New England Patriots Wins Super Bowl XLIX

The New England Patriots wins this year NFL Super Bowl XLIX. It was 14-14 with previous winner Seattle Seahawks at half-time but dugged  the winner in the last quarter by 4 points. The game ended 28-24. See top player performer index below;

New Twitter Record: WorldCup Tops Superbowl

Fans of Brazil celebrate during a public viewing while watching the Brazil FIFA World Cup 2014 round of 16 match between Brazil and Chile in central Berlin, Germany, 28 June 2014.

Nervous Brazilian soccer fans took to Twitter to breathe a collective sigh of relief as the final, tension-filled moments of a penalty shootout against Chile broke an all-time record for online buzz during a live event.

Almost 389,000 tweets were generated in the minute after Chilean defender Gonzalo Jara’s penalty shot hit the right post and allowed the five-time World Cup champion to avoid an early exit from the tournament that it’s hosting for the first time since 1950.

That broke the previous mark set during this year’s Super Bowl. About 382,000 tweets were sent just after the Seattle Seahawk’s Percy Harvin returned a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown, according to data compiled by the microblogging site.

Minnesota Vikings to Host Super Bowl LII

If you thought the criticism surrounding this year's fiasco in New York/New Jersey would force the NFL to reconsider its stance on cold-weather Super Bowls, think again. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced that Minneapolis was awarded Super Bowl LII for the 2017-18 season after a vote at the league's owners meetings on Tuesday.   

Minneapolis beat out fellow finalists New Orleans and Indianapolis. The potential host cities each made their pitch to league ownership prior to the meetings and gave their final case on Tuesday.

Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith noted the final vote came between Minneapolis and New Orleans—a battle of David and Goliath in Super Bowl folklore.

New Orleans has hosted 10 prior Super Bowls, most recently in 2013. The Big Easy is tied with Miami for the most hosting duties in history and has been known to be a reliable venue.

Seahawks worked out 6-Time Pro Bowl Kevin Williams on Monday

A six-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman who has never changed teams in a career spanning more than a decade has reportedly worked out for the defending Super Bowl champions.

Howard Balzer of The Sports Xchange reports the Seahawks tried out Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams on Monday.

The 33-year-old Williams has played 11 seasons for the Vikings, recording 463 tackles and 60 sacks. He has missed just five regular season games in his NFL career. Williams (6-5, 311) notched 29 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 2013.

Williams played 746 snaps for Minnesota a season ago, according to Pro Football Focus data. Were the Seahawks to add Williams, he would likely join Tony McDaniel, Brandon Mebane and Jordan Hill among the primary options inside. Williams would probably also see a reduction in reps. No Seahawks defensive tackle logged more than 546 snaps in the 2013 regular season, per PFF.

The Seahawks have taken a liking to some of the Vikings’ core players of recent seasons, most notably trading for wideout Percy Harvin last spring. Seattle also signed ex-Minnesota cornerback Antoine Winfield last offseason, but he did not make the club.

Five NFL Big Names Who Could End up Salary-Cap Casualties

We've reached the math portion of the NFL calendar. This isn't as sexy as, say, the "Super Bowl portion" of the NFL calendar, but the numbers game is vitally important to all 32 NFL teams. This is the time when front offices size up rosters and decide how to build a team under the constraints of the league's salary cap. This can be tricky business, and it often forces teams to part ways with impact players for reasons that go beyond performance. With that said, here are five notable veterans who loom as potential cap casualties. I've included a wholly arbitrary percentage chance the player goes which -- who knows? -- could end up being deadly accurate. Let's get to it:

Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans
The Titans backed up the Brink's truck for Johnson to be CJ2K. Problem is, Johnson isn't that guy anymore. He still has his legs, but Johnson has become indecisive and jittery -- habits that can be picked up by running behind subpar offensive lines. Johnson has become the Rob Deer of NFL running backs: He's willing to lead the league in strikeouts if it gets him a handful of homers.
The Titans are a franchise in transition. They're highly unlikely to pay $8 million to a back who averaged less than four yards per carry last season. A fresh start could work for everyone involved
Chance he's cut loose: 99 percent

Seahawks' Malcolm Smith named Super Bowl MVP, Only 3rd linebacker in NFL history to win award

Seattle linebacker Malcolm Smith returned an interception of Peyton Manning 69 yards for a touchdown and later recovered a fumble. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Malcolm Smith always was ready to step in when the Seattle Seahawks needed him.

Now he's only the third linebacker in NFL history to earn Super Bowl MVP honours.

Smith returned an interception of regular-season MVP Peyton Manning 69 yards for a touchdown in the first half, recovered a fumble in the second half, and was part of a dominating defensive performance by Seattle during its 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.

Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl Champions, Demolished Denver Broncos 43-8

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll celebrates as Percy Harvin returns the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown during Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday. (Matt Slocum/AP Photo)

The Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl champions for the first time in team history.

And they are bringing a major national championship back to the Emerald City for the first time in 35 years.

The Seahawks jumped on the Denver Broncos on the first play from scrimmage in Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday, then never let up. A shocking defensive performance shut down Peyton Manning and the Broncos for a full 60 minutes, and the Hawks dominated MetLife Stadium for a 43-8 victory Sunday. They were hungry. They were determined. They were overwhelming.  And now they are Super Bowl champions.

N.F.L. Could Be Running Out Of Settlement Money

As intriguing football matchups go, Sunday’s Super Bowl has nothing on one looming down the turnpike in federal court in Philadelphia — with Judge Anita B. Brody the ultimate referee.

Brody, considering the N.F.L.'s recent settlement with 4,500 retirees over work-related brain injuries, has asked both sides to demonstrate that their $765 million bargain will fulfill its promise to compensate every currently retired player who has or will develop a neurological condition such as dementia or Parkinson’s disease.

Best Pre-Superbowl Commercial: Puppy Love

A puppy and a group of horses become best friends in Budweiser’s adorable new commercial set to air during the Super Bowl on Sunday. The animals’ story is told amidst the backdrop of Passenger’s emotional song “Let Her Go.”

Why Super Bowl Ads A Bigger Draw For Canadians Than Game Itself

 

The millions of Canadians tuning in the Super Bowl on Sunday night are more eager to take in the lavish television ads than the football game itself, a new survey suggests.

A recent Harris/Decima poll found that while a third of Canadians plan to tune into the National Football League's marquee event, 46 per cent intend to watch the ads that air throughout the game.

48 Things You Need To Know About Super Bowl XLVIII

It’s Super Bowl week and after 298 games, including preseason and playoffs, it comes down to one final contest to crown a champion. Before the season began, the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, along with the San Francisco 49ers, were the betting favorites to reach the Super Bowl. And in a rare occurrence, we had two preseason favorites make the Big Game. Here is what you need to know for Sunday’s game on the teams, players, owners, coaches, betting and other storylines.

1. First the basics on when and where. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:25 ET on Feb. 2 from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Troy Aikman and Joe Buck are calling the game for Fox. For the diehards, Fox is kicking off the pre-game show at 2 on Sunday. For those that can’t get to a TV, Fox is streaming the game online and to mobile devices.