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Monday 9:00am ET....Today's News....Five Alive

  • Patriots Top Falcons In Super Bowl LI With Record Comeback
  • Fox Draws 48.8 Overnight For Super Bowl, Down Slightly From '16, '15
  • Car Brands Claim Top Three Spots In USA Today Ad Meter
  • NFL Experience Draws 175,000 Fans, First Single-Day Sellout

Patriots Top Falcons In Super Bowl LI With Record Comeback

The Patriots won Super Bowl LI over the Falcons 34-28 last night, completing a record-setting 25-point comeback capped by the first overtime in Super Bowl history. This is the fifth Super Bowl win for the franchise and for the trio of Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. After accepting the Lombardi Trophy from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Kraft said, "Two years ago when we won in Arizona, I told our fans that was the sweetest one of all. But a lot has transpired. I want to say to our fans and our brilliant coaching staff, this is unequivocally the sweetest" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/6).

Front-Page Headlines: Boston Globe: "Win For The Ages" ... Boston Herald: "Roger That" ... Providence Journal: "Greatest Comeback" ... Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Heartbreak" ... USA Today: "The Greatest Comeback" ... N.Y. Times: "Patriots' Super Bowl Comeback Dwarfs All That Came Before It" ... L.A. Times: "Just Super, Tom"

Falcons sponsor SunTrust runs a full-page ad in USA TODAY: "Atlanta Falcons, Fly Home Proud. Thank you for an unforgettable season" (THE DAILY).

A championship parade will be held Tuesday in Boston beginning at 11:00am ET. Details of the route are "expected to be released soon" (MASSLIVE.com, 2/5).

Uber today is delivering Patriots championship gear from Fanatics in Boston, Worcester, Providence and Manchester from 10:00am-4:00pm ET. Fans can purchase up to 10 items per request, and the first 100 to place an order also will receive a limited edition Oyo Sports figurine in the likeness of WR Julian Edelmam. Uber last night also delivered in Boston for a few hours immediately following the victory, with delivery time averaging less than 7 minutes (Uber).

Patriots RB James White, who scored three touchdowns including the Super Bowl winner in OT, appeared live via satellite on NBC’s “Today” and “CBS This Morning” and also spoke with ABC’s Michael Strahan live from Houston (THE DAILY).

Fox Draws 48.8 Overnight For Super Bowl, Down Slightly From '16, '15

Fox drew a 48.8 overnight for the first Super Bowl to ever go to overtime. That figure is down slightly from a 49.0 overnight for the Broncos’ 24-10 win over the Panthers last year, and down from a 49.7 overnight for the Patriots’ last-minute victory over the Seahawks two years ago. The audience last night was likely hindered by the Falcons' early lead, as the club was up 28-3 late in the third quarter. For the third time in the last four Super Bowls, a non-participating city topped all markets for the telecast, as Pittsburgh led the way last night with a 57.9 local rating (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).

The Fox Sports Go streaming service "dropped during the tumultuous fourth quarter of the game." The service's Twitter help account posted, "We’re aware of the streaming issue, and it’s been resolved. Please close and reopen the stream to get back to the game." But "many users replied to the tweet saying they were still unable to access the live stream" (EW.com, 2/5). The outage was reported on Twitter starting at about 9:38pm ET, and the feed was back "a couple of minutes later." It affected the English-language stream; users said that the "Spanish-language feed was available for the entire game" (SI.com, 2/6).

Car Brands Claim Top Three Spots In USA Today Ad Meter

Kia's ad starring Melissa McCarthy won the 29th annual USA Today Ad Meter. The 60-second spot, "Hero's Journey," promotes the '17 Kia Niro in a "crazy commercial" where McCarthy "gets bounced out of a boat by a rampaging whale, among other ecological calamities." This makes "two years in a row for automakers" winning the Ad Meter after A-B InBev won it the three previous years. Honda came in second with its 60-second "Yearbooks" spot, while Audi's 60-second ad "Daughter" came in third. Finishing fourth was Budweiser's "Born The Hard Way" ad about Adolphus Busch, and Tide's "meta spot" starring Terry Bradshaw placed fifth (USATODAY.com, 2/6).

NFL Experience Draws 175,000 Fans, First Single-Day Sellout

More than 175,000 fans visited the NFL Experience during the attraction's seven days in Houston, and Saturday "represented the first single-day sellout of the football-themed experience." It was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center, across from the NFL Live fan event at Discovery Green (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/6). At Discovery Green, visitors were "giving high marks to the sanctioned events" (CHRON.com, 2/5).

Meanwhile, "hundreds of Houstonians" yesterday "took advantage of the national spotlight brought by the Super Bowl to protest the presidency and policies of Donald Trump." There was a march from Hermann Park to NRG Stadium, and protesters "intersected with thousands of Super Bowl fans, leading to one altercation in an otherwise peaceful march" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/6). It marked the "culmination of social activism during an unprecedented Super Bowl week," when Trump's "controversial style left its imprint on the week-long festivities" (USA TODAY, 2/6).

StubHub's Average SB Ticket Price Down; Total Number Sold Up 25%

By Eric Fisher

StubHub concluded ticket resales for Super Bowl LI with an average price of $3,967, down 12% from last year’s event-record of $4,512. But the company finished with a 25% increase in the number of Super Bowl tickets sold. It also saw sales from all 50 states and a record 24 countries. Secondary ticket activity for the game showed significant volatility in the final 24 hours, with get-in prices surging above $3,500 yesterday afternoon, nearly twice the level from earlier in the week. StubHub GM for North America Perkins Miller: “When you look at that international spread and the kind of late movement in the market, you see the kind of demand that was at play here.” Roughly a third of StubHub’s Super Bowl transactions were done on mobile platforms.

S&E Sponsorship Group's Brian Cooper Wins SBD Super Bowl Pick 'Em

Congratulations to S&E Sponsorship Group's Brian Cooper, the winner of our annual Super Bowl Pick 'Em. He correctly predicted the Patriots' 34-point total, Tom Brady as MVP and Kia as the Ad Meter winner. Pegging the Falcons' score at 21, Cooper narrowly edged the LPGA's Dave Lafrennie, who also predicted the Patriots' points, Brady MVP and Kia, but had the Falcons at 20 points. Baker Street Advertising's Bob Dorfman was close as well, picking Brady, Kia and a final score of Patriots 31, Falcons 27. No participants landed on the final score of 34-28, but SMI's Bryan Hammond came closest at 34-27. Aquarius Sports & Entertainment's Marc Bluestein had 34-30, with Mindshare ESP's Brian Millman at 36-28 (THE DAILY).

Royals Unveil New "Raised Royal" Slogan In Pre-Super Bowl Spot

The Royals yesterday "unveiled their slogan" for the '17 season: "Raised Royal." To launch the new slogan, the Royals ran a "new advertisement before Super Bowl LI." The team's slogan for the past two seasons was "Forever Royal" (KCSTAR.com, 2/5).

Meanwhile, the MLB Rangers "debuted a Super Bowl commercial starring The Toadies’ lead singer Vaden Todd Lewis at the beginning of halftime." In the 30-second, locally-aired spot, Lewis "sings an alternate version of 'Take Me Out To the Ballpark' about his friend Jeff, who’s bummed that football season is over." The special 10-game plan promoted in the ad "gives fans free Opening Day tickets" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 2/6).

Phoenix Open Sets PGA Tour Attendance Record With 655,434 Fans

As expected, the Waste Management Phoenix Open set a PGA Tour attendance record of 655,434, "besting the previous mark set last year at 618,365." Attendance at the event, "fueled by great weather and a stellar reputation as one of the best networking events on turf, hit a record on Saturday at 204,906 attendees." The tournament also "saw record crowds on Wednesday, when it holds the annual pro-am, and Friday." The tournament also announced its annual Green Out "raised $100,000 on Saturday for three nonprofit groups" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/5).

Iger May Stay On As Disney CEO Beyond Planned Retirement Date

Sources said that Disney Chair & CEO Bob Iger "may extend his tenure for a third time" with just 16 months "until his planned retirement and no successor in sight." Since former COO and presumed Iger successor Tom Staggs departed last spring, Disney’s board has "made no public comments about its progress or process to find a new CEO." A further extension of Iger’s tenure "may be discussed March 3, when Disney holds its annual shareholder meeting, and its directors typically meet" (WSJ.com, 2/6).

Speed Reads....

The Hackensack Univ. Medical Center Foundation's Tackle Kids Cancer initiative runs a full-page ad in today's N.Y. Times congratulating Giants QB Eli Manning on being co-winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award (THE DAILY).

MIT's Green Building was "lit up to show the number '5'" in honor of the Patriots' fifth Super Bowl win last night (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 2/5).

Quick Hits....

“I believe in loyalty to friends, and the President has been a great friend of mine for over 20 years. During one of the most difficult times of my life he was there for me” – Patriots Owner Robert Kraft, on his relationship with President Trump (“Fox News Sunday,” 2/5).

“Certainly he could swing by any team on a Monday and see how our players feel” – NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith, on Trump’s comments that newer rules have made NFL players and games “soft” (“Face the Nation,” CBS, 2/5).

“When we started, we were rebels without a clue. We were Mercury astronauts” – ESPN’s Chris Berman, on helping the network grow into what it is now (“OTL,” ESPN2, 2/5).

"Ross completely understands the sport and he understands what needs to be done and he's got an absolutely first class analytical brain" – Former FIA president Max Mosley, on new F1 Managing Dir of Motorsports Ross Brawn (MOTORSPORT.com, 2/6).

Morning Hot Reads: Right To Remain Silent

The SEATTLE TIMES writes, "We shouldn’t hold our breath waiting for professional leagues to join those speaking out against President Donald Trump." Leagues might "have to resort to behind-the-scenes lobbying" with the administration in order to "bring in and keep foreign athletes here" in the wake of Trump's executive order on immigration. As a result, leagues will be reluctant to publicly "unleash a barrage of criticism" against the policy.

The SACRAMENTO BEE wrote the dispute that "threatened to undermine Sacramento’s bid" to secure an MLS franchise was "at once serious and farcical." MLS leaders "publicly declined to address the feud, but privately were fuming." Fortunately, the two parties involved managed to "zero in on a deal to end the bad publicity."

Also

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Today's Back Pages....

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

 N.Y. Post  N.Y. Daily News Newsday   Boston HeraldChicago Sun-Times

In Case You Missed It....

Some of the top news items from yesterday's edition of Weekend Rap:

This Week In SportsBusiness Journal....

This week's In-Depth examines the innovative ways brands are activating their sports sponsorships.

Spanning The Global....

The most-read Global stories today on SportsBusiness Daily:

1) Tottenham Uses NFL Partnership To Attract Fans, Improve Stadium Experience
2) Millennial Fans Forcing Changes In Sporting Sponsorship Strategy
3) 'New Generation' Of Fans Has English Football On Pace To Set Attendance Records
4) Former FIA President Says Liberty Media Too Quick To Oust Bernie Ecclestone
5) Liverpool Shaking Up Top Executive Positions With CEO Ian Ayre's Departure

Final Jeopardy!

Friday night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Contemporary Authors.”

“His official website says, ‘It is forty years since I hung up my cloak and dagger.’”

Laugh Track: Political Football

CBS’ Stephen Colbert on Friday said, “The Atlanta Falcons versus the New England Patriots (in Super Bowl LI). It's a divided country right now and we all know who President Trump will be rooting for: Russia. But also the New England Patriots because -- and this has upset a lot of people -- Patriots quarterback and every straight man's gay hall pass, Tom Brady, is friends with President Trump. In fact, the two play golf together. I know, that's surprising. Do you know how hard it is to deflate a golf ball? ... Trump is also buddies with Patriots Owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick, which is probably why Kellyanne Conway showed up to Trump's inauguration dressed like the Patriots old logo. ... We have no idea if Trump's team is going to bring home another ring on Sunday, but a poll shows that 53% of Americans are rooting for the Falcons, which means the Patriots will win the electoral college” (“The Late Show,” CBS, 2/3).


NBC’s Jimmy Fallon said he was really “excited” about Super Bowl LI. Fallon: “I don't know about you, but I'm just glad to see a major event where nobody argues about the size of the crowd. ... Tom Brady said that his kids told him the Atlanta Falcons are really good and they're not sure he can beat them. In response, Brady said, ‘Monsters are real and they live under your bed. Good night.’ ... This will be the first time the Falcons and the Patriots have faced off in the Super Bowl. It's also the first time a Lady Gaga fan has seen a football game. During a press conference yesterday, Lady Gaga said not to worry about any wardrobe malfunctions during her halftime show. Of course, most people are trying to figure out what a wardrobe malfunction with Lady Gaga would even look like. ... This year's Super Bowl commercials will feature fewer celebrity endorsements because they're not as effective as previously thought. When asked how they figured that out, ad executives said, ‘Hillary Clinton told us.’ ... Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee is leaving football and his $3 million contract to pursue a career in comedy. One of his teammates said, ‘Good luck,’ while the rest said, ‘We're paying our punter $3 million?’”

Friday night’s edition of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” also aired the recurring segment “Thank You Notes.” Fallon said, “Thank you Atlanta Falcons logo for letting me know what would happen if the Post Office logo hooked up with the Sprint Logo” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 2/3).