Sports Beat

LED BY staff writer and premier party crasher George Dohrmann, SI staked out the Super Bowl bashes. We didn't like the Maxim shindig (too crowded, no dancing) or the Def Jam party (too many fights), but plenty of places were rockin'.

W HOTEL
At the Smirnoff Ice Black Label three-night soiree, an outdoor mezzanine was covered with sand, and a bonfire lit the sky. NFL stars Jeremy Shockey, Terrell Owens and Marcus Allen mingled with Reese Witherspoon, Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid and Denzel Washington. Fifty bucks to the doorman and a sharp outfit got you in.

PRICELESS MOMENT
Reid, sitting on the lap of Packers safety Marques Anderson saying, "This is the best. It's like Christmas."

PLAYBOY
The best venue (the mission in Balboa Park with its multiple terraces) and, of course, the most breathtaking women. CSI's Marg Helgen-berger and The Shiehf's Michael Chiklis joined Hef for the Saturday-night hoedown. Shannon Sharpe, Ray Lewis and Tony Gonzalez sipped champagne served by a woman wearing lingerie and body paint Scalped tickets went for more than $1,000.

PRICELESS MOMENT
Former Steeler Will Blackwell staring at a woman in a G-string and lavender body paint and saying, "In the real world, you try not to stare—but this is not the real world."

EA SPORTS
Thursday night at Axiom in the Gas Lamp district. The Colts' Dwight Feeney and the Saints' Sammy Knight partook of the PlayStation setups. Owens, Heisman Trophy-winner Carson Palmer, Warren G, and David Wells got into Tampa DJ Mad Linx's killer mix.

PRICELESS MOMENT
'N Sync's Lance Bass and Joey Fatone running in and out of the bathroom, laughing at a friend who was vomiting in one of the stalls.

E! SUPER PARTY
The $200 tickets for this Saturday event went to the foundation formed by Rodney Peete and his wife, Holly Robinson. Kurt Warner, Trent Green and Jeff Garcia shimmied as DJ Doug E. Fresh cranked old Michael Jackson. Simeon Rice danced with an Elvis impersonator and Sheila E joined Eve onstage.

PRICELESS MOMENT
Green trying in vain to stop his wife, Julie, from writhing on the hood of a Mercedes that was on display.

DAT DUDE
Hosted on Saturday night at a Harbor Island hotel by Chargers Marcellus (Dat Dude) Wiley, Rodney Harrison and Curtis Conway. For dance vibe, no other party touched it. NBAers such as the Lakers' Devean George and Kareem Rush were there as was boxer Lennox Lewis. Wiley, whom teammates call "the best free-agent acquisition ever" because he knows so many women, invited his entire Rolodex, creating a spectacular 2-to-l ratio of women to men.