The Florida Panthers are trying to hold their third jersey "hostage," sending the media a note saying it won’t be revealed until Monday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at BankAtlantic Center. See the letter at left sent to media members with the teaser jersey swatch.

Players will wear the third jersey, which will have an alternate logo and colors, at 11 additional home games after Monday, including at next Friday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Fans can pre-order the jerseys and pick them up starting at 7:45 p.m. Monday. Call Pantherland at the arena 954-835-7025; Incredible Ice at 954-341-9956; or visit the Panthers’ Web site for more information.

Also, on Monday, Panthers fans can meet new majority owners, co-general partners Cliff Viner and Stu Siegel, who are scheduled to greet fans arriving at the game. The pair plan to be on the arena’s main plaza level.

Viner and Siegel, who were introduced as new majority owners this week after taking control from Alan Cohen, have been vowing greater accessibility to fans. They plan to hold regular town hall meetings and meet and greets, write blogs and make radio appearances.

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Miami Heat guard Carlos Arroyo will be appearing at the Miami Hoops Gear Store at Dolphin Mall on Saturday to meet fans and sign autographs.

Arroyo, who attended FIU, will be at the store from 3-4 p.m., at the mall, 11401 Northwest 12th St., Miami.

Customers who buy an 8 x 10 photo ($10); Spalding Basketball ($35) or adidas Swingman jersey ($80), will receive a free autograph on that item. One autograph per customer. More information at heat.com.

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With just 81 days until Super Bowl XLIV, the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee’s been pretty busy: volunteer recruitment rallies, meetings to discuss the game’s economic impact on Palm Beach County, the unveiling of the official humidor …

Yes, the Super Bowl has its own officially licensed humidor. Who knew? The Host Committee held an unveiling ceremony Tuesday at Bokampers in Plantation for both the commemorative poster (see below) for next year’s game by 3-D Pop Artist and 10-year veteran Super Bowl artist Charles Fazzino and the humidor (at left). Fazzino’s Super Bowl artwork, which is a colorful and playful illustration of Dolphin Stadium complete with sign-waving fans, also graces the inside of the limited edition humidor.

According to James Colucci, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Altadis U.S.A., which is manufacturing and selling the humidors, it’s the first Super Bowl humidor. There are 500 of these special humidors featuring Fazzino’s artwork. They’re already for sale across the country for about $750 each, Colucci said.

On hand, along with Fazzino, were Miami Dolphins defensive end Randy Starks, Miss Florida USA 2010 Megan Clemente, Mike Zimmer, president of the host committee and Rodney Baretto, chairman of the host committee.

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Boca Raton businessmen Cliff Viner and Stu Siegel officially took over as majority owners of the Florida Panthers this afternoon. They were introduced at a news conference on BankAtlantic Center's club level attended by Panthers employees and Sunrise city officials.

They become the third majority owners in the hockey team’s history and perhaps most important to fans, wrest control of team decision-making from Alan Cohen. Viner and Siegel, who become chairman and CEO respectively, have increased their investment in the team. Here's a letter Viner and Siegel wrote to fans about the purchase.

Cohen's stake shrinks, but he still retains a sizable portion -- just not the decision making. The transaction still needs NHL approval.

Cohen led the group that bought the Panthers for $101 million in 2001. The group was introduced with much fanfare, too, in the lobby of BankAtlantic Center. Cohen and his partners spoke about how they'd decided over some neighborhood barbecues to rescue a community asset and build the Panthers into a winning team.

But during Cohen's tenure, the team missed the playoffs every year, endured coaching and general manager changes and traded some of its best players. Even the group of partners grew fractious. So by this year, Cohen was ready, some say, to move on.

His attempts to merge the Panthers with a public company this summer fell through, but he'd clearly grown tired of the losing both financially and on the ice. He told me in an email last week when Viner and Siegel proposed taking control, he happily accepted. Here's what he said in a statement today:

"I want to thank Stu and Cliff for taking up this challenge. This is a great market and they deserve a winner. The team will be very successful when that happens. I had a lot of fun and I know I leave the organization in much better shape than it was when I took it over."

In fact, everyone was as gracious as could be about Cohen's tenure, however, they didn't hesitate to talk about a new era, an historic day for the franchise, a new way of doing business, accountability, discipline, accessibility and defending your actions.

"The guy's heart was always in the right place," Siegel said of Cohen. "He put a lot of devotion into this organization and still is a major partner here. We really want to thank him. Whether you view it as a success or not, obviously it wasn't a success on the ice. But we look to move forward."

When I spoke with Viner and Siegel last week they stressed they're changing the culture of the franchise, holding the coach, general manager and all employees accountable.

"We really have not unfortunately had a winning culture here for quite a while, just evidenced by the success of the team on the ice," Siegel said. "And I think the biggest thing we're going to through that professionalism and organization is really try to build a culture of winning here that we can sustain over a long period of time. It's not going to be easy, but we need to create that here."

Siegel added, "As much as we like to think we've been the ultimate professional organization, I think that in some ways, from a leadership standpoint we may have failed in that."

And this: "I think Alan had the right intentions. He put a lot of money into this thing, a lot of heart and soul into this," Siegel said. "In the end, obviously, we didn't have a winning culture here."

Siegel said where Cohen's reticence hurt him was that fans made assumptions about him.

"He wasn't out here accessible to fans, so they made their own judgments," Siegel said. "If you can only judge a team by what it's doing on the ice, and we're not doing well on the ice, then you have to judge how the organization is."

Viner and Siegel vowed change, accessibility and accountability.

"There is one thing that will change" Viner said. "Communication. There was very little communication between hockey ops and management, the president and ownership. There was very little communication. Now the lines of communication and are wide open and going to be open."

Viner and Siegel said they will be available to talk with fans and listen to their concerns. They also vowed to explain their actions.

"If we make moves that appear irrational, at least we'll explain to them why we did it as best we can," Siegel said.

You can watch the Panthers press conference introducing the new owners here:

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SI.com set off a spirited debate this afternoon when it reported The Who is to play halftime at next year’s Super Bowl in South Florida. Not to mention the short item on the Web site provided an opportunity to put up a photo of 2007 SI Swimsuit model Tori Praver, because her body-painted outfit featured a T-shirt with The Who logo. (Right, I’m not the demo).

No, it wouldn’t be the first time British Invasion senior citizens rocked the NFL’s big party. Paul McCartney did the honors in Jacksonville in 2005. The following year, it was the Rolling Stones in Detroit – a choice criticized for several reasons, including that the performers should have been Motown artists.

But overall, since the Janet Jackson nipple-bearing wardrobe malfunction in 2004 in Houston, Super Bowl halftime acts have tended to be less modern or as I said in a 2006 story “more American oldie than American Idol” although McCartney and the Rolling Stones would be “British oldie.” Same for The Who.

The NFL wasn’t talking about the choice today. “When we have something to announce, we will announce it,” a league spokesman said.

But the Twitterverse was buzzing:

The LA Times’ Sam Farmer wrote “SI.com reporting the Super Bowl halftime show is.... The Who. Excellent.”

However, John Halpin of FoxSports.com said “A band full of guys in their 60s? NO WAY!”

Or this from Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson: “Honestly, Janet Jackson's bare breast was the best thing that happened 2 bands formed B4 1990. They all became Super Bowl eligible again.”

Other tweets on the subject:

" jsquared021: "The Who" is doing the halftime show of Super Bowl 44?...r u serious?...what is the NFL thinking?"

"Soxy_T: I like The Who but playing Super Bowl halftime?! Zzzzzzzzz no wonder they call it the No Fun League"

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/sarahtalalay

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A contingent of Miami-Dade and Land Shark Stadium officials is in New York today making the region’s pitch to be included in the United States’ bid to play host to the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

In August, Miami was included on a short list of 27 U.S. communities that are finalists as host sites. The 27 communities have been meeting and attending host community workshops with the USA Bid Committee in New York this week.

Mike Sophia, executive director of the Miami-Dade Sports Commission, is in New York, along with Commission Chairman and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau President and CEO Bill Talbert, Land Shark Stadium President M. Bruce Schulze and Vice President and General Manager Todd Boyan.

“It’s really an opportunity for us to go up and just highlight our bid, any changes,” Sophia said. “We’ll take a little bit of time to explain here’s what we are, who we are.”

Sophia says the committee is expected to narrow the group of 27 to 18 that will be announced in early December. The U.S. application to FIFA to host either of the two upcoming World Cups is due in May, with the announcement of the host nations coming in December 2010.

Meanwhile, local World Cup supporters are encouraging soccer fans to sign a petition showing their support for bringing the World Cup to the U.S.

“The USA Bid Committee wants to show the grassroots support for soccer,” Sophia said of the petition drive.

Those interested in signing the petition can find it here or through the Sports Commission’s Web site.

Additionally, the commission is planning to drum up support at local sporting events by setting up petition drive booths at Saturday night’s Miami Heat-New Jersey Nets game at AmericanAirlines Arena; Sunday’s Miami Dolphins-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game at Land Shark Stadium; and at next Wednesday’s "Celebracion Honduras Mundialista 2010" soccer friendly featuring Honduras and Peru, also at Land Shark.

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A select group of media was invited Wednesday night to Temple House -- at 16,000 square feet, the largest single family home on South Beach -- for the unveiling of Michael Jordan’s newest shoe. We gathered in a white room with a concrete floor, where Jordan Brand logos were projected on white curtains. A video of Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade being interviewed for a spot on the Brand Jordan team was shown and it even poked fun at the spelling of Wade’s first name.

And then, we got to see the Air Jordan 2010. The 25th anniversary shoe in the popular Jordan Brand line is constructed for performance, but also pushes the envelope of design as the brand’s been doing now for more than two decades. Even Michael Jordan seemed a little stunned at the brand's longevity.

This one’s even got a hole – a window, if you will – in the side that allows sneaker fans and shoe aficionados into the Jordan Brand world. But only a little bit. Jordan Brand is calling it the “first see-through performance basketball shoe featuring a unique thermoplastic urethane window.”

That hole gives fans a glimpse into the line, but “doesn’t take away from the performance of the shoe,” Jordan said of the shoe designed by Tinker Hatfield, Nike vice president of special projects/design, and Mark Smith, Jordan Brand creative director. “We want to be trendy, we want to be stylish yet we still want to be a high performance shoe,” Jordan said.

The shoe will be released on Feb. 13 and is expected to retail for $170.

While other NBA players have worn Air Jordans on the court, the 2010 is being released with the idea it will be worn by a current player. Jordan Brand tapped Wade this summer for its elite brand that also includes Derek Jeter, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul. Wade had been the face of Converse for six years, but relished the idea of joining the brand and its already established team. It's expected he will eventually have his own signature shoe in the Jordan Brand line, but for now, he's honored to be heir to Air.

Jordan was asked about Wade being compared with him. He cautioned that he and Wade didn’t play at the same time.

“Two individuals that never played in same era,” Jordan said. “Yes, we’re very, very similar. Yes he has characteristics that I have … Is he Michal Jordan? No. Am I D Wade? No.”

Jordan went on to say his brand had been interested in Wade for years, but the Heat guard was already tied up with Converse. That changed this summer. Both Converse and Jordan Brand are owned by Nike.

“He has similar passions for basketball,” Jordan said of Wade. “I played in Chicago, he grew up in Chicago … I was very happy we had an opportunity to work with him. “

Jordan also said while comparisons are entertaining to debate, they’re not fair given how times have changed.

“I would give my one leg to be able to go out and play with today’s athletes,” he said. “Yeah, I’d love to play with Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James. You sit there and think what if, what if … I didn’t have a chance to play with Jerry West, I’d love to play with Jerry West or Elgin Baylor. And today’s athletes didn’t have a chance to play against myself or Magic Johnson or Larry Bird. That’s just the way things happen … We get caught up in these debates. And we live through them.”

And then he added with a chuckle, “But he is wearing my shoe, I’m not wearing Dwyane Wade’s shoe.”

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