NBC, NFL apologize for M.I.A.'s bird flip during Super Bowl show

Most of us probably assumed that if anything incendiary was going to occur during Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show, it would likely be at the hands of Madonna, long known for her button-pushing.

But, as you probably know by now, it was rapper/singer M.I.A. who got people talking by unexpectedly flipping the bird at the end of Madge's new song, "Give Me All Your Luvin'."

Naturally, the PR machines behind the NFL and NBC hustled into action to clear things up, issuing dueling press statements Sunday.

First, the network released an apology and called the flip a "spontaneous gesture." "We apologize for the inappropriate gesture that aired during halftime," the network said. "It was a spontaneous gesture that our delay system caught late."

The NFL's statement was slightly more pointed and placed the blame on NBC.

"There was a failure in NBC's delay system," the NFL said. "The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans."

Somewhere, Janet "wardrobe malfunction" Jackson is breathing a long sigh of relief.