cover him one-on-one. He's too big; he's too physical; and he's too fast. After I left San Francisco, I thought it was in good shape, because, as receivers, we like to pass it on to the next guy. Somewhere, things went wrong.
On the new era of showboating receivers:
I don't mind a little creativity, a little flavor, having some fun, but some of the things are too much. To have a Sharpie in your sock or to go get a cellular phone, I'm looking at a lot of this stuff and thinking it's something they have to think about all week long. It probably has some consequences because it's going to take away from their game. What they're putting into trying to entertain after they score, they should be putting into their football game.
On who would win a Dancing with the Stars head-to-head matchup with Emmitt Smith, the winner of season three:
It would be competitive. I have to commend Emmitt for winning. He called me up after I did it and said he was thinking about doing it. I just told him whenever you're on that dance floor, you have to own that dance floor. That commitment, the interaction with the audience and the judges, I didn't have that at first. I had to learn that.
Charean Williams, 817-390-7760 cjwilliams@star-telegram.co
Q&A WITH JERRY RICE
By CHAREAN WILLIAMS
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Former NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice, the all-time leader in receiving yards and touchdowns, spoke Tuesday at the SMU Athletic Forum.
DALLAS -- Future NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice laughs at the notion that he is retired. He has a show on Sirius NFL Radio. He appeared in the first episode of Spike TV's Pros vs. Joes, and he finished third on the second season of Dancing with the Stars. He recently filled in for Regis Philbin on Live with Regis and Kelly. He has written a book, Go Long!. And he has joined DeBartolo Sports and Entertainment, helping recruit NFL prospects Steve Smith of USC and David Ball of New Hampshire to his former agent, Ralph Cindrich.
On Tuesday, Rice was the guest speaker at the SMU Athletic Forum.
"Life after football is a little busier than when I played," said Rice, who retired after 20 seasons, 13 Pro Bowls and every major receiving record, including receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895) and touchdowns (197).
Rice answered the Star-Telegram's questions in a one-on-one interview before the forum.
On NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's new code of conduct policy:
Excellent. He has to lay down the law with these guys. These guys are making a lot of money, and they're not setting the right example. What he did with "Pacman Jones" of the Tennessee Titans [suspending him for the season] I think it was the right move. All of these players now know if they don't conduct themselves in the right way, there are going to be consequences.
On Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens, with whom Rice played for five seasons in San Francisco:
I don't know what happened. I'm not saying he's not a great receiver now, but when I left San Francisco, I felt like this guy was going to be an excellent receiver with what he brought to the game. You can't cover him one-on-one. He's too big; he's too physical; and he's too fast. After I left San Francisco, I thought it was in good shape, because, as receivers, we like to pass it on to the next guy. Somewhere, things went wrong.
On the new era of showboating receivers:
I don't mind a little creativity, a little flavor, having some fun, but some of the things are too much. To have a Sharpie in your sock or to go get a cellular phone, I'm looking at a lot of this stuff and thinking it's something they have to think about all week long. It probably has some consequences because it's going to take away from their game. What they're putting into trying to entertain after they score, they should be putting into their football game.
On who would win a Dancing with the Stars head-to-head matchup with Emmitt Smith, the winner of season three:
It would be competitive. I have to commend Emmitt for winning. He called me up after I did it and said he was thinking about doing it. I just told him whenever you're on that dance floor, you have to own that dance floor. That commitment, the interaction with the audience and the judges, I didn't have that at first. I had to learn that.
Charean Williams, 817-390-7760 cjwilliams@star-telegram.co