NFL Properties, the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos will seek an order from the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Dade County (Fla.) allowing NFL investigators to confiscate counterfeit goods, according to Gary Gertzog, senior vice president and general counsel for the league.
NFL officials will work closely with the Miami-Dade Police Department and Broward Sheriff's Office, as well as law enforcement officials in Atlanta and Denver, using a specially designed hologram and an 800 hotline for consumers to report counterfeiting.
The NFL sent an e-mail to more than 200,000 fans to say "Thank you" for supporting the league this season.
The e-mail directs fans to a special area on NFL.com (www.nfl.com/sideline/nflthankyou.html) where they can view footage shot in late December with 20 players and Vikings coach Dennis Green. Players in Atlanta, Buffalo, Denver, Minnesota and New York (Jets) also participated in the shoots, in which they hit the streets to personally thank fans. Footage from the five shots will be used in a 60-second spot titled "Thank You" that will air during the telecast of Sunday's game.
Among the players who participated are: Chris Chandler, Jamal Anderson, Bob Whitfield, Ray Buchanan, Doug Flutie, Terrell Davis, Ed McCaffrey, Randall Cunningham, Keyshawn Johnson and Vinny Testaverde.
Brett Favre, Boomer Esiason and Bruce Smith will take part in a non-television staging of the Comedy Central show, "Win Ben Stein's Money," on Saturday at the NFL Experience located outside Pro Player Stadium.
Stein and co-host Jimmy Kimmel will match wisecracks with the players on subjects such as: "Walter Payton Place," "The Few, The Proud, The Marinos," "Namath That Tune," and "Tackle Me Elmo."
Broncos backup receiver Justin Armour is keeping a diary of Super Bowl week for NFL.com. Armour knows his place in the Broncos' hierarchy: "Perhaps you have never even heard of me, and you would rather hear from John Elway or Terrell Davis. Well, I can assure you that I will be more observant than those two, because the two of them combined have suffered more skull-crushing head blows than any well-tested crash dummy (no pun intended). John didn't get that cowboy accent growing up in Texas, and Terrell's migraines didn't start because he was stressed about paying his water bill. Hopefully, in a few years, I will have six false front teeth and I'll forget my name every time I use a cell phone."
News from the notebook of ESPN's Chris Mortensen:
The NFL is considering playing future conference championship games on Sunday and Monday in prime time. It most likely wouldn't start until 2001, because next year there is only one week between the title games and Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta.
The news that New York Jets coach Bill Parcells pulled out of the Pro Bowl in Hawaii next week was no surprise. He hates flying one hour, let alone 10 hours, and the game represents everything he despises: there is nothing at stake, and it means you lost something.
Falcons coach Dan Reeves is emphasizing the run on offense and stopping the run on defense. There are keys the Broncos' offensive line will give the Falcons when they are going to run the ball, and Atlanta is working on those keys this week. The Falcons believe the Broncos will go after quarterback Chris Chandler with everything they have. The key to stopping that blitz will be to run the ball well.
Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez was at the breakfast buffet in a downtown Miami hotel Wednesday morning looking for some cold cereal. Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, to be exact.
When Pudge asked the buffet attendant about the cereal, the attendant gave him a perplexed look and nervous smile, obviously not understanding what was being asked of him
Rodriguez thought a moment and tried a different approach: "You know ... the blue box with the big orange tiger on it."
The attendant smiled in acknowledgement and delivered three boxes to the baseball All-Star.
Falcons coach Dan Reeves revealed the reason why he used to be dressed in a coat and tie on the sidelines. It wasn't to look like his mentor, Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys, but for anger management.
"It wasn't helping me control my temper, which is the reason I wore a coat and tie. I thought it would calm me down some, and I was getting just as mad in a coat and tie as I was in the other (more casual clothes). I've had a lot of people write, though, and say they would like to see me in a coat and tie, but it just takes too much time."
Falcons quarterback Chris Chandler, who grew up in Everett, Wash., and attended the University of Washington, was asked if he would return someday to the Seattle area.
"Will I ever go back there? Probably not, although it's a beautiful place. I finally found out that I like sunshine a lot, and Atlanta's got a lot of that and so does Palm Springs, where we have another place."
Reeves, on being on the sidelines when John Elway was at quarterback: "He could make more plays. I can't tell you how many times when I was there I would watch him and I'd go, 'No. No. No. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! He would just make so many plays by natural football instincts, and that is what he got by on a lot early in his career, until he started seeing things better and anticipating things"
The temperatures are inching up, hitting 80 on Wednesday with winds out of the east at 15-20 mph. For Thursday, it will be warmer, with an expected high of 82 and a low around 70. No precipitation is expected. ... Actress and singer Cher has been working with her teachers this week on her rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner. She will sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl and is treating it very seriously. "This is the biggest single honor I have ever had," she said, adding that she promises to be fully clothed. ... The FAA will build a temporary control tower to manage the more than 475 helicopters, blimps and planes expected to fill the air around Pro Player Stadium. ... With an accurate throw through a blow-up Campbell's Soup can Tuesday night during a news conference, Terrell Davis and Campbell's donated one million cans of soup to the NFL Tackle Your Hunger program. More than 5.7 million cans of soup have been donated this season, as Campbell's paid up each time Davis scored a touchdown or Neil Smith recorded a sack.
