William Coburn 
Dec. 20, 1993 
William H. Coburn, 76, Of Chilla Vista, Calif., Died Dec. 20 At Home.

9-to-5 Snowstorm Kept Removal Costs Down 
Officials Say Relatively 
Little Overtime Was Paid In 
Keeping Roads Clear

Thursday, January 06, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B QUICK WORDS: VIKES, RAIDERS HAVE
ALREADY OVERACHIEVED 





Vikes, Raiders have already overachieved &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 From the start of the National Football League season, when they played
each other in Los Angeles, two teams have endured a rock climb of a
four-and-a-half month season to make it into the league's postseason
playoffsOn Sunday, some 3,000 miles apart, the Minnesota Vikings and Los
Angeles Raiders try to continue their seasons. The odds are not in favor of
that happening, particularly from the Vikings' end. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But even though the probability of a Vikings-Raiders Super Bowl is remote,
so was Mount Everest until Sir Edmund Hilary discovered it was there. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Vikings in particular may need a Sherpa guide to climb their playoff
mountain. They are the lowest-seeded wild-card team in the NFC and on Sunday
play the New York Giants. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Minnesota overcame its 24-7 drubbing by the Raiders on opening day to slip
into the NFC playoffs with a late-season surge. Former Meyers High School and
Syracuse star Qadry Ismail and linebacker Greg Manusky from Dallas and Colgate
are with the Vikings. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To make it to the Super Bowl in Atlanta on Jan. 30, the Vikings would have
to defeat the Giants and Dallas, on the road, on successive weekends, then
somehow avoid a letdown to beat either San Francisco, Detroit or Green Bay --
again on the road -- in the NFC championship game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In all likelihood, they won't get any farther than New Jersey. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But just getting this far has been an accomplishment. As recently as early
December, they appeared a longshot at best to make the playoffs. But then they
won a key home game against Kansas City and also beat Green Bay to solidify
their position. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Still, beating the Giants on the road should prove almost impossible. If
this was 1975 and the Vikings still played their home games in old
Metropolitan Stadium, they'd probably have a shot. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But it's hard to imagine a team that plays in a dome being able to beat the
Giants in a playoff game in January. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Raiders, on the other hand, are at home Sunday. By defeating Denver in
overtime last weekend, they got the right to host the Broncos again on Sunday
in Los Angeles. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It is very difficult to beat a team twice in two weeks. How the Raiders are
supposed to get up to play Denver again after their emotional victory of this
past Sunday is anybody's guess. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But if they can do it, then they too will be a step closer to Atlanta.
Raghib Ismail, the former Meyers and Notre Dame star who this week didn't come
that far away from being named an All-Pro kick returner, would probably get to
go back to Buffalo for a meeting with the Bills, whom they beat Dec. 5. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Buffalo hasn't lost since that game and the Raiders would be doing
everybody a favor by repeating their accomplishment and preventing the Bills
from going to a fourth straight Super Bowl. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Raiders, for whom former GAR and Michigan tackle Greg Skrepenak also
played before he was sidelined by an injury, have the offensive firepower to
annoy Buffalo or Houston, the two top teams in the AFC. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sure, neither they nor the Vikings are likely to be in the Super Bowl.
Neither team has enough rope to get to the summit of the mountain they've been
climbing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But they were supposed to be at the foot of the mountain by now, packing up
their equipment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And if the league's other Grade-A climbers want to avoid being passed by
these two pests, they'd better give them a good, hard shove or two in the next
couple of weeks. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bill Savage is a Times Leader sports writer. His column appears Tuesday and
Thursday.

Vikes, Raiders 
Have Already 
Overachieved 
From The Start Of The National Football League Season, When They Played Each 
Other In Los Angeles, Two Teams Have Endured A Rock Climb Of A Four-and-a-half 
Month Season To Make It Into The League's Postseason Playoffs.

Vikes, Raiders Have Already Overachieved From The Start Of The National Football League Season, When They Played Each Other In Los Angeles, Two Teams Have Endured A Rock Climb Of A Four-and-a-half Month Season To Make It Into The League's Postseason Playoffs.