Sports

On the sideline

By JAY CRIDLIN
Published February 6, 2005

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DOWN GOES RICE

JACKSONVILLE - Attention, Bucs opponents: Wanna know how to take out Simeon Rice?

Sign Access Hollywood's Tony Potts.

The two went head to head in Saturday's Cadillac Super Bowl Grand Prix, a go-kart race drawing celebrities like Katie Holmes and Owen Wilson. And Rice, who has several inches and untold pounds on Potts, came up on the short end of the driveshaft.

"I got bumped!" Rice protested after a preliminary heat. Rice had already been forced to drop out of one race, thanks to a faulty go-kart seat belt. "It's like the Firestone tires, you know what I mean?" he said.

Rice, who barely fit into his kart, got a second chance in a matchup with Potts. But as they came around a bend, Potts nudged Rice, who spun out.

"He wouldn't get out of the way," Potts said. "So I thought, "I'll just push this person out of the way.' But I didn't know it was him."

When Potts realized he'd just traded paint with a Pro Bowl player, he was worried what Rice would say.

"I was worried for a minute there," Potts said. "I thought, my Lord, what I have I done?"

But Rice held no grudge against Potts, who apologized immediately after the race.

"He had a big smile on his face," Potts said. "He said, "Don't worry. But why didn't you just let me be in second?' " That would have allowed Rice to move on to the next heat.

Potts informed Rice that he was actually in last place, not second. Rice, who was on a cell phone at the time, blanched.

"Why've you gotta say that?" he told Potts. "My mom's on the phone."

"I'm sorry, mom," Potts said. "He was trying."

At least Rice, who this week is reporting for the NFL Network, can say he was beaten by the best. Potts went on to win the main race, upsetting defending champ Leeann Tweeden from Fox Sports Net in the final.

BELICHICK CHIC

Much of the couture at Super Bowl week is standard big-spender nightlife wear: Throwback jerseys, imported leather, designer boots.

Of course, things are a little different if you're Bill Belichick. The gridiron guru has cultivated one heck of a laid-back look over the past few seasons; his most recent look centers around a charcoal sweatshirt that says "New England Patriots Equipment" across the chest.

The Patriots say those sweatshirts are in their Pro Shop, but as of last week, they were completely sold out. The Patriots' and NFL's online stores don't have one, either. And you won't find one in Jacksonville. If there's a Patriots fan out there who owns one, he or she hasn't surfaced during Super Bowl week.

For his part, Belichick probably doesn't care whether people buy his "jersey."

"Some people have their best outfit that they wear on their best day," the Patriots' Patrick Pass said. "I guess that's his."

Overall the players don't think much about the coach's sartorial savvy on the sidelines. As long as they win, they say, there's no need for a wardrobe change.

"If it's not broken," said Larry Izzo, "don't fix it."

OUR TOWN

This much is certain: the Jacksonville Jaguars are loving Super Bowl week in their hometown.

Kyle Brady has been a featured guest at several star-studded events. David Garrard joined him for a Snoop Dogg concert Wednesday night. And Kiwaukee Thomas hosted a party for more than two dozen NFL players, including many Jags, Saturday night at the Regency Square Mall.

"Oh, it's a blast," said Jaguar Joseph Zelenka, who also has reported for the NFL Network this week. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all of us. We don't have to get a hotel room. We don't have to fly anywhere. This is our town."

And don't think former teammates don't know it.

"There's always a couple of guys that'll call you and say, "Hey, can you give me a car? Can we use your house?' " Zelenka said.

Jags owner J. Wayne Weaver encouraged his players to attend as many events as possible to help put a good face on the community.

"It has given them the chance to see what it'll be like if we ever make it," he said, before correcting himself. "Not if we make it - when we make it."

LOCAL FLAVOR

Look closely during tonight's national anthem, and you may see a local boy in the process of making good.

Eric Dorsey, who graduated from Bloomingdale High in 2002, will be one of 100 servicemen and women from the four military academies - Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard - to sing the anthem.

Dorsey is a sophomore at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he helped form an a cappella group that sings at special events and before many Air Force home games.

His parents and siblings still live in Valrico.

[Last modified February 6, 2005, 00:22:15]

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