Pro Bowlers ready
for some R&R
Practices started today
By Pat Bigold
at the Ihilani resort; Broncos are
due in by tomorrow
Star-BulletinPro Bowl players and their families arrived in town yesterday amid a crush of fans at Honolulu International Airport. Practice began today, along with a full schedule of related game-week activities. The game will be played at 1 p.m. Sunday at Aloha Stadium.
Players arrived on several flights between noon and 5 p.m. Five members of the NFC champion Green Bay Packers came in around noon.
Packer Pro Bowlers are quarterback Brett Favre, safety Leroy Butler, running back Dorsey Levens, special teams player Travis Jervey and tight end Mark Chmura.
Jervey was seen getting on the airport's Wiki Wiki bus with a surfboard under his arm.
Reggie White, reportedly suffering from back pain, opted out of the Pro Bowl and is being replaced by Detroit Lions' Robert Porcher at defensive end.
The Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos attended a victory celebration last night at Mile High Stadium and a victory parade was planned for this afternoon in downtown Denver.
Broncos due in by midweek are quarterback John Elway, running back and Super Bowl MVP Terrell Davis, defensive end Neil Smith, tight end Shannon Sharpe, and center Tom Nalen.
Fans with pens in hand poured into the arrival terminals with footballs, magazines, hats and other paraphernalia for the harried Pro Bowlers to autograph. Most accommodated the fans but were hustled along by Pro Bowl security officers.
Noelani Militante, an airport janitor, used a unique approach. She asked Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis to sign a huge roll of lavatory toilet paper.
Bettis laughed and scrawled his name on the roll which weighed heavy in his big mitts.
He was a teammate of Denver Broncos defensive tackle Maa Tanuvasa on the Los Angeles Rams a few years ago and he said he was pleased for the former University of Hawaii star.
"He's a great guy and I'm glad he's got a Super Bowl ring now," said Bettis who last saw Tanuvasa in the AFC championship game.
Asked if he felt any of Tanuvasa's hits in the title contest, Bettis said, "I always make contact with him -- I just try not to get killed by him."
Bettis said he'll spend a lot of time on the beach, "Getting my body back together."
Pro Bowl week events
Tomorrow
8:00 a.m.--NFC practice at Ihilani Hotel.
10:00 a.m.--AFC practice at Ihilani Hotel.
2:00 p.m.--Pro Bowl players' visit at Kapiolani Medical Center.
8:00 a.m.--NFC practice at Aloha Stadium.
9:00 a.m.--AFC practice at Ihilani Hotel.
11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.--Miller Lite Pro Bowl Battle of the Gridiron at Ihilani Hotel.
Noon-1:00 p.m.--Pro Bowl Week Kickoff Rally at Blaisdell Arena.
1:00-10:00 p.m.--Topps Pro Bowl Card Show & Experience at Blaisdell Arena.
2:30 p.m.--NFL Youth Football Clinic at Kaneohe Marine Base.
9:30 a.m.--NFC practice at Ihilani Hotel.
9:30 a.m.--AFC practice at Aloha Stadium.
11:00 a.m.--NFL Rookie Beach Bowl on Fort DeRussy Beach.
Noon-10:00 p.m.--Topps Pro Bowl Card Show & Experience at Blaisdell Arena.
12:30 p.m.--Pro Bowl Golf Tournament at Ko Olina Golf Course.
12:30-5:00 p.m.--Play Football on the Beach Day (celebrity touch football, musical entertainment), on Fort DeRussy Beach.
7:00 p.m.--Pro Bowl Block Party at Aloha Tower Marketplace.
9:00 a.m.--Photo Day at Aloha Stadium.
9:00 a.m.--Pro Bowl Cheerleading and Dance Competition at Waikiki Shell.
10:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.--Topps Pro Bowl Card Show & Experience at Blaisdell Arena.
10:00 a.m.--AFC Practice at Aloha Stadium.
11:00 a.m.--NFC Practice at Aloha Stadium.
2:00 p.m.--Special Olympics Punt, Pass and Kick at Ihilani Hotel.
1:00 p.m.--Kickoff 1997 NFL AFC-NFC Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium.
