Daily Loaf

The new nightclub at Channelside called Aja is blowin’ it out for Super Bowl with three parties featuring celebrity hosts and entertainment. Here’s a rundown:

• Thursday, January 29, Super Bowl Kickoff Party Featuring a 4 Turntable Set with Sounds from DJ AM and DJ Jazzy Jeff, $50.00 — Thursday kicks off the weekend with the sounds of Celebrity DJ AM (Resident LAX Las Vegas and PURE Las Vegas) and hip-hop great DJ Jazzy Jeff. This will be a 4 turntable performance.

• Friday, January 30, Friday Night Blitz Super Bowl Party Hosted By Holly Madison & Kendra Wilkinson, $300.00 per person (includes premium open bar from 9 p.m.-3 a.m.) — Friday Night Blitz Super Bowl event hosted by the stars of E! Entertainment Television’s hit reality series, The Girls Next Door, Holly Madison & Kendra Wilkinson. Along with Alex Smith (Tampa Bay Bucs), Greg Camarillo (Miami Dolphins), Drew Carter (Oakland Raiders) and Brendon Ayanbadejo (Baltimore Ravens). Music and entertainment by Celebrity DJ Scene (Resident Studio 54 and Wet Republic Las Vegas, XM Radio DJ).

• Saturday, January 31, Athletes and Angels Super Bowl Party Hosted By Pamela Anderson, $300.00 per person (includes premium open bar from 9 p.m.-3 a.m.) — With sounds by DJ Vice (Resident Tao Las Vegas). Additional hosts include Simeon Rice (Retired Tampa Bay Bucs), Shaun Phillips (Chargers), Stephen Cooper (Chargers) and Vernon Davis (49ers).

Open to the public; advance tickets available here

Aja. 290 South Meridian Avenue; Tampa, at the Towers of Channelside, just around the corner from the St. Pete Times Forum

That’s a recent headline from Outsports.com, the always-entertaining site for gay sports fans, and from the video posted on the site’s Jock Talk Blog it sure does seem as if Kurt is awfully concerned about the possibility of friends and family (and you too, probably) heading for eternal damnation.

Even more interesting are the comments that follow the post, including some smack talk about the saintly Tony Dungy and Tim Tebow, countered by live-and-let-live remarks that are yet another reminder that gay opinion isn’t monolithic.

Plus, this bonus for your playoff enjoyment: “Ben Roethlisberger a drama queen?”

How does an Arizona Cardinals/Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl sound?

I’m tempted to say that NBC, which will broadcast Super Bowl XXXXIII from Tampa , is shuddering at the thought of those two non-marquee teams clashing on Feb. 1, but really, isn’t the Super Bowl so ginormous that it transcends the matchup? People tune into the Super Bowl no matter what, right? We’ll find out.

Of the final four teams in the NFL Playoffs, only the Pittsburgh Steelers have a national following. I think it’s safe to say that folks in NBC’s executive offices are probably rooting for them against Baltimore next weekend.

Any way you cut it, this year’s game cannot approach the broad appeal of the ‘08 battle between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. And you know what? That’s OK with me. And I suspect it’s cool with most other hardcore NFL fans. As far as I’m concerned, if it can’t be the Bucs (or the Colts) in there, then let’s throw the thing wide open and make it Cardinals vs. Ravens.

A sling-it-around-the-park, wide-open-offense team vs. a gouge-out-your-eye-defense team (with the Cards winning 37-35). The Cardinals have been so down for so long that I can’t help but push for ‘em.

While the matchup probably doesn’t influence the TV viewership that much, I wonder what effect it will have on Tampa Bay, and the supposed economic boon that a Super Bowl brings. In that sense, I’m guessing that the host committee, business interests and local muckety-mucks are hoping for a Steelers/Eagles tilt. Two storied franchises, both from Pennsylvania, makes for a good storyline:

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