Kickin' with Shaun King

Member of the Bucs' 2002 Super Bowl team answers our questions.

By MARC TOPKIN
Published January 29, 2007

What's your most prized Super Bowl souvenir?

The ring. The only other thing - and it doesn't compare to having a ring - is that they make a video for you to document things from the week. And it entrenches in history those events that maybe weren't public knowledge leading up to the big game. Just those moments in the locker room, on the bus. That's a pretty special little thing there, too.

If you were commissioner for a day, what would you change about the Super Bowl process?

I would only rotate the game between four places - Miami, Tampa, Phoenix and San Diego. It wouldn't go anywhere else.

What's the most you'd pay for Super Bowl tickets?

I would never really spend all that money to go to the game. I'm funny like that. What I've learned is that for most football fans, going to the game is very, very important. For most guys that actually play football, being at the game if you're not playing in it, or if you're not doing something associated with it as far as TV or radio, it's not that big of a deal. You almost prefer to be at someone's house, having a Super Bowl party where you can get around a little easier, get a refill quicker and go right for the bathroom.

Only in Miami

Who needs a little thing like tickets to the game? The Catalina Hotel & Beach Club on South Beach is offering a Super Bowl Action Package, and we don't think it is just talking about the action on the field based on this sales pitch: "See, Eat, Party, Score!"

Here's more: "Tailgate in comfort and style surrounded by models as you watch the action on the hi-def flat screens in the lounge or projected larger than life on the wall."

You also get a minibar stocked with beer, all-night restaurant service and access to a private beach club and zen garden. The cost? Just $950 a night - with a four-night minimum. But as the ad promises: "At Catalina, everyone scores."

Party time

Diddy - a rapper who used to be known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and a few other things - is going to be one busy diddy this weekend. He's hosting the 12 Hours of Diddy, a party at the nightclub Space, from 10 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday. Presumably after a good nap and a trip across the causeway, he'll be the host again Saturday night, along with actor Terrence Howard and singer Althea Heart, for the TakeOver at the South Beach club Chakra.

She said it

"I'll probably wear something Paris Hilton would wear on a normal basis, so there will be ample belly exposure." - Jennifer Gordon, Bears fan trying to get tickets in exchange for a painted ad on her nearly nine-month pregnant belly

Did you know ...

As part of a national health campaign, the folks at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health are touting today as Meatless Monday. They are trying to get people to eat less meat, specifically by cooking up meatless chili. They have a bunch of recipes online at meatlessmonday.com. Here's one of their favorites, Red Zone Chili, which serves four.

Mix these ingredients in a large soup pot and simmer for 30 minutes:

2 cans crushed tomatoes (1 plain, 1 basil garlic)

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon creole seasoning

1 can white kidney beans

1 can red kidney beans

1 can black beans

1/2 can vegetable stock

Serve with low-fat shredded cheese and sour cream on top.

eBay item of the day

You'd have to be a really big Bears fan for this one: a state championship ring from the 1988 Bloomington (Ind.) South High team QB Rex Grossman played for. But it's not his ring! And for $380 (as of midday Sunday), you don't know if he ever grabbed it.

Web site of the day

Peytonmanning.com, because if you don't see enough of the Colts QB touting Sprint phone services, MasterCard, ESPN and Sound Advice, you can browse his bio, relive his season highlights, download that new AFC champs screen saver and be prompted to link to a site to vote for him as the FedEx Air player of the year.

Headline we don't expect to see

Manning: I'll beat this shyness thing

We want more ...

About what makes Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith such good people.

We want less ...

About how Rex Grossman, right, has "struggled" during a 15-win season.

Can you say corporate excess?

Sprint is planning an all-out dash for attention this week. Among the sponsored events:

-Phone-a-Friend allows fans at the NFL Experience to call friends and relatives and have real NFL players (such as Steven Jackson, Jonathan Vilma and Brian Westbrook) say hello.

-Super Bowl Saturday Blast is a free festival featuring food, pep rallies and concerts, though not exactly with A-list bands - Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Styx and Willy Chirino.

-Beach Bowl Weekend features QB Dan Marino, rappers Kanye West and Ludacris and others.

-NFL Access Tour during which, according to its spokespeople, "Visitors will be dazzled by a mobile multimedia NFL experience only Sprint can provide."

What would YOU do for a ticket?

We're guessing these folks won't have any trouble finding takers. A very pregnant Chicago area couple is offering two face-value tickets ($700 each) to a "responsible" someone who will drive them in a Winnebago or similar vehicle to Miami, leaving Wednesday and returning Monday. But they won't go in an SUV or minivan. "It wouldn't be healthy for the wife or baby," they say.

[Last modified January 29, 2007, 06:02:52]