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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 11:58 p.m., Thursday, January 29, 2009

Pro Bowl in Arlington, Texas, is no cinch

By Charean Williams
McClatchy Newspapers

TAMPA, Fla. — Arlington, Texas, might get the 2011 Pro Bowl. Then again, it might not.

The NFL hasn't decided on the Pro Bowl beyond the 2010 game, which will be played in Miami, and the league is in no hurry to make a decision for 2011.

Roger Staubach, the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee chairman, seems less certain than Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck about the all-star game being played at the Cowboys' new stadium the week before it hosts the 2011 Super Bowl.

Cluck said last month that he was 80 to 90 percent sure the Pro Bowl would be played in Arlington, though he admitted he had not talked to NFL officials.

"There are pluses and minuses to it for us, because we've got so much going on that I guess we'd probably be involved in some way to try to coordinate things," Staubach said. "We'll be in Miami next year to see how it works out. I'm glad we're not the first year. At least we'll have Miami to look at."

Honolulu's Aloha Stadium has hosted 30 consecutive NFL all-star games, but Hawaii's contract with the NFL expires after the Feb. 8 game. The NFL has announced that the 2010 Pro Bowl will be played in Miami the week before the Super Bowl is played there.

Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson, a Miami native, does not seem excited about the move back to the mainland. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he expects Hawaii to be part of a rotation.

"I love Hawaii," said Johnson, a three-time Pro Bowler. "It'll be different, being in a different site."