Tonight is the night we’ve all been waiting for since the night before the Super Bowl (which the Eagles won) when it was announced that Brian Dawkins was going to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018. Tonight is the night for the official enshrinement ceremony in Canton, Ohio. Sometimes I feel like I don’t know what to write or say about Dawkins because his impact on Philadelphia goes beyond what words can convey. He is the quintessential Eagle. He was an incredibly dynamic player on the field and an amazing leader off the field. It was always a shame the Eagles never won a Super Bowl during his playing career, but at least he still got a ring thanks to his contributions as a member of the Eagles’ front office last season. And now his legacy is going to be enshrined with the highest honor possible for a football player. That feels good. I can’t wait to watch his speech tonight. Note that he’ll be presented by his former teammate and current NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent. Of course, Dawkins isn’t the only former Eagles player to be joining the Hall. There’s also Terrell Owens, whose legacy is much more controversial and complicated. But, as I’ve said before, whether you like T.O. or not, there’s no denying he was an incredible talent. He deserves to be enshrined. The other members of 2018’s class include Brian Urlacher, Ray Lewis, Randy Moss, Jerry Kramer, Robert Brazile, and Bobby Beathard. But really, who cares about that. As far as I’m concerned, this is Dawk’s night. Early reports indicate there are a ton of Eagles fans in Canton to see it in person. It’s going to be awesome. How to watch the Hall of Fame ceremony Time: 7:00 PM ET TV: ESPN, NFL Network Online: WatchESPN, Watch NFL Network<doc-sep>This weekend, legendary Green Bay Packers guard Jerry Kramer finally will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, an honor that has been a long time coming. Kramer will speak on Saturday during the enshrinement ceremony, but there are a slew of events taking place leading up to that particular event that should pique Packers fans’ interest. First up on Friday afternoon is media availability for the enshrinees. Unfortunately, the Hall of Fame announced that Kramer will not be holding his press conference due to being under the weather, but that he will indeed be participating on Saturday. In the meantime, there are a number of other incoming Hall of Famers who have some Packers connections or who played for rival teams in their careers. For example, Brian Urlacher of course was a Chicago Bear for his entire career, while Randy Moss started out in Minnesota. Even Ray Lewis has a Packers connection, as the team had intended to draft him in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft but saw him go one pick ahead of them. With all this in mind, here is the rough schedule of events for Enshrinement Weekend, and APC has boots on the ground in Canton, with Kris Burke attending many of the events on Friday and Saturday. He’ll have plenty of social media content and other items to bring to you live from the various APC social channels, so keep it here and be sure to follow our accounts directly as well. (Note: all times below are in Eastern Time.) Weekend Schedule Friday, August 3 2:15 PM: Enshrinees’ Media Availability 6:00 PM: Gold Jacket Dinner Saturday, August 4 8:00 AM: Grand Parade 7:00 PM: Class of 2018 Enshrinement Ceremony (Kramer is scheduled to speak third) Sunday, August 5 12:30 PM: Enshrinees’ Roundtable Full 2018 Hall of Fame Class (Listed in the order that they will speak during the ceremony) APC Social Media APC Instagram APC Facebook APC Twitter<doc-sep>The annual Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony marks the official start of the NFL preseason. The 2018 class of Hall of Fame inductees features a loaded roster of feared defensive leaders, two of the greatest receivers of all time, and offensive line stalwarts. IYER: NFL's 25-under-25 team Here's everything you need to know about the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony and weekend events in Canton, Ohio. When is the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony? The class of 2018 will be formally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 4. The ceremony will start at 7 p.m. ET and last until 10 p.m. The event will be broadcast live via NFL Network and ESPN. You can also live stream the event via the NFL app, Watch ESPN app and online at ESPN.com. 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees This year's Hall of Fame class includes contributor Bobby Beathard, linebacker Robert Brazile, safety Brian Dawkins, guard Jerry Kramer, linebacker Ray Lewis, wide receiver Randy Moss, wide receiver Terrell Owens, and linebacker Brian Urlacher. All inductees will be speaking at the ceremony except for Owens. Just Announced: The official speech order for the 2018 Enshrinement Ceremony on Aug. 4th #PFHOF18 pic.twitter.com/I7xibsFoav — Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) July 17, 2018 Here is a snippet of each inductee's bio from the official Pro Football HOF website: Bobby Beathard Beathard was a highly regarded personnel administrator during his 33-year career which included stints with the Kansas City Chiefs (1966-67), Atlanta Falcons (1968-1971), Miami Dolphins (1972-77), Washington Redskins (1978-1988) and San Diego Chargers (1990-99). Robert Brazile Brazile was a preeminent linebacker in the NFL during a career that spanned from 1975 to 1984 with the Houston Oilers. Brian Dawkins A nine-time Pro Bowler, Dawkins was named All-Pro and All-NFC five times. In addition to being named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s, Dawkins is a member of the Eagles 75th Anniversary Team and the Exclusive NFL Defensive Club (players with at least 35 career interceptions and 20 career sacks). Jerry Kramer The guard was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round (39th player overall) of the 1958 NFL Draft. He starred for the Green Bay Packers from 1958 to 1968 playing most of his 11-season career under the direction of Hall of Fame Coach Vince Lombardi. Ray Lewis A 12-time Pro Bowl selection, Lewis received first-team All-Pro honors eight times during his career. He was recognized as the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2000 and 2003, and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s. Randy Moss Moss caught 10 or more touchdown passes in nine seasons and had 10 seasons with 1,000 yards receiving. A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Moss received first-team All-Pro honors four times and was named to the NFL All-Decade Team of the 2000s. Terrell Owens Named All-Pro five times (2000-02, 2004, 2007) and an All-NFC choice four times, Owens was selected to six Pro Bowls. He was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of 2000s. Brian Urlacher An eight-time Pro Bowl selection, Urlacher received first-team All-Pro honors five times and was named to the NFL All-Decade Team of the 2000s. Why isn’t Terrell Owens at the HOF ceremony? Terrell Owens announced in June that he would not be attending the Hall of Fame's induction ceremony. Instead, he will give his acceptance speech at his alma mater, the Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga, in McKenzie Arena. The event will kick off at 3:17 p.m. ET — symbolizing the fact Owens will be the 317th player inducted into the Pro Football HOF, according to TMZ — hours before the ceremony in Canton. MORE: Hall of Fame won't mention Terrell Owens at induction ceremony When is the NFL's Hall of Fame game? The Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens will face off in the Hall of Fame game Thursday, Aug. 2 at 8 p.m. This will be the Ravens' first ever appearance at the Hall of Fame game, while the Bears will be making their fifth appearance. The game will take place at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. Hall of Fame 2018: Schedule of events<doc-sep>
When Terrell Owens finally gets inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, he won't be anywhere near the festivities going down in Canton, Ohio. Instead, the T.O. Hall of Fame tour will be in Chattanooga, Tenn., where Owens is scheduled to give his induction speech just after 3 p.m. ET. Although Owens has been heavily criticized for his decision to skip the enshrinement ceremony in Canton, the former NFL receiver stands by his choice. Back in July, Owens listed several reasons why he decided to skip out on the ceremony, and on Friday, he added one more: T.O. thinks the selection process for the Hall of Fame is flawed. "This is not [about] not being inducted the first or second ballot, but it's about the process in which guys are nominated and ultimately inducted," Owens said, via ESPN.com. "There is a flaw in that system. So this is not only about me, but it's about the guys that went before me, that's going to come after me. And I can make a stand for those guys so they won't have to go through this situation." Owens had previous mentioned Jerry Kramer as a player who was overlooked by the Hall's "flawed" process. Kramer is one of the eight players who will be inducted on Saturday. The Hall of Fame selection process is handled by 48 voters, who make up the selection committee, and it basically sounds like Owens doesn't feel that they're doing a very good job. "I understand why I've made my decision," Owens said. "I don't expect everyone to agree with me. But again, obviously the criteria and the system put in place for the Hall of Fame in order for guys like myself to be inducted, there are guidelines that the writers -- the sportswriters -- are supposed to adhere to." Last month, Owens had basically said he was skipping the ceremony because he didn't like the way the media portrayed him during his career and he didn't like the fact that voters made him wait three years to be inducted. Owens has now given us three reasons for skipping the enshrinement ceremony and not surprisingly, they all tie together. The selection committee is mostly made up of media members who covered him during his career and Owens was never a big fan of the media and that relationship only got worse after he was snubbed by the HOF voters for the past two years. That being said, Owens isn't the only one who thinks the selection process needs an overhaul. Back in February, our Pete Prisco took a look at the process and listed multiple reasons why he believes that it's flawed. Prisco thinks that the voting should be done in private by each individual voter. The current process calls for the selection committee to meet the day before the Super Bowl every year. During the meeting, one person from the 48-member committee gives a presentation and tries to convince the other members to vote in a certain player. Prisco would also like to see the Hall of Fame open up its eligibility rules. Currently, no more than five modern day players can be inducted each year, which doesn't make a lot of sense for a sport that has 22 guys on the field for every play. As for Owens, someone might want to tell him that his bronze bust is currently in Canton, because he might need that for his ceremony on Saturday.