The Billings Gazette from Billings, Montana • 19

SUPER bovjl jonn The Billings Gazette Saturday, January 21 1989 3-B Brooks-Woods top 1-2 punch Ickey shuffle; as shuffles go, is plain ickey 'ft MIAMI (AP) The Cincinnati Bengals' offensive backfield is a study in contrasts. There's diminutive veteran James Brooks, known as a good blocker, a dangerous receiver and an elusive outside runner. Then there's bulky rookie Ickey Woods, whose ability to shoot through small gaps in the line makes him dangerous. Put them together, and they form a one-two punch that's one of strongest in the NFL. "Brooks is a strong outside runner, Woods is a strong inside runner, and they both block well for each other, which is surprising," said 49ers safety Jeff Fuller.

"You don't see that too much in the NFL." Opposing defenses have seen plenty of it this year. Woods rushed for a team-high 1,066 yards and 15 touchdowns, with a 5.3-yard average that led all NFL running backs. Brooks ran for 931 yards, scored eight touchdowns on the ground, and caught 29 passes for 287 yards and six more touchdowns. Going into the season, Brooks was the Bengals' main running back, teamed with Stanley Wilson at fullback. When Wilson got hurt, Woods became a sensation.

His quickness through the line, ability to cut back for a long gain, and flayboyant touchdown dance gave the Bengals personality and punch. "All the (fullbacks) we'd been having, it's like two or three yards (a play). It wasnt a breakaway thing," Brooks said. "That really put a lot of pressure on me. "He's helped me.

They really can't key on me going outside and Ickey going inside because Ickey can go inside and outside." The Bengals' 169 yards per game rushing was the best mark in the league. They've become predominantly a running team in the last two months, with Woods getting the bulk of the work. Woods carried the ball 52 times for 228 yards in Cincinnati's two playoff victories, while Brooks carried a total of just 20 times for 78 yards. Overlooked in the hoopla over Woods' shuffle is the elusiveness that helps him get to the end zone. At 6 feet and 231 pounds, he can go through the line like a fullback and then use his moves like a halfback in the secondary.

"On the field, he's a load," quarterback Boomer Esiason said. "It's like he's been shot out of a cannon. "The greatest thing about Ickey is he's Ickey. He's brought a personality to this team that's been missing." Although the 5-foot-10 Brooks has played a reduced role this year after leading the team in rushing two of the last three years, Coach Sam Wyche says he's still the Bengals' most valuable back. "He's our best blocker, our best receiver (out of the backfield)," Wyche said.

"JB is still the guy who gives people problems because he does so many things." One thing he doesn't do is grouse about his reduced role. "I'm not the type to say, 'Hey, I'm not getting the Brooks said. "I hope he (Woods) gets better, because it's going to make my job easier. "He's got the talent. With the offense we have, if you do anything just decent, you really shine.

He came into the situation just right." .1 MM M.k-MMijM mote chance you have yet to observe the shuffle, here's how it goes: First, Woods leans to his left, bounces on his left foot twice and holds out the foot-. ball with his left hand. Then he leans right, bounces on his right foot twice and shifts the football to his right, hand. Then he spikes the ball, twirls his right index finger in the air and yells: "Woo-woo-woo." This last feature led to yet anoth-, er probing question from a television man Wednesday, a question destined to go down as one of the most mem-' orable in Super Bowl history. Reporter: "Where did the 'Woo-woo-woo' come from?" Ickey: "The woo-woo-woo?" Reporter: "The woo-woo-woo." Ickey "It was improvised." From this angle, at first glance, the Ickey shuffle seemed to resemble some sort of sasquatch mating ritual But upon further review from replay officials, it appears to be more of a Jane Fonda workout crossed with the bunny hop.

But the thing must be an acquired taste. The city of Cincinnati has gone crackers over it, especially since Ickey shuffled over Buffalo two weeks ago to land the Bengals in the Super Bowl. Although he is just a rookie, Woods has quite possibly become the most popular Bengal As he will explain in the inevitable Ickey memoirs to be published next autumn, he acquired his unique nickname as a child when his younger brother couldn't pronounce his name (of course, if you were named Elbert, you'd probably bribe your kid brother to call you anything but that). Woods could not do his dance in college at Nevada-Las Vegas because NCAA rules forbid such things. Besides, he hadn't dreamed it up yet.

The shuffle first was performed last September at his apartment while Woods listened to the record "My Prerogative," by Bobby His mother cautioned him not to try "that crazy dance" in public, but Woods defied her. He shuffled. Initial reviews were mixed. The game officials acted under strict interpretation of NFL regulations, penalizing Woods and the Bengals for a "taunting" violation. Ever since, Ickey has shuffled on the sideline near the Bengal bench, not in the end zone.

The team's front office backs him all the way. Paul Brown even did an octogenarian variation on the shuffle before a November game. "It's amazing what takes place in our society," Brown, 80, said this week. "I can't say much for the dance, but my wife likes it." All the more reason to dump this dance. If anyone can do it, how can it be so special? Cincinnati wants to hug Woods and give Ickey a hickey.

The expert panel wants him to wipe out the woo-woo-woo and muffle the shuffle. Please. Associated Press threat for the Bengals. By MARK PURDY Gazette News Services MIAMI The Ali Shuffle, created by a man once known as Cassius Clay, was undeniably the best sports dance ever performed. The Ickey shuffle, created by a man once known as Elbert, is undeniably the worst.

This is not a biased opinion. It is a purely analytical view obtained by a panel of experts, none of whom lives in Cincinnati and none of whom is related to Bengals' owner Paul Brown. All right, so the panel might have been biased, after all All right, so the panel might not even have been a panel It might consist entirely of one sports writer who considers the Ickey shuffle to be a pathetic imitation of classic all-time shuffles, such as the famous one invented by Muhammad AIL This week, sad to say, the Ickey shuffle is almost as famous. It is the annoying little dance performed by Bengals fullback Elbert "Ickey" Woods each time he scores a touchdown. You surely have seen videotape highlights of the Ickey shuffle on television recently, in between all of the beer ads and Super Bowl updates.

"It just popped into my head, kind of like a miracle," Woods said as he earnestly explained how the dance came to be. "The Lord must have been talking to me." "How would you describe the shuffle?" a news hound asked. "WELL, it started out as a celebration," Woods answered, even more earnestly. "Now, it's a tradition." A tradition? He's been doing it for a mere four months ever since an October game between the Bengals and Jets and it's a You bet The shuffle already has garnered Woods an appearance in an Oldsmobile commercial, during which he performs the dance with his mother. The commercial has been airing nationally since New Year's Day.

In today's world, that qualifies as tradition. "Would you take it to Las Vegas after Sunday's game and perform it on stage?" another investigative reporter asked Woods. "Yeah, if you can make money with it, sure," Woods replied quickly. See, there's the problem. After a while, you get the impression that Woods whipped up his goofy dance to earn himself some extra dough to buy more pairs of designer sunglasses, which are his other trademark.

A good sports dance should inspire you. This one makes you believe there's probably an attorney somewhere drawing up papers to copyright the official Ickey steps. That won't be hard. On the re i :1 A) I 1 1 Craig saving fancy steps for field n- I "tejV that I was going to carry the ball more," Craig, whose 310 carries were 95 more than previous season high. "I knew I was going to main man." responded by dropping 15 pounds for speed and going on grueling training runs hills of the San Francisco Peninsula in the Craig had seven 100-yard rushing games in regular season and another in the playoffs, caught 76 passes to tie Indianapolis' Eric for first in total yardage with 2,036.

saw that my teammates were expecting come up with big plays to carry them this he said. "It brought out the best in me." did the holes opened by backfield partner Rathman, who prides himself in being the top two or three" blocking backs in league. "Roger knows how I'm going to block, and him through the holes," he said. "I think been a key to his success this season." third-year pro out of Nebraska, where he up Craig his freshman year, the 232-pound Rathman also averaged 4.2 yards on a career-high 102 carries this seasoa He was used a runner as the season went along. MIAMI (AP) Roger Craig won't unveil a Super Bowl shuffle if he scores a touchdown on Sunday.

But Craig is likely to do plenty of high-stepping between the end zones. Cincinnati's Ickey Woods has drawn the thickest crowds of reporters of any running back this week. He performed the "Ickey Shuffle" all over Dade County. Craig, who is five years' NFL experience and one Super Bowl ring up on Woods, just chuckles about being upstaged by a showman. "As long as I show my work on the field, that's fine," he said Thursday.

"I think my high knee action is good enough." Besides, he said, Coach Bill Walsh frowns on flashiness. "I might spike it if I score," Craig said. "As far as dancing, it's not in our system to do things like that." Behind Craig's club-record 1,502 yards, the 49ers were the No. 2 team in the league in rushing this season, trailing only the Bengals. But while Cincinnati has a two-pronged running attack in Woods (1,066 yards) and James Brooks (931) as ball-carriers, Craig is San Francisco's only big-yardage runner.

"I knew coming into the season as the half Roger Craig carried 302 times r. James Brooks is the outside per Bowl are an indication of the field's potential "In no way is George Toma going to bad-mouth artificial turf. What George Toma gets mad about is poor artificial turf installation," said the groundskeeper for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals. "On the PAT system, what I'm saying is please, please, for the sake of grass, take it back to the drawing board and modify it. The system has a lot of possibilities, but they have to modify it." The turf system at Robbie Stadium features soil sensors that suck water from the field when it's too wet, and activate sprinklers when it's too dry.

Toma appreciates modern technology, but experience tells him there's no substitute for sound human judgment. "A groundskeeper's got to know when to water and not to water. A coach is going to tell when to water and not to water," he said. "The players' legs will tell you. You're not growing grass for your front yard, you're growing grass for an athletic field." back said his be the He extra in the offseason.

the and Dickerson "I me to season," So Tom "one of the I take that's A backed more as Robbie turf gets Super facelift i Associated Press this year. sulted an agronomist on the best way to bring the Prescription Athletic Turf field up to Super Bowl standards. He applied liquid fertilizer, re-sodded parts of the center of the field where there was no grass and planted rye grass seeds to improve color and strengthen a root system that's just beginning to properly take hold in the stadium's 12-inch sand base. To eliminate a problem encountered a year ago at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, Toma's son purchased six two-foot blowups of Owls and inflated them to keep birds from swooping in to eat the seed. The turf is mowed and watered daily and sprayed with iron, zinc and manganese three times a week to keep the surface a rich greea On game day, the grass will be cut to just over seven-eighths of an inch tall a compromise to suit the 49ers, who play on natural grass at home, and the Bengals, who are accustomed to artificial turf.

Poor maintenance contributed to the problems with the turf, but Toma said the results of the maintenance program developed for the Su MIAMI (AP) A beautiful stadium is one thing, top-notch turf is another. Joe Robbie Stadium, the newest field in the NFL and site of the Super BowL was built for $110 million. Though it is only two years old, a major facelift was needed before football's biggest game. After six weeks of work by George Toma, head groundskeeper for all 23 Super Bowls, the lush green surface that millions of fans will see Sunday is not the same one the Miami Dolphins played on this season. "I've been in this business for 45 years, in the major leagues since 1957, and this is the most beautiful stadium I've seen," Toma said, gazing at the facility where the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers will decide the NFL title.

"I think within a year or two with proper maintenance this could be the best playing field in the league. But when we took it over, it was about a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. Right now, I'd say it's an 8." Toma's work began on Dec. 12 when he conducted soil tests and con PEPSI DIET PEPSI MOUNTAIN DEW 2 Itr. btl.

FRITO LAY'S POTATO CHIPS It's tough for compulsive gamblers 16 oz. STl? if bag LJ jQ The "Super Bowl Bet," Wexler said, is the "Get Out Bet" for many addicted gamblers. "It's the bet that (they think) is going to get them out of debt and help them start a new life," he said. "It is the last game of the year and the compulsive gambler wants to be able to brag to all of his or her friends about how well they can pick a winner and how smart they are." In January 1988, 27 of the 138 calls to the gambling hotline were from sports bettors, Wexler said. "Talk to any bookmaker, and he will tell you that if he had 100 regular gamblers during the year, during football season he has 300 to 600," Wexler said.

"Anybody who makes any kind of bets is sure to bet on football" Wexler also said the hype leading up to the Super Bowl each year only aggravates the compulsive gambler into betting more than usual The sports media might not see the harm in casually mentioning the odds for each game, but Wexler said that, too, tempts the gambler. The Council on Compulsive Gambling estimates there are 12 million compulsive gamblers in the United States. ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) Super Bowl Sunday is one of the worst days of the year for compulsive gamblers, who often wrongly think they can break even on one bet, an expert says. Arnold Wexler, director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, said that 30 percent of the callers to the gambler hotline last year were involved in sports betting.

Many of those calls come in during the football season, he said. "In December, I got seven calls from sports gamblers in a two-day period, which blew my mind," Wexler said. "You don't usually see that many calls at once until after New Year's Day or the Super BowL "It started early this year, but maybe well save some people from destroying themselves in the Super Bowl" he said. Wexler has a variety of tales about gamblers who called in desperation after past Super Bowls. One man had embezzled money from the bank where he worked "because he believed he had a sure bet on the Super Bowl," he said.

"Suffice to say, he lost." I 77. REDEEM THIS COUPON AT STORE FOR 20 SAVINGS on Postage stamps now availiable at all Kwik Way Stores Not resperis'rbit for typographical errors, 1 ia'fca Price Effective January 21-29, 1939.