By NANCY GAY, San Francisco Chronicle

The list of failed challengers for the NFL's monopoly on pro football audiences is long, but the organizers and coaches of the United Football League are convinced their model will be successful.
Either that, or the head coaches -- Dennis Green, Jim Fassel, Jim Haslett and Ted Cottrell -- are looking to bide time until 2010.

Wild-card weekend in the NFL shook up the bookies' predictions -- of the four favored road teams, the Eagles and Ravens won. The Chargers and Colts revived one of the league's greatest non-divisional rivalries with yet another overtime thriller. And the playoff field's Cinderella teams, the rebuilt Falcons and Dolphins, were sent packing.

Forget the underwhelming performance of the AFC West this season and contemplate how that division will be decided at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday night. Winner take all. Win and you're in.

Late last week, when results of fan voting for the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl squads began to surface, you easily could distinguish the powerful publicity machines across the league from the more laissez faire franchises.

Oscar De La Hoya's place in sports history was enshrined in bronze glory Monday, his gloved hands raised in triumph in the corner of a boxing ring and placed permanently -- in statue form -- outside the Staples Center at Star Plaza.

Early results in the NFL Pro Bowl balloting are trickling in, and it's not surprising to see passing leader Drew Brees (3,251 yards, 18 touchdowns, 11 interceptions) is the top vote getter.

Every team in the National Football League has played at least eight games and there are some things that have become quite clear, even if our preseason predictions (Chargers? Super Bowl?) look pretty murky:

Now that the histrionics surrounding Mike Singletary's jaw-dropping debut as an NFL (interim) head coach have settled in, the decibel level has dropped and the shock value is over, what can the San Francisco 49ers hope to gain from this?Not much, as recent NFL history tells us.

If it's a NASCAR race weekend, then Kyle "Rowdy" Busch knows what he can expect, before and after the event. Boos. Jeers. Cups and cans of beer tossed in his direction.