Like Fox, This Should Cover All Angles

The teams: Atlanta, 16-2 and dressed in black, versus Denver, 16-2 and dressed in white.

Site: Pro Player Stadium between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

Kickoff: 3:25 PST . . . almost 7 1/2 hours after Fox starts its pregame show.

TV: Channel 11. Fox wants everyone to know they will have a Super Bowl-record 31 cameras focused on the field. Estimated replays for the most controversial play of the game: 11.

Weather forecast: High near 80--predicted scattered showers.

National anthem: Sung by Cher, 52, who got her start with Sonny Bono, calling themselves “Caesar and Cleo” before becoming a little better known as “Sonny and Cher.” Known this week for providing the best quote in pregame hype: “I wish they’d put every Republican in a rocket ship and send them away.” Speaking Hands, a dramatic group of young people that uses American Sign Language to interpret gospel music for the hearing impaired, will sign the national anthem.

Pregame show: “Super Bowl audiences will experience the thrill and merriment of a Caribbean cruise,” says the press release, which doesn’t really explain where KISS fits in. Each segment of the pregame show will be introduced by Tori Spelling because this is a Fox broadcast and they want to remind you that “Beverly Hills 902whatever” is still on the air, although the kids graduated years ago.

Coin toss: Referee Phil Luckett will not be involved. But everyone else whoever played football will be at midfield, including all the Hall of Famers who participated in “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” reminding everyone in the stands they can only hope to see a game that just comes close to “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” which had Baltimore beating the Giants, 23-17, in the 1958 NFL championship game.

Halftime show: Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will star in something with a lot of noise, a lot of fireworks and a lot of extras running around the field.

Ticket price: $325 for the cheap seats.

Ticket distribution: Each team received 17.5% of available Super Bowl tickets, the Dolphins as host team received 10%, the remaining 27 NFL teams each received 1.1% and the NFL office received 25.3%.

Suite deal: For between $65,000 and $300,000 a year with a minimum of four-year commitments, suite holders can attend all Dolphin and Marlin games in Pro Player Park, and then have the option of buying Super Bowl tickets for $575, including a $175 food charge.

Commercials: Thirty-second spots went for $1.6 million each--that’s $53,333 per second. Not a lot of public-service messages planned. Anheuser-Busch has bought five minutes and 15 seconds worth of advertising time, giving them more exposure by game’s end than Atlanta quarterback Chris Chandler. Normally, NBC’s “ER” draws the highest-priced ad time at $500,000.

Audience: An estimated 130 million Americans who will watch and another 130 million who won’t.

Lombardi Trophy: Denver Coach Mike Shanahan refused to touch it at Friday’s traditional photo shoot; Atlanta’s Dan Reeves hugged it like a doll, knowing he might never get a hand on it come Sunday. Trophy costs $10,000; made each year by Tiffany’s.

The ring: The NFL pays for up to 90 championship rings at $4,000 per ring. The NFL will also give 90 loser rings to the Falcons at half the cost for the winners. The average man’s ring size is 11; Chicago’s Refrigerator Perry’s Super Bowl XX ring was size 23.

Pocket change: Each member of the winning team will earn $53,000--in comparison to his regular-season salary, John Elway will take a loss. The losers--that would be Chris Chandler & Co.--will receive $32,500 each.

The parade: Broncos agreed to victory parade after wanting only rally Monday . . . caused great controversy when they say no to parade, irritating fans. Last year’s parade and ceremony took six hours.

Philosophy check: The Falcons practiced in full pads for part of the week, while the Broncos practiced in T-shirts and shorts.

Injuries: The Broncos listed 17 players--all as probable. Shanahan has been doing this since being fined for not including Elway’s name on the injury report earlier this season which resulted in a hefty fine. The Falcons listed four players, with fullback Brian Kozlowski and defensive end Lester Archambreau questionable with ankle injuries.

Officials: Bernie Kukar, a 15-year NFL veteran, will head up the crew of guys who probably will ruin the game. Kukar, who graduated from St. John’s University in Minnesota, is a sales rep for an employer benefit plan company.

Cruel and inhumane punishment: Eight sportswriters have covered every Super Bowl, including the Los Angeles Times’ Bob Oates.

Last meeting between two teams: Denver improved to 5-0 with a 29-20 win in Atlanta last season with Elway throwing three touchdown passes. Denver jumped ahead 23-0, Atlanta made it 23-14, but then the Broncos put the game away. Hint: Falcons stopped Terrell Davis, allowing him 79 yards in 23 carries.

Pregame story line: Shannon Sharpe’s mouth. “If you take Shannon Sharpe out of the equation, we’ve been pretty quiet,” Shanahan said. Sharpe and Falcon cornerback Ray Buchanan have exchanged barbs all week. “Shannon looks like a horse,” Buchanan says. “I tell you, that’s one ugly dude.” Sharpe’s reply: “I’m not saying he’s a cross-dresser . . . “

Story line, Part II: Elway, Shanahan, Reeves, McCaffrey, Gibbs, DeBerg--they are all entwined, but the Elway-Reeves public fallout began in 1990. “This year has been the worst,” Elway told a Denver columnist then. “We hardly talk to each other unless it’s game time.” Replied Reeves at the time, “I was totally blindsided. I didn’t see anything wrong.”

Best headline: In Miami Herald--”Sex in NFL: Too Much, Too Easy.” Space limitations, of course, prevent the rest of the story to be told here.

Take note: Speaking of scoring, first team to do so has won 23 of 32 Super Bowls.

Sex update: Atlanta kicker Morten Andersen said, “It’s almost like you’re mentally naked,” in referring to his visits with Buddhist monks in Nepal.

Sex update II: Atlanta safety Eugene Robinson was a walk-on at Colgate who went undrafted, made it to the NFL and got traded from Seattle to Green Bay for Matt LaBounty. Played in two Super Bowls in Green Bay, and then the Packers didn’t want him. Signed with Atlanta and now is in the Super Bowl again. He was arrested Saturday night in Miami for soliciting sex from an undercover police officer.

Falcon stats: Atlanta, the first team to play its home games in a dome and advance to the Super Bowl, has won 11 games in a row, 14 of its last 15, 22 of its last 26. . . . Chandler leads the league in passer rating in the fourth quarter and when his team moves inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. . . . First-time Super Bowl teams like the Falcons are 2-10 against teams like Denver with Super Bowl experience.

Furthermore: Reeves lost three Super Bowls with Denver by the collective score of 136-40.

Bronco stats: Denver outscored foe in first quarter, 144-54. If the Broncos reach 30 points they most likely win. They are 32-1 in games coached by Shanahan scoring that many. . . . Denver has a 10-0 playoff record when it rushes for 130 or more yards and Davis is averaging 156 yards a game in the postseason.

Furthermore: Shanahan will earn a $500,000 bonus if his team wins the Super Bowl.

Decided by a kick: Atlanta’s Andersen has made five kicks in a row in overtime to win, five as the clock has run out in regulation, five in the final 10 seconds of a game during his career and has 15 game-winning kicks, including ones of 53, 50 and 50 yards. Denver’s Jason Elam has made six game-winning kicks--his longest going 37 yards.

MVP candidates: That trophy case must be getting a little crowded in Davis’ home. Last year’s Super Bowl MVP and this year’s league MVP figures to win if Denver wins, although don’t rule out a sentimental vote for Elway, who is most likely playing in his final game. Chandler probably has a better shot at earning top honors than running back Jamal Anderson, because the Falcons’ best chance of winning is surprising Denver with a couple of deep passes.

Perspective: Atlanta tackle Bob Whitfield wears No. 70; his brother Paris wears J27492 as an inmate in the California State Prison at Sacramento. Paris is in the fifth year of a 26-years-to-life sentence for first-degree murder.

Guarantees: Buchanan guaranteed the Falcons would win the Super Bowl and drew immediate media attention. The only question, however, is why doesn’t everyone guarantee a win? It’s not as if the losers are going to have their guarantee privileges revoked. No one even remembers who the losers were.

Oddsmakers: Denver has been better than a touchdown favorite all week. You can also bet whether Elway completes a pass longer than 41 yards, or runs more than three times. The over and under on the number of passes he completes is 18 1/2. Whatever the line on Chandler interceptions, take the over. The over and under on Davis’ rushing totals is 124 yards; 94 for Anderson.

Know your history: Hop to the left with elbows raised, hop to the right, elbow down as if pulling on something, hop to the left, jerk right elbow away from the body . . . the Dirty Bird began Nov. 8 in Atlanta’s 41-10 victory in New England with tight end O.J. Santiago coming up with the name and running back Anderson doing the dance. . . . The Mile High Salute began in 1997 in the preseason with Terrell Davis saluting his team for a job well done.

Cheerleader update: Atlanta has 32, Denver 25. Atlanta has 14 blonds, Denver 13.

Players to most likely be goats: 1. Elway has thrown two touchdown passes with seven interceptions in four Super Bowl starts. He hasn’t passed for more than 225 yards in his last six playoff games. 2. If Anderson fumbles or fails to get going, Denver’s offense will have that many more opportunities to roll up big points.

Quote to reflect on: “John Elway is Colorado. They should change the name,” Denver defensive back Ray Crockett said. Or, “They should change the name to the Elway Broncos.”

Joe who? Asked to name his three favorite quarterbacks, Elway replied, Dan Marino, Johnny Unitas and Roger Staubach. No mention of Joe Montana, who might be the only guy regarded higher by most football fans if Elway wins a second consecutive Super Bowl.

Next year’s Super Bowl: In Atlanta, featuring the Seattle Seahawks versus the Green Bay Packers.

Forget it: Nine teams have never made it to the Super Bowl--the Saints, Buccaneers, Lions, Panthers, Jaguars, Cardinals, Seahawks, Ravens and Oilers.

Next up: Sites of the next four Super Bowls are the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, and the 49ers’ new stadium (if completed in time) in San Francisco.