Vikes hope to arrive
late next year

The Pro Bowl representatives for the Minnesota Vikings want to be fashionably late next season.

"When you're the last to arrive that usually means you were in the Super Bowl," six-time Pro Bowl standout receiver Cris Carter said. "Hopefully, next year it will be our guys missing the first day of practice."

Most of the players from Atlanta and Denver skipped the opening workouts at Ihilani Resort because of the Super Bowl.

NFC head coach Dennis Green went on without the Atlanta players present. His first practice was almost as brief as his question-and-answer-session afterward.

"I didn't get to see the Super Bowl because we were on our way here," said Green, whose Minnesota Vikings lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC title game. "Sorry guys, I've got to go."

Carter did watch the Super Bowl. And while he believes his Vikings are as good as any team in the league, he said the Broncos should be favored to win it again.

"I still believe we belonged in the Super Bowl," Carter said. "We just didn't get it done against Atlanta. That loss hurt, but I got over it after a couple of days.

"We may be the favorite for next year, but Denver is the team to beat. We had a great season. But not making it to the Super Bowl leaves a bad taste in your mouth."

That bitter taste is still with quarterback Randall Cunningham and wide receiver Randy Moss. While both were pleased to be in the Pro Bowl, the overtime defeat to Atlanta was fresh on their minds.

"This is a great place to be because you're among the best players in the game in this beautiful place," Cunningham said. "But we feel like our season was incomplete."

Moss echoed those sentiments.

"We should have been in the Super Bowl," Moss said. "I haven't always paid that close attention to it, but maybe we'll get there some day. It just makes you want to go out and work harder."

Moss and Cunningham had outstanding seasons for the Vikings. Cunningham completed 259 of 425 passes for 3,704 yards and 34 touchdowns. His quarterback rating was a stellar 106.

His favorite receiver was Moss, who is one of only two rookies to make this year's Pro Bowl. He caught 69 passes for 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns.

"It's an honor to be picked for the Pro Bowl," Moss said. "You look around here and see all these great players, and it feels good to be a part of the best."

WHITE'S DOOR OPEN: Green Bay's Reggie White left the retirement door slightly ajar.

When asked by a bevy of reporters if his retirement was for real, White broke into that famous smile of his and said, "There's always a crack in my door when God talks."

The former Tennessee standout has said repeatedly that this Sunday's Pro Bowl would be his final game. But don't forget this is the same player who retired last April, only to change his mind two days later.

He said Sunday during a Fox interview that he was intrigued with the notion of playing for new Packers head coach Ray Rhodes. Rhodes was White's defensive coordinator for Green Bay in 1992 and a key reason he stayed with the Packers.

"But I have already carefully considered everything, and I am retiring," White said. "Ray and I talked, but at this point, I have made up my mind."

PAYTON TALK OF PRACTICE: Several players expressed concern for Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, who is suffering from a rare liver disease.

Doctors said the former Chicago Bears star needs a liver transplant. Patients with this disease, live an average of two years if they don't receive a transplant.

"I've always respected Walter," White said. "My thoughts and prayers are with him. I hope the doctors can save him and God is watching out for him."

Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith also expressed concern for his close friend.

"When I went down with that neck injury in Chicago on Monday night, Walter was right by my side," Smith said. "I wish I could be by his side right now."

Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie had a special relationship with Payton as well. Flutie began his NFL career in Chicago in 1986. His first touchdown pass at this level was a 27-yarder to Payton.

"It was disturbing to hear the news about Walter," Flutie said. "He helped me so much my rookie season in Chicago. Hopefully, he can get a transplant and lead a normal life."

HELMET SHORTAGE: Tennessee tight end Frank Wycheck didn't have a lot of time to get ready to make the trip to Hawaii.

He learned during the halftime of the Super Bowl that he would be replacing Denver's Shannon Sharpe, who injured his knee in the first quarter of Sunday's game.

"I had to make some last-second arrangements and wound up getting here ahead of my equipment," Wycheck said. "Luckily for me, our punter (Craig Hentrich) had a helmet that fit or I wouldn't have been able to practice."

EVERYONE HERE: All the Denver and Atlanta players arrived in Honolulu yesterday, including Super Bowl MVP John Elway and top running back Terrell Davis.

Elway said in yesterday's Denver Post that his children talked him into coming to Hawaii to play in perhaps his final Pro Bowl.

"I'm going to play a little bit," Elway said. "I'm not planning to play a whole lot. The kids wanted to go, so I said, 'OK, we'll go over there.' It might be neat."

TICKETS AVAILABLE: There are about 2,000 tickets left for this Sunday's Pro Bowl, a game that has been sold out every year but one since moving to Hawaii two decades ago.

For more information, contact the Aloha Bowl ticket office.

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By Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin