It’s the lair of the Lear this year

With the Super Bowl and a PGA Tour event in town the same week, parking is at a premium in the Phoenix area.

No, not in parking lots, but at local airports, where up to 1,000 private planes are jockeying for spots.

Ten to 20 private planes take off and land on an average day this time of year at each of Phoenix’s four regional airports, according to one aviation company operator. The number is expected to reach 225 on Super Bowl Sunday, with corporate bigwigs coming in for the big game.

And the real fun will begin after the game, when company presidents and pro golfers all want to leave at the same time, according to New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, who traveled to Phoenix by corporate jet.

“Everybody feels that they’re entitled to be the first to take off, that’s when it gets interesting,” Tisch said. “A lot of people are saying to their pilots to tell the tower, ‘Do you know who I’ve got on my plane?’ ”

--

Trivia time

Who is the only play-by-play announcer to call the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup finals?

--

Ducking the odds

Phil Mickelson famously bet $20,000 on the Baltimore Ravens to win Super Bowl XXXV and ever since cashing in on that wager, which paid 22-to-1, he’s been looked to as somewhat of an expert prognosticator

But he’s not going public with his pick this year.

“I don’t have a pick. I don’t plan on going,” said Mickelson, a San Diego native who is in the Phoenix area for the FBR Open. “If the Chargers were going to be there, I’d be going.”

But no prediction?

“No,” he said. “I think it’s pretty obvious what’s going to happen.”

--

Chips on the table

Getting ready for a Super Bowl party? Consumer Reports has done the research so you don’t have to.

The magazine rated Super Bowl party favors, based on taste, cost and calories.

The winners for beer were Busch Light, Natural Light and Keystone Light. The top chips were Original Lays, just ahead of Multigrain Tostitos, and top popcorn went to Orville Redenbacher’s light butter and Act II.

--

Seeing green

Sports agent Leigh Steinberg’s annual Super Bowl party has long been considered one of the best, and this year he’s going green to raise awareness of environment-friendly causes.

The entrance to his party will feature a green carpet and guests will be served organic food. There will also be collection bins for used electronics.

And here we thought sports agents only cared about one kind of green.

--

Heartbreakers

Bad news for those seeking an alterative to Tom Petty at halftime: Lingerie Bowl V has been canceled. Organizers failed to work out a deal with local politicians in time to have scantily-clad models play a game in the Phoenix area, the East Valley Tribune reported.

This was the event’s first attempt at holding the game in the Super Bowl host city. Previously, it had been taped at the Coliseum and aired on pay-per-view during halftime of the Super Bowl.

A company spokesman that a location has already been secured for the Lingerie Bowl in Tampa, Fla., the site of the 2009 Super Bowl.

--

Trivia answer

Marv Albert, who will call Sunday’s Super Bowl for Westwood One radio. It will be Albert’s sixth consecutive Super Bowl to go with 11 NBA Finals for NBC TV and the Stanley Cup finals in 1976, ’77 and ’78 for the NHL radio network.

--

And finally

Super Bowl tickets have been going on EBay for as much as $77,000 for a pair, which came as quite a shock to New England Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, according to the Boston Herald.

“How much?” Vrabel asked incredulously.

Seventy-seven grand, he was told.

“I wouldn’t pay that much to see Tom [Brady] and Gisele play,” he cracked.

--

[email protected]