Ricky and friend (Courtesy Sports Illustrated)

Isn’t it fitting that, of all people, Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams would host a “tribute to freedom” party during Super Bowl week?

Williams, after all, longed to be free to do things like smoke pot, something that kept him out of the league for two seasons.

But now, the freedom that Williams celebrates is the type offered by the U.S. Constitution and the military.

“Ricky has been very generous in lending his name and support for the party,” said Rodney Smith, founder of the San Diego-based Helping Hands for Freedom. The non-profit helps military families left behind by soldiers gone to war. “This cause resonates with Ricky.”

Williams’ wingding kicks off at 9 p.m. at club Passion, at the Seminole Hard Rock Resort in Hollywood. Smith says pre-sales have been slow, with just 180 tickets sold. Prices vary between $60 and $250.

“Hopefully, it’ll pick up today,” Smith said.

For more Super Bowl XLIV exclusives, click here.

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission got an A for effort in trying to organize something other than your tired old Super Bowl junket.

But Monday’s crummy weather put a damper of what could have been one of the coolest activities of Super Bowl week.

Skewered during the previous South Florida Super Bowl, in 2007, for dropping the ball when it came to NFL sanctioned events, the commission dreamed up an event designed for 150 reporters, VIPs, NFL players and other swells at the Palm Beach International Raceway, on the Beeline.

There was to be a lunch, a ride on the track in a Corvette and Porsche GT3, and hopefully, a few fans would have been there too.

Then the rains came.

For more, look below or click (Read more…)

Six days before the Super Bowl at Dolphin Stadium, there may be as many as 7,000 tickets for sale on the secondary market, according to several scalping websites.

And that has depressed the prices.

On StubHub.com, for example, a regular Joe who really wants to see the New Orleans Saints take on the Indianapolis Colts can get a seat in the nose bleed with a face value of $500 for about $1,200.

Lower premiums are hovering around the $3,500 mark, a far cry from the average price of scalped tickets at the Super Bowl two years ago in Arizona, $4,300.

But if you happen to have more extra cash, there may be deals to be had in the suites.

“I just sold my suite for $60,000,” said West Palm Beach attorney Joe Farish, who leases an 8-seat box for $115,000 during the regular Dolphins season. The Super Bowl, he says, is extra, and he paid $17,000 for the game including food.

But he put it on the market last week, and he more than tripled his money. And those who bought it got a deal.

“I just wanted to get rid of it, but compared to previous super bowls here, it’s not that good,” Farish said.

Super Bowl XXXIII at Dolphin Stadium in 1999 brought Farish offers of $150,000.

As for Sunday’s game, StubHub has a 32-seat luxury suite up for $243,000! Keep an eye on it. It will free fall by the weekend.

And, believe it or not, there’s a secondary market for parking passes, too. Current prices are $200 for the cheapos far from the stadium gates on theseats.com, and $1,000 for the parking reserved for NFL officials.

For more exclusives on Super Bowl XLIV, look below or click here.

(Courtesy David M. Hildenbrand)

We love you, too, Rex Ryan!

Classy Ryan, head coach of the New York Jets, found nothing better to do than flip Miami Dolphins fans the chubby bird during an extreme fighting bout Saturday at the BankAtlantic Center near Fort Lauderdale.

Miami resident David M. Hildenbrand and several friends were taunting Ryan with chants of “Jets suck” when Ryan turned around and lobbed a couple of “F” bombs at the crew. And just to make sure they understood, out came his middle finger.

Right place, right time for Hildenbrand, who told the New York Post he snapped the picture with his cell phone.

Ryan and the Dolphins have a history of animosity as deep-seated as the fans of both teams. The coach and Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder traded barbs through the media during training camp, and the relationship between Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano and Ryan has never exactly been warm and cuddly.

Like they say on Long Island, you can take the fat boy out of his trailer park, but you sure can’t take the trailer park out of that fat boy!

For more exclusive coverage on Super Bowl XLIV, look below or click here.

Is Super Bowl XLIV really about football?

Is it about the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts?

Nah!

It’s about hotties. And celebs, like Jim Carrey and Rihanna and Kim Kardashian. And free concerts on the beach.

So, you’re a mortal with less disposable cash than you used to, where do you go?

Well, it’s all here in the Page2Live guide to Super Bowl fun.

Believe or not, the frenzy already starts Thursday night, 10 days before the actual game, with a fashion show at the W Hotel in Miami Beach. The threads will be mostly swimwear, and the barely dressed bodies those of NFL cheerleaders. It’s one of the Miami Dolphins‘ contributions, along surrendering the team’s practice facility and stadium locker-room to the Colts.

Also this week, downtown Delray Beach has a three-day NFL sanctioned kick-off, starting Thursday. The highlight? Friday’s beachside meet-and-greet with a dozen NFLers. Organizers are promising to produce Pierre Garcon, the Colts’ breakout receiver and a graduate from John I. Leonard High School in Greenacres.

For more Palm Beach County Super Bowl activities, click here.

Fans, meanwhile, will converge on several other South Florida hot spots during Super Bowl week.

Check them out below, or by clicking (Read more…)