Students to Create Chevy's Next Super Bowl Ad

And you thought Chevy would give up on the whole consumer-generated-ads idea after what happened to their Tahoe initiative. No, and this time they are doing something very cool:

"All US college students can participate in The Chevy Super Bowl College Ad Challenge. Teams of up to three students will create the concept for a commercial promoting Chevrolet’s new lineup of cars and crossovers, specifically the Aveo, Cobalt, HHR, and Equinox. The winning team will participate in the production process as their concept is developed and made into a 30-second television commercial. The students' commercial will then air during Super Bowl XLI on February 4, 2007."
-- press release (thanks, Nellie)

Prince Gets Miami Super Bowl Gig Nod

source
Prince is set to perform at next year's Superbowl half-time show.

The legendary musician has reportedly been approached by organisers to rock fans during the break of the American Football extravaganza.

Prince has not yet decided to take up the offer but is widely expected to play for a bumper pay packet, according to E! Entertainment television.

However, organisers will be hoping the dimunitive artist, now a devout Jehovah's Witness, does not return to his wild ways before the match - which takes place at Miami's Dolphin Stadium next February.

I've seen him hump the stage while performing!

Prince once famously bared his butt cheeks during a live TV performance and a similar incident could provoke outrage in the US.

Superbowl 2004 was plunged into chaos after Janet Jackson's notorious 'nipplegate' incident - in which Justin Timberlake tore off part of her outfit to reveal her breast complete with nipple piercing.

Why Your Team Won’t Win the Super Bowl

The case for: The Houston Texans have a very real chance of winning the Super Bowl this season. Far fetched? Maybe, but the Texans have finally released quarterback Tony Banks. St. Louis (1999) and Baltimore (2000) replaced Banks and went on to win a Super Bowl. Don't laugh. When your quarterback is David Carr, you’ll grasp any straw necessary.

Why they probably won't: You really can't trust a team that bypassed Reggie Bush for a defensive end. Especially when the defensive end could very well be the second coming of Mike Mamula. You can list the reasons from signability, the switch to the 4-3 defense or the presence of Dom Davis. The fact still remains that they did not take the most electrifying player in the draft. One of the greatest college football players in recent memory. These kind of things signal to the fans that winning might not be the most important thing.

At least they were smart enough to pass on Vince Young.

Alright, maybe we were a little harsh on Carr earlier, who has been betrayed by a bad offensive line. The team has made some significant upgrades on the offensive line (like Mike Flanagan), which is good. The only problem is that the club has hired Mike Sherman as its offensive coordinator. That’s like trying to calm your headache by hitting yourself in the toe with a hammer.

Other Previews:
New York Jets

Mitch Albom: Something bigger than the Super Bowl

Let's get serious amid fun, games
Mitch Albom

For most of my life, charity meant writing a check.

But a few years ago, a former professor of mine scolded me for not doing more. He told me if you're in the public eye, you can rouse people to action.

So today, with your kindness, I'm going to try and do that, because I heard a story a few weeks ago and I couldn't get it out of my head.

The story, in essence, was that, with the city's encouragement, a local homeless shelter was going to offer a three-day "party" over Super Bowl weekend that would provide food and a big-screen TV -- and would also cut the visibility of our most downtrodden citizens.

Other Super Bowl cities tried similar ideas. Many defend it as being a good host.

Personally, I kept thinking about Feb. 6, the day after the Super Bowl. I had this vision of the shelter doors opening, and hundreds of homeless people being nudged out into the cold, essentially being told, "Party's over. Good luck."

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What's next? How Detroit stays Super
Mitch Albom

One man wrote he was going to bet $25 on the Steelers, but he figured the homeless could use the money more.

One woman wrote: "My husband is laid off, but we have food to eat and a warm house to sleep in." So she sent a check.

Letter by letter, heart by open heart, what began as a small notion became a large reality.

"Now what?" a reader asked in this newspaper Tuesday. The Super Bowl is over. The hype is gone. "Now what?"

Here's what.

Today, at 2 p.m., inside the Detroit Rescue Mission on Third Street, a group will gather to announce the overflowing generosity of people here and around the world.

More than $150,000 has been raised for S.A.Y. Detroit, a charitable concept to help Detroit's homeless that we started less than two weeks ago.


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These are two stories from Mitch Albom. About a real Super Bowl issue and how someone in the public view can affect real issues. This story is old. I actually just realized that I had never published it. Super Bowl is just the super bowl. This is what we should be doing; however, not just during the Super Bowl.

#128

15 ABF Drivers Bound for ATA National Truck Driving Championship

ABF Freight System, Inc., is sending 15 professional truck drivers from 10 states to the 69th National Truck Driving Championships, August 15-19, 2006, in New Orleans. Drivers earn the right to compete in the National Championships by winning state driving championships and by maintaining an accident-free driving record for the past year.

"ABF's excellent reputation for safety and security, backed by an unmatched number of industry awards, comes directly from outstanding employees, like these championship drivers," says ABF President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Davidson. "Behind the wheel, on the dock, in the office, or wherever duty calls, ABF employees are committed to adding value to our customers' supply chain by maintaining the highest performance standards."

Known informally as the "Super Bowl of Safety," the annual event is sponsored by the Safety and Loss Prevention Management Council of the American Trucking Associations to promote driving safety among the nation's three million professional truck drivers. Competitive divisions include straight truck, three-axle, four-axle, five-axle, tank truck, flatbed, five-axle sleeper, twins and auto transporter. The comprehensive competitions include a written examination, personal interview, pre-trip inspection and a driving skills test.

ABF's state champions, including three repeat winners from 2005 and two Grand Champions, are:

Chris Blandford Kentucky Flatbed

Larry Burney Wyoming Tank

Ralph Garcia* New Mexico Sleeper

Paul Good Indiana Five-axle

John Heckman Kentucky Twins

Don Herzog Massachusetts Four-axle

A J Kelly Wyoming Twin

Patrick Leary Minnesota Four-axle

Steve Limas New Mexico Five-axle

Gary Mason Wyoming Five-axle

Nate McCarty* Wyoming Straight

Robert Redding Oklahoma Straight

Dwight Sall Nebraska Three-axle

David Schmuecher Illinois Twins

Tony Spero* Connecticut Flatbed

Steve Limas and Nate McCarty are Grand Champions, each scoring the highest of all drivers in their state championship. An asterisk (*) denotes repeat winners from 2005 state championships.

LOCAL - Medici Restaurant Planned For Downtown Normal, IL

Italy to the Finals

Any Americans who still don't 'get' 'soccer' should do whatever it takes to watch the full 120 minutes of the Germany/Italy semifinal. It would be even better if you could get the British announcers. Watching this game tonight one starts to understand what it is about Football - the ITV announcers were so absolutely thrilled at the end of this game, that you would have thought they were the home team radio announcers announcing their team's victory in the Super Bowl. But they were utterly disinterested viewers in terms of which team went through. They were, though, utterly interested in seeing a great game. And what a great game it was!