What football game? The week in Super Bowl parties

Somehow, the actual football game has become an afterthought.

With tickets to Sunday's Super Bowl reportedly in the $3,000 to $5,000 range -- and that's just for a seat in the nosebleeds, where you may need binoculars or a telescope to see whether that was Tom Brady or Eli Manning that just threw a touchdown -- many fans are flocking to Arizona just for the pregame festivities.

And we're not talking about tailgate parties here, where brats and beers are the menu. Tonight alone there's Vice the Party, featuring Snoop Dog, Kid Rock, and LL Cool J; ESPN the Magazine Next Big Weekend 2008, featuring Ludacris; and the Friday Night Lights party, hosted by Larry Johnson and Warren Sapp, among others.

(There's also the Commissioner's Ball, but who would want to go to that unless they didn't have somewhere better, cooler to be?)

If you're in the area, keep in mind that these parties are see-and-be-seen events; just because you show up doesn't mean you're on the list to get in. But just in case they mistake you for some B-lister they kind of liked in that one movie, be sure you wear a tie.

Where's the Party? Wall Street Journal graphic showing the Scottsdale/Phoenix hotspots.

If it wasn't for Spygate, would the Patriots be here?

It's a simple hypothetical question, and we'll never know for sure.

Four and a half months ago, New England trounced the New York Jets in the season opener. But the bigger storyline was that the Patriots had cameras trained on the New York sidelines, and they got caught doing it.
That storyline evolved into Spygate, and resulted in a $500,000 fine levied on Bill Belichick, a $250,000 fine on the New England franchise, and the loss of a 2008 draft pick.

But for everything the Patriots lost, they gained one thing: a major chip on their shoulders. There were no personnel changes, of course, but there was a shift in mentality. A good team was suddenly great. Each game suddenly became an opportunity to prove to the world that spy cameras or no, New England was the best team in the league.

The effect was utter humiliation for nearly every opponent on the Patriots' schedule. New England, as we all know, won the next 15 games of the regular season in record-setting fashion, setting single-season marks for points scored, touchdown throws, and touchdown receptions.

So here's the question of the day: if Spygate had never happened, would the Patriots be in the Super Bowl? And your bonus question: if it wasn't for Spygate, would New England have gone undefeated?

Separated at Birth: Chris Webber & Forest Whitaker

In honor of Chris Webber's impending return to the Golden State Warriors and Coach Don Nelson, here is a special edition of our Separated at Birth feature.

Webber's return probably won't be much benefit to the Warriors or a resurgence in his fading career, but if I'm wrong, this could be a great storyline.

So great, in fact, that it could become a movie script. If it does, Forest Whitaker (right) is the only one who should audition for the main part.

Thanks to Matthew for the tip.

Does Erik Bedard a playoff team make?

The Seattle Mariners won 88 games last season, finishing six games behind the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Southern California which is on the West Coast of the United States of America.

It was a nice improvement on their 78-84 season of 2006, but the streak of playoff futility -- stretching back to the 116-win season of 2001 -- continued.

All that to say that general manager Bill Bavasi keeping his job would seem contingent on the Mariners at least making an appearance in the playoffs this season. And to get Seattle to the playoffs, Bavasi needs to bring in a top-of-the-rotation starter, whose name isn't Johan.

MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the Mariners are very close to acquiring Erik Bedard from Baltimore in exchange for outfielder Adam Jones, reliever George Sherrill, and two to three minor league prospects.

It would be a gutsy deal, trading away Jones. Jones was a sandwich pick in 2003, and he's been knocking at the door of the Bigs for the last couple of seasons. He hit 25 home runs and drove in 84 last year at AAA Tacoma, and he was the only real candidate for the every day vacancy in right field.

Sherrill would be a big loss, too. He's been a solid lefty out of the pen for the last four years, with very solid seasons in '06 and '07. The other prospects -- Chris Tillman, Tony Butler, and Kameron Mickolio -- are relatively unknown commodities, at least at the Major League level.

But the carrot at the end of the stick is juicy, if not downright tantalizing. Bedard is young (he'll turn 29 in spring training), inexpensive (he'll be paid $6 million or $8 million depending on an arbitration ruling), and very, very good. He was 13-5 last year on a horrible Orioles team, with a 3.16 ERA and 221 strikeouts, a rate of 1.21K/9.

If Seattle can seal the deal, its rotation will be as follows:

Bedard

Felix Hernandez - 14-7, 3.92 ERA

Jarrod Washburn - 10-15, 4.32

Miguel Batista - 16-11, 4.29

Carlos Silva - 13-14, 4.19 for Minnesota

If everyone pitches well, it's a very good rotation. Personally, I think if Bedard is acquired, the Silva signing becomes a redundancy. Brandon Morrow, the M's 2006 first-round pick, is ready to join the rotation, but if Bedard shows up, there's nowhere to put him, except back in the bullpen.

It's easy to get excited about this Bedard trade, but Mariners fans need to keep a couple of things in mind. First, there's that gaping hole in right field to address. Jose Guillen, who hit 23 home runs and drove in 99 last season, is gone. And if Bedard is on board, Jones is not. So that leaves utility man Willie Bloomquist and minor league slugger Wladimir Balentien -- or possibly a free agent acquisition -- to fight for the spot.

Second, the Angels haven't gone anywhere. They signed Torii Hunter and traded for Jon Garland, and some rumors have them making another deal with the White Sox for first baseman Paul Konerko. Even if that doesn't work out, Los Angeles is still an excellent baseball team, and in my books the favorite to win the division.

A move for Bedard, even with the loss of Jones, makes Seattle a better team instantly. They will push the Angels for the West division title and be in the running for the Wild Card, right from the get-go. But I'm not convinced this deal pushes them over the top.