Thirty-six seconds with Paris

At 11:15 p.m., the call goes out across the red carpet.

"Paris is here!"

Gasps. Scattering cameramen. The nervous clicking of pens.

And then, wafting from around the corner like the smoke from a magic lamp, is Paris Hilton, wearing a slinky, silvery, off-the-shoulder dress.

She came. She's here. This is happening.

Paris spins. She juts her shoulder all but out of her body. She smiles seductively, eyes in a slit, moving like a boa, slithering this way and that, unflinching in the constant stream of lightning blasting from the cameras.

How many times have you blinked to ruin a family picture? Ten? Twenty?

Paris doesn’t blink.

AJA scores big for Super Bowl

To describe how well Tampa's newest nightclub AJA was doing Super Bowl weekend, just check behind the bar.

On Saturday, the Channel District club had to bring in more bubbly after selling out of its most expensive bottle of champagne, Ace of Spades, the night before. Each bottle goes for $850.

Slow start to Hard Rock party -- but it's early

At the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the theme of the night was: maybe.

Maybe Paris Hilton will show up. Maybe Adam Sandler. Maybe the cast of Gossip Girl.

Costner's party heats up on a cold night

Short on celebrities but long on booze and music, hundreds of revelers watched the Saturday Night Spectacular turn into the wee hours of Super Bowl Sunday.

Kevin Costner's band Modern West was in the midst of a 45-minute set when co-host Michael Strahan arrived, reportedly because the Pepin Centre in east Tampa is so new that it couldn't be found on his driver's GPS system.

Good Life Experience wraps up

All good things must come to an end.

Saturday was the final installment of the Good Life Experience, the three-night fiesta put on by Winky Wright, Deion Sanders and Sean "Puff Daddy/P. Diddy/ just plain ol' Diddy" Combs.

Saturday's theme was Icons of the Good Life, with His Puffiness giving his interpretation of the good life: chandeliers, plush sofas and plenty of champagne. Guests were encouraged to wear diamonds and pearls. DJ Peoples got the party started at 10 p.m. Halfway through, DJ Prostyle -- Diddy's turntablist -- took over.

The soiree attracted plenty of stars who walked the white carpet. (Thursday's was red. Friday's was green.) They included American Idol season 6 winner Jordin Sparks, who walked the carpet with her mom, Jodi and brother, PJ; Sandra "Pepa" Denton, who plans to watch the big game at a Tampa sports bar with friends (she hasn't decided which, of if she has, she ain't tellin'); So You Think You Can Dance judge Mary Murphy ("I'm going to the game, sister!"); Buccaneers fullback BJ Askew, who's hosting a Super Bowl watch party at home; Rays relief pitcher Dewon Day, who sipped water with lime wedge ("All I drink is water"); Miami Dolphins tight end Anthony Fasano; Dallas Cowboys badboy Terrell Owens, who declined to walk the white carpet; boxer Lenroy Thomas (his game day plan is to watch the Super Bowl and rest up -- "Got to be back in the gym Monday"); and a gaggle of Playboy Playmates.

Ashton and Demi delight bystanders at fundraiser

On a cold South Tampa night, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore managed to warm some hearts. The star couple arrived around 6 p.m. Saturday for a Giving Back Fund charity cocktail party at a private residence on West Longfellow Avenue.

Beginning in the late afternoon, neighbors gathered at the cul-de-sac, hoping for a glimpse of the A-listers. "It's exciting," said Nancy Cedola, with camcorder in hand, hoping for a Super Bowl Week brush with fame. "Everybody keeps saying, 'I saw so-and-so.' I want to be able to say that I saw somebody."

Cedola and the crowd did more than just see Kutcher and Moore. Although bystanders had expected the couple to arrive in one of the limos, the pair arrived in the back seat of a black Chevrolet SUV.

Tweens shrieked: "Ashton, come over here!"

So he did.

Seventh Avenue closed to cars (again)

TAMPA -- Consider this a warning.

Because of heavy foot traffic, Tampa Police have once again closed down Seventh Avenue in Ybor City from 15th Street to 21st Street.

Higher ups made the decision at 7 p.m. to close the road until establishments close in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

And the blockage may grow as the night wears on.

"It may go back to 13th Street," said Lt. Bill Ferguson of the Tampa Police. "The supervisor said its already really crowded so it may also extend past 21st."

People heading in that direction may want to get there before they have to park in Brandon.

--Robbyn Mitchell, Times Staff Writer

Wildlife vies with high life at Steinberg party

   TAMPA — The people drawn to the 23rd annual Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party spotted current and former professional athletes along with spotted giraffes and African crown cranes.

   With an events center at Lowry Park Zoo as the backdrop, the hundreds who came out Saturday afternoon were just as enamored with Allegro the armadillo as they were with Hall of Famers like Franco Harris and Warren Moon.

   Steinberg, the uber sports agent and real-life inspiration for the movie Jerry Maguire, designed his party with a social conscience. A “green” carpet runway signified the event’s environmental focus. TECO Energy provided 100 percent green-sourced power for the event.

   There were also live two-way video conversations between celebrities and a group of soldiers in Iraq. Former Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy and Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips were among those participating.

   “That’s the first time I’ve ever spoken to soldiers who have been deployed overseas, so it was a remarkable and life changing moment,” FSU safety and Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle said.

   The event also included a silent charity auction that featured $2,000 autographed guitars from the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, and the live auction of an $85,000 white Jaguar (the car, not the animal).

View celebs we spotted at Super Bowl parties

   Ernest Hooper, Times staff writer

Nice Game, Bro' at the Celebrity Beach Bowl

Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg stared at the sardine-packed stands in awe, acknowledging that he had never seen a crowd like this at Al Lang Field, his team's his team's former spring training home.

But Sternberg has never had a draw like Brody Jenner before.

Jenner (right), the star of the MTV reality show "Bromance," stole the show in the DirecTV Celebrity Beach Bowl, which turned Al Lang into a flag football papparazzi show on sand. 

Jenner received the loudest ovation during teams introductions, which included A-listers like Christian Slater and Blake Lively, rockers like Benji and Joel Madden of Good Charlotte, names from the reality TV world like Stacy Keibler and Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian (left, sister Kim was a no-show).

Oh, and there were former NFL players Warren Moon, Steve Young, Eddie George, Jamal Anderson and Merrill Hoge. Saints RB Reggie Bush and Giants QB Eli Manning coached the teams and Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew and Bears RB Matt Forte served as referees.

But it was Jenner who took the MVP honors after intercepting a pass from Moon and returned it for a game-winning touchdown in the game's final minute, giving Team Sunday Ticket a 37-32 win over Team Superfan.

"There's no 'I' in team," Jenner repeated to camera crew afrer camera crew after getting a post game Gatorade shower courtesy of "Bromance" co-star Frankie Delgado.

Jenner's touchdown got Bush, who was coaching Team Sunday Ticket and was looking to find a coaching style before the game, off the hook.

"I'm asking around," Bush said before the game. "Should I be the Tony Dungy and be quiet and resevered, or should I be like Bill Cowher, and get in their face a little bit?"

Mother and daughter Debbie and Jill Moran arrived 2 1/2 hours before kickoff in order to grab seats in the first row. The Seminole residents held a sign that read "Brody Bromance Me," which drew Jenner's attention before the game.

"We just wanted to be a part of the whole experience," Debbie Moran said. "The last time the Super Bowl was in Tampa my daughter was 11, and this time we wanted to do something we could remember."

Other participants in the game, which was followed by an L.L. Cool J concert, included NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne, former NFL punter John Kidd, Lively's "Gossip Girl" co-stars Penn Badgley and Chace Crawford, Access Hollywood reporter Maria Menounos (left, giving Young a chest bump after scoring a touchdown), Playboy playmates Pilar Lastra and Jayde Nicole and Ron Lawrence, a 39-year-old Postal Service truck driver who won the DirecTV Ultimate Displaced Fan Search.

"It doesn't get any better than this," said Lawrence, who made one catch and three tackles.

-- Eduardo A. Encina, Times staff writer

(Times photos/Eduardo A. Encina)

Surprise guests at ESPN's Tampa-centric tailgate

TAMPA -- On Friday night, Hollywood took over ESPN the Magazine's NEXT Party. On Saturday afternoon, Tampa residents took it back.

ESPN's fan-oriented NEXT Day Tailgate drew hundreds of football fans, both local and from around the country, to downtown Tampa for a day of food, music, exhibitions and autographs.

It was a little more grown-up than the NFL Experience, and not quite as randy as the lavish VIPs-only parties around town Friday night. But the price (free) was right, and the Worldwide Leader didn't disappoint the fans who showed up.

Sean Kingston and American Idol alum Michael Johns performed as scheduled, but a couple of surprise guests -- actor Anthony Anderson and Wyclef Jean -- popped up onstage to the delight of party guests.

Jesse Jackson cruises by Smocks & Jocks

Jesse Jackson stopped by Smocks & Jocks jazz brunch Saturday for a quick look-see at artwork by retired NFL players up for auction on the Yacht StarShip. He’d just come from the Steelers workout, said a jovial Jackson, two youngsters in tow. He glanced at some of the work by 16 players, including Ernie Barnes (Denver Broncos 63-64); Steve Christie (Bucs 90-92); Philip Crosby (San Diego Chargers 2004); Andre Collins (Detroit Lions (1999); Jeff Hatch (Bucs (2005); and Darnerien McCants (2005-06).
   Five artists from VSA Arts of Florida had work for sale as well, VSA Arts director Marian Winters (above) told Jackson. The USF-based group promotes creative abilities of people with disabilities and will share Smocks & Jocks proceeds with the Professional Athletes Foundation’s Gene Upshaw Player Assistance Fund.

Fire reported at NFL Experience; no one injured

TAMPA -- Tampa firefighters responded to the scene of a grease fire reported in a food tent at the NFL Experience, the football-themed entertainment complex next to Raymond James Stadium for the Super Bowl this afternoon.

The fire started in a tent where people were cooking food for the event, Tampa Fire Rescue reported.  Firefighters already at the NFL Experience were at the fire within minutes, and they extinguished it and shut off the propane gas flow.

No injuries were reported. However, dispatch received a call at about 4 p.m. about someone at the event who was suffering from smoke inhalation.

Return to tampabay.com for more details as they become available.

Let's do it again in 2014

TAMPA -- The 2009 Tampa Super Bowl hasn't even been played, and already some area boosters are looking at whether Tampa Bay should seek a place in line as host for a future big game.

There was scattered scuttlebutt during the Tampa Bay Host Committee's Gridiron Gala Friday night that local leaders of this year's effort may do just that.

"We definitely want to bid again," said Reid Sigmon, executive director of the Host Committee, when the question was put to him. "We haven't talked officially about when."

The chatter Friday night focused on 2014, though 2013 is the next available date. Miami; Arlington, Texas; and Indianapolis hold the next three.

Sigmon said the reaction to Tampa as a host town has been overwhelmingly favorable from the league, the teams, regular Joes arriving from out of town and even the out-of-town media.

"I think we've had a very good week," Sigmon said. "We feel good about what we've done."

-- Bill Varian, Times staff writer

Flutie hoping Warner can win one for old guys

Former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie, enjoying a flag football game with current and former NFL stars on St. Petersburg Beach, said he'll be pulling hard for the Arizona Cardinals in Sunday's Super Bowl, happy to see another veteran quarterback proving to doubters he can still play at the highest level.

"More than anything, I'm pulling for Kurt Warner," Flutie said. "You know, older guys showing the young pups. What hits home to me about that whole situation is that once you hit a certain age, they relegate you to the backup and anoint a new hero. They just automatically do it. Then when the old guy goes back in and plays well, they're surprised. That whole scenario bothers me."

Flutie, 46, went into Saturday's game having won all but once in its seven-year history and looked sharp, intercepting a pass intended for Bengals star Chad Johnson and throwing two touchdowns in the first half.

Is this a $20 breakfast?

We may have found the first flub in Tampa Bay's Super Bowl XLIII preparations.

Hundreds of NFL fans who attended this morning's Super Bowl Breakfast at USF's Sun Dome probably headed to a restaurant after the program, after their breakfasts turned out to be only an orange, a muffin and a small container of orange juice that was frozen solid.

Yes, this photo shows all they were fed for their $20. Most seemed satisfied with the spiritual nourishment offered onstage by former Bucs and Colts head coach Tony Dungy, Athletes in Action/Bart Starr Award winner Warrick Dunn and other former NFL stars.

Fans in the cheap seats were supposed to receive breakfast burritos. The kitchen staff fell behind the demand early and never caught up. While VIPs dined on a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, strawberries, orange juice and coffee on the Sun Dome's floor, regular folks scarfed the muffins, didn't bother much with peeling the oranges and could only look longingly at the rock-solid orange juice cups.

Coffee was available for $2; espresso cost $1 extra.

USF student volunteers told fans puzzled by the slim menu that burritos would be delivered to people in the Sun Dome's upper decks. That didn't happen.

The volunteers faced a steady stream of fans returning to food tables, checking to see if burritos had been delivered. Only a few were at a time - most of them refrigerator cold, and quickly claimed by anyone lucky enough to be nearby when they arrived. At least one visitor received a cold egg and cheese omelet, apparently a leftover from the VIP diners.

Steve Persall, Times Staff Writer

Interstate 275 slow due to Super Bowl events

TAMPA -- Traffic is backed up on Interstate 275 in Tampa as thousands of football fans pour into the NFL Experience, an interactive gaming complex set up just south of Raymond James Stadium.

Cars are moving slowly in both directions, starting in the southbound lanes at the Interstate 4 junction and in the northbound lanes just north of the airport exit, the Florida Highway Patrol is reporting.

They aren't reporting any accidents at this time, but say the congestion is due to Super Bowl events.

-- Jessica Vander Velde, Times staff writer

Three-time Sprint Cup champion tees off a TPC; injured finger apparently fine

Three-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson slipped away from his objecting handlers and foundation employees to play in his annual celebrity golf tournament at TPC Tampa Bay on Saturday. Johnson needed stitches and repair to a tendon in his left middle finger after slicing it with a kitchen knife before the Rolex 24 as he tried to cut a hole for a cooling tube in his fire suit.

Johnson, who had been instructed by his foundation employees that he should only putt, carted of to the first hole with friend Nick Lachey and ripped a drive down the fairway. In no pain and declaring the injury fine, though he continued to wear gauze, he clearly did not consider playing a risk with Speed Weeks set to begin next week at Daytona International Speedway. Extending the figure is more of a problem that gripping, he said.

"What?" he smirked, when someone objected to his drive. "It was soft and buttery."

The charity event was Johnson's first in Florida since he was chucked off the top of a cart at Mike Hampton's celebrity golf tournament two years ago, breaking a bone in his wrist.

Super Bowl Breakfast honors Warrick Dunn and Tony Dungy

TAMPA -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Warrick Dunn received the Atheletes In Action/Bart Starr Award at the Super Bowl Breakfast today.

The award honors exemplary players who make a difference off the field through community service.
Dunn was lauded for his Warrick Dunn Foundation Homes For The Holidays program, which offers down payments an furnishing to single parents and their children. So far it has provided 84 homes, the latest being awarded Tuesday in Tampa.

About 7,000 attended the breakfast at the University of South Florida Sun Dome, dining on eggs, bacon, strawberries, orange juice and coffee.

The ceremony also honored former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy.

Former players and friends spoke about his humbleness, faith in God and community commitment, and said they were exicted to see what he would do next, now that he has retired.

-- Jessica Vander Velde, Times Staff Writer

Lil Jon cranks up Club Skye

TAMPA — Lil' Wayne might have been elusive Friday night, but as promised, Lil' Jon did make an appearance at Club Skye in Ybor City. The crowd at the club was fairly anemic at 11:30 p.m., but Lil Jon — parodied heavily by Dave Chappelle — sat in a secure area of the club, wearing white-framed sunglasses and a heavy gold chain.

What does he think of Chappelle? “He’s cool,” Lil Jon said.

By 1 a.m., the dance floor was packed with guys sporting grills and girls in dresses the size of shirts. Lil' Jon got the crowd pumped up as a guest DJ before performances by Keri Hilson, who graced fans with her hit "Turnin' Me On"; Ray J, known famously for an x-rated video starring himself and Kim Kardashian: and Sean Kingston, who sang "Beautiful Girls" in the midst of a crush of people.

Trick Daddy is scheduled to host an after-Super Bowl party at Club Skye on Sunday.

Janet Zink, Times staff writer

Another ESPN update: The stars are gone

TAMPA -- Celebrities have a sixth sense. Somehow, some way, they can just tell when a party's dying out. How do they do it? The answer has long baffled top scientists.

At the ESPN the Magazine NEXT Party, it happend just before 1 a.m., when Lindsay Lohan decided it was time to call it quits.

She had spent her entire two-hour visit ensconced in a small cubicle of white leather couches, surrounded by a wall of security guards, smoking and texting and chatting with friends. Benji Madden was there, too, and Samantha Ronson and Joel Madden joined them when their DJ set wound down.

Around the time Lindsay departed, other stars left, too. Kevin James: Gone. Cuba Gooding Jr.: Off to Maxim.

A host of athletes and some ESPN personalities (Chris Berman, Scott Van Pelt) stuck around, and the night's dancers -- clad in barely-there shorty-shorts and form-fitting NFL jerseys -- kept gyrating on risers spread throughout the 22,000-square-foot tent (which had been outfitted with space heaters to keep things toasty). People sipped Patron cocktails and Corona, and sampled finger foods and candy from a row of dishes near the entrance.

After the jump, check out a few more guerilla-style photos of Lohan, Sam Ronson, the Maddens, James, Stacy Kiebler and more...