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There’s No Fury Like Old Raiders Scorned

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Times Staff Writer

Former Oakland Raider Tim Brown said on FSN recently that “old guys” who played for John Madden during his 10 seasons as coach of the Raiders had told him that if not for Madden the Raiders might have won three or four Super Bowls rather than just one.

After Brown’s quote ran Wednesday in Morning Briefing, Sandy Montag, Madden’s agent, said that at least half a dozen former Raiders who played for Madden had called him to vehemently disagree with Brown. Linebacker Phil Villapiano was one, and he e-mailed to Morning Briefing.

“I think we should have won six,” Villapiano said. “Remember in 1972, the Immaculate Reception. In 1973, Larry Csonka’s giant legs. In 1974, a questionable -- and rarely called -- tripping penalty on Jim Otto. In 1975, a frozen field in Pittsburgh. In 1977, Denver’s Rob Lytle fumbled on the two-yard line and they called it a touchdown.

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“With the Super Bowl win in 1976 and those five seasons, we should have won six rings. And John had nothing to do with us losing any of those games.”

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Trivia time: How many Super Bowls have gone into overtime?

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Geographically incorrect: When the Raiders lost to the Green Bay Packers, 33-14, in Super Bowl II at Miami in 1968, Madden was an assistant coach.

“I remember arriving in Miami and watching television that night,” Madden said on a conference call this week. “They showed the Packers arriving and Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr getting off the plane. Then the guy says, ‘The Oklahoma Raiders’ plane has also arrived.’ The host city wasn’t even sure where the other team was from.”

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Feeling confident: Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has been filing a daily diary for a blog on his website all week. Friday, he wrote, “Rumor has it there will be a parade in Seattle on Tuesday if the Hawks win it all. ... Just thought you should know.”

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Valid concern: Earlier in the week, prior to appearing on Jimmy Kimmel’s show with Kid Rock, Hasselbeck wrote, “We won’t be hanging out afterward though because I have a feeling he might not make curfew.”

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Odd method: Craig Ferguson, who admittedly knows very little about football, has gone 5-1 during the playoffs by picking teams based solely on their logos. The host of CBS’ “The Late Late Show” is picking the Steelers to win the Super Bowl.

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“Birds usually fly south during the winter, so I have a feeling that the Seahawks are going down,” he said on Friday night’s show.

Ferguson describes the Seahawks’ logo as “an angry bird.” But he calls the Steelers’ logo the worst in the NFL, saying it looks like it was made with “three used Christmas ornaments.”

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Trivia answer: None.

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And finally: A television reporter at Super Bowl media day interviewed Steeler defensive end Shawn Nua, a rookie from Brigham Young University, for 15 minutes.

The reporter then said, “Thanks. And your name again is?”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.

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