Key To The City: My Super Bowl Dilemma

2011 NFL Playoff Odds: Which Team Will Win The Super Bowl?
The NFL Playoffs begin this weekend with the Wild Card games and it's time to vote on which team you think will go all the way. Will the New Orleans Saints repeat last year's incredible run to become Super Bowl champions? Or will the dominant New England Patriots take home the Lombardi Trophy? Take a look at the Super Bowl odds and vote on which team you think will be celebrating on February 6. All odds via Bodog Sports. ...

Bears see positives in loss to Packers
The Chicago Bears stayed healthy and regained their swagger on defense, too. So even though they went all in and lost 10-3 to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, they could take some positives away from the regular-season finale. The way coach Lovie Smith sees it, there was no better way to tune up for the Playoffs than with a "hard game like that" at hostile Lambeau Field. Chicago kept Rodgers in check after getting rolled over by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in a 36-7 loss and s...

Could road teams sweep wild-card round?
It’s hardly a stretch to conjure up four road victories in the wild-card round of the Playoffs. The Saints are hefty favorites at Seattle, which is the first division winner with a losing record in, well, forever. Green Bay already has won at Philadelphia, in the season opener. Baltimore (12-4) also is a road favorite at Kansas City (10-6). And the New York Jets (11-5) have a better record than Indianapolis (10-6). Picking a sweep by the lower-seeded teams isn’t as gutsy as it might ...

Green Bay Packers, still in Super Bowl hunt, meet Eagles again Sunday
Green Bay Packers beat Philadelphia in the first week of the NFL season. Now, in one of this weekend's NFL Wild Card Playoff games, the Green Bay Packers face Michael Vick and the Eagles again. Who's got the edge?...

Two Down, the Pats To Go All the Way?
What else is there to say about Tablet Magazine’s New England Patriots? Playing arguably the toughest schedule, they went a League-best 14-2, securing homefield advantage until February. They extended their home Regular Season win streak to a record 27. They committed ten turnovers during the entire season, a record. Quarterback Tom Brady had, maybe, a career year: 36 touchdowns versus four interceptions, a genuinely absurd ratio of 9.0 that absolutely smashed the previous record of 6.25 (...

Amy Turek: The Patriots Are Not the Most Exciting Team in the Playoffs
Yes, the New England Patriots have had another great season, but they are definitely not the most exciting team to watch in the Playoffs. On paper, they're a dream come true. In fact, if Superbowl rings were awarded on stats alone, the Patriots would have this one. Brady is a Veteran, and he's the top rated Quarterback in the league. Every week, New England fans expect to see amazing offensive yardage. Every week, New England fans expect the Patriots to win. More often than not, they deliver. ...

John Elway Rejoins Broncos As Football Czar
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Hall of Famer John Elway has been summoned by the Denver Broncos for one more comeback. The beloved Quarterback who led the Broncos to five Super Bowls and back-to-back championships before retiring in 1998 is returning as the team's chief football executive. His title will be executive vice president of football operations in a reshaped front office, and chief operating officer Joe Ellis becomes team president. Brian Xanders will go from the General Manager in name on...

Manning's numbers defy perception of 'down' season
Indianapolis Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning listens to a question during a news conference in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011. The Colts are scheduled to host the New York Jets in a Playoff game on Saturday, Jan. 8. Peyton Manning has heard it all this season. It's a "down" year. Age is catching up to him. Something must have caused the worst slump of his pro career. Turns out, it was all image. While Manning's Quarterback rating did slip this season, he still completed more than 66 perce...

Carroll's change key in Seahawks reaching playoffs
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, right, watches as Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst throws during the NFL football team's practice Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, in Renton, Wash. The Seahawks host the New Orleans Saints Saturday in an NFC wild-card game. From the time he first walked into the Seahawks' palatial headquarters on Lake Washington, Pete Carroll pledged competition. It's the crux of nearly everything he's done since arriving in Seattle. It's why the Seahawks have made 275 roster transactio...

Ben Roethlisberger Engaged? Big Ben Won't Say
Pittsburgh — If Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is engaged, he isn't saying. Roethlisberger declined Tuesday to discuss rumors he became engaged over the holidays to a Pittsburgh-area woman. There have been numerous postings on Social Media sites, some even identifying the woman by name. At the Steelers' first practice of the week, Roethlisberger said he would not talk about his Personal Life. But he did not deny the rumors. "Oh, geez," Roethlisberger said. "Listen, there's alway...

Broncos hire Elway
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- The Denver Broncos said Wednesday they have hired their former Quarterback, John Elway, as their executive vice president of football operations. Elway, who led the Broncos to two Super Bowl victories during his 16-year Hall of Fame playing career, was a marketing consultant for the team this past year. He also spent eight years as a co-owner and chief executive of an Arena Football League team, the Colorado Crush. "John Elway's leadership, competitiveness and p...

Seahawks in playoffs stirs debate
Never has the NFL truism “winning the division is our first goal” been more accurate. Just ask the Seattle Seahawks. Or ask the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, two teams with 10 wins who did not make the Playoffs while the 7-9 Seahawks are in. Not only in, but hosting a game next Saturday against the defending Super Bowl champion Saints, who merely went 11-5. The NFL is enamored of its divisional structure, placing heavy emphasis on intradivision games. So much so that rega...

Giants to give coach Tom Coughlin a new contract
New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin talks to the media after the Giants NFL Football Season ended Monday, Jan. 3, 2011 in East Rutherford, N.J. Tom Coughlin is not only coming back as the New York Giants coach, he's getting a new contract, too. A day after the Giants were eliminated from Playoff contention for the second straight year, co-owner Steve Tisch said Monday that the team plans to sit down with the 64-year-old coach in the very near future and work out a new deal. Coughlin had one year...

Super Bowl organizers not concerned about lockout
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Super Bowl organizers in Indianapolis insist their plans have not changed. They still expect next year’s game to be played, as scheduled, Feb. 5, 2012. But Wednesday, for the first time, host Committee Chairman Mark Miles says he believes the city would get another Super Bowl if an NFL labor stoppage canceled the game. Miles and host committee president Allison Melangton spoke during a scheduled news conference approximately 400 days from kickoff. Both acknowledge...

Hospitals Preparing for Super Bowl Crowd
DALLAS - The Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium will arguably be the biggest event North Texas has ever had, bringing an estimated 93,000 people together at once. But emergency officials worry massive crowds could fall Victim to a large-scale disaster. It's one which could overwhelm Hospitals. FOX 4's Peter Daut reports on how hospitals are preparing....

Does 'Psshh' mark the spot for Super Bowl glory? Orlando man hopes so
"Psshh" – pass it on. You might help an Orlando man get his commercial featured during the Super Bowl. Brandy Gill made a commercial called "Zero Calories? Psshh," and it's now one of 10 finalists in the Crash the Super Bowl Challenge. The Psshh spot cost $30 to make. Gill, 36, directed his co-workers over a lunch hour, and co-worker Wes Sumner shot the commercial. "It took about an hour to shoot, and we did the editing in an hour on my Mac," Gill said. "Start to finish, we were done in t...

Video: The obligatory fan-created Doritos Super Bowl ad mocks Christian rite clip
Note well: This isn’t an ad that Doritos is running in the Super Bowl, just one that they posted on their website (and refused to remove) after a fan submitted it for their contest with Pepsi. The bad news? Even to an ex-Catholic like me, it feels cheap. Blasphemy in defense of principle, like free Speech, is welcome; blasphemy in the service of humor can be fun. Blasphemy to sell bags of Cool Ranch chips? Eh. They have every right, but aside from Richard Dawkins and maybe Hitch, whoR...

Hearts as Big as Texas: Stars Align to Benefit Charity During Super Bowl Weekend
Corporate speaker, author, and Texas businessman Jose Feliciano is celebrating Super Bowl XLV in grand style by sponsoring "The Best Party in Texas" - which will benefit a number of national and local Texas charities on Saturday, February 5, 2011. With over 150 celebrities and athletes confirmed and over 1000 guests expected, the party promises to be one of the most memorable Super Bowl weekend parties in football history.   The star-studded event is being hosted by actress Carmen Electra, ...

Bears playoff tickets on sale -- for now
Tickets for the general public to the first Chicago Bears Playoff game went on sale today at about 10 a.m. today through Ticketmaster. Game ticket prices range from $107 to $559 -- without fees and taxes -- according to the Ticketmaster website, and buyers are limited to four tickets per billing address. As of about five minutes after opening, 1,706 tickets were also available at NFL Ticket Exchange, ranging from $211 to $1,549 each. An attempt by a reporter to buy a ticket at about 10:05 a.m....

Seahawks' Williams gets 3-year extension
SEATTLE, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Wide Receiver Mike Williams has signed a three-year contract extension with the Seattle Seahawks, the team said Monday. Williams hauled down 65 passes for 751 yards and two touchdowns this season for the Seahawks. One of his scores came Sunday as the Seahawks downed the St. Louis Rams to claim the NFC West title. Williams, a former University of Southern California star, was out of football for two years following three disappointing seasons with the Detroit Lions, Oakla...

Jason Garrett Is Dallas Cowboys New Head Coach
IRVING, Texas — Jason Garrett nailed his audition. He gets to remain coach of the Dallas Cowboys. A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that Garrett will be announced as the new head coach at a news conference at Cowboys Stadium on Thursday afternoon. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the decision. Team owner Jerry Jones peeled the interim label off Garrett and made him – officially – the eighth head coach in...

Seattle to be without Pitts, Baker vs. Saints
Seattle guard Chester Pitts and Tight End Chris Baker both will be out for Saturday's NFC Playoff game against New Orleans. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Monday that Pitts suffered a serious Concussion Sunday night against the Rams, while Baker fractured a bone in his hip. Pitts started five games this season, but was benched last week in favor of Tyler Polumbus. Pitts played briefly in the first half Sunday after tackle Russell Okung was out for a short time and Polumbus shifted to tackle. B...

Down - then up
In the course of 24 hours, the Wisconsin Badgers lost to the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University in the Rose Bowl; the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears in a nail-biter to secure a Playoff spot; and Brett Favre said, "It's time." This time, the gunslinger appears to be out of bullets. He watched from the sidelines Sunday as his Minnesota Vikings fell to the Detroit Lions. In his post-game talk, No. 4 thanked Packers fans - a classy move. But football is a game of inches...

Patriots re-sign LB Murrell
The New England Patriots have signed Linebacker Marques Murrell. The team announces Wednesday it has re-signed the four-year Veteran after signing him as a Free Agent last March 10, then cutting him Sept. 13 after he played in the season-opening 38-24 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Murrell spent the last three seasons as a backup with the New York Jets, appearing in 26 games and making 21 tackles. He originally was signed in May 2007 to Philadelphia's Practice Squad as an undrafted Free Agent ...

Top And Bottom of the NFL: Week 17
Power rankings. You hate them. They’re so arbitrary and pointless, especially when they include all 32 NFL teams. All you want to know after a good week of NFL action is who the bestest team in the NFL right now, and which one is the absolute worst. The one so awful, it probably will be playing against New Orleans in a Playoff game this weekend. That’s why we have TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE NFL, where we go to great lengths to tell you who’s the top dog in football right now, this v...