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The Baltimore Ravens already have the swagger of a Super Bowl champion. But the New York Giants have the swagger of seven Super Bowl champs.
Despite their wild-card standing and quarterbacking in the shaky hands of Trent Dilfer, the Ravens are 3-point favorites in today’s Super Bowl.
"We came down here to win a football game, and I like our chances," Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe said. "I know the team we have offensively, defensively and with special teams, and it’s going to be very difficult for us to lose this game."
But there’s reason for pause before the coronation of a new champion. The Giants don’t lose Super Bowls, and neither does the NFC East. The Giants are 2-0 all-time on Super Sunday, and the NFC East has a seven-game winning streak.
CRUNCH TIME
 Ravens target QB: Today’s Super Bowl matches a ferocious Baltimore pass rush bent on taking New York quarterback Kerry Collins out against a Giants offensive line determined to protect him.
Something has to give and the Giants hope it isn’t Collins.
The Ravens have taken out each of the quarterbacks they have faced — for at least one play — in three postseason games.
The Ravens believe that if they can hit him early, they can rattle Collins.
Baltimore has been on a postseason, pass-rushing tear, punishing quarterbacks Gus Frerotte of Denver, Tennessee’s Steve McNair and Oakland’s Rich Gannon, who was never the same after suffering a damaged left shoulder in the AFC championship game.
HALL OF FAME
Seven selected: Marv Levy, who coached the Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowls, and Lynn Swann, who turned pass receiving into an art form, were among seven people selected yesterday to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Also chosen were offensive linemen Jackie Slater, Ron Yary and Mike Munchak, defensive end Jack Youngblood and linebacker Nick Buoniconti.
The seven were elected by a 38-member selection committee in Tampa, Fla. They’ll be inducted into the shrine in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 4.
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