PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : SUPER BOWL XXVII : Scalpers Try to Buy Players’ Tickets

Even the scalpers have gone wild.

Those wily entrepreneurs are descending en masse on the Dallas Cowboys’ complex at Valley Ranch waving big bucks.

Super Bowl mania and Cowboy madness are a dangerous mix. Suddenly, a $4,000 Oregon offer and a $10,000 grand scam don’t sound all that outrageous. And a three-night Pasadena-via-Las Vegas caper is a steal at $1,795.

“Crazy Cowboy fans are everywhere,” said agent Liz Gowda of Dallas Cowboys Travel, which is offering a package that includes accommodations, transfers, a game-day brunch and a ticket.

That deal costs $1,599, but Gowda said it also includes a private party with players and cheerleaders. After a bizarre episode at Valley Ranch on Thursday, though, apparently anything goes.

Shortly after the players received their ticket allotments, scalpers surfaced in the parking lot and even the locker room.

They offered up to $1,000 for choice tickets, both the Dallas Morning News and the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reported.

A Dallas writer spotted someone in the Cowboys’ parking lot flashing not only big bucks, but armed with a cellular phone and a map of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The Cowboys have clamped down on the war games.

“We’re monitoring anybody that comes on the grounds,” spokesman Rich Dalrymple said Friday. “And we’ll continue to do so right up until game time in Pasadena.”

Each player received two free tickets and could buy 20 more for face value, $175 apiece. Texas does not outlaw ticket scalping, but NFL rules prohibit it. Several players spurned the advances, including one from a man who offered rookie cornerback Kevin Smith $1,100 for “anything in section 18 or 19.”

Some of the Cowboys were surprised at the brokers’ boldness.

“You wouldn’t think they’d let those people here,” safety Kenneth Gant said. “I guess people can get away with anything.”

AROUND THE NFL: Giants Still Working on Reeves’ Deal

General Manager George Young continued Friday ironing out a multiyear contract that would make Dan Reeves the next coach of the New York Giants. Young refused to say whether he had spoken with Reeves, and insisted that nothing had been finalized.

“I’m trying to get something done,” Young said.

While Young has refused to say if Reeves has been offered the job of replacing Ray Handley, sources have told the Associated Press that the former Denver Bronco coach will become the Giants’ coach if a contract agreement can be reached. The New York Daily News reported Friday that Reeves will probably receive a five-year contract worth an estimated $4 million.

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Pat Bowlen, Denver Bronco owner, has narrowed his choices for head coach to Mike Shanahan and Wade Phillips and expects to make a decision early next week.

If the pick is Shanahan, Bowlen would prefer that Phillips be retained as the team’s defensive coordinator. But Shanahan reportedly wants to bring in his own defensive coordinator, possibly San Francisco defensive backs coach Jeff Fisher.

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Green Bay quarterback Don Majkowski will receive at least $1.366 million from his participation in a suit against the NFL’s former free-agency system, his agent said. Randy Vataha said the money for Majkowski will come from the $195 million in damages and attorney’s fees the league has agreed to pay over seven years to settle outstanding litigation.

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Linebacker Mike Singletary was added to the roster for the NFL all-star game Feb. 7 at Honolulu as a “need” player at his position.

“All along I figured this would be my last game, but since I wasn’t voted in, I’ve been in limbo,” said Singletary, who was selected for his 10th Pro Bowl, the most by a Chicago Bear player.