Show 4e' "it D2 1 SPORTS The Salt Lake Tribune 3 Rebels THE ASSOCIATED 1- -v side He played four years for the New York Jets then sat out 1980 in a salary dispute before moving PRESS I 1 to the Washington Redskins He finished his career with 11352 yards and 116 touchdowns in history But he also is remembered for his hairstyles — a Mohawk one year an Afro another time He wore army fatigues to a Super Bowl press conference and once at a Washington dinner passed out after telling Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to "loosen up baby" "1 did what I wanted and I wouldn't change what I did to belong to this club" Riggins said from Cancun Mexico where he is hosting the Jose Cuervo Super Bowl Beach Party Compared to the rest of the Hall of Fame class of 1992 Barney was a wallflower A cornerback and kick return specialist for the Detroit Lions he inter cepted 56 passes for 1077 yards and seven touchdowns His teams made the playoffs just once and he thought that would limit his Hall of Fame chances 1 low-profi- le i - third-highe- T - 4"- e 1 k ---- -- " I e" : I t f 4 I '''''761? - I ''' 4—e' '4of 41' N 14iafmmogonaw 444 The Aseociated Press Former running back John Riggins once a thorn in the side of the NFL can now smile because he is in Hall of Fame Jets-Redski- to the Raiders as managing general partner and went to court when the league tried to block him from moving the team from Oakland to Los Angeles He also testified against the NFL in the USFL's antitrust suit Despite the controversy Davis developed great teams and players eight of which were presented for induction by Davis played 10 seasons 331 passes for 5236 catching yards and 38 touchdowns His talent was often overshadowed by his labor battles with the league which many felt hurt him in Hall of Fame votes He was elected in his 15th and final year of eligibility Mackey '' Mackey was a thorn in the NFL's A:f7 7 a IC t 1 PRESS Washington compare in 1991 regular season play: - :ci rank Total offense: 1st Rush: 1st 1 Total defense: 27th Rush: 24th Pass: 21st Total hotel-casino- 1488 2419 $0 58 1 a half-poi- t t 0 win $1 3411 1278 2134 1281 798 56 ?3 318 le 3143 485 10-1- 5 2683 841 Rushing Passing Sacks Interceptions Points allowed 1 le 842 50 27 224 Average per game SOURCE: National Football League Knight-Ridde- r Graphic MINNEAPOLIS vTh-10012- : 1 - -- k l'' - 1 i j '' ti ' 1 i 4 44K-- 1 I I' For Washington I Get ball to Gary Clark Although Art Monk and Ricky Sanders are dangerous Clark is the real deep threat He 191 yards per catch averaged a career-higwith 11 touchdown catches Clark like Jerry have Rice doesn't great speed but has a knack for beating defenders with his quick cuts 2 Limit production of Thurman ''''''110111'"11: h ' : - t Thomas The Giants barely survived last year as Thomas wore them out with 135 yards rushWashington ing and 55 yards receiving doesn't want Thomas to touch the ball 20 in trouble Redskins are times If he does the The Redskins have been outstanding against the run this season as only Dallas' Emmitt Smith rushed for 100 yards against them '4 1 i 3 — — — - Win the special teams battle Against most opponents this is a given for the Redskins However against Buffalo they have their work cut out for them Washington's punt coverage is excellent but the Bills' coverage is the best Punt returner Brian Mitchell (two touchdowns 133 average) is who could make a differthe game-breakence Kicker Chip Lohmiller led the NFL in scoring — i 4 Control ball with Earnest Ricky Ervin& Byner and won Bowl XXV The Associated Press Raider Rebel Al Davis is head ed to NFL's Hall of Fame 303 points per game Not surprisingiy Buffalo's offense is rated No 1 in the NFL and its 458 total points ranked second The only team to outscore them? The Washington Redskins Thus despite all the pregame hyperbole the Bills find themabout the selves facing a more conventional offense that has produced more points Because of that the game may eventually boil down to two battles — the Redskins' desperate attempt to stop Thomas and his offensive line which was the most productive in the league and the Bills' desperate attempt to atprotect Kelly and keep their tack in sync le le The latter may come down to two players — Mann and Buffalo's tackle Howard Ballard Mann has a huge quickness advantage and is a tremendous athlete and he will likely line up extremely wide to enhance that advantage If he can reach Kelly often enough to force him to throw off begins to sputter If rhythm the it does as it did against Denver in the AFC title game the many advantages of that offense are lost and the game becomes a pounding grinding defensive affair that Buffalo is not likely to win despite the presence of Smith Cornelius Bennett Conlan and Talley Such a situation would leave the wearoffense where it was a year ago Bowl no Super rings ing 325-poun- d le le — When James Lofton lines up opposite Darrell Green in the Super Bowl pardon anyone who thinks he sees 74 PRESS MINNEAPOLIS — Jerry Markbreit a NFL official will serve as referee in Sunday's Super Bowl the league has announced It will be Markbreit's third Super Bowl assignment He was the referee for Washington's victory over Miami in 1983 and the New York Gi- ants' victory over Denver in 1987 ‘1TI t- 4 Speedy Gonzalez against the Roadrunner "When I came into the league I was real fast" says the Lofton "Now I'm just fast" "When I came into the league I was real fast" says Green who will be 32 next month "Now I'm - 16-ye- ar ld 0 even V ' 27-1- 7 - 1 39-2- 0 The other game officials are umpire Bob Boylston head linesman Dale Williams line judge Ron Blum back judge Paul Baetz side judge Dick Creed and field judge Ed Merrifield million" ' tt- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Familiar With Big Game THE ASSOCIATED - 's NEWS MINNEAPOLIS — The Buffalo Bills have the offense to Will the Super Bowl The question is whether they can get on the field long enough Sunday against the Washington Redskins to do just that The keys to winning Sunday: by keepThe Giants Super ing the ball for more than 40 minutes as they ran 39 times Washington would like to run even more than that The Redskins ran the ball 540 times during the regular season to lead the NFL They will open with Byner (38 average) then hit the Bills with the quicker Ervins (47 average) 5 A big day from Mark Rypien An erratic performer susceptible to mistakes before 1991 Rypien emerged as one of the game's most reliable passers He threw just 11 interceptions to go with 28 touchdowns and had only one game all year (Week 5 against the Eagles) His quarterback rating was 979 For Buffalo 1 Get the ball to James Lofton Lofton led the AFC with 188 yards per d touchdown catch catch He had a against Cincinagainst Chicago a a nati and against Pittsburgh When he doesn't touch the ball the Bills struggle 2 Stop the run The Redskins play power football and will physically challenge a defense until it shows it can stop the run If a defense commits its safeties to run support Washington's receiving corps of Art Monk Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders will devour single coverage So Buffalo's line and inside linebackers have to win the battle up front 3 Pressure Mark Rypien When pressured Rypien historically has been loose with the football But the Redskins did a great job of protecting him this season allowing only seven sacks in 421 pass attempts The Bills managed only 31 sacks this year r 4 Control the clock The Bills learned how to play NFC East teams in last year's Super Bowl The Bills rolled up 371 yards against the New York Giants even though they had the ball for only 19 minutes They didn't give themselves a chance to win on offense so they didn't losing 20-1- 9 It's even more important to control the i clock this time around 5 ball Jhn Kelly must protect the Only one NFL quarterback threw for more yards than Kelly's 3844 this season but only four threw more interceptions than his 17 In losses to Detroit and New regular-seasoEngland Kelly threw four interceptions and lost three fumbles n Opponents Lofton Green Can Still Turn On the Speed Super Referee nt ct hard-hittin- g 2308 376 I Opp yards 31 Gaughan said he'll be rooting for an early safety to skew the spread so there would be little chance of it ending up at seven points or an overtime game where the final spread couldn't reach seven points ' 829 458 competitive $588 Rushing Passing Punts (a1yards) Yards penalized Touchdowns Field goals attempts Points scored $86 sports betting business Gaughan earlier this week offered bettors the best of both worlds on the game What he ended up with was a bettor's delight — and possibly a bookmaker's worst nightmare "If the game doesn't land on seven this was all my idea" Gaughan said Friday "If it dces I fire everybody in the sports book including the porters who clean it up at night" In a game where the point spread has stayed fairly constant at seven Gaughan decided to offer VA points to bettors who want to wager on the Bills Those who want the Redskins have to give up only 612 points The offer gives bettors a crucial extra but also sets Gaughan up for possible disaster if Washington wins exactly by seven points If that happens all bets win and Gaughan is out millions — about $7 million so far to be exact Fellow Las Vegas casino operator Bob Stupak liked the odds so much he brought a suitcase bulging with $100 bills to the Gold Coast on Friday wagering $550000 on the Redskins and $550000 on the Bills "The worst case scenario is the Redskins don't win by seven and I lose $50000" Stupak said "The best case is if it hits on seven and I I rank Total offense: 4th Rush 7th Pass: 5th Total defense: 3rd Rush: 3rd Pass: 9th NFL Pass: 4th DALLAS MORNING skins are averaging D-- 1 pass-prote- " ‘ KFL Continued From better What they also do is than anyone else in football Rypien was sacked only seven times this season while passing 421 times By contrast Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly threw 474 times and was sacked 31 times If Washington can muster a rushing attack first the chances of getting to Rypien will be lessened and the Bills' problems will grow "We have to get people in Rypien's face" Talley said Conversely the Bills have to get into the end zone and they appear to have the offense to do it Buffalo may have its defensive weaknesses especially in the secondary with soft corners and the loss of safety Leonard Smith to a knee infection (he'll be replaced by Dwight Drane) but offensively it seems to have no peer has been nearly unThe Bills' stoppable putting endless pressure on defenses by severely limiting their ability to situationally substitute and by attacking them with a vast array of talent every seconds creates a lot of prob"Their lems" said Washington defensive end Charles Mann "We're not able to substitute which is a big part of our defense Guys are going to be tired This is not the type of game you want to play in the Super Bowl" Buffalo's offense averages 390 yards and 286 points per game although the Red h r1 OM CI 481ii ! 1 To Do to Win 1 Skins Bills Chase Crown -0- v 4 How Buffalo and st Bills Need 1 "I never won anything" he said "I had no Super Bowl where the spotlight is on you I thought that would cost me There were seven Pro Bowls so I had the re- spect of my peers" like Davis and Riggins Bills vs Redskins LAS VEGAS — Michael Gaughan loses two ways if the Washington Redskins win the Super Bowl by exactly seven points One may be more painful than the other however "I'll lose seven million dollars" said Gaughan "and I'll look like the village idiot" Gaughan operator of two Las s finds himself Vegas in something of a predicament as the Super Bowl approaches and bettors continue to line up with wads of cash in their hands at his sports books As a way of spurring business in the increasingly ' - Bookie Betting 'Skins Won't Win by Seven - What Redskins ui et Man eaded to Football Hall of Fame MINNEAPOLIS Make room in the Hall of Fame for three football rebels — Al Davis John Mackey and John Riggins — elected Saturday along with Lem Barney The election of Davis owner of the Los Angeles Raiders and Mackey the prototype tight end with the old Baltimore Colts was a dramatic reversal for the conservative football shrine at Canton Ohio Both had been passed over previously because of their controversial backgrounds Davis for challenging the establishment first with the AFL and then by moving the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles and Mackey for his leadership in unionizing the players "I'm grateful" Davis said "This is a tribute to the greatness of the Raiders a culmination of a life's work I was kind of surprised that it happened Candidly I've said many times I thought it should have happened a long time ago" Davis was a finalist in each of the seven years he has been eligible for election Davis rose from an obscure personnel assistant to commissioner of the AFL and a major player in the merger with the NFL lie subsequently returned THE ASSOCIATED Sunday January 26 1992 faster" It simply doesn't compute How could a receiver in his 14th NFL season still have so much of the world-clas- s speed that almost got him to the Olympics — in 1976? How can a cornerback now in his ninth year still be winning the NFL's Fastest Man Contest? For the Bills' star receiver and o defensive the Redskins' back it does compute "Take care of yourself work hard and be dedicated to training" Green says d You have to be very during the season" adds Lofton No 2 in career receiving All-Pr- Alternate game officials are referee Dick Hantak and umpire Ron Botchan The replay The Associated Press official is Cal Lepore After 14 years Bills' James Lof ton Is still one of NFL's fastest single-minde- yardage at 13035 just 54 yards behind Steve Largent He's also fourth in receptions with 699 Lofton clocked a 44 for 40 yards when he broke into the NFL in 1978 following an career as a runner and long jumper at Stanford In 1987 when he moved from Green Bay to the Raiders he was doing 43s Until the final game of this season a meaningless affair against Detroit from which he was held out with a strained arch Lofton hadn't missed an NFL game due to injury Even more amazing is the fact he has not lost much if anything as a speed demon "Chronological age is only apBills coach Mary Levy says "You've seen people who are very deliberate and you've seen people who still move around pretty well James happens to be who one of those happens to move around pretty proximate" ld well" He'll have to if he plans to beat Green As a senior at Texas Mil in 1982 Green's 1008 for 100 me ters was beaten only by a ggy named Carl Lewis He says he has run a 41 40 something neither Willie Gault nor Ron Brown Olympians who have played in the NFL can claim "Even when I was a sprinter in college" Green says "I didn't really have a track coach So all my supervised work with the Redskins under backfield coach Eramitt Thomas now is paying off" Like Lofton age hasn't taken a toll on Green's speed or athleticism "You'd think it would start to show up on Darrell but it doesn't seem to have affected him" Washington coach Joe Gibbs says "I don't know how you'd explain that" Green does "I was born with a great measure of speed and talent" says Green probably the best cover man in football "But I also was born with desire the desire to go faster every year I've set it as a personal goal and by preparing harder and setting my goals higher I've achieved that" one-on-o- Everything You Need to Know Before Tuning In the Super Bowl By Jon Weisman LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS MINNEAPOLIS — Are you ready to watch the Super Bowl? Maybe Maybe not Here's a little test Try this pregame thought from CBS analyst John Madden "Why can't we play the championship game wherever it lays? What's that term in golf play it like it lays? Whoever has the best record plays at home Just two : it was OK — the AFC cham: was in Buffalo Every time game pionship I think of Buffalo I think of tundra I don't know what tundra is but it's always frozen The point I'm trying to say is if :you can play the conference championp games in Buffalo or Washington why can't the Super Bowl be in Buffalo or You can go to those golf :Washington course plates all you lisae but I think you weeks ago -- At ought to get out once in a while least it's in Minneapolis this year You guys go to all the beautiful places where they have brie You've got to go to a Super Bowl and have sausage once in a while" Did you follow that? If so you're more than ready for some advanced stuff about The Game Artificial artificial turf: You think groundskeeper George Toma has no role in a domed stadium? In order to make the Metrodome playing field more striking to the viewer Toma and his crew dyed it "We even painted every 5 yards an alternating shade of green" CBS producer Bob Stenner said Network logic: A pregame show Why? "When the sales department or the programming department feels it's a profitable way to spend hours we're happy to do it" executive producer Ted world-renowne- Shaker said The fast track: On the bright side Madden thinks this could be the quickest Super Bowl in a long time "The Bills use the he said "which speeds up the pace while the Redskins over the years and I have messed with the think they've become pretty good at it I think we could see both teams going le e" d 168-minut- e 2i Read 1em and weep: Three words to send across the nation: New improved graphics "We think it's going to be a simpler look" Shaker said "It'll be a cleaner distinctive look for CBS:' Bias check: Madden and man Pat Summerall have announced six Redskins games since the regular season began but no Bills games Madden has never even done a game from Buffalo's hearts-a-flutterin- g play-by-pl- Rich Stadium "We did do the Bills twice in the preseason" Madden said "That's not the same but we were able to watch tapes talk to players so we do know them around the arena but it's not going to" Don't try this at home: Summerall and Madden always do their broadcasts stand ing up "We do the games standing up because I think we see better It's just something we started to do from the be If I sit down I feel guilty" Halftime happiness: How long will it be? Twenty-fiv- e minutes Long enough for you to switch channels and check out Fox's "In Living Color" special More importantly long enough for a family of 12 to use the bathroom Halftime zaniness: From a press re lease: "The halftime entertainment show entitled 'Winter Magic' is a kacidoscopic aalute to all the fun and fantasy associated with the exhilarating season of wi- pretty welt" Replay restraint: CBS will try to limit runs on those reminiscences of second and 13 "Every time you show a replay John Madden has to respond to Stenner said "The best thing John and Pat do is talk about the game You don't want to run multiple replays and take away from what they do best" Indoor blimps: No not Madden But in e goal-lin- e shot order to get a CBS will tether two dirigibles at the end zones each of which contains a Blimp Cam For any of you suspense movie fans remember these begging-fatwords from CBS director Sandy Grossman: "This thing Ls capable of flying high-angl- 25-fo- nter" e Like tundra Who knows what it is but it's always exhilarating I S vft tk -- 01 -- fp P r-- -- J- - -- cx21 |