A lot of guys try to get our attention. Donovan was that rare guy who didn't have to try. He was as good on the field – he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his second try - as he was off it. He appeared on "Late Night with David Letterman" and "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and reduced both hosts and their audiences to howling in seconds. Often the jokes were at his expense. Self deprecation is not a quality prevalent today. Like many athletes, who were part of the Greatest Generation, he left football during World War II and joined the Marine Corps fighting in the Pacific Theater including Iwo Jima. His former teammate, Raymond Berry, told NFL.com that he once asked Donovan about the war. "He said to me, 'Raymond, I got shot in the ass on Iwo Jima.' " If you are young enough to have missed Donovan during his heyday on the late night circuit, head to YouTube.com and check out some of his old clips. If you are old enough to remember Donovan, you should head to YouTube as well, just to refresh your memory. Donovan died last Sunday at age 89. He was a player and a great storyteller and we'll never see another guy like him. That's sad for us, but it's a darn good epitaph.