Today is Super Bowl Sunday. You could watch the game, but you have choices.
Yes, you could join the more than 150 million Americans expected to tune to NBC for Super Bowl XLIX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots at Glendale, Ariz.
More pregame stuff than is healthy to consume begins at 11 a.m. -- six and a half hours before they actually get around to kicking off at 5:30 p.m. I don't know about you, but I could get all the information I need in today's Sports section and in an hour or so on TV. The rest is just padding and an excuse to show more commercials.
You could watch all that and the big game, or you could watch adorable puppies and kittens.
• Puppy Bowl XI. Today may be the big day for Super Bowl XLIX (that's 49 for the Roman numerically challenged), but it's also the big day for one of TV's most highly anticipated annual sporting events -- Puppy Bowl XI. That's No. 11.
The "biggest event on all fours" arrives at 2 p.m. today on Animal Planet and runs until 4. Tune in to pull for your favorite team -- Ruff or Fluff. Yes. Those are the actual names of the two teams.
It's hard to believe that this will be the 11th consecutive year for the "all-star, all-adorable cast that's ready to mix it up on the grand gridiron of Animal Planet Stadium."
Animal Planet promises "a lovable lineup that's itching to play in a winning combination of terrier tackles, touchdowns, puppy penalties, fumbles and Fido first downs. This year's big game is sure to be a tail-wagger."
Back for another year is the popular Bissell Kitten Halftime Show featuring Keyboard Cat. And whereas the Super Bowl will have Katy Perry at halftime, The Puppy Bowl will feature a feline performer who goes by the stage name of Katty Furry. (Her real name is BamBam and she's from a cat rescue outfit in New Jersey.)
Also, look for sideline reporter Meep the Bird to tweet live updates throughout the game.
The folks at Animal Planet must all want to go home to watch the Super Bowl, too. After the two-hour Puppy Bowl airs, it'll encore five (five!) times.
• Kitten Bowl II. If puppies are cute, kittens are cuter (writes the guy who also pens the paper's Otus the Head Cat column). Pleased with the positive response to last year's inaugural Kitten Bowl, Hallmark Channel is back for its second annual gridiron classic.
Kitten Bowl II airs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and is touted by Hallmark as "the highly anticipated biggest feline showdown in history on Su-purr Bowl Sunday." OK. It's also the only "feline showdown" on TV.
It may have its tongue firmly in its cheek, but Hallmark has lofty altruistic goals. All of the 90-plus kittens participating in the competition will be guaranteed permanent homes through Hallmark Channel's partnership with North Shore Animal League America. The inaugural Kitten Bowl saw all 72 participants adopted.
Last year's first Feline Football League (FFL) Championship witnessed several kittens become star "cathletes." They included TomCat Brady, Meowshawn Lynch, Ferrell Owens and Mr. Whiskers. Each passed, punted and kicked their way through the championship game. When the fur settled, kittens were trending No. 1 on Twitter while a record number of fans at home voted for the MVK (Most Valuable Kitten) on Facebook.
Joining the cathletes in Kitten Stadium will be a number of celebrities, along with NFL all-star Boomer Esiason, who has been named the first FFL commissioner.
The teams, named after Hallmark programs, include the Good Witch Wildcats, Hallmark Channel Hearties, Countdown to Christmas Cheetahs, Cedar Cove Cougars, Northpole Panthers, HMM Mountain Lions, North Shore Bengals and Last Hope Lions. The kittens will compete on obstacle courses filled with lures such as yarn balls, lasers and toys on string.
Style on 02/01/2015