The Super Bowl: Indianapolis comes out on top, but not poor Peyton
Wrapping up the week in sports business.
Winner. NFL. Just how much bigger can the NFL get? I'm not sure we're close to finding out. The Super Bowl is expected to pull in 115 million viewers Sunday. We can't get enough.
Winner. Indianapolis. Tony Dungy, now with NBC, was the Indianapolis Colts coach when owner Jim Irsay pushed for a new stadium. "For me this is really special," he said on NBC's conference call. "I remember sitting with Jim Irsay as he was there trying to get Lucas Oil Stadium here, and sitting with the state legislature telling them how important football was to central Indiana, and seeing the stadium come to fruition. When I flew in here Sunday night and saw downtown and all the things they had going on, it just made me really proud of Indianapolis and central Indiana and what they've done."
Loser. Peyton Manning. It's hard to imagine a Super Bowl week scenario worse for Mr. Dungy's former quarterback. With his future with the Colts in doubt, the Super Bowl and all the national media come to his town and his brother Eli is going for his second ring. No chance flying under the radar this week. Expect to see plenty of Peyton rooting for his brother during the telecast.
After missing the entire season because of a neck injury, and being cleared by his doctor to play again, Peyton Manning remains a huge story. What do you do if you're the Colts? I say you have to cut him rather than shell out the $28 million he's due on March 8. The team will land his probable replacement in Andrew Luck in the upcoming draft. It'll be a sad ending for Peyton in Indy.
Winner. Robert Kraft. The New England Patriots owner is on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and rightfully so. The Patriots are a model franchise in sports.
Loser. Pro Bowl. C'mon. There's more contact in "Dancing With the Stars" than this game. It has to be the most ridiculous, meaningless exhibition in sports.
Winner. Pro Bowl ratings. Yet fans watch. The game averaged 12.5 million viewers. Apparently they had nothing better to do.
Loser. NHL All-Star Game. From the little I watched of hockey's All-Star game, the players skated as if they were in a 55-and-over league. I thought the skills competition on Saturday night was much more compelling. Good to see the Hawks' Patrick Kane steal the show.
Winner. Aaron Rodgers. Street and Smith's Sports Business Daily named the Green Bay quarterback the game's most marketable player. Rounding out the top five are Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and — you guessed it — Tim Tebow.
Winner. Cam Newton. The Carolina quarterback is coming on fast. He just signed a new endorsement deal with Gatorade.
Loser. The New York Mets. Comedy Central's Jon Stewart, a diehard Mets fan, recently asked "Moneyball" star Brad Pitt: "Do you think they'll ever make a movie about a big-market team that has the money to spend but still sucks? Let's say, we could call it something fictitious, like 'The Mets.' "
