And Eisen, 39, stressed that the size of the potential audience does not affect the work of anyone on NFL Total Access, the network's flagship program he hosts.

"Yes, you are on TV, so you want to be seen," he said by phone, "but there is no black cloud hovering above the set. I am on the best, most enjoyable show that I have ever been on."

Note he was on ESPN for years, often working SportsCenter with Stuart Scott. Or maybe he was thinking about his days hosting ESPN's sadly forgotten reality series Beg, Borrow & Deal.

As for the Super Bowl, Eisen already has gone on record saying "I can't believe I said the words, 'The Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl.' " But he is not among those who think the Cardinals will hurt the Big Game's ratings.

"That's underestimating the public. They know a good matchup and the Cards are the best offense in football right now. Kurt Warner is a national story, a Disney story, while Larry Fitzgerald simply is the best."

The NFL Network will have more than 50 hours of live coverage from Tampa next week plus a six-hour pregame show Feb. 1. His tips for hosting a six-hour show?

"Hydrate -- stay limber."

The father of a 51/2-month-old son, Eisen won't be bringing him to Tampa. Why? "He can't get into the Maxim party on the night before the game."

Eisen will be there?

"Probably not. That Sunday will be a pretty big day."

That's right. Whether one million or 100 million are watching, he's got to hydrate and stay limber.

Virtual Cheap Seats plug: Beginning Monday, the NFL Network will show a previous Super Bowl in its entirety each evening for six days, including halftime shows, postgame celebrations and the original announcers. For the list of the six Super Bowls chosen, check out my blog at www.orlandosentinel.com/virtualcheapseats.

Magical Jr. Dancers

The Orlando Magic's Jr. Magic Dance Camp is Saturday (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) at the RDV Sportsplex practice court, open to male and female dancers ages 6 to 17. Cost is $99, which includes two tickets to the Feb. 8 game against the New Jersey Nets when all camp dancers will perform. For more information call 407-916-2956 or log on to www.orlandomagic.com for an application form.

Where are all of the golf stars?

Remember how we thought the PGA Tour stars would prosper WTW (Without Tiger Woods)? Well, where are they? The 50th Bob Hope Classic began Wednesday with the highest-ranked player being "Super" Steve Stricker, No. 16 in the world. According to CBSSports.com, only five players ranked in the world top 50 are playing. Even the celebrities are missing as the biggest celeb might be Kurt Russell or, uh, Alice Cooper.

But it was great to see Chris DiMarco getting off to a good start, including four consecutive birdies to close his front 9. A shoulder injury and bad swing habits had resulted in just four top-10 finishes in the last three seasons.

Nobody asked but . . .

*Speaking of Tiger Woods, did he really make a political statement? His pre-inauguration remarks never used the word "inauguration." In fact, he never used the words "Barack" and "Obama." But he did mention his golf tournament and his dad, so what exactly was different?

*And there's this quote from Lee Trevino on how much of the PGA Tour he watches: "I haven't watched any because Tiger hasn't been playing."

*Shaq is dumping us! In a phone interview with the Newark Star-Ledger, O'Neal said he wants to buy the Nets!

*With all the problems Notre Dame football brought on itself, now it has to fight unfounded media rumors that Charlie Weis is going to be dumped for Jon Gruden. Shouldn't Urban Meyer tell Gruden to get in line?

*Two bozos defaced the lawn of Donovan McNabb's offseason home in Chandler, Ariz. They also left a cardboard box in the driveway with "Go Cards" on it -- along with the mailing address of one of the bozos. Case solved.