In 2010, Class Act Sports’ Victor Green interviewed former defensive end Chris Doleman. Green started the interview by welcoming “Future Hall of Famer Chris Doleman.” A year-and-a-half later, it turns out that Green was right, as Doleman was one of six inducted into the Hall of Fame Class of 2012 this February.

It was easy for Doleman to retire from the NFL after a 15-year career following the 1999 season.

“Leaving the game really wasn’t that hard for me. I played 15 years, enjoyed my time that I played and I chose to leave at the time that I left. My last game was January 6, 2000. And I said, ‘This is it’, walked away and never looked back. If you can pick your time and say, ‘It’s time to go’, then do it,” Doleman said exclusively to Victor Green of Class Act Sports in a lengthy interview.

Doleman was the fourth overall selection by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1995 NFL Draft. He played nine seasons there before two with the Falcons (1994-95, and three with the 49ers (1996-98) before ending his career back with the Vikings in 1999. He was a three-time All Pro, eight-time Pro Bowler, and amassed 150.5 sacks over his career. But it was not until February that he got the call.

“I’ve learned through this process, the Hall of Fame really doesn’t have much to do with your numbers. It has a lot to do with where you are, your popularity. I was told once, that they want to have guys in there who will create interest to the Hall, which is really sad. You just have to come to the realization that you’ll get in when you get in, or you might not get in. I don’t let that define me. I’ve had a good run. The numbers that I’ve posted and the things that I’ve done, they can’t erase. It is in a group of peoples hands who frankly shouldn’t have that power,” Doleman told Green.

Before getting the call, Doleman was clearly miffed as to why other players were let in before him, or even instead of him.

“There’s a lot of great players who are out there and I think the people who are voting aren’t realizing the backlog that they are creating. This year [Class of 2011], you got Marshal Faulk, Jerome Bettis, Curtis Martin who you know very well and you got Deon Sanders. Four guys that are up this year for the first time, maybe one will get in. All of them deserve to be in. But you can’t put all four of them in. When the most you can put in is seven and you’re putting in three guys, you’re putting in two guys you’re putting in four guys, it just messes up the flow of everything. And I think as far as I’m concerned, one of the things that really hurt me is that I never won a Championship. And that should have nothing to do with it, because if you look at the guys in the Hall, most of them won a Championship, but none of them did it by themselves,” he said.

One other notable accomplishment Doleman made throughout his career was making the Pro Bowl with three different teams.

“I played for three different teams and made the Pro Bowl with three different teams. I think there’s only been six players of five players in the league who have ever done that.”

Doleman is keeping busy in retirement with several business ventures.

“I started a company called ‘Forever Stars [Chris Doleman Pro Auctions]. It’s a charitable auction site. It’s a great venture. I sat down with a couple of guys and we thought this would be a great way to sell memorabilia and help out a lot of different people at the same time,” he told Class Act Sports Exclusively.

During the half-hour interview, Doleman also talked about being drafted, changing positions, players he compares to himself, as well as going to military school when he was younger. Class Act Sports plans to catch up with Doleman in the near future for another exclusive interview to discuss getting the call from Canton and now being an official member of the Hall of Fame.

Veteran safety Antrel Rolle had a choice to make earlier this season with the New York Giants: Complain about the fact that he was moved away from his natural position, or do what the coaches asked for the betterment of his team. Fortunately for the Giants, he chose the latter, and Giants players and fans couldn’t be happier as he helped deliver the team’s second Super Bowl title in the past four years.

“I only played safety two games this year. I pretty much played a fill-in position. I played whatever position was needed at that point. And I wasn’t too happy about that throughout the course of the year but towards the end of the year, I had to make a decision, is this about me, or is it about the team? Is it about my own self-goals or is it about the team goals,” Rolle said in an exclusive interview with Jared Ginsberg of Class Act Sports.

Rolle was all over the field this season (he had a career-high 96 tackles to go along with two interceptions) playing whatever roll was needed on the defense, forgetting about individual accolades for the sake of his teammates.

“And once I made that decision that the team was so much more bigger than myself, I started to become the best nickel that I could possibly be. It didn’t matter whether or not I got interceptions, it didn’t matter whether or not I was playing safety, playing nickel, playing linebacker. I said to myself whatever position I was going to play, I was going to be the best at that position. So I tell people all the time, I’ve been All-Pro, I’ve been to the Pro Bowl but there is nothing like a team accomplishment, and there is nothing like winning the Super Bowl,” Rolle said.

The Giants started out 6-2 before four-straight losses put them at 6-6. The last loss of that streak was to the defending champion Packers, 38-35 on a field goal as time expired.  After that game, Rolle told anyone that would listen, “We’ll see them again.” The Giants did see them again, to the tune of a 38-20 NFC Divisional Playoff win at Lambeau Field, and it was Rolle who was one of the leaders and most vocal guys in the lockerroom.

“First and foremost, I think it always starts with myself. I go home every day and look at myself in the mirror and see how I can get better as an individual and see how I can help my team. I just felt like we needed a little more boost, we needed a little bit more energy. We needed a little more fire, a little more mental toughness in order to make the run we knew we needed to make to get to the post season,” Rolle told Class Act Sports.

The Giants went on to finish the regular season with three wins in their final four games, before four-in-a-row in the playoffs. Rolle helped keep it loose during that time, even attributing to one of the team slogan’s, “Where Trel At?”

“I’m always the last guy out of the lockerroom, That’s just my thing. I like to be the last guy out, make sure everyone gets out there efficiently and on time, but whenever Deon [Grant] didn’t see me, he’d always ask, ‘Where ‘Trel at? Where ‘Trel at? You know the defense don’t roll without ‘Trel! Where ‘Trel at?’ So the [equipment team] they’re in charge of my equipment- they took it and ran with it and started making fun of our Ebonics- ending a sentence with a preposition. It became like an in-house slogan. Whenever you said it, no matter what you’re going through it always brightened up your day. It was more of an energy booster. When times got tough, going through the postseason I knew it was going to be a stressful stretch, so one Saturday, I decided to get everybody shirts and put it in their lockers, and they came in Saturday and saw the shirts, and it just put a smile on everyone’s face. And that’s what it was all about. And each week, we kept our tradition going. We put out different shirts every week,” he said.

Another key part of the stingy and timely defense that helped the Giants win their fourth Super Bowl was Jason Pierre-Paul. The second-year defensive end had a breakout year with 86 tackles and 16.5 sacks. And while Rolle admitted, he didn’t see this coming, he expects more of the same from Pierre-Paul in the 2012 season.

“I can’t tell you that I imagined him having the season he had this past season but I really didn’t know too much about JPP. But being around him, and seeing his work ethic each and every day, the sky is the limit for this guy. He is only just beginning he is definitely going to bring a whole lot more than what he brought this year,” Rolle told Class Act Sports exclusively.

Before the season began, Giants fans were unhappy with their GM Jerry Reese who let tight end Kevin Boss and wide receiver Steve Smith walk away during free agency and not make a splash signing any free agents. But Reese said the Giants would make the playoffs, and boy did they ever. In fact, Rolle said he was surprised at just how much everyone inside the organization believed in the team.

“Our management has always been awesome. Thanks to them, I am a Giant and thanks to them, I am a Super Bowl Champion. I think when everyone questioned ‘What are they doing? How come they aren’t making the moves? You know the Eagles are doing this, everyone is doing that, and we’re just staying put,’ I think they understood what we had in our lockerroom. Probably more so than we did, and I think they believed that through tough times, we will get it done, and it made us get stronger. It made us build chemistry and I think that was their mindset. They don’t have a crystal ball to say what is going to happen. But if the season had turned a different way, I’m pretty sure everyone would have probably ripped them for that, but thanks to us and thanks to them, we believed in each other and they believed in us more than anyone, and were able to go out there and be Super Bowl Champions,” he said.

He had made the Super Bowl with the Cardinals three years ago, and was seconds away from being a Champion, before Santonio Holmes caught the winning touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger with 35 seconds remaining in the game. So Rolle did all he could to ensure not having that feeling repeat itself again in Super Bowl XLVI.

“It’s extremely special. Most of all, because I think it is well-deserved. It was a collective team effort from top to bottom, and most of all, we gave ourselves a chance when no one else did. And we believed in each other and that’s all it took. Once we got on the same page at the same time and things started clicking, we weren’t going to be denied and we knew it and we felt it, we went out there and we believed it, we dreamed it and it became true,” Rolle said.

It won’t be easy repeating, as the Patriots were the last team to do it in the 2004-2005 seasons, but Rolle knows his team is very capable of winning it again- if they play as the did when it mattered this season.

“It’s going to take more, it’s going to take the same thing just magnified by ten because being the Super Bowl Champs, that bulls-eye is going to be on your back. But I’m never going to sell ourselves short. I think the sky is the limit for us. I think we have an identity. I think we know who we are and what we can be at this point and we are only going to get better,” he said.

With March Madness just around the corner, what better way to get prepared then by sitting down with legendary coach John Thompson? Class Act Sports caught up with Thompson at the NCAA Tournament last year, and the Hall of Famer had a lot to say.

Thompson, who coached Georgetown for 28 years from 1972-1999, was a seven-time coach of the year, and made three Final Fours in four years from 1982-1985, including winning the NCAA title in 1984. Thompson hasn’t coached since leaving Georgetown in 1999.

“Well people ask me all the time do I miss it? And I tell them that I don’t miss the practices. But what I do miss is exactly what you’re talking about: the excitement of the games themselves. If you could only coach the games and not the practices, I probably would have still been coaching. But when you get involved in March Madness, there is a certain amount of excitement. And this is the thing that I would miss more than anything from the coaching perspective,” Thompson said in an exclusive interview with Class Act Sports.

In this day and age, with all the social media and internet, it seems as if every move the players make both on and off the court can be documented. While it was a little different in his day, Thompson did his best to keep his teams focused.

“We got in trouble because we tried to remove ourselves from the excitement so that we could stay as focused as we possibly could, but it’s very difficult because of your obligations here. You have media obligations and you have fans that are very excited and are here, too. So you’ve got to really capture enough time so you can focus on the immediate problem at hand which is your opponent. I’ve seen some [coaches] who’ve let the kids partake in all the excitement, but personally I like to remove myself so we can focus on what we were doing,” he said.

Thompson’s method clearly worked, as he led the Hoyas to 14-straight NCAA Tournaments from 1979-1992 and coached Hall of Famer and New York Knick legend Patrick Ewing, as well as Alonzo Mourning, Allen Iverson and Dikembe Mutombo. He finished with 595 career wins, and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1999, just nine months after coaching his last game. But he still manages to be involved in the game he loves.

“I still dip in to it a little bit by working for Westwood One, doing the radio, being around some of the guys, so I still enjoy myself,” Thompson said.

Before the NFL lockout ended, Drew Rosenhaus had plenty of free time on his hands. The NFL agent spent much of that time at charity events organized by players he represents. One such event was Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy’s Shady Community day in Harrisburg, Pa.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time visiting my clients. LeSean is giving back to the community, so I’m here to support him. I was with DeSean [Jackson] doing the same thing last night, travelling around, watching our clients train, just supporting our guys during the lockout,” he told Class Act Sports exclusively.

While some may think this was a burden on Rosenhaus, he was more than happy to do it.

“I really am pleased with the work that they are both doing. I think the NFL has so many great guys that give so much to their communities that are great role models. I’m happy to be here promoting it with them,” Rosenhaus said.

Rosenhaus has many high-profile clients, including Plaxico Burress, Terrell Owens and Frank Gore. And supporting his players as much as he does helps to enhance his reputation.

“I think it’s important to be hands-on as an agent. The guys like for me to help them with these events, come and lend my expertise my support. The guys are family to me, they are my good friends, so any time I can show my commitment to seeing guys doing great things like this, I am always happy to do that,” Rosenhaus told Class Act Sports.

And when the NFL lockout finally ended in the summer of 2011, it was back to work for Rosenhaus, contacting his clients and getting them new contracts.

“I just get along well with all my clients the same. I have a lot of experience. I have been doing this for 23 years. I specialize in football players only, so the combination of experience hard work and dedication has helped me be successful,” he said.

Robert Remus, better known by his stage name, Sgt. Slaughter, has almost 40 years of professional wrestling experience. And while he was known as a bad boy in the ring, he has a kind heart out of it, as Class Act Sports found out when he was on hand for the NFL Alumni Golf Outing in Hackensack, N.J. in October.

“Anytime the NFL Alumni gives Sgt Slaughter a call, he is pretty much in the ballgame. Not much of a golfer. I can put you in a Cobra Clutch and give you a body slam but hitting that little white ball isn’t part of my expertise,” Slaughter told Class Act Sports.

Despite not being able to golf that well, Slaughter couldn’t pass up the opportunity to come to the event.

“Well it’s a positive attitude. Pretty much as they say, ‘Any day on the golf course is a better day at work’. We’re blessed to be here for a great cause. I’m very honored,” he told Class Act Sports.

Today, Slaughter still works for the WWE, but now it doesn’t involve pinning or slamming anyone in the ring.

“I never know when they are going to call me, but as an ambassador of the WWE, I just enjoy promoting the company and superstars,” he said.

Considering he has been around Professional Wrestling for so many years, it shouldn’t be surprising that Slaughter has discovered some talent.

“I always saw a couple little kids hanging around the locker room. One was Dwayne and he ended up being “The Rock”. We used to fool around with him in the ring, and look where he is today. And Randy Orton. His father was in my era and he just loved to get in the ring. Those are a couple of guys who really blossomed. There’s a couple of new kids that I found. Dolph Ziggler who was on an independent show with me one time. I discovered a few guys out there. The Undertaker, Mark Calaway, was one of my discoveries. Glad to see that those guys are doing so well,” he said exclusively to Class Act Sports.

Slaughter got into wrestling himself when he was in high school. After a stint in the Marine Corps, he ended up getting his big break.

“When I got out of the Marine Corps, I was working for my father at a Pro Wrestling training camp where I lived. I ended up getting in the ring. After they put these holds on me left and right, I said, ‘Can I defend myself?’. I used to beat [Rick Flair] all the time in high school,” Slaughter said.

Amar’e Stoudemire was also back on the court for the Knicks after missing the last six games while mourning the tragic death of his older brother last week. Following speculation and concern on how his reappearance on the court might affect the current chemistry, he played a decent game while contributing 21 points and 9 rebounds.

Most importantly though is the addition of what appears to be a true floor general for the point guard-starved Knicks, who’ve struggled at the position for years. While Lin’s fearlessness in driving to the paint continues to keep the crowd on their feet, his distribution of the ball is allowing New York to play the pick and roll style offense that D’Antoni loves to coach. Over the past six games, he’s averaging 8.5 assists per game, and the pick and roll should only improve from here with the Knicks’ top finisher Amar’e back on the floor.

The wild flurry of attention and success is clearly contagious in the Knick locker room, as Lin appears to be capable of making the other players around him better. People like Iman Shumpert and Jared Jeffries are fortifying the defense (which has only given up more than 95 points once in the current six game stretch) and Steve Novak is adding some range from beyond the arc. New York is also exhibiting some rarely seen tenacity and determination – winning games against Minnesota and Toronto where they didn’t consistently play their best ball and overcame 4^th quarter deficits.

Even more invigorating than the catchy nicknames and headlines is the essence of the Lin story and his profound impact on a team, which was a complete disappointment at the start of February. He remains modest and professional at all times; always giving credit to his teammates and refusing to hog the spotlight which sports media has cast upon him. The opportunities keep coming as well, with games against Sacramento and New Orleans giving New York the change to extend their winning streak against losing teams before taking on Dallas, Atlanta and Miami next week.

This is a team who lost 9 out of 10 games and a head coach who looked like he was on his way out the door, and now people are watching one of the greatest underdog runs in NBA history. Lin currently tops the list of most points through first 5 NBA career starts with 136, besting Shaquille O’Neal, Freeman Williams, Jerry Stackhouse and Dominique Wilkins.

This is a guy who was in the D-League and buried at the end of the Knick bench not too long ago. This is someone who no one had even heard of, but now has the top selling jersey in the NBA. We’re watching a player who has gone from sleeping on his brother’s couch to becoming the hottest player in New York – even with the Giants only one week removed from winning the Super Bowl and the Rangers dominating the entire Eastern Conference. This truly appears to be Linsanity.

Ed Marinaro played in the NFL for six years. He has also been an actor in Hollywood for over three decades. Known in both the sports circles and Hollywood circles, Marinaro has many opportunities to give back to the community, and one such event was at Joe Namath’s March of Dimes Celebrity Golf Classic in September 2011.

“It’s great to see so many Hall of Fame guys. I remember I played with several of them, so it’s kind of a treat to see them and get to hang out a little bit. It kind of brings back old memories,” Marinaro said in an exclusive interview with Class Act Sports.

The former running back played for the Vikings, Jets and Seahawks before hanging up the cleats and heading to Hollywood. Marinaro has been in many TV shows including “Laverne and Shirley,” “Hill Street Blues” and now stars in “Blue Mountain State” on Spike where he is the football coach at the fictitious University

“I guess I’m just a special dude, man. You kind of don’t plan certain things out in your life, they kind of just happen, and I’d like to take all the credit for it, but a lot of luck goes into it. I stayed pretty healthy during my football career. Went to Hollywood and a good looking guy like me has to make it in Hollywood so I felt I had a few things going for me,” Marinaro told Class Act Sports.

When told of Class Act branching out to actors and actresses (Class Act Celebs) as well, Marinaro said he’d be more than happy to do another interview in the future on the red carpet.

“Well I think that’s great. I’ll be one of those veteran-AARP Class Act guys,” he said.

Former Buffalo Bills wide receiver and future Hall of Famer Andre Reed was joined by an impressive roster of NFL players last summer as he hosted his second annual Celebrity Golf Classic to benefit The Second Mile and The Boys and Girls Clubs of Allentown. Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker and three-time All-Pro Greg Lloyd sat down with Victor Green of Class Act Sports to talk charity, football and martial arts.

“For a guy like Andre Reed, a future Hall of Famer to come back in here and to give back and give life to a town that really at one point was almost lifeless, I think it’s important… I think it’s a great thing, any time you give back.”

Reed and Lloyd played during the same time period, meeting a number of times in memorable collisions as the breakout receiver crossed over the middle on passing routes.

“He’s tireless. He was tireless when he played on the field, didn’t want to come out of the game and things of that nature and it’s the same way he lives his life now. He’s gonna continue working in his foundation until he gets it to where he wants to.”

Lloyd has continued to remain busy since departing the NFL in 1998, devoting his time and effort to teaching the art of Tae Kwon Do. While he initially began learning martial arts after sustaining injuries during the beginning of his professional career, it’s blossomed into something much larger in his later years.

“For me it was really easy because my first two years I got hurt and I needed a way, I needed an outlet that was gonna keep me physically fit, that was gonna get me more limber, more flexible, but also try to get me an edge over everyone else.”

With nearly 25 years of experience, the fiery and feared linebacker has modeled himself into an instructor of power, balance, and discipline while successfully earning his black belt degree.

“I threw myself into it and here it is almost 25 years later and now I’m teaching and gotten other youths to know the discipline… It’s a great thing because now what you’ve instilled in them, what their parents have already supposedly instilled in them – work ethic.”

While his dominance on the football field and effectiveness on defense has certainly been proven, his status with the Pro Football Hall of Fame is yet to be seen. Lloyd commented further on his upcoming eligibility, as well as his turbulent relationship with the media.

“I don’t give it a whole lot of thought… When I was playing football, I wasn’t liked by the media. I wasn’t liked by the media because I didn’t think that it was fair that a guy that never done what I’ve done, come in and can make comments on something that I did, and these guys are the ones that get to pick and choose.”

The five-time Pro Bowler remains a fan favorite with the Pittsburgh faithful, embodying the spirit of the team’s defensive mentality throughout the decades. He was also selected by the fans as a member of the Steelers 75^th anniversary team, alongside legends such as Jack Ham, Jack Lambert and Andy Russell.

“I think in the end it’ll come, but it’s not something that I wager on or I bet on, because again, it’s in the hand of man and you know how we are, we make mistakes all the time.”

The stars were out and smiling in steamy Frisco, Texas, as they gathered for Reebok’s 10th annual Heroes Celebrity Baseball game at the Dr. Pepper Ballpark. Benefiting The Heroes Foundation and The Mike Modano Foundation, the event featured over a dozen celebrities and athletes pairing up with amateur ball players to raise money for two worthy organizations benefiting children in the local community. The Class Act Sports team was on hand to learn more.

One of the main attractions featured the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy, allowing fans to take pictures while capturing the success of the Mavericks victory over the Heat in 2011. Mavs owner Mark Cuban was also in attendance and still reeling from his team’s championship season.

“Oh my God, you know, the Larry O’ Brien Trophy – it’s like my new best friend. [I’m just] proud of the guys, proud of everything we’ve been able to accomplish, just amazed at the reception the Dallas, Fort Worth, North Texas has given us,” said Cuban.

The Pittsburgh-born billionaire has remained heavily involved in the Heroes Foundation over the years, helping founder Charlie McKinney build a baseball diamond and basketball center for local youths to benefit from.

“There’s always been organizations that try to use athletics…We really wanted to connect to kids through sports, but put the focus on academics,” he said.

McKinney and longtime Dallas Stars center Mike Modano teamed to form his foundation, which raises money to assist underprivileged children throughout the greater Dallas area.

“Mike and I are great friends, have been for years and we do business together. Ten years ago, I asked Mike, you know, the biggest name in Dallas if he would lend his name to this event and he said ‘Absolutely,’” said McKinney.

A number of Dallas Cowboys players were also in attendance, including linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Bradie James, tight end Martellus Bennett, and wide receiver Dez Bryant.

“No matter what the cause is, as long as it’s a good cause, I’m there to support. If I’m available, I’m there… Come on, let’s play!” said Bennett.

Topping off the already impressive roster were actors Donald Faison, Michael Clarke Duncan, Geoff Stults and Dave Annable. Fans were also treated to a fireworks finale following the festivities, along with a performance of “God Bless America” by David Archuleta during the seventh-inning stretch.

The Heroes Foundation has served more than 25,000 children throughout the Dallas area and raised over $4.5 million since 2001 while preparing them for school, college and a professional career.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers center Dermontti Dawson was among the players giving back to the community at the NFL Alumni’s golf outing in Hackensack N.J. in October. Now, the NFL is giving back to him, as he was recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012.

“It’s always nice. Most of the chapters we have events, and I’m not sure exactly the charity they are giving the money to but its great to have the involvement of all the retired players. It’s just a great cause, and that is why guys come out and support it,” Dawson said, in an exclusive interview with Class Act Sports.

Dawson played all 13 years with the Steelers, made seven-straight Pro Bowls from 1992-1998 and was named to the 1990 All-Decade Team. He quietly went about his business and was one of the most respected players in the league. He offered his thoughts on Maurkice Pouncey, the Steelers’ current center, who has been in the league for two years and already made two Pro Bowls.

“Maurkice is going to be a phenomenal player. For him to make the Pro Bowl his rookie year, and you can just see his work ethic and the way he is as a player. I think he is driven and hungry and I think he is going to be a good one for a long time,” Dawson said.

Dawson joined one of his former head coaches, Chuck Knoll, in the Hall of Fame. And perhaps the other coach he played for, Bill Cowher will also be there some day.

“I had the privilege of playing with Chuck Knoll for my first four seasons, and Bill Cowher my last nine seasons, so I got the best of both worlds. Coach Knoll was a legendary coach and I looked up to him and respected him very much.  Coach Cowher came in and, [he] was a little closer to my age. I’m just glad I had the opportunity and chance to play for both of them. It was a great run in Pittsburgh,” Dawson told Class Act Sports.

Cowher has served as an analyst for “The NFL Today” on CBS for the last five years, but every time there is mention of a coaching change in the NFL, his name comes up.

“I know he is enjoying his broadcasting career. And I’m sure if he gets the opportunity, he will probably coach again. Once you have that fire as a player and a coach and you leave that game, you never lose that fire. Sooner or later, I’d like to see him back in coaching,” Dawson said.