ESPN.com's Ashley Fox wrote if the Broncos win Super Bowl XLVIII, Broncos Exec VP/Football Operations JOHN ELWAY "could go down as one of the most brilliant minds in the game." Elway "did not misplace his ego but did what was in the best interest of his franchise, even if it impacted his own legacy as a player." He "picked [Ravens GM OZZIE] NEWSOME's brain after taking the Broncos job." Instead of "worrying about his past, Elway looked to the Broncos' present and future." He "set the culture and the tone" of the organization. Elway said, "I am not worried about my legacy, because I plan on being good at this, too." That is the "force of Elway" (ESPN.com, 1/29). In Orange County, Michael Lev writes, "That the Broncos are making their first appearance in the big game since Elway was their quarterback is no coincidence. He’s leading them again" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 1/30).
THAT'S THE TICKET: East Rutherford Mayor JAMES CASSELLA "may attend the Super Bowl after all" after he "received an offer Tuesday to accompany" Colts Owner JIM IRSAY in Irsay's luxury suite. Cassella "has criticized the NFL and the Super Bowl host committee on several occasions, saying the benefits of the game would be largely felt in Manhattan and not East Rutherford, the commuter town of 9,000 where the game is being held, at MetLife Stadium." He complained that the league "hadn't posted Super Bowl signs in his town" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/30).
GROUP ADDED TO LAWSUIT: A N.Y.-area beer distributorship was added to a group suing the NFL over the Super Bowl XLV seating fiasco. To date, the named plaintiffs in the two lawsuits have been individuals. But earlier this week, Phoenix Beverages, Inc., one of N.Y.'s largest beer distributors, replaced CARRE COVELL as a plaintiff. Queried about the change, plaintiff's counsel MICHAEL AVENATTI wrote in an email, “This is a non event. It is nothing more than a procedural motion to substitute the name of one plaintiff for another.” Asked about Phoenix Beverage, he responded it is one of the "many companies that bought tickets to the Super Bowl.” One of Avenatti’s Super Bowl seating cases, Simms v. NFL, was denied class certification, and is proceeding with nine individual plaintiffs. The case the N.Y. beer company was added to is Greco v. NFL, which was filed in March '13, more than two years after the Simms case (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer).
SUPER BOWL NAMES: Packers WR RANDALL COBB and former NFLer AHMAN GREEN are among the current and former players who were "invited to make their Broadway debut" in the hit musical "ROCK OF AGES" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 1/30)....Sources said that a number of Broncos on Tuesday, reportedly facing a 1:00am ET curfew, arrived at SoHo club Greenhouse "after 11 p.m. -- but, 'it was such a madhouse ... they bolted after half an hour.'" Broncos coach JOHN FOX was "spotted at Tao Downtown" dining with family members and Fox Sports' JAY GLAZER. Seahawks Exec VP & GM JOHN SCHNEIDER and 40 of his staffers "sat nearby" (N.Y. POST, 1/30)....49ers QB COLIN KAEPERNICK yesterday "was spotted" at PH-D at the Dream Down hotel in N.Y. at 2:00am (N.Y. POST, 1/30).
