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Super Week? Are you ready for Super Bowl XLIII? The match-up everyone predicted between the Steelers and Cardinals gets cranked up in Tampa this week. Given the economic downturn and some unpredictable playoff results, I wonder what awaits us this week in the Sunshine State. We'll be live on the air from Wednesday thru Friday from the NFL's Radio Row, and I'm very curious to see and feel the results. Normally, the week leading into the Super Bowl is loaded with great parties and guests, but this one might be rather subdued. Who knows? We'll find out soon enough. Since our first "PrimeTime with the Packman" show from the Super Bowl back in 1998, we've had the great fortune to participate in some great interviews, locales and parties. Here's how I'd rank the Super Bowl cities and venues since '98; keep in mind this is all based on personal experience and the quality of the shows, invites, parties and the host city. It has nothing to do with the game itself.
That's my two cents on the Super Bowl venue. Be sure to check out the shows from Tampa, beginning Wednesday afternoon at 3 pm. There is a new #1 in college hoops. The third different ACC team to be found at the top of the polls is a familiar one: the Duke Blue Devils. Midas Krzyzewski has his guys playing lights out, and they put on a show while destroying Maryland over the weekend by 41 points. Before the game at Cameron, Maryland's resident smart-ass guard, Greivis Vasquez, stated before the game that he loved playing at Duke. Two years ago, he was taunted by the Duke students in Spanish, and he was excited about his return to Cameron Indoor Stadium. Vasquez claimed it "was his house". Well, the Venezuelan hoopster finished with four points in the 41-point blowout. Perhaps he should look up the word "foreclosure"? Nobody in the ACC plays defense better than Duke...and their match-up with Wake Forest on Wednesday night should be a classic. It has the potential to be the best game of the week....and that includes the Super Bowl. It was certainly sad to hear the news about the passing of Kay Yow. The great women's basketball coach of N.C. State had been battling cancer for decades. She passed away at the young age of 66. She spent 34 years at State, and touched the hearts of many players and fans. Given the high profile figures of Yow and Jimmy Valvano, it's amazing that both of them worked in such close proximity. She will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Yow, her family and Wolfpack Nation. Somebody, break up the Bobcats. While Sean May continues to learn how to drop weight and get in playing shape, the Charlotte Bobcats are starting to take shape on the court and in the standings. Since the J Rich trade to Phoenix last month, the team has responded by playing good basketball. Larry Brown deserves a ton of credit for transforming the line-up with a series of shrewd moves. The man knows what he's doing, and it certainly should not come as a surprise. If this keeps up, Michael Jordan is liable to show up more often to check on his franchise. The next ten days should prove to be interesting. The team embarks on a five-game road trip beginning on Sunday in Indianapolis, and continues out West against the Lakers, Blazers, Nuggets and Jazz. If the Bobcats can survive the road trip, then it will be fascinating to see if they arrive home to some interested spectators. I still think it's way too early to talk about the playoffs....it's more about being respectable. Right now, the team is playing good basketball and worthy of some attention. If you've listened to the radio show, seen my daily television commentaries or even read this blog, you would know how much I hate political correctness. It is totally out of control, and is one of the reasons our country is really screwed up. We see it every day in some form, whether it is politics, sports, you name it. Last week it struck again, and this time it involved Rod Marinelli. The former Detroit Lions head coach and current Chicago Bears assistant found himself in the middle of a complete fiasco last week. Whle scouting at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, Marinelli was approached by some reporters. He didn't care to talk to them so he responded by saying, "Goodbye, ladies". It was short, sweet and completely harmless. ...Unless, of course, you're some pain in the ass by the name of Jenni Carlson. You see, Jenni is the president of some fly-by-night organization known as the "Association for Women in Sports Media". Evidently, the "Goodbye, ladies" response from Marinelli hit a major nerve with Ms. Carlson. That language was so vulgar and insulting to the babes of the "AWSM" that they demanded that the NFL and Marinell apologize for such crude comments. Ms. Carlson continued by stating, "comments like that used in the way it was used, it just helps foster a hostile work environment." It didn't take long for Marinelli to respond. Instead of telling Ms. Carlson to stick it in her ear, the coach with a recent 0-16 mark in Detroit apologized for his choice of words. As I stated on my radio show, Marinelli evidently has one less testicle than Lance Armstrong. What is this world coming to, when the phrase "Goodbye, ladies" becomes offensive? |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
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