John Kucko blog: Media Day on Deck

(New Orleans)  Having covered 15 of these, without question, the zaniest day at the Super Bowl is the traditional Media Day which is Tuesday of any SB week.  Approximately 4,000 reporters will have access to the Superdome and will be able to talk to players from both teams.  The 49ers will go first at 9:30am local time, followed by the Ravens in the early afternoon.  No stone goes unturned when it comes to the absurdity of Media Day.  There will be everything from scantily clad models to VH-1 hosts trying to"cover" the game hype.  It's a day of mass distraction and one that the players kind of enjoy, but the coaches loathe.  Player availability goes right thru Thursday, then they go in lockdown mode.  The coaches hold their final media sessions Friday morning, then they too, go in shutdown mode.

New stadium needed:  By modern day NFL standards, the Superdome has become antiquated. New Orleans has hosted 10 Super Bowls over the years and this COULD be their last unless the Saints get a new home.  There are too many "high-end" venues worthy of hosting the crown jewel of sports (Dallas, Phoenix and Indy to name a few).  As it stands, Miami is trying to lure Super Bowl 50 and in order to do so, will likely need a $475 million upgrade to Sun Life Stadium.  No cities have hosted more Super Bowls than Miami and New Orleans and both are in dire need of major upgrades, if not new stadiums altogether.