Now This Sounds Like a Snow Job

Arizona, scared off by the forecast of another snowstorm in the Philadelphia area, pulled out of its basketball game Saturday against St. Joseph’s, but that didn’t stop the Hawks from making like the game was still on--and milking the sixth-ranked Wildcats’ no-show for all it was worth.

The Hawks showed up at the Palestra for the scheduled game, conducting their warmup drills before about 50 people.

The projected starting lineups for both teams were announced--predictably, the invisible Wildcats were booed lustily--and St. Joseph’s Hawk mascot tossed up the ball.

Since there was no opposition, 5-foot-9 guard Mark Bass had no trouble controlling the tap. Will Johnson made a layup and St. Joseph’s claimed victory in a game that will technically be listed as just a cancellation.

School officials acknowledged the show was a media event, but Coach Phil Martelli was unhappy about Arizona’s refusal to play.

Martelli said he’s not interested in making the game up. In fact, he said he wouldn’t play Arizona if the teams were matched up in the NCAA tournament. He also wondered whether the Wildcats would play in the tournament’s final round if they made it that far.

“The Final Four is in the [New Jersey] Meadowlands,” he said. “They won’t come because there might be a threat of snow.”

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Trivia time: How many times did the Los Angeles Rams play in the NFC championship game and how did they do?

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Party animals: There is already one sure winner in the Super Bowl tournament: agent-attorney Leigh Steinberg. Steinberg represents players on all four teams, including three of the starting quarterbacks: Dallas’ Troy Aikman, Indianapolis’ Jim Harbaugh and Pittsburgh’s Neil O’Donnell.

No wonder Steinberg has a pre-Super Bowl party every year. For this year, he has taken over the Phoenix zoo and has invited about 1,500 people.

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Sideshow: Michael Jordan in USA Today after the Chicago Bulls had defeated Seattle Wednesday night in a game from which Dennis Rodman was ejected:

“Have you ever been to a race-car event? Everyone wants to see the race, but they want to see an accident at some point.

“Well, everybody wants to see the Bulls, but they want to see Dennis go crazy. I think they got their money’s worth.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1968, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II at Miami, 33-14. Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr completed 13 of 24 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown.

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Trivia answer: The Rams made 11 appearances and won only two games, 24-17 over Cleveland in 1951, and 9-0 over Tampa Bay after the 1979 season.

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Quotebook: Gary Gaetti, 37, who hit 35 home runs and had 96 RBIs for Kansas City last season, on signing with St. Louis: “I feel as good as I did when I was 36.”