LITTLE ROCK — Colts owner does his best Willy Wonka
Want to win an Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl ring? Here's your chance.
During a pep rally for Sunday's game against New England, Colts owner Jim Irsay wore a giant blue top hat, large round blue sunglasses and a white showman's suit as he told hundreds of fans about the "Quest for the Ring" raffle.
"I look like Willie Wonka Elton, a combination of Willie Wonka and Elton John," Irsay joked before throwing open a gold treasure chest containing a small box with five shiny rings.
Irsay said the rings would be given away in a raffle he hopes will raise up to $1 million for Indiana charities. Raffle tickets cost $5 each and will be sold through Nov. 20 for the three-stage contest.
Twenty-five finalists will first be chosen from up to 200,000 tickets the team hopes to sell. Ten finalistswill then be chosen to move onto the contest's final stage during a Nov. 30-Dec. 1 treasure hunt for Colts-related items hidden around Indianapolis.
Those finalists will gather on the RCA Dome field at halftime of the Colts' Dec. 2 game against Jacksonville and select one locked box and key. Five of those boxes will contain a Super Bowl ring.
International joke
The Miami Dolphins' trip to London apparently did help broaden the appeal of the NFL, getting British media to join in the fun of ridiculing the winless team.
Wrote Tom Lutz in the London Guardian, after the New York Giants' 13-10 triumph on Sunday at Wembley Arena:
"Some Dolphins fans have complained that they've been deprived of a home game, but judging by their teams' inept performance, the NFL has done them a favor." Gotta run
The Miami Dolphins also had to put up with serial streaker Mark Roberts making an on-field appearance Sunday at an NFL game for the first time since Super Bowl XXVIII in Houston.
The Britain ran to the middle of Wembley Stadium dressed in a referee's outfit, took it off and ran around the field dressed in a red, white and blue G-string.
"In a sad commentary of the Giants' 13-10 win over the Dolphins, Roberts' near-naked rollout was the longest run of the day," writes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times.
What's Bartman doing?
Reggie Hayes of The News-Sentinel of Fort Wayne, Ind., on New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez choosing to become a free agent:
"The Yankees are not willing to pay an expected cost of nearly $30 million per year to re-sign him.
They believe they can find another convenient scapegoat for about a third of that cost." The price of pain
According to Tim MacMahon of The Dallas Morning News, the NFL has added "insult to injury" by fining Dallas quarterback Tony Romo $5,000 for his effort on a fumble return by Minnesota's Kevin Williams of Fordyce in the Cowboys' game against the Vikings on Oct. 21.
Romo hurt his hamstring on the play.
"The league determined that Romo needed to cough up some cash for sliding into the legs of a Vikings defensive lineman who planned to bury him in the Texas Stadium turf," MacMahon wrote.
The fine drew this reaction from Romo: "You kidding me? I was trying to avoid him!"
Fortunately for Romo, he just came into a little bit of money.
Quote of the day
"This isn't a seven-
or eight-team league anymore. It's a 12-team league." Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks on the parity of the SEC
Sports, Pages 22 on 10/31/2007