PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : Cowboys’ Smith Is Wired for NFC Title Game

Running back Emmitt Smith showed continued improvement from his pulled hamstring on Thursday as he bounced around the Dallas Cowboys’ locker room in Texas.

At one point, Smith had electrodes that had been attached to his left hamstring in his hand.

“Need to get these reattached,” he said.

Smith has vowed to play in Sunday’s NFC championship game against the San Francisco 49ers even if Candlestick Park is a swamp.

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As expected, Dennis Erickson was hired as coach of the Seattle Seahawks, saying, “I felt it was the right situation for me if I was going to make that move.

Erickson received a four-year contract with a one-year option worth about $5 million.

He earned two national titles at the University of Miami.

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Rain forced the San Diego Chargers to practice in a hotel ballroom.

“There were a couple of big mirrors on the walls. No balls hit them but it scared me to death,” Coach Bobby Ross said.

With blocking and tackling obviously out of the question, the players walked through some of their assignments for their AFC title game Sunday at Pittsburgh.

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New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner announced he is part of a group that has offered to buy the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and keep the team in town.

Steinbrenner, who refused to say how much his group offered or name his partners, made his announcement amid speculation the team could be sold to those planning to move the team to Baltimore.

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If a team wants to hire Dennis Green away from the Minnesota Vikings, it better have big plans for him. Viking President Roger Headrick said that Green probably wouldn’t be allowed out of his contract unless he is offered more than a coaching position. . . . Wide receiver Steve Largent and cornerback Mike Haynes, who often went head to head against each other on pass routes, head the list of 15 finalists announced for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They were joined by 11 other modern-era candidates, team executive Jim Finks and seniors candidate Henry Jordan. Previous finalists: offensive lineman Dan Dierdorf, defensive end Carl Eller, defensive end L.C. Greenwood, punter Ray Guy, wide receiver Charlie Joiner, Ram offensive guard Tom Mack, defensive back Mel Renfro, defensive end Lee Roy Selmon, center Dwight Stephenson, wide receiver Lynn Swann and tight end Kellen Winslow.