ANHEUSER-BUSCH DOMINATES REAL-TIME CONSUMER RANKING

Based on its exclusive Ad Meter real-time consumer ranking, USA TODAY reports that an Anheuser-Busch ad not only ranked No. 1 "for the fifth year running," but the company garnered four of the fop five ads.  The only non A-B ad in the top five was Pepsi's Sierra Mist, ranking third.  But overall for Pepsi, the game "was another somewhat disappointing showing."  Meanwhile, Michael Jordan "fell flat in ads for Hanes and Gatorade, neither of which even cracked the top 20" (USA TODAY, 1/27).

The ten most popular ads are as follows (USA TODAY, 1/27):

AND THE WINNER OF THE DAILY'S SUPER BOWL CONTEST IS…

While 45% of the entrants in The Daily's Super Bowl contest correctly predicted that the Bucs would win Super Bowl XXXVII, it was obvious that nobody envisioned the rout that ensued.  With an unprecedented 48 points from the Bucs, only two entrants came close enough to be recognized as winners.

Predators President Jack Diller predicted a 42-10 rout, while Univ. of Notre Dame Graduate Student Matt Durbin predicted a 34-24 Bucs win.

So Jack and Matt, congratulations and well done.

90 METAL DETECTORS, 52 HIGH-TECH CAMERAS ADDED TO SECURITY

USA TODAY reports that more "than 4,000 local, state and federal police and private guards, including an extra 1,000 hired last week by the NFL's security provider, did duty before, during and after" Super Bowl XXXVII yesterday at Qualcomm Stadium.  Due to the heightened security, bottlenecks "at some security checkpoints – 90 metal detectors and pat-down searches – rankled some game-goers, but with gates open more than four hours before game time," most attendees were in their seats by kickoff.  Fifty-two high-tech surveillance cameras scanned the stadium (USA TODAY, 1/27).

The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE reports that by almost all accounts, "disabled Super Bowl fans got the red carpet treatment," as stadium personnel and about 50 Marines "specially trained to help the disabled at the game were available to get them around and to their seats" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 1/27).

ESPN.com reports that unlike last year's game in New Orleans, "where scalpers panicked as it drew close to game time, this year's ticket sellers didn't blink," as nothing was "available for less than $1,500 – the price that brokers originally quoted" when the matchup was determined last week.  Ticket buyers reportedly outnumbered ticket sellers by about a 50-to-1 margin (ESPN.com, 1/27).

The L.A. TIMES notes that the so-called Super Bowl indicator "foreshadows an up year for the stock market," as an NFC team won yesterday.  While the indicator boasts an 81% accuracy rate, "since 1998 the indicator has mostly been a bust, erring four straight years" (L.A. TIMES, 1/27).

The BOSTON GLOBE reports that the NFL left a seat empty with a rose in Qualcomm Stadium's press box in honor oflate Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough.  McDonough, "who had attended every Super Bowl, was also honored with a moment of silence in the press box after a few comments" by Boston Globe football columnist Ron Borges (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/27).

ESPN.com reported that Bucs officials "confirmed that an unknown person, certainly believed to have been a Raiders supporter, 'hacked' into the Bucs' official team Web site Saturday and changed a headline" to "Bucs Suck!! Go Raiders!"  Bucs officials said that the "bogus headline was on the site for about an hour before the team was alerted by users" (ESPN.com, 1/26).

BRYDEN COULD BE FORCED TO RESIGN IF PLAN IS REJECTED

The OTTAWA SUN reports that the Senators "should find out today from the club's major creditors whether" Chair Rod Bryden's bid with N.Y. billionaire Nelson Peltz "has been accepted or if the club will be put up for sale."  While it is believed that the NHL, Covanta Energy and the CIBC support Bryden's bid to buy back the team, "the wild card remains FleetBank of Boston."  The latest deal "is close to being accepted, but there are major hurdles to be cleared" (OTTAWA SUN, 1/27).  CIBC and FleetBank, to which the club owes $60M, "have the right to force Bryden's resignation" and confidential documents released Friday by an Ontario Superior Court justice show that CIBC and FleetBank "hold a resignation letter from Bryden" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 1/25).

Canadian Finance Minister John Manley, after being cleared of any conflict-of-interest chargers stemming from an effort to aid the Senators: "There's nothing left that I can do, unfortunately" (CP, 1/26).

OHSAA COULD STRIP LEBRON JAMES OF AMATEUR STATUS TODAY

The CINCINNATI ENQUIRER reports that the OH High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) today is "expected to end its two-week investigation" to determine whether LeBron James "compromised his amateur status by accepting a Hummer H2 sports utility vehicle as a gift."  If the OHSAA "strips James of his amateur status, … the St. Vincent-St. Mary's senior would be ineligible for the rest of the season and the school would have to forfeit games from the time he received the SUV" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 1/27).

YAO PROVES TO BE A BIG DRAW IN CHICAGO DEBUT LAST NIGHT

The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES reports that "thousands of Asian-American fans jammed the United Center" last night for the Rockets-Bulls game, featuring Rockets C Yao Ming.  Asian-Americans filled "more than 70% of the United Center's upper level" and "cheered loudly when Yao scored his first points about five minutes into the game."  Many people were spotted holding signs and sporting authentic and homemade Yao jerseys (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/27).  Total attendance for the game was 22,052 (THE DAILY).

MORNING BRIEFS

The CINCINNATI ENQUIRER reported that Hamilton County (OH) Commissioner Todd Portune said that "he would file a taxpayer suit [today] that will seek a renegotiated stadium lease or other forms of financial relief for Hamilton County" because "the Bengals have not made good-faith efforts to field a competitive team" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 1/25).

The BUFFALO NEWS reported that boxer Baby Joe Mesi is "trying to stop (L.A.-based Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing) from claiming it still represents him."  Mesi's attorney charged that Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing "has stalled Mesi's career by contacting the nation's top boxing promoters and telling them they must deal with Leonard's firm if they wish to schedule a fight for Mesi."  An attorney for the company said that "Mesi is legally bound to Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing for one more fight" (BUFFALO NEWS, 1/25).

The OTTAWA SUN reported that the Orioles today will announce a new management team for the Triple-A Int'l League Ottawa Lynx (OTTAWA SUN, 1/25).

The ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS reported that Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch "plans to appoint" T'Wolves Owner Glen Taylor as a HealthPartners board member as early as today (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 1/25).

Tickets.com announced late Friday that the company will be de-listed from the NASDAQ National Market, effective February 4 (THE DAILY).

Sportsnet Magazine launches today with a 24-page insert in Maclean's Magazine, examining the six Canadian NHL teams (THE DAILY).

The N.Y. TIMES reports that 400 people attended the first game of a six-game match between Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov and Deep Junior, a computer program.  The attendees "received free tickets by signing up on the Web site of the tournament's sponsor, X3D Technologies."  Kasparov won the first match (N.Y. TIMES, 1/27).

Arnold Palmer will wear the "Latrobe," the first shoe in his new Arnold Palmer Golf Shoes footwear line, at the '03 MasterCard Championship beginning today at Hualalai Golf Course in Ka'upulehu-Kona, HI (THE DAILY).

ATTENDANCE WATCH:

• The BUFFALO NEWS reported that 18,690 people attended Friday night's Maple Leafs-Sabres game at HSBC Arena, the second sellout of the year for a Sabres home game (BUFFALO NEWS, 1/25).

• The Nashville TENNESSEEAN reported that Saturday's Univ. of Louisville-Univ. of TN NCAA men's basketball game, marking Rick Pitino's first return to TN since leaving the Univ. of KY, was a sellout (Nashville TENNESSEEAN, 1/25).

• The ARIZONA REPUBLIC reported that the first five days of the Phoenix Open "saw 264,700 people, nearly 20,000 more than the first five days last year" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/25).

• The WASHINGTON POST reported that 18,719 people attended Saturday's Sunshine Millions races at Gulfstream Park, and Santa Anita Park "reportedly had a much larger-than-average crowd" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/26).

• The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES reported that a sellout crowd of 23,215 attended Friday night's Wizards-Bulls game, Wizards F Michael Jordan's last game in Chicago (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/25).

WEEKEND RAP…

The following are excerpts from the columnists' "parting shots" on Sunday's edition of ESPN's "The Sports Reporters":

• Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom, on Pete Rose: "Since when does apologizing commute your sentence.  Rose was banned for life for betting on baseball, not for lying about it. ... If you want to be firm about the cancerous mix of managers and gambling, then the door stays closed.  If all it takes is an apology, Rose can issue one right now – from the craps table."

• ESPN's Sal Paolantonio: "This year's Tampa Bay Bucs are proving one coach, Jon Gruden, in one season can be the difference in going home early or playing for all the hardware.  Except there's one big problem with that theory and that's the Raiders this year.  A year after losing Jon Gruden, Oakland is also playing for the right to hoist the Super Bowl trophy, and that's what makes this Super Bowl so intriguing."

• N.Y. Daily News columnist Mike Lupica: "(Raiders Owner Al Davis) is the Raiders the way George Halas was the Bears and Paul Brown was the Cleveland Browns once. ... He isn't just the plaque they gave him at the (HOF) a few years ago.  He's a whole wing."

• ESPN's John Saunders: "There's no position more vulnerable than the one (Raiders WR Jerry) Rice has played so remarkably for 18 years. ... Longevity can at times be equated with mediocrity or circumstance.  Neither apply to Jerry Rice" ("Sports Reporters," ESPN, 1/26).

Heard elsewhere over the weekend:

• ABC's Al Michaels noted that Raiders WR Jerry Rice, who, along with Bucs S John Lynch, was wired with a microphone for the Super Bowl, removed his microphone for the second half.  To which, John Madden said, "I think that's okay when you're winning, but the stuff that goes on, on the losing bench, maybe they don't want you to hear" ("Super Bowl XXXVII," ABC, 1/26). 

• Madden, on the no fly zone around the stadium: "That's the way it should be.  They finally got it right.  People shouldn't be up in those things" ("Super Bowl XXXVII," ABC, 1/26).

• Michaels and Madden, discussing San Diego as this year's Super Bowl host: Madden: "You couldn't ask for anything better for the biggest game of the year than a place like this, on a day like this."  Michaels: "The scariest thing all week was when (NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue) said there might not be another game here until they build a new stadium.  They should move it here permanently."  Madden: "What's he thinking?" ("Super Bowl XXXVII," ABC, 1/26). 

• Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, on Bucs WR Keyshawn Johnson saying he will no longer talk to the media: "He is one of these pathetic, foolish, modern athletes with this irrational persecution complex.  He is implying that the stuff written about him this week was bad.  It wasn't bad" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 1/24).

• ESPN's Norm Chad, on Bucs WR Keyshawn Johnson: "Johnson is writing a daily column for ESPN.com.  What's next?  (Raiders LB) Bill Romanowski anchoring 'Nightline'" ("PTI," ESPN, 1/24).

• CNBC's Forrest Sawyer, on office Super Bowl pools: "It's just the thing to get the economy the quick jolt it needs" ("The News With Brian Williams," CNBC, 1/24).

• Univ. of CT Health Center Addiction Researcher Nancy Petry, on wagering around the Super Bowl: "About 20% of the people who are compulsive or pathological gamblers, their primary form of gambling is sports betting so for them (the Super Bowl) is a very dangerous time" ("The News With Brian Williams," CNBC, 1/24).

• CNN's Jeff Greenfield, on the popularity of the Super Bowl ads: "Where might this fascination with the Super Bowl commercials lead?  Well, maybe in the not to distant future the game itself will be a mere afterthought, played not in some huge arena but on a high school football field ... while all but the most faithful say, 'Free Super Bowl tickets, you say.  What, you want me leave home and miss the     ads?  No thank you'" ("Newsnight," CNN, 1/24).

• Jostens Super Bowl Ring Designer Charlie Anderson, on the player's Super Bowl rings: "They like a lot of sparkle. Nuclear bling-bling is what they're looking for" ("World News Tonight," ABC, 1/25).

• Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom, on Serena Williams beating sister Venus for the Australian Open title: "This is that moment where the youth, the energy and the     experience -- I hate to say that about a 21-year old – has all come to a culmination.  She literally owns the sport right now" ("Sports Reporters," ESPN, 1/26).

• N.Y. Daily News columnist Mike Lupica, on the same issue: "These matches don't engage me at all and there's not a single point you remember when they're over" ("Sports Reporters," ESPN, 1/26).

• Madden, on ABC's "The Bachelor": "If there's a World Series game on and 'The Bachelor,' you watch 'The Bachelor.'  That's a normal thing that dates back to our forefathers" ("A Season On The Bus," ABC, 1/25).

THE BACK PAGES

The Morning Buzz offers today's back page sports covers from some of the nation's major metropolitan tabloids:

N.Y. Post	N.Y. Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News	Boston Herald

EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Below are this week's confirmed earnings announcements for sports-business related companies (THE DAILY).

IN OTHER NEWS….

This week's cover of TIME offers "The CIA's Secret Army."  Meanwhile, NEWSWEEK examines war with Iraq, under the header, "Hell Bent On War" (THE DAILY).

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that the "national boards of SAG and AFTRA have scheduled a joint board meeting (February 8) signaling the next step in the potential creation of a merged performer's union" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 1/27).

A Nielsen Media Research study concluded that CBS' "The Early Show" "topped the 3 million-viewer mark for the first time in 16 months as viewership jumped 26% from a year ago."  The ratings are the best since CBS "revamped its long-suffering morning show October 28" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 1/27).

The Viacom BOD will hold a meeting on Wednesday, and the N.Y. TIMES reports that President & COO Mel Karmazin and Chair & CEO Sumner Redstone "are barely speaking, and their relationship has become so poisonous that even if they resolve their current contract dispute, their dealings are not likely to improve" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/27).

The N.Y. TIMES reports that Tina Brown is "setting off into new territory with a series of prime-time specials" on CNBC.  Brown said that "she would produce four one-hour programs this year in which she would lead discussions with small groups of guests of her choosing."  Her debut on the net will be March 20 (N.Y. TIMES, 1/27).

The WASHINGTON POST reported that E-Trade Group Chair & CEO Christos Cotsakos resigned on Friday (WASHINGTON POST, 1/25).

FINAL JEOPARDY!

Friday's "Final Jeopardy!" category was "Brand Names."

"Robert Chesebrough named this brand for the German word for water and the Greek word for olive oil."

LAUGH TRACK

THE MONOLOGUES: 

CBS' David Letterman: "I love Super Bowl Sunday. Here's what I do every Super Bowl Sunday.  I go to Bed, Bath and Beyond because it's absolutely empty.  I have my run of the place. ... This year I will not be alone on Super Sunday, thanks to the good folks at Clonaid.  They've made me a drinking buddy. ... Here's how Super Bowl Sunday begins at my house.  About 7:00am, I'm awakened to the sound of mom making margaritas in the blender. ... Mom will be making some of her weapons-grade onion dip and her sudden death potato salad. ... Everybody's getting ready for the Super Bowl.  In Iraq, as a matter of fact, the UN inspectors are no longer searching for weapons of mass destruction.  They're now searching for salty snacks. ... The nice thing about the Super Bowl (is) a lot of stars will be at the game out there in San Diego.  For example, Michael Jackson will be there dangling his kid from the skybox."  Letterman, on Bucs coach Jon Gruden having also coached the Raiders: "He's coaching his new team against the people he used to work for.  He's going head-to-head against the people he used to work for, and I'm thinking to myself, 'Geez, I wonder what that would be like'" ("Late Show," CBS, 1/24).

NBC's Jay Leno: "It was so cold today, back east Diana Ross crashed a Zamboni. ... It was so cold in Washington, it took doctors 15 minutes to jumpstart Dick Cheney's heart.  ... In Atlanta, they had record cold temperatures.  Ten degrees below Ted Williams. ... The Chuck E. Cheese in Miami will be closed this Sunday for a private event, the R Kelly Super Bowl party. ... (Super Bowl) tickets are going for as much as $5,000 apiece.  Isn't that amazing, and that's a rough call for Raider fans.  I mean, game or bail. ... (Raiders RT) Lincoln Kennedy (is) 6' 6'', 335 pounds. Sounds more like Lincoln Navigator. ... The Raiders are like one of the oldest teams to make it to the Super Bowl. In fact, they said today if they win, instead of Disneyland, they're going to Branson, (MO). ... They say the theme of the halftime show this year is women's impact on our culture.  That will blend in nicely with the Miller Lite girlfight commercial. ... A company called Berkline is coming out with a recliner that can handle 500 pounds.  It raises up and tilts to help overweight people stand up.  I'm sorry, didn't that used to be called a forklift" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 1/24).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:

Last Friday's Top Ten list was "Top Ten Army Reservists Pet Peeves," as read by ten Army reservists via satellite ("Late Show," CBS, 1/24).

Comedian Mitch Fatel reported from the Super Bowl for NBC's "Tonight Show," and asked Bucs CB Ronde Barber, "Are you going to do an any more commercials with your brother ? ... If you win the Super Bowl, do you think your mom will like you more than your brother? ... Do you ever thank God that you're not the one named Tiki?" Fatel asked Raiders CB Rod Woodson, "Have you ever taken Viagra before a game? ... Football is a game of inches." Woodson: "I don't wear a jock so that would be pretty embarrassing" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 1/24).

SUNDAY NIGHT'S TV MONITOR

ESPN's 10:00pm ET "SportsCenter" led with a report about Raiders C Barret Robbins, who was put on the team's inactive list prior to the Super Bowl after failing to show up for team functions on Saturday, followed by a fourth-quarter Super Bowl update.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER notes that it "was a moderate weekend at the boxoffice as the estimated total for the top 12 films – $83[M] – was up nearly 6% from the Super Bowl weekend last year" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 1/27).

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

"What is Vaseline?"

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know at:
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