Deion Sanders still wears a mink coat, proof he has maintained some of the flamboyance that characterized his earlier reign as a flashy, outspoken NFL gamebreaker.
Since coming out of retirement to join the Baltimore Ravens two years ago, however, Sanders hasn't felt the need to preen for the cameras. He doesn't high-step down the field after a rare interception, either.
"At this point and age in my career I'm not looking for a stage," Sanders said in an interview with AP. "I'm looking to teach the young players how to be professional, how to be a man, how to be a father, how to be a friend, how to handle your finances."
PHOTO: AP
The 38-year-old Sanders almost certainly will head into retirement -- again -- after the Ravens finish their season on New Year's Day.
"It's very conceivable," he said.
Sanders went to eight Pro Bowls and was the 1994 defensive player of the year before slipping into retirement after the 2000 season. He was making good money as an football analyst when he scrapped the comfort of the TV studio to return to the NFL.
His objective was to help the Ravens win a championship and add another Super Bowl ring to his collection. It didn't turn out that way -- Baltimore went 9-7 last year and is assured of a losing record this season -- but Sanders has no regrets.
"I thought I came back to win a Super Bowl. But I found out in the middle of last season that's not what I came back for. I came back for these men inside the locker room," Sanders said. "It wasn't about playing with those guys, it was about allowing those guys to see the man behind the persona."
The old Deion Sanders loved to put on a show. But Neon Deion is a thing of the past. Sanders has become a professional, mature man who last Monday handled his interception of Green Bay's Brett Favre without a hint of fanfare.
"You know what I tell the guys? I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm good once as I've ever been," he said. "And you never know when that once is. They don't know, if you try me, that might be that once. I can cover in my sleep."
He can certainly do it at age 38. His two interceptions is tied for the team lead, and he's knocked away five other passes and made 38 tackles.
That's fine, but back in his heyday, Sanders played wide receiver, cornerback and ran back punts.
"I remember when there was a time I just felt invincible out there -- that you're going to have to deal with me one way or another, whether it's defensively, or running back a punt, or offensively," he recalled.
He's been relegated to a nickel back with the Ravens -- a concession to his age -- and for that reason he hasn't had much opportunity to slip into Neon mode.
"It's hard to be that guy one out of seven snaps, sitting over there with the coaches," he said. "But there's a lot of what goes into that. I'm in another role now. I'm like a player-teacher-coach type of role. I'm not upset about it. I'm happy that they respect me enough to listen to me."
Ravens safety Chad Williams is one of several Baltimore defensive backs who have benefited from Sanders' tutelage.
"I didn't know what to think when he came in, but it's all good. It's been a great experience," Williams said. "He'll pull me aside and tell me stuff, not just about football, but about life itself."
Sanders has lent himself to anyone who would lend an ear. He's also tried to lead by example.
"I've tried to let the guys see how I handle people yelling obscenities behind the bench. To see how I handle criticism, people telling me I'm too old, you can't do it," he said. "I want them to see a man that is still, that doesn't move, doesn't shake, doesn't flinch. A man that is planted. I think that's what I came back for."
When he quits for keeps, Sanders probably will be asked to return to the TV studio. But his experience over the past two seasons has caused him to consider an alternate vocation: What he really wants to do is become a coach.
"I don't know how I'm going to approach it, but I know it's something I have the desire to do," he said. "If it's high school, fine. If it's college, first of all, I know I could recruit. That's a given. To say I couldn't get an offensive coordinator and a defensive coordinator from my relationships in the league, that's pretty much foolish. I've got the contacts. Then to say I can't inspire and motivate and encourage, well, that's what I've been doing my whole career."
If Sanders wants to put off that pursuit until 2007, Ravens coach Brian Billick would happily welcome him back.
"That's up to Deion. Having him here, as I've said a thousand times, has been phenomenal," Billick said. "It's been a joy for me to be around such a professional, and to see a guy at this stage of his career prepare the way he does and pass that on to people around him is special. Our guys are better for it."
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal would be motivated by criticism ahead of the Clasico, Barcelona assistant coach Marcus Sorg said yesterday. Teenage winger Yamal has been in the spotlight in the Spanish capital after joking that Real Madrid “steal” and “complain” during an appearance on a social media stream. Champions Barca face Real Madrid today in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu, looking for a fifth consecutive win over their rivals. “Lamine is a top player and I think [the criticism] will be motivating for him,” Sorg told a news conference. “I hope we all see him tomorrow [give] the best performance.” The 18-year-old Spain
‘A HISTORIC moment’: ‘I think we all need to take a step back and appreciate Leo Messi is playing in Major League Soccer,’ league commissioner Don Garber said Lionel Messi raised the Golden Boot. He then got Inter Miami started with his head. The Argentine opened the scoring with a diving header in the first half, then capped the scoring in the 96th minute as Inter Miami opened the MLS playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-three first-round series on Friday night. Messi and Ian Fray had the assists on Tadeo Allende’s second-half tally for Inter Miami, who now get two chances to advance out of the first round for the first time in Messi’s two-and-a-half-year tenure with the team. Game
‘COMPLETE GAME’: ‘To be honest, I’m not sure about the history, but I’m very happy about what I did today,’ Yamamoto said through a translator after the game Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a World Series game from another era. Sandy Koufax had October outings like this, and so did Orel Hershiser, but those types of performances have vanished in modern baseball. Until this 178cm starter from Japan delivered like the aces of old. Yamamoto threw a four-hitter for his second consecutive complete game, the first in the World Series since 2015, and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Saturday night to tie their best-of-seven matchup at one game apiece. “It’s kind of the throwback,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he starts a game, he
Game 4 of the CPBL’s Taiwan Series between the Rakuten Monkeys and the CTBC Brothers yesterday was postponed to today, after incessant rain over the past few days flooded the field at Taoyuan Baseball Stadium. The Brothers on Tuesday kept their hopes of a repeat championship alive with a 2-0 win over the Rakuten Monkeys in Game 3. The reigning champions seized the shutout victory before a crowd of 37,088 at Taipei Dome, snapping the Monkeys’ five-game post-season winning streak this year. They still trail 1-2 in the best-of-seven series. Brothers starting pitcher Jesus Vargas was named Most Valuable Player
RSS