Deion

IRVING, Texas -- The pizza commercial finally came true yesterday at Texas Stadium.Did Deion Sanders play offense or defense for the Dallas Cowboys?Both.Did he score touchdowns or save them?Both.Was he worth $15 million or $20 million?Both."Deion was huge," Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman said after his team's 30-11 defeat of the Eagles in the NFC divisional playoffs.What is huge by Deion's standards? Yesterday, it was scoring a touchdown on a reverse, dancing in the end zone, almost breaking a punt return for a 90-yard touchdown, almost catching a 65-yard pass for a touchdown, intercepting a pass, playing 25 plays at receiver and 50 at cornerback, intimidating the Eagles on both sides of the ball, showering, dressing and leaving in a silver limousine stretching almost to Louisiana.

Safety Ed Reed was fined $21,000 for his hit on New England Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch in the third quarter of the Ravens' 31-30 victory last Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium. Reed was ruled to have "struck a defenseless player in the head and neck area. " Branch dropped the ball, but Reed was given a 15-yard personal foul on the play. Reed and Branch also slapped hands and the Patriots' wide receiver stayed in the game. That was one of several big hits for Reed in the game, including one on Julian Edelman that saved a potential touchdown.

WHEN I HAD my midlife crisis, I went out and bought a sleek, sporty car and started putting gel in my hair. It was a nice look, but nobody was particularly impressed and I soon became that pathetic old guy who still thinks he could date one of the Ravenettes if the wife would just have an open mind. This should be a cautionary tale for Deion "Part Time" Sanders, even though he is much better looking than I am and - I hope - can still beat me in the 40. The guy is 37 years old, has lots of money and is remembered as one of the greatest defensive backs ever to play professional football.

Former two-sport standout and current NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders, in town for Thursday night's Ravens home game against Cleveland, stopped by Oriole Park at Camden Yards to take batting practice with the Orioles. Some players got a kick out of it -- left-hander Troy Patton asked Sanders for his autograph -- and Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who was Sanders' manager with the Double-A Albany-Colonie Yankees in 1989, reminisced about Sanders' athletic ability, saying that watching Sanders leg out a triple is "still one of the prettiest things I've ever seen.

SURE, IT'S selfish, but I want the Ravens to sign Deion Sanders more than I want world peace - and, as you know, nothing would make me happier than for people of all nationalities to live in harmony. I also believe that children are the future, but we're getting a little off subject. So I'm making this one-time offer to Neion Deion: Sign with the Ravens and I'll guarantee you positive pub. Say whatever you want. Do whatever you want. Make the occasional big play. Fumble a couple of punts.

He did it!Don't care if Texas leftfielder Kevin Reimer would have held the ball diving onto any other warning track but the crash-and-burn drag-strip at Camden Yards. Don't care if our hero stumbled into third base like a marathoner collapsing at the finish line.Sam "Deion" Horn hit his first major-league triple yesterday -- off Nolan Ryan, no less. It goes without saying that the event rendered the Orioles' 5-3 loss to Texas inconsequential. The moment was so epic, Mark McLemore described it as "bigger than life."

HERNDON, Va. -- Are you ready for the serious side of Deion Sanders?Yes, there is a serious side to the high-stepping, strutting, rapping Atlanta Falcons cornerback who, with his green boxer ++ shorts with white dollar signs, sets the standard for coach Jerry Glanville's "living on the edge" style.Sanders has toned down his image somewhat -- wearing business suits on road trips instead of gold chains.He also is not making outrageous boasts about his team's chances in the playoff game at RFK Stadium tomorrow against the Washington Redskins.

Two-sport superstar Deion Sanders has always known how to make an entrance, as he clearly illustrated Tuesday with his 3-for-3 performance in his 2001 debut with the Cincinnati Reds. The trouble is, he also knows how to make an exit, something he almost certainly will do when the grass gets a little greener again in the NFL. Sanders' triumphant return helped the Reds generate some additional fan interest in the absence of injured Ken Griffey, but the Reds' on-again, off-again relationship with Neon Deion sends the wrong message to the rest of the club.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- "Ready. Everybody ready. Everybody ready. Ready," Deion Sanders shouted as he started his session with the media yesterday in the stands at Sun Devil Stadium.He then paused and said, "I'm b-a-a-a-c-k."Sanders was back at the Super Bowl -- an appropriate stage for the man who calls himself "Prime Time.""It's the biggest sporting event in the world," he said.It surpasses the World Series in his eyes because the NFL doesn't play four to seven games."This is a one-time shot, man," he said.

ATLANTA -- Don't be at all surprised if Deion Sanders moonwalks into Joe Robbie Stadium to face the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon.He's still being coy about it, but he has told his baseball teammates he intends to charter a plane and play in a National League playoff game in Pittsburgh Saturday night, a football game in Miami on Sunday afternoon and then another baseball game in Pittsburgh on Sunday night.When asked about it yesterday, Sanders had only a five-word reply: "Tell Marino I said hello."

Although Deion Sanders announced earlier this week on Sporting News Radio that he is retiring from the NFL after two seasons with the Ravens, team officials have yet to hear from the likely future Hall of Fame cornerback. Sanders told host James Brown on Monday that he was not coming back for what would have been his 15th year. He has not, however, had any contact with the Ravens since leaving the complex without speaking to the media Jan. 2, although it was generally assumed Sanders would not be back.

CLEVELAND -- Although he declined to do so when given the chance yesterday, Ravens cornerback Deion Sanders is expected to announce his retirement today, finalizing the career of one of the NFL's most electrifying players. Sanders didn't answer questions about his future after the Ravens' 20-16 loss to the Cleveland Browns. But all of his teammates acknowledged wanting to send Sanders out as a winner and expressed disappointment they were not able to do so. "We wanted to send him out right, but we didn't," cornerback Samari Rolle said.

As speculation continues that this will be Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre's final appearance on Monday Night Football, another all-but-certain Hall of Fame player is expected to take his farewell bow, too. Ravens nickel back Deion Sanders will likely play for the last time on the regular-season's biggest stage when the Ravens host Green Bay. It will be the first time Sanders has played on Monday night since coming out of retirement before last...

"Deion Sanders, you can't catch Shawn Bryson? You're kidding me, right? Bryson's a 232-pound back, Deion. If the Ravens want a good example of why their playoff dreams went crashing down, play the tape of that run." Peter King Sports Illustrated, at SI.com "There are great goaltenders in this league. They should be able to wear the same equipment as other players. They would still be able to stop us. They could stop my shot wearing a bathing suit and holding a pair of pliers." Scott Walker Nashville Predators forward "That was nothing for me. My coach from Serbia was 10 times worse."

Flanked by two teammates with Louisiana ties - Ed Reed and Alan Ricard - Ravens cornerback Deion Sanders challenged his professional sports colleagues to donate $1,000 to help with the relief effort from the wreckage caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Sanders asked each team from the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball and the NHL to elect a captain to serve as the point man in collecting the money. Sanders said he will oversee the project, and his goal is to give at least $1.5 million from the NFL players alone to the Red Cross.

If yesterday's scrimmage against the Washington Redskins served as a gauge, the Ravens could be full of surprises this season. In the midst of the Ravens' dominating effort (no score was officially kept), the M&T Bank Stadium crowd of 35,517 could only watch in disbelief as Deion Sanders recorded a couple of sacks and Patrick Johnson caught a pass for the team's only touchdown. For Johnson, it was a change of perspective. For Sanders, it was a change of position. Playing in the slot instead of on the outside, Sanders exploited several open lanes to the quarterback, captaining a high-pressured defense that sacked Redskins starter Patrick Ramsey four times on 12 passing plays.

DON'T CALL this a roster move or a personnel transaction. Call it what it is: A fantasy. The Ravens didn't lure Deion Sanders out of retirement to fill their hole at nickel back. They want him to reprise his star turn as "Prime Time," the electrifying defensive back, wide receiver, punt returner and game-breaker. They don't want a 37-year-old fill-in who hasn't played since December 2000. They want the 27-year-old Sanders who could help them in countless ways to reach the Super Bowl.

There was no high-pitched proclamation of "I'm baaaaack" to satisfy the throng of reporters, who were waiting for the ultimate quote from a player who has made a career of filling newspapers, every bit the way he has filled stat sheets and box scores. There was no striking purple suit to match the three-piece burgundy and gold eye-opener that he sported when he signed with the Washington Redskins in 2000 -- just a black T-shirt and one gold chain. Heck, Deion Sanders wouldn't even brag that M&T Bank Stadium is now His House, as he did when he was with the San Francisco 49ers and returned to the Georgia Dome in 1994 to play his former team, the Atlanta Falcons.

Ravens cornerback Deion Sanders spent Tuesday's morning workout at McDaniel College as a spectator alongside defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. Sanders was given a regularly scheduled day off after participating in two practices yesterday. He spent the morning yelling instructions to the young defensive backs from the sidelines in street clothes. "I've got to gauge my body, and I don't want to go three straight, you know two straight take one off," Sanders said. "You know two a day is pretty tough on me."

Flashing his charismatic smile and delivering catchy sound bites yesterday, Deion Sanders proved "Prime Time" hadn't missed a step behind the podium. Now, the 37-year-old cornerback has to convince everyone he has the same ability on the field. After passing a physical that spanned three days and signing his one-year, $1.5 million contract, Sanders said he returned to the Ravens because of "unfinished business," alluding to the fact that he wanted to end his stellar career with a memorable season and not an injury-marred one. "If this is my last go-around, I want to go out with everything I've got," he said.