Sugar Bowl notes: Rebel captains lend a hand in New Orleans

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Jan. 3, 2000 | 11:14 a.m.

NEW ORLEANS -- UNLV football captains Len Ware and Andre Hilliard came up short this season in trying to attain their goal of playing in a bowl game. But the two seniors got a pretty fair consolation prize.

Both Ware and Hilliard got an all-expenses-paid trip to the Sugar Bowl to help take part in the NCAA's YES (Youth Education Through Sports) Program for inner-city youth.

The two, along with UNLV quarterbacks coach Gene Dahlquist, spent Sunday helping run two youth football clinics at muggy Tulane University.

Ware, Hilliard and Dahlquist, all of whom flew in Saturday and are staying at the upscale Fairmont Hotel, will remain here until Wednesday and also will receive tickets to Tuesday night's Nokia Sugar Bowl national championship matchup between No. 1 Florida State (11-0) and No. 2 Virginia Tech (11-0).

The two Rebel players were recommended by UNLV coach John Robinson and Dahlquist to take part in the clinic.

"We just thought that they were two quality young men who could provide an example for the kids here," Dahlquist said. "And it was also a nice way to reward them for doing a nice job as our captains this year."

A reward both Ware and Hilliard wasted little time putting to good use. Despite a 7 a.m. wake-up call on Sunday morning, the duo didn't hit the sack until after 3 a.m. after touring the French Quarter.

"I think it's fair to say that we're enjoying ourselves," Hilliard said with a shy grin.

Added Ware: "New Orleans blows Vegas away. Everyone here comes to party. In Vegas, everyone on the Strip comes to gamble."

* SMALL WORLD: As fate would have it, three players from Baylor, including quarterback Jermaine Alfred, also worked the clinic with Ware and Hilliard.

The Bears were the victims of the most bizarre ending in college football this season against UNLV. Instead of simply running out the final seconds against the timeout-less Rebels, Baylor coach Kevin Steele ordered a running play and tailback Darrell Bush fumbled into the end zone. UNLV cornerback Kevin Thomas scooped up the ball and ran it back 100 yards for a touchdown as time expired to give the Rebels a 27-24 win.

"(Alfred) was like, 'Oh, you guys,' " Hilliard said. "He said, 'We should have taken a knee. ... That one really hurt.' "

* HOKIE TOWN: Virginia Tech fans easily outnumber Florida State fans so far in the French Quarter and are driving up the price of tickets for Tuesday's game.

"All the calls so far today have been from Tech fans," Danny Matta, head of Great Seats Inc., told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They figure playing for the national championship is a one-shot thing for them. The demand is such that it warranted me opening on New Year's Day."

Most of the calls, Matta said, are for "get-in" seats in the upper level. With a face value of $85, they're going for $400 each. A lower level seat at midfield would set you back $1,500.

"Right now the Tech fans are coming out of the woodwork," Matta said. "The Florida State fans, they've been in this situation so much in the last few years that it's getting kind of boring."

* SLOW NEWS DAY: You know it's time to finally play the game when the hot topic for many media members on Sunday was once again Friday's interview blowup by Hokie defensive end Corey Moore and Friday night's curfew violations by three Florida State players.

Moore, the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, began firing expletives at a writer following a routine question at an interview session and then stormed off. The scene was broadcast nationally at halftime of Saturday night's Orange Bowl game between Michigan and Alabama.

Moore has refused to meet with the media since his blowup although he allegedly issued an apology through the Virginia Tech sports information department.

"Corey is a very intense guy who is getting ready to play," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "He's very much a competitor. He does everything full speed. ... That's just him."

Meanwhile, for the second straight day, Seminoles placekicker Sebastian Janikowski was grilled for allegedly missing his team's 11:30 p.m. curfew on New Year's Eve. He had been spotted by an ESPN employee at Jackson Square at midnight ringing in the new year.

Janikowski continued to deny he was one of three FSU players to miss curfew that night, but a New Orleans TV station reported that he was seen running extra laps before Sunday practice at the Superdome.

Whew! Glad we got that cleared up.

* PHONE HOME: Janikowski, the All-American placekicker built like a defensive end (6-2, 255), at least has a sense of humor, which is more than Moore can say.

Janikowski told a story about how he tried to phone his native Poland on New Year's Eve to bid his mother a happy 2000 but could not get through. The lines were busy all night.

"All those people from Chicago calling," he deadpanned.