The Super Bowl Means Super-Size Hotel Rates
By JENNIFER CONLIN - NY TIMES
Published: January 14, 2007
Finding a moderately priced hotel room in Miami during the winter is never easy, but securing one over Super Bowl weekend (Feb. 2 to 5) is a totally different ballgame, regardless of availability.
This weekend, for instance, the rate for a double room at the Miami Airport Holiday Inn is $190. For the night before the Super Bowl , that room goes for $430. At the already pricey Delano, a city view deluxe room that would have cost $775 for last night is more than twice that amount, $1,625, on Feb. 4 (and it’s booked solid). Even the ultraexpensive Setai is requiring guests to stay a minimum of seven nights during Super Bowl week, at $950 a night for a double room.
Robert Tuchman, president of TSE Sports & Entertainment (www.tseworld.com), said his company was selling four-night Super Bowl packages with upper-level game tickets, but without air fare. For example, $5,850 a person gets a double room at the Westin in Fort Lauderdale, while $7,350 a person puts you in a penthouse suite at the Albion South Beach.
(The actual ticket prices are $600 and $700. Most tickets are technically available through the 30 National Football League teams, but are essentially sold out. Brokers charge far more for the tickets.)
“When you couple the Super Bowl with a great location like Miami, hotels can charge five times their normal price,” Mr. Tuchman said, adding that last year’s location, Detroit (featuring the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers, above), was a bit of a bust. “We only sent around 300 people,” he said. “This year, we already have a thousand.”
His packages include an autographed football, a celebrity golf tournament and a Sunday morning chat with a former N.F.L. player or coach.
Loyal N.F.L. team followers might prefer “fan packages,” starting this week, from Sports Traveler (www.sportstraveler.net), a Chicago-based company. It is $6,300 to $7,500, including three or four nights accommodation, reserved game tickets and air fare from your championship team’s city. A required deposit of $200 to $500 is refunded if your team doesn’t make the big game. But, as Mr. Tuchman said, “The Super Bowl has become such a spectacle, most people don’t even come anymore just for the game.”
Monday, January 15, 2007
CBS Has Only Sold 70 Percent Of Super Bowl XLI Ads - Mediaweek
January 15, 2007
By John Consoli Mediaweek
NEW YORK -- The Super Bowl has become a super pain for the broadcast networks to sell.
Case in point: CBS this year. With just three weeks to go until kickoff, the network has sold slightly more than 70% of the in-game commercial units. And with a total of 58 spots, the network still has about 16 slots available.
With so much potential revenue and prestige at stake—CBS could take in as much as $140 million on the three-hour game alone, in addition to millions from the six hours of pre-game programming—the three weeks prior to kickoff can generate severe angst for sales teams facing fourth and goal.
One media agency executive described this current Super Bowl selling season: "CBS is definitely in hustle mode, trying to come up with any innovative way possible to move those in-game units."
As the cost of a 30-second spot rises each year, so does the pressure on advertisers to come up with innovative and creative spots that will be talked about and acted upon by the 78 million viewers who tune in. The growing popularity of polls such as USA Today Ad Meter, which have consumers rate the in-game commercials the next day, has become a major factor in the decision-making process of advertisers as to whether or not they should create a spot and run it in the Super Bowl.
One network sales executive, who has sold past Super Bowls, said the next two weeks are crucial for CBS to get a bulk of the remaining units sold before Feb. 5. "It's OK to go into the week before the game with three or four units left, but it can be a real problem if you have more than that," the exec said.
The closer to game day, the more the ad community is in the driver's seat as far as trying to price down the spots because the network cannot sharply lower prices without running the risk of alienating clients who came in early and paid more.
While the remaining spots are mostly in fourth quarter and early birds most likely are in the first half when the attention level is usually higher, no advertiser, regardless of placement, is going to be happy seeing a straggler get in the game at a deep discount.
"There are always Super Bowl units still available at this point, but this year there seem to be more left than the norm," said one media exec, echoing the viewpoint of many contacted for this story.
But John Bogusz, CBS evp-sports sales and marketing, and Tony Taranto, svp of NFL sales at CBS, both insist the network is right where it was sellout level-wise when it televised the Super Bowls in '01 and '04.
"It is getting to be a harder sell, and we do wish more advertisers would embrace it for what it is and take advantage of the huge audience it draws," said Bogusz, acknowledging the harder slog to sell out. Added Taranto, "Advertisers should realize that in addition to the in-game units, those ads are going to be replayed all over the Internet in the days and weeks following the game. Awareness levels for those ads rise every year."
But that heightened awareness of the commercials—not the price tag per spot, which this year ranges anywhere from $2 million to $2.6 million depending on pod location and quantity bought—can be the problem, according to media agencies charged with buying Super Bowl spots for clients.
"The decision an advertiser faces is not a price dilemma," said Marc Goldstein, CEO at media agency MindShare. "The reason advertisers may not go in is because of creative issues. No one wants to run an old commercial in the Super Bowl, so you have to go out and spend money to produce a new one. And the advertiser wants to make sure that this commercial does well in all the recall and opinion polls the next day. Many advertisers feel if they do not have a new product to launch, it is not worth the risk."
By John Consoli Mediaweek
NEW YORK -- The Super Bowl has become a super pain for the broadcast networks to sell.
Case in point: CBS this year. With just three weeks to go until kickoff, the network has sold slightly more than 70% of the in-game commercial units. And with a total of 58 spots, the network still has about 16 slots available.
With so much potential revenue and prestige at stake—CBS could take in as much as $140 million on the three-hour game alone, in addition to millions from the six hours of pre-game programming—the three weeks prior to kickoff can generate severe angst for sales teams facing fourth and goal.
One media agency executive described this current Super Bowl selling season: "CBS is definitely in hustle mode, trying to come up with any innovative way possible to move those in-game units."
As the cost of a 30-second spot rises each year, so does the pressure on advertisers to come up with innovative and creative spots that will be talked about and acted upon by the 78 million viewers who tune in. The growing popularity of polls such as USA Today Ad Meter, which have consumers rate the in-game commercials the next day, has become a major factor in the decision-making process of advertisers as to whether or not they should create a spot and run it in the Super Bowl.
One network sales executive, who has sold past Super Bowls, said the next two weeks are crucial for CBS to get a bulk of the remaining units sold before Feb. 5. "It's OK to go into the week before the game with three or four units left, but it can be a real problem if you have more than that," the exec said.
The closer to game day, the more the ad community is in the driver's seat as far as trying to price down the spots because the network cannot sharply lower prices without running the risk of alienating clients who came in early and paid more.
While the remaining spots are mostly in fourth quarter and early birds most likely are in the first half when the attention level is usually higher, no advertiser, regardless of placement, is going to be happy seeing a straggler get in the game at a deep discount.
"There are always Super Bowl units still available at this point, but this year there seem to be more left than the norm," said one media exec, echoing the viewpoint of many contacted for this story.
But John Bogusz, CBS evp-sports sales and marketing, and Tony Taranto, svp of NFL sales at CBS, both insist the network is right where it was sellout level-wise when it televised the Super Bowls in '01 and '04.
"It is getting to be a harder sell, and we do wish more advertisers would embrace it for what it is and take advantage of the huge audience it draws," said Bogusz, acknowledging the harder slog to sell out. Added Taranto, "Advertisers should realize that in addition to the in-game units, those ads are going to be replayed all over the Internet in the days and weeks following the game. Awareness levels for those ads rise every year."
But that heightened awareness of the commercials—not the price tag per spot, which this year ranges anywhere from $2 million to $2.6 million depending on pod location and quantity bought—can be the problem, according to media agencies charged with buying Super Bowl spots for clients.
"The decision an advertiser faces is not a price dilemma," said Marc Goldstein, CEO at media agency MindShare. "The reason advertisers may not go in is because of creative issues. No one wants to run an old commercial in the Super Bowl, so you have to go out and spend money to produce a new one. And the advertiser wants to make sure that this commercial does well in all the recall and opinion polls the next day. Many advertisers feel if they do not have a new product to launch, it is not worth the risk."
Giants Select Jerry Reese As General Manager - Only Third Black GM In NFL History - NFL.com
Giants tap Jerry Reese as general manager
NFL.com wire reports
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Jan. 15, 2007) -- The New York Giants hired Jerry Reese as their general manager, making him only the third black GM in NFL history.
Reese, who served as the team's director of player personnel the past four years, was considered the favorite among the Giants' in-house candidates to replace Ernie Accorsi, who held the post for nine seasons before retiring.
The 43-year-old Reese will formally be introduced as general manager and senior vice president at a news conference Jan. 16, the team said on its Web site.
The only other black general managers in the NFL are Baltimore's Ozzie Newsome and Houston's Rick Smith. There are several black men who have considerable say in front offices, notably Rod Graves of Arizona, whose title is senior vice president-football operations. Ray Anderson was vice president of the Atlanta Falcons for the past four years before moving to the NFL in August as senior vice president of football operations.
There were seven black head coaches in the NFL last season, the most ever. Two of them, Dennis Green of the Cardinals and Art Shell of Oakland, were fired after the season, although Shell will remain in the Raiders front office.
Critics of the NFL's minority hiring policy have generally praised the league for increasing the number of minority coaches, but have pointed out that there is a void in the front office.
Last month, when Reese was mentioned as the favorite for the job, Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, the senior black head coach, said: "That's great -- just to have an African-American mentioned that way is great."
A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, Reese first joined the Giants' scouting department in 1994 after working on the coaching staff at his alma mater.
As the Giants' player personnel director, he oversaw all aspects of college scouting and had most of the responsibility for the draft. Reese previously served as assistant director of pro personnel for three years.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
NFL.com wire reports
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Jan. 15, 2007) -- The New York Giants hired Jerry Reese as their general manager, making him only the third black GM in NFL history.
Reese, who served as the team's director of player personnel the past four years, was considered the favorite among the Giants' in-house candidates to replace Ernie Accorsi, who held the post for nine seasons before retiring.
The 43-year-old Reese will formally be introduced as general manager and senior vice president at a news conference Jan. 16, the team said on its Web site.
The only other black general managers in the NFL are Baltimore's Ozzie Newsome and Houston's Rick Smith. There are several black men who have considerable say in front offices, notably Rod Graves of Arizona, whose title is senior vice president-football operations. Ray Anderson was vice president of the Atlanta Falcons for the past four years before moving to the NFL in August as senior vice president of football operations.
There were seven black head coaches in the NFL last season, the most ever. Two of them, Dennis Green of the Cardinals and Art Shell of Oakland, were fired after the season, although Shell will remain in the Raiders front office.
Critics of the NFL's minority hiring policy have generally praised the league for increasing the number of minority coaches, but have pointed out that there is a void in the front office.
Last month, when Reese was mentioned as the favorite for the job, Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, the senior black head coach, said: "That's great -- just to have an African-American mentioned that way is great."
A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, Reese first joined the Giants' scouting department in 1994 after working on the coaching staff at his alma mater.
As the Giants' player personnel director, he oversaw all aspects of college scouting and had most of the responsibility for the draft. Reese previously served as assistant director of pro personnel for three years.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson Goes Off On Bill Belichick And The New England Patriots; Calls Them "No Class" Organization
I've included the video version of LT's rant as well.
LT rips Pats' 'no class' dance on field logo
And so begins a nasty new rivalry. And this is one born not from two good teams in the same division, but from the way two good teams treat each other when they play. I think LT has something of a point. Moreover, my own mother pointed out that had it been Terrell Owens who was responsible for the nasty act at the end of the game, he'd have been criticized and fined. Not so with the Patriots.
By Jay Posner and Kevin Acee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS
January 15, 2007
No team wants to watch another team celebrate on its home field, especially after a playoff game. But several Chargers were particularly disturbed at the way New England celebrated after yesterday's AFC divisional playoff game.
And no one was more upset than league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson, who had to be restrained by more than one Patriots player from going after another New England player. Tomlinson later accused some Patriots of showing “no class at all” and added “maybe it comes from the head coach (Bill Belichick).”
Said Tomlinson: “I would never, ever react in that way. You guys know me; I'm a very classy person. I wouldn't have reacted like that, so yes, I was upset, very upset.
“When you go to the middle of our field and you start doing the dance that Shawne Merriman is known for, that's disrespectful to me and I can't sit there and watch that.”
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said he saw some Patriots pointing to the scoreboard, doing Merriman's “Lights Out” dance and stomping on the Chargers helmet logo at midfield.
“They won and they deserve a lot of credit,” Rivers said. “Personally I was disappointed in the way they handled winning. I mean, for as much as everybody said they expected them to win, they didn't act like it. But that's neither here nor there. They're playing next week and we're not.
“I think what got LT, and I was right there, was just a little of the taunting. Hey, celebrate – we'd have been sprinting on the field, too, I guarantee you. But it was a little finger pointing and I don't know where it came from.”
The teams will play in Foxboro next season, and Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips said he can't wait.
“Every time I will play New England it will be a personal grudge,” Phillips said. “That was very classless. . . . When we went in and beat their head in New England (last season), blew them out (41-17), we did nothing but compliment them and say they were a good team. We would never disrespect a team like that. We have class, and that's how classless individuals are. Shaun Phillips will have a grudge against them the rest of his career.”
Added Phillips: “What it is, they didn't expect to win and they won, so they were excited.”
The Patriots were not available to answer the Chargers' comments, although linebacker Rosevelt Colvin said San Diego's players “talked from the beginning to the end. We'll take the win.”
LT rips Pats' 'no class' dance on field logo
And so begins a nasty new rivalry. And this is one born not from two good teams in the same division, but from the way two good teams treat each other when they play. I think LT has something of a point. Moreover, my own mother pointed out that had it been Terrell Owens who was responsible for the nasty act at the end of the game, he'd have been criticized and fined. Not so with the Patriots.
By Jay Posner and Kevin Acee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS
January 15, 2007
No team wants to watch another team celebrate on its home field, especially after a playoff game. But several Chargers were particularly disturbed at the way New England celebrated after yesterday's AFC divisional playoff game.
And no one was more upset than league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson, who had to be restrained by more than one Patriots player from going after another New England player. Tomlinson later accused some Patriots of showing “no class at all” and added “maybe it comes from the head coach (Bill Belichick).”
Said Tomlinson: “I would never, ever react in that way. You guys know me; I'm a very classy person. I wouldn't have reacted like that, so yes, I was upset, very upset.
“When you go to the middle of our field and you start doing the dance that Shawne Merriman is known for, that's disrespectful to me and I can't sit there and watch that.”
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said he saw some Patriots pointing to the scoreboard, doing Merriman's “Lights Out” dance and stomping on the Chargers helmet logo at midfield.
“They won and they deserve a lot of credit,” Rivers said. “Personally I was disappointed in the way they handled winning. I mean, for as much as everybody said they expected them to win, they didn't act like it. But that's neither here nor there. They're playing next week and we're not.
“I think what got LT, and I was right there, was just a little of the taunting. Hey, celebrate – we'd have been sprinting on the field, too, I guarantee you. But it was a little finger pointing and I don't know where it came from.”
The teams will play in Foxboro next season, and Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips said he can't wait.
“Every time I will play New England it will be a personal grudge,” Phillips said. “That was very classless. . . . When we went in and beat their head in New England (last season), blew them out (41-17), we did nothing but compliment them and say they were a good team. We would never disrespect a team like that. We have class, and that's how classless individuals are. Shaun Phillips will have a grudge against them the rest of his career.”
Added Phillips: “What it is, they didn't expect to win and they won, so they were excited.”
The Patriots were not available to answer the Chargers' comments, although linebacker Rosevelt Colvin said San Diego's players “talked from the beginning to the end. We'll take the win.”
Reggie Bush - Gets Jacked Up By Eagles Sheldon Brown In NFC Divisional Playoff Game
This was the shot heard 'round the World when it happened, and it's still getting noticed today. Reggie Bush was in the middle of catching a swing pass, when Sheldon Brown rushed up and simply gave a hard, high textbook tackle using his shoulder and not leading with his head. Here's the video:
San Francisco-Based KNBR's Rod Brooks -- Who's Black -- Puts Down Black Coaches
Last Monday, January 8th, San Francisco-based KNBR's Rob Brooks (pictured) said, in response to a take that one college team should hire a black coach, "Notre Dame tried one of those and look what happened to them."
"One of those," sounds like a disease the way Brooks put it.
That comment led me to write this email to members of the California sports media community -- an email list that includes Tony Bruno and Rod Brooks. It's not just an email denouncing what Brooks said, but how KNBR conducts it's business. But more to the point on Martin Luther King's Birthday, it's terrible to know that there are African Americans who would waste no time in putting down someone else because they're black.
Here's what I wrote:
Greetings All,
I understand "Mr C In Heaven" but I have this take: what KNBR's Rod Brooks says goes out to millions of people locally in Northern California -- it's not small time at all. The San Francisco Bay Area has the highest ad costs per ratings point of any part of the country.
Some of those listeners form their opinions from what they hear on KNBR. I hear it from time to time, someone litterally parroting what was said on KNBR. People use sports talk radio to essentially "think" for them. And the more the message touches that person's more baser feelings -- like racial matters -- the more likely it is to stick. But that doesn't make it OK to be racist; indeed, it's every reason why one should not be. For all practical purposes, Brooks is a kind of role model, though a negative one at this time. I leave room for improvement.
That's why what someone like Brooks said Monday was socially irresponsible, not to mention a reflection of self-hatred. It does a lot of damage to the matter of the deconstruction and ultimate destruction of the racist way; what better tool to maintain racist thoughts amoung whites, Latino's, and Asians than a black person who puts other blacks down by referring to African American coaches as "one of those" tried by Notre Dame, as if black coaches were viruses.
Grrrr....
Moreover, it -- this race-based approach -- is not even good ratings at all. Just because KNBR may claim good Arbitron numbers doesn't mean they can't be better. I'd be willing to bet that KNBR's numbers are actually terrible when compared to their potential. I could go on about how the radio station's website system is not only poorly designed, but not engineered for it to rank high in any Google-search of note related to KNBR's sports content and not even well-coordinated with its radio shows.
This hurts the radio shows and rating potential. If I bought KNBR, I'd tear it all up and rebuild from the bottom up.
Plus, KNBR's people -- it's personalities -- come off more often than not as "Angry white guys" -- attempting to stop any and all conversations about race by saying "You're playing the race card" and using this childish Right Wing term as if it was a kind of conversational hand grenade -- and it's almost laughable that a prominent black personality would assist them. But that seems to be what's happening. I've heard this before from others and as a constant listener to the show, I can document and write a book on them. People don't want to hear this at all. Please knock it off.
KNBR does not know how to reach the fan base of any of the major Bay Area sports teams. The smaller college sports organizations get no mention or play at all. The sponsorship program is lacking. KNBR knows how to develop personalities, but misses the boat in building a cohesive media information system. By a country mile. (And yes, I know what the answer to this is.) Moreover, there's little in the way of really substantive sports talk conversation. Here's an example:
On January 8th 2003, the Philadephia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers in a wild-card playoff game which featured a 4th and 26 convertion by Eagles QB Donovan McNabb. On a recap of the game on KNBR, Ralph and Tom had on as a guest a female beat writer from Phili who really knew her stuff. She explained that the Packers middle linebacker was out of position and should have been deeper than he was in the coverage, thus allowing the pass completion.
While she talked, Ralph and Tom had little to offer to keep the conversation going. It was disheartening for me. Obviously by my recall of the event, it had an impact on me. I then started to monitor sports talk radio here with the "null hypothesis" that there was little of substance -- discussion of strategy, business, law, etc. -- that was offered. To date, I've had little content example from KNBR to cause me to refute my initial hypothesis.
Another example was when I was on as a guest regarding the Super Bowl and Jerry Brown in 2005. Rather than ask me substantive questions about why Oakland came to within eight NFL owner votes of landing the game Jacksonville won, Rod Brooks decided to take me on regarding Oakland as a host city.
It was not a smart move on his part, as I knew my subject and he did not. Moreover, I was very angry that Brooks and KNBR would continue a pattern of not only non-support, but attempted destruction of our Super Bowl Bid efforts and attempts to insult me.
My own mother observed that KNBR "could not stand someone who was smart and Black." I reminded her that it was radio, but then I thought about the matter from her point of view and the fact that I was assuming some KNBR people didn't know I was Black when they may have, and then recanted my initially polyanic view. I started thinking about my past experiences with KNBR.
It started in 2000, when Radnich had me on and asked how could we sell out the Super Bowl, when the Coliseum had sell out problems. Why ask that? I pointed out that all Super Bowls were sellouts. But here I am BUSTING MY ASS to bring this thing to the Bay Area, and KNBR's taking pot shots at me and the bid. It's like getting shot by what are supposed to be your own troops.
I told Agnew about this -- actually was real pissed about it -- because it would NOT have harmed KNBR to be a booster for the Super Bowl. Not at all. The Bay Area needs the shot in the arm. But we can't improve economically with KNBR pulling the rug out of what we do. It's stupid. It really is. I could not get over what the reason for the treatment was and so then, absent any logical explanation, figured that maybe my Mom had a point. After all, KTVU has never treated me that way; not at all and not even to this day. Neither does KPIX or KGO. So I had an example of how I was supposed to be treated by the media in working on a Super Bowl Bid and doing anything of substance in the community.
Man!
It's one thing to ask good questions, but the ones aimed at me were just plain bad and nasty. All of my friends who listened to me were happy that I not only defended myself, but basically made Rod sound less than informed, which was true. Moreover, it's all too common at KNBR.
The standard idea is that the people don't want substance (that's what Bob Agnew contends); but I charge that KNBR does not know how to give it in an entertaining way. When you have people who know sports so well they can talk about it in plain english, it's fun to listen to.
Tom Tolbert KNOWS basketball, and so is a joy to hear him talk on that subject, it really is. But football? KNBR has no one on the talk shows who really does know modern football strategy, methods, trends, and techniques. No one. It seems that the station has decided to allow more of the "emotion stirring" words and that opens the door to a point of view that is hard to mistake as anything but racist at times.
The point I'm making is that the station can't afford to have racist content, regardless of who it's coming from. It's bad for business. It's terrible for society. It's retrograde. PLEASE I emplore you all to reach for a higher standard. The Bay Area is becoming what it seems to hate the most in what it things Southern cities are -- racist. (Just take a look at the comments made by some Oaklanders toward Ignacio De La Fuente on Monday. Or the SF 49ers VideoGate scandal. Or the SF Police Video. Or the frightening high arrest rate for Blacks in San Francisco. I could go on and on.)
Atlanta is now much more progressive than the SF Bay Area -- ever hear the "Two Live Stews" -- but the SF Bay Area is under the age-old fantasy that it's better.
I do hope that we as a collective wake up and improve this matter.
Thanks,
Zennie Abraham, Jr.
Chairman and CEO
Sports Business Simulations
510-387-9809
www.sbs-world.com
"Colts Can Mix Toughness With Finess" - Tony Dungy - AP and Random News From Indy
Dungy: Colts can mix toughness with finesse
CLIFF BRUNT
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS - Tony Dungy couldn't help but smile when asked about the Colts' toughness in the closing minutes of their playoff victory over the Ravens.
All season, Dungy's Colts have been criticized for being just a finesse team. But Indianapolis clinched the 15-6 win Saturday in Baltimore with a smash-mouth, 13-play, 47-yard drive that included 11 runs and took more than 7 minutes off the clock.
The drive ended with Adam Vinatieri's 35-yard field goal with 23 seconds left that sent the Colts into the AFC championship game at home next Sunday against New England.
"I was proud of the way we won," Dungy said. "We went in there and you had to win a dogfight. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't the type of game we normally play, but we were able to get it done."
Dungy said the effort was extra special because it happened in Baltimore against a Ravens team that prides itself on toughness.
"To be able to go on the road and win in a hostile environment, to be able to outperform a team that's built for that, that's really built for a running game and defending the run ... when we had to run against the No. 1 defense, we were able to do that. Whatever it takes."
Lost among Vinatieri's five field goals was the fact that Colts running back Dominic Rhodes had 10 carries for 35 yards on the final drive. He finished with 14 carries for 56 yards.
Dungy said Rhodes' effort epitomized the Colts' performance.
"Dominic Rhodes, I thought, was outstanding in the second half, keeping things going," Dungy said. "He made a couple of big third-down runs and using up that time. That was really a big drive against a great defense."
Rookie Joseph Addai started the game at running back, but he sat out most of the second half after he aggravated a shoulder injury.
"Joseph wasn't 100 percent and Dom was running well," Dungy said. "I think Joseph could have played, but again, like last week, there was no need because Dom was getting the job done for us."
Dungy didn't give a definitive update on Addai's status for the AFC Championship Game. He had missed most of last week's practices with the injury.
"I think he'll be pretty much the same way he's been," Dungy said. "Having another day of rest should help him. It's a little early to tell, but I think it's going to be fine."
The roles were reversed for Addai and Rhodes for much of the season. Rhodes would start, but would see limited action after halftime. Addai would come off the bench and close.
Addai was the up-and-coming star during the regular season. He ran for 1,081 yards and seven touchdowns and quickly became a crowd favorite. Rhodes, who waited patiently for years as Edgerrin James' backup, ran for 641 yards and scored five touchdowns.
When the game at Baltimore was on the line, Dungy went with his five-year veteran. Dungy said Rhodes handled losing his starting slot well and showed professionalism by stepping in and performing well.
"It wasn't a demotion and he understood that," Dungy said. "We were just going to start the game with Joseph. Dom's ended up finishing the last two games. Dom knew he was still going to be involved. He knew he was still get a lot of carries and be in at critical times, so it really hasn't been that much different. They both still split the carries relatively evenly."
The toughness the Colts showed to get that last field goal left one of the game's toughest players, Ravens quarterback Steve McNair, with little time to work his magic. The Colts had faced McNair twice a year when he played for the Tennessee Titans, and knew better than to give him an opportunity.
"We've been involved with Steve McNair many times," Dungy said. "You don't want to give him the ball back with a six-point lead and any time left on the clock, so we knew we wanted to make at least two or three first downs there. If we could get into field-goal range, that was the ultimate."
CLIFF BRUNT
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS - Tony Dungy couldn't help but smile when asked about the Colts' toughness in the closing minutes of their playoff victory over the Ravens.
All season, Dungy's Colts have been criticized for being just a finesse team. But Indianapolis clinched the 15-6 win Saturday in Baltimore with a smash-mouth, 13-play, 47-yard drive that included 11 runs and took more than 7 minutes off the clock.
The drive ended with Adam Vinatieri's 35-yard field goal with 23 seconds left that sent the Colts into the AFC championship game at home next Sunday against New England.
"I was proud of the way we won," Dungy said. "We went in there and you had to win a dogfight. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't the type of game we normally play, but we were able to get it done."
Dungy said the effort was extra special because it happened in Baltimore against a Ravens team that prides itself on toughness.
"To be able to go on the road and win in a hostile environment, to be able to outperform a team that's built for that, that's really built for a running game and defending the run ... when we had to run against the No. 1 defense, we were able to do that. Whatever it takes."
Lost among Vinatieri's five field goals was the fact that Colts running back Dominic Rhodes had 10 carries for 35 yards on the final drive. He finished with 14 carries for 56 yards.
Dungy said Rhodes' effort epitomized the Colts' performance.
"Dominic Rhodes, I thought, was outstanding in the second half, keeping things going," Dungy said. "He made a couple of big third-down runs and using up that time. That was really a big drive against a great defense."
Rookie Joseph Addai started the game at running back, but he sat out most of the second half after he aggravated a shoulder injury.
"Joseph wasn't 100 percent and Dom was running well," Dungy said. "I think Joseph could have played, but again, like last week, there was no need because Dom was getting the job done for us."
Dungy didn't give a definitive update on Addai's status for the AFC Championship Game. He had missed most of last week's practices with the injury.
"I think he'll be pretty much the same way he's been," Dungy said. "Having another day of rest should help him. It's a little early to tell, but I think it's going to be fine."
The roles were reversed for Addai and Rhodes for much of the season. Rhodes would start, but would see limited action after halftime. Addai would come off the bench and close.
Addai was the up-and-coming star during the regular season. He ran for 1,081 yards and seven touchdowns and quickly became a crowd favorite. Rhodes, who waited patiently for years as Edgerrin James' backup, ran for 641 yards and scored five touchdowns.
When the game at Baltimore was on the line, Dungy went with his five-year veteran. Dungy said Rhodes handled losing his starting slot well and showed professionalism by stepping in and performing well.
"It wasn't a demotion and he understood that," Dungy said. "We were just going to start the game with Joseph. Dom's ended up finishing the last two games. Dom knew he was still going to be involved. He knew he was still get a lot of carries and be in at critical times, so it really hasn't been that much different. They both still split the carries relatively evenly."
The toughness the Colts showed to get that last field goal left one of the game's toughest players, Ravens quarterback Steve McNair, with little time to work his magic. The Colts had faced McNair twice a year when he played for the Tennessee Titans, and knew better than to give him an opportunity.
"We've been involved with Steve McNair many times," Dungy said. "You don't want to give him the ball back with a six-point lead and any time left on the clock, so we knew we wanted to make at least two or three first downs there. If we could get into field-goal range, that was the ultimate."
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