No shit!

How much would you LOVE to see that trainwreck happen????

The Super Bowl is being shown on Fox this year. Paula stars on Fox’s highly successful American Idol. Abdul is doing a duet with fellow Idol judge Randy Jackson for his new CD. Voila.

Is Fox stupid enough to let this happen??????

She hasn’t released an album in over a decade, but Paula Abdul will forever be our pill-popping girl!

The interactive park will cover nearly 850,000 square feet. It opens Saturday, Jan. 26, runs Jan. 27, goes quiet Jan. 28 and 29, is open half a day for an invitation-only children’s half day Jan. 30, and reopens to the general public Jan. 31-Feb. 2. On game day, Feb. 3, it’s open to Super Bowl XLII ticket holders only.

Admission is $17.50 for adults and $12.50 for ages 12 and younger. They can be purchased by calling (866) TIX-4NFL or online at www.superbowl.com. The stadium is located east of Loop 101 at Maryland Avenue in Glendale.

Parking will be available to the north of the stadium at Westgate City Center and will cost $10 for regular passenger vehicles.

For more about the NFL Experience setting up check out this article.

See below for NFL Experience Attractions:

Pro Hall of Fame NFL Throwbacks - Relive pro football’s past with rare photos and artifacts on display from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Bank of America NFL Extra Points - Apply for an NFL Extra Points credit card and start earning NFL experiences and merchandise right away. All teams available. Receive a Super Bowl XLII gift with your application.

Arizona Cardinals Home Team Photo - Step into a life-sized photo of the Arizona Cardinals and have a friend snap your photograph.

KSAZ-TV Broadcast Station - Stop by the KSAZ-TV FOX 10 broadcast booth to watch newscasts as they originate from the NFL Experience.

IBM NFL Network Theatre - Enjoy a high-impact feature presentation from award-winning NFL Films, with a high definition tribute to America’s favorite sport.

Super Bowl Store - Licensed merchandise from all 32 NFL teams.

Xerox Touch Pass - Show your skills by throwing a touch pass with enough arc to clear the defender and enough aim to drop it into the target.

NFL Network Catch the Moment - Record your own play-by-play call of memorable moments in NFL history and put your voice and picture right into the action.

Chevy Roll Out - Avoid the rush and break out of the pocket as you throw to open receivers on the move.

Play 60 Speed & Mobility - Take a handoff and run through read-and-react obstacles before throwing a pass to a larger-than-life receiver.

NFL Experience Look Like a Pro - Step inside a uniformed body-cast mold bearing the insignia of any team in the NFL and have a friend snap your photograph.

FedEx Shipping Center - Send home your Super Bowl XLII souvenirs from the convenient FedEx Shipping Center.

Snickers Brand The Drive - Experience the ultimate resistance training test as you struggle to reach the goal line while being restrained by a bungee harness.

Expedia Let It Fly - Put yourself in the quarterback’s position, take aim downfield and find out how far you can let it fly with a spiral.

Pepsi Punt, Pass & Kick - Test your skills in a replica of the annual nationwide competition for youngsters.

Sprint Run to Daylight - Race down the field in a 40-yard test of speed.

Wilson Sporting Goods Football Factory - See how official NFL game balls are individually produced. Limited-edition balls will be manufactured and sold on site.

3-A-Day of Dairy Kids’ Zone - The smallest all-pros can enjoy America’s favorite game with scaled-down versions of the popular interactive adult attractions.

Topps Quick Release - See how the speed of your passing release compares to some of the quickest passers in the NFL.

Gatorade Clinic Field - Watch and learn about football from various clinics, competitions, and demonstrations.

EA Sports Big Quarterback Challenge - Show off your passing accuracy on special targets.

Prilosec Return to Glory - Adults and children can experience the sensation of fielding a booming punt, launched from an automated machine.

Sprint Extra Point Kick - Take your stance, wait for the placement and try to convert an extra point through regulation NFL uprights.

NFL Experience Measure Up to the Pros - Compare your physical dimensions and athletic abilities to those of the biggest stars in the game.

The Home Depot The Big Move - Line up across from a real blocking sled and see what it takes to be an offensive lineman in the NFL.

Arizona Republic Down-and-Out - Run a pass route through a maze of simulated defenders to break free for a reception on a ball thrown by an automated machine.

NFL Network Stage - The NFL Network is the official television home for Super Bowl week.

NFL Locker Room - Visit a replica of an NFL locker room as it appears on game day and see how the equipment has evolved since the inception of pro football.

Topps Super Bowl Card Show - Visit the ultimate trading card show featuring displays from leading manufacturers, rare collectibles and free player autographs.

Topps Autograph Stage - Get free autographs from past and current NFL stars. (For a schedule of appearances, call 1-888-NFL-CARD (635-2273) toll free. All appearances are subject to change.)

NFL Experience Red Zone - Take a handoff, explode through a line of inflatable blockers and be the first to score.

NFL Experience Goal to Go - Demonstrate your short-yardage skills by winning a bungee tug-of-war and scoring with a Velcro football.

Gatorade Training Camp - Race through a high-tech training drill, navigating around obstacles, before diving into the end zone over defenders.

Visa Field Goal Kick - Try to score the game-winning points with a last-second field goal before simulated blockers rush in to foil the attempt.

Build-A-Bear Workshop On Tour - Enjoy the furry fun of making your own stuffed animal at this store on wheels!

Chevy Super Bowl XLII Tailgate - Check out the latest from Chevrolet, the official ride of Super Bowl XLII.

Canon Fan Photo Zone - Stop by to see the 39th Annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Photo Contest, featuring professional and amateur winners. Get a free photo with NFL stars and Super Bowl XLII memorabilia.

Coors Light Bar - Visit the Coors Light Bar; kick back and have some fun. Must be 21 to enter.

Samsung Super Bowl Central - With the latest in HDTV technology, test your skills on-screen with video games, watch your favorite teams in HD and kick virtual field goals on the kicking simulator.

U.S. Air Force Do Something Amazing - Take a journey through the many facets of today’s Air Force.

Pepsi Stuff, Music and More - Win music downloads and more.

Topps NFL Trading Cards - Stop by and check out the NFL’s hottest football cards.

NFL Tour from EA Sports Big - In NFL Tour, complex controls are a thing of the past. Now any football fan can pull off amazing highlight-reel plays using only a few buttons in fast-paced arcade action.

Bridgestone Precision Performance Challenge - Test your precision throwing skills under the pressure of the play clock and take center stage for your very own superstar halftime performance.

Burger King Have It Your Way NFL Challenge - Test your NFL trivia knowledge against fellow fans, pros and The King.

State Farm Fan Experience - Play new games, get free stuff and meet current and former NFL stars.

Nerf Football Challenge - Test your passing skills with an exciting accuracy challenge. Race against the clock and attempt to toss Nerf footballs at three different target stations. Enter a sweepstakes and win prizes.

The Home Depot House - Fun and interactive games for the whole family.

Bank of America Experience - Stop by the customer lounge to play Football Toss, the Madden 2008 video game,and get your picture taken in front of the Green Screen.

The Vince Lombardi Trophy - See the Vince Lombardi Trophy, sports’ most prestigious award, presented by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

I am heading up a group of fans, some from all around the country, who are very dedicated to being apart of this. Unfortunately, the NFL is only registering the groups by 10 or more people, and we are just under 10.

If you are interested, we would love to have you join us! It would require about a week long commitment as everyone is required to attend all rehearsals. You can find more information here. http://superbowlcast.com/halftime.html If you can help us out by joining us, please email me at navy_redhead@hotmail.com

This Premium Package includes drinks, gourmet appetizers, live entertainment, dancing, golf, and poker…of course you will get to rub elbows with some of the world’s most recognizable celebrities.
biggamebash-new-logo-med.JPG
The Big Game Bash
The Big Game Bash, which is already being touted as one of the ‘it parties’ to attend during Super Bowl week, will occupy the entire 20,000 square feet of the two?story venue and feature tons of celebrities from the sports and entertainment worlds.

Tickets for this rare opportunity will be extremely limited and are available at www.msmbiggamebash.com or www.grockproductions.com . Once they are gone, they are gone, so don’t delay. Its all for CHARITY

Cost for tickets:
Premium Package
Kevin Sorbo’s Celebrity Golf Classic & the Big Game Bash
$2600.00 per person

Separate Packages
Kevin Sorbo’ Celebrity Golf Classic
www.grockproductions.com
$2000.00 per person

Big Game Bash
msmbiggamebash.com
$1200.00 per person

Well the plan was to skip Detroit for Super Bowl XL (really who wants to go somewhere cold?), and move onto planning for Miami. Yet another tip for planning a Super Bowl trip, hotels usually open up their on-line booking about a year in advance.

The good news was the 2005 Super Bowl hadn’t even been played yet, but the plans to be in Miami were being planned and would be in place for 2006. I knew Miami was going to be a hot spot for the Super Bowl, so I started searching in December 2004 for hotel rooms.

Booking a room for Super Bowl 13 months early: pros and cons
I found a hotel that was booking 13 months in advance. I probably should have learned from the Daytona hotel, but with the knowledge bars were open until 6:00am in Miami I knew the boys wouldn’t be spending much time in the rooms. So I was able to book three rooms at $115 per night.

By the time Super Bowl weekend rolled around the rooms were going for $450 a night. If you book early, you can get the best price on hotel rooms, rental cars and airline tickets.

The only bummer is you have no idea if your team will make it to the big game. The other downfall of booking early is you don’t know where the NFL or anyone else will be planning the parties in the host city.

As it turns out we were only 25 minutes away, so it really wasn’t that bad. Well, we decided in Jacksonville we would be in Miami no matter what teams were playing, so in just 13 short months the boys would be back in the Florida sun for yet another ultimate guys weekend.

Based on our trip to Jacksonville, I should start my own website called howtobookcrappyhotels.com…

The singing and Terrell Owens chants rang through the front of the bar. Then came the Patriots come back. The bar became obnoxiously loud with every first down.

When the final touchdown was made to clinch the victory the beer started to spray everywhere. The front of the bar was awfully quiet, while the new song was “Boston you’re my home!”

It was a good thing we didn’t buy those tickets, because we needed that money to pay off the bar tab. We all sang, “Na Na Na Na goodbye” to the Eagles fans as they left the bar.

It was now time to celebrate in the streets!

“We do think we will capture part of that business,” said Jennifer Wesselhoff, president and chief executive officer of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a great time to be in Sedona.”

The city will advertise in materials sent to Super Bowl ticket holders, Wesselhoff said, hoping to reach potential visitors before they make travel plans.

In January and February, banners promoting Sedona tourism will hang in Sky Harbor International Airport’s Terminal 4.

The Sedona chamber is encouraging local businesses and hotels to offer Super Bowl discounts. With 3,000 hotel rooms and time-share units available 90 minutes from the Valley, Sedona “is a very viable” home base for Super Bowl guests, Wesselhoff said.

Prescott
In Prescott, innkeeper Jeanne Watkins has become a one-woman promoter for her town.

“I am marketing my B&B, but even more, I am marketing the Prescott area,” said Watkins, owner of the Pleasant Street Inn and a rabid football fan. “Prescott is the perfect area for people who don’t want to pay the prices down in the Valley.”

As Valley room rates skyrocket, Watkins’ prices are holding steady at $125 to $175 for a room and breakfast, about average for Prescott, she said.

She’s banking that Super Bowl bigwigs have booked high-priced lodging in the Valley. When the Super Bowl teams are decided just weeks before the game, their fans will scramble to find affordable housing, she predicts, and Prescott will look like a bargain.

If Watkins and other hoteliers see an uptick in reservations, they’ll join Prescott sports bars to throw a big Super Bowl party on Feb. 2.

Flagstaff
February is usually a slow time for Flagstaff, said Mark Ross, general manager of the Flagstaff Holiday Inn Express and president of Flagstaff Hospitality and Innkeepers Association.

So the city’s three larger hotels - the Holiday Inn, Little America and the Radisson - are hoping for a piece of the Super Bowl action.

“I think it presents an opportunity we would not normally see,” Ross said. “For those (hotels) who have the foresight, they’ll try to market it as best they can.”

While Flagstaff might be too far as a home base for those attending the Super Bowl - it’s a 140-mile trip to the Valley - it could be part of the Stay for the Week campaign, scoring tourists before or after the game.

Heather Ainardi, public-relations manager for the Flagstaff Convention & Visitors Bureau, said it will depend on which teams play. Miami fans might welcome a trip to snow country, while fans of Green Bay or New England would savor the Valley’s balmy weather.

The Grand Canyon Railway, which runs between Williams and the South Rim, will lure tourists north with special rates from Jan. 19 to Feb. 17 of 50 percent off train rides and 20 percent off hotel packages.

Their slogan: “You’re in Arizona for Super Bowl XLII. So Go Deep!”

Tucson
Arizona’s second-largest city has hung up a “No Vacancy” sign.

From Feb. 2 to 17, Tucson will host the annual Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase, an event that draws 50,000 visitors and adds $100 million to the economy, said Kimberly Schmitz, director of communications and public relations for the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Tucson is happy to have Super Bowl fans travel south for the day, but rock hounds have booked all the hotel rooms. And they return year after year.

“We want to keep their heads in the beds. They’re our priority,” Schmitz said.

But Super Bowl gravy will still trickle down, she said, and she’s happy to have the game in the state.

“When people come to Arizona, they fall in love with Arizona. And they always come back,” she said.

At half time I was drinking a Bud Light, when all of a sudden some woman dressed as a referee blew her whistle and stole my beer.

It turned out it was a Miller Lite stunt and I was cornered into doing a taste test. You could put 50 beers in front of me and I could tell you which ones were Miller Lite and which ones were Bud Lights.

So to have a little fun, I made sure I picked the Bud Light. She winked, and pointed to the other so I could win a Miller Lite baseball hat. I have ten thousand baseball hats, so I decided to have more fun and insist the beer I chose was the better of the two. She winked again and told me if I pick the Miller she would buy me a beer. I said, “no thanks, I’ll take my Bud Light back!”

She had no idea what to do. Ultimately she had to go up and order me a Bud. So while everyone else had their pictures taken with the “refs” and their silly little baseball hats, I just sat back and chuckled. I know she was only doing her job, but I like to bust some chops every now and then.

We met a ton of people at the bar from New England that were in the same boat as us, no tickets. Being a huge football fan, and a Patriots fan for life, I had suffered through some horrible seasons and was ready to sell my first child for tickets to the show.

Still looking for tickets? Hell ya!
While sitting at the bar, my cell phone starts to ring. I look at the caller ID and have no idea what number it is but I had to answer it, after all it could be one of my clients. Being in sales, I give my cell number to my clients and tell them I am available 24/7. So I put one finger over my ear and answer the phone, it’s the call I have been waiting for all weekend.

The caller says, “Hey Mike, still looking for Super Bowl tickets?” I immediately answer, “Hell YA!” The price for the tickets was $3,500 for the pair. This was a little too rich for my blood, but Mark and Thom decided they were going to pay.

Fans at the bar to the rescue
Mark had stopped at a bank and had the cash to cover the tickets, so it was game on. I gave the phone to Thom and they arranged the pick-up. I had the tough task of holding our table and watching the beers, heck someone had to do it! So Mark gave the guy the $3,500 and took the tickets.

This is how the bar came to save us! There were fans at the bar that had their tickets in a holder around their neck. Thom had given me his cell phone, so when it rang I noticed it was my cell calling and picked up right away. “Mike, its Thom, go find a Patriots fan who has tickets, I’ll be there soon.”

Thom comes into the bar and finds me hanging out with a couple of guys with tickets. We take the tickets and compare them to make sure they are real. Raised trophy…check, NFL hologram….check, everything looks great.

They are fake!
The guy picks up the ticket and says, “Wait, the paper stock is different, they are FAKE!” This is when traveling with an ex-marine comes in handy. Thom picks up the phone and tells Mark to grab the guy.

Mark calmly (ya right) tells the guy to give the money back if he would like to walk away. Personally I would have taken all his money, but Mark was happy to get his $3,500 back!

Big Bucks in Scalping Tickets
This is the most valuable lesson you will learn by reading this blog. There are BIG bucks in scalping tickets. There are professional outfits that print tickets so good it is almost impossible to tell they are phony.

If you buy tickets from a scalper, from Craigslist or any other non-certified broker, chances are very high the closest you will get to the big show is the front gate. From there you will be escorted from the property and out several thousands of dollars. It was then and there we decided we wouldn’t buy tickets from anyone off the street.

Next stop…Patriots’ headquarters!

There are thousands of fans who travel to the Super Bowl every year, as well as those who watch and cheer from home. Not everyone is able to get a ticket to the big game. That is why for the Super Bowl, merchandise is so popular.

Local AZ Shops or order by phone
Sports Fan Marketing, a licensed NFL vendor since 2001, opened their first batch of stores (in Arizona), located in Phoenix at Paradise Valley Mall, Christown Spectrum Mall and in Scottsdale at a warehouse at Scottsdale Road and Acoma Drive. (Maps and store contact information below.)

You can easily grab T-shirts, caps, and other items emblazoned with the Big Game’s insignia by stopping in at a local Sports Fan Marketing shop, or you can place an order over the phone by calling the Sports Fan Marketing headquarters at (602) 770-4350 and have your XLII football gear shipped out to you!

18 XLII Football Gear Stores in Arizona
By the time kick-off occurs inside University of Phoenix Stadium on Feb. 3, 2008, Sports Fan Marketing owner Steve Sodell plans to have opened 18 locations, including seven regular stores, 10 hotel lobby stores, and a mega-store in downtown Scottsdale.

The Scottsdale store will operate 24 hours a day once it comes online in mid-January.

“I call it my ‘ground zero’ store because that’s where everything’s going to be happening Super Bowl weekend,” he said, referring to the numerous parties slated for Old Town in the days preceding the Super Bowl game.

Super Bowl XLII gear as holiday gifts
This year, Sports Fan Marketing is selling $2 mini-pennants, key chains, collectible pins and a $7 miniature football.

XLII Wilson footballs range from $30-$50, Dufflebags for $30, and Blankets for $40.

T-shirts and hats range in price from $20-25; Sweatshirts from $40-$60; and jackets start around $50. High rollers can drop $300 for a wool and leather Super Bowl XLII jacket, or $750 for a special limited XLII Italian leather jacket with rhinestones.

A poster with images of all 42 of the collectible Super Bowl tickets is $10, $50 for a framed plaque, or $300 in a shadow-box frame.