European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 25, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 22 b the stars and stripes saturday january 25,1992super bowl xxvi dash of Speed quickens Lofton Green matchup by Barry Wilner Minneapolis apr when James Lofton lines up opposite Darrell Green in the super bowl Pardon anyone who thinks he sees speedy Gonzalez against the roadrunner. A when i came into the league i was real fast a says the 35-year-old Lofton. A now in a just a when i came into the league i was real fast a says Green who will be 32 next month. Quot now in a even it simply does no to compute. How could a receiver in his 14th nil season still have so much of the world class Speed that almost got him to the olympics a in 1976? How can a cornerback now in his ninth year still be winning the nil s fastest Man contest for the Bills Star receiver and the redskins All pro defensive Back it does compute. Quot take care of yourself work hard and be dedicated to training a Green says. Quot you have to be very single minded during the season Quot adds Lofton no. 2 in career receiving yardage at 13,035, just 54 Yards behind Steve Largent. He a also fourth in receptions with 699. A a that a not to say you done to spend time with your family or have any recreation. But the football Field can never be far from your mind a Lofton says. A was in be gained More experience i find myself Able to focus in a Little better on what in a doing on the Field to concentrate on my assignments. And that helps me to play the game and faster. Lofton clocked a 4.4 for 40 Yards when he broke into the nil in 1978 following an All America career As a runner and Long jumper at Stanford. In 1987, when he moved from Green Bay to the raiders he was doing 4.3s. A the Guy simply is a great athlete a Bill guard Jim Ritcher says. Quot he keeps himself in shape Ana he works hard at his game. You never see him miss a practice and he works hard at practice All the time. It seems like each year he has been Here he comes Back in even better shape than the year Lofton does no to do any special exercises or have an extraordinary training schedule. But he is devoted to the game and knows he can to expect to Excel at it without an unwavering dedication to fitness. Quot i play because i enjoy playing have a lot of fun at it a he says. Quot i like everything about it working out coming out to practice the camaraderie. It will be very hard to find something that replaces the feeling of playing professional until the final game of this season a meaningless affair against Detroit from which he was held out with a strained Arch Lofton Hadnot missed an nil game due to Init a a a a Muc Marv Levy says. Quot you be seen 80-year-old people who Del Quot a Are very deliberate and you be seen 80-year-old people who still move around pretty Well. James happens to be one of those 80-year-Olas who happens to move around hell have to if he plans to beat Green. As a senior at Texas a amp i in 1982, greens 10.08 for 100 meters was beaten Only by a Guy named Carl Lewis. He says he has run a 4.1 40, something neither Willie Gault nor Ron Brown olympians who have played in the nil can claim. A even when i was a sprinter in College a Green says a i did no to really have a track coach. So All my supervised work with the redskins under Backfield coach Emmitt Thomas now is paying in the of season Green runs up Many of the Hills in the Virginia suburbs of Washington. He claims that is a main reason he clocks so quickly in training Camp and wins the fastest Man race in which he is 4 for 4. But he also says he does not show All of his Speed on the Field. A you done to have to run As fast As you can to make the play a he says. A if i Ever get in a situation where i have to run Sonde for stride with a Guy you will see what i mean what separates me from the Lofton will try to separate himself from Green frequently on sunday. Keep your eyes on them. Their confrontation might be Over in a Flash. Apfl a real fast Quot 14 years ago James Lofton a just a fast Quot now. Bowl s National betting favorite by Thomas Stinson Cox news service Atlanta a this is the week when America undertakes its duty to put up or shut up. More than 110 million people Are expected to watch the Washington redskins and Buffalo Bills play sunday in the super bowl. But the really impressive number is the estimated s3 billion that will be bet a most of it illegally a on the game. From the office Pool to the Las vegas sports books from once a year guesses to daily compulsive there is no betting like super bowl betting Quot some people View it As entertainment and some people View it As a Way to get Rich without a whole lot of Effort a said Georgia Bureau of investigation agent Charles Stone. A the super Bow is sort of like new years eve. Lets forget about the harsh Economy and the american express harsh Economy not this week. In vegas not Only Are bookmakers not experiencing a drop off in Early action the state is anticipating a record $50 million take up $10 million from a year ago. A the super bowl still tops everything including All the bowl games world series the Stanley cup everything else a said Tea Shively a sports supervisor at the Mirage sports Book on the Las vegas strip. Quot football in general is always a big attraction. This is the last game of the year and they have two weeks to hype it Quot the thing about this game is people who never make a bet All year want to bet on the super bowl Quot said one bookmaker who has filed his Trade in North at Anta for 25 years. A but for one game the super bowl far Ana away has the biggest volume of bets. You might Nave a Guy who bets $500 a week during the season come in with a $2,000 bet this week because his brother in Law wants to put some Money Down and his Yard Man is betting another $50.�?� some Are taking a bigger plunge. At Little Caesar s sports Book in vegas there a a sign above the counter the reads &Quot$1 million limit. If of need More come on ack and Little Caesars handled a $1 million ticket just last super bowl. E Saddam can t scud be dad s plans this time by Ken Rosenthal the Baltimore evening Sun Conway Bailey was All set to listen to the super bowl last year All set to tune in armed forces network in the Middle of the saudi arabian desert. But the Day before the game his unit received orders to relocate 12 Miles inside Iraq. Could his Luck get any worse the new position was out of Afna a Range and Conway did no to learn that his son Carlton a Buffalo Bills lost to the new York giants until hearing the score on a bbl radio broadcast the next Day. Conway Bailey 45, was scared head never see his son again much less see him play in another super bowl. But wednesday he flew to Minneapolis again with a last minute adjustment in his plans. He was scheduled to stay in a hotel 60 Miles out of town. Instead with one Lucky phone Call he got a room downtown. Funny How life evens out. A year ago Conway Bailey was serving in Sarah saudi Arabia chief warrant officer in the 29th Ord co 260th quartermaster in serving As an ammunition technician. Now he gets to watch the oldest of his four children play in americans Premier sporting event the one he missed last january while re supplying ammunition to Allied infantry in Northern Iraq. From the desert to the dome. What Are the vegas Odds on that a a it a a dream come True a Conway said of the Bills return to the super bowl. Quot you Hope that it would happen again. You Hope to be a part of it. And now its Conway Bailey said this while relaxing in his Woodlawn md., dining room monday night. He and Carlton smother Thelma Smith Are divorced with new spouses. Carlton a Bills linebacker played football and earned a sociology degree North Carolina. Today Conway has a Bills sticker on one car a tar heels sticker on the other. He worked 19 years counselling employees at the Maryland House of correction before state budget cuts eliminated his position. He begins a new Job As a Security Captain at the state Penitentiary after the super bowl. This latest upheaval of course is nothing compared to the one he experienced after being sent to the Gulf in october 1990. He had spent 17 years in the reserves after seven years of Active duty. Quot we did t think wed Ever have to pay the Piper a he said. But then came Saddam Hussein. Conway was an a a augment tee Quot a Reserve selected to fill an Active Slot. A Quarter Century before he spent nearly a year a �?o11 months 23 Days a in Vietnam. He was a sergeant involved in actual combat but at the age of 20, too Young to be unnerved. This time was different. This time he was second oldest in a unit of 275. A i was a lot More frightened a he said a i kept comparing saudi with Vietnam. I kept expecting things to happen that did no to. In Vietnam the danger was real. In saudi Arabia and Iraq it was More imagined. You sat around and Wonde a a could happen. Eventually Conway a unit followed Allied troops into Iraq embarking on a 24-hour Convoy the Eye or the super bowl then working through the game. He Learned the details from a newspaper a few weeks later saw a videotape in Iraq a few weeks after that. The War ended on feb. 28, Conway returned Home april 16 a not surprisingly a changed Man. A i had time to think about How i wanted to relate to my children my spouse a he said. A i pretty much established a game plan and in a following it. In a taking time to say things i want without putting them
