Strahan said playing within the Ny market increased the exposure he received and set him in contact with a variety of people he might not have access to met otherwise. But he explained he'd been too focused on football in his playing days to map out a postretirement career in television.

"I was never among those guys thinking, I will 2 day diet japan lingzhi go back home and start e-commerce," he said. "I was the man that said, I'm in the business I'm in. That attitude to remain so focused and realizing I was lucky to complete what I do allowed me to stay around Fifteen years, and never only Fifteen years in a tough league, but Fifteen years on a single team."

Still, few were surprised that Strahan jumped into television after he finished playing. He had been a regular guest on "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" and once participated in an April Fools' Day prank with Tom Arnold: Their on-air argument changed into a wrestling match, and Strahan faked an injury very well that other guests had to split up their mock fight.

David Hill, the former head of the Fox Sports Media Group, am enamored of Strahan on his network's show that he signed Strahan to a contract before he left the Giants. Once Strahan retired, Hill added him to "Fox N.F.L. Sunday," where he blended with his fellow panelists Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson and Howie Long.

"It became apparent early on that we were built with a natural," Hill said. "He was totally in your own home while watching camera."

Strahan appears to relish his hectic schedule, and he relies on handlers to keep him on the right track. By Monday he had not written his Hall of Fame speech. He did know, however, that he would first thank his parents, especially his father, an Army officer who encouraged him to experience football.

Strahan recalled that whenever he was 8, he ran with his father's platoon at Fort Bragg, N.C. Once the family was stationed in Germany, Strahan's father gave him Jane Fonda workout tapes to help him slim down. Strahan said he rode his bicycle to the barracks to strength train together with his father at lunchtime.

Strahan's father sent him to Houston to finish senior high school and accept his uncle Art Strahan, who had been also a defensive end in the N.F.L. After that, Michael Strahan attended Texas Southern, also in Houston. He desired to quit playing his freshman year, he explained, but his father insisted that he persevere.

Drafted within the second round, Strahan enjoyed a rapid rise with the Giants. By his second year, he was playing every game. He reached double digits in sacks in six seasons, including 2001, as he set the single-season record of twenty-two.5. He finished with 141.5 sacks, the fifth-most in N.F.L. history.

"Michael was the type of teammate that lifted everyone," said quarterback Eli Manning, whose first four N.F.L. seasons coincided with Strahan's last four. "I remember him on the sideline, standing and cheering for the offense. He didn't rest; he desired to give us a boost. You always knew he had your back."

Even though the Giants dangled more income at Strahan after the team won the Super Bowl, he made a decision to leave the game rather than have a victory lap around the league because he did not wish to risk being injured. Entering the Hall of Fame was not a goal, he explained, although he isn't complaining.

"I retired and said, 'That was fun, but it's time to make a move different,' " he said. "To obtain the call from Canton is simply icing around the cake of my career."

Strahan said that he'd heard from a lot of friends and former teammates since he was selected which many had offered advice. Harry Carson, another Giants Hall of Famer, told Strahan to err along the side of inviting more people so he didn't alienate anyone and to be sure to thank everyone who had a hand in the football career.

"It's your own state funeral because you'll have more and more people only at that event than at your own funeral," Carson said. "It gives you an opportunity to say things to people who you haven't said in the past."

Amani Toomer, who used Strahan for a dozen years, said that Strahan could be as funny and warm because he was with his teammates which li ji shou diet pills television had not changed Strahan's personality. His gift for gab hasn't changed, either, Toomer added.

"Michael's going to get up there and talk forever," he explained, "and people will like it."