By Times Staff and Wire Reports
Published January 31, 2004
Those weird camera angles
You know those wide-angle, behind-the-quarterback views shot from a remote-control television camera dangling high above the football field? Well, it took a court order in Philadelphia on Friday to let CBS include them as part of its telecast. U.S. District Court Judge Legrome Davis denied a request by CF Inflight, inventor of the original Skycam system, for a temporary injunction that would have prevented CBS from using a similar camera created by Cablecam Systems. The ruling came in a patent-infringement case brought against Cablecam by CF Inflight, which has an exclusive deal with ABC and ESPN for use of its Skycam in televising pro football. It went to court after Fox began using Cablecam's product on its NFL telecasts. And the request for an injunction came after CBS arranged to use Cablecam for the playoffs and Super Bowl. "It was down to the wire," said Steven Caponi, Cablecam's lawyer. "Had it gone the other way, there would have been no opportunity to find a replacement system for the Super Bowl. Everyone in Houston was waiting with baited breath." Baited breath? If he says so.
NUMBERS OF THE DAY
1820 - Date on the gold piece flipped by Bears owner George Halas for the ceremonial pregame coin toss at Super Bowl XIII.
4,000 - Pigeons released to herald the start of the inaugural Super Bowl.
2,912,493 - Combined attendance of the previous 37 Super Bowls.
- BRUCE LOWITT
QUESTION OF THE DAY
What is the largest deficit a Super Bowl winning team has overcome?
Answer below.
QUOTABLE
"My mailbox in New England is filled with letters from people in San Diego."
- RODNEY HARRISON, Patriots safety who was released by the Chargers after last season despite being a fan favorite
SITE OF THE DAY
manning24.com: If a player wants publicity for his site, it's only smart to wear a hat with the site's name on it to Super Bowl interview sessions, as Panthers rookie cornerback Ricky Manning did Thursday. With four interceptions in the playoffs, he has shown himself to be a quick study. And the same is true online. Not many NFL rookies have a charity of their own. And as sharp as his fan site is, manning foundation.org is better still, making it easy to make online donations through paypal.com.
ANSWER
10 points. The Redskins trailed the Broncos 10-0 after the first quarter in 1988 then scored 35 in the second quarter to win 42-10.
