PHOENIX -- Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll said Friday that it will be Richard Sherman's decision whether to play in Sunday's Super Bowl if his pregnant girlfriend goes into labor with the couple's first child sooner than expected.
Carroll said during a joint news conference with New England Coach Bill Belichick that family comes first and "if [Sherman] is faced with that decision, we'll support him."
"He has an opportunity to face a big decision and whenever our players have a personal, family issue that comes up it's always about family first and they can decide what is best for them and I support that," Carroll said. "However he goes with that, if he's faced with that decision we'll support him and we'll see how that goes."
Carroll also added, "I can't wait to see little Petey."
Sherman said Thursday that the baby -- a boy -- isn't due for a couple of weeks and that "he was going to do his father a favor" and wait to be born until after the game. In an interview with KING-TV in Seattle, Sherman's girlfriend, Ashley Moss, said, "I told him to play the game."
Carroll's comment regarding Sherman was the biggest news to come out of the final media availability with the coaches. Carroll was the more talkative of the two, although Belichick added quips through the 34-minute availability.
"I think everyone knows how much respect I have for Seattle and Pete and the job that they do," Belichick said. "I don't think fun is the word that I'd use. It's been a huge challenge. It's a tough team to prepare for, but I certainly have all the respect in the world for them. I could see why they were champions last year and why they are here again this year. They do so many things well on so many levels."
The pair also spoke glowingly of their owners -- Paul Allen for the Seahawks and Robert Kraft for the Patriots -- and the support they have provided to both franchises and their intertwined pasts. Carroll was the coach in New England before being fired by Kraft and replaced by Belichick.
"The passion that he brings, he's there on a pretty regular basis with the team, with the players, with the coaches, with the staff," Belichick said of Kraft. "He's an integral part of everything that we do. We have a great relationship."
Carroll said the preparations for the week had a very similar feel to last year in New York prior to the Seahawks' victory over Denver.
"The process that we go through is very much the same. What changes is the team that you're playing and the challenges they present, which are extraordinary," Carroll said. "We really do have a process and a way we go through it and a mentality and feel like we've come through it now and we're wrapping it up and it's gone the way we like it to."
Ticket prices
Tickets for the Super Bowl are in hot demand and running for several thousand dollars, but some Arizona elected officials are getting the perk of going for free or at face value.
The Arizona Republic reported that several lawmakers, from city council members to the governor, will be at Sunday's game in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale.
Face-value seat prices run from $800 to $1,900, but tickets are going for high as $10,000 on some sales websites.
Representatives for Gov. Doug Ducey and U.S. Sen. John McCain said both men paid for their tickets.
Scottsdale Councilman Linda Milhaven will be going for free thanks to an agreement between the suburban city and the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee. She also was able to buy a second ticket at face value.
Jury instructions
FALL RIVER, Mass. -- The judge overseeing former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez's murder trial said Friday that jurors can watch Sunday's Super Bowl but must walk away or otherwise distance themselves if his name is mentioned.
Bristol County Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh gave jurors those instructions before dismissing them for the weekend.
Hernandez caught quarterback Tom Brady's last Super Bowl touchdown pass in the Patriots' 21-17 loss in 2012 to the New York Giants.
Garsh said jurors who watch the game must be vigilant to avoid exposing themselves to coverage about Hernandez, who is charged in the 2013 shooting death of semipro football player Odin Lloyd. Opening statements in the trial began Thursday.
Hernandez had a $40 million contract with the Patriots when he was arrested.
Charity ball
PITTSBURGH -- A dented chocolate football created by a Pennsylvania candy maker to poke fun at the New England Patriots "Deflategate" scandal has ended up raising $20,000 for charity.
The ball created by Sarris Candies of Canonsburg was auctioned off Friday on KDKA radio in Pittsburgh to benefit the Dollar Energy Fund. The fund provides utility assistance for poor residents.
A local car dealer bid $5,000 for the chocolate ball, and that price was matched by candy maker Bill Sarris. The utilities that help support the Dollar Energy Fund matched that $10,000.
The chocolate football was molded with a dent to make it appear deflated. Sarris posted it on Facebook as a joke and initially didn't intend to sell it.
Now he says, "It's going to a good cause, so that's the best thing."
Sports on 01/31/2015