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 ESPN's Gary Miller welcomes guests Marcus Allen, Rob Burnett, and Tony Siragusa.
RealVideo: 28.8
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Battle of the Bands
Aerosmith, front, and N'Sync strike a pose during Thursday's halftime show press conference. Both bands will perform in the MTV-produced show. |
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Cup o' Joe: Back to business
Getting those Thursday press conferences out of the way is key for Super Bowl teams. ESPN's Joe Theismann says the Ravens and Giants can finally prepare for Sunday's game without interference by the media.
 • NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw dropped a little bit of a bombshell Thursday. To extend the collective bargaining agreement two years
beyond the 2004 expiration of the salary cap, he wants the owners to give
the union a bigger piece of the pie. Instead of getting 64 percent of
designated gross revenue, the NFLPA wants 67 to 68 percent because of the
rapidly increasing values of the franchises. "We feel that the NFL clubs have grown and prospered under this
agreement and we feel that the appreciation of the clubs warrant the players
getting a higher percentage," Upshaw said. For the first time, Upshaw said that the union would consider lowering the minimum salaries under an idea being pushed by Patriots owner Bob Kraft, who had proposed a performance pool. Older players wanting to
stay on teams are finding it harder to stay because of increasing minimums.
Next year, for example, veterans cost teams a minimum of $484,000. In tight
cap situations, they are replaced by younger players making half of that cap
number. "This would involve some offset toward the minimum," Upshaw said.
"The club would pay a certain amount. The remaining amount would come out
of a benefit pool that we would have to establish." Next season's cap will be $67.4 million, about $5 million more than last year.
• Leigh Steinberg, agent for Troy Aikman, says his client wants to
continue playing football and would be willing to sign a new contract that
would give cap relief to the strapped Cowboys. The Cowboys have to pay
Aikman a $7 million bonus in March. If Aikman waives or adjusts that number,
owner Jerry Jones might be willing to take him back and most people are
betting he would.
• The 49ers are concerned that new MRIs are showing no improvement in
the disc problems of defensive tackle Junior Bryant. There is some thought Bryant might be in jeopardy of missing next season. 49ers coach Steve Mariucci said no surgery
is being prescribed but Bryant has yet to be cleared to play. "There's been
little change," Mariucci said. The 49ers coach also revealed Mariucci has been talking to former 49ers
quarterback Steve Bono about being a candidate for a coaching job. Greg
Knapp was promoted from quarterbacks' coach to offensive coordinator
following the departure of offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg to
Detroit. Mariucci also said that he would likely call plays this year.
• No one is surprised that Vikings receiver Cris Carter decided to
continue playing for at least one more year. "At this stage of my life, I'm
involved in so many things, that I'm being pulled away from football away."
Carter said he never envisioned at the age of 32 being able to play as well
as he has at the age of 35.
• New Lions coach Mornhinweg wouldn't say if he was interested
in bringing over Jerry Rice at wide receiver because he expects Rice to be
under contract until next June. To get the right coordinator or two,
Mornhinweg and the Lions may be willing to part with a draft choice for a
current NFL assistant under contract. Rule changes this offseason make it
tougher to lure assistants under contract. Teams can deny permission to talk
to them if they have time remaining on their contracts.
 • Shannon Sharpe, perhaps my all-time favorite quote machine, launched a diatribe against the media surrounding Ray Lewis, on Wednesday, pleading with the reporters to keep the focus on football. What Sharpe obviously didn't realize is that he interrupted Lewis from answering a question about knocking out quarterbacks -- a football-related inquiry.
• Ravens coach Brian Billick, who deserves more credit than he's been allotted for the team's march to the Super Bowl, badly misstepped Monday when he used the bully pulpit to lecture the media about Lewis. He gave new meaning to being an "offensive coach." Billick actually has a few legitimate complaints; the media has distorted some facts regarding last year's murder case.
But Billick has also misrepresented some facts. I was privy to the behind-the-scene negotiations between Lewis' lawyers and the Atlanta prosecution team. Yes, prosecutor Paul Howard knew the trial was disintegrating and approached Lewis' attorney, Ed Garland, about a deal. Lewis' plea of obstruction of justice was connected to his willingness to testify. Those are the facts. Anybody (including my friends) who thinks Billick took the focus off Lewis and put it on himself is full of wind. He magnified the
focus on Lewis. More
"We were too busy being chased by the jocks because we had long hair."
— Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry when asked if he ever wanted to become a football player as a teen-ager.
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Given the Ravens' defensive bravado, how many points will the Giants score Sunday?
 TOM JACKSON
The Giants will figure out a way to score two touchdowns. Just as the Ravens believe they have the ability to score on defense and special teams, the Giants have a pretty good defense of their own. Plus there is now the threat of Ron Dixon returning the ball. More importantly, the Giants have the superior offense. Mistake-free football is always a priority, but it's more of a priority for the Ravens because of their lack of offense. But mistake-free football is really, really tough. There's been only two Super Bowls without a single turnover, and if the Ravens turn the ball over once or twice, the Giants will be able to score 14. And who's going to score the Ravens 14?
 JOE THEISMANN
I see the Giants scoring 10 points. Of course, they might only get three or seven. The way I look at it, each team has an offense, defense and special teams. So six units will take the field, and all six are capable of scoring points -- and all six have scored during the playoffs. It will be difficult for the Giants' offense to score points. So they will need help from the defense and special teams to make it a closer game.
 MIKE GOLIC
The Giants could score 16 or 17 points. It seems everyone is forgetting that the Giants are a better than average offense. They're good for at least one TD and a couple of field goals. The Giants' offense won't necessarily drive the ball long all day, but their defense will put them in good field position and help them get into the end zone. Special teams could also be a factor. A punt or kick return for a score wouldn't be surprising, and their special teams will also give them good field position. With an anticipated low scoring game like this one, a kicker could be the MVP.
 JOHN CLAYTON
Unless there is a lot of turnovers, the best the Giants can hope for is 10 points. The Giants have enough talent to get one touchdown and one field goal, but other than that, the Ravens defense is just too good. Special teams and defense probably won't be a factor, because mistakes have to be made for those units to make a difference. Both of these teams are coached too well to expect a lot of mistakes. This will be a well played, well coached game; low on scoring, but high on quality.
 CHRIS MORTENSEN
16. The Giants are the most complete offense the Ravens have seen yet in the playoffs, regardless of the popular notion that the Broncos and Raiders are better offensive teams. The Giants are also peaking right now, their quarterback is confident and their team is healthier than they've been in recent weeks. The Giants defense will dominate the Ravens offense more than the Ravens defense will dominate the Giants offense.
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