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The ads, the music and the coverage
By Tom Jones
Published February 5, 2007
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[CBS photo]
The rumor mill says Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman don't like each other. But Winfrey appeared in a commercial for the Late Show with David Letterman.
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Tom Jones looks at this and that from Sunday's broadcast of Super Bowl XLI.
Pregame
Overall, CBS struck the right chord of satisfying the football diehards as well as entertaining those who watch only one game a year. The only sour note was Katie Couric's piece on Hines Ward going back to his native Korea. Solid piece, but it would have been even better if CBS had shown it ... a year ago when Ward's Steelers were actually in the Super Bowl. They might as well have done a feature on Max McGee or Matt Snell.
Nice touch
A thank-you to the NFL for having a moment of silence before the biggest game of the year to remember those lost in Florida's tornadoes last week.
Bet of the game
The over/under on Billy Joel's rendition of the national anthem was 1 minute, 44 seconds. If you bet under, you won. He came in at 1:35. On whether or not he did a good or bad job, you won if you took "bad." At best, his performance was forgettable, kind of like It's Still Rock and Roll to Me.
Celebrity sighting
CBS searched high and low in the stands and finally found someone who stars on one of the network's shows. And did you see David Spade? His look said, "Man, I could be hanging out with Heather Locklear right now instead of sitting in the pouring rain watching ... hey, buddy, what's this game called again?"
Rainy days and Mondays
It's 2007. TV networks have figured out ways to show games in high definition, super slo-mo, and they even have the ability to put a big yellow line on the screen to show where the first down is. But no one at CBS thought of running to Wal-Mart to get a tarp or garbage bag or something to hold over the cameras so rain couldn't get on the lenses?
Best commercial
We promised ourselves we weren't going to fall for CBS, like every other network that has shown a Super Bowl, shamelessly promoting its own programming. But we have to admit the spot for David Letterman's show was the best one. Urban legend has it that Dave has a long-running feud with Oprah Winfrey, but Winfrey makes the commercial by telling Dave, "Honey, don't talk with your mouth full." Runnerup: Nationwide's spot with Kevin Federline working at a fast-food joint.
Most meaningful commercials
Doing an appropriate and respectful commercial about the accomplishments of African-American coaches Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith during this, Black History Month, without being patronizing or sappy is not easy. But Coke, as well as Doritos-Lays-Tostitos, pulled it off. Well.
Our favorite commercials
Snickers' with the men who accidently kiss then do something "manly" by ripping off their chest hair. ... The Budweiser one in which a white dog becomes a star on a fire truck after he gets spattered with mud. Ad gets extra points for using Dean Martin's Ain't That A Kick In the Head. ... The old man recaptures his youth in the Coke commercial. ... The Blockbuster ad in which a cartoon mouse is used like a computer mouse was good - not in a laugh-out-loud way, but in a at-least-we-didn't-roll-our-eyes kind of way. ... And any commercial with Robert Goulet (Emerald Nuts) is okay in our book.
Our least favorite commercials
General Motors: A robot has a dream in which he is committing suicide. Ha! Ha! Yeah, suicide is hilarious. ... The Bud Light "Rock, Paper, Scissors" ad in which a guy hits another guy in the head with a rock is a groin shot shy of being completely sophomoric. (In fact, Bud Light had a bad day all around.) ... The FedEx ad in outer space looked cool but ended with your typical guy-flying-through-space joke. ... And, apparently, the comedy writers from Sierra Mist haven't been to work in quite a while.
More about commercials
To see the top commercials, go to www.cbssportsline.com.
Halftime show
We had a bunch of jokes lined up to make fun of Prince doing the halftime show. Then the Artist ruined it for us by going out and giving a phenomenal performance, among the best we've ever seen at a Super Bowl halftime. Aside from digging into his own treasure chest of songs, the 48-year-old showed his genius with two interesting covers: Creedence Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary and, this really came out of nowhere, the Foo Fighters' Best of You. He closed his rain-soaked show with, appropriately enough, his classic, Purple Rain.
Tom Jones can be reached at tjones@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8544.
[Last modified February 4, 2007, 23:49:39]
Share your thoughts on this story
Comments on this article
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by Ellen
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02/06/07 05:47 AM
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I'm not a football fan, but I am a fan of Tony Dungy, Peyton, Lovie, and all of the other real champions who don't need booze, drugs, or bad behavior to make headlines. Hope the next Super Bowl is in Indy, Chris Shaffer doing half-time show.
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by barbara
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02/05/07 08:48 PM
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i thought alot of the commercials were a waste of time and money some of them were real stupit and didnt make sent at all. where are your brians and who thougth of these. and what happen to the dale jr commercial anyway.
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by Mark
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02/05/07 02:46 PM
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Tom,
How could CBS have done a piece on Hines Ward going back to Korea during LAST YEAR's game since he made that trip SINCE THEN?
I know a lot of folks like bashing Katie Couric, but an inability to time travel is a dumb reason to pick on her.
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by Mike
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02/05/07 02:12 PM
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Tom Jones' comment that African-American coaches are "lagging behind" in D-1 football coaching implies that there should be more. Skin color does not equate to coaching skill. There is no one worse than Karl Dorrell of UCLA. He's the "anti-Dungy."
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by Marv
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02/05/07 02:00 PM
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While I agreed with 95% of your SuperShotz, how can you you criticize the Katie Couric piece-Hines Ward went back to Korea AFTER he was named MVP AFTER last year's Super Bowl. That's not sour! As you wrote-"Solid piece", it was a great piece!
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by H
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02/05/07 12:59 PM
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I will never eat another snickers again...it looked like a turd.
Blockbusters was THE BEST. Dalamtions next and the Black History-Coke.
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by COLMAN
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02/05/07 08:03 AM
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I agree! IT was the best half-time show I've ever seen- As a classic rocker, I'm afraid to admit it but Prince was better than the Stones or U2. Visually fantastic. And the guitar solos- fahgetaboutit, Edge.
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