NFL officials said this morning that neither quarterback will make the trip to Hawaii. Elway was originally scheduled to arrive this afternoon. Favre never set a firm date after his Green Bay Packers lost to Elway's Denver Broncos in last Sunday's Super Bowl.

NFC head coach Steve Mariucci said Chris Chandler of the Atlanta Falcons will join the team in Favre's place. Pro Bowl operations director Bill McConnell said Warren Moon of the Seattle Seahawks will replace Elway.

SALUTE TO BRONCOS: The veteran Pro Bowl players of the AFC owe the Denver Broncosa 21-gun salute.

Not even 10-time Pro Bowl standout Bruce Matthews of the Tennessee Oilers or eight-time winner Derrick Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs have been able to field questions about the Super Bowl without flinching.

"Yeah, it's nice to be able to talk about it in a positive way," Thomas said. "I wish it had been us, but we knew Denver could do it. We played them tough three times."

The Broncos won the rubber match between the two, 14-10, to advance to the AFC championship game. Key players in that win -- defensive end Neil Smith, Super Bowl MVP running back Terrell Davis, tight end Shannon Sharpe and center Tom Nalen -- arrived yesterday for Sunday's 28th annual NFL all-star game.

"I'm happy for them and our conference," New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe said. "Losing 13 in a row is not a topic guys like talking about.

"I wish we would have broken the streak against Green Bay at last year's Super Bowl. But at least the AFC guys can have some fun with it this week."

Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis carried with him a similar sentiment. Granted, it's great the Broncos -- who beat the Steelers in the AFC title game -- were able to beat the Packers.

"But it could have just as easily been us," said Bettis, who stayed long after yesterday's practice to sign autographs. "That's how much better the AFC is getting. There were several teams in our conference who could have played with the Packers. Hopefully next year, it will be us winning it all."

Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher, who is the head coach of the AFC, agrees. After all, the Steelers were one of three teams to beat the Broncos this season.

"There's not that much separating the top five teams," Cowher said. "I'm happy for Denver, but I'd much rather it be us than them."

SANDERS IS THE MAN: Barry Sanders isn't the kind of man who sits still long enough to smile for the cameras.

It's not that the talented running back for the Detroit Lions, who was co-MVP this season with Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, is rude about it. The nine-time Pro Bowl player prefers to be low key.

"This was a good year for me," said Sanders, who became only the third NFL player to rush for 2,000 yards. "Not only did I accomplish some personal goals, but we were able to make it to the playoffs. Maybe next year we can do even better."

Sanders' 2,053 yards this season gives him 13,778 in his nine-year career. He now trails all-time leading rusher Walter Payton by 2,948 yards, but it's not something he thinks about.

"I'll leave it to the analysts to decide who's the greatest running back ever," Sanders said. "I just try to go out each and every game, and do the best I can do."

FIRST TIME AROUND: There will be 27 first-time Pro Bowl players in this weekend's game.

The AFC features 14 and the NFC has 13. Of that group, 10 will be starting. Among the six on the AFC is guard Jonathen Ogden of the Baltimore Ravens. Local fans will remember him from UCLA. The Outland Trophy winner played in the 1995 Aloha Bowl, a game the Bruins lost to Kansas.

Green Bay's Dorsey Levens is one of the four NFC starters playing in their first Pro Bowl. Levens finished second in the NFC in rushing to Sanders with 1,435 yards. He was third overall.

"It's quite an honor to be here for the first time," Levens said. "Starting makes it even more special. We had a good season. But it would have been a lot better had we won the Super Bowl."

GAME SOLD OUT: NFL officials announced yesterday that the game is sold out for the 18th time in 19 previous games here.

That means it will be shown live locally on KITV (Channel 4). Kickoff is 1 p.m. (HST).