You Couldn’t Blame the Bills if They Were Feeling Defensive

The Buffalo Bills sent John Elway to an early exit and held the Denver Broncos scoreless for 58 minutes of their AFC title game Sunday. This seemed to prove that the oft-maligned Bills, next to last in the NFL in defense, can play it, but they didn’t persuade everyone.

One skeptic, according to Buffalo linebacker Carlton Bailey, is Washington Redskin defensive end Charles Mann. They conversed on NBC’s “Today” show, and Mann predicted that their meeting in Super Bowl XXVI would be high-scoring, which Bailey took as another slap at the Buffalo defense.

“He said it: ‘Well, you know you guys don’t have a good defense,’ ” Bailey said. “I said, ‘I think it will be a close game, 14 or 21 points (for the winner).’ He was like, ‘No, it’s going to be a high-scoring game, like 34 points (for the winner).’

“I felt pretty bad about it, because it showed me they don’t have much respect for our defense,” Bailey said. “And (Mann) is a defensive player. There’s no telling how their offense feels, but I’m not one to talk junk in the papers. I’ll just say that come January 26, there’s going to be a lot of hitting going on.”

Trivia time: Strike The Gold has lost eight consecutive races since winning the 1991 Kentucky Derby. Who was the last horse to get its final victory in the Derby?

Warning: For those who can’t resist betting on the Super Bowl, here’s a word from Arnold Wexler, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, citing an example of post-Super Bowl calls they receive.

“A man called from the Garden State Parkway and said that he had embezzled money from the bank where he was employed because be believed that he had a sure bet on the Super Bowl,” Wexler said. “He lost, and took what money he had left down to Atlantic City, where he tried to recoup his losses. Naturally, he lost again.”

Odds oddity: As of Tuesday, Washington was a seven-point favorite over Buffalo, which should be encouraging news to the Bills. In their four previous Super Bowl trips, the Redskins lost twice as the favorites and won twice as underdogs.

Name game: The hockey team that now represents the Commonwealth of Independent States rather than the Soviet Union is still the one to beat in the Winter Olympics, according to Canadian captain Brad Schlegel.

“They’re the favorites,” Schlegel said of the Russian-dominated team. “Just because they’ve had political problems doesn’t mean hockey has deserted them. They may even have some extra motivation to prove that they’re as strong as ever.”

The Great One II? Belleville Bull forward Brent Gretzky, younger brother of the Kings’ Wayne Gretzky, was selected as the Ontario Hockey League’s player of the week. Brent Gretzky, 19, had six goals and four assists in two games and is seventh in the OHL in scoring with 26 goals and 45 assists in 40 games.

Trivia answer: Cannonade, who never won again after winning the 1974 Derby.

Quotebook: Atlanta Brave ticket director Jack Tyson, on the National League champions’ booming season-ticket sales after many years of apathy: “I’ve kind of christened this year, ‘Dealing With Prosperity 101.’ The definition of a good seat in this ballpark is definitely changing.”