Green, Carter and Moore top list of Hall of Fame nominees

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cornerback Darrell Green and wide receivers Cris Carter and Herman Moore head the list of 124 nominees submitted for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2008.

The preliminary list, announced by the Hall of Fame on Wednesday, is the first step in a process that will end with the hopefuls being trimmed to 15 modern-era nominees.

They will be up for selection along with two senior candidates, Marshall Goldberg and Emmitt Thomas, who were nominated in August by the Hall of Fame's senior selection committee.

Final balloting for the Class of 2008 will be conducted at the Hall of Fame selection committee's annual meeting on February 2 in Phoenix, Arizona, the day before Super Bowl XLII.

Players and coaches must be retired for five years before being considered for induction into the Canton, Ohio shrine.

Green, widely considered to be one of the greatest cornerbacks in NFL history, recorded 54 interceptions in a 20-year career spent entirely with the Washington Redskins.

Carter, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins, was a four-time All-Pro who appeared in eight consecutive Pro Bowls.

Moore, a wide receiver with the Detroit Lions and New York Giants, was selected to four Pro Bowls from 1994 to 997. He ended his 12-year NFL career with 670 receptions for 9,174 yards and 62 touchdowns.

Other first-year eligible candidates for the Class of 2008 include running back Eric Metcalf, offensive tackles Tony Boselli, Lomas Brown, and Richmond Webb, and linebackers Levon Kirkland and Hardy Nickerson.

(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles)