• Bueller … Bueller … So, question for you all — is it awesome that Matthew Broderick’s reliving his faux-childhood memories, or just sad? “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” came out a solid 25 and a half years ago, and is arguably his crowning achievement (though “The Producers” on Broadway comes close). This early Super Bowl ad, which openly references “Bueller,” albeit with some modern touches, should remind you of two things: Matthew Broderick is going to be 50 in a little over a month, and a Honda CR-V is not a Ferrari. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? (By the way, when you’re done with this, Jerry Seinfeld also has a past-referencing car ad.) source

• $100k fine to Kobe Bryant for anti-gay slur source

• » During a game against San Antonio, Kobe Bryant became angry at having been issued a technical foul, and referred to the referee using an anti-gay word that we won’t repeat. Unfortunately, the exchange was captured on camera, and following criticism from several prominent gay rights groups, the NBA decided to fine him $100,000. This may sound steep, but Bryant makes over $300,000 per game, so it’s really just a drop in the bucket. A very large drop, that is, in a very large bucket.

• old George Allen, the former Governor and Senate candidate from Virginia, saw his political career flame out due to a video of him calling a rival campaign worker (an American of Indian ancestry) “macaca,” a racial slur. Allen denied knowing this.
• new Allen asked reporter Craig Melvin, who is black, on two occasions “what position he played.” Melvin told him he never played sports both times. He’s apologized, saying it’s how he banters, but the cost of this gaffe is yet unclear. source

• He just turned 80 the other day. Say what you will about the guy (and people had lots to say about him during his 37-year reign), but the Yankees owner knew how to win. He knew how to get the right players, put the right people in place and win the World Series, much to the chagrin of every other team out there. He died of a heart attack last night. Some key facts:

• sevennumber of World Series under Steinbrenner's reign
• 11 number of pennants his teams won over nearly four decades
• $1.6B the amount it cost to put together that kind of record

His pop-culture place

• He was a constant figure on “Seinfeld.” Well, kinda. When George Costanza worked with the Yankees, he was a source of parody, never actually seen onscreen but always worth a laugh or two at his expense. Larry David voiced the parody Steinbrenner and Lee Bear played him. It wasn’t his only spot in pop culture, but it was his most prominent.

Key quote about the guy

• To be able to deliver this to the Boss, to the stadium he created and the atmosphere he created around here, it’s very gratifying to all of us.
• Yankees manager Joe Girardi • Talking after the team’s World Series success in the new Yankees Stadium. Steinbrenner held his teams to high standards – he had to, he paid out of the wazoo for them – but the results often proved his model correct. The manager before Girardi, Joe Torre, left after failing to win the World Series, despite yearly playoff appearances. By the end, George had given his sons Hal and Hank increasing authority over the team, but the base was all his. Still doesn’t mean Red Sox fans have to like it. source

• Ari Fleischer has been brought in to help ease his return. Smart move. The New York Post is reporting that the sex-scandal-laden golfer will be making his return to the links on March 25, just in time for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Fleisher, by the way, is the guy who helped rehab Mark McGwire’s image by having him announce the whole steroids thing. Oh, and George W. Bush’s former press secretary (which means he’s qualified). He may be the smartest PR move Tiger’s ever made. source

• Why? Because they’re boring and mind-numbing. Nothing against Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn and all the other star athletes, but we have no desire to watch or cover the Winter Olympics. (We’re slightly friendlier to the Summer Olympics, in the same way a pit bull is slightly friendlier than a lion.) Part of this is that the Olympics are boring in every way, shape and form. Part of this is because Dick Ebersol is a jerk and we don’t want to support his work. But let’s put it this way – if you’re wondering why we haven’t covered the Winter Olympic games in Vancouver, it’s because we don’t care. Thanks for listening.

• The Super Bowl is an American phenomenon. Despite its completely unavoidable presence in the U.S., Super Bowl Sunday is pretty much a nonentity outside of North America, where soccer is king. Even so, it’s still a much bigger moneymaker than any other single sporting event. Here’s a breakdown of how this works out.

Not-so-super viewership

• 106
  million people watched all of last year's Super Bowl telecast, almost entirely in the U.S. and Canada
• 109
  million people watched all of last year's UEFA Champions League final, a hugely popular soccer match

Super brand value

• $420M the Super Bowl's value as an brand, making it the largest brand of all
• $230M the Olympics' value, despite the fact it's a much larger event
• $120M the World Cup's value; it routinely tops the Super Bowl in total viewers

Super ad rates

• $312 million in Anheuser-Busch ads alone since 1990

• $3
  million the amount NBC charged for 69 ad spots last year
• $2.8
  million the amount CBS is able to charge per ad this year source

• Big game, big profits. Despite the fact that it’s just a single game, it often can top the advertising value of both the the World Series and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, which each take place over multiple games.

So why isn’t it spreading?

• complication American football is a much more complicated sport than soccer and basketball, which both have easily and quickly spread into China, for example. Blame the penalties.
• mediocrity The NFL had been trying to tap the European market for years with a secondary league which folded in 2007. Now the NFL has real games in Europe, a better strategy. source

• 85+ 3D sporting events this year; will people buy? source

• She smashed open a window with a golf club to get him out of his SUV. After Tiger crashed his car last night, Elin Nordegren pulled him out of the car herself. He was laying in the street when police found him. Best. Story. Detail. Ever. source