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CNN Live Today

Battle of the Pirates

Aired January 21, 2003 - 11:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The Bucs and the Raiders are in San Diego today for a little bit of Super Bowl practice and a whole lot of hype.
CNN's Josie Karp is out there, too, looking ahead to Sunday's big game.

Good to see you, Josie.

JOSIE KARP, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Leon.

I'm actually on Harbor Island here in San Diego. That is San Diego Bay behind me. It's also known as the Big Bay. And on Sunday, they will play the big game, not for from here at Qualcomm Stadium.

There are a couple of firsts in this super bowl. It's the very first Super Bowl for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's the first time that the number one defense, which belongs to Tampa Bay, will go up against the number one offense in the Super Bowl. That number one offense belongs to the Oakland Raiders.

But the main storyline that everyone is focusing on, at least early in the week, is Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden going up against his old team, the used to coach until February, the Oakland Raiders. The Oakland Raiders now under the direction of Bill Callahan. They arrived in San Diego, making that very short trip down the coast from the San Francisco Bay area yesterday afternoon. They got off the plane looking very business like.

That was a contrast to the way the Buccaneers got off the plane after their very long trip from Florida. They were looking a little bit more casual. The big surprise there, though, was that Gruden, the man of the hour, did not accompany his team to San Diego. He got permission from the NFL to stay behind in Tampa Bay, to work with his coaches, to gameplan.

However, even though he wasn't present, Gruden was still the center of attention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't care who we playing right now. This stage has been set for the longest. We don't care who we play right now. You know, Gruden is here, more power to him, but it's all about the Raiders right now.

BILL ROMANOWSKI, OAKLAND RAIDERS: Bottom line, my teammates are focusing on what we've got to do to win the game. If they start worrying about Jon Gruden, they're going to lose focus on what they've got to do to win the game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARP: Gruden was expected to take a flight this morning and be at the stadium. In just a few minutes, the Buccaneers are supposed to have their photo day. They'll followed by the Raiders over at Qualcomm Stadium.

And again, Bill Callahan, the coach of the Raider, although he did travel with his team to San Diego yesterday, he didn't participate in any media sessions, but he should be available this afternoon.

One interesting thing, so far everyone has been pretty civil. The Oakland Raider players, who used to be coached by Gruden, not saying anything too bad about their old coach.

However, one guy did have a something controversial to say. The tackle Lincoln Kennedy said about Gruden, "He was a little man, who wanted to be a big man. He had a kind of Napoleonic complex." So, Leon, at least one guy taking the gloves off early in the week.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 21, 2003 - 11:25   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The Bucs and the Raiders are in San Diego today for a little bit of Super Bowl practice and a whole lot of hype.
CNN's Josie Karp is out there, too, looking ahead to Sunday's big game.

Good to see you, Josie.

JOSIE KARP, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Leon.

I'm actually on Harbor Island here in San Diego. That is San Diego Bay behind me. It's also known as the Big Bay. And on Sunday, they will play the big game, not for from here at Qualcomm Stadium.

There are a couple of firsts in this super bowl. It's the very first Super Bowl for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's the first time that the number one defense, which belongs to Tampa Bay, will go up against the number one offense in the Super Bowl. That number one offense belongs to the Oakland Raiders.

But the main storyline that everyone is focusing on, at least early in the week, is Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden going up against his old team, the used to coach until February, the Oakland Raiders. The Oakland Raiders now under the direction of Bill Callahan. They arrived in San Diego, making that very short trip down the coast from the San Francisco Bay area yesterday afternoon. They got off the plane looking very business like.

That was a contrast to the way the Buccaneers got off the plane after their very long trip from Florida. They were looking a little bit more casual. The big surprise there, though, was that Gruden, the man of the hour, did not accompany his team to San Diego. He got permission from the NFL to stay behind in Tampa Bay, to work with his coaches, to gameplan.

However, even though he wasn't present, Gruden was still the center of attention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't care who we playing right now. This stage has been set for the longest. We don't care who we play right now. You know, Gruden is here, more power to him, but it's all about the Raiders right now.

BILL ROMANOWSKI, OAKLAND RAIDERS: Bottom line, my teammates are focusing on what we've got to do to win the game. If they start worrying about Jon Gruden, they're going to lose focus on what they've got to do to win the game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARP: Gruden was expected to take a flight this morning and be at the stadium. In just a few minutes, the Buccaneers are supposed to have their photo day. They'll followed by the Raiders over at Qualcomm Stadium.

And again, Bill Callahan, the coach of the Raider, although he did travel with his team to San Diego yesterday, he didn't participate in any media sessions, but he should be available this afternoon.

One interesting thing, so far everyone has been pretty civil. The Oakland Raider players, who used to be coached by Gruden, not saying anything too bad about their old coach.

However, one guy did have a something controversial to say. The tackle Lincoln Kennedy said about Gruden, "He was a little man, who wanted to be a big man. He had a kind of Napoleonic complex." So, Leon, at least one guy taking the gloves off early in the week.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com