Thurman Thomas

There are some things in this life that Thurman Thomas cannot do. He cannot play tailback when his feet are numb. He cannot cook, his golf game is tragic, and he can't marry his main woman, Madonna Louise Ciccone Penn. He wants the people at Nike to name a tennis shoe after him, a la Michael Jordan (Air Thurman would be fine, he says), but he concedes they probably won't.

For professional football players, no other athletic achievement could possibly compare to winning a Super Bowl. Or could it? Former NFL running back Roger Craig says he's found one that's close: running a marathon. A four-time Pro Bowl player and three-time Super Bowl winner with the Joe Montana-era San Francisco 49ers, Craig has run five marathons and says the wave of euphoria that envelops him at the 26.2-mile mark is virtually second to none. "It's the most enjoyable feeling on the planet because it's something I did by myself," he says.

Dallas Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith, who held out in an attempt to become the highest-paid player at his position in the NFL, got his wish Thursday, signing a four-year contract worth a reported $13.6 million. Smith's signing, two games into the regular season, breaks an impasse between the two-time NFL rushing champion and Cowboy owner Jerry Jones that had inflamed Dallas players and fans. Without Smith this season, the defending Super Bowl champions are 0-2.

Michael Irvin was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday despite a troubled past, but voters denied entry to retired NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. The former Dallas Cowboys receiver, who won three Super Bowls in the 1990s, got in on his third try. Also voted in were running back Thurman Thomas, offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, defensive back Roger Wehrli and two nominees of the veterans' committee -- tight end Charlie Sanders and guard Gene Hickerson.

Running back Thurman Thomas said the only reason he missed Wednesday's mandatory media appearance was a scheduling mix-up, but he didn't exactly put to rest reports that the real explanation was he felt neglected in all the written and televised praise of the Buffalo Bills.

They attacked at dawn, armed with notebooks, tape recorders and cameras. They invaded a plush hotel in a peaceful suburb of Atlanta, doggedly pursuing their prey. It was Thursday morning of Super Bowl week. The sun was rising as the media army covering Super Bowl XXVIII entered the headquarters of the Buffalo Bills. As they passed through the lobby, few noticed the figure stretched out in a chair, head down on his chest, a baseball cap pulled low as he appeared to doze.

The Buffalo Bills were fined $5,000 by the NFL because running back Thurman Thomas failed to show up at a media session before last January's Super Bowl.

The bad news for the Bills: Thurman Thomas' second fumble of the game was returned for a game-tying touchdown by James Washington of the Cowboys. The good news for the Bills: When Thomas kicked his helmet on the sideline after the touchdown, there was a Buffalo official there to retrieve it.

Some of the Giant players were on their knees praying. Because they are special, God will help them beat the other guys. Both teams lined up. A good snap from center. The kick was long enough . . . but three feet to the right. Giants win. Make no mistake about it. Had the ball gone three feet to the left, Jim Murray would have printed his alternate story praising fellow Irishman Jim Kelly instead of his "clever" and "insightful" theme of Giant ball-control winning the game. And Thurman Thomas would have been named MVP. PETER BOGDANOV Santa Ana

I read with amusement The Times' account of the National Football League draft. Larry Stewart criticized TV reporter Andrea Joyce for erroneously saying that Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas was from Oklahoma. Stewart wrote: "There's a big difference between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State." Then, on Page 15, The Times listed Arizona State All-American Randall McDaniel as being from Arizona. There's a big difference between Arizona and Arizona State. KENT SHAFER Thousand Oaks

If the Buffalo Bills needed more incentive to defeat the archrival Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the Dolphins' Thurman Thomas upped the ante. Thomas, the Bills' all-time leading rusher who signed with the Dolphins after being cut by the Bills, ripped into the organization and three veteran defensive stalwarts in particular in a story published Monday in the Miami Herald.

Thurman Thomas agreed to contract terms Monday with the Miami Dolphins, said his agent, Leigh Steinberg. The three-year, $3.6-million deal includes a $750,000 signing bonus and numerous incentives that could be worth millions more, Steinberg said. Terms will probably be finalized within a couple of days. Thomas, released by the Buffalo Bills Feb. 10 along with Bruce Smith and Andre Reed, hurt his liver in the season opener last season and played in only five games.

Thurman Thomas made his point during the week and backed it up against the New York Jets. Thomas gained 104 yards in 18 carries and led the Buffalo Bills to a 20-10 victory over the Jets on Sunday after begging his teammates not to give up on a tough season. "I've been around here long enough to know that even though our season might be over, a lot of players still play with a lot of pride," Thomas said. "There's no quit in the Buffalo Bills."

The Washington Redskins have been winning with a strong running game all season. The Buffalo Bills showed them how much it stings to be on the other end. Thurman Thomas and backup Darick Holmes combined for 229 yards rushing and four touchdowns Sunday in Buffalo's 38-13 victory over Washington, snapping the Redskins' seven-game winning streak. The Bills, running from the K-Gun offense, looked like their teams of old rather than an old team.

Players guilty of flagrant late hits on quarterbacks could be forced to sit out 14 to 16 plays during a game under a proposal sent to the NFL competition committee by San Francisco 49er Vice President John McVay... A Buffalo Bill fan accused running back Thurman Thomas of cursing his 10-year-old grandson and insulting the boy's mother when the child asked for an autograph earlier this season. Thomas denied making the comments...

Bryan Cox held his temper but couldn't hold on to Thurman Thomas. Thomas broke free from Cox's grasp late in the third quarter for a 26-yard touchdown, his second score of the game, to help the Bills defeat the Miami Dolphins, 21-11, on Sunday. It was the first victory for a home team in the last seven meetings between Miami and Buffalo, who have met 21 times with the AFC East division lead on the line. They now are both 4-2 and tied for first.

Running back Thurman Thomas of the Buffalo Bills gave $125,000 in cash to Oklahoma State's athletic department and urged other athletes to monetarily support their colleges. Thomas, the top all-purpose running back in the NFL last year and a former All-American at Oklahoma State, also took out a $750,000 life insurance policy on himself and named the athletic department as the beneficiary.

Buffalo and Denver know how to lose Super Bowls--seven of the last eight to be precise. The Broncos, 0-4 and off to the worst start in their history, are learning how painful regular-season losses can be. The latest one came Monday night when Thurman Thomas ran for two late first-half touchdowns and Carwell Gardner scored early in the third quarter as the Bills beat the Broncos, 27-20. "The Bills looked like the same team they've been the last four years.