During his eight year career in the National Football League, former Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver Cris Collinsworth endured a number of painful leg injuries.

A damaged ankle suffered during the 1984 season voided a five-year contract he signed with the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits the following offseason because it made him uninsurable. A knee injury later forced the Pro Bowler to miss a combined 11 games during the 1987 and 1988 campaigns, which ultimately became the final two of his career because the ensuing structural damage left him unable to find a contract on the free agent market.

But this particular leg injury felt much worse, and it wasn’t even his.

This time, it had been suffered by his youngest daughter Ashley, who was lying on the ground in tears, holding her broken leg.

On a warm afternoon, she had tried, like her older brother Austin, to perform a trick on the tire swing in their backyard. But Austin, who now plays football at Notre Dame, had the physical ability to switch his body from one side to another without much trouble. Despite her best efforts to duplicate her brother’s talent, Ashley’s timing was off, and within seconds she was flying off the swing as her father watched in horror.

“That one I’ll never live down as long as I live,” Cris says. “She was just a little tiny peanut of a thing…. It was the worst parenting moment that I think I’ve ever had in my life.”

But despite Cris’ remorse as his daughter recovered over the following month, Ashley made sure her father didn’t feel any blame.

“All she did for the next five weeks was try to cheer me up,” Cris recalls. “She was still her bright, bubbly self as she sat there in her little pink cast and tried to make me feel better the whole time.”

Ashley’s leg fully healed, something that would later certainly become clear during an impressive high school track and field career that has continued at Harvard. But before taking up the sport, in her early years, Ashley instead put her legs—and her cheerful personality—to good use through her passion for dance, a hobby of hers since she was three years old.

“She would put on costumes and dance around the house,” Cris explains. “Whatever music was on, she was just one of those happy lights of a person. She entertained us all and just had a very vivacious, energetic personality that always seemed to brighten the room when she walked into it.”

As she grew up, Ashley used that effervescence to continue putting a smile on her father’s face—and even a tear in his eye.

“The big pouffy costumes, the hats that flowed in every way that make a dad cry, and then when the dance recital day comes around and they play the sweet little ballet numbers, and those three, four, five year olds are up there looking like beautiful ballerinas—that’s what I’ll remember most from those early days,” Cris says.

Meanwhile, as her father became increasingly well-known as a NFL commentator—a career path he took up soon after his playing days came to an end—Ashley says that fact didn’t make her childhood any different than that of her friends.

“He was always just a father to me,” she says. “He was always there, he was always the coach of all our teams, he was just like a normal dad.”

As she moved into her teenage years, Ashley continued to follow her passion for dance, later becoming captain of the Highlands High School team as a senior. But upon arriving at the school, she decided to put her talented legs to a new test by joining the track and field squad.

“All my friends were doing it,” says Ashley, who played on Highland’s soccer team as well. “It was just another fun sport to do.”

Ashley certainly had the genes to be successful in her new endeavor, as Cris had been considered one of the fastest receivers in the NFL during his playing days. He was so quick that on March 5, 1983, the Bengal attempted to race a horse, Mr. Hurry, in front of a large crowd at Latonia Race Course in Ohio.

The match ended up not being much of a contest—the horse won by a wide margin—but a quarter-century later Collinsworth decided to relive his passion for running by serving as the coach of Ashley’s high school track and field team in their hometown of Fort Thomas, Ky.

“I did it really just to be around her,” Cris explains. “Obviously I was traveling and [announcing] games during the season; all I wanted to do was just hang around the kids.”

The former athlete says he didn’t take his job too seriously, often goofing around in an attempt to make practices more fun.

“I would always run behind [the team] and sing that song, ‘Apple Bottom Jeans,’” Collinsworth—referring to T-Pain’s “Get Low”—recalls with a laugh. “I could do a couple verses of that…. They hated it because I can’t sing at all, and I certainly can’t sing one of their songs from their era. The more I would sing, the faster they would run. I think it directly led to four straight championships because they certainly did not want to hear me singing ‘Apple Bottom Jeans.’”

But the other Collinsworth also played a major role in sparking those consecutive state titles.

A Cincinnati Enquirer first team all-state standout as a junior and senior, Ashley won her team’s MVP and Most Valuable Sprinter awards and received the National Guard Best and Brightest Track Athlete honor as well. Like her father, Ashley ran with seemingly equine speed, winning two straight individual championships and setting the school record in the hundred-meter dash.

“She had shown some signs of being a great athlete, of being very competitive,” Crimson coach Jason Saretsky says. “Meeting her on her recruiting trip, it was fairly clear what kind of mentality she would be bringing to our program, and we were very excited to add her to our team.”

Upon arriving at Harvard, Ashley immediately impressed, qualifying first in the 60-meter dash with the sixth-fastest time in school history before finishing third in that event and fifth in the 200-meter dash at December’s Harvard Open.

“She’s had some real flashes of brilliance,” Saretsky adds. “We’ve seen that competitive drive and tenacity that we saw in prefrosh at various points during her freshman year.”

Thus far, the rookie has enjoyed being a part of a college squad.

“It’s been a great experience,” Ashley adds. “My best friends have come from the team. You have to learn to balance the schedule and everything, but once you do, it’s worth it.”

And Cris has been greatly impressed by her ability to succeed at that very task.

“I don’t think anybody could understand what its like to be an athlete at Harvard University,” says Cris, who was a first team Academic All-American himself at the University of Florida in 1980. “These brilliant young people are accomplishing so much in the library and in the classroom and in the chemistry labs, and to take a four-hour chunk out of every day to run around the track and then to compete at the high academic level that is Harvard University is a remarkable accomplishment.”

Indeed, it is often Ashley’s academic achievements, more so than her athletic ones, that stand out to the former football star.

“I’ve told her repeatedly that she’s taken my gene pool to a whole new level—there’s nothing in her genetic makeup on my side that would point to Harvard University,” he says, laughing. “There is nothing that anybody could do to make me any prouder of my daughter than what she’s accomplishing at Harvard.”

Cris is certainly not shy about that pride, never hesitating to drop the H-Bomb when he has the chance.

“I’ve actually made a science out of how to brag about my daughter,” he explains. “I’ve forced people—they’ll say, ‘tell me about your kids.’ I’ll reply, ‘I’ve got a son in South Bend, a daughter in Gainesville, and another daughter in Boston.’ South Bend they know is Notre Dame, Gainesville they know is Florida. Boston forces them to ask the next question: ‘Where in Boston?’ ‘Harvard’ always forces them to fall on the ground and say, ‘What?’”

“As a parent you just relish the moment,” he adds with a laugh. “The only thing that could make it better is if she would stay at Harvard for thirty years so I could do that for the rest of my life.”

Indeed, as Ashley has progressed through her freshman year, the former football star continues to be amazed by his daughter’s achievements.

“I think [the team] got back at two or three in the morning from the Hep Championships this past weekend,” he says. “Half the girls and guys had finals at eight or nine in the morning the next day. I’m certainly not demeaning the accomplishments of the other kids there, but to be able to do that—to study on a bus for seven hours driving to Philadelphia, to study on a bus for seven hours coming back, to get four to five hours of sleep and then take a final at Harvard University—to me is a remarkable accomplishment.”

“I’m sure every parent of Harvard students feels the same way,” he adds. “It’s playing in the Super Bowl, it’s being part of the Olympics, it’s achieving at the highest level in the world at the academic stage.”

And Cris, who played in two Super Bowls himself, certainly knows a thing or two about that very level. After serving as the Gators team captain and earning first-team All-American honors in 1980, Cris was the second-round pick of the Bengals in the following year’s NFL Draft. A 6’5” wideout, Collinsworth appeared on the cover of “Sports Illustrated” as a rookie, was named to three Pro Bowls, and surpassed 1,000 receiving yards four times during his eight year career.

Once his playing days had come to an end, Collinsworth became one of the NFL’s best-known commentators. Since 1989, he has served as an analyst for HBO’s (now Showtime’s) successful “Inside the NFL” and is also presently the color commentator on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” and in the popular “Madden” video games. For his performances on those programs and others, Collinsworth won one of the two “Outstanding Sports Personality” Emmy Awards in 1997, 1998, and every year from 2002 to 2012 (for a record total of 13).

Though she’s not a huge football fan, Ashley admits she will sometimes tune in on Sunday nights just to hear her father’s voice.

“I’m proud of my dad and what he does,” Ashley says. “He works hard.”

Cris likewise feels the same way about his daughter.

“In every situation, she always takes the high ground, she always does the right thing, she always cares for her friends,” Cris says. “I tell my kids all the time, ‘I want you to be a great athlete, I want you to be great academically, I want you to achieve a lot of things, but mostly I want you to be a great person. If none of the other stuff happens and you’re a great person, then I’m okay with anything else that happens in your life—that’s the highest standard.’”

For her ability to meet that standard, Cris Collinsworth—despite earnings honors ranging from Pro Bowl appearances to Emmy Awards—thus believes his daughter Ashley is his greatest accomplishment.

“To me there’s no level of pride anybody could have in their child that would exceed mine,” he says. “She set that bar as high as it could be set.”

There’s the Hall of Fame plaque, the World Series ring and the hardware he won for Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player (twice) and countless other accomplishments.

Sometimes, Cal Ripken Jr. looks at that stuff and wonders: Is it really mine?

“The farther removed [from playing] that I get, the more it all seems like another lifetime. But I’m pretty sure it all happened to me,” said Ripken, 51, who spent 21 seasons with the Orioles before retiring in 2001.
“When you’re not playing baseball, day to day, in many ways your career is like looking back on a dream.”

A dream it was for Ripken, the Aberdeen kid who grew up to play for his hometown team — managed briefly by his father — and sculpt a legacy of determination that would long resonate with baseball fans. His jersey bore a figure 8, but the number 2,131 defines Ripken. Just as, for decades, 2,130 spoke volumes about the work ethic of the New York Yankees’ Lou Gehrig.

Will Ripken’s big league record of having played in 2,632 consecutive games stand forever? The Iron Man thinks not.

“If I can do it, certainly someone else can,” Ripken said. “Stubbornness played a part. I’m ornery about doing things a certain way. I still like routines; I like habits.

“Luck was a factor, and so was not getting hurt. I must have hit a million pitches off my foot, but it never swelled up like most players’ do. I attribute my healing powers to my daddy [Cal Sr.]. He got hit by a line drive in Boston while coaching third base, but the next day, he was back out there.”

If the streak is his tattoo, Ripken said that setting that mark wasn’t the apex of his career.

“I had some really good human moments, milestones like the 2,131 game, where I took the lap around the field,” he said. “But that was more of a personal feeling, a chance to reach out to fans and say, ‘Thank you,’ like a one-on-one celebration.

“The best feeling I had in baseball was catching the last out in the [1983] World Series — a little humpbacked liner that wouldn’t otherwise have made it onto ESPN ‘SportsCenter.’ The dream is to win the Series, where — at that moment — the sense of satisfaction you feel as a team floods over you, like nothing else.”

Ripken played in 19 All-Star Games, at shortstop and third base, and was twice named American League MVP. He collected 3,184 hits, 431 home runs and 1,695 RBIs. Growing up, he never imagined such success.

“At 10, I was batboy for the Orioles’ farm club in Asheville [N.C.] where my dad managed. I thought those minor league guys had the best jobs in the world, so I aspired to be a Class AA player,” he said.

Regrets are few.

“I wish I’d played on more championship teams, and that [the Orioles] had not gone through so many rebuilding processes,” he said. “And I think that Dad should have had the opportunity to manage. When he got the team, we were clearly in a rebuilding mode.”

Cal Sr. piloted the Orioles to a sixth-place finish in 1987 and for the first six games in 1988, all losses, when he was fired.

Nonetheless, Ripken said, “I was able to play my whole career with one team, like my hero,Brooks Robinson.

“I played as hard, and as long, as I could. To be remembered at all is cool, but I’d like to be remembered as a ‘gamer’ — a player who comes to the ballpark ready to meet the day’s challenges, no matter what they are, and play for a team that can count on you to always be there.”

An eleven-time surfing champion and a famous knuckleballer are among the first ever Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame inductees.

This Friday, 26 sporting heroes from Brevard County will be inducted into the inaugural class of 2012. They include sporting greats Tim Wakefield, Kelly Slater, Wilber Marshall and Cris Collinsworth in the pro division. We’ve confirmed that Wakefield will be at the ceremony, which takes place at the Cocoa Beach County Club. Cocktail hour is from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by dinner and an induction ceremony from 7 to 10 p.m.

Coach Chuck Goldfarb – who’s Cocoa High’s athletic director – is among the 26 inductees. I tossed a ball around with him at the Space Coast Stadium Wednesday. Goldfarb says he’s looking forward to meeting the famous knuckleballer, despite one minor detail.

“Actually I’m a Yankee fan. I grew up in New York. But you always sort of pull for the home boy. Tim Wakefield is just – I admire him so much.”

Another pro inductee is Kelly Slater, who breaks surfing records all the time. Robin Keener – an inductee and standout tennis star – knew Slater way back when.

“I babysat for Kelly Slater,” she told me. “It was only a couple of times. I sat in for a friend of mine, but I grew up in Cocoa Beach and so did he.” She said she also babysat for Slater’s brother. “They were crazy!” she laughed.

According to spacecoastdaily.com, Wilber Marshall (football) is among the professional inductees.

In the college category are Bob Anderson (football), Mitzi Kremer (swimming), Matt Walters (football), Kelly Kretschman (softball) and Reggie Nelson (football).

In the prep category, inductees are Kayla Hale (cross country), Leon Bright (football), Ashlyn Harris (soccer), Dr. Zundra Feagin Aubrey (track) and Clint Hurdle (baseball).

Amateur inductees are Vicky Hurst (golf), Doug Butler (running), Robin Keener (tennis), Sherri France (softball) and Bunny Cederlund (swimming).

Coaching inductees are Gerald Odom (football), Chuck Goldfarb (baseball), Mike Gaudy (basketball), Floyd Horgen (golf) and the late Rick Stottler (soccer).

Dr. Anthony Catanese, president of Florida Tech, will be honored as the recipient of the Hall of Fame’s Visionary Award for his leadership in bringing college football to Brevard County.

Tickets are $50 each. Call 321-615-8111 or 321-323-4460.

Maybe it’s the relentless motor that drives Chris Long to improve year-by-year. The DNA would suggest greatness but not without an unwritten desire to take parts of his game to a higher level.

Growing up, he was known as the Hall of Famer’s kid, blessed with a Body by Canton, but the unknown of whether he could fill the cleats. However, there was always that motor, turning heads, keeping opposing offensive coordinators up at night.

Making gradual strides each year in the NFL just as he did at St. Anne’s-Belfield in Charlottesville, just as he did at the University of Virginia, the fourth year in the pros was when Long really arrived.

About this time last May, the former Cavalier All-American defensive end wasn’t sure there was going to be an NFL season because of the lockout. Still, he was clear in his mission.

“I’d like to improve so much that my film looks totally different next year,” Long proclaimed in May of 2011. “I want my production to go up and I want to help the team win.”

As the great poet Meatloaf once wrote, two out of three ain’t bad.

While the St. Louis Rams struggled to a 2-14 season and fell disappointingly short of projections of a potential division crown and the playoffs, Long had his best season in his NFL career. Among his highlights were 13 quarterback sacks, seventh-best in the league, resurrecting comparisons to famed father Howie Long, one of the most fierce pass rushers in pro history.

Chris Long’s feat did not go unnoticed. The Charlottesville native was named to the NFL’s Top 100 (active players list). He was ranked No. 84 as a matter of fact.

Considering there are 1,440 players on NFL active rosters, No. 84 isn’t too shabby.

The 13 sacks automatically kept record-keepers searching for dad, Howie’s, most sacks in a season during his storied career.

Thirteen.

Hmmm.

“Our coaches were calling [Chris] Howie Long all week,” former UVa running back Cedric Peerman told his ex-teammate before one game last season.

“That doesn’t bother me,” Chris Long said in a recent interview while he was in Charlottesville. “I’m very proud of my dad. To me, there are comparisons, but there aren’t comparisons. We kind of play two different positions. He’s a Hall of Famer, I’m not a Hall of Famer.

“For people to even talk about us together is pretty cool,” Long said. “When I succeed on the field, I know he’s proud. When I got my 13th sack, he wanted me to get more. He roots for me like any father would.”

Long’s production for the Rams has flourished the past two years since moving from the traditional right-side rush end in St. Louis’ 4-3 alignment to the left end. He had 8.5 sacks in 2010.

The first thing he thinks about in the offseason is how he can continue to improve, an annual goal that he continues to fulfill.

“You look at the tape and you can just tell if you’re a different player or not,” Long said. “When I looked at last season’s tape, I made some strides but I still have a lot to work on. I’ve been lucky enough to do that every year I’ve played since high school.”

There’s not a lot of tangible keys to the improvement other than sheer determination and hard work. Film study and self-analysis of technique is just as important as the weight room.

Whatever he is doing, it has paid off. A quick study might proclaim him the best pass rusher from the left side in the league.

“I don’t know. I haven’t even thought about that,” Long said. “They talk about the left side guys being the less-skilled pass rushers and all that stuff. We line up in front of the tight end more, so you have to be a little more physical, and I pride myself in being a physical player.

“The left side guy has to be a bit more of a complete player but those guys on the right side, well they’re better over there,” Long said. “Just to be in the conversation is really humbling.”

Still, 13 sacks is 13 sacks and opposing quarterbacks and pass protection is constantly aware of where Long is on the field. Usually he’s not hard to find because he’s right in their facemasks, having also been one of the league’s best in quarterback pressures.

“He’s a beast,” said Beanie Wells of the Arizona Cardinals, who faces Long a couple times a year. “He’s athletic. He’s a big guy who can run. One time last season I tried to cut him and it didn’t work out so well. He was back there in the backfield. I don’t know what keeps him going, Red Bull, or what. But he never stops.”

“There’s no stopping him. He’s relentless,” said Bryant McKinnie of the Baltimore Ravens. “He’s one of those guys that don’t get tired. He just keeps coming, play after play after play.”

One of the few bright spots for the Rams last season was the defensive line. In one of only two wins, the Rams upset the New Orleans Saints and Long was a big key with a career-high three sacks of quarterback Drew Brees.

To gain top 100 recognition in the league from a 2-14 team speaks volumes about the young end’s play.

“It’s very difficult to get to the double-digit mark [in sacks] in our league,” Long admitted. “You can’t take it for granted because it’s so tough to do. What it makes you want to do is to continue to work even harder and have that kind of production to help the team and help the defense. You also want to show everyone that you’re not just a flash in the pan, something you want to do every year.”

Fear is part of Long’s motivation as well. Always has been. Fear of failure, so he pushes himself to the limit.

To record the seventh-highest sack total in a season when there were outstanding performances was notable.

“There were some guys putting up good numbers this past season,” Long said. “You do keep in the back of your mind where you’re ranked and you want to strive to be the best at what you do. Numbers do play a role in it, so you can’t say that you don’t have your eye on it.”

With a new head coach and staff, the Rams are encouraged about the future. Veteran Jeff Fisher, formerly of the Tennessee Titans, takes over in St. Louis after 16 years in Nashville. He brings a winning attitude to the Gateway to the West.

Fisher’s 142 career wins are tied for third with the Giants’ Tom Coughlin among active coaches, trailing only New England’s Bill Belichick (175) and Washington’s Mike Shanahan (157).

Defensive line coach Mike Waufle, formerly of the Giants and Raiders, is now working with Long as is assistant line coach Clyde Simmons, a 15-year NFL veteran who retired with 121.5 sacks to his credit.

“To be working with guys like that every day is a blessing,” Long said.

The NFL allows teams bouncing back from a poor record and a new coaching staff to conduct an extra minicamp and more days to prepare and so the Rams went back to work about three weeks ago. Long believes the extra time will help in building a better 2012.

Recently engaged, Long is trying to make sure he will enter his fifth season, the final year of his contract with the Rams, in a healthy state.

“Hopefully it’s not my last year with the Rams,” Long said. “I’d love to be a part of it but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, I’ll just take it day by day.”

Or year by year.

It’s always about getting better.

In memory of Junior Seau, our deepest condolences go out to the Seau family and all of his loved ones.

NORTH ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MO. (KTVI) – Residents at the Missouri Veterans Home in North County got some special guests Tuesday.  Chris Long from the St. Louis Rams along with some 50 seventh graders from Chaminade came out to help with ‘spring cleaning’ projects at the home.  They did everything from cleanin
g the wheel chairs of veterans to cleaning their rooms.

The veterans advocacy group ‘The Mission Continues’ put on the event.

Veterans say the special visitors made their day.  ‘When people like this come to our home and they pitch in to help us out around here, it’s a special feeling you just can’t explain in your heart and to know that someone else cares,’ said Marines veteran Eddie Dillard.

‘I’ve gotten to meet a lot of awesome veterans today, other days that I’ve been able to be a part of something that mission continues is doing. Of something that mission continues is doing. I never feel like I’m the guy that people know. To me, the real heroes are them. I know it’s cliché but it’s true at least to me,’ added Long.

The kids also wrote letters thanking the veterans for their service.

Nearly 300 veterans live at the skilled nursing center.

He’s still the best. Cris Collinsworth won his 13th Sports Emmy Monday night at New York’s Lincoln Center.

Collinsworth — the former Bengals receiver and WLW-AM “SportsTalk” host from Fort Thomas — won his fifth Emmy for “outstanding sports personality – sports event analyst.”  It was the second consecutive year he won the award for NBC’s popular prime-time NFL games. He replaced John Madden three years ago.

Collinsworth also won best event analyst for NBC and/or NFL Network in 2006, 2008, 2009.

He has eight Emmys for best studio analyst for HBO, Fox and/or NBC in 1997, 1998, 2002-2007.

NBC Sports Group won nine Sports Emmy Awards, the most of any sports company for the second straight year.  NBC winners included  “Sunday Night Football” (a fourth consecutive outstanding live sports series) Bob Costas (sports personality – studio host) and ”Sunday Night Football” sidelines reporter Michele Tafoya, who won the inaugural award for outstanding sports personality – sports reporter.

The Cris Collinsworth ProScan Fund has been named the beneficiary of a $25,000 grant by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee.  The funding will support the ProScan Pink Ribbon Centers, Pink Ribbon Empowerment Programs (PREP), Pink Ribbon Mammogram Match, and Cruisin’ for a Cure.

The Pink Ribbon Programs provide breast health services and education to women in Greater Cincinnati.  Women can receive screening and diagnostic digital mammograms, breast ultrasound and general ultrasound, bone density scans, breast biopsies and needle localizations at the ProScan Pink Ribbon Center. The Mammogram Match program provides fully funded mammograms and additional breast health services to low-income, uninsured women of any age. Cruisin’ for a Cure provides free transportation to and from appointments at the ProScan Pink Ribbon Centers.

The awarded funding will help sustain these programs as well as expand the Pink Ribbon Empowerment Program (PREP). PREP is a culturally competent, age-appropriate outreach program that teaches the importance of breast health through interactive presentations. CCPF will enhance the PREP program by reaching more low-income women through amplified marketing efforts and educational outreach events, health fairs, and seminars and encouraging more women in the community to be proactive about their breast health.

With the help of the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee funding, The Pink Ribbon Programs will touch the lives of thousands of women across the Tri-State area this year. With the community’s continued support, the Cris Collinsworth ProScan Fund will strive towards carrying out their mission one person at a time.

Derek Jeter’s professional obituary was written a year ago, with pundits saying age finally had caught up with the New York Yankees shortstop.

These days, the only number anyone is talking about is Jeter’s soaring hit total as he was batting .411 entering Tuesday night, passing legendary names on baseball’s all-time hit list with several more within reach.

“Interesting, isn’t it?” Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. told USA TODAY Sports. “All the commotion that was caused last year, and the criticism that he had lost some steps, felt familiar to me in a lot of ways.

“Deep inside, it had to bother him. I felt for him. I thought a lot of the criticism and the momentum that was gathering was wrong. When you’re in a slump, you’re in a slump.

“But when you get to a certain age, a slump is looked at differently, like it’s an indicator your career is over. He’s answered that. The way he’s playing, he’s not slowing down at all. He’s got a lot of baseball left in him.”

Jeter, who had 30 hits this season and 3,118 in his career, is well on his way to an eighth 200-hit season. If he reaches that milestone, he’ll move from 19th to 11th on the all-time list, just ahead of Willie Mays’ 3,283. He could pass five Hall of Famers by the All-Star break, needing 67 hits to eclipse recent Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn, Robin Yount, George Brett and Ripken.

Ripken, who was in Phoenix on Tuesday for a Habitat for Humanity initiative, expects Jeter to go much higher than that.

“When it’s all said and done, he’ll be pushing close to 4,000 hits,” said Ripken, who amassed 3,194 hits, 66 more than Jeter. “I don’t know if he’ll get to Pete (Rose)’s record (4,256), but he’s sure going to be passing a lot of people.”

Gone are the signs of decline. Jeter, 37, has at least 179 hits in all but two of his 16 complete seasons. This is the 61st 30-hit month of his career, the most since Rose did it 78 times, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Jeter had four homers and nine extra-base hits this season, compared to a .219 batting average with one extra-base hit in his first 16 games last season. Jeter didn’t reach nine extra-base hits until his 50th game last season, or hit his fourth homer until July 25, in his 100th game.

“We’re all getting older,” Jeter said Monday after going 4-for-5 against the Texas Rangers. “That’s pointing out the obvious. Everyone is getting older, but just because you’ve gotten older doesn’t mean you can’t do things.”

Ripken, who played in a record 2,632 consecutive games, says Jeter gets unfairly criticized because no one compares him to his peers. Even though Jeter will turn 38 on June 26, Ripken says he still is among the game’s elite shortstops, offensively and defensively.

“People compare Derek (now) to Derek the young guy,” Ripken said. “That’s so unfair. I think because he’s set such a higher standard, instead of comparing him to other shortstops, you compare Derek to when he was young and had more quickness and range.

“He’s always been a very reactive player to different situations and has those intangibles that other shortstops don’t. Those are intangibles that you can’t put sabermetric analysis on.”

It is also why Jeter, who has hit .354 since returning to the lineup July 4 after a strained calf muscle, might be as good as ever.

“I was kidding him that it looks like 1999,” Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez said of the year when Jeter led the league with 219 hits. “He is getting three hits every day. It’s amazing.”