Super Bowl Roundup

Patriots' Brady looks good in Thursday workout

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Tom Brady's next-to-last practice before Sunday's Super Bowl went well, even though he threw two interceptions during Thursday's workout.

More importantly, Brady's sprained left ankle didn't seem to affect him, according to the pool report. He first tested it at Wednesday's practice and, after it ended, was selected as the starter over Drew Bledsoe.

"I think he did all right yesterday, and I think he was a little better today," head coach Bill Belichick told a pool reporter after the two-hour workout. "I don't think the ankle will be an issue."

That won't be known until he faces the St. Louis Rams, but the injury incurred in last Sunday's AFC Championship Game has improved.

He rolled out of the pocket without a limp, and his first pass was a 25-yard strike to Troy Brown. He also threw interceptions to Je'rod Cherry and Leonard Myers.

"You're never happy with everything you see in a practice," Belichick said, "but we have so much to prepare for to play against a great team like the Rams. I'm pleased with the work we got in."

One interception was Brady's fault and the other was the receiver's fault, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis said.

With a temperature of about 80 degrees, the Patriots worked out in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts at Tulane University. Among those watching were Belichick's father Steve, a former assistant football coach at the Naval Academy, and Belichick's childhood friend Mark Fredland.

Rams' Hakim returns to practice despite ankle injury

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- St. Louis Rams wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim practiced Thursday after missing the previous day's workout with an ankle injury.

Hakim, the Rams' third wideout, caught 39 passes for 374 yards and three touchdowns in the regular season. He lost his punt return job to Dre' Bly in December after losing three fumbles in a five-game span.

Defensive tackle Jeff Zgonina missed his second straight day of practice with a hyperextended left elbow, but will play wearing a brace in the Super Bowl on Sunday. Zgonina, listed as questionable, said the elbow shouldn't hinder him.

"It annoys me, but it doesn't hurt me," Zgonina said. "I just don't like it, but I have to wear it."

Wide receiver Isaac Bruce missed the end of the practice Thursday with tightness in his groin.

"We've had that happen to several guys out here," head coach Mike Martz said. "When that happens, we pull them immediately just to avoid any possibility of strains."

Offensive tackle Orlando Pace also skipped the practice as scheduled with a strained right knee, but remained on schedule to return Friday. Martz said Rod Jones, who'll start his third straight playoff game ahead of the injured Ryan Tucker (ankle) at the other tackle, showed no signs of the groin injury he suffered in the NFC Championship Game.

Martz was pleased with the Rams' work, especially considering the demands of Super Bowl week.

"We were sharp today, very well-focused," Martz said. "In light of all the things that are going on around these guys, I thought they did a real nice job."

Martz also was happy with the security at the Saints' complex, where the Rams are practicing this week. Six security personnel were stationed at varying spots along the fence surrounding part of the practice fields, with most at the fence that runs along a road. One guard was stationed on a hill above the New Orleans Zephrys baseball field, about a quarter-mile from the complex.

Martz said he wouldn't want that guard's job.

"No thanks," he said. "It looks like he was a coach one day."

Fox says it has sold all available Super Bowl ads

NEW YORK (AP) -- With just three days to spare, Fox said Thursday it had sold out all available commercial time in Sunday's Super Bowl telecast at an average price of just under $2 million per 30-second ad.

Fox sold the last of the 60 commercial spots available in the game on Thursday afternoon, according to Fox spokesman Lou D'Ermilio.

He said about 32 sponsors bought the in-game Super Bowl ads.

The Super Bowl telecast typically draws television's biggest audience of the year and its ads carry TV's highest price tags.

But this year's average price is down from the revised $2.1 million average that industry insiders say CBS got for half-minute ads a year ago.

Both prices are below the record $2.2 million average for a 30-second spot that ABC said it got in 2000, when dot-com advertisers bought 40 percent of the commercial time. The dot-com bust later that year saw many fail, and some who survived have not been back.

This year's ad sellout came later than usual as the economic slowdown, a pullback in ad spending and competition for advertising budgets from the Winter Olympics which start five days later depressed demand.

But D'Ermilio said Fox sold its last in-game ad a day sooner than when the network last telecast the NFL championship game three years ago.

Sunday's game matches the New England Patriots against the heavily favored St. Louis Rams and is being played in New Orleans.

The sponsors include the Super Bowl regulars like brewer Anheuser-Busch and Pepsi and several movie studios. Others include apparel brands Levis and Dockers, financial services concerns E-Trade, Charles Schwab and Visa, fast-food chains Taco Bell, Quizno's and Subway, as well as delivery giant FedEx Corp.

The White House is airing a pair of commercials warning that buying illegal drugs could finance international terrorists.

Jones to start at tackle ahead of Tucker

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The St. Louis Rams will start Rod Jones at right offensive tackle in the Super Bowl ahead of Ryan Tucker, who's been slow to recover from a sprained ankle.

"Tucker still has a bit of an issue," head coach Mike Martz said Thursday. "And Rod has played so well, he deserves this opportunity."

Jones made only one start in the regular season, but has started both of the Rams' playoff games. He was an offseason free agent pickup from the Bengals, and is playing in his first postseason.

"I've got to be excited, right?" Jones said. "I'm an offensive lineman coming out of obscurity into the national spotlight, and I'm going to make the best of the situation."

After the first two playoff games, Jones is getting used to starting, however.

"Before, I was the emergency guy," he said. "Now, I'm just part of the ship, I'm just one of the motors that's keeping it moving."

Jones also is banged up, injuring his groin in the NFC Championship Game. He was limited in practice on Wednesday, but said he'll be 100 percent by Sunday. Jones played both left and right tackle in practice.

Playing on the left side was easier on the groin problem, but he'll be starting on the other side.

Tucker, injured in the season finale, said his left ankle was sore, but that he could play if needed. He played as a reserve in the NFC Championship Game, stepping in when Orlando Pace strained a knee ligament and then filling in when Jones hurt his groin.

"I'm not 100 percent and it's definitely taking longer than I expected it to," Tucker said. "Obviously, I haven't shown them in practice that I'm my old self, so I can understand where they're coming from."

Past Super Bowl QBs endorse Brady decision

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Tom Brady's ankle might not be as healthy as the New England Patriots claim.

Two-time Super Bowl MVP Steve Young, who saw tape of the Patriots working out, said Thursday that Brady was "definitely hurting" while practicing.

"I just saw him drop back," Young said. "I think he's hurting."

Super Bowl practices are closed to the media except for a pool reporter and photographer. Pool reports Wednesday and Thursday said Brady appeared to have no problems with the ankle he sprained in the AFC Championship Game. In his capacity as an ESPN analyst, Young saw pool video provided by NFL Films.

"I don't think the ankle will be an issue," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, according to Thursday's pool report, which said Brady rolled out "without any sign of a limp" and stayed after practice for five minutes with No. 3 quarterback Damon Huard.

Belichick was not available to respond to Young's comments, and Patriots spokesman Stacey James declined to do so. Brady said before practice that he expected to wear a brace to stabilize his left ankle.

"From where it was Sunday, it feels a ton better than it did," he said. "It's sore, it's a little tender, but I think there's a lot of body parts of mine that are sore."

Appearing at a youth center the NFL is helping to renovate, Young endorsed Belichick's decision to start Brady over Drew Bledsoe. The Patriots have won eight consecutive games with Brady as the starter and have gone 13-3 since he took over for Bledsoe, who this summer signed the richest contract in NFL history.

Fellow Super Bowl MVPs Joe Namath ('69) and Joe Montana ('82, '85, '90) also agreed with Belichick's choice of Brady.

"I liked him from the first day I saw him," Namath said. "He's tough and his teammates love him and he's got a great future. I think it's a great luxury to have Bledsoe, too. I know the team has confidence in both of those guys."

Young, who developed a frosty relationship with Montana while waiting to succeed the future Hall of Famer with the San Francisco 49ers, said he also thought the Patriots should keep both quarterbacks.

"I worked through it for five years. It's a tough situation, but you've got to work through it," Young said. "Those are their two biggest assets. There aren't 32 NFL-quality quarterbacks in the league. If you have the luxury of having two, make sure you can keep both of them.

"They've already needed both of them."

Bledsoe was the starter for eight years, breaking virtually every one of the team's passing records. But after he was injured in Week 2, Brady replaced him, held the starting job when Bledsoe recovered and led New England to the AFC East title.

Brady starred in a 16-13 overtime victory against the Oakland Raiders in the Patriots' first playoff game, but he was hurt in the second quarter of the conference championship. This time it was Bledsoe coming off the bench to rescue the team.

That forced Belichick to pick one to start in the Super Bowl against the St. Louis Rams, and he chose Brady.

"I don't think there really was any [controversy]," Montana said at a separate news conference earlier Thursday. "If he was healthy, he would start."

Namath, the architect of one of the greatest Super Bowl upsets when the Jets beat the Colts 16-7, said he wouldn't count out the Patriots, who are 14-point underdogs. That's one of the biggest spreads since the Jets entered the 1969 game getting 18 points.

"They can do it and I hope they do," Namath said. "It's not just because they're underdogs. But I enjoy seeing underdogs win. Maybe people around the country see that and think they can win, too."

Of course, Rams quarterback Kurt Warner doesn't share that view -- even though he considers Brady a kindred spirit.

"I'm hoping his Cinderella story stops one game short," he said.

Williams enjoying Super Bowl homecoming

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Aeneas Williams has always had a Super Bowl game. Now he has a team to match it.

The St. Louis Rams' cornerback is finally playing for a contender, after 10 years of futility with the Arizona Cardinals. Even better, he's playing Sunday's big game just down the road from where he grew up.

"To have that opportunity and to do it in front of your hometown in the Superdome, where I sold popcorn, peanuts and Coke, where I played high school and college games, is great," Williams said. "This is familiar territory for me."

The Rams, redesigning their defense after an abominable showing last year, consider him the centerpiece of the new unit that was ranked third in the NFL. Coach Mike Martz has often said he considers Williams the defensive equivalent of Marshall Faulk, the NFL offensive player of the year and last year's MVP.

Though the Rams have five Pro Bowl players on offense, there is only one on defense: Williams, who had two touchdowns during the regular season, then set an NFL record by returning two interceptions for scores in the playoffs against Green Bay.

Defensive coordinator Lovie Smith doesn't think he could have pulled off the turnaround without Williams.

"Nothing against the rest of the players," Smith said. "Not only has Aeneas had a career year, but he's also our leader. It's hard to imagine us making a leap like that without him."

To get to where he is today, Williams said he only focused on things he could control.

"And that helped me a lot," he said.

"Any assignment you have, there are distasteful elements. And if you concentrate on the distasteful elements, I think it diminishes zeal and your enthusiasm."

So he sought personal excellence and found it, making the Pro Bowl six consecutive years with the Cardinals, a team that made the playoffs once in his time there.

Though 34, Williams still glows with a rookie's enthusiasm.

He keeps his own book on the quarterbacks, receivers and running backs. He's always the first one to team meetings, parking himself in the front row and taking copious notes.

"His preparation is unbelievable," cornerback Dre' Bly said. "I can see Aeneas coaching when he finishes playing because he knows a lot about the game, and he studies the game a lot."

The Patriots know it, too.

"Oh man, he's a savvy vet," wide receiver David Patten said. "Up in age, you may tend to lose a little speed, but you can't tell it with him. He's just so smart and confident."

The Pats' Troy Brown said: "He knows just about every trick in the book. He's been around a long time. He's covered the best receivers in the game and he's seen every move you could possibly imagine."

All of this is very flattering to Williams. So was the large photograph of a 4-year-old Aeneas in full uniform and scowl that appeared on the front page of Monday's Times-Picayune newspaper.

His parents, who deliberately gave Williams and older brother Achilles unique names so they'd stand out, still live in the same house on Belfast Street.

"It's still a neighborhood where I think everybody still knows each other. Everybody in that neighborhood, I think, is celebrating now," he said.

Growing up, his most memorable job was a cashier at the local Winn-Dixie supermarket.

"I just loved handling that money," Williams said. "You had to memorize all the vegetables so you knew what code to type in."

In the NFC Championship Game, his fourth-quarter interception of Donovan McNabb sealed the Rams' 29-24 victory and a second trip to the Super Bowl in three years.

None of this was a surprise to his teammates or coaches. He's probably made 100 interceptions in practice this season, always going at game speed. And he had four interceptions during the season.

"It's fun facing Aeneas," Rams wide receiver Torry Holt said. "If you can go up against Aeneas and win some battles against him, you come out of that day feeling pretty good."

Pops conductor says stars aligned with Pats

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - When the Boston Pops accepted an invitation to perform during the Super Bowl pregame show, conductor Keith Lockhart made a hopeful statement to Patriots owner Bob Kraft, a longtime financial backer of the orchestra.

"I was saying we'd really like to not be the only team from Boston in this particular contest and who ever thought that several weeks later everything would have aligned," Lockhart said Thursday. "The Boston Pops is here, of course, to provide nonpartisan entertainment, but we all have our own subjective hopes."

The Pops will perform during Sunday's pregame festivities, joining a star-studded lineup that includes Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey, Barry Manilow, Marc Anthony, Mary J. Blige, Patti LaBelle, James Ingram, Wynonna and Yolanda Adams.

"I think the stars have aligned in some sort of very strange and wonderful way," Lockhart said. "For us to have been invited and obviously with the events in the last few months of this country, I think the NFL was looking for something that was patriotic and part of the rich cultural tradition of this country, which the Boston Pops has been central to for the last 117 years."

About 800 million people are expected to watch the game.

Carey, who will perform the national anthem for the first time, isn't worried about comparisons to Witney Houston's moving rendition in 1991, when the nation was at war with Iraq.

"I think everybody brings something new to the anthem when they do a performance of their own," she said. "Her performance was amazing and I'll just try to do the best I can to do my own version."

Carey said a prerecorded vocal track would play during the performance and she did not indicate whether she'd sing along live.

Producers have said most of the musical performers will pre-record sound tracks to reduce the possibility of technical problems during the show. However, U2, which will perform at halftime, intends to play live.

"Call us old fashion, but we thought it might be novel," lead singer Bono said. "It might catch on with the kids."

Much of the music will have a patriotic theme in tribute to America's effort to rebuild and fight back from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The pregame show also will include a video of players reading The Declaration of Independence and another in which former presidents Carter, Clinton, Ford and Bush join Nancy Reagan in quoting Abraham Lincoln.

McCartney, who spoke from New York via satellite Thursday, is expected to sing his Sept. 11-inspired song "Freedom."

McCartney was in New York when the hijacked planes took down the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

"We felt it alongside a lot of the American people and I think all of us are very proud to be" at the Super Bowl, McCartney said.

LaBelle, Ingram, Wynonna and Adams will join Manilow in singing "Let Freedom Ring," a song Manilow wrote years ago to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution.

"To be asked to sing a song I wrote is absolutely thrilling," Manilow said. "I love this song ... and to be able to do this and hear it sung by four of the top vocalists of our time thrills me to no end."

None of the performers showed any anxiety about security levels at the heavily fortified Superdome.

"Patti's more worried about her hair," Wynonna said.

"Nothing's getting in here," LaBelle said. "We could hardly get in here."

 

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