Uh, Cancel That Reservation in New Orleans

Anticipating that the Broncos would be playing in the Super Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 26, Denver Post columnist Woody Paige recently scouted the city and its famous restaurants.

“The Broncos just need to defeat Bye this weekend and a couple of bye-byes the next two weeks,” he wrote. “It doesn’t matter who the Broncos take on at Mile High Stadium.

“Their only concern should be which team--Dallas, San Francisco or Green Bay--they will play in the Super Bowl.”

Woody is choking on his gumbo now that Jacksonville upset Denver last Saturday at Mile High Stadium, 30-27.

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Trivia time: How many games did Dallas win in its first two seasons as an NFL expansion team, in 1960 and 1961?

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Long and shorts of it: Demonstrating the advantages of keeping the ball close to the floor, UCLA interim basketball Coach Steve Lavin sought to show his team how difficult it is to defend against a low pass.

As Lavin started to crouch, his knees were caught in his baggy shorts. To avoid embarrassing himself in front of his team and onlookers at Pauley Pavilion, Lavin quickly pulled his shorts up.

This wouldn’t have happened when John Wooden was coaching. He has said that the the longer shorts worn by players today are “more like bloomers.”

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Regrets: Former Ram running back Eric Dickerson, who holds the NFL single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, commenting on his controversial career to Jim Gray in Inside Sports:

“I was young and arrogant, and I wanted things my way. Now I recognize you can’t always have things your way.”

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Happy talk: John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Examiner writes that Philadelphia Eagle Coach Ray Rhodes leads the league in gruesome analogies for losing:

“He spoke of defeats as having the effect of unspeakable acts committed against his family.”

Crumpacker adds, now that Rhodes is ready to assume more authority in the Eagle organization “that can only mean images straight from the Marquis de Sade when Philadelphia drops a game or two next season.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1989, the Rams defeated the New York Giants in overtime, 19-13, in an NFC divisional playoff game.

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Trivia answer: The Cowboys won four games, lost 20 and tied two.

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And finally: Indianapolis Colt quarterback Jim Harbaugh suffered a gash in his mouth that required 22 stitches and a tooth was knocked down his throat in an NFL playoff loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 29.

So Steeler defensive end Kevin Hardy sounded a warning to New England Patriot quarterback Drew Bledsoe before Sunday’s playoff game between the teams: “I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes. He has my deepest sympathy.”

So much for intimidation. Bledsoe led the Patriots to an easy 28-3 victory.