XLIV

Will the Saints go marching in?
Or is the Super Bowl Peyton's place.
We'll find out starting at 6:30 p.m. (or a few minutes later) Sunday, when the Saints and Colts meet at Joe Robbie/Dolphins/Sun Life Stadium on CBS. Both teams have already visited the facility and won this season - first time that has ever happened.
Some more fun facts from our friends at http://www.the506.com/. Impress your friends.
The Saints make their first appearance in the big game, the ninth different NFC team in the last nine years.
The Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII were the last team in a dark jersey to win. They and the Panthers played at Houston's Reliant Stadium prior to meeting there in the big game.
All four Super Bowls featuring the Colts have been played in the Miami area.
Colts coach Jim Caldwell took over for Tony Dungy this season. When Dungy left Tampa Bay in 2001, the Jon Gruden-led Bucs won the Super Bowl the following season.
The Colts have already won with a first-year head coach - Super Bowl V after Don Shula left for Miami.
Get your food and snacks ready. And don't watch too much of the pregame shows.
The arrival of the Super Bowl means NASCAR's season isn't far behind. Fox has the Daytona Shootout Saturday at 8 p.m.
The NHL has its super matchup on Sunday at noon. Sidney Crosby and the Penguins visit Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals on NBC.
The Capitals prepare for the matchup with a trip to the Rangers Thursday and a home game against Atlanta Friday on Comcast.
ABC will be in Boston again for NBA action Sunday, with the Celtics hosting Orlando at 2:30 p.m.
TNT's Thursday's doubleheader features the Heat at Cleveland early, then San Antonio taking on Portland. ESPN's shows Chicago at Atlanta at 8 p.m., followed by the Nuggets visiting the Lakers.
The Wizards head to Orlando Friday on Comcast, then host the Hawks Saturday.
On the college hardcourt, CBS has California at UCLA or Wisconsin-Michigan on the air Saturday at 4 p.m.
ACC has a split telecast Thursday at 9 p.m. Parts of the area will see North Carolina at Virginia Tech on NBC29, while Maryland against Florida State will be on a WVIR digital channel.
Saturday, Virginia is scheduled to host Wake Forest at noon. At 4 p.m., Clemson visits Virginia Tech while N.C. State goes to Georgia Tech.
ESPN has a pair of games Thursday - Purdue at Indiana at 7 p.m., then Cincinnati vs. Notre Dame. ESPN2 will have a tripleheader - Georgia Tech visiting Duke, Tennessee-LSU and Portland vs. Gonzaga.
Saturday's action on ESPN starts with Villanova heading to Georgetown at noon. Duke travels to Boston College at 2 p.m., then it's Texas-Oklahoma and South Carolina-Tennessee. The primetime contest matches Michigan State and Illinois.
On ESPN2, the day begins with Xavier-Dayton at noon. Kansas State-Iowa State follows at 2 p.m., then Gonzaga travels east to play Memphis and Southern Illinois goes to Northern Iowa. Wright State visits Butler next, then the day concludes with 10 p.m. with Tulsa at UTEP.
MASN's college basketball weekend begins Thursday with Winthrop at Liberty at 8 p.m. There's plenty of Big East action Saturday, starting with Marquette vs. Providence at noon. Three more conference games follow at 4 p.m. - Rutgers-Louisville, Seton Hall at Pittsburgh and DePaul visiting Connecticut - after the A-10 contest featuring UNC-Charlotte against Fordham.
Comcast has the CAA Saturday at 4 p.m. - Old Dominion taking on VCU - and heads west late for Arizona State's game with Washington. Sunday at 2 p.m., it's North Carolina's visit to Maryland.
Comcast offers women's basketball Sunday with Virginia Tech heading to N.C. State at 4 p.m.
The PGA tour will be on NBC this weekend, with the Northern Trust Open.

First slam finishes up

Down under, it's summer. So tennis goes there for the first Grand Slam.
The Australian Open crowns its women's champion very late Friday night 3:30 a.m. , to be specific (Saturday evening in Australia) and holds the mens final late Saturday night.
Serena Williams goes for another Grand Slam title against Justine Henin. The men have one more semifinal Thursday night, with the winner facing Andy Murray in the final.
While waiting for the Colts and Saints to head to Miami for Super Bowl XLIV, the NFL has a change for you. The Pro Bowl will be played ahead of the big game this year, also in Miami. ESPN has the coverage, starting at 7:20 p.m. Sunday.
The college football all-star season closes with the Senior Bowl Saturday on NFL Network at 4 p.m. Florida's Tim Tebow will show the pro football world what he can do, a week before he's featured on a pro-life ad.
The NBA begins its Sunday run on ABC this weekend. Denver visits San Antonio in the opener at 1 p.m., then it's the Lakers at Celtics.
TNT's Thursday doubleheader will be Celtics at Orlando and Dallas-Phoenix. The Wizards visit New Jersey Friday on Comcast-plus, then host the Knicks Saturday.
For your college basketball, Comcast has the big matchup between Virginia and Virginia Tech Thursday at 7 p.m.
Later Thursday, Comcast goes west to show UCLA facing Oregon. Saturday, it's CAA games at noon (James Madison-George Mason) and 4 p.m. (Old Dominion-Northeastern), surrounding St. Louis at Richmond from the A-10. Sunday night there's an ACC doubleheader, with Maryland at Clemson at 5:30 p.m. followed by Virginia-North Carolina.
CBS will show Duke at Georgetown Saturrday at 1 p.m., and Sunday offer either Florida at Tennesee or Minnesota-Ohio State.
The ACC package shows Florida State against Boston College Saturday at 3 p.m., then Virginia Tech visits Miami Sunday at 1 p.m. on NBC29.
ESPN starts its basketball weekend Thursday with Wisconsin at Purdue. ESPN2 offers Seton Hall at South Florida at 7 p.m., followed by Mississippi State at Arkansas and Gonzaga-Santa Clara.
Saturday, ESPN starts with Louisville-West Virginia at noon. Then it's Indiana's visit to Illinois, Vanderbilt traveling to No. 1 (and undefeated no longer) Kentucky and Kansas at Kansas State at 7 p.m. ESPN2 goes with LaSalle-Temple at noon, then Oklahoma State at Missouri. Notre Dame takes on Rutgers at 6 p.m.
MASN has a CAA game Thursday - Georgia State at Old Dominion - and five games on Saturday. Two from the Big East start it off at noon - Marquette at UConn and Syracuse-DePaul. Then it's Siena vs. Marist, Towson at UNC-Wilmington from the CAA and High Point takes on Gardner-Webb at 8 p.m. Sunday, it's Pittsburgh visiting South Florida at 1 p.m.
ESPN2 has a women's doubleheader Sunday, Purdue at Iowa followed by Baylor-Texas.
To whet your Winter Olympics' appetite, ESPN will show the Winter X games throughout the weekend.
The Capitals host a pair of Southeast Division rivals this weekend, with the Panthers in town Friday and Lightning Sunday afternoon. NBC shows the Red Wings at Penguins Sunday afternoon.
The PGA tour returns to CBS Saturday and Sunday, with the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Tiger Woods won't be there, but plenty of good golfers will.

Who's going to the Super Bowl?

The NFL is down to its Final Four. Two tickets for Miami will be punched Sunday.
Actually, four tickets. The losing coaches and some of their players will be at the Pro Bowl Jan. 31, when the winners arrive in town for the big game.
CBS gets the first game - Jets at Colts. The teams met in Super Bowl III and spent 32 years in the same division. Their Week 16 meeting ended the Colts' perfect season and propelled the Jets into the playoffs.
FOX closes its NFL season with the Vikings at Saints. The Saints have never been to the Super Bowl and never hosted a conference championship game. Expect the Superdome to be super-loud.
Brett Favre won his Super Bowl at the Superdome XIII years ago. The Vikings have lost their four Super Bowl trips, the last during the waning days of the Ford administration.
The college champ may be crowned, but there's still a few all-star games left to play. The East-West Shrine Game will be on ESPN2 Saturday at 3 p.m. from Orlando. Hopefully the Citrus Bowl grass will hold up this time.
If you're gearing up for the Winter Olympics, NBC has the U.S. Figure Skating championships this weekend. There's preliminary skating in the afternoon and finals Saturday and Sunday from 9 p.m. to 11.
State ACC teams will be on the TV Saturday. Virginia Tech hosts Boston College at 1:30 p.m., then Virginia goes to Wake Forest at 4 p.m. Sunday, it's Georgia Tech vs. Florida State at noon on NBC29.
CBS has a triple-header Saturday. The noon slot offers either Michigan State at Minnesota or Mississippi State vs. Alabama. At 2 p.m., it's either Ohio State-West Virginia or Oregon State-California, then 4 p.m. features Texas visiting Connecticut.
ESPN's college basketball schedule starts Thursday with Louisville at Seton Hall at 7 p.m ., followed by Florida-Arkansas. ESPN2 has Indiana vs. Penn State at 7 p.m., then Friday it's Wofford visiting Charleston.
Saturday, ESPN has five games on the schedule. St. John's vs. Villanova starts the day at noon, followed by Kansas at Iowa State, Michigan-Purdue and South Carolina going to Florida. Duke's trip to Clemson closes the night at 9 p.m. ESPN2 shows at Middle Tennessee meeting Western Kentucky at 1 p.m., then Maryland against N.C. State at 6 p.m. and Houston at Memphis at 8 p.m.
MASN offers late night hoops Thursday - Utah State at Fresno State - then starts Saturday with two Big East games - Rutgers at Georgetown at noon followed by DePaul-Notre Dame. Then it's CAA (George Mason at Towson), Big South (Liberty at Radford) and more CAA (James Madison vs. UNC-Wilmington).
Two more Big East games kick off Sunday's coverage - Cincinnati at Louisville at noon, then Pittsburgh at Seton Hall. Rider faces Niagara at 4 p.m.
ESPN2 has women's basketball Sunday afternoon - Michigan State at Minnesota.
TNT's NBA doubleheader has L.A. teams as the visitor - Lakers at Cavaliers at 8 p.m., then the Clippers at Denver. The Lakers invade New York Friday on ESPN, followed by the Bulls at Phoenix.
The Wizards host Miami Friday and then the Clippers Sunday afternoon on Comcast.
The Capitals visit Pittsburgh Thursday, then host the Coyotes Saturday on Comcast. NBC offers a choice Sunday - Penguins at Flyers or Bruins at Hurricanes.
It's the middle of the Australian Open's two week run. Coverage on ESPN2 begins at 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, at 10 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday.
The PGA tour heads to California for the Bob Hope Classic on Golf Network. If you're disappointed with your round, you can chat up Dr. Phil or some other celebrity.

Best football weekend of the year

You know Chris Berman's happy this week. He just loves this NFL weekend.
Four games.
Best four teams of the regular season hosting.
Winners move one step closer to the Super Bowl.
The highlight game - Baltimore at the Colts (Saturday at 8 p.m.). The last time the Super Bowl was played in South Florida, these teams met in this round. The road team (the Colts) won that meeting en route to their Super Bowl XLI championship.
I think it would be nice for the road team to win Saturday and send the Ravens on their way to Super Bowl XLIV.
The NFL weekend starts on FOX Saturday at 4:30 p.m., when NFC top-seed New Orleans faces Arizona. The Cardinals were part of the highest-scoring postseason game last week, and the Saints hope to resume the offensive firepower that gave them a 13-0 record to start the season.
Sunday, FOX has the early game as Dallas takes on Minnesota. Tony Romo vs. Brett Favre. Romo finally got his playoff win last week, and Favre keeps coming back in hopes of winning one more Super Bowl.
CBS has the final game of the weekend, with the New York Jets visiting San Diego. The Chargers ended the season with 11 straight wins. If the Jets and Ravens both win, then there's one more game at the Meadowlands.
Going indoors, the ACC has a pair of college basketball contests on the air Saturday - Clemson at N.C. State at noon, and Maryland-Boston College at 4 p.m.
CBS hangs in Michigan for its college basketball coverage, showing Illinois visiting Michigan State Saturday and UConn vs. the Wolverines Sunday.
ESPN starts the weekend Thursday with two games - Seton Hall at Georgetown at 7 p.m., followed by Indiana-Michigan. ESPN2 goes with three contests - Auburn vs. Tennessee, followed by Providence-DePaul and Gonzaga-St. Mary's.
Saturday's slate starts at noon on ESPN with Syracuse visiting West Virginia, then North Carolina-Georgia Tech. ESPN2 has five games, starting at 11 a.m. with Dayton at Xavier. The day concludes at 9 p.m. with Prairie View A&M at Jackson State.
MASN's college basketball schedule starts Thursday with Gardner-Webb at Liberty at 7 p.m., followed by Fresno State vs. Louisiana Tech. Saturday, they show Louisville-Pittsburgh at noon, with Oklahoma State vs. Baylor at 4 p.m. and UNC-Asheville taking on Liberty at 7 p.m.
Sunday there's three Big East games, starting with Georgetown at Villanova at noon. DePaul meets St. John's at 2 p.m., followed by Providence at Marquette.
Comcast offers two games Thursday - James Madison at William and Mary at 7 p.m. and Stanford facing Washington at 10:30 p.m. - then Saturday has Madison hosting George Mason at 2 p.m. Then it's LaSalle-Richmond and Virginia Tech against Florida State on Comcast-plus.
Sunday night, Wake Forest takes on Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Going up against the NFL playoffs Saturday night, ESPN decides to show the big women's basketball matchup between No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 1 Connecticut.
MASN has Big East women's basketball Saturday - Louisville at Georgetown at 2 p.m. Comcast features the Maryland women at North Carolina Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
TNT's Thursday NBA doubleheader features the Bulls at Celtics at 8 p.m., followed by the Cavaliers in Utah. ESPN offers Phoenix at Atlanta early and Orlando's visit to Portland in the nightcap.
The Wizards travel to Chicago Friday, then start a four-game homestand Saturday against Sacramento on Comcast.
The Capitals host the Maple Leafs Friday and Flyers Sunday afternoon on Comcast. NBC's regular season NHL coverage begins Sunday with the Blackhawks visiting Detroit.
The PGA tour has another event on Golf Network, the Sony Open.
The Australian Open begins its two-week run Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Crown your champs

College football will crown its national champion tonight. And this weekend, the NFL begins its road to the Super Bowl championship.
It's finally time for the last of 34 college bowls - No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Texas in the national championship game at the Rose Bowl Thursday on ABC.
The Longhorns return to the site of their 2005 national championship win. But the Southeastern Conference has won the three title games since then.
The NFL is down to its 12-team playoff field. NBC has the doubleheader Saturday with the Jets visiting Cincinnati at 4:30 p.m. and the Eagles at Cowboys at 8 p.m.
Sunday, the Patriots host the Ravens on CBS at 1 p.m., and FOX offers the Packers at Cardinals at 4:30 p.m.
The winners advance to the conference semifinals, where the Colts, Chargers, Saints and Vikings await.
College basketball begins to fill the TV schedule this weekend.
There's a pair of ACC games Saturday - N.C. State at Virginia at noon on NBC29, then Clemson visiting Boston College at 4 p.m. on the CW29 channel.
CBS features Kansas against Tennesee Sunday after NFL coverage.
ESPN offers a Saturday doubleheader starting at noon, with Connecticut taking on Georgetown, then Duke at Georgia Tech. ESPN2 gives you four games, starting with Florida at Vanderbilt at noon.
Saturday MASN features four Big East games starting at noon, with a CAA contest between George Mason and UNC-Wilmington sandwiched in the middle at 4 p.m. Sunday, South Florida heads to Syracuse at 2 p.m.
Comcast goes with the CAA Saturday, showing Towson at James Madison at 2 p.m. followed by Hofstra at Old Dominion. For your late-night hoops, there's USC at California at 10:30 p.m.
Sunday there's an ACC doubleheader starting at 5:30 p.m. - Florida State at Maryland, then Virginia Tech visits North Carolina. The Pac-10 gets coverage on either side of those games - Washington State at Arizona State at 3 p.m. and Oregon-Oregon State in the nightcap.
Women's basketball gets some network attention Saturday. CBS will show Ohio State visits Michigan State at 2 p.m., then North Carolina heads to Connecticut.
ESPN2 has a pair of women's games Sunday afternoon - Temple at Xavier at 3 p.m., followed by Southern Miss vs. Marshall.
ESPN's Friday NBA doubleheader features the Celtics at Hawks early and Cleveland at Denver in the nightcap. ESPN also shows Cleveland Sunday night, as the road trip continues at Portland.
The Wizards have a pair of home games this weekend - Orlando Friday and New Orleans Sunday afternoon - on Comcast.
The Capitals host Ottawa Thursday, and visit Atlanta Saturday on Comcast.
PGA starts year in Hawaii on Golf Network throughout the weekend.

Bowls or Winter Classic?

For years, college football has been the tradition on New Year's Day. But with the Bowl Championship Series, several games moved off the traditional day each year as we build up to the national title game.

The past three years, the NHL has stepped into the Jan. 1 breach with its Winter Classic. After stops in Buffalo and Chicago, this time Boston's Fenway Park hosts the Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers.
The Classic continues to grow with each edition. In Boston this year, there's been a high school game on the ice. There's a college tournament next week, and the people of Boston will have a chance to skate on the ice - unless they decide to sell their free tickets for big bucks.
If the temperatures are in the 30s and the chance of snow arrives,
a cool hockey venue will look even cooler.

New Year's Day gives you five college bowl games - so does New Year's Eve and Jan. 2. I guess that helps you pace yourself.
Three of the New Year's Eve games are on ESPN - local fans will be waiting for Virginia Tech's game with Tennessee in primetime. Before that, it's service academies playing in Texas - Air Force vs. Houston at noon, followed by Navy against Missouri.
CBS shows the Sun Bowl - Stanford vs. Oklahoma - at 2 p.m. while the NFL Network has its bowl telecast - Minnesota vs. Iowa State in the Insight Bowl at 6 p.m.
You can still find the Rose Bowl at its traditional New Year's Day place - Oregon meeting Ohio State at 5 p.m. on ABC. The Sugar Bowl (Florida vs. Cincinnati) is in prime time, but on FOX.
There are three games around midday - highlighted by Bobby Bowden's farewell from Florida State in the Gator Bowl on CBS. ESPN shows the Outback Bowl with Northwestern meeting Auburn, while the Citrus matches Penn State and LSU on ABC.
With no NFL games on Jan. 2, the bowls claim the day. The Cotton Bowl will be on FOX, with Oklahoma State taking on Mississippi. There's the International Bowl from Toronto (South Florida taking on Northern Illinois on ESPN2) and a trio of games on ESPN - South Carolina vs. Connecticut in another pizza bowl at 2 p.m., followed by Arkansas against East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl and Michigan State vs. Texas Tech in San Antonio.
It's the final weekend of the NFL regular season, giving both CBS and FOX the chance to show a pair of contests Sunday afternoon. The Redskins (at Chargers on FOX) and Ravens (at Raiders on CBS) are both on the west coast.
The early games in Fishersville look likely to be Steelers at Dolphins on CBS and Giants at Minnesota on FOX. It will be the Dolphins' first appearance on over-the-air TV, leaving only four teams - Houston, Tennessee, Arizona and Seattle - not seen on Sunday afternoons in our area this season.
NBC has decided to show the Bengals at the Jets as its last game Sunday night. It's the final football game at Giants Stadium, unless the Jets win and as the fifth seed host the sixth-seeded Ravens in the AFC championship. (I'm just anticipating a Ravens' win on Sunday.)
TNT has a doubleheader on New Year's Eve - Heat at Spurs starting at 7 p.m., followed by the Sixers at Clippers. The Wizards host San Antonio Saturday on Comcast.
The Capitals open the new year on the West Coast, facing the L.A. Kings Saturday afternoon.
Comcast closes 2009 with a pair of basketball games - Arizona State vs. UCLA at 4:30 p.m., followed by William & Mary at Maryland. Sunday, the Terps face UNC-Greensboro at 1 p.m. Florida takes on N.C. State at 4 p.m., and the ACC contest of the week matches Clemson and Duke.
ESPN2 shows six games on New Year's Eve - going from noon to midnight. Michigan at Indiana starts the fun, and Duke hosts Penn at 6 p.m.

West Virginia visits Purdue Friday on ESPN, and there's three games on ESPN2 Saturday - Marquette vs. Villanova at 3:30 p.m., followed by Kansas at Temple. Seton Hall comes to Virginia Tech at 8:30 p.m. to cap off the day.
CBS offers two choices early Saturday - Arizona at UCLA or Gonzaga vs. Illinois - prior to showing Kentucky battling Louisville.
In women's basketball, Oklahoma visits Tennessee Sunday night on ESPN2.

Sports under the Christmas tree

After Santa Claus finishes his run, there's a few sporting events to catch as part of your Christmas fun.
The NBA has expanded its offerings to five for the day. The two big games are on ABC - Boston at Orlando at 2:30 p.m., followed by Cleveland facing the Lakers. After hours of having kids battle over their new toys, you can watch LeBron and Kobe battle.
ESPN opens the day's activities at noon with the Heat visiting the Knicks. The primetime schedule has the Clippers meeting the Suns at 8 p.m., followed by Denver at Portland.
The NFL Network has its final game of the season on Christmas Night, with San Diego visiting Tennessee.
CBS has the Sunday doubleheader, and Fishersville should get the Ravens at Steelers early and Broncos at Eagles late. Fox features the Giants at the Panthers.
NBC choose to keep the Cowboys at Redskins as their Sunday night game. The Vikings visit the Bears in ESPN's final Monday night game of the season.
The college bowl schedule heats up Christmas Eve with the Hawai'i Bowl on ESPN - Nevada vs. SMU. The Mustangs are making their first bowl appearance since 1984.
Saturday, ESPN has three bowls. Marshall and Ohio kick off the action from Michigan at 1 p.m. (get your pizza early), followed by a pair of ACC teams in their bowls - North Carolina vs. Pitt in Charlotte then Boston College vs. Southern Cal at the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.
Sunday, Kentucky faces Clemson at 8:30 p.m. from Nashville.
A few college basketball teams hit the hardcourt after Christmas. Saturday, CBS has West Virginia visiting Seton Hall.
MASN offers Radford at Louisville Sunday afternoon.
The Wizards have Christmas off, but play at Minnesota Saturday on Comcast.
The Capitals host New Jersey Saturday on Comcast.