Baltimore Will Always Remember Unitas

Ravens Stadium got the Unitas touch Sunday, from the 13-foot statue of John Unitas to a ring of honor induction for Baltimore Colt Hall of Famers to an eloquent halftime address by the late quarterback’s wife.

“He was very much looking forward to today and still was in awe of it,” Sandy Unitas said after an elaborate ceremony honored her husband and seven of his former teammates. “He really didn’t think he deserved it. That was just John. But he would have been very, very proud and thankful for the fans.”

The statue of Unitas in a throwing pose was two years in the making. A sellout crowd of 69,173 watched on the SmartVision boards as Unitas’ grandchildren unveiled the statue on the north side of the stadium. There were more cheers when the cover was pulled away from two new plaques on the team’s ring of honor.

The plaques read, “Johnny Unitas & the Baltimore Colts,” with the numbers of eight Baltimore Colt Hall of Famers. Five of the eight were in attendance, including tight end John Mackey, whose impromptu 50-yard “touchdown” run with a ceremonial ball brought a roar from the crowd. Other former Colts on hand were running back/flanker Lenny Moore, wide receiver Raymond Berry, offensive tackle Jim Parker and defensive tackle Art Donovan.

Unitas’ No. 19 Colts’ jersey was draped over an empty chair by his wife. He died of a heart attack on Sept. 11.

The former Colts said they were appreciative of the unique honor of having their numbers posted in a stadium where they never played, by a team they never played for.

“John, yes, he deserves everything they can possibly give him,” Moore said. “The beautiful thing is they included us in it, because they didn’t have to do that.”

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Emmitt Smith ran for 82 yards in the Dallas Cowboys’ 9-6 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals, leaving him 92 yards shy of Walter Payton’s NFL career rushing record of 16,726.

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Sunday’s key injuries:

* Brett Favre, who has started a record 164 consecutive games, left during the third quarter of the Green Bay Packers’ 30-9 victory over the Redskins with a sprained left knee. He will have an MRI exam today.

“There’s some swelling but not a lot of it. It appears like he’s going to be OK,” Packer Coach Mike Sherman said.

* Oakland Raider kick returner/running back Terry Kirby will miss the rest of the season after breaking his right leg, and Raider rookie cornerback Phillip Buchanon broke his left wrist in the 27-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers.

* St. Louis Ram cornerback Aeneas Williams might be out for the season after breaking his left leg in a 37-20 victory over the Seattle Seahawks

* Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback Brad Johnson left the 20-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth quarter because of a rib injury.

From Times Wire Reports

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Bests of the Day

*--* PASSING Att Cmp Yds TD BRIAN GRIESE, Broncos 50 30 376 2 RICH GANNON, Raiders 45 35 361 3 CHAD PENNINGTON, Jets 29 24 324 1 DAUNTE CULPEPPER, Vikings 39 26 288 0 JEFF GARCIA, 49ers 39 23 275 1

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*--* RUSHING Att Yards Avg TD MARSHALL FAULK, Rams 32 183 5.7 3 JAMES STEWART, Lions 32 172 5.4 2 LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON, Chargers 39 153 3.9 1 DUCE STALEY, Eagles 24 152 6.3 0 FRED TAYLOR, Jaguars 25 151 6.0 1 DEUCE McALLISTER, Saints 21 139 6.6 0 TRAVIS HENRY, Bills 22 132 6.0 0

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*--* RECEIVING No Yards Avg TD SHANNON SHARPE, Broncos 12 214 17.8 2 KOREN ROBINSON, Seahawks 3 166 55.3 1 SANTANA MOSS, Jets 5 111 22.2 0 DAVID BOSTON, Cardinals 6 110 18.3 0 JOE HORN, Saints 8 109 13.6 2

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*--* DEFENSE Breakdown NATE CLEMENTS, Bills 3 interceptions, 1 touchdown ADRIAN WILSON, Cardinals 3 interceptions NATE WAYNE, Packers 10 unassisted tackles, 1 1/2 sacks

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