Sore ankle doesn't keep Freeney out of game
MIAMI - Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, who hadn't practiced since the Colts' AFC Championship Game win over the Jets two weeks ago, was in the starting lineup for the Super Bowl last night. Freeney had expressed cautious optimism that he'd be ready, and had hoped to test the ankle in practice Friday or Saturday. But he didn't practice either day, and his status was uncertain until he warmed up before the game.
Freeney looked fine during warm-ups and was at his customary spot at right defensive end. He had a key sack of Drew Brees on a third-down attempt in the second quarter that forced the Saints into a field-goal try.
Waters gets Payton award
Brian Waters of the Kansas City Chiefs is this season's winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made the announcement shortly before kickoff of the Super Bowl. The Man of the Year award has been issued by the NFL since 1970 and was re-named in Payton's honor in 1999.
Starr Award to Warner
Newly retired Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner is still winning awards. He picked up the NFL's Bart Starr Award this weekend, recognizing his leadership and work in the community. Warner and his wife, Brenda, established the First Things First Foundation in 2001, working with sick children and single parents, plus sending care packages to military personnel serving overseas.
Sapp released from jail
Former NFL defensive tackle Warren Sapp, an announcer for NFL Network, was released from jail Sunday on $1,500 bond, a day after being arrested for allegedly choking a woman in his hotel room. Sapp was pulled from the network's broadcast after the arrest. The network will keep Sapp off the air until it investigates the matter. Sapp was arrested Saturday on one charge of misdemeanor battery.
No more 3-point stances?
A ban on the three-point stance? Goodell says it's possible. Concerned about concussions, the commissioner said the league will keep looking for ways to make the game safer. Speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation" hours before the Super Bowl, he didn't rule out the idea of banning the three-point stance for linemen to reduce the ferocity of collisions at the line of scrimmage.
Dallas preps for SB XLV
At least 70 members of the North Texas Super Bowl host committee, which gets its turn at the NFL title game Feb. 6, 2011, spent parts of the past two weeks in South Florida taking notes on how Miami has handled the game. Next year's will be the first in the Dallas area.
With AP
