MIAMI, OCT. 11 -- Nearly 17 hours into as long and unique a day as a professional athlete has ever experienced, Atlanta Falcon-Brave Deion Sanders was lying on a training table in the Falcons locker room at Joe Robbie Stadium, two bags dripping intravenous fluids attached to his arm.
Visions of Sanders jumping into a waiting helicopter in cleats, shoulder pads and helmet were replaced by the grim reality of trying to play three games in two sports in 24 hours in two cities 1,180 miles apart.
"He's drained," said fellow Falcons cornerback Bobby Butler.
And why not? Under 87-degree heat and searing sun this afternoon, he played all but one play on defense at right cornerback, caught a nine-yard pass on offense and was the return man on every Miami kickoff -- four -- and every Miami punt -- three -- in the Falcons' 21-17 loss to the undefeated Dolphins. He did nothing outstanding -- except show up.
Saturday night in Pittsburgh, he played the final three innings in left field and struck out in one appearance at the plate in the Braves' 6-4 victory over the Pirates. To the chagrin of Braves' management and the delight of his Falcons teammates, he then boarded his chartered Canadair Challenger -- at an estimated round-trip cost of $8,000 -- and flew to Miami to play another sport. Had he not shown for the football game, he would have been docked his weekly salary of $118,000.
Here's how the longest professional sports day went:
1:15 a.m. The chartered jet, filled with Sanders and nine other passengers, including his 2-year-old daughter, the baby's mother, his agent, a Nike representative and a four-person CBS-TV crew, takes off from Allegheny County Airport. Sanders is interviewed by CBS, then falls asleep.
3:52 a.m.: The plane lands at Fort Lauderdale International Airport. Two limousines whisk Sanders and his party to the Sheraton Design Center in Fort Lauderdale, the Falcons' team headquarters. The limousines arrive a half-hour later.
8:30 a.m.: The Falcons' pregame meal is served. Sanders doesn't show up.
10:45 a.m.: The team bus leaves for Joe Robbie Stadium. Sanders is aboard.
11:05 a.m.: The team bus arrives at the stadium.
1:01 p.m.: Sanders, after dancing around and waving his arms, fields the opening kickoff and downs the ball in the end zone.
1:40 p.m.: With the game tied, 7-7, Sanders is called for pass interference on Mark Duper. The penalty is worth 47 yards, taking the ball from the Miami 27 to the Atlanta 26. Two plays later, Sanders is called for an illegal bump on Duper once again, but the officials rule that Marino's pass was not catchable and wave off the penalty. Two plays later, Miami misses a 50-yard field goal attempt.
1:51 p.m.: Sanders catches his first pass of the season, a nine-yarder in the right flat.
2:12 p.m.: Miami's Mark Clayton breaks into the open after a reception and runs toward Sanders. Sanders looks as if he will make the tackle,, but stops and gets flattened by a pile of defenders coming from the other side.
2:25 p.m.: On the final play of the first half, the Falcons put Sanders into the game for a "Hail Deion" pass into the end zone. It falls incomplete, although Sanders is there, waiting.
3:01 p.m.: Sanders makes one of his three tackles.
4:02 p.m.: After a lackluster second half, Sanders, wearing his trademark bandana, is one of the first to dash off the field as the game ends. He looks tired. He says nothing.
4:16 p.m.: Reporters stream to Sanders's locker, but don't find him. In the locker, there is a beige suit, a pair of blue designer shoes, a white shirt with Prime Time on the cuff, a wild print tie, two Louis Vuitton bags and two cans of Gatorade.
4:22 p.m.: Sanders lies down on a training table, wearing sandals, a towel and his necklaces. Two IV bags are attached above him.
4:24 p.m.: Trainers block reporters' view of Sanders by moving a chalkboard in front of the table.
4:28 p.m.: Butler talks about Sanders: "It was positive for us. We needed him to play. With the Braves, the guy plays every now and then. It's not like he's Terry Pendleton."
4:34 p.m.: Sanders's clothes leave his locker in the hands of an equipment man.
4:46 p.m.: After draining two IV bottles, Sanders gingerly gets up off the table and stands beside it for several minutes.
4:50 p.m.: Sanders, in an orange and black print shirt and shorts, leaves the locker room without speaking to reporters. He is limping.
4:55 p.m.: Sanders gets into a six-ride to a waiting helicopter. The car door hits him as he gets in.
5:10 p.m.: A helicopter is seen flying over Joe Robbie Stadium, heading for Opa-Locka Airport. There, the chartered jet awaits Sanders for the 2-hour 20-minute flight back to Allegheny County. Another helicopter waits there to take Sanders to downtown Pittsburgh, and a limo transports him to the stadium.
"This is the sort of thing kids dream about," Sanders was quoted as saying to CBS. "In the morning, they're Michael Jordan on the basketball court and in the afternoon they're Deion Sanders on the football field... . I'm a kid still."
6:47 p.m.: It is a cold, damp night in Pittsburgh. Braves Manager Bobby Cox is sitting in the visitor's dugout. "What'd Deion do today, anything good?" he asks. When told about Sanders's dehydration problems, Cox replies: "That's nothing. When I played in Venezuela, I used to need IV's before every game. I led the league in home runs that year."
6:59 p.m.: The Braves' pitchers head to the clubhouse to escape the rain. Sanders still hasn't arrived and the word is that he may not make it by game time. Second baseman Jeff Treadway is not worried: "What's going to happen is, the rain's going to delay us and he'll make it on time. I'm sure he prescribed that."
8:27 p.m.: Sanders's white stretch limo pulls up at Three Rivers, 17 minutes before game time. He slips in a side entrance, avoiding photographers and fans crowding the main gate. Wearing shorts, sandals and sunglasses, the two-sport star carries his own luggage as he takes a slow, tired gait toward the clubhouse.
11:36 p.m.: The game ends, the Pirates win. Sanders is sitting on the bench, as he has been the whole night. "He was fine," his manager, Bobby Cox, said. "I just didn't have the opportunity to use him."
Special correspondent Craig Milsten in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.