Both the Miami Hurricanes men’s and women’s basketball teams are undefeated at home this season.

With both teams playing Thursday at BankUnited Center, UM is offering a $5 doubleheader ticket to see the men and the women. The men play Pepperdine at 6 p.m., followed by the women, who play Morgan State at 8 p.m. In between, UM will honor former Hurricane great Tamara James. James played for the Hurricanes from 2002 to 2006 and was drafted No. 8 by the WNBA’s Washington Mystics in 2006.

The Hurricane men are a perfect 6-0 at home and the women, who play George Washington at home tonight at 7, have a 10-game home winning streak this season. The women's home winning streak is 14 straight dating back to last season.

To purchase the Doubleheader Deal ticket, visit hurricanesports.com, call 800-GO-CANES or stop by the BankUnited Center box office on gameday.

The Florida Panthers are so confident the game experience – not necessarily the result on the ice – at BankAtlantic Center is so enjoyable, they’re offering individual ticket-buyers a money-back guarantee on the nine home games in January.

Starting with the Jan. 2 game against the New York Rangers, Florida residents who buy individual game tickets – starting at $9 – can get a refund if their experience at the game wasn’t up to snuff. To request a refund, fans must fill out a form online explaining in detail the reason they’re requesting their money back. The form allows the Panthers to capture fans’ home and email addresses -- for future pitches -- and learn what areas of Panthers games at BankAtlantic Center need improvement.

Snicker all you want about losses, but the Panthers say they are serious about providing a great game experience and, if not, a refund of the ticket price within 48 hours.

“I’m sure they’re going to be people that come in that no matter what experience we create they’re going to ask for their money back,” Panthers President Michael Yormark said. “The program enables us to attract that fence-sitter. Now I’ve given them an incentive to buy tickets.”

Continue reading "Panthers offer money back guarantee on January games" »

The Miami Dolphins and Society of Young Jewish Professionals have partnered on a unique ticket deal that includes a yarmulke giveaway.

With SYJP, Jewish dating service JDate and Sleek Medspa presenting the 24th annual Matzo Ball gathering for Jewish singles on Friday night at Club LIV at the Fontainebleau Hotel, SYJP and the Dolphins are hoping to capitalize on partying Jews.

They’ve partnered on a ticket to Sunday’s Dolphins-Detroit Lions game that is 60 percent off entry into Sun Life Stadium’s Club LIV – the team’s new nightclub experience overlooking the game – and a snazzy Dolphins yarmulke.

The ticket still costs $110.25, but the team is promising yarmulkes to anyone purchasing the ticket. It’s part of the team’s effort to connect with its many Jewish fans and to take advantage of the timing of the game right after Matzo Ball.

During Hanukkah, the Florida Panthers gave out a Panthers yarmulke to fans who purchased a special Jewish Heritage Night ticket.

This summer, the Miami Dolphins and Florida Lottery launched a $5 per ticket scratch-off game offering cash and prizes, including tickets and merchandise discounts. During halftime of Sunday’s Dolphins-Buffalo Bills game at Sun Life Stadium, the team and Lottery will give away a 2011 Ford Fiesta.

The scratch-off game included the Dolphins Fan Experience Second Chance promotion that allowed fans with losing tickets a second opportunity to score prizes. The second chance promotion resulted in the distribution of 500 pairs of tickets to Sunday’s game. Of those, 10 finalists will be chosen to participate in a ceremony at halftime, in which they will scratch oversized scratch-off tickets. One will win the Ford Fiesta; the others will receive cash prizes of $100 to $500.

The scratch-off program was launched by the Lottery with the Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars. The teams each receive a licensing fee and the dollars raised from the ticket sales go to the state's Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, which provides money to public schools, scholarships, community colleges and state universities. Read the story I wrote about the program when it first launched here.

Duffy’s Sports Grill and the Florida Panthers are offering Duffy’s MVP cardmembers a deal that includes a discount on both Panthers’ tickets and a Duffy’s meal.

Duffy’s MVP cardmembers can get $5 off tickets to upcoming Panthers games (on Friday and Dec. 27 as well as home games in January) and a $10 off coupon to Duffy’s Sports Grill locations. The ticket deal is only available to cardmembers. Find out more at duffysmvp.com/panthers.

Duffy's forged a partnership with the Panthers in June.

Duffy’s Sports Grill and the Miami Dolphins have sweetened their ticket deal for the team’s final two homes games of the 2010 season.

The Palm Beach Gardens-based sports grill chain is offering up lower corner end zone seats for $79 each – down from $124 – that include express bus service to the game, pregame tailgate at Sun Life Stadium, a Dolphins cap and 50 Duffy’s MVP Bonus points. The buses leave from 10 locations from Fort Lauderdale to Melbourne. The deal is available for Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills and the Dec. 26 game against the Detroit Lions. Find the deal at duffysmvp.com.

Meanwhile, other South Florida pro teams are offering holiday ticket specials:

The Florida Panthers are selling tickets to the Dec. 27 game against the Boston Bruins, Dec. 31 game against the Montreal Canadiens and the Jan. 2 game against the New York Rangers starting at $10. The team is also selling Holiday Growl gift cards for $49 good for upper bowl seats and $99 for lower bowl seats at BankAtlantic Center – both for regular season games from January to April. Find the specials at floridapanthers.com.

The Florida Marlins are selling special Holiday 10-Packs of vouchers that can be used for any 2011 games and in any combination. They start at $85 -- $8.50 a ticket – for Fish Tank seats up to $350 -- $35 a ticket for infield box seats. The first 25 buyers each week of the holiday season receive a special gift. That’s a game-used bat this week; an autographed helmet from Dec. 20 to 26; an autographed baseball from Dec. 27 to Jan. 2; and an autographed Rookie Stars poster for Jan. 3 to 7.

The Miami Heat’s “12 Days of Heat” holiday shopping experience kicks off today on the team’s brand new shop on Facebook.

Starting today, the special online shop will feature special deals and promotions that include game ticket giveaways and other items.The team is the first in the NBA to have a retail store on Facebook.

Visit facebook.com/MiamiHeat and click on the “shop” tab. Products are specially tailored to an online audience and include designs by Miami artist LEBO, whose paintings appear on the walls at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Last week, the Panthers announced Tuesday night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche would be Jewish Heritage Night complete with a pregame menorah lighting ceremony, kosher food at BankAtlantic Center and a Panthers yarmulke giveaway.

The news release sent out last Tuesday said the yarmulkes would be “given to all ticket-buyers.” What the release apparently didn’t make clear was that should have said “Panthers yarmulke given to those who buy a special ticket pack.”

That’s how the Panthers amended the news item on floridapanthers.com, but only after the news release had been sent to the media. The media did not receive a corrected release.

Fans found out the hard way when they arrived at the game expecting the sweet dark blue yarmulke with the Panthers logo.

Continue reading "Fans upset when Panthers yarmulke giveaway goes awry" »

The University of Miami officially announced today the $5 million donation it has received toward its proposed$13.6 million center for athletic excellence.

The donation from the Ted & Todd Schwartz Family Foundation will help the university build the Theodore G. Schwartz and Todd G. Schwartz Center for Athletic Excellence. The center, which will expand and upgrade the campus’ Hecht Athletic Center, is aimed at addressing the academic needs of UM’s student-athletes.

It is to include an academic center with classrooms, computer, math and science technology labs; a sports medicine facility with hydrotherapy pools, private exam rooms and rehab space; and a football locker room. A gallery of champions will feature the school’s national championship trophies and rings.

Continue reading "UM gets $5 million for academic center for athletes; offers ticket promotion " »

Didn’t take advantage of the $70 “Double the Danica” ticket that allowed you to see Danica Patrick race in both the IndyCar Series finale and the NASCAR Nationwide Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway?

You can still see Patrick race NASCAR on Saturday and take in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup finale at Homestead on Sunday. The ticket package includes seats in the Danica section for both series finales and a question-and-answer session with Danica at 2 p.m. Saturday. The tickets at $85 and $125 also provide a donation to the speedway’s foundation.

For more information or to purchase the Danica package visit homesteadmiamispeedway.com.

As you might imagine, tickets for tonight’s Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics game at AmericanAirlines Arena are in demand much the way tickets to the Heat’s home opener against the Orlando Magic on Oct. 29 were.

StubHub reports tonight’s game is the most popular NBA game this week on the secondary -- or resale – ticket market.

The average price for tickets sold by resellers on StubHub.com for tonight’s game is $212 with a low price upstairs of $49. Of course, there was the courtside seat that sold for $9,000, the site reports. And there are still 125 tickets listed for sale on the site.

Continue reading "Heat tickets hot for tonight, not so much for Saturday" »

Tonight, former Florida Panthers goalie John Vanbiesbrouck gets inducted into the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame (along with six others athletes and coaches with ties to the region).

He becomes just the second of the 99 Broward Sports Hall of Fame inductees to represent hockey – the first being the Panthers first president Bill Torrey. (Original Panthers owner H. Wayne Huizenga is also in the Hall of Fame, but was recognized for other sports accomplishments along with his Panthers ownership).

On Wednesday night, the Panthers will honor Vanbiesbrouck, who played for the team from 1993 to 1998 including during the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals, as part of their ADT Panthers Heroes Program. He’ll do the ceremonial puck drop honors before the night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at BankAtlantic Center. He’ll conduct an autograph session in the first intermission at the South Florida Hockey Den of Honor and be interviewed on Fox Sports Florida by Craig Minervini in the Patron Club during the second intermission.

As part of the honor, the team is offering single game tickets to the game for half off. Purchase tickets by calling 954-835-PUCK or going to FloridaPanthers.com.

The Miami Heat continues to increase its social media presence through Facebook and Twitter and is offering a special $50 twHEATup ticket to four upcoming games.

The $50 ticket is in the 400 level at AmericanAirlines Arena and includes a T-shirt, Papa Johns arena pizza, and a postgame meet and greet with a Heat player.

The twHEATup games are Nov. 17 against the Phoenix Suns; Jan. 18 versus the Atlanta Hawks; Feb. 25 against the Washington Wizards; and March 16 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Tickets are selling fast. Go to twheatup.com to purchase tickets, promotion code: twheat.

The team hosted its first-ever twHEATup during the playoffs this year that included a halftime meet and greet with Heat Dancers and a postgame meeting with Tim Hardaway.

Don't forget to follow me: @sarahtalalay

Hoping to sell tickets to both Ford Championship Weekend and Miami Dolphins games against less glamorous opponents, Homestead-Miami Speedway and the Dolphins have created a “Track & Field” ticket package.

For $110, you can get a ticket to see the finale of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the speedway on Nov. 21 (a day when the Dolphins aren’t playing) and a ticket to one of three upcoming Dolphins games in December – against the Cleveland Browns (Dec. 5); Buffalo Bills (Dec. 19) or Detroit Lions (Dec. 26).

The price represents a 31 percent (or $50) savings off buying tickets to both events separately. The speedway seats are at Turn 1 between rows 5 and 10 and the Dolphins seats are upper prime – in the 400 level on the sidelines between rows 5 and 20.

To purchase the package or for more information, visit homesteadmiamispeedway.com or call 866-409-RACE.

The Miami Heat’s highly-anticipated home opener against the Orlando Magic at AmericanAirlines Arena on Friday is expected to have a little bit of everything. As a result, the team is encouraging fans to arrive early to avoid traffic and a protest rally planned nearby the arena on Biscayne Boulevard by Miami police and firefighters upset about paycuts.

Black is back. Again. The team wants fans clad in black and is giving out 20,000 black “I. Was. There.” T-shirts (courtesy of Carnival Cruise Lines) and commemorative programs. (“Yes. We. Did.” was the slogan for the team pulling off the free agency bonanza in getting LeBron James and Chris Bosh to join Dwyane Wade on the Heat. The team handed out “Yes. We. Did.” signs at the welcoming event July 9).

“Wear black or shop black,” said Andy Montero, the Heat’s senior director of retail operations.

Merchandise: A merchandise tent – typically reserved for the playoffs – is expected to open for business in front of the arena at 3 p.m. Gates to the arena’s east plaza open at 5:30 p.m. for the T-Mobile Tip-Off celebration. T-Mobile, which just entered into a multi-year sponsorship deal with the Heat (it has had a partnership with Wade since the 2006-07 season), is holding a pregame celebration on the plaza for fans with game tickets that includes a performance by Miami rapper Pitbull. DJ Irie and the Heat dancers will entertain and T-Mobile will show off its newest smartphones.

Tickets/Doors/Pregame: Tickets are still available at heat.com. Doors to the arena open early -- 6 p.m. Security could take longer because of the large crowd, but fans can enter at Gates 5 and 6 on the northeast and southeast sides of the arena – not just Gates 1 and 2. Even fans sitting upstairs can go courtside pregame to watch the teams warm up.

Get a Heat license plate: A kiosk outside section 102 will allow fans to purchase or renew their license plates with specialty Heat tags. The tags costs an extra $25, which is tax deductible and goes to charity. To get the license plates, you must have a driver’s license, proof of registration and insurance and cash or check.

Fan Up, Miami!: Fans are being encouraged to get to their seats in time for pregame ceremonies, which will include the debut of the team’s new player introduction video. Read about it here. At halftime, a video highlighting the summer’s events will be shown. A new song celebrating the new-look Heat, called “Celebrate” and written by Emilio Estefan will be officially unveiled. Estefan has created a percussion group called the Miami Heat Rhythm Section to perform at select games. Listen to the song here.

Oh, and there’s a game too. Starts at 8 p.m. on ESPN and Sun Sports.

As if any more build up were needed before this highly-anticipated Miami Heat season, the team is keeping with tradition hosting community events and giveaways leading up the 2010-11 home opener Oct. 29.

Heat Week kicks off Friday with a free Heat car decal giveaway at AmericanAirlines Arena. For more information, visit heat.com. Here’s what’s scheduled this week:

Friday: Heat car decal giveaway from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at AmericanAirlines Arena, while supplies last.
Then join the Heat for Happy Hour, 5 to 7 p.m. at Brickell Irish Pub, 1471 S. Miami Ave., Miami, along with Burnie the Heat mascot, Heat dancers and the Xtreme team.

Saturday: Feel like a pizza? Order from Papa John’s in Broward or Miami-Dade counites between 5 and 7 p.m. and you might just get it delivered by a Heat player, dancer, Burnie or Xtreme team member.

Sunday: The Heat’s Fireball Express bearing giveaways will visit local bars in downtown Miami starting at 4 p.m.

Monday: Fans 18 years or older can participate in a pickup basketball game at AmericanAirlines Arena during Heat After Dark, 7 p.m. to midnight. It’s free and participants get a Heat After Dark T-shirt.

Tuesday: Join other fans for the Bacardi Road Rally at AmericanAirlines to watch the Heat’s opening game against the Boston Celtics on the road. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and is free, but parking in the arena lot costs $5.

Wednesday: Watch the Heat’s second game of the season against the 76ers at the Bacardi Road Rally at Sandbar Sports Grill starting at 7 p.m., 3064 Grand Ave., Coconut Grove.

Oct. 28: Burnie will be giving out free tickets to the team’s home opener on Oct. 29 at AmericanAirlines Arena at various spots around South Florida. You’ll get clues to his location by being a friend on Facebook and checking out details at Facebook.com/MiamiHeat.

Oct. 29: The home opener against the Orlando Magic will include commemorative game programs and 20,000 “I. Was. There.” T-shirts for those in attendance. And the debut of the team’s new player introduction video. The game begins at 8 p.m., but doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the Heat’s encouraging fans to arrive early.

Despite a still struggling economy and a decade without a trip to the playoffs, the Florida Panthers announced today they have sold the equivalent of more than 10,000 full season tickets for the 2010-11 season. That marks the first time the team has sold more than 10,000 season tickets since the 2000-01 season.

The team also said fewer than 1,500 tickets remain for its home opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday at BankAtlantic Center.

The team has created a variety of discount season ticket offers – including a name your own price plan and a plan for $23 lower bowl seats and $6 upper level seats in honor of LeBron James’ old and new jersey numbers. The team also has reduced capacity at the arena by nearly 2,500 seats to 17,040 to create a more intimate atmosphere.

“During the offseason we set a goal of reaching the benchmark of 10,000 season ticket holders for the first time in almost a decade,” Panthers President Michael Yormark said in a statement. “Thanks to the hard work of our staff and the support of the South Florida community, we accomplished that goal.”

To purchase tickets for the home opener or upcoming games, call 954-835-PUCK or visit ticketmaster.com.

A longer version of my Q&A interview with IndyCar and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick than what appeared in the paper today:

IndyCar driver Danica Patrick makes two stops at Homestead-Miami Speedway this fall – in Saturday’s Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 and Nov. 20 for NASCAR Nationwide Series’ Ford 300. It’s just the third time this year a track has hosted Patrick, who made her NASCAR debut this year, in both series. A $70 “Double the Danica” ticket is good for both races.

At Boost Mobile in Pembroke Pines on Thursday to donate $2,500 to Adopt-A-Classroom and sign autographs, Patrick talked about her year in both series:

Q. You debuted at Homestead in 2005 – what do you think of the track?

A. I think it’s a really challenging track … it’s long straightaways with relatively tight corners, and it makes for a lot of passing. Last year there was a lot of lap traffic just because of the difference in speed between first and last. so there’s a Lot of action to be seen for the fans, for the second year now, it’s the season closer, so it’s like extra extra exciting for everybody to see who’s going to win. Another close down to the wire championship.

Q. This is the last Indy Race at Homestead – will you miss Homestead?

A. I’ve always enjoyed coming to Homestead, and I’ve always thought the racing’s good. And I think it’s a great place but if it was up to me, I would have kept this one and a heck of a lot of other ones on the schedule that aren’t on it. Shoot, I’d probably make a whole Indy 500 Series. I’d just base in Indianapolis and do like a series there. At the Indianpolis Motor Speedway, but that’s not my decision.

Q. Does racing both series at Homestead make racing easier?

A. I don’t think it makes it easier or harder. There’s just more of me in that market. I think it’s fun for IndyCar fans to be able to see me in NASCAR. And I think it’s fun also the NASCAR fans that may have not gone to an Indy race maybe they’re interested, maybe they plan to come on out to see the Indy cars there … It’s a completely different from perspective from a stock car than an Indy Car. They seem like two different tracks.

Q. How hard is it to race in both series at the same time?

A. It’s challenging, because it’s challenging. The IndyCar Series is really hard, there’s a lot of really good drivers. In NASCAR, I’m a fish out of water. I’m just trying to figure it out, just trying to finish a race, so that’s all different, too. Everything from how the qualifying works, to when to get into your car, to where to go out of. I’m used to starting and stopping from pit lane, not the garages.

Q. What are the major differences, besides speed - and the cars?

A. The heat. Like the other day when I did a race at Dover, I did two races that weekend. I think my air conditioning unit was pumping heat as opposed to air conditioning, and there wasn’t good insulation so it was getting extremely hot and I thought I was literally going to pass out when I got out of the car. I’ve done Bikram yoga and I can do heat, and it’s not an issue, and it’s never affected me, but that was something else. The people are different, the language is completely different. Everything is very opposite with the way it works in NASCAR with everything from what you do in the car to how you speak about the car out of the car … It’s a big learning curve.

Q. You’ve been introduced as a NASCAR driver not an IndyCar driver on TV (including at the ESPYs)

A. I know, a couple of times. That has nothing to do with me or anyone from Danica Racing. It’s unfortunate they do that, I think it sounds better to say I’m an IndyCar driver and a NASCAR driver, than just one or the other. I think it sounds way cooler, but I think it just shows the league has a long way to go, before where we are where we need to be, where we are so mainstream that it would matter to be mentioned. That’s sad. I think it’s big enough, I think it seems relevant enough, but then again there are great racecar drivers that have won championships, and they get introduced for the Indy 500 they won. So they’re both very difficult, but a championship is very hard, that shows you’ve been good all year. The Indy 500 is just one race, but it is the biggest one. It’s just what the general public is aware of, and what they pay attention to and what sticks.

Q. Has the exposure of being in both made a difference in terms of companies wanting you to endorse their products?

A. Yes it has. Being involved in NASCAR has made people more interested in me and there’s a greater reach there. As we spoke about earlier, about being an introduced as a NASCAR driver, I think that’s an example of what I’m talking about. It’s just something resonates with people and they’re familiar with and they understand. A couple of times I’ve heard people call racing NASCAR, like ‘oh you race NASCAR.’ I’m like ‘No I race IndyCar.’ They’re like ‘Yeh, that’s what I mean. Yeh.’ I’m like, it’s not all called NASCAR. It’s like the company called Kleenex was brilliant because it’s always called a Kleenex. I’ve had people think that racing is called NASCAR. It has a really large platform with a lot of people paying attention.

Q. You won in Japan in Indy, and you’ve struggled in NASCAR. If you don’t win again soon in Indy or if you don’t win in NASCAR are you concerned about the criticism?

A. No. I do everything I can do. I think I more care about going out there and winning and performing, well for myself than anybody else. I want to perform more than people could want me to. So no, It’s more for myself. I’m harder on myself than other people are. I’m very frustrated with the way that it has gone in NASCAR, there have been some good things, but it has been hard and it’s been really humbling. And I thought it was going to be a little bit easier than this. And people then correct me and say you’ve done a great job, you really have, I don’t know why you keep saying you aren’t.’ I’m harder on myself than anybody else could be probably.

Individual tickets to see the new-look Miami Heat go on sale to the general public starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, the team announced today.

There will be a four-ticket limit for each game and tickets can be purchased at Heat.com, ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-4NBA-TIX. Tickets will not be sold at AmericanAirlines Arena's ticket office on Tuesday, but will be available thereafter. Ticketmaster retail outlets will begin selling tickets on Thursday. Tickets start at $10, but vary depending on location and opponent.

For example, tickets in the front rows of the 400 level of AmericanAirlines Arena are running $167 ($150 for the ticket and $17 for fees) for the home opener against the Orlando Magic on Oct. 29. Seats for the Heat versus the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 15 in the 400 level are $88 ($75 for the ticket and $13 in fees).

Most of the seats are in the 400 level, but some scattered singles may be available in other locations throughout the arena. The team is encouraging fans to purchase tickets early, as prices are likely to rise closer to the games. It is also possible that some tickets may be available on game days, depending on whether tickets are returned by the opposing team.

There will be some tickets available to all home games, because the team held back some seats, even as it sold out its season ticket inventory and gave season ticket holders, those on the "Heat Hopefuls" season ticket waiting list, and on a LiveWire email database first crack at individual game tickets this week.

Meanwhile, you can already buy individual tickets on the Sun Sentinel's ticket broker site here.

After its success last month with The Perfect Plan – a variation on Priceline’s "Name Your Own Price" for tickets – the Florida Panthers have brought back the program for another week.

The Perfect Plan allows fans to pick their seat location at BankAtlantic Center and name a price and learn within 24 hours if their offer has been accepted. The plan is only available for season ticket packages and only in select locations. The program runs until Sept. 29.

Retail prices range from $60 to $130 per seat per game. Potential buyers could have their offers accepted, be offered another location for that price or work out a different agreement.

When the program launched in August, the team was able to make deals with about half the fans who made offers. More than 200 season tickets were sold through the program, a team spokesman said.

To make an offer or get more information visit FloridaPanthers.com or call 954-835-PUCK.

The Panthers home opener at BankAtlantic Center is Oct. 16 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Individual game tickets to see the new-look Miami Heat are expected to go on sale next week – the team has yet to release the date – but season ticket holders and others are getting a first crack at the coveted tickets this week.

Season ticket holders, followed by fans on the team’s season ticket “Heat Hopefuls” waiting list and then those from a LiveWire email database are each getting a 10-hour window in which to purchase individual game tickets ahead of the general public.

There are only a limited number of tickets available and the price varies depending on the location and opponent.

And they are not inexpensive. For example, tickets in the front rows of the 400 level of AmericanAirlines Arena are running $167 ($150 for the ticket and $17 for fees) for the home opener against the Orlando Magic on Oct. 29. That’s the high end, obviously. You can catch the Heat versus the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 15 in the 400 level for $88 ($75 for the ticket and $13 in fees).

Should know about general public on sale date soon.

Meanwhile, you can already buy individual tickets on the Sun Sentinel's ticket broker site here.

Just in time for college football season, online ticket marketplace StubHub continues its march across Florida and into the ACC, adding the University of Miami and Florida State to its 15 other college and conference partners.

The partnerships mean UM and FSU fans have another option for buying and selling tickets to their favorite college team. Both schools include links right on their websites (UM and FSU) to StubHub’s ticket inventory.

StubHub entered Florida in 2007 with a multi-year partnership with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As part of the partnerships with both schools, StubHub will have in-stadium signage, promotions and other advertising.

Additionally, Hurricanes fans can grab their tickets at the company’s brand new “Last Minute Services” pickup location in Miami, which was opened last month to accommodate demand for tickets to the new-look Miami Heat. StubHub typically halts sales two days before an event to accommodate express delivery. The company has last-minute pick-up offices in 10 other markets.

And with college football opening tonight, ticket sales for Florida and Florida State rank in StubHub’s top 25 in volume. Alabama and Ohio State rank first and second – just as they do in the AP’s Top 25. The Gators rank 11th in ticket sales and 4th in the AP poll; and the Seminoles rank 22nd in ticket sales and 20th in the AP poll.

The Florida Marlins’ new ballpark sales center offers an impressive look at the team’s new home with actual seats, a full-size suite and 3D views from any seat in the venue.

The Marlins have now made those views available online.

The team has set up a virtual tour that gives you a view – and price – of any seat in the ballpark, as well as the interiors of suites and lounges. You can even make a deposit for season tickets for 2012 – when the venue is opening -- on the site.

Of course, the online version doesn’t afford you the opportunity to see the ballpark’s construction going on across the street from the sales center. Check out the virtual seating program at marlins.com/seatviews.

The Miami Dolphins scratch-off tickets have sold the most among the state’s three NFL teams since they were unveiled late last month, Florida Lottery officials said.

Through last weekend, $5 million worth of Dolphins scratch-off tickets had been sold, compared with $4.97 million worth of Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ tickets and $2.37 million worth of Jacksonville Jaguars’ tickets.

The $5 scratch-off games are a partnership between the Florida Lottery and the NFL teams to raise money for the state's Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, which provides money to public schools, scholarships, community colleges and state universities.

The tickets include a dozen chances to win cash prizes from $5 to $100,000. Losing tickets can be entered into second-chance drawings at flalottery.com for team themed-prizes such as tickets and stadium tours.

The lottery partnerships were approved by NFL owners in spring 2009 as a way to generate more revenue for teams.

In addition to being available at regular lottery ticket retail locations, the Dolphins tickets are also for sale at Sun Life Stadium. Tickets can be purchased seven days a week – even at Florida Marlins’ home games – at a Lottery Instant Ticket Vending Machine in the Gate G Team Store, and on Dolphins’ game days at six customer relations/advance ticket sales locations on the 100, 200 and 400 levels.

And the Dolphins are offering discounts of $5 off lower level tickets and $10 off upper level tickets to four regular games this season, through its partnership with the lottery. Click on partner offers at flalottery.com for discounted tickets to games against the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions.

Documents detailing the finances of the Florida Marlins’ and a handful of other Major League Baseball teams (reported by Deadspin.com), of course, reveal details we’ve never seen, but the team’s reaction to them is perhaps most surprising.

Of course, we’ve known the Marlins were making money and have even written as such repeatedly – despite the team’s protestations otherwise. While the release of the documents is, as Marlins President David Samson says, a crime, now that they're out there, here are some key details:

The Marlins brought in more than $75 million in both 2008 and 2009 from Major League Baseball’s revenue sharing program and central fund, before even selling a ticket, sponsorship or factoring in local TV and radio broadcast contracts.

Those figures combined were $79 million in 2008 and $75.4 million in 2009. That’s $47.9 million from revenue sharing and $31.3 million from the central fund in 2008; and $43.9 million in revenue sharing and $31.6 million from the central fund in 2009.

Revenue sharing is the system by which rich teams share revenues with lower revenue ones to even competition. The MLB central fund, which includes sources such as the national TV contract and to which all teams contribute – is distributed evenly. From other national sources, the Marlins got: $7.6 million in royalties and $2.9 million from the team’s investment in MLB Advanced Media – the sport’s Internet arm.

The documents show, the team had nearly $50 million in net operating income combined for 2008 and 2009. That was $37.84 million in 2008, when the team's on-field payroll was a league-low $24.8 million, and a more modest $11.1 million in 2009, when the payroll was up to $35.1 million.

Each time Forbes released its annual team valuations, Samson disputed the figures saying he didn’t know Forbes sources, but he also insisted the team wasn’t making a profit, and if there was one, team owner Jeffrey Loria would put it back into the team.

There are several examples of this, but here’s one from 2007, when Samson was asked about Forbes’ reporting the Marlins had the highest operating income of the leagues’ 30 teams at $43.3 million and with a league low payroll of $24.8 million:

"Very often the mistake that's made is they look at revenue sharing numbers and the team's payroll and take the difference and see profit without looking at our expenses," Samson said.

Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria "would want any dollar extra going into payroll," Samson said.

"What's happened is he committed to stop losing money, but he has never said he makes his living from the operation of the Florida Marlins. He simply doesn't want to lose all his money."

Jorge Costales, a Miami CPA who blogs about Marlins finances, has done a great job examining the documents compared to Forbes findings. Read his blog at 2thinkgood.com.

Another of Samson’s favorite sayings about payroll is that it will reflect revenues. When reminded of this during Monday’s conference call with reporters, Samson agreed but quickly added “local.” That’s a word that was conveniently absent from Samson’s previous discussions of team finances.

If you’re going to say payroll matches “local” revenues, he’s more accurate. Local revenue in 2009, the documents show, mainly consisted of $21.5 million in ticket sales revenue, $2.5 million from concessions and $16.7 million in local TV and radio broadcasts.

(As an aside, the documents reveal details of the team’s contract with Fox Sports Florida, which was a major part of its negotiations to build the new ballpark. The team needs regular revenue streams, such as TV money, to pledge against its portion of the construction. During 2005, the documents show, the Marlins and Fox Sports Florida struck a 15-year broadcast rights agreement – through 2020 – that pays the team $172 million during the life of the contract. It started with an initial payment of $40 million from Fox and comes out to $13.2 million this year, $13.6 million next year and $14 million in 2012.)

But this still begs the question-- what about all that “national” revenue.

Clearly the Marlins walked a fine line: if you make a profit, how much public money can you ask the public to chip in to your ballpark? If you say you’re saving the dollars for the ballpark – something Samson says the team has been saying all along, but hasn’t been – that’s a more palatable argument than the team isn’t profitable.

After years of saying the team wasn’t making a profit, Samson on Monday told reporters the documents “confirm everything we have said over the years of how we’ve operated the team.” He went on to talk about promising to secure baseball in South Florida and saving the dollars to put the team in a solid enough financial position to be able to fund its portion of the $515 million ballpark.

“We knew our contribution would have to be substantial enough, with team that did not have commensurate revenue,” Samson said. “In order to satisfy our contribution to the ballpark, we had to make sure we would be a team that would have the ability to borrow money.”

You have to wonder why Miami-Dade County officials didn’t push harder to see the Marlins’ books. And why a judge said opening the books wasn’t required, despite auto dealer Norman Braman’s lawsuit pushing for such, given that taxpayer dollars were being spent on the ballpark.

If the money really was going to the ballpark fund -- as a fan, you can still be angry the “profit” wasn’t going into payroll, but at least you’d know it was planned for somewhere other than the owner’s pocket.

Want to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Florida Marlins game?

Gene Spotlight, a new South Florida-based foundation formed to fund medical research into treatment and cures for 7,000 rare genetic disorders that afflict 25 million Americans, is offering that chance.

Until Sept. 3, the foundation is auctioning a first pitch and four Batter’s Box seats (behind home plate) at one of seven September home games at Sun Life Stadium. The package is valued at $6,000 and bidding is currently up to $2,300. Check out the package at charitybuzz.com.

Click here for more information on Gene Spotlight.

Say what you will about his wavering and his on-again, off-again retirement, but Brett Favre moves ticket prices.

Ticket search engine FanSnap.com put together this nifty graphic charting average ticket prices based on Favre announcements and developments last year and this year. Tickets were up to an average of $240.82 this week after Favre’s definitive return announcement and demand has pushed average prices up more than $50 a ticket, FanSnap says.

As you might imagine, the home game against the rival Green Bay Packers – Favre’s former team – is the highest at an average of $230. Tickets for the game against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2 (Sept. 19) are averaging just $98.

OK, several hot tickets. Not exactly a newsflash here, but with the full NBA schedule now released, there’s even more evidence of what a popular ticket the Three Kings-led Miami Heat have become.

According to ticket search engine, FanSnap.com, the average ticket price on the secondary market for last year’s Heat home opener against the New York Knicks at AmericanAirlines Arena was $116.

This year’s Oct. 29 opener versus the Orlando Magic? Try $805.

The website says the average price for the highly-anticipated Christmas Day matchup when the Heat travel to Los Angeles to take on the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers is already at $717. And the team’s season opener at the Boston Celtics on Oct. 26 is averaging $545 a ticket.

Returning Miami Heat guard Carlos Arroyo has his own theme music accompaniment at AmericanAirlines Arena – El Gran Combo’s “Fiesta de Pilito.”

Now he has a new single out with reggaeton recording artist and fellow Puerto Rican, Yomo. You can listen to the song called “Se va Conmigo” (“She comes with me”) below and purchase it at iTunes.

You can also watch a photo shoot of the pair here.

Arroyo, who is a reggaeton fan, released “Oculto Secreto” (“Hidden Secret”) last year – you can watch it here.

+ With the release of the full NBA schedule today, the Heat has just 29 nationally televised games this season. The team can have a maximum of 34 on national TV. Fans can vote on NBA.com for games they want to see broadcast nationally on “Fan Night” – Tuesdays on NBA TV.

+ And with the release of their schedule, the Heat reminded that fans still seeking season tickets for the 2010-11 season, can sign up for the Heat Hopefuls Waiting List for a non-refundable $100 per seat. Those on the waiting list will be given the first shot at partial season ticket plans. Email seasons@heat.com or visit heat.com. Details of the plans are scheduled to be released next week.

+ And according to TMZ.com, LeBron James has sought business assistance from a higher power. The website carries an exclusive photo of James meeting “today with Rabbi Yishayahu Yosef Pinto, ... a man known around New York as the 'Rabbi to the Business Stars.'" Sources told the website James consulted Pinto for guidance on business matters relating to some merchandising deals.

Playing off new general manager Dale Tallon’s “plan” for his team and borrowing a page from Priceline, the Florida Panthers created “The Perfect Plan” for season ticket sales.

The ticket plan allows fans to pick seats, name a price and learn within 24 hours if their offer has been accepted. The offer, which runs through this week, is available for seats in the lower and upper bowls and club level at BankAtlantic Center. Retail prices range from $60 to $130 per seat per game. Potential buyers could have their offers accepted, be offered another location for that price or work out a different agreement.

So far, the team has sold slightly more than 50 full season ticket equivalents through the “The Perfect Plan” and turned away about 50 others, either because their offers were rejected or an agreement couldn’t be reached, a team spokesman said.

“’The Perfect Plan’ is an unprecedented ticket sales campaign in pro sports and puts the power of negotiation in the hands of our fans,” Panthers President Michael Yormark said in a statement. “Borrowing from the travel industry, for a limited time Panthers fans can name their price and seat location and try to make a deal. And with GM Dale Tallon moving quickly to turn this franchise into a contender, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for fans to get in now, before it’s too late.”

To make an offer or get more information, visit FloridaPanthers.com or call 954-835-PUCK.

The St. Louis Blues offered a limited time “Name Your Price” promotion in 2008. The deal, in which the Blues were encouraging fans to make “a reasonable offer,” was for select seating areas for full-season tickets, premium or weekend 10-ticket packages or any individual game that October. The team could accept or reject the offer with a Ticketmaster sponsorship covering the difference between the retail and requested price.

Individual game tickets for the Miami Dolphins 2010 season go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, but fans can get a jump on the on-sale time by stopping by training camp at 9 a.m. for a special one-hour pre-sale.

Individual game tickets start at $45 a game and can be purchased through MiamiDolphins.com, Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000 or 1-888-FINS-TIX.

Fans who stop by training camp in Davie can buy tickets there between 9 and 10 a.m.

“We welcome our fans back to football and invite them to bring their families this Saturday for a special family day at Dolphins Camp,” Dolphins CEO Mike Dee said in a statement. “For the first time ever, we’re also offering our fans an on-site pre-sale opportunity to buy single game tickets to any home game before they go on sale to the general public.”

The Dolphins home opener is against the New York Jets on Sunday, Sept. 26. In addition to games against the other division rival New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills, the Dolphins also host the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions.

Season tickets are also still for sale and start at $34 a game.

As he helped lead a tour of his team’s ballpark construction site on Thursday, Florida Marlins president David Samson reiterated the team’s desire to host a Major League Baseball All-Star Game in the new venue as soon as 2015.

“We’re going to submit a bid for the 2015 All-Star Game,” Samson said from a spot on the construction site overlooking home plate and with a view of downtown Miami. “We firmly expect it to be awarded because our bid will be so persuasive, given what’s going on in Miami, given what’s going on in this new ballpark. The Marlins had a game taken away and it’s time to get it back.”

The Marlins had been scheduled to host the 2000 All-Star Game at what was then named Pro Player Stadium, but in 1998, Commissioner Bud Selig moved the game to Atlanta’s Turner Field. The reason given was the region’s lack of a new, modern baseball-only ballpark. But the region was also still stinging from then-Marlins owner H. Wayne Huizenga’s decision to dismantle the Marlins after the team won the 1997 World Series.

Samson said he’s convinced the new ballpark will be awarded the sport’s Mid-Summer Classic.

“We feel more confident than ever that putting an All-Star game in Miami under the air conditioning, will be a win for baseball and we feel the commissioner will agree.”

Ground was broken a year ago for the new ballpark and construction on the former site of the Orange Bowl stadium is more than 40 percent complete. The media was given its quarterly tour of the construction, which included stops at different levels behind home plate with views toward the outfield and downtown Miami.

Concessions stands are already taking shape – complete with the bright-colored tile that is part of the ballpark’s signature style. There will be four color quadrants – blue, yellow, red and green – borrowed from Spanish painter Joan Miro’s palette that will easily help fans identify where they are in the ballpark. Already, blue tile has gone up in concession areas.

The seating bowl should be completed by the end of August.

The Marlins have completed priority ticket sales for existing full-season ticket holders and are opening up full season ticket sales to the public – starting with premium seating – on Monday. Samson said 97 percent of existing full season ticket holders have committed to buying seats in the new ballpark, which is scheduled to open in April 2012.

More random thoughts on the Miami Heat’s big free agency coup, in no particular order:

+ The LeBron effect: In Cleveland, LeBron James made the perennial cellar dweller Cavaliers relevant. The arena sold out. The team had the NBA’s best regular season last year. Television ratings about quadrupled since before his arrival.

While the impact of James playing alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh is immeasurable at this point, it’s clear it can’t be quite as dramatic as what occurred in Cleveland. Cleveland had much farther to rise. Although the Heat didn’t sell out last season, attendance was at 90 percent of arena capacity and the team did go to the first round of the playoffs.

+ Since most people didn’t think it was possible James would join the Heat, the price of Heat season tickets on the secondary market remained fairly steady for the first week of free agency. The day after James announced? The price went up 2.5 times, according to ticket search engine FanSnap.com, which reported sales rose from $3,238.61 on Thursday to $8,249.99 on Friday. Check out FanSnap.com’s chart showing season ticket package prices from July 1-9.

+ Joe Johnson is getting the maximum. The trio isn’t.

+ The Heat’s decision to halt season ticket sales on Thursday was a strategic one. Heat President of Business Operations Eric Woolworth said it helped that the team had the history of trading for Shaquille O’Neal in July 2004. The trade had an instant impact, including selling out season tickets.

“We learned a lot of lessons both good and bad,” Woolworth said. “We certainly enjoyed the status of having the most season tickets in the league, but in retrospect, it wasn’t the best thing we could do. The more season tickets you have the more you have to service, the more you have to renew every year. Certain locations are great locations but not great season ticket locations.”

Woolworth said that means team staff has to spend time working to renew season ticket holders in the least expensive seats.

That’s part of the reason for deciding to hold back a quarter to a third of AmericanAirlines Arena’s 19,600 seats – including all of the 400 level – to sell in the future in season ticket mini-plans and to groups and individual game ticket buyers. Woolworth said the team also wants to have inventory so more fans can attend games.

“There is community aspect to it,” he said. “When you sell out almost of all of your season tickets, you start playing to almost an exclusive audience. There aren’t as many people in the community who can see games. We want to make sure there are tickets available to every game.”

+ With all this talk of Pat Riley impressing free agents with his championship rings, I share some insight he gave me about using the rings as motivation. This comes from a story about championship rings I wrote in 2004, just as the Marlins were to receive their 2003 World Series championship rings, and two years before Riley’s Miami Heat picked up their first rings in 2006. Here’s the beginning of that story:

Pat Riley keeps five of his championship rings in a small velvet bag and occasionally as a coach he'd bring them to practice and jingle them in his pocket.

"I'd let players wear them for like a week just because it's what we all play for. It's a symbol of absolute professional significance. The worst thing as a player is to retire and know they never won a championship." said Riley, who won two as a player and four as coach of the "Showtime" Lakers. "It's a very, very significant achievement, despite all of the negative things we read about professional sports ... This is what it's all about, when you're part of a team and win a championship, it's something that really matters and counts."

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: @sarahtalalay

Even before LeBron James officially announced he was "going to take my talents to South Beach," the Florida Panthers were trying to appeal to fans' excitement about the prospect of James joining the Heat.

The team announced a "Seats Fit For A King" ticket promotion -- a limited offer of lower bowl Panthers season tickets at BankAtlantic Center for $23 a game -- for James' original NBA jersey number -- and upper level ones for $6 a game -- for James' most recent jersey number. The promotion available by calling 954-835-PUCK runs until 5 p.m. Monday.

“Based on the hype surrounding rumors of a new King headed to South Florida, we wanted to remind our fans that we want them to feel like royalty,” Panthers President Michael Yormark said in a statement. “Certainly, it’s an exciting time to be part of the South Florida sports industry and we’d like our fans and our staff to embrace it.”

Expecting an uptick in season ticket sales once this summer’s NBA free agents decide where they will be playing, the Heat has officially launched a new online season ticket sales system.

Called Heat SeatPick, the system -- designed by the team’s information technology department -- allows fans to check seat availability in real time and purchase tickets without needing to speak with a sales representative. The system also includes a 3-D seat viewer that shows views from the AmericanAirlines Arena stands.

“In recent years, consumers have become increasingly comfortable with the secure online purchase of big ticket items, so we designed Heat SeatPick with this trend in mind,” Heat President of Business Operations Eric Woolworth said in a statement. “Season tickets are a substantial investment often accompanied by questions about seat locations, sightlines and inventory, and we believe the platform directly and thoroughly addresses these concerns.”

The system can be accessed at Heat.com where it says Heat SeatPick – you choose your price level, number of tickets and the system shows you how many seats are available and where. The 3D viewer shows your view from that section.

Fans have already begun purchasing tickets through the system and Heat officials say sales have picked up since free agent rumors heated up over the weekend. The team has also created this introductory video to explain how the system works – makes me want a cup of diner coffee and a slice of pie:

The Florida Panthers have unveiled their marketing slogan for the 2010-11 season. Be ready to be underwhelmed:

“We Came To Play”

Seriously.

“We Came To Play.”

As opposed to what?

Developed by Hi-Voltage Advertising of Boca Raton, the campaign is meant to invoke the “passionate and emotional experience and party atmosphere of Panthers home games at the BankAtlantic Center,” according to a team release. Radio ads called “Playground” were to begin airing yesterday.

Here the Panthers and Hi-Voltage weigh in:

“Florida Panthers hockey at the BankAtlantic Center is unique in that it captivates fans through both the action on the ice and the excitement of the in-arena experience,” Panthers President Michael Yormark said in a statement. “There is no doubt that Cats hockey provides the best entertainment value and most fun sports atmosphere in South Florida. During the 2010-11 season, the real party is at the BankAtlantic Center.”

Hi-Voltage President Pete Gary adds: "Our goal at Hi-Voltage was to create a commercial featuring the entertainment experience for the first-timer to the diehard hockey fan. We wanted to showcase the fun, excitement and party atmosphere of being at the BankAtlantic Center for a Panthers game, whether it was with your family or with your friends for a night out.”

As you might imagine, the slogan has already generated jokes and detractors. It’s like it’s ripe for an insert joke here: “We Came To Play.” Uh, isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?

Some comments about the campaign on The Litter Box Panthers fan discussion blog include: “I don’t want to root for a team that just comes to play. I want a team that wins!” And “I appreciate the effort, but it leaves room for comments to follow it. We came to play, but we weren’t ready.We came to play, but we didn’t feel like it.”

As luck would have it, the campaign includes a ticket deal: “The Panthers are encouraging fans to bring their friends to party” with a “Buy One, Get One Half Off” offer on full season ticket plans through the NHL Draft on June 25. See ad for the ticket offer with new slogan below.

Meanwhile, new GM Dale Tallon – the news of his arrival has caused some fans to party – and Coach Peter DeBoer are scheduled to attend the first Cats Cookout of 2010 next Thursday, June 10. The free barbecue that includes live music and a chance to meet Tallon, DeBoer, Panthers broadcasters and alumni. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. at BankAtlantic Center. RSVP at 954-835-PUCK.

The Florida Marlins are putting unused tickets to Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay’s perfect game against the Marlins on Saturday up for sale. So, yes, for the face value of the ticket, you can say you were there – even if you weren’t among the 25,086 listed as attending the game.

Major League Baseball counts attendance as tickets sold and has agreed to amend the attendance for Saturday’s game, if the team sells any of the unused tickets. Baseball seating capacity at Sun Life Stadium is listed as 38,560.

Isn’t the point of having the ticket, though, that you were actually there?

Chris Amoroso, vice president of Steiner Sports Memorabilia, said he expects the market for the unused tickets to include fans of the Phillies and Halladay, as well as collectors of perfect game memorabilia. In addition, companies like Steiner could buy some of the tickets to package with other items such as photos.

He called the Marlins’ decision to sell the unused tickets “very unique,” but he said the tickets are more about having a keepsake rather than a priceless piece of memorabilia.

“It’s very unique for someone who collects those types of things. If you’re a fan of him, it’s a nice add on,” Amoroso said. “The value I think it comes when and if Halladay will sign them. Then there will be value. Perhaps a few hundred dollars with a signature depending on how many will be out there, how many he’ll sign.”

To create a more intimate setting at Florida Panthers' games next season, the team is reducing capacity by nearly 2,500 seats at BankAtlantic Center.

The change, which will be accomplished by covering 2,458 seats in the arena’s last six rows in the upper level, will drop capacity from 19,250 to 17,040 for hockey games. The coverings will be Panthers blue and sponsored by a business. But the coverings also mean capacity can be increased, if there’s demand for tickets. The Panthers ranked 25th in attendance in the NHL this past season with 15,146 a game.

Panthers President Michael Yormark said BankAltantic Center is the NHL's fourth largest arena, so reducing seating capacity will put the venue on par with other hockey arenas.

The team is also planning a new pricing scale for 2010-11 individual game tickets that will have prices rise along with demand for particular games. The idea is to reward season ticket buyers and others who buy early with lower ticket prices.

Individual game tickets will be divided into four categories: Bronze (the least expensive and a reduction from last season’s prices); silver (similar to this past season), gold and platinum (highest-priced). Each game will be assigned a category, but could move into a more expensive category the closer to the game date, if demand builds.

Individual game ticket prices are scheduled to be released in September, but an example of the dynamic price structure could work like this: A lower bowl endzone seat that cost $75 this past season would fall to $40 for a bronze game, $65 for a silver game, $70 for a gold game and $90 for a platinum game.

“Both the reduced seating capacity and the dynamic pricing structure were implemented based on the feedback from our fans and our season ticket advisory board,” Yormark said in a statement. “That said, we feel strongly that both changes will contribute to more excitement and intimacy at the BankAtlantic Center for Panthers home games, while greatly increasing the overall fan experience.”

The Panthers tried in the 2008-09 season to charge individual game ticket buyers an additional $25 a game for contests against popular opponents, such as the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens, but ended up dropping the plan midway through that season.

The Florida Panthers introduced their new General Manager, Dale Tallon, this morning and promptly went about trying to attract new season ticket holders.

A special offer was emailed from BankAtlantic Center offering anyone who purchases a season ticket for the 2010-11 season TODAY, an invitation to a barbecue with Tallon later this summer. “Peter DeBoer and I look forward to seeing you!” Tallon says of the Panthers coach in the ad promoting the ticket special.

Go to floridapanthers.com for more information.

+Gotta love it when a team takes one for its fans: The Seattle Sounders after suffering an embarrassing 4-0 loss to the LA Galaxy at home announce they are giving season ticket holders a one-game refund – good toward season tickets next year.

+ The Field of Dreams film site – well part of the Iowa cornfield from the 1989 movie anyway -- is up for sale. Scant details here.

+ We have WeWantWade.com, but LeBron James has a group of politicians, officials and other Cleveland fans serenading him to the tune of We Are The World. If you can stand it, click here.

+ Pompano Beach Paralympian Bradley Johnson joined The Hartford for the insurance company’s 200th anniversary at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. Johnson is the guy on the left side of the net, helping to demonstrate sit volleyball. The Hartford is founding sponsor of U.S. Paralympics.

The Miami Dolphins will begin selling individual tickets -- to games against the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and Tennessee Titans -- and four-game packages earlier than ever -- starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

The early ticket sale is part of a Mother’s and Father’s Day and graduation promotion that ends on June 20. The four-game packs are available for $100 a game on the lower level and $65 a game on the upper level at Sun Life Stadium. The packs allow you to choose one game from among games against the New York Jets (Sept. 26 home opener), New England Patriots (Oct. 4), Pittsburgh Steelers (Oct. 24) and Chicago Bears (Nov. 18); and three from among the Bills (Dec. 19), Browns (Dec. 5), Lions (Dec. 26) and Titans (Nov. 14).

Last year, the team didn’t make mini-plans and individual tickets available until late July. To purchase tickets call 1-888-FINS-TIX or visit MiamiDolphins.com.

Travelzoo, the online publisher of travel deals, is selling tickets to Florida Marlins homes games at Sun Life Stadium this week at significant savings.

For games against the San Diego Padres today through Wednesday, the Washington Nationals on Sunday and the San Francisco Giants May 4 to 6, fans can find tickets ranging from $8 to $22.50 -- representing savings of up to 60 percent.

For example, outfield terrace seats that regularly sell for $21 are going for $8; field box seats that are regularly $34 are selling for $14; infield box seats that usually sell for $43 are $18.50 and Club B seats that normally cost $51 are going for $22.50. Find out more here.

In Miami Heat fashion, the team wants to make sure fans are not only appropriately attired and excited for the 2010 Back is Black playoffs, but also keeping up with these social media-centric times.

This afternoon, the team is giving away “Black is Back 2010 Playoffs Kits” containing a Black is Back T-shirt and clacker, team poster and Dwyane Wade “This is My House” placard, to fans who stop by Miccosukee Resort & Gaming between 3 and 7 p.m. The Xtreme Team and Burnie will also be in attendance. Tim Hardaway is scheduled to sign autographs and pose for photos between 4 and 6 p.m., when the 2006 Larry O’Brien championship will also be on display. Miccosukee Resort & Gaming is at 500 Southwest 177th Ave., Miami.

Tomorrow, the “Heat Experience” visits Lincoln Road Mall on South Beach from 6 to 7 p.m. for festivities that include a playoff parade and ticket and prize giveaways.

And during Friday’s first 2010 Heat home playoff game against the Boston Celtics, the team is holding its first-ever Twitter gathering with a nifty name – twHEATup. For $50, you can sit in a special twHEATup section at AmericanAirlines Arena for the 7 p.m. game and will be treated to a halftime meet-and-greet with the Heat dancers and a postgame meet-and-greet with Hardaway. The seats are in section 307 and the $50 price represents a discount of $8 to $20 off the regular individual ticket price. Check out more information here.

Meanwhile, the team just changed its Twitter handle from @MHEAT to @MiamiHEAT.

And don’t forget to follow me @sarahtalalay

Catching up on last week:

+ Duke law professor Richard Schmalbeck and Rutgers Business School professor Jay Soled had an interesting Op-Ed in the New York Times last week suggesting it’s time to retire tax deductions for businesses that buy suites and club seats at sporting events. The professors say the deductions have led not only to skyrocketing ticket prices but also a squeezing out of the non-corporate fan in favor of building ever more revenue-generating luxury suites. It makes me wonder, too, if all those deductions led in part to all that extra entertainment – the frills such as dance teams, contests, djs and the like -- to keep all those people who’ve spent that big money occupied.

+ Former Miami Dolphins majority owner H. Wayne Huizenga, who sold the team and stadium to Steve Ross last year, quietly sold the Floridian Golf and Yacht Club for $25.6 million, the Palm Beach Post’s Jose Lambiet reports here.

+ Ever feel like the Black Eyed Peas have become the soundtrack to life? Might be onto something. The Wall Street Journal’s piece on the band, including Miami Dolphins limited partner Fergie, as a brand is here.

+ Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade sold his home…at a loss. Read more here.

+ Here’s the video to go with Creed singer Scott Stapp’s “Marlins Will Soar” – a rewriting of his song “You Will Soar” that honors the Florida Marlins and is shown on the scoreboard at Sun Life Stadium:

What better way to connect with your fan base, reach potential new fans and forge new networks in the hyper social media age?

The San Francisco Giants may have hit on the answer. The team is hosting a Tweetup at its April 30 game against the Colorado Rockies. And it isn’t just an excuse to offer a special ticket price and hope for the best.

For $20, you get a View Reserved or Bleacher Section seat and a pregame mixer and a panel discussion with social media experts, including Twitter co-founder Biz Stone (Twitter is based in San Francisco) and Giants pitcher Jeremy Affeldt, who is on Twitter, natch. The first 1,000 fans get an @sfgiants T-shirt that says “Follow Us” on the back. And $2 of each ticket goes to Room To Read, an organization that promotes literacy in developing countries by establishing libraries.

The Tweetup fits into the Giants’ roster of special theme nights, said Bryan Srabian, the team’s social media/marketing specialist.

“Our heritage nights are a perfect example, reaching a new audience. Social Media is obviously very big in the San Francisco Area, and we are really stepping up our efforts this year in that area,” Srabian said. “ With that being said, more of our fans are using Twitter and Facebook and thought this would be a great event to bring together Twitter and Giants Baseball.”

NBA teams have adopted the concept. The Phoenix Suns have held at least two. The Milwaukee Bucks are hosting one Saturday, and tickets include a #FearTheDeer T-shirt. The New York Knicks held a Tweetup in February: $40 included a ticket and T-shirt, panel discussion, early entry for pregame and a postgame event.

If all goes well in San Francisco, Srabian said, the Giants could host another Tweetup soon.

“We really hope to take social media to a new level, engaging our fans, creating new fans, and learn from our fans as well, as social media is a two-way conversation,” Srabian said.

Don't forget to follow me, on Twitter, too: @sarahtalalay Who knows, maybe our local teams will be inviting us to a Tweetup, too.

Just like you might search for a hotel room or an airfare deal on a discount travel website such as Travelocity, Seth Cantor is hoping you’ll want to do the same for less than prime sports ticket inventory.

He launched FanRates.com in November and partnered with the New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers to offer up reduced price tickets to some of those NBA teams’ less popular game dates. The tickets come directly from the teams’ inventory. The company has since forged partnerships with the Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors and MLS teams, Chivas USA and the San Jose Earthquakes.

For teams it doesn’t partner with, FanRates.com directs visitors to secondary ticketing services, which it does not control.

Last month, the company partnered with the Panthers. For tomorrow night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres at BankAtlantic Center, for example, you’ll find $50 sideline balcony seats for $20, and a $95 premium endzone seat for $65. Check out other Panthers offers at FanRates.com.

FanRates wants to offer fans a less expensive ticket option, and teams a way to fill more seats.

“Not every team sells out nowadays and it has nothing to do really with their records,” said Cantor, CEO of Brooklyn, NY-based FanRates.com.

Well, sometimes, it does. Particularly in South Florida. But Cantor’s point is that in a difficult economy, fans have to make choices and sometimes they’re choosing not to attend games at all.

“People have to understand we’re not selling the prime inventory at the reduced price,” Cantor said.

By way of example, he said, travelers who want to fly non-stop to Las Vegas, sit in first class and arrive at a specific time, don’t find those flights on discount travel websites.

“But if you want to go to Vegas and you don’t mind if it’s a connecting flight or if you get in at 11 o’clock or if you’re sitting in the back of the plane, you go to the travel sites,” he said. “Same deal with our site.”

Cantor also stresses FanRates isn’t undercutting season ticket holders, who make their investment based on wanting to choose their location at every game, playoff ticket priority and extras, such as player autograph sessions.

“If you want to buy based on location,” Cantor says, FanRates.com isn’t for you.

More details on Dolphins 2010 ticket prices than I was able to include in today's story:

The Dolphins are increasing prices on more than half the seats at Sun Life Stadium next season, but offering significant cost-savings and extras to fans who buy season -- rather than single game -- tickets.

In the first major price restructuring in three years, the team is raising prices on 56 percent of seats, and freezing prices for 31 percent and reducing 13 percent. Six new categories show an eye to pricing seats in the shade and closer to the 50-yard line higher than those in sunny and endzone locations.

Season ticket prices range from $34 a game in the “Phan Zone” on the 400 level of the east end zone -- $31 for fans who renew by March 31 – up to $120 in the Lower Prime South -- 100 level seats on the shady, home side between the 20-yard lines. On a single game basis, Phan Zone seats rise to $45 and Lower Prime South to $150.

New season ticket holder benefits: Game Day Vision -- handheld devices that show replays, different camera angles, other games and fantasy statistics -- available only to club and suite holders last season will be given to all season ticket holders – one for every two seats in an account. Other amenities include priority sales for concerts at the stadium and booklets of buy one-get one concession offers.

“We’ve said the season ticket base is the lifeblood of a successful sports franchise, and we need to walk to walk, not just talk the talk,” Dolphins CEO Mike Dee said.

The team hired consulting firm, Analysis Group, to evaluate ticket prices and demand as the basis for devising the new pricing structure.

Renewal packets were sent to season ticket holders this week.

The Dolphins sold 49,415 season tickets last year -- up 7 percent from 46,131 in 2008. Dee said the team hopes to reach 55,000 in 2010.

The average ticket price for early season ticket renewers is $70.54 compared to an average $92.69 for single game tickets. Frozen and reduced seats are in 400 level: Upper Corner Endzone seats remain $42 apiece for season ticket holders and $52 for individual game buyers; Upper Sideline seats are dropping from $70 to $60 for season ticket buyers and from $80 to $70 for single game tickets.

The team has also altered prices on the club level, taking into account that endzone tickets aren't as desirable as sideline ones. East endzone seats, which dropped from $262 per game to $92 last year during construction on the Dolphins offices, will be $125 this year, but include only limited access to club amenities. The west endzone club seats also will have limited amenities and will cost $150 per game down from $262.50 last season.

Parking prices will be frozen at $25 to $28, team officials said.

Dee reiterated team owner Steve Ross’ mantra that the team must create an entertaining game-day stadium experience to entice people off their couches.

“One of the biggest competitors to growing our season ticket base and attendance in general is how good the family room experience has become,” Dee said. “Football in high definition is perhaps as good as anything in high definition that you can get on television, so we have to be better than we’ve been in the past, we have to offer new amenities.”

Last Thursday, the Homestead-Miami Speedway and Hooters Girls held a free car wash for Grand Prix of Miami ticket holders at the Hooters in Doral, complete with a car show, happy hour specials and Grand-Am drivers.

Then on Saturday, Guitar Center Hallandale hosted a PRS (Paul Reed Smith) Tech Day – an event that brought together music and race fans. The Grand-Am Daytona Prototype racecar was on site, as were the PRS guitars that will be awarded to the driver of the winning Daytona Prototype car in the Grand Prix and the driver of the Rolex Sports Car that earns the Motor Racing Network’s “Move of the Race.”

On Wednesday, drivers and show cars were in place for a Grand Prix Pre-Party at Monty’s on South Beach.

This evening, Homestead-Miami Speedway is holding a Haitian Relief “Drop-N-Drive” event, in which fans can donate items for Haiti and get a chance to drive their own cars on the track. The event is from 5 to 8 p.m. and also includes an opportunity to donate blood. Keg South of Homestead will serve food and beverages. Suggested donation items include sheets, towels, blankets, tents, flashlights, batteries, candles, soap, iodine, bandages, canned soup and bottled water.

All of this is in advance of Saturday’s day of Grand-Am racing. The Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Homestead 200 starts at 1:15 p.m., followed at 5 p.m. by the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Grand Prix of Miami.

General admission on Saturday is $20 and free for children 12 and under. Spend another $10 for access to the paddock area on Saturday. Want to meet Rolex Series Driver and actor Patrick Dempsey? There’s a $40 package that includes a ticket to the Grand Prix, meet and greet with Dempsey Racing drivers, an autographed hero card and a provides a $20 donation to the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer, Hope & Healing and Seattle Children’s Hospital.

For more information, visit homesteadmiamispeedway.com

The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, the NFL Players Association and Discovery Education have launched a program to encourage high school students to abide by the legal drinking age of 21 -- and get rewarded for it.

The venture, called “It’s 21. Just Pass,” includes a quiz testing students’ knowledge of drinking laws and consequences of underage drinking. Entrants are eligible to win a $5,000 scholarship. The school that submits the most entries, wins the school prize of a visit by an NFL player. Students ages 13 to 19 are eligible and can submit one entry per day during the sweepstakes period, which ends April 15.

There’s also a video contest, in which students can enter original videos of up to two minutes that reinforce the legal drinking age message for a chance to win two tickets to an NFL game.

“By partnering with the NFLPA and Discovery Education, we’ve leveraged high-profile sports personalities and a very credible educational resource to help us develop an innovative campaign that demonstrates our ongoing commitment to become an industry leader in social responsibility,” Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America President and CEO Craig Wolf said in a statement.

Added George Atallah, NFL Players Association Director of External Affairs: “The NFLPA proudly supports all of its players in their community service endeavors. Ventures like ‘It’s 21. Just Pass’ give these player role models an invaluable platform to spread a positive message.”

For rules, to enter and more information, visit its21justpass.com.

The Miami Heat is freezing prices for returning season ticket holders, who renew for the 2010-11 season by March 19, and including credits for food, beverage and tickets and merchandise discounts.

The team is trying to make it even easier for loyal fans to save money and stretch out payments. Renewing fans can pay in seven interest-free monthly installments, but they can stretch that to 10 payments – and get a limited edition Dwyane Wade bobblehead – if they pay by March 5.

“While we are seeing light at the end of this tunnel of economic recession, we recognize our fans are still struggling,” Heat President of Business Operations Eric Woolworth said in a statement.

The team is also adding credits for food and beverages and tickets and merchandise discounts. The longer you’ve been a season ticket holder, the larger your credits. For example, “Rookies” – fans who have been season ticket holders for one to four years receive $50 in food and beverage credits; $250 in ticket credits, which are for select games determined by the Heat; and a 10 percent discount at the Miami Hoops Gear store. That rises to $100 in food and beverage credits and $500 for tickets, along with the 10 percent merchandise discount for “Veterans” who’ve been with the team five to 10 years. “Legends” – season ticket holders for 20 or more years, get $200 in food and beverage credits, $1,000 in ticket credits and 15 percent off merchandise.

In addition, Veterans, “All-Stars” (11 to 19 years), and Legends will have their names displayed on the My Heat House Wall of Recognition outside section 115 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Meanwhile, the team is also offering up prizes, such as free Carnival cruises and American Airlines tickets, in a Heat Renewal Booklet Scavenger Hunt. During each home game between tonight’s (Feb. 23) and March 18, clues will be given out on HeaTV and on the My Heat Season Tickets website that relate to items in the renewal booklet. Fans write the answers in their booklets and submit them at the end of the renewal period for a chance to win prizes. More information at heat.com.

It’s been years since the focus of Florida Marlins’ FanFest hasn’t been the prospect of a new ballpark at some point on the horizon. So long that even Marlins President David Samson had to correct some fans who referred to the Marlins’ future home as “prospective.”

“This is the first town hall meeting, in our, this is our ninth season, where we no longer have to have to call it the prospective new ballpark,” Samson referring to Jeffrey Loria beginning in his ninth season as owner. “It’s the actual new ballpark.”

The team’s new home is 22 percent complete, the roof beams for the track for the retractable roof are going up and the bowl is taking shape at the former site of the Orange Bowl in Little Havana. The venue is so “actual” that several fans thanked Samson and his staff for their success in finally getting the ballpark project under way.

Most of the questions at Saturday’s FanFest focused on the field this season. When asked how many wins the team would notch, Samson responded “enough to make the playoffs.”

A few fans had business questions. Among them:

+ Will Palm Beach County residents be able to take Tri-rail to the new ballpark?

“Absolutely,” Samson said. Shuttles, he said, will carry fans to the ballpark from the Jackson Memorial and downtown Miami Tri-rail stations, and the team will devise transportation plans for all fans. “We want our fans north of Miami to follow us south and we want fans in Miami to comes to games to enjoy that beautiful ballpark, which is going to have a roof and air conditioning and everything you could ever want,” Samson said to applause.

Tommy Hutton told fans it took him an extra 15 to 20 minutes from Sun Life Stadium to get to the new ballpark’s location.

+ How soon will the Marlins host an All-Star Game?

“It has not been confirmed, but if you thought to yourself we would host the All-Star Game in 2015, you would probably not be misleading yourself,” Samson said.

+ When will the team have new uniforms as part of becoming the Miami Marlins in the new ballpark and will teal be one of the colors?

Samson said new uniforms are in development, but “no color palette has been decided yet. We’re working on it though.”

He said, “We’re lucky to have an owner who has an incredibly talented eye for art and beauty, and so we’ll be ready to unveil that maybe during the ’11 season, but probably not until after we win the 2011 World Series.”

More applause.

The team said it sold more than 40,000 individual-game tickets during FanFest – the first day individual tickets for 2010 went on sale.

This evening, four gentlemen will take their seats at Sun Life Stadium for their 44th Super Bowl.

Yes, 44th.

Don Crisman, sporting a blue shirt with the inscription “Never Miss a Super Bowl Club, 44th Anniversary,” was snapping photos at the Super Bowl Media Center this week. He explained how they all found each other.

Crisman, 73, of Kennebunk, Me., started making the journey with friend Stanley Whitaker, who’s now 84 and dropped out two years ago for health reasons. It was at Super Bowl XII or XIII, they discovered they weren’t the only ones. Tom Henschel’s been with them since XIV. The baby of the group at age 68, Henschel splits his time between Pittsburgh and Tampa.

By Super Bowl XXXIII – in South Florida – the NFL included their stories in the game program and that’s how they discovered Larry Jacobson of San Francisco, who’s now 70. Oh, and now the NFL reserves tickets for them so they don’t have to search for them. They do still have to pay.

At Super Bowl XXXVI, they found Bob Cook of Wisconsin, who is 79.

“It was 36 or 37,” Crisman says. They now visit each other’s homes and attend regular season NFL games together. Crisman, for example, has gone to a Patriots-49ers game in San Francisco with Jacobson.

They have other streaks, too. Crisman attended 25 Daytona 500s in a row. Jacobson’s been to about a dozen summer Olympics games, Crisman said.

They each have responsibilities for the Super Bowl trip – one books hotels, another arranges a luncheon for the group. They typically back different teams in the Super Bowl, but this year, they’re all rooting for the Saints, Crisman said. “What the area went through, those people deserve some good in their lives.”

As for future trips, Crisman said: “I’m hoping to make it to 50, then I’ll be 80 and it’s OK to stop.”

+ MOVES Magazine, the Hollywood-based magazine about and for athletes, hosts its annual Red Carpet Super Bowl Gala at Christine Lee’s at Gulfstream Park on Wednesday night with hosts Ray Lewis and Ludacris.

The latest issue of the glossy magazine that features high end advertising and articles both about athletes and that are meant to interest athletes, has LeBron James on the cover. That’s after the magazine had already planned its edition with Tiger Woods as cover boy.

The magazines were distributed to NFL players at the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl team hotels and is being made available at parties and events across South Florida this week.

+ Also on Wednesday, Hunt Auctions opens its preview of items for its Super Bowl XLIV Live Auction on Sunday at the Hard Rock Café in Bayside Marketplace in Miami. The preview, which includes more than 280 football-related items such as a Joe Namath game-worn jersey and 1972 Dolphins team-signed football, runs Wednesday through Saturday at the NFL Fan Zone on South Beach. There’s also an appraisal fair, where fans can bring any kind of sports collectibles – not just football items – to learn how much they may be worth.

Sharp-eyed Sun Sentinel Assistant Sports Editor Steve Svekis noticed a problem with one of the items listed in the auction catalog: a model Washington Redskins home jersey for running back John Riggins from the 1980s features No. 42. Riggins wore No. 44.

+ There’s still time – until 1 p.m. Wednesday -- to buy raffle tickets for four tickets to Super Bowl XLIV and two rooms for three nights at the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami, where the New Orleans Saints are staying this week. Raffle tickets are $2 each, but you must buy at least five. The package doesn’t include airfare. Proceeds go to the Heath Evans Foundation, which is dedicated to healing children and families affected by sexual abuse, and the Drew Brees Dream Foundation, which raises money for cancer research, cancer patient care, and rebuilding schools, parks, playgrounds, and athletic fields. Buy tickets at heathevans.org.

+ And just in case you forgot that Super Bowl is rife with unusual and wacky pitches, releases, and often suspect connections to the big game: Veterinary Pet Insurance Co., which insures some 475,000 pets, checked its database of pet names and says the New Orleans Saints just slightly edge the Indianapolis Colts when it comes pet owners naming their pets for their favorite team and its players. The company included pets named Drew, Brees and Drew Brees; Manning, Peyton and Peyton Manning and a variety of other Saints’ and Colts’ names – even Saint and Colt – and the tallies were 230 Saints-related names to 227 Colts-related names. How’s that for pet equity?

The Granted Wish Foundation is trying to drum up support for Haiti relief by offering up three front row seats to Super Bowl XLIV at Sun Life Stadium to the largest contributor.

The organization, which grants wishes to needy people of all ages, is auctioning the tickets (Section 126, Row 1, Seats 1-3) on eBay.com to raise money to purchase and send a mobile medical treatment vechile to Port-Au-Prince. Bidding ends at 6 p.m. Monday.

So far, bidding stands at $6,550 and the reserve hasn’t been met. The “buy it now” price is $21,978.

Find the tickets, which were donated by Arthur Middleton Capital Holdings in Canton, Ohio, on eBay here or by searching “Super Bowl Haiti” at eBay.com. They also come with VIP passes to the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee’s pregame reception on Feb. 6.

As 2010 Pro Bowl players descended on South Florida for practices, community events and other obligations, debate continued to rage about as much as the rosters changed.

At an NFL Players Association event at Carol City Elementary in Miami Gardens, where players encouraged kids to eat well and keep active and provided a $5,000 check for the school’s budding vegetable garden, union representatives put on their best face, but didn’t hide their frustration.

“It’s great for South Florida, great for the Miami area. It brings more programs, things like this where players can get involved,” NFL PA President Kevin Mawae said Wednesday. “It’s going to be good for the community and the players that are here are happy to be a part of it.”

But Mawae, who plays center for the Tennessee Titans and is a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, also ticked off a number of reasons players are concerned. He says the union should have had more of a role in the decision.

“We really wish we had a bigger say so. I think it’s something we could have given a little more insight to,” Mawae said. “Part of the lure of the Pro Bowl is going to Hawaii as well. So it’s kind of a mixed bag of feelings there.”

Meanwhile, Mawae and union Executive Director DeMaurice Smith aren’t pleased about the requirement that selected players who are in the Super Bowl can’t play in the Pro Bowl, but still must attend the game to get their Pro Bowl pay.

“A whole lot of obligations without a whole lot of input. I also think that’s not lost on our fans,” Smith said. “I talked to a person who was fortunate enough to make it to the Pro Bowl again this year, and he said, ‘you know De, it’s great and it’s still an honor, but there was something about knowing the Pro Bowl was after the Super Bowl, knowing it was a game about the players, knowing it was an honor to be selected to play a game that’s always been traditionally in this spot. And to not have it this year, It feels a little bit less’.”

The NFL says the union was involved in the discussions for years before the decision to move the game’s time and place was announced in December 2008. Smith wasn’t named union executive director until March – after the Pro Bowl decision was announced.

The move before the Super Bowl is also controversial.

“There are fans, once the Super Bowl is over, they lose interest,” Mawae said. “So I understand that aspect of it, but then it cheats guys out of the opportunity to play in the All-Star game, like the 14 guys from the Colts and the Saints. Again, you’ve got to decide which one’s more important, the players’ feelings versus, at the end of the day, the financial aspect of Pro Bowl.”

The Pro Bowl returns to Hawaii in 2011 and 2012. After that, it could rotate.

“We’ll see. We’re testing it out this year,” Mawae said.

Negotiations for a new labor contract continue to get interesting. (More on this in future posts).

+ Meanwhile, as workers continue their Pro Bowl and Super Bowl preparations across South Florida, experts are still debating the merits of a Colts-Saints Super Bowl matchup, compared to what could have been, had the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings advanced.

Tickets on the secondary market are averaging about $2,600, whereas a Jets Super Bowl would have started at $2,500, experts predicted.

“It’s not good for tourism in South Florida. If the Jets and the Vikings had gotten in, you’d have more people flying in and more of a corporate fan base,” Robert Tuchman, executive vice president of Premier Global Sports, told my colleague Doreen Hemlock. “With New Orleans, you’ll have more people driving in, and you don’t have that corporate fan base. Some will drive in on Saturday. They won’t spend as much as New Yorkers would.”

With the Colts just in the Super Bowl in South Florida in 2007, Tuchman, whose company arranges corporate and group travel to sporting events, said, “Some have already paid for that once in a lifetime experience at the Super Bowl.”

Tuchman estimates the losses to businesses at 30 percent to 40 percent. The difference, he said, “is millions and millions of dollars for South Florida. There will be less hotel rooms, restaurant reservations and golf reservations. It’s not a great matchup.”

But that’s not to suggest South Florida won’t be putting on a big show during the next 10 days. The Pro Bowl is officially sold out at 70,500 seats, although a few club and single seats remain for sale.

Tuchman, after all, is a big fan of the region. In his book, The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live, he ranks Miami as No. 1 in his list of top 10 cities for hosting a major sporting event.

+ Tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams are skipping the Feb. 6-7 Fed Cup because they say they have roles with the Super Bowl as part owners of the Miami Dolphins. A Dolphins spokesman said there is no formal obligation for the Williams sisters to attend any Super Bowl activities. There’s an owners meeting the day before the Super Bowl, but owners with tiny percentages aren’t in the room for those. Venus is, however, hosting a party at the W South Beach on Feb. 5 to launch the new laundry detergent Tide plus Febreze Freshness Sport.

It’s not unusual for teams to have theme nights: Boy Scouts day; Jewish or Hispanic Heritage Night; Lawyer Appreciation Day; Bring your dog to the park night.

But yoga night?

The Florida Panthers are getting in on the yoga craze helping to celebrate Yoga Day USA on Jan. 23. Panthers Yoga Day includes a 90-minute yoga instruction session before the Panthers-Toronto Maple Leafs game that night.

Tickets are $20 for the game and the yoga, which starts at 4:30 p.m. Bring your own yoga mat and change of clothes and stay for the game in an upper level seat at BankAtlantic Center. Already have a ticket to the game? It’s just $10 more for the yoga class. Of the yoga tickets, $5 from each purchase goes to the Yoga Alliance. Check out details at floridapanthers.com.

After 14 years of holding spring training at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, the Baltimore Orioles practically snuck out of town last year.

When their long-sought plans for an overhauled stadium got stuck in between the FAA and the city, the team was lured to Sarasota's Ed Smith Stadium without so much as a goodbye.

No final spring in Fort Lauderdale tribute; no end of the spring training era finale.

So, that’s why it was a little startling when a brochure advertising the Orioles’ spring season tickets arrived in my mailbox. In Sarasota -- that's 205 miles and, according to the spring training media guide, four hours and 20 minutes from Fort Lauderdale.

But who’s counting?

It’s probably a good marketing move. The brochures were sent to people who bought individual spring training game tickets last year.

But is it just me or does that take nerve?

Apparently, it’s not enough to have our own entry in the inaugural season of Lingerie Football League. South Florida will be hosting the LFL playoffs and championship game, Lingerie Bowl VII, at Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood the night before Super Bowl XLIV.

Our local team, the Miami Caliente (2-1 on the season), is even vying for one of two open playoff spots. Stephon McMillen, media director for the league, reminds us the Caliente is “South Florida's only pro football in the hunt for the Playoffs.” The Caliente’s final game of the season is against the Tampa Breeze at 9 p.m. Jan. 22 at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.

In case you've somehow missed this, the Lingerie Football League launched last fall with 10 teams, whose players play 7-on-7 full contact tackle football dressed in bikini tops and short shorts. Check out photos here.

Prior to the league's launch, the Lingerie Bowl was held as an exhibition game and has become something of a fixture of Super Bowl halftime – offering a diversion from the NFL’s official halftime concert performance.

But you can catch the game in person – seats are $55 to $225 – on Feb. 6 at Hard Rock Live. There’s even an after-party hosted by LFL models for Lingerie Bowl ticket holders, celebrities and VIPs at One Bal Harbor Hotel on Miami Beach.

As it has in previous years, except last year when it was “canceled due to a conflict with a Florida nudist resort,” the game will be broadcast on pay per view.

Hard Rock Live is also hosting the LFL conference playoffs on Feb. 4 with the Western Conference playoff at 9 p.m., followed by the Eastern Conference playoff at 11 p.m.

Tickets for the Caliente's final game of the season, conference playoffs and Lingerie Bowl are available at Ticketmaster.com.

Iowa Hawkeyes and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets players visited the Orange Bowl “gift suite” last night to pick out items ranging from clock radios to iPod docking stations to mountain bikes and luggage sets.

Also among this year’s gifts for playing in the 76th FedEx Orange Bowl on Jan. 5 at Land Shark Stadium: a Tourneau watch, New Era hat and an Ogio backpack.

+ Meanwhile, ticket prices have been set for Super Bowl XLIV, which will be played Feb. 7 at the same stadium, known then as Dolphin Stadium. They’re topping out at $1,000 – just as they did this year in Tampa for Super Bowl XLIII.

The NFL is doubling the number of $500 seats reserved for fans of the two competing Super Bowl teams to 2,000 – up from 1,000 this year. Of the roughly 74,000 seats at Dolphin Stadium, 50 percent will cost $800; 35 percent cost $900 and 13 percent cost $1,000.

Face value for tickets to the 2007 Super Bowl in South Florida? $600 and $700.

Looking for a less expensive alternative to see some of the NFL’s biggest stars, who won’t be playing in the Super Bowl? Tickets to the Pro Bowl on Jan. 31 range from $50 to $195 with most priced less than $100. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com, NFL.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

+ With sadness: The sports business reporting ranks weren’t that big to begin with, so it always hurts to lose another member – particularly as part of the newspaper industry’s slow painful death march. The Washington Times publishes its last sports section Friday. Good luck to sports business and media writer, Tim Lemke, whose last TWT blog post can be found here.

Calling it “Buy One Get One Three,” the Miami Heat has designed a ticket promotion around star guard No. 3 Dwyane Wade.

If fans buy a ticket to one of four remaining games at AmericanAirlines Arena that the Heat has deemed its “hottest” games, they can get a 300 level ticket to one of six games the Heat has dubbed as simply “hot.” The promotion works so that for every ticket you buy at full price to one of the hottest games, you can get an equivalent number for $3 to one of the hot games.

These games are the hottest: Jan. 6 against the Boston Celtics, Jan. 25 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, March 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers, and March 18 against the Orlando Magic.

These six are the hot ones to which the $3 tickets are available: Jan. 19 against the Indiana Pacers, Feb. 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks, Feb. 9 against the Houston Rockets, Feb. 23 versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, March 2 versus the Golden State Warriors and March 10 against the LA Clippers.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit heat.com.

It’s not unusual for teams to offer holiday ticket package specials, but the Florida Marlins are offering a holiday deal aimed at filling the stands for lots of games.

Not a surprise, of course, but this deal includes tickets to a game at every home series in 2010 or 26 games for $150. Yes, that’s $5.77 a game. While the tickets are on Land Shark Stadium’s lower level, they’re in right field in what has been the picnic area. But still – that’s less than parking. Find out more here.

Meanwhile, the Miami Heat’s deal allows you to craft your own holiday three-game pack starting at $99. The team has divided up games ranging from $33 a game to $65 a game. Check it out here.

The Florida Panthers, too, are offering a holiday deal starting at $99 that includes two to four seats at up to seven games, and a David Booth autographed puck. The number of games and prices depends on the seat locations: The $99 pack, for example, includes two upper level seats; get four lower level seats for $499. More details here.

The Miami Dolphins-Pittsburgh Steelers game at Land Shark Stadium on Jan. 3 has already been officially declared a sellout. But there are still tickets to see the only other remaining 2009 regular season home game on Dec. 27 against the Houston Texans.

In a sponsorship and promotional campaign that combines radio, trivia, in-person and social networking opportunities, Dunkin’ Donuts is teaming with the Dolphins to offer a chance at 1,040 free individual tickets to that game.

The promotion kicked off Monday with the first Dunkin’ Donuts Dolphins Appreciation Day: running every weekday through Dec. 18, fans get a shot at winning four tickets to the game by being the first to answer a Dolphins trivia question at Dunkin’s South Florida Twitter account: @DDSoFla. The trivia question today will go out at 11 a.m. in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Dolphins’ 11-0 start in 1984.

That Twitter account will also keep fans informed of other ways to win tickets, including sending out the 10 Dunkin’ locations between Miami and Sebastian, where on Dec. 19, the first 50 people at those stores – starting at 7 a.m. -- will receive two game tickets.

Meanwhile, on weekdays through Dec. 18, WQAM 560 AM during Joe Rose’s show and on ESPN 760 AM during a local break on the Mike & Mike show, two tickets and a $25 Dunkin’ gift card will be given to the fan who answers a Dolphins trivia question. Find out more at the Dolphins' Twitter page, too.

Oh, and there's signage at the stadium and a display area in the Grand Plaza on game day.

And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter: @sarahtalalay

With just two months until South Florida hosts its record-setting 10th Super Bowl, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was in town today for the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee's kickoff luncheon. (Billboards counting down the days until both the Jan. 31 Pro Bowl and Feb . 7 Super Bowl are now up on I-95).

While he praised the region's hospitality and track record for hosting the big game, he also warned -- again -- that the Super Bowl won't be back unless Dolphin Stadium (currently Land Shark) stays current. A $250 million renovation that vastly spruced up the club level isn't enough to compete with newer, glitzier venues in Dallas, Indianapolis, Arizona, the commish said.

"I think the key thing, it’s a great community, they've done a great job hosting Super Bowls in the past, so I think they have that as an advantage," Goodell said of South Florida. "The key thing is making sure this stadium is state of the art and that it can compete with the stadiums in some of these other communities. They are moving to another level some of these stadiums."

It's not Goodell that makes the decision about Super Bowl host locations - it's the 32 owners. But you can be sure he knows the clubs' marching orders. Sure South Florida has its advantages, but without the lighting needed to high definition nighttime broadcasts and other amenities, the dual-purpose stadium won't be at the top of the owners' lists. Goodell and South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee Chairman Rodney Barreto say the Florida Marlins' move to a new ballpark, expected in 2012, presents a perfect opportunity to make what Dolphins owner Steve Ross calls "fine tuning" changes to the 22-year-old stadium.

Ross and Barreto say alterations and funding possibilities are being considered. While it's too early to say precisely what changes will be made and how they'll be paid for, it's quite likely we'll learn more soon since the region is bidding for the 2014 Super Bowl. The owners are expected to consider the 2014 site at their meeting in May.

Barreto said the community, which is awarded the game -- not the Dolphins -- needs to decide if it's worth the estimated $450 million to local businesses to host the game.

Meanwhile, Goodell said if the region successfully hosts the Pro Bowl on Jan. 31, that game could come back here regularly. South Florida's considered the test locale for the game being held prior to the Super Bowl and outside of Hawaii for the first time since 1980. So far, more than 45,000 tickets have been sold to the game. Goodell says he is hoping for a sellout and enthusiasm inside the stadium.

Ross, however, is hoping the Dolphins become the first team to both host and play in a Super Bowl at the same time. "I want to be the first city to host playing in the Super Bowl," he said. "That hasn’t happened yet and it should only happen in Miami. This year wouldn’t be soon enough."

Other topics Goodell addressed include the ongoing labor negotiations with the NFL Players Association, lengthening the regular season and replacing the NFL Experience. Goodell said the good news is the league and union are continuing to hold talks about a new contract. He said the regular season could be lengthened by shortening preseason. Goodell said fans don't like preseason games, but the league needs to be consider the impact on players.

He said the NFL Experience is being replaced in South Florida with a series of other community events since the region just hosted the Super Bowl in 2007.

+ The Dolphins just missed their goal of selling 50,000 season tickets for the 2009 season, Dolphins CEO Mike Dee said. Even so, the team sold 49,415 full season tickets up 7 percent from 46,131 in 2008. Plus, some 10,000 represent new season ticket holders.

To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, AmericanAirlines Arena, the home of the Miami Heat, is inviting fans to sit down.

Well, sort of.

The arena is hosting a “Sit-In” contest on Dec. 4 to win four tickets to every event – Miami Heat games, concerts and family shows – at the venue in 2010, starting with the Phish concert on New Year’s Eve. (If a show has multiple dates, the winning team wins four tickets to one of the dates). The package of tickets is valued at about $35,000. Parking, however, is not included.

Teams of four are to compete by sitting in every seat for no more than five seconds each in the 19,600-seat arena within 24 hours. People who sit for longer than five seconds will be disqualified.

Teams must include at least two people, but no more than four. Only one team member can do the sitting at one time, but is able to tag the next sitter on the team when he or she is ready to switch. Arena staff will monitor the participants. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 70 teams had signed up.

If more than one team completes the task, a Heat trivia contest will determine the grand prize winner. A trivia contest will also be held if no team completes the task. Eligible teams at the end of the contest that don’t win the grand prize will receive six-game partial Heat ticket plans for the 2009-10 season for each team member. And team members that sit in every seat in at least three pre-determined sections will receive two tickets to a Heat game this season.

To compete, teams must register by Dec. 3 at AAArena.com. The contest begins at 8 a.m. Dec. 4.

The arena opened with a Gloria Estefan concert on Dec. 31, 1999.

Hoping to attract more season ticket buyers and provide a unique business opportunity, the Florida Panthers’ parent company, Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, is giving local companies a shot at the naming rights to Incredible Ice for one year.

For the cost of four lower bowl season tickets for the 2009-10 season, local businesses will be entered into a contest to win the chance to put their name atop the team’s practice rink in Coral Springs. The rink, which recently underwent a $10 million upgrade that included adding a third NHL-regulation sized sheet of ice, gets more than 1 million visitors a year, SSE President Michael Yormark said.

The eligible tickets start at $42 a seat per game, meaning that for about $7,000, a local business can score the naming rights that SSE values at more than $300,000.

“We thought it would raise buzz in the market,” Yormark said. “We think it’s an interesting opportunity to get in front of C level executives, perhaps small to mid-size companies that might be interested in getting their name on a building.”

In addition to attracting more season ticket buyers, Yormark said the opportunity will also give SSE a better measure of the true value of the naming rights. He said it isn’t known whether the “Incredible Ice” name will remain on the building as part of the corporate title.

The contest runs through December and the winning business will be announced in January. The winner will be responsible for paying for signage. For more information or to enter, call 954-835-PUCK or visit the team’s Web site.

Knowing it was going to be a challenging year on the business side, the Miami Heat has made upgrades at AmericanAirlines Arena to increase sponsor and advertising opportunities. The team’s new MediaMesh – the giant LED marquee on the front of the arena – was unveiled in May. New high definition television screens and menu boards have been installed for this season.

In a meeting with reporters Tuesday, Heat owner Micky Arison said the innovations appear to have made a difference, although he can’t say for sure what’s helped drive sponsorship sales during the recession.

“On the cruise side, one of our brands recently did a consumer survey, trying to find out if people will buy vacations this year. The questions dealt with what will consumers cut back on next year, and sports was number one in the answer of cutting back. This is a national issue, probably a global issue,” said Arison, who is also chairman of Carnival Corp.

In the NBA, Arison said, “The league is dealing with significantly less ticket sales, but … sponsorship has held up better than I would have expected. We’re in a very tough market, because it’s very real estate and banking oriented. We’ve also had some sponsors like Stanford Financial, and others that have failed on us, so there’s no question this is going to be a tough year and a tough period, financially for the franchise. But I don’t think that’s unique to us. It’s a national and global problem.”

Stanford Financial had signage across the Heat’s VIP lobby entrance until earlier this year when R. Allen Stanford was charged with fraud. The signs were pulled from the lobby after the company missed a payment. Meanwhile, with law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler now in turmoil since Scott Rothstein’s alleged involvement in what federal authorities are calling a massive fraud scheme, RRA advertisements are no longer appearing in the Heat’s game program.

But the team’s sponsors sales, including signing Assist-Card to the team’s first-ever presenting sponsorship this season, have been healthier than he anticipated.

“We’re in good shape with sponsorships, surprisingly good shape, but really struggling with ticket sales,” Arison said.

As for why sponsor sales have increased, Arison pointed to the new inventory such as the MediaMesh and speculated that some companies may be excited about the Heat’s young team.

“Because it’s such a banking, real estate oriented community, I thought it would be really murder. And last spring it looked that way,” Arison said. “As the summer progressed, it came around. Where we’re struggling is premium seating and ticket sales, which is really hard right now. People can watch it at home and consumers are very, very price conscious. It’s a unique product, you can sit at home and get it for free. You can’t do that with a cruise.”

Sun Sentinel columnist Dave Hyde interviewed Miami Dolphins owner Steve Ross in his 19th floor office at Time Warner Center in Manhattan on Friday. Time Warner Center is the mixed use residential and retail complex Ross’ Related Companies built that has transformed Columbus Circle. The piece ran today before the Dolphins defeated the New York Jets 30-25 at the Meadowlands – and completed a season sweep of their rivals. Read Hyde’s piece here.

Just a quick thought on today’s game: is there another team in the NFL that has worked so hard to be 3-4? Just asking.

And speaking of being 3-4, the Dolphins hope you’ll want to watch the rest of the team’s home games this season live. They’ve introduced a new four-game pack that features lower bowl tickets to each of the team’s final four home games of 2009 for $348. That’s to see the Dolphins play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers. It offers a savings off the individual ticket price and gives you priority for playoff seats. Check it out here.