Previewing the Hall vote

INDIANAPOLIS – For the fifth straight year, Cris Carter will spend most of the day before the Super Bowl waiting to see if he gets a call that he has wanted for a very long time. The Middletown native is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012. After being critical of being overlooked in the past, Carter was a lot more measured with his words when asked on Thursday about whether he thinks this year is his time. “I get very nervous but I’ve really done all I can do. I hope I make it difficult on them but I have a great support system around me,” Carter said. “The closer you get the more difficult it is because so much of your fate is in others hands. It’s an honor that you want. I’ve been so close of being a finalist the last several years, you can almost just taste it but you really don’t have it.” Carter’s numbers are exemplary. He is still among the NFL career leaders in catches (fourth with 1,101), touchdowns (fourth with 130) and yards (eighth with 13,899). ...