Joe Montana, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer, joined Up Close host Gary Miller to discuss his career, along with his reaction to the sudden death of his former Kansas City teammate Derrick Thomas on February 8.

Montana also explained why Eddie DeBartolo will be his introductory speaker to the Hall of Fame, how he feels about fellow inductee and former teammate Ronnie Lott and what advice he would give to 49ers quarterback Steve Young, who sat out most of the season recovering from a concussion.

Here are excerpts from the February 9 Up Close interview with Montana:

Miller: How did you react yesterday when you heard the news about Derrick Thomas?

Montana: Like everyone else, I was stunned, and shocked. It's a tragic loss, not only for the Kansas City community, but for the country and all NFL fans around the world. To lose someone, not only a great talent but a great person like Derrick was . . . . I think it was a great example of someone who was able to turn the tides in his life, where he came from in his youth and what he was able to accomplish on the field and off the field in Kansas City . . . To me it's disheartening that he is gone. It's sad because he was one of the guys who opened up his arms; as a veteran going to another team, sometimes it can be tough, especially with someone of Derrick's stature. He could easily say, "this is my town," but he was one of those guys who was looking for every way possible to have fun and win at the same time. It's a very sad day . . . I never saw a day where Derrick didn't have a smile on his face. It didn't matter how bad we were playing or how bad things may have been in the locker room or for him. If he wasn't playing well he was always the same, and that is tough to do.

	Many of Montana's brightest moments came as a 49ers.

Miller: When you heard about Derrick's back surgery, did you think, "this guy may not walk again?" Did you struggle with this, when you think back to those days when you thought your career might be over with your back surgery?

Montana: Well, I did, and it was funny that you even mention that, because when I first talked to Derrick, I said, "Oh, I see Derrick, we're competing again. I had back surgery and I come back so you're trying to one-up me." He started laughing and said, "yeah, Nineteen (because he never called me Joe) . . . I'm doing good," and we just got into how he is feeling and he sounded like Derrick. Carl Peterson was in the same hotel as me (in Atlanta at the Super Bowl), and Carl gave me the number to give Derrick a call. I said, "I just talked Derrick today," and Carl said, "Well, how did he sound?" I said, "He sounded great, just like Derrick." He said, "What do you mean?" I said, "Well he told me to come down any Friday, because 'I can get out on Fridays. I get out and we can hang out.' I told Carl and Carl said, "He can't get out of the hospital." Then Carl talked to one of the scouts who was down there and asked him how things were and he said, "Going good, I just got one of the vans ready to take Derrick to the Miami Heat game." And Carl said, "What do you mean?" The scout said, "Derrick said he could get out to go to the Miami Heat game." Carl said, "He can't get out." I mean that was Derrick, always trying to do something, always trying to have fun and just enjoy life. No matter what, it was hard to get Derrick down.

Miller: Ronnie Lott goes into Canton with you -- how much does that mean to have him go in with you to the Hall of Fame?

Montana: Ronnie, his abilities speak for themselves. I mean, what he was able to accomplish on the field, what he was able to pull out of teammates and how he did it. Everyone has heard those stories, and you've seen him on TV, but the thing I think that says the most about a person is if you're able to go in and ask someone to stand up for you or a member of your family. He and his wife are godparents to our youngest son. I tell Ronnie, he is exactly like Ronnie, the guy wants nothing but contact. This is a kid that went from here to his brothers and says, "you take the ball so I can tackle you." Then when his brother got faster than him, the only way for contact is if HE took the ball and let his brother tackle him, because that is all he cares about. He is just like Ronnie, and it's a great honor to go in there. I think it's a great class in general but to go in there with Ronnie it makes it extra special.

Miller: Eddie DeBartolo is going to present you, what do you think that is going to mean to him?

Montana: We have had the conversation and he said I would not understand what it would mean to him. And I said yeah I do, because I don't think he understood what it means to me to have him there and I think the feeling is mutual. I'm just honored that he said yes, I was a little nervous that he wasn't going to say yes.

Miller: Why?

Montana: There is a lot going on, it's tough. It's got to be tough on him with the situation he has been through a lot and I feel for him. And that is the one thing over the years that I think that I was able to separate, football from our friendship. In most cases over the years, that has kept us together. We talk all the time and we get together whenever we can; he lives actually around the corner from me in San Francisco, so we spend a lot of time together away from it.

Miller: Steve Young missed most of 1999 after suffering a concussion. What would you tell Steve Young? Would you tell him to come back?

Montana: I think he has to sit back and take a serious look at his health. If it is that much of a issue, it's not worth it. He has had a great career, he's been there a long time and he needs to sit back and do it. At this point, the medical community does not know the effects of that much trauma on the brain, or how his life will be later on. They don't know what the side effects are and they can't state and tell him this is what is going on, they have an idea but they really don't know for sure. I would just tell him to be careful because it's not worth messing up the rest of your life.

Miller: Jerry Rice, could you see him playing for someone else?

Montana: I could see him easily, not that the 49ers probably don't want him, and they will probably say they are going to make him an offer that will be reasonable, but as you know a reasonable offer from the team and a reasonable offer from the player sometimes aren't even close. So the hard part for Jerry is he set such a high standard for him himself that when his level begins to drop, he becomes like most of the wide receivers in the league (or better then most) which I think he can still contribute to most programs, and I think you are going to see him, and if the 49ers aren't serious with an offer, you'll see him somewhere else.

Miller: You played against the 49ers as a Chief on September 11th of 1993, how much did it mean to you?

Montana: Growing up as a kid, I had a best friend and probably everybody did, and there's nothing better in the world then beating your best friend, because you always had the bragging rights. So when I was in Kansas City, I knew everyone on the team still (with San Francisco), so there was nothing better then beating the 49ers, because I knew I still lived there and I still had bragging rights when I got home. I can't say anything about that, 'cause I did I wanted to win that game more than anything, not to prove anything just because I didn't want to sit at home and say yeah the 49ers beat you anyway. You get razzed by them, so they can't say that to me.