Super Bowl XLII

It's hard to use the words Super Bowl without mention of the word "party". And SB42 had it going on! Glendale, Phoenix and Scottsdale had it figured it. Wow.

Friday nights MAXIM party was so-so. Well, it wasn't that bad, check it out at the link below.

http://www.maxim.com/Sports/MaximsSuperBowlXLIIParty/slideshow/965.aspx

It was cold and there wasn't much covering all the skin and there was no shortage of big hair and high heels. The venue might have been perfect had it been 75 degrees. There was a certain big name rapper and his entourage that were a hoot, it's all about the show. John Elway is much bigger than I thought. He is a few pounds heavier than his playing weight but he's bigger than I had expected. His dark-haired girlfriend was hard-pressed to leave his side, the "talent" at the party seemed to be ready and willing. There was more "skin" at the party than I've laid eyes on since walking on Bondi Beach in Sydney,Australia. MAXIM might want to do a little better planning next year in Tampa for their venue. Outdoor porta-potties would be a welcome addition.

The Travolta party on Saturday night was first-class. Chris Collingsworth and his family can bust a move and it was nice to see his "team" on the dance floor. For a white guy he can dance. The Circ de Soleil artists were a treat, no, they were absolutely fantastic and REO SPEEDWAGON can still sing and play. I enjoyed them more than TOM PETTY at the SB halftime show. It was a very comfortable venue and the set-up was like Travolta, class. Marshall Faulk's Foundation has it right and the auction items for breast cancer were terrific. I put in 3 bids for a signed Tom Brady Patriots helmet at the silent auction at $750, $1,250 and $1,400 thinking that if they won I might double my money on EBAY this week but that was my limit and when I left the party the helmet was being bid up for well over two grand. Oh well, I'm still cheap.

One of the nicest guys I met and chatted with was Sean Salisbury.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Salisbury

He's a hoot and had some nice things to say about our mutual friend Kenneth "Pete" Shaw, who played in the NFL for 7 seasons and knows just about everyone in my old home town of San Diego. I had no clue the average life expectancy of an NFL player is only 58. Warren Moon was a treat as well and those two guys ought to take their "schtick" on the road! Good chemistry and great speakers.

When Sunday arrived, The University of Phoenix stadium was a great venue for the big game. No shortage of police and we saw the cops strictly enforce scalping laws. Sitting on Row 20 on the 48 yard line was easy to take. Spike Lee was a couple of seats away and the Giants fans were fun. We were rooting for the Pats but hey, it was a great football game to the final gun. Martha Stewart was there, looking awful bored. The blonde lady sitting two seats over was wearing a million dollars worth of diamonds and was very nice. I can't put a name to her face but that was the nicest piece of carbon I have ever seen on a finger, even nicer than my friend, Cynthia Ekberg-Tsai's 17-carat monstrosity of "ice".

All in all, it was a memorable weekend. From the great weather on Saturday, the ambience at Morton's, lunch at the Capital Grille and the fine fare at Asia de Cuba in the Mondrian in Scottsdale. And congrats to both the Giants and Patriots and their rabid fans.

It's been awhile since I have been in the Salt River Pima area. Wow, I don't remember the millions of Canadian geese wintering on every golf course in the area. I should have brought a shotgun! The hundreds of limo's that rolled in from Vegas and LA were awesome. Our 32 footer was sweet but it didn't have a fireplace like some of them!! Our driver didn't know about the door for the peons so he inadvertently dropped us off on the Red Carpet for the Travolta party. I must have been a buzz killer for all the paparazzi!!! Coming home, as the Boeing 777 headed up over Coffee Pot and Show Low for the land of the Navajo it was nice to look down on the vast rough country harboring some of the biggest mule deer in America. The Southwest is a special place, and to Phoenix, you did good!!