FanHouse Main - super-bowl

Pro Bowl Returns to Hawaii in 2011, Retains Controversy

Dan Graziano — 2010-03-02T16:30:00 00:00

The NFL announced Tuesday that the 2011 Pro Bowl would be played in Hawaii but would remain on the Sunday night before the Super Bowl. The league cited TV ratings from this year's Pro Bowl game in Miami as the reason for keeping the game the week before the Super Bowl (as opposed to the week after, when it used to be played), and in its official release the league said the move "was discussed last week with the NFL Players Association and a group of players during a meeting with the Competition Committee in Indianapolis."

The union acknowledges that the change was discussed, but there's just one little problem they have.

"We never agreed to it," union spokesman George Atallah told FanHouse in a phone interview Tuesday.

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Peyton a Double Agent? Some Think So

Terence Moore — 2010-02-22T18:40:00 00:00

by Terence Moore

Filed under: Colts, Saints, Super Bowl

INDIANAPOLIS -- It's been a couple of weeks since the Indianapolis Colts suffered that come-from-ahead loss in the Super Bowl. And, yes, the New Orleans Saints were pretty good along the way to riding those Who Dat wings of destiny to a world championship, but the Colts mostly blew it.

So you just wonder: What do those around here think about The Interception and the legacy of their historically golden quarterback who was tarnished by it all? With the Colts driving in the final minutes for a game-tying touchdown, Peyton Manning was the anti-Joe Montana by firing toward teammate Reggie Wayne with one hand on the ball and the other around his throat.

That's me talking.

I sought the views of the Colt Nation, and this was interesting: Spanning from Monument Circle to Conseco Fieldhouse to Circle Center Mall to the area near the little race track that features 500 miles each May, a slew of folks alluded to the "c" word, but not for choke. They viewed The Interception as their version of a second gunman on the grassy knoll -- as in conspiracy.

Among the conspiracists, some said Manning threw The Interception on purpose to defensive back Tracy Porter who sprinted 74 yards for a touchdown to seal the Saints' 31-17 victory. Most said he threw it subconsciously.

Whatever the case, both sides said Manning had the Saints' welfare more than that of the Colts dancing around his mind at the moment.

Consider the evidence for the conspiracists: Manning was born and raised in New Orleans. And his father, Archie, is legendary around the Gulf Coast region. And the Mannings (which includes New York Giants quarterback Eli) knew as well as anybody before the game how much a world championship in New Orleans would brighten the souls of those still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. And Wayne, who possibly ran a shoddy route against Porter, also is from New Orleans.

I'm not buying the conspiracy thing, by the way. All I know is that truly great quarterbacks aren't intercepted in these situations. That's a choke. I'll leave the other "c" word to many in the Colt Nation.

For instance ...

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Saints Receive Super Honor at NYSE

FanHouse TV — 2010-02-19T19:15:00 00:00

by FanHouse TV

Filed under: Saints, NFL Video, Super Bowl

Fresh off of their victory in Super Bowl XLIV, Marques Colston and the New Orleans Saints had the opportunity to ring in a new day at the New York Stock Exchange.

Click here to watch:

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XLIV Memories From Super Bowl XLIV

John Walters — 2010-02-10T15:42:00 00:00

by John Walters

Filed under: Super Bowl, NFL Analysis

Forty-four thoughts on Super Bowl XLIV:

44. 44th Super Bowl, 44th president in the White House, 44th season of the Saints existence, and No. 44 (Floyd Little) was one of the Hall of Fame inductees honored during the pregame ceremonies.

43. Warren Sapp, this year's Super Bowl week casualty.

42. During ESPN's pre-game show, Steve Young remarked how he awoke on the morning of Super Bowl XXIX, turned to roommate Brent Jones and said, "One way or another, my life is going to change today." I wonder if Max McGee said something similar to his companion before he made his way back to his hotel room on the morning of the first Super Bowl.

41. Reggie Bush has now won a college national championship (the 2005 Orange Bowl) and a Super Bowl ring on the same field at what is currently known as Sun Life Stadium. By the way, since USC defeated Oklahoma 55-19 on January 4, 2005, that venue, originally dubbed Joe Robbie Stadium in 1987, has been known as Pro Player Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, and Land Shark Stadium before acquiring its current moniker. It is the Shaquille O'Neal of sports venues.

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A Different Feeling for One Former Saint

Lonnie White — 2010-02-10T11:42:00 00:00

by Lonnie White

Filed under: Saints, Super Bowl

The New Orleans Saints: The best team in the NFL.

A fact that really did not hit home until the St. Augustine High School Marching 100 began to play at the team's Super Bowl victory parade on Tuesday.

With every musical note, gyrating hip-pump and spin-around dance step, the band's rendition of the "Stand Up and Get Crunk" made me appreciate the deep relationship between the Saints -- a franchise that I once collected checks from -- and their fans.

For some reason, I overlooked this love affair at first.

Don't get me wrong. Like everyone else, I looked forward to watching this year's Super Bowl. Drew Brees vs. Peyton Manning. It was a matchup between the league's two best regular season teams going head-to-head in a championship game. How could you not be excited?

But once the Super Bowl ended -- with the Saints defeating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Miami -- my emotions ran dry.

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Which Team Is the Next New Orleans?

Chris Burke — 2010-02-10T09:00:00 00:00

by Chris Burke

Filed under: Arizona Cardinals, Bengals, Bills, Browns, Chargers, Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Jaguars, Lions, Panthers, Seahawks, Texans, Titans, Vikings, Super Bowl, NFL Analysis

The Saints' Super Bowl win on Sunday ended a grueling 43-year title drought for the franchise -- since entering the league in 1967, New Orleans had never played in a championship game, let alone won the big one.

But in taking down the Colts, the Saints became the 18th NFL franchise to capture a Super Bowl crown. That leaves 14 desperate title-less teams, of which four (Cleveland, Detroit, Jacksonville and Houston) have never even made it to the NFL's grandest stage.

So with an eye toward next season and beyond, we take a look at who could be next to break through.

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Payton's Place Ripe for More Parades

Jay Mariotti — 2010-02-09T21:15:00 00:00

by Jay Mariotti

Filed under: NFL, Super Bowl

It isn't a bandwagon we're jumping on. It's a Mardi Gras float, a wave of confidence that dares to suggest that the New Orleans Saints, a team that wasn't supposed to win the Super Bowl unless the apocalypse arrived, might win another one next year. I realize the NFL means Not For Long, particularly in a millennium when only the New England Patriots have repeated as champions.

But the Saints, who borrowed their rides from Mardi Gras krewes Tuesday at the first nighttime title party ever thrown, might not be finished with their jambalaya joy. I say that not only because Drew Brees is at the apex of his career, his weapons are young and potent and the NFC is eminently more winnable than the stacked AFC, but because Sean Payton has become football's state-of-the-art coach.

That's right, Sean Payton, the same man who looks younger than some of his players, the same man who once had his play-calling responsibilities removed with the New York Giants, the same man so desperate for a chance to play in the NFL that he served the Chicago Spare Bears as a scab quarterback during the 1987 labor impasse. No one can say he hasn't paid his dues, yet no one can say he hasn't persevered and capitalized in ways very impressive and admirable. On Saturday, the day before the city's greatest sports triumph, New Orleans elected a new mayor, Mitch Landrieu.

I'm guessing Payton, had he chosen to run, would have won the election in a landslide. "I think I could kiss him right now,'' gushed Saints owner Tom Benson, whose standing in New Orleans was saved by Payton and Brees after he was vilified four years ago for threatening to move the team after Hurricane Katrina. We've watches several accomplished coaches -- Mike Ditka, Jim Mora, Bum Phillips, Wade Phillips and Hank Stram among them -- take over the Saints and not come close to what Payton has achieved in four astonishingly quick seasons. It's stunning enough that he has transformed a hopeless losing culture into a rousing success. But what blows us away is his savvy as a leader, his ability to command respect from his players while serving them with guidance that was on full display in Miami.

In what very clearly is a superstar-oriented league, Payton was the star of the Super Bowl. Brees won the MVP award, the Disney World commercial and priceless media attention with his headphone-wearing son, but Payton put the Saints in position to win with the greatest play call in the game's 44-year history. He would have been forgiven for shifting into conservative mode after his failed call in the second quarter, when he went for the touchdown on 4th-and-goal at the Indianapolis 1 and watched Colts linebacker Gary Brackett stuff running back Pierre Thomas. But Payton is the coach of the Saints, and since arriving months after the mass devastation of Katrina, he has been among the driving forces to help a city feel good and have pride through the power of the local football team. And if New Orleans could be so courageous in the face of tragedy, wasn't it his responsibility to have some guts in his own way and try to win a championship for the good people?

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Saints Go Parading Into New Orleans

FanHouse Newswire — 2010-02-09T20:15:00 00:00

by FanHouse Newswire

Filed under: Saints, Super Bowl

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Only a Super Bowl victory parade could upstage Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Carnival floats carrying Saints players, coaches and team owner Tom Benson rolled past tens of thousands of jubilant fans in downtown New Orleans on Tuesday, two days after the 43-year-old franchise won its first NFL championship.

Players, wearing team jerseys instead of traditional Carnival masks and costumes, tossed beads into the crowd and signed autographs for throngs of screaming fans. Benson shouted "Who Dat!" into a microphone from his perch atop a float. Head coach Sean Payton blew kisses and held the Lombardi Trophy over his head.

"This is wilder than Mardi Gras," said Frank V. Smith, 55, a lifelong New Orleans resident who shot photographs of players from the rear of a pickup truck. "I've never seen so many people out here like this. This is beautiful, man."

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New Orleans Police to Saints Fans: No Bare Breasts at Parade, Please

Ryan Wilson — 2010-02-09T15:00:00 00:00

by Ryan Wilson

Filed under: Super Bowl

In the wake of the Saints Super Bowl victory, and on the heels of an improbably successful season, I can't imagine much could dampen the spirits of a city that has experienced more than its share of bad luck. As David Letterman explained to Drew Brees last night, "Here's the great thing about New Orleans, there's going to be a party for your team whether you won or lost. Isn't that great?"

In theory, yes. But if New Orleans police are serious about enforcing the "no boobs" edict, then, well, what's the point? That's like standing around an airport terminal with 10 other people and calling it a celebration.

The Saints parade is scheduled for 5 PM Tuesday and, according to TMZ, here's what revelers can expect.

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Despite Hasty Exit, Peyton Manning Still Class Act

David Whitley — 2010-02-09T13:40:00 00:00

by David Whitley

Filed under: Colts, Saints, Super Bowl

Peyton Manning not only is responsible for losing the Super Bowl, he apparently contributed to the death of sportsmanship after the Super Bowl.

His crime: Not shaking hands with the winner.

According to the overnight TV ratings, there were 106.5 million witnesses. The worry is that millions of impressionable kids might start emulating Manning.

Please allow me to calm your fears. There are a lot of things to criticize about Manning's performance. Not shaking hands with Drew Brees isn't one of them.

"Peyton is a class guy," Brees said.

If he doesn't have a problem with Manning's quick exit, why should we?

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Drew Brees-Sean Payton: Perfect Partners

Thomas George — 2010-02-08T19:30:00 00:00

by Thomas George

Filed under: Saints, Super Bowl

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-- We saw Drew Brees on Sunday night hold his son Baylen on the field and whisper to him after winning Super Bowl XLIV and the game's most valuable player award. There was a twinkle in his eyes that set everything around him aglow

And then on Monday morning in his news conference here, Brees cradled his MVP trophy much like he had his son. The glow from the silver prize illuminated his face. The stars on the trophy reflected to form a line of stars on the ceiling above him.

Saint Brees.

That is how New Orleans Saints fans now regard him. It is how his coach, Sean Payton, in some ways considers him. And for Brees, the feeling is mutual.

Brees and Payton reminded every NFL team that if you want to get where they just reached, you had better develop an encompassing head coach/quarterback relationship that colors your team. The head coach and quarterback garner much of the credit and much of the blame in any NFL city. That duo's aura -- or lack of it -- sets the template for the entire roster.

You are going nowhere in this league if first you do not have a franchise quarterback. And accompanying it a quarterback/head coach relationship that sets the standard for team-wide relationships.

"With Sean, it's like ESP,'' Brees said. "We have trust, faith and confidence. I feel like I know the play that's going to be called.''

Brees said that this Saints team "will walk together forever'' even though there certainly will be roster changes next season.

But this Brees-Payton connection looks solid for the next few seasons. And that is great news for both. And for Saints teams to follow.

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Saints Fans Welcome Champs Home

Tom Mantzouranis — 2010-02-08T18:55:00 00:00

by Tom Mantzouranis

Filed under: Saints, NFL Fans, Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLIV Video

NEW ORLEANS -- Why wait until Tuesday for a parade? After all, you can create an impromptu one with two simple ingredients -- a mass of people lining each side of the street and moving vehicles.

And so New Orleans Saints fans gathered on Veterans Memorial Boulevard by the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, waiting for the team to fly back from Miami in order to give them a champion's welcome. Though the tradition is nothing new; Saints fans have lined this same stretch of road to greet the team after every road game this season.

For a mile and a half, bodies lined the street, nulling any other traffic. Some partied through the night and made it to the airport early in the morning to get a good spot, even though the team didn't arrive until about 3 p.m. On an overpass above the road, drivers turned a highway into a parking lot, getting out of their cars and standing on the overpass in order to look down on the action.

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Kendra Wilkinson Makes Manning Face After Super Bowl

Ryan Wilson — 2010-02-08T17:30:00 00:00

by Ryan Wilson

Filed under: NFL, Super Bowl

Until Sunday night, Hank Baskett was best known as "That guy who married Kendra Wilkinson." Yes, he made an NFL roster as an undrafted free agent in 2006, and he even started five games for the Eagles as a rookie, but he was released last season before the Colts eventually signed him.

Fast forward to the Super Bowl. The Saints attempt an onside kick to start the third quarter, Baskett, a member of the Colts' special teams, promptly muffs the Sunday hop. New Orleans recovers, and six plays later takes a 13-10 lead.

Smash cut to after the game and TMZ posted this photo of Wilkinson and child as they left the stadium.

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The Super Bowl XLIV Zebra Report

Matt Snyder — 2010-02-08T16:00:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Colts, Saints, AFC South, NFC South, Super Bowl, NFL Referees

Zebra Report is FanHouse's analysis of actual NFL rules and how they are to be applied ... because most fans think they could do a better job than the NFL officials, yet definitely could not. Click here for an introduction as to how we do things.

As opposed to almost every other week this year, this is going to be pretty easy. Sunday night's game between the Colts and the Saints was very well officiated. I was most pleased with the fact that the crew let the teams play, as there were only eight assessed penalties for 64 yards.

There are a few plays we'll examine, starting with the one controversial call -- the Saints' two-point conversion to go up 24-17.

On the play, Lance Moore appeared to bobble the football while going to the ground and then completely lose control once he hit. The initial ruling on the field was an incomplete pass. As we have seen all season -- since Louis Murphy's non-catch in Week 1 -- a receiver must control the ball through the ground when he's falling to the ground as he makes a catch. Thus, it would appear the incomplete call was the correct one. Instead, the call was overturned. Why?

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'Magical' Saints Complete Miracle Run

Terence Moore — 2010-02-08T15:30:00 00:00

by Terence Moore

Filed under: Saints, Super Bowl

MIAMI -- The more the seconds turn into minutes along the way to hours, days and years after the most improbable victory in the history of sports, the more the New Orleans Saints become a living testimony for a higher power.

If you haven't gone to church in a while, you might consider it now. For one, there have been more references to God and faith regarding what the Saints did to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Sun Life Stadium than during the previous 43 Super Bowls combined. And for another, well, this wasn't supposed to happen.

Here's something else to consider: no more alibis, please. Just like that, those in charge of traditionally lousy pro franchises and major college programs -- ranging from the Los Angeles Clippers and Vanderbilt football to the Detroit Lions and any baseball team that dares to play in the nation's capital -- have lost the ability forever to blame this or that while ending another season in purgatory.

I mean, the Saints won the Super Bowl.

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Super Bowl XLIV Most-Watched Program In Television History

Matt Snyder — 2010-02-08T14:00:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Colts, Saints, AFC South, NFC South, NFL Media Watch, Super Bowl

Sunday evening's Super Bowl between the Colts and Saints -- which the Saints won 31-17 -- has been declared the most watched TV program of all-time. The overnight rating, according to the Los Angeles Times, was a whopping 46.4, which is the largest overnight figure since the Giants and Broncos played Super Bowl XXI all the way back in 1987. Last season's game between the Steelers and Cardinals scored an overnight rating of 42.1, but once the final numbers were released it was revealed to be the most watched game in history -- with 98.7 million viewers.

Now that the final count is in, however, we've learned that Super Bowl XLIV was much more than simply the highest rated Super Bowl. The series finale of M*A*S*H, long-standing record-holder of the most watched program in TV history, drew 105.97 million viewers. The Nielsen ratings have revealed that Sunday's Super Bowl drew 106.5 million viewers.

As is this isn't insane enough, CBS has released a statement with more details on the event. In the final 15 minutes of the game, the rating score was 50.6, meaning that more than half of the households in the entire country were tuned in. This number also had a 71 share for the audience. Translation: an incredible 71 percent of the televisions in the entire nation were set to the Super Bowl.

New Orleans topped the list in terms of ratings, with an estimated 82 percent of TVs on the game. Washington, Nashville, Indianapolis and Columbus followed.

The feat is much more impressive when you consider all the alternatives. Back in the 1980s, it was pretty easy for major sporting events to garner gargantuan ratings, but nowadays there are literally hundreds of other channels from which viewers can choose -- not to mention the options the Internet provides. The fact that there are so many people watching one game in 2010 shows the NFL is truly a monster company.

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Early Odds for Super Bowl XLV Champion Released

Matt Snyder — 2010-02-08T13:35:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, NFC West, NFL Gambling, Super Bowl

As is traditional in these gambling days, the Las Vegas oddsmakers have wasted no time in laying out next season's favorite to win the Super Bowl. This time around, it is none other than the team who lost the Super Bowl less than 24 hours ago. The Indianapolis Colts check in as the best bet to win it all, with 13-2 odds. The San Diego Chargers come next at 8-1. This year's champion, the New Orleans Saints, are tied with the Patriots for next on the list -- at 10-1 odds to bring home the Lombardi Trophy.

A common fallacy among casual fans who don't gamble is that these are actual predictions. They aren't. The aim is to make as much money as possible, thus, the teams most likely to garner the most bets are placed at the top and the teams least likely to garner bets are placed lower on the spectrum (in an attempt to attract action). Thus, teams with huge fan bases like the Cowboys and Steelers are likely to always be toward the top in the odds, while teams with lower fan bases like the Jacksonville Jaguars will generally be lower on the list.

This isn't to say there is no attention paid to how good teams are expected to be, it's just that they find a happy medium in order to make the most amount of money possible.

Here are the complete odds, courtesy of bodog.com.

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Sean Payton Sleeps with Lombardi Trophy: 'There's Nothing Like it'

Nancy Gay — 2010-02-08T12:09:00 00:00

by Nancy Gay

Filed under: Colts, Saints, NFL Coaching, Super Bowl, NFL Quarterbacks

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- With confetti and congratulations pouring down on him after Sunday's 31-17 Super Bowl XLIV ambush of the favored Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton - a guy who likes to celebrate -- said he wasn't sure he would make it to the traditional Monday morning winners' news conference.

He showed up, hair uncombed, bleary eyed, looking every bit like someone who had just spent a sleepless night. Except that Payton did get some shut-eye, with some interesting company at his side.

Holding the Lombardi Trophy in his hands as he faced the cameras one last time before heading back to the Crescent City for what promises to be an epic "Who Dat" victory parade, Payton doesn't sound like a guy who's eager to let it go anytime soon.

"This thing laid in my bed next to me last night," Payton said, holding the NFL's championship hardware like it was a much-loved teddy bear. "I rolled over a couple of times. I probably drooled on it. But man, there's nothing like it."

The sterling silver Lombardi Trophy has a special connection to the Saints' organization. It is named for Vince Lombardi, the legendary Green Bay Packers coach. And Lombardi's grandson, Joe, is the Saints quarterback coach.

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New Orleans Celebrates Its Super Saints

Tom Mantzouranis — 2010-02-08T02:50:00 00:00

by Tom Mantzouranis

Filed under: Saints, NFL Fans, Super Bowl

NEW ORLEANS -- They didn't need to wait until the clock hit 0:00.

When Tracy Porter took off with a Peyton Manning pass meant for Reggie Wayne, pushing the Saints' lead to 31-17 with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter of this year's Super Bowl, the city of New Orleans took off, too, to a state of euphoria and overwhelming emotion.

There was an initial surge of joy in the Bourbon Street bar I watched the game in -- people leaping into each other's arms, falling over, jumping up and down with no concern for what happened to the contents of their cups. And then, after a minute, everybody looked at the scoreboard and the moment sunk in. The mood turned from festive to reflective.

That's when a twenty-something guy in an LSU T-shirt made eye contact with me and broke down.

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Super Bowl Commercials Feature Animals, Babies and Dumb Men

Clay Travis — 2010-02-08T01:52:00 00:00

by Clay Travis

Filed under: Super Bowl, Sports Business and Media

In a little over three hours, Super Bowl commercials starred squirrels, beavers, chickens, longhorn cattle, horses, dogs, cats, hippos, giraffes, whales, cheetahs, tigers, snakes, and people pretending to be dolphins. Oh, and babies and kids. Also, men were made fun of for not being manly enough. There was a time when the Super Bowl was such a cultural zeitgeist that you went to school or work the next day and discussed the latest catch phrase. Who can forget the cool teacher in sixth grade referencing, "You Got the Right One Baby"? Or the cat drive commercial during the height of the Internet boom?

Now?

Now advertising executives give us animals or children and you're hard pressed to remember an ad for longer than a day or two. On Sunday it was my responsibility to assiduously study the commercials and bring you a countdown of the best and the worst. So that's what you're going to get. I'm counting down to the best commercial and alternating with the worst. The worst ads are in italics. Who got the best bang for their 2.8 million?

Read on.

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