Accorsi

John Elway is the official sentimental favorite of the Super Bowl tournament, with most of the football nation rooting for him to win a big one before it's too late.That leaves Baltimore fans in a tough position as Elway leads the Denver Broncos against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game today.Elway has been a public enemy around here for years, since he said he wouldn't play for the Colts after they made him the No. 1 pick in the 1983 draft -- a stand that led to his trade to Denver and probably hastened the Colts' departure a year later.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- You can take the general manager out of Baltimore, but you can't take the Baltimore out of the general manager.As George Young ended his 19-year run as New York Giants general manager to become a senior vice president in the NFL office, his Baltimore roots were fondly remembered yesterday.As Young, 67, officially announced his resignation, there was so much reminiscing about Baltimore that Barry Levinson, once Young's student when he was a high school teacher and coach in Baltimore, would have had enough material to film a sequel to "Diner."

On the morning of April 26, 1983, the day of the NFL draft, Baltimore Colts owner Bob Irsay was trying to hold a fire sale.Even though the Colts owned the first pick in the draft, Irsay didn't want to draft the top prospect, Stanford quarterback John Elway, because of his demand for a five-year, $5 million contract.That was fine with Elway, who didn't want to play for Colts coach Frank Kush.But other teams were making lowball offers because they knew Irsay wanted to dump Elway.Irsay was ready to deal Elway to the New England Patriots for Pro Bowl guard John Hannah and a No. 1 pick when Colts general manager Ernie Accorsi objected.

Of course he has mixed feelings. Ernie Accorsi tried to help Baltimore get an NFL expansion team. He also was general manager of the Colts -- and then the Browns.And that's not the half of it.Accorsi, 54, grew up a Colts fan in Hershey, Pa. His roommate in the Army was from Cleveland -- an "obnoxious" Browns fan, as he recalls.This was in 1964, the year the Browns beat the Colts in the NFL title game. Two decades later, Accorsi went to work for the Browns, the memory still gnawing at him."

The shuffling continues at Camden Yards. Only this time, the Orioles are hiring as well as firing.The latest addition to the club's front office is Walt Gutowski, whose resume includes stints with the Maryland Stadium Authority and the Baltimore Skipjacks, and the distinction of being the last public relations director of the Baltimore Colts. Gutowski began work this week as Orioles director of business affairs.Gutowski, 36, replaces Ernie Accorsi, who left the Orioles in July to join the New York Giants.

His stay with the Baltimore Orioles has been brief -- only a half-season. But now Ernie Accorsi is about to move on to a position of high executive responsibility with the New York Giants, an organization that traditionally has made few changes within its front office.A job of assistant to general manager George Young has been offered Accorsi and he'll accept within the next 24 hours. His appointment will mean a return to the familiar territory of the National Football League.Although he was with the Orioles for only four months, the experience provided Accorsi with an insightful view of the "grand ol' game."

Four months after joining the Orioles front office, veteran football executive Ernie Accorsi is leaving to resume his NFL career as assistant general manager of the New York Giants.The Giants are expected to announce Accorsi's appointment today.Accorsi declined to confirm he is taking the Giants job, saying only, "It's been offered. Obviously I'm quite interested."But Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos said yesterday that Accorsi told him at a meeting earlier in the day that he is leaving to work for the Giants.

Working behind a desk in a baseball office is a new role for Ernie Accorsi, yet it's a perfect fit in all aspects. It may seem odd for a man with 23 years in the National Football League to be working for the Baltimore Orioles, where the only fundamental difference is the shape of the ball.Accorsi made a switch that has only rare precedent. He talks the sports language, knows how to handle himself in diverse environments and will continue to make friends for the organization he represents.

Maybe they can, if you're filled with compassion, be charged off as rookie mistakes, errors made by a man who has never headed a football franchise and still is feeling his way. Fortunately, the playing dimensions in the Canadian Football League are longer and wider because Jim Speros has certainly needed the extra space to ramble about while explaining what is quickly evolving into a convoluted plan of operation.He has, to complete the analogy, been all over the field. Enthusiasm, unfortunately, could change to disenchantment.

The reshaping of the Orioles' front office took an unexpected turn yesterday when the club announced it has hired former Baltimore Colts general manager Ernie Accorsi to a senior management post.Accorsi, 52, was appointed to the newly created job of executive director for business affairs. He'll oversee a wide range of the team's activities, including stadium operations, fan assistance and community affairs, the club said.Accorsi is the first senior official with previous experience as a sports executive to be hired by the Orioles since investors led by Baltimore lawyer Peter G. Angelos bought the team last October.