Detroit, NFL super-prepared for snowstorm
With wind gusts up to 40 mph and 5 to 8 inches of snow forecast, snow removal crews girded for a winter storm on Saturday as thousands of fans headed downtown on Super Bowl eve.
About 250 state and local plows hit the roads in Detroit and throughout Wayne and Oakland counties, said Ron Brundidge, manager of the Detroit Department of Public Works Street Maintenance Division.
Hundreds of city workers and volunteers were ready to work through the night to clear sidewalks so fans can get to today's game at Ford Field, which has a steel roof.
'We're not worried,'' Brundidge said, pointing to a thick notebook outlining Super Bowl snow plans. ''One thing that puts us at ease is the fact that we've been preparing for this for so long.''
City officials, the Super Bowl host committee and the NFL have been talking about snow removal for about a year, Brundidge said.
They'll have sufficient resources to handle the snowfall, including shovel-toting volunteer athletes from Wayne State, he said.
DOG-GONE: Rick LeBeau grew up watching football and would like to be at the Super Bowl to root for his father, Dick. Instead, the son of Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator will be dogging it -- with his two prize English toy spaniels.
''None of my family seems to understand,'' Rick LeBeau kidded.
A baritone in the Pittsburgh Opera, LeBeau has been in the dog-show business since 1989. He has champions Baritone and Robby at an event this weekend in Wildwood, N.J.
''The entry date was several weeks ago, before we knew we were going to the Super Bowl,'' he said. ''Dad called the other day to see if I wanted a ticket, but I told him I couldn't go.''
Dick LeBeau is coaching in his fourth Super Bowl and trying to win his first ring. His 45-year-old son lives in Pittsburgh, features a flapping Steelers flag on his Web site and went to about half their home games this season.
''I just wish I could be in two places at once,'' Rick said.
SUPER BOWL (OR) BUST: Customs officials seized $26,000 from three people who were trying to enter Detroit from Canada to buy Super Bowl tickets.
The trio pulled up to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection booths at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel on Friday morning, Customs spokesman Ron Smith said.
Federal law requires people to declare cash they are bringing into the country if it's more than $10,000.
When asked if they were bringing in any money, the three said they each had less than $10,000. Upon further questioning, the trio admitted that the $26,000 was from a business and was divided up to avoid hitting the $10,000 declaration limit, Smith said.
Officers seized the money and filed civil charges against the three. They can get the cash back if they can document its source, Smith said.
PAYTON FOR PEYTON: Peyton Manning learned well from his two remarkable role models.
His father, Archie, was active in the community during 11 years as quarterback in New Orleans, where he still lives and operates a business.
And during his father's first trip to the Pro Bowl in 1980, Peyton had quite a baby sitter: Bears famed running back Walter Payton took the 4-year-old to the beach.
''Walter had me out the whole time on a catamaran,'' Manning said. ''I felt safe, and my parents obviously were relieved because they knew Walter was taking great care of me.''
Manning is adding to that legacy of caring for others.
The Indianapolis Colts quarterback received the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year award on Friday, recognizing his work with children and Hurricane Katrina victims. Payton died of bile duct cancer in 1999, and his widow, Connie, presented the award.
''I challenge each and every player in the National Football League to consider the impact they have just because they play the game of football, then go do something about it,'' Manning said. ''There's more to the game.''
Manning set up the PeyBack Foundation to help communities around Indianapolis and has worked with a national nonprofit group that helps abused and neglected children. After Katrina, he and brother Eli, the Giants quarterback, flew to Louisiana and delivered 30,000 pounds of supplies.
AP
About 250 state and local plows hit the roads in Detroit and throughout Wayne and Oakland counties, said Ron Brundidge, manager of the Detroit Department of Public Works Street Maintenance Division.
Hundreds of city workers and volunteers were ready to work through the night to clear sidewalks so fans can get to today's game at Ford Field, which has a steel roof.
'We're not worried,'' Brundidge said, pointing to a thick notebook outlining Super Bowl snow plans. ''One thing that puts us at ease is the fact that we've been preparing for this for so long.''
City officials, the Super Bowl host committee and the NFL have been talking about snow removal for about a year, Brundidge said.
They'll have sufficient resources to handle the snowfall, including shovel-toting volunteer athletes from Wayne State, he said.
DOG-GONE: Rick LeBeau grew up watching football and would like to be at the Super Bowl to root for his father, Dick. Instead, the son of Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator will be dogging it -- with his two prize English toy spaniels.
''None of my family seems to understand,'' Rick LeBeau kidded.
A baritone in the Pittsburgh Opera, LeBeau has been in the dog-show business since 1989. He has champions Baritone and Robby at an event this weekend in Wildwood, N.J.
''The entry date was several weeks ago, before we knew we were going to the Super Bowl,'' he said. ''Dad called the other day to see if I wanted a ticket, but I told him I couldn't go.''
Dick LeBeau is coaching in his fourth Super Bowl and trying to win his first ring. His 45-year-old son lives in Pittsburgh, features a flapping Steelers flag on his Web site and went to about half their home games this season.
''I just wish I could be in two places at once,'' Rick said.
SUPER BOWL (OR) BUST: Customs officials seized $26,000 from three people who were trying to enter Detroit from Canada to buy Super Bowl tickets.
The trio pulled up to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection booths at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel on Friday morning, Customs spokesman Ron Smith said.
Federal law requires people to declare cash they are bringing into the country if it's more than $10,000.
When asked if they were bringing in any money, the three said they each had less than $10,000. Upon further questioning, the trio admitted that the $26,000 was from a business and was divided up to avoid hitting the $10,000 declaration limit, Smith said.
Officers seized the money and filed civil charges against the three. They can get the cash back if they can document its source, Smith said.
PAYTON FOR PEYTON: Peyton Manning learned well from his two remarkable role models.
His father, Archie, was active in the community during 11 years as quarterback in New Orleans, where he still lives and operates a business.
And during his father's first trip to the Pro Bowl in 1980, Peyton had quite a baby sitter: Bears famed running back Walter Payton took the 4-year-old to the beach.
''Walter had me out the whole time on a catamaran,'' Manning said. ''I felt safe, and my parents obviously were relieved because they knew Walter was taking great care of me.''
Manning is adding to that legacy of caring for others.
The Indianapolis Colts quarterback received the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year award on Friday, recognizing his work with children and Hurricane Katrina victims. Payton died of bile duct cancer in 1999, and his widow, Connie, presented the award.
''I challenge each and every player in the National Football League to consider the impact they have just because they play the game of football, then go do something about it,'' Manning said. ''There's more to the game.''
Manning set up the PeyBack Foundation to help communities around Indianapolis and has worked with a national nonprofit group that helps abused and neglected children. After Katrina, he and brother Eli, the Giants quarterback, flew to Louisiana and delivered 30,000 pounds of supplies.
AP
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