MC CULLOUGH HELPS GALAXY TO WORLD BOWL: At 6-3, 210 pounds and with good speed, inexperienced rookie wide receiver ANDY MC CULLOUGH was too good a prospect for the Arizona Cardinals to let go. So they allocated him to the NFL Europe League to work on the fundamentals of the position. The strategy has paid off.

McCullough recently finished the NFL Europe regular season as the league leader with 10 receiving touchdowns, second in the league with 883 receiving yards, and fourth in catches with 48. This Sunday, McCullough will attempt to help the Frankfurt Galaxy to the league championship when they face the Barcelona Dragons in Düsseldorf, Germany in World Bowl ’99 (FOX-TV, 1:30 PM ET).

"He has been very productive over there," says Cardinals head coach Vince Tobin. "He has shown he can catch the pass over the middle and make big plays. He has run well after making the catch, too. As a coach, you like to see what a guy does in the heat of battle and he has shown he can come through."

McCullough is glad he was given the opportunity to prove himself in NFL Europe. "When the coaches told me they were sending me here I was really excited about it," said McCullough. "I had not played in a game in so long, I just wanted a chance to prove what I'm capable of doing. I've always had confidence, but now my confidence is astronomical. The crowd here is unbelievable. They get 40,000 to every game."

Other NFC-allocated players who had successful NFL Europe seasons include: Chicago punter Chris Dolan

(Scotland), who led the league with a 46.0 average, and Bears safety Greg Williams (Amsterdam), who topped NFL Europe with six interceptions; Dallas defensive tackle Brandon Noble (Barcelona), who tied for fourth in the league with 5.0 sacks; St. Louis wide receiver Donald Sellers (Scotland), who led NFL Europe with 931 receiving yards and finished second with 58 receptions, and Rams running back David Thompson (Amsterdam), who tied for fourth in the league with 503 rushing yards.

In all, 37 NFL-allocated players will compete in this Sunday’s World Bowl, including 19 from NFC teams. Twelve of the 15 NFC teams will be represented in Sunday’s championship contest, led by the New Orleans Saints, who have five allocated players competing. The Philadelphia Eagles are second with three.

EXTRA CAMERA HELPS BEARS QBs: The Chicago Bears are using an extra camera at practice to improve their quarterbacks’ mechanics. Rather than rely on the typical wide-angle coaches’ video, the Bears also employ an on-field hand-held camera to focus strictly on the quarterback and his movements.

Bears quarterbacks coach JOHN SHOOP used the technique last season as an assistant with the Carolina Panthers and believes it helps spot mechanical problems that don’t appear in the normal coaches’ video. "I watch the footage every night and sometimes I’ll see that the quarterback’s head is moving while he throws or he’s stepping too far," said Shoop. "I correct that with him the next day. It’s difficult to see those types of problems on wide-angle footage."

Shoop makes the footage available to the quarterbacks for them to watch by themselves, and goes over it in one-on-one sessions or in quarterbacks’ meetings. "I’ve watched a lot with (rookie) Cade Mc Nown," said Shoop. "He has never had it before and seems to think it’s helpful."

PACK WILL BE FIT AND PHYSICAL IN ’99: Expect the Green Bay Packers to be a more physical and better- conditioned team in 1999. New head coach RAY RHODES wants his players to be in the best shape of their careers so they can continue to play hard in the fourth quarter. After practice was completed during the team’s minicamps, Rhodes continued to make players run, an approach players respected.

"The guys know we're going to be a well-conditioned team, and we're going to play physical football," says Rhodes. "We want to make sure nobody's in better shape than our football team."

Packers quarterback and three-time league MVP BRETT FAVRE agrees with his new coach’s philosophy. "I think we need it," said Favre. "You don't want to be beat down and tired in the second half of the year or in the fourth quarter. I think there is a lot of merit to running and being in shape. I think you'll see a stronger team in the fourth quarter."

MC DONALD KEY TO VIKES SUCCESS: Which player will be on the hot seat for the Minnesota Vikings in 1999? RANDALL CUNNINGHAM? CRIS CARTER? RANDY MOSS? Try second-year cornerback RAMOS MC DONALD.

McDonald, the Vikings’ 1998 third-round draft choice out of New Mexico who played primarily as a nickel back last season, has the challenge of replacing former starter COREY FULLER, who signed with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent. In the NFC Central, with receivers such as CURTIS CONWAY, BERT EMANUEL, ANTONIO FREEMAN and HERMAN MOORE, McDonald’s performance will have a profound effect on the success of the defense.

"Ramos will be fine,'' says Jimmy Hitchcock, the Vikings’ other starting cornerback. "He'll be one of the better cornerbacks in the league. Athletically, nobody has better speed, quickness or strength.''

Because of Ramos’ lack of experience, the Vikings anticipate a lot of balls thrown his way. "We'll try to do something to help him out,'' says Vikings defensive coordinator Foge Fazio. "We’ll use double teams and disguise our coverages.''