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I’m a second-generation University of Florida graduate, and I wanted to see Tim Tebow when he returned home to Jacksonville on Saturday to sign autographs at The Avenues Mall.

But I decided not to go when I found out, two weeks ago, that it would cost $160. I never gave it another thought until I ran into my former co-worker Mike DiRocco, who is the Florida Gators beat writer for The Florida Times-Union, in the parking lot of The Avenues on Saturday morning.

After hugging and catching up, Mike asked me if I was at the mall to see Tebow, and I told him that I forgot about the former Heisman Trophy winner’s appearance and I was there to eat lunch with my teen son and return some uncomfortable shoes.

Once in the mall, it looked like we had walked into The Oaks Mall, which is down the street from the UF campus and the football stadium where Tebow set so many passing and rushing records in Gainesville.

Fans wearing variations of orange and blue shirts and replica No. 15 Tebow jerseys were everywhere and a long line of Tebow fans snaked around the second floor of the Avenues to wait for their brief one-on-one, and Tebow wasn’t scheduled to appear for a couple hours. His appearance was to kick off his Tim Tebow Foundation to spread his Christian faith, hope and love.

Fans, like me, who didn’t want to pay the $160, sat on the edge of the food court to observe the spectacle. I ate Japanese while getting acquainted with a nice USC fan named Char who also ate Japanese and is new to Jacksonville.

As luck would have it, my son and I were walking out of the mall an hour and a half later, when we saw some people hurrying over to a small gathering outside of Belk. While my son went to get the car, I walked over and stood next to Bob Tebow, Tim’s father, while Tim was interviewed by a few reporters, including Mike DiRocco. Tebow ended the interview session with “God bless”, and was escorted back inside the department store as teenage girls yelled, “Tim Tebow, you’re so fine!” My son rolled by to pick me up and I waved bye to DiRocco as he rushed to finish covering the fans waiting to see Tebow inside the mall.

Judging from the excitement Tim brought to a Jacksonville mall and how hundreds of fans waited inside on one of the most beautiful, sunny days in awhile, it makes me think that the local NFL team should draft Tebow to save the Jaguars from another season of blacked out home games, which would lead to the team’s departure for Los Angeles.

If Gators fans are willing to spend at least $160 to wait hours for a brief encounter with Tebow, imagine how many Jaguars tickets they would buy to support Tim as he carries a clipboard along the sidelines. During his freshman year at UF, a group of guys went to games wearing T-E-B-O-W across their torso in hopes to see Tim in action, and they witnessed him come in to make key plays that contributed to the Gators’ first national title in 10 years.

Who knows? The Jaguars may trade out of their No. 10 spot in the NFL Draft to get a later first round selection and regain the second round pick they traded last year to then select Tim Tebow in the second round. The Jaguars have a bigger need for defensive linemen and defensive backs, but the team also needs a franchise quarterback to groom for the near future because David Garrard isn’t capable of getting Jacksonville to the Super Bowl. And the team needs to fill the stadium or risk another season full of TV blackouts.

With Tebow on the roster, the Jaguars probably won’t contend for their first division title in 11 years, but Tim’s presence would certainly give the team a quarterback to build around and solve the team’s problem of selling the stadium out to prevent a move to L.A.
By the way, those teenagers were right.

Tebow looks hot in person, and I didn’t have to take $160 out of my bank account to find that out.

By Teneshia LaFaye
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Although he read from a 1,545-word script, I believe Tiger Woods was sincere during his 14-minute apology Friday for bringing down professional golf for his multiple affairs behind his wife’s back.
But I don’t think his public apology has done anything to alter the opinions people formed about him when the scandal broke last Thanksgiving.
And only time will tell if Tiger is really remorseful for what he described as giving into the temptations of being rich and famous because he felt entitled for working so hard to be the world’s top golfer and the first billionaire athlete.
Yet as he said, his private life is no one’s business but his and his wife Elin’s. It’s not like he cheated and contracted HIV to jeopardize other players as Magic Johnson did. Or that he was charged for raping a woman and thus cheating on his wife as Kobe Bryant did.
What Tiger did was wrong, but it’s between him and his wife.
That’s why it was unnecessary for him to give a public apology, which can be viewed in full here, to explain why he cheated.
The only people he owed an apology to were those of whom he likely already apologized to in private: his wife, his children, his mother, his staff, his sponsors, his foundation.
It’s hard to tell if Elin, who tabloids have speculated is divorcing the golfer, has forgiven Tiger. She wasn’t present during the press conference and it really doesn’t matter.
Former New York governor Eliot Spitzer and many other unfaithful public figures had their wives by their side during public apologies and ended up divorcing.
So it doesn’t matter that Elin wasn’t there. She was where she needed to be — home with her and Tiger’s two young children.
Since Tiger said he’s not returning to golf any time soon, his latest apology appeared to be his attempt to restore his wife’s image, appease his mom Kutilda who sat on the front row and to demand that paparazzi stop harassing his family, especially his 2-year-old daughter who has been followed to school.
But Tiger’s ultimatum likely fell on deaf ears. The paparazzi is still going to chase his wife, his mom, his children and him until he completes his sex rehab and returns to golf to give the media a less private reason to talk about him.
However, Tiger’s wife, mom, staff and others who care about him heard his apology loud and clear and I bet they have or will eventually forgive him. Those are the only people who deserved to hear an apology from him.

By Teneshia LaFaye
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Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade put on quite a show for the record crowd at the 2010 NBA All-Star Game at Texas Stadium on Sunday. Wade was named MVP after scoring 28 points, 11 assists and 5 steals in the East’s 141-139 victory over the West.
But five-time Grammy winner Usher stole the show before the game even began.
With moves reminiscent of his idol Michael Jackson and an array of pyrotechnics bursting from the stage, Usher treated the largest crowd (108,713) in basketball history to a lively performance of his NBA anthem “More” and his 2004 No. 1 hit “Yeah” to open the All Star game.

Shakira and Alicia Keys also gave great halftime performances.

By Teneshia LaFaye
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/teneshialafaye
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If you don’t have a boo or plans for Valentine’s Day, snuggle up with a pillow and tune into the NBA-All Star game this afternoon.
Usher and Alicia Keys, who sang the No. 1 hit “My Boo” in 2007, are scheduled to perform along with Shakira on Valentine’s Day today during the NBA All-Star game on TNT and NBA Network.

Usher, who has been featured in commercials leading up to the game, will perform his new song, “More”, from his soon-to-be-released album, Raymond v. Raymond before the game. He is a part owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers featuring 2009 MVP LeBron James and four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal.

During halftime, Alicia Keys will sing her past hit songs and selections from her new album, The Element of Freedom during halftime. Shakira also will perform at halftime.

By Teneshia LaFaye
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/teneshialafaye
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Even people who aren’t into football tune into the Super Bowl to watch the commercials in between game action, and companies capitalize by spending millions of dollars on 30- and 60-second spots to advertise their products.
And advertisers get their money’s worth because millions of viewers tune into the Super Bowl telecast to catch the creative, humorous Super Bowl commercials.
My top 5 Super Bowl commercials for 2010 are as follows:

1. Snickers with Betty White and Abe Vigoda

2. Doritos commercial with little boy laying down the law

3. Budweiser truck rolling over human bridge

4. Friends punching each other to look at Volkswagen

5. Man sleepwalking through African wild to grab a Coke

By Teneshia LaFaye
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/teneshialafaye
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Mardi Gras is a week away, but New Orleans fans were already filling up Bourbon Street on Sunday in celebration of their Saints’ first Super Bowl victory.
And it’s only the beginning.

Saints coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees, the newly crowned Super Bowl MVP, expect New Orleans residents to take the next 30 days off from work to revel in the team’s historic Super Bowl championship.
New Orleans has a right to.
After hosting the most Super Bowls in NFL history for other teams, the hometown team finally got to play for its own Vince Lombardi Trophy and won with a 31-17 defeat of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.

New Orleans took its first lead of the game after catching Indy off guard with an onside kick and recovering the ball to begin the second half. Brees then marched the Saints down the field threw a 16-yard screen to Pierre Thomas who weaved through defenders to find the end zone for New Orleans’ 13-10 lead. The Colts grabbed the lead back with Joseph Addai’s 4-yard run with six minutes left in the third quarter. But the Saints kept Indy out of the end zone for the rest of the game and scored an unanswered 18 points to secure the Super Bowl victory.
Saints coach Sean Payton said the team had been practicing the onside kick all week and Drew Brees said he couldn’t wait to see how well it worked in an actual game. Payton added that the team ran three different game plans for the first half, the third quarter and the fourth quarter. Obviously, his strategy worked.
Although the Saints were the underdogs, Brees said he felt pressure on his team to win because he felt like the country was pulling for New Orleans to win the Super Bowl.
And many were pulling for New Orleans, a city that was almost wiped off the map after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina put most of the city underwater in 2005.
Sports commentator Michael Irvin, a Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver on three Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl championship teams, told Brees that New Orleans is now America’s Team and he hopes the Saints’ Super Bowl victory helps the city to continue to rebuild.
So New Orleans is no longer the laughingstock of the NFL with fans wearing ‘Aints paper bags on their heads. The Saints are the reigning Super Bowl champions and have the nucleus of the team intact to add to their new legacy of winning.

By Teneshia LaFaye
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Fans of the CBS network’s three CSI television shows received a treat when Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band The Who was picked to perform during halftime at Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday.

Many people don’t have a clue who The Who is and so they scratched their heads and wondered, “Who is The Who” when the band was announced as the Super Bowl’s halftime performers.

Well, anyone who has watched an episide of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has heard The Who’s “Who Are You” during the show’s intro. The Who’s songs “We Don’t Get Fooled Again” and “Baba O’Reilly” are the intros for CSI: Miami and CSI: New York, respectively.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation theme song from The Who’s “Who Are You”

CSI: Miami theme from The Who’s “We Don’t Get Fooled Again”

CSI: New York theme from The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly”

Incidentally, CBS televised the Super Bowl.

The Who’s “My Generation” ignited the UK band’s career in 1965, and their performance in 1968 at The Woodstock Music and Art Festival catapulted the group’s success in the U.S.

Black Eyed Peas front man will.i.am and Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash remixed The Who’s “My Generation”, and it is available on Itunes to raise money for Haiti, where a massive earthquake killed 100,000 and left millions homeless in January.

The Who has sold 100 million records and produced 17 top 10 albums in the U.S. The band was enshrined into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

After The Who’s magnificent halftime performance, every Super Bowl viewer now should know who The Who is.

By Teneshia LaFaye
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/teneshialafaye
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The debate has been going on for years on whether Peyton Manning is better than Tom Brady. Brady won three Super Bowl rings with New England before Manning even won his first in 2007.
But today, Peyton has to be better than New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, the NFL’s passing leader and Offensive Player of the Year in 2008.
Still, sports enthusiasts are pondering whether Peyton, 33, should be considered one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all-time if he leads the Indianapolis Colts to victory over the New Orleans Saints at Super Bowl XLIV today.
But when Peyton was asked to critique himself during Super Bowl interviews, he remarked: “I have limited athletic ability, so I have to use the cerebral stuff.”
Read this indepth Associated Press article to get an inside look into how Peyton compensates for his “limited athletic ability” to consistently lead the Colts to an NFL record 12 wins for seven consecutive seasons and their second Super Bowl appearance in three years.
New Orleans fans have a lot of respect and admiration for Peyton because he and his two brothers grew up in New Orleans following their father Archie Manning’s long career as the Saints’ legendary starting quarterback. Peyton and his bros excelled in football, basketball and baseball at a New Orleans high school before he and his youngest brother Eli left for college and NFL glory. Their parents and oldest brother, Cooper, continue to live in New Orleans, and Peyton and Eli returned to their hometown to volunteer when Hurricane Katrina tore apart New Orleans in 2005.
And when the NFL and NCAA wanted to pull the Super Bowl and Sugar Bowl out of New Orleans, Archie Manning successfully campaigned to enable the city to remain host for those big games.
New Orleans residents consider the Mannings as their Kennedys, but most will be pulling for their Saints to “limit” Peyton’s production in order to bring back New Orleans’ first Super Bowl trophy.

By Teneshia LaFaye
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/teneshialafaye
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Rocking her golden mohawk and a bad-ass, sexy onesie with a sword-shaped microphone stand, Rihanna rocked the crowd at the Super Bowl’s Pepsi Fan Jam on Thursday night in Miami. She sang “Wait Your Turn”, “Live Your Life” and “Disturbia”, her No. 1 hit written by her ex Chris Brown.

Before heading to the Super Bowl, she sat down with an L.A. radio station and said she is pulling for New Orleans to beat Indianapolis in the upcoming Super Bowl because its the Saints’ first appearance and would be a great comeback from Hurricane Katrina. She also talked about “Tick Tock” singer Kesha’s crush on her and how she also admires Kesha.

By Teneshia LaFaye
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/teneshialafaye
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Taylor Lautner, the werewolf hottie on Twilight’s New Moon, has been a longtime Minnesota Vikings fans, but he jumped on Indianapolis’ bandwagon and attended the Colts’ AFC Championship game.
Now, Taylor is preparing to play in the Celebrity Super Bowl on Saturday, the day before the actual Super Bowl between the Colts and the New Orleans Saints in South Florida on Sunday.


Other celebrities scheduled to play are Gossip Girl hottie Chace Crawford and Victoria Secret model Marissa Miller, who was recently voted the second most desirable women in the world. Former NFL quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Warren Moon will be the featured quarterbacks.
Taylor, 17, grew up in Michigan and never played sports. He trained in martial arts in which he was a world champion. He plays a jock in love with his real-life ex Taylor Swift’s character in upcoming movie, Valentine’s Day, which will be released on Feb. 12.

An avid professional football observer, Taylor gets the opportunity to play some football during Direct TV’s Celebrity Beach Bowl.

By Teneshia LaFaye
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/teneshialafaye
Add me on Myspace: www.myspace.com/tlafaye