Year S Super

ATLANTA -- What actually happened at the end of the St. Louis-Tampa Bay NFC title game depends on whose version you believe. There were skirmishes at the end of the game and Tampa Bay's Frank Middleton blamed it all on the Rams for taunting the Bucs. "This team is a bunch of punks," Middleton said of the Rams. Although Todd Lyght admitted Monday he was taunting the Bucs, two other Rams, Devon Bush and Billy Jenkins, got their first chance to give their versions on media day yesterday, and said that they were reacting to Middleton.

In addition to quarterback Chris Chandler, these are five players who need big games for the Falcons to win:RB Jamal AndersonThe powerful Anderson doesn't have to gain 100 yards to keep the Falcons in the game, but he must convert short-yardage, third-down plays to balance the attack. The Broncos are allowing just 1.1 rushing yards per carry in the postseason, and Anderson will have to do much better than that to keep the defense honest.RT Ephraim SalaamThe rookie right tackle will be going against either five-year veteran Harald Hasselbach or 11-year vet Neil Smith.

In the Super Bowl, the quarterback matchup is usually the marquee attraction.Yet the team that wins the rushing battle is usually the one that wins the game.Of the first 32 Super Bowls, 29 have been won by the team that won the battle on the ground.The ground war in Super Bowl XXXIII next Sunday will be particularly intriguing because it will match the league's top two rushers, Terrell Davis of Denver and Jamal Anderson of Atlanta.That has never happened before in the Super Bowl and hasn't happened in a championship game since 1948, when Philadelphia's Steve Van Buren dueled Charlie Trippi of the Chicago Cardinals in a snowstorm.

DENVER -- John Elway is the Denver Broncos' most celebrated player. Terrell Davis is the reason they're about to win back-to-back Super Bowls.It's easy to forget that sometimes, especially in the middle of Elway-mania. But without Davis, the future Hall of Fame quarterback would be Dan Marino, still waiting for his first Super Bowl title.Without Davis, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen could not have shouted, "This one's for John!" after Denver's upset of Green Bay in last year's Super Bowl.Without Davis, yesterday could not have evoked memories of Sept.

SAN DIEGO -- It wasn't the biggest upset -- the New York Jets and Kansas City overcame greater point spreads in 1969 and '70.It wasn't the closest outcome -- the New York Giants beat Buffalo by one point in '91.It wasn't even the most dramatic finish -- San Francisco marched 92 yards for the winning score in '89, finishing off Cincinnati with 34 seconds left.Still, Denver's 31-24 victory over Green Bay was a pivotal chapter in Super Bowl history. For historical significance, it might rank second only to the Jets' victory over the Colts.

He is the best fix-it man in the NFL. Just as he did with the New York Giants and New England Patriots previously, coach Bill Parcells has restored the New York Jets to a position of prominence this season.With a victory in Detroit on Sunday, he will restore them to a position in the playoffs -- for the first time in six years.Even by his high standards, this would be a remarkable turn of events. Parcells went to the playoffs in his second season with both the Giants (1984) and Patriots (1994)

Who better to espouse the Kansas City Chiefs' chip-on-the-shoulder mentality than much-traveled receiver Andre Rison?"We've been making statements all year; how many more do we have to make?" Rison asked reporters following the Chiefs' 44-9 rout of the San Francisco 49ers. "The only statement we have to make is to get to the Super Bowl."Suddenly, the idea of Kansas City in the Super Bowl doesn't seem as far-fetched as it once did.The Chiefs have taken a lot of abuse since blowing home-field advantage in the playoffs two years ago. Their 1995 team went 13-3, won the AFC West, and then lost a first-round matchup with Ted Marchibroda's Indianapolis Colts, 10-7.

WASHINGTON -- The NFL is going to put together guidelines to determine whether it's feasible to play a Super Bowl in an open-air, northern stadium, commissioner Paul Tagliabue said yesterday during the owners' annual fall meeting.John Moag, chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority, has met with Tagliabue to discuss the possibility of playing a Super Bowl at the new stadium being built for the Ravens at Camden Yards."John talked to me about it and we told him we have to look at that in terms of the open-air stadium, in terms of the weather factors," Tagliabue said.

The favored NFC team was shooting for its second straight Super Bowl victory.The underdog AFC team was looking down the barrel at its fourth Super Bowl loss.Sound familiar?Change the name of the teams, and today's Super Bowl sounds like a repeat of Super Bowl XXIV four years ago between the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos.That's why there will be a few nervous folks at NBC today keeping their fingers crossed and hoping for a close game.The 55-10 San Francisco victory over the Broncos in January 1990 drew a 39.0 rating (percentage of TV sets tuned in)

ATLANTA -- The scenario hasn't changed much from last year: the same two teams butting heads to claim pro football's top prize as the same TV network carries the big game. Only this time, prices have gone up.NBC is charging $900,000 for a 30-second commercial during Super Bowl XXVIII in Atlanta, up from the $850,000 it was demanding last year. Just as fans clamored for tickets to see the Dallas Cowboys play the Buffalo Bills tomorrow, advertisers bought up the limited ad time weeks in advance.