SORTING THROUGH THE Super Bowl rubble . . .
If you stayed tuned Sunday night to see NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue present the Super Bowl trophy, you may have also noted the rather frosty exchange between Tagliabue and Dallas owner Jerry Jones.The reason is, Jones and the NFL are suing one another over a dispute involving the Cowboys' independent marketing agreements with Nike, Pepsi and American Express.
Tagliabue appeared Sunday morning on ABC's "This Week With David Brinkley" and was asked about the situation. Tagliabue said Jones "dishonors the agreement he made when he came into the NFL partnership."
Consequently, when the Cowboys initially received the trophy, and Tagliabue offered a handshake, he and Jones barely made eye contact. Jones glanced briefly as they shook hands, then turned his attention in the opposite direction to accept congratulations from someone else.
While Jones clearly isn't a big fan of Tagliabue, it's safe to say there's at least one commissioner who was privately wishing the Cowboys would have lost the Big One.
PRIME TIME DIFFICULTIES: Utah cub reporter Sparky Mortimer - and we do mean cub - was back at work again this week, covering the Super Bowl for "The Late Show with David Letterman." The 9-year-old Mortimer arrived for Thursday's media interview period at The Buttes, along with an entourage of "Late Show" chaperones.
According to the Arizona Republic, when Mortimer approached Deion Sanders, Prime Time said, "You better respect your elders around here or they will bury you," referring to the media. "These guys can end your career."
When Mortimer told Sanders he was working for Letterman, Sanders replied, "That's it. David Letterman? You got to go. He's not a fan of mine, he's not a friend, either."
Sanders reportedly was mortified when he appeared on Letterman's show this year, and was ambushed with a Pepsi-Coke taste test. Sanders is a Pepsi spokesman. Though he passed the test, he obviously wasn't happy.
Said Sanders, "Ask David if he can tell the difference in ratings between him and Jay Leno."
ADD SPARKY . . . : Young Sparky fared much better in other attempts. While taping a segment for Friday's show, he ended up in the middle of a flock of friendly Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders - none of whom asked him to leave.
Mortimer not only ended up on "The Late Show," his picture appeared on the front page of The Arizona Republic and The Phoenix Gazette, surrounded by blonde Texas cheerleaders.
And following the Super Bowl, Mortimer worked his way to the front of the interview podium, where he was greeted by Dallas coach Barry Switzer. "There's a fine-looking young man," Switzer said.
Which, it should be noted, Switzer didn't bother to say about any of the other media people.
HAT TRICK: As he entered the media room Sunday night, someone offered Switzer a Super Bowl cap to wear for the postgame press conference, but Switzer declined.
"I'm not a big hat guy," he said, "unless I'm fishin' or chewin' tobacco."
FREE ENTERPRISE: While almost nobody who isn't somebody can get Super Bowl tickets, there's always the chance you can get them from scalpers - for a price.
By game day, scalpers' tickets had jumped to $1,000 in the nosebleed section of Sun Devil Stadium and $4,000 for the good seats. However, just prior to kickoff, some of the scalpers had come down to around $600 for the cheap-o $350 seats.
PIECE OF CAKE: Among the many wretched excesses at Super Bowl XXX was a rather unique one. A Mesa cake-shop owner named Jan Byrd sculpted two 150-pound cakes, one in the form of Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman - complete with baby-blue eyes - and one of a bearded Neal O'Donnell of Pittsburgh.
The Aikman, as reported in the Arizona Republic, included 60 pounds' of marble cake mix. It took 10 cakes for the torso and 50 pounds of silver-gray and white icing.
Byrd and her husband, who own J&J Exquisite Cakes, have made full-size likeness cakes of Ross Perot, Charles Barkley and Madonna for parties.
QUOTEFILE: Dallas lineman Nate Netwon on Super Bowl hype: "I live for it, man. This is me right here. I love it. The world has to listen to me for a change. I mean, (President) Clinton needs to come see me about this flat tax rate I'm trying to start up. Seventeen percent for everybody."