SUPER BOWL XXII : WASHINGTON vs. DENVER BRONCOS : Notes : Case of the Missing Kay: a Misunderstanding

Bronco starting tight end Clarence Kay has explained his mysterious absence from Wednesday’s press conference.

Kay’s troubles began Tuesday night when he was spotted buying drinks for friends at Diego’s, a Pacific Beach nightspot. The next morning, a National Football League official explained Kay’s absence at the morning press conference--attendance is supposed to be mandatory--by saying Kay was “hung over.”

The official was kidding, but several reporters didn’t realize it. That was unfortunate because Kay recently spent almost a year in a Los Angeles rehabilitation center, being treated for drug and alcohol problems.

By the end of the day, when reporters finally tracked down Kay, he said he had missed the press conference because of a stomachache, caused by the drinking water. He said he has the same problem every time he comes to San Diego.

Thursday morning, he was back in attendance at the Broncos’ regularly scheduled press conference. But he was clearly shaken by the incident.

He said he hasn’t had a drink since his rehabilitation ended, but he defended his presence at the nightclub.

“Why can’t I go out and have a good time?” he asked. “My life is not living in a cell. It’s not like I can’t go out to a bar.

“I live a normal life. But I live a clean life. There’s really no record to be set straight.”

Redskin defensive end Dexter Manley also spent much of his morning explaining why he had not been at the Redskin press conference Wednesday morning.

Manley read from a prepared statement: “There are so many questions that are repetitious that in order to save my time and your time, I suggest that you submit your questions in writing. I will study them overnight. I will submit my answers tomorrow.”

Manley then stalked from the podium. It took Redskin publicist John Konoza five minutes to talk him into returning. When he did, a reporter handed him a piece of paper with a question written on it. “Why did you come back?” it said.

Manley left the podium again after shouting his statement a second time. This time he got all the way to his hotel room before he was persuaded to return. On the way, he passed Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs, who said, “I think he’s going to end up in a little trouble.”

Manley, who had already been fined for Wednesday’s absence, returned a second time and said the reason he missed the press conference was because he was “meditating.”

“I’m here to kick somebody’s you-know-what,” he told reporters. “Not to fraternize with you guys.”

Redskin receiver Gary Clark figured he would need a good, stiff drink by Super Bowl eve.

“I’ll be a nervous wreck,” Clark said. “But, I’ll get my Pepto-Bismol ready. I’ll probably drink a whole bottle of that stuff before the game.”

Dean (the Tasmanian Devil) Hamel, Washington’s 290-pound defensive tackle and special-teams whirlwind, is the proud owner of six KO T-shirts, most of anybody on the team.

What’s KO stand for?

Knockout, naturally.

How does a player get one?

“You tackle a guy,” Hamel said. “If his head touches down before his hands, it’s a KO.”

Tijuana got into the act here by throwing a super fiesta, at which a super salad was served in a, uh, super bowl.

Under the personal supervision of Rosa Cardini--whose father, the late Caesar Cardini, is credited with originating the Caesar salad--one of her family’s specialties was created in a bowl the size of a hot tub.

The makings: 1,200 heads of lettuce, 980 ounces of Parmesan cheese, 840 eggs, juice from 175 lemons, 1,400 ounces of garlic-flavored oil and 350 cups of croutons.

What a coincidence. That was the appetizer at William Perry’s Super Bowl XX pregame meal.

It was Bronco wide receiver Ricky Nattiel’s birthday Monday. The youngest man on the field is now the same age as the game.

XXII.

Rookie Fairy Tale Theater, Act I: Brian Davis, Redskin cornerback, second-round draft choice from Nebraska, describes his first year in the NFL:

“I got to tackle Walter (Payton), I’ve been through a strike, and I got to go to a Super Bowl. What else is there?”

Rookie Fairy Tale Theater, Part II: Clarence Vaughn, Redskin safety, eighth-round draft choice from Northern Illinois, describes his feelings on all that has happened:

“I’m still in a state of shockness.”

Replacement Player Fairy Tale Theater, Act I: Joe Caravello, Redskin third-string tight end from Tulane, kept by the team after the strike was over, describes how things have changed for him:

“One day, guys are smashing windows on your bus, throwing eggs and aiming slingshots at you, and you’re hopping over the fence and locking the locker-room door behind you. Next day, they’re your teammates and buddies and you’re going to the Super Bowl with them. I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”

Asked what he was doing when the Redskins first called him to join the team, Caravello said: “Body surfing in Manhattan Beach.”

Description of 37-year-old, 295-pound Redskin lineman Dave Butz by offensive tackle Chris Godfrey of the New York Giants at last year’s Super Bowl:

“He’s a Butzasaurus.”

Howie Long, Raider turned writer, in USA Today: “Let me make this understatement: There is no single player in the NFL who is more valuable to his team’s success than (Denver quarterback) John Elway.

“Enough of that. I’m getting sick to my stomach. After all, I’m supposed to hate this guy.”

I Love San Diego, Part I: Mark Sauer of the San Diego Union: “For better or worse, the readers and viewers around the nation and the Free World will discover that a gleaming, sunny, friendly city, cast in sea-blue hues and laying claim to a prosperous future, is hosting Super Bowl XXII.”

With liberty, and justice for all.

Denver linebacker Ricky Hunley on growing up: “My mother never wanted me to play. I had to hide my equipment in the closet. I was hurt all the time. My brothers and I were in the emergency ward so often, they knew us by name.”

Mark Jackson, one of Denver’s Three Amigos, who are Elway’s favorite deep targets, downplayed reports that Bronco receivers had trouble handling Elway’s line-drive passes.

“I think people are exaggerating,” Jackson said. “You’d think that after catching a pass, we’d have to soak our hands in water for an hour.

“John throws hard, all right. You’ve got to catch the ball in your hands, because if it gets to your pads, it’s going to bounce off like it hit a brick wall. You’ve got to at least slow it down with your hands.

“But that’s no problem. It just takes getting used to.”

Mark May, Redskin offensive tackle, says the return of wide receiver Art Monk from a knee injury will make a bigger difference than is generally believed.

“Art adds another dimension to our passing game,” May said. “He has the size that our other wide receivers don’t have. If all three of our guys are on, nobody can stop them.”

The Redskins’ other key wide receivers are Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders. Clark caught 56 passes this season, Monk 38 and Sanders 37.

Bronco kicker Rich Karlis is adopting a wait-and-see attitude regarding the newly seeded field at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

“The San Diego field has never been good,” Karlis said. “I guess it’s because it’s more of a baseball field. It’s something like Milwaukee County Stadium, although not that bad. I’ve never seen such a horrible field as that.

Early in the season, during a rainstorm in Milwaukee, Karlis slipped in the mud and missed what would have been the winning field goal against the Green Bay Packers with nine seconds left in overtime, and the Broncos had to settle for a tie.

“Considering the weather, San Diego is a lot better place to kick than Denver,” he said. “I just hope they’ve improved the field this time.”

Karlis on his rapport with holder Gary Kubiak: “It’s almost like being married. I just try not to pick on him too much. When he first held for me in ‘85, I was worried. There’s no way you can be successful if that happens.”

Ricky Sanders, a fleet wide receiver who blossomed for the Redskins in the late-season absence of Art Monk, considers Washington’s wide receivers as good as Denver’s Three Amigos, Vance Johnson, Nattiel and Jackson.

“I can’t say we’re better than those guys,” Sanders said. “They’ve got a great corps of receivers. But now that we have Monk back, and with Gary Clark and me, I think we’re pretty much equal.

“They’ve got guys with great hands, and we’ve got guys with great hands. We just don’t have a catchy nickname, that’s all.”

The NFL Alumni Assn. will honor its players of the year Saturday night at a $1,000-a-plate dinner at the San Diego Convention and Performing Arts Center.

The players are tight end Mark Bavaro of the New York Giants, Indianapolis kicker Dean Biasucci, Cleveland defensive back Hanford Dixon, San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana, Cincinnati offensive lineman Anthony Munoz, a former USC star; San Francisco wide receiver Jerry Rice, St. Louis kick returner Vai Sikahema, New England linebacker Andre Tippett, Seattle running back Curt Warner, Philadelphia defensive lineman Reggie White, and St. Louis special teams player Ron Wofley.

Also honored will be Bob Hope, for his Drug-Free America movement, and the 12 astronauts who have walked on the moon.

The first hour of the 7 o’clock affair will be televised nationally by the USA cable network live at 10 p.m. in the East and delayed three hours in the West.

Bob McElwee, a 12-year veteran of NFL officiating who will be working his first Super Bowl, heads the officiating crew. The other officials will be umpire Al Conway, head lineman Dale Hamer, line judge Jack Fette, back judge Al Jury of Rialto, side judge Don Wedge and field judge Johnny Grier. The alternates are referee Jerry Markbreit and umpire Ben Montgomery.

Times staff writers Mike Downey, Bill Plaschke and Larry Stewart, and special correspondent Bob Wolf contributed to this story.