‘79 Rams have the last word

The record book shows that the New York Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, 16-7.

This was shocking news then, and apparently still is at ESPN.com, which rated the 1968 Colts 36th and the 1968 Jets 49th in its ratings of the first 80 Super Bowl teams.

The website lists the Joe Montana-Jerry Rice 1989 San Francisco 49ers, 55-10 winners over Denver, as the greatest Super Bowl team.

Runners-up are the 1985 Chicago Bears, followed by a 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers team that beat Dallas, 35-31, on a dropped pass in the end zone by Cowboys tight end Jackie Smith.

And bringing up the rear at No. 80?

Would you believe the 1979 Los Angeles Rams, who threw a mighty fright into the vaunted Steelers (ranked 16th), taking the lead into the fourth quarter of an eventual 31-19 defeat?

Those Rams were 9-7 in the regular season, the worst record of any Super Bowl participant. But were they really worse than the 2000 New York Giants, who lost by 27 points to a team quarterbacked by Trent Dilfer?

Or the 1985 New England Patriots, whose starting quarterback, Tony Eason, did not complete a pass in a 46-10 loss to the Bears?

Or the 1982 Miami Dolphins, who were quarterbacked by David Woodley, who was four for 14 in a 27-17 loss to the Washington Redskins?

Once again, Los Angeles is the victim of East Coast media bias. The only L.A. team to win a Super Bowl, the 1983 Raiders, are ranked 27th, behind two Super Bowl losers, the 2001 St. Louis Rams (No. 23) and the 1978 Cowboys (No. 19).

Trivia time

Who led the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl touchdown passes?

Week 4 Power Rankings

This was the week Peyton Manning interrupted a few words from his sponsors for a trip to the Super Bowl ...

1. Manning: NFL’s new Mr. January. Now, as far as February goes

2. Roger Federer: Funny. In Switzerland, tennis is much more popular than the NFL.

3. Serena Williams: From No. 81 in the world to No. 1 at the Australian Open. There’s hope for the Bears after all.

4. Indianapolis Colts: Did to the Patriots what the Red Sox did to the Yankees in 2004. What goes around comes around.

5. Chicago Bears: They have a 16-2 starting pitcher who gets ripped every day in the national media. The Cubs can’t believe it.

6. Lane Kiffin: Putting the “baby” back in “Just win, baby.”

7. Bill Parcells: Obviously needed a T.O. from T.O.

8. Brett Favre: Says he isn’t sure he’ll ever know when to retire. He will if the Packers trade for T.O.

9. NHL All-Star game: If you missed it, your cable operator must not have Versus.

10. Versus: Desperate for something to boost ratings and profile, ex-OLN plans one-on-one hoops reality series, “Kobe Versus Arenas.”

Beckham item of the day

Is it possible to play in a league for less than three weeks and be chosen to participate in the All-Star game?

It is if you’re David Beckham.

Beckham is expected to join the Galaxy on July 1, with the MLS All-Star game scheduled for July 17. Asked if Beckham would play in the game, MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis told USA Today, “There’s two commissioner’s picks. I leave you to speculate whether he’ll get selected.”

Trivia answer

Lawrence McCutcheon, with one. The Rams running back tossed a 24-yard scoring pass to Ron Smith during the 1980 Super Bowl loss to Pittsburgh. It was the Rams’ only Super Bowl appearance before the franchise left for St. Louis in 1995.

And finally

Manchester United star forward Wayne Rooney was guilty of divulging a little too much information when asked by the BBC about his musical tastes.

Said Rooney, “I listen to 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Stereophonics, Arctic Monkeys; also the musical ‘Oliver’ -- I can sing every tune.”

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mike.penner@latimes.com