Posted: Saturday, January 24, 1997

Saturday
Marriott Marina Hotel, San Diego

The 10 things I think I think today:

1. I think the Packers are very confident about this game. I was at their hotel last night, and they have the relaxed, quietly confident air that I think all Super Bowl winners probably have before the game.

2. I think Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney got robbed in the Hall of Fame voting this morning. Here's a man who, when he took the reins from his dad about the time the Steelers hired Chuck Noll, oversaw the construction of a great team. Then, in the '80s, he became the mediating statesman the NFL desperately needed, bridging the antagonistic gap between Gene Upshaw's NFLPA and the league negotiators in two very ugly labor disagreements. Rooney is this generation's Henry Kissinger in sports. His bust belongs in Canton.

3. I think I was just on the street in downtown San Diego -- a glorious 71-degree day, with not a cloud in the sky and no sign of that weather phantom, El Nino -- and I've never seen so many ticket-seekers accosting so many people. I asked one guy with an I-want-tickets sign: "What could I get for 2 in the lower deck at the 30?'' The guy almost jumped me. "Twenty-five hundred,'' he said. "Maybe a little more. Let's talk.'' Figure he'd turn around and sell them for $3,500 for the pair, at least. For the $275 face-value ducats, that's a 700 percent markup.

4. I think John Elway has handled this week flawlessly. He looks cool, never rolls his eyes at the dumb questions, and seems to have no interest in playing the sympathetic-quarterback figure.

5. I think if you go to Top o' the Cove in La Jolla, as I did for dinner last night, you should try the antelope. Best non-steak meat I've ever had.

6. I think you should also bring a portable cash machine, too, if you go to Top o' the Cove.

7. I think the latest in gambling -- online wagering with offshore casinos in Antigua, Costa Rica and Australia -- is flourishing here this week. And the feds are doing nothing about it. Not that they should, I suppose.

8. I think I haven't mentioned enough about what an incredible place this is. For those of us who don't get to San Diego much -- and who live in New Jersey -- this place is close to Nirvana.

9. I think Boomer Esiason, desperate to sell his northern Kentucky home, approached Peyton Manning at the commissioner's Super Bowl party last night. Boomer told Manning if he gets picked by the Bengals, Boomer would love to sell him the house. (This probably won't happen.)

10. I think I like this opinion from Gary Myers of HBO and the New York Daily News: "This game will be tied with five minutes to go, and Brett Favre will make a play to win.'' I like this opinion, as I said, but I still say: Green Bay, 24-14. Favre MVP.

Tomorrow night, I'll tell you what I think after the game.

• Friday: From Tags to riches
• Thursday: Wolf cries foul as rumors swirl
• Wednesday: Hop on the coaching carousel
• Tuesday: Will Holmgren Pack it in