There are dubious claims that The Big Game can bring up to a billion dollars of economic impact in a host city.

What is the economic impact of having the National Football League stage its crown jewel event, the Super Bowl, in New Orleans? According to some so-called experts such as Jay Cicero, President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation it will be hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars. To those experts, here is a challenge. Prove it. The experts always come up with outrageous numbers but none of it seems to be ever quantified. Just guess work. The average daily rate for a New Orleans hotel room could be $1,031 per night between February 7^th  and February 9^th which coincides with when the big money people get to town for the weekend. Rooms may go for $3,000 a night. But how much of that money will stay in New Orleans and how much of that money goes back to a corporate office? No one knows how much New Orleans and Louisiana taxpayers money are going into NFL owners pockets and what perks were promised to NFL officials. But all of the stadium revenue could go into the NFL’s pockets. Then there is the matter of huge state subsidies that go into the pockets of the New Orleans Saints football business’s owners.

The Super Bowl attracts people but how many people are going to do shopping in the city? There are claims people drop money in stores but it doesn’t seem there are many receipts to prove it. Sure restaurants will get business, liquor establishments will get some business. Car rental places figure to get more business. Taxi drivers may get better tips. But are everyday people getting that economic impact? No. Hotel attendants will get the same salary although there could be greater tips for the people who clean rooms or park cars. People working in stores are not getting Super Bowl week bonuses. Economic impact is just a theory.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

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The New Orleans dome that is hosting this year’s Super Bowl.

Auburn and Duke remain 1-2 atop The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the third straight week, while Maryland is back in the rankings for the first time in nearly two years.

Bruce Pearl’s Tigers (20-1) held the No. 1 ranking for the fourth consecutive week in Monday’s poll and the third in a row as the unanimous choice. Auburn has claimed 246 of 248 first-place votes over the past month while remaining unbeaten in a rugged Southeastern Conference with nine ranked teams.

Auburn’s only loss came to Jon Scheyer’s Blue Devils (19-2), who enter the week with the nation’s longest winning streak at 15 games after rolling past rival North Carolina.

The two teams offered the only stability after 15 teams in last week’s AP Top 25 lost last week, with three of those losing twice.

The top tier

Alabama moved up a spot to No. 3, followed by Tennessee jumping four spots to No. 4 in an SEC-heavy top tier. Houston climbed one spot to No. 5 despite an overtime loss to now-No. 13 Texas Tech to end a 33-game home winning streak.

Florida was next at No. 6, followed by Purdue, Iowa State, Michigan State and Texas A&M to round out the top 10.

Texas Tech (17-4) had the biggest jump among last week’s ranked teams, rising nine spots to 13th after beating TCU at home and then beating the Cougars despite coach Grant McCasland and forward JT Toppin being ejected early.

Two-time reigning national champion UConn climbed six spots to No. 19 after winning at Marquette, while Missouri jumped five spots to No. 15 after beating Mississippi State.

In all, 10 teams moved up from their positions last week. That included Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team rising three spots to No. 12, the highest ranking for the program since finishing the 1999-2000 season at No. 9.

Sliding

Mississippi State had the week’s biggest tumble, falling eight spots to No. 22 after home losses to Alabama and Missouri. Iowa State joined the Bulldogs in a two-loss week, falling five spots after losses to Arizona and Kansas State.

No. 16 Kansas and No. 23 Illinois also fell five spots, pushing the list of sliding teams to 10.

Welcome

No. 18 Maryland, No. 20 Arizona and No. 24 Michigan were the week’s three new additions.

Kevin Willard’s Terrapins (17-5) jumped into the poll at No. 18 after pushing its winning streak to four games, a stretch that includes winning at then-No. 17 Illinois and beating then-No. 17 Wisconsin at home last week.

That gave Maryland its first poll ranking in nearly two years, the last coming with a week at No. 21 in late February 2023.

Arizona (15-6) returned to the poll for the first time since November. The Wildcats opened the year at No. 10 and peaked at ninth, but they’re back in after winning 11 of 12 — including against Iowa State after Caleb Love hit a halfcourt shot to force overtime.

Michigan (16-5) has two previous stints in the poll this season, peaking at No. 14 in early December.

Farewell (for now)

Oregon was one of the three departures from this week’s poll, falling out from No. 16 after being one of the trio to lose twice last week by falling at UCLA and at home to Nebraska. Louisville (No. 21) and Vanderbilt (No. 24) also fell out after losses to unranked foes.

Conference watch

The SEC had at least nine teams in the poll for the seventh straight week, including three weeks with 10 teams to make up 40% of the poll. The SEC has also had at least half of the top 10 eight times in nine weeks, peaking at six teams on Jan. 6. No other league has had more than six ranked teams in any week this season.

Maryland’s arrival pushed the Big Ten to six ranked teams, followed by the Big 12 with five and the Big East with three. The Atlantic Coast and American Athletic conferences each had one.

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By – Bucs Reports – Special to Sports Talk Florida

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were caught off guard and frustrated when offensive coordinator Liam Coen abruptly departed to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, the team swiftly regrouped and promoted Josh Grizzard, their pass game coordinator for the previous season, to fill the vacant role.

At the Pro Bowl, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield shed light on the team’s approach to its offense, indicating that Tampa Bay will maintain continuity by keeping things in-house.

“I mean for me, it was, ‘How can we make it somewhat — that continuity is safe with the guys? How can we make sure that we’re actually taking a step forward and not a step back, having to restart again?’ Every season’s different, but having the continuity within the same system and keeping a lot of the same pieces is really, really important.” Mayfield said to ESPN’s Jenna Laine.

Although Baker Mayfield inked a three-year deal last March, the Buccaneers could potentially reassess their commitment to the 29-year-old quarterback and head coach Todd Bowles after the 2025 season if the team fails to secure a playoff victory in January 2026. Conversely, if Mayfield flourishes under new coordinator Josh Grizzard, he may position himself for another contract extension and salary bump from the Bucs.

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