Packers All Business In Defense Of Title

The Green Bay Packers touched down in San Diego on Sunday, pledging that bliss won’t push aside business as they prepare to defend their NFL title against the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.

The Northwest charter airliner had the words “Go Packers” on the side as it landed at San Diego International Airport about 3 p.m. A flag bearing a Packers helmet waved from a cockpit window as the plane taxied to the gate.

Defensive end Reggie White, the first player out of the plane, waved to a crowd of about 100 well-wishers. Coach Mike Holmgren was the last off.

Just like last year in New Orleans, Holmgren decided not to give his players a day off this week - but he did give them a curfew again.

Bed check is 1 a.m. until Friday, when it’s midnight.

“It’s not a big deal. I’ve had a curfew all my life,” receiver Derrick Mayes said. “Like my mom told me, ‘There’s nothing you can do after midnight that you can’t do before midnight.”’

Receiver Antonio Freeman said the players don’t mind checking in early the week before the biggest game of their lives.

“You don’t want to be out until the wee hours of the morning and come out to practice the next day not focused and your mind somewhere else,” Freeman said. “It’s in the better interests of this football team.

While Green Bay is seeking to join the Pittsburgh Steelers as the only teams to twice repeat as Super Bowl champs, there are plenty of Packers who are going through this for the first time, including two starters - rookie left tackle Ross Verba and 12-year veteran linebacker Seth Joyner.

“Life couldn’t be any better than it is right now,” Joyner said. “I take that back: It will be better on Sunday night.”

Broncos, too, arrive

With about 100 cheering fans and the Barrelman greeting them, the Denver Broncos arrived Sunday in San Diego.

The Broncos’ charter touched down at San Diego International Airport at 3:45 p.m. and came to a stop about 100 yards from a Green Bay charter that had landed 45 minutes earlier.

Players acknowledged cheers as they left the United Airlines plane and immediately boarded four buses for the trip to their hotel in suburban La Jolla.

Las Vegas south

Just a short walk across the international border, amid the hustle of street vendors and the smoke from taco shops, is a football bettor’s dream - a legal sports book in Tijuana, Mexico.

San Diego is the only Super Bowl city where bettors can hop in a car - or on a trolley - and be at the windows in under an hour. There isn’t the glitz of Las Vegas or the ease of a toll-free call, but it’s certainly an adventure.

“Why drive six hours to Vegas when it’s not even one hour here?” said Randy Hagan, 39, a Navy welding inspector who drives down three or four times a week to bet.

“You ought to see it on a Sunday when football is going on,” he said. “If you’re not here by 8:30, the parking lot is full and this place is jam-packed.”

Dallas interviews ex-UCLA coach

Former UCLA coach Terry Donohue reportedly has interviewed for the Dallas Cowboys’ coaching vacancy created by Barry Switzer’s firing, while Lou Holtz has taken himself out of the picture.

Dallas radio station KLIF reported Saturday that Donohue has discussed the Cowboys job with club officials. In his favor is that Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman played for Donohue at UCLA.

Neither Donohue nor Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could be reached for comment.

As for Holtz, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram quoted a source close to him as saying the former Notre Dame coach won’t return to coaching. The newspaper quoted the source as saying that Holtz has too many things going on in his private life, including caring for his sick wife. Belichick, Davis to talk

New York Jets defensive coordinator Bill Belichick was scheduled to interview for the Oakland Raiders’ coaching position this weekend at the Senior Bowl, but it’s unlikely he would accept the job unless it is a Godfather-like offer.

Belichick, 45, is the highest-paid assistant coach in the league - $1 million - and is the designated heir to Bill Parcells as coach of the Jets. Parcells would certainly give Belichick a good recommendation, not that he needs one - Raiders owner Al Davis has interviewed Belichick in the past when looking for a coach.

Belichick, though, would almost certainly require power in personnel decisions, which Davis has steadfastly claimed as his domain, largely to his detriment.