National Sports Journalism Center

Feb. 7, 2012 2:19 p.m.

by Brian Burnsed
IU Super Bowl Student News Bureau

An unheralded receiver made a brilliant catch late in the fourth quarter. The New York Giants won the Super Bowl soon after. This story has been told before. Mario Manningham caught a mere 39 balls this season in the long shadows cast by talented teammates Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. But in the brightest spotlight, he snatched Eli Manning’s 38-yard fourth-quarter strike out of the air, clinging to it like it was the Lombardi Trophy itself, as he tapped both feet in bounds at the 50 on the left sideline. “I knew I had to freeze my feet when the ball touched my fingertips,” he said. “There’s no pressure. Its football, except you have a little bit more people watching.”

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Feb. 7, 2012 2:05 p.m.

by Josh Weinfuss
IU Super Bowl Student News Bureau

Deion Branch had a Super Bowl sized reputation heading into Sunday night. He led the New England Patriots in receiving yards in Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 and came back a year later to be named the MVP. So when the Patriots found themselves down four points with 57 seconds left in Super Bowl XLVI, New England quarterback Tom Brady turned to a likely source. Brady’s first pass in the Patriots’ final series was intended for Branch, but Giants safety Antrel Rolle tipped it just enough where Branch had to reach back to attempt a catch. Branch missed the first-and-10 pass as five seconds ticked off the clock. Still in uniform in the bowels of Lucas Oil Stadium after losing Super Bowl XLVI to the New York Giants, 21-17, Branch didn’t blame the tip for him missing the catch.

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Feb. 5, 2012 1:08 p.m.

by Josh Weinfuss
IU Super Bowl Student News Bureau

Kirk Ferentz had a break before a Baltimore Ravens preseason game in the summer of 1998 and squeezed in a trip to watch his son, Brian, play in a baseball scrimmage. Until then, Brian, like many eighth-graders, didn’t get enthused about much — even about sports. But that day on the diamond at Delaney High School in Maryland, Kirk remembers something turned on in Brian. It has stayed with the New England Patriots’ tight ends coach ever since, and led him to Super Bowl XLVI today against the New York Giants.

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Feb. 5, 2012 1:02 p.m.

by Josh Weinfuss
IU Super Bowl Student News Bureau

Six years after Kenny Phillips found himself asking Antrel Rolle what life as a Miami Hurricane was like, the roles were reversed. As a senior at Miami Carol High School in 2004 Phillips consulted with Rolle, then a senior at the University of Miami, during his recruitment by the Hurricanes. He asked what to expect and what he should look forward to in Coral Gables. Rolle’s must had the right answers — Phillips became a Hurricane. Later, when Rolle was a free agent in 2010 after five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, Phillips, then in his second year with the New York Giants, was the one with the answers. Rolle must have heard the right things — he joined the Giants before the 2010 season.

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Feb. 5, 2012 12:52 p.m.

by Andrew Crum
IU Super Bowl Student News Bureau

Sometimes coming home is the best part of being away. In Mathias Kiwanuka’s case, homecoming represents triumph over adversary, a celebration of the good things in his life and he is hoping to add to that with a Super Bowl title in Indianapolis, his hometown, home of Super Bowl XLVI. “That’s the surreal part right there, that’s the part that is unbelievable. As a kid you dream about playing in the biggest games but you don’t ever expect it to be in your hometown especially when you are from Indianapolis. Getting this opportunity is great,” said Kiwanuka.

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Feb. 5, 2012 8:13 a.m.

by Avi Zaleon
IU Super Bowl Student News Bureau

Mark Anderson needed to grow up. Now poised, he slouches in a Lucas Oil Stadium seat, calmly answering questions from a small group of about five reporters shuffling in and out. His black, fitted Super Bowl hat distracts little from his tattooed biceps, which, without shoulder pads, stretch the sleeves of his Patriots jersey. This is his second Super Bowl, and his approach is different. “I was just a young player,” the New England defensive end said. “Now I’m a little bit more mature, and I understand the game a little bit better.”

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Feb. 4, 2012 6:13 p.m.

by Lee Horton
IU Super Bowl Student News Bureau

The streets of Indianapolis this week are packed with football fans wearing Colts, Denver Broncos and New York Giants jerseys. One of these teams calls Indianapolis home, another features league darling Tim Tebow, and the Giants are playing in Super Bowl XLVI this weekend. Conspicuous in their absence are replica jerseys of New York’s Super Bowl opponent, the Patriots. That’s probably a smart move by New England fans, as they aren’t exactly welcome in the Circle City. For Colts fans, there isn’t a worse team that could be playing in their city’s first-ever Super Bowl.

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Feb. 4, 2012 6:08 p.m.

by Jason Bailey
IU Super Bowl Student News Bureau

Prince Amukamara wasn’t thrown at often while roaming the field at the University of Nebraska, where opponents avoided the shutdown cornerback. The NFL hasn’t been so kind. It’s been a challenging year for the New York Giants rookie, who is on the verge of playing in Super Bowl XLVI against the New England Patriots. The consensus top-10 draft pick wasn’t selected until No. 19 overall, missed a week of training camp during his holdout and was inactive the first nine games after breaking a bone in his left foot.

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Feb. 3, 2012 5:05 p.m.

by Brian Burnsed
IU Super Bowl Student News Bureau

Tom Brady should’ve known better. In the third quarter of the Jan. 22 AFC Championship Game, the New England Patriots quarterback dropped a 24-yard strike on an expertly run corner route to a man with 11-inch-wide hands, their staggering size further embellished by bleach-white gloves. Those hands hauled in 17 touchdowns this season—a record for tight ends. And that man, Rob Gronkowski, treated Dannell Ellerbe, the Ravens linebacker tasked with covering him, as he had so many other linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks throughout the season. He cut around the smaller defender as if he didn’t exist and made the catch. But safety Bernard Pollard—who ended Brady’s 2008 season with a blow to the knee—lay in wait. Pollard launched himself at the 6’6” 265 lb. Gronkowski, wrapping his arms around the tight end’s waist but couldn’t bring him down until his hip landed on Gronkowski’s left heel, pushing his ankle in a direction that defied its design.

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Feb. 3, 2012 4:12 p.m.

by Andrew Crum
IU Super Bowl Student News Bureau

All you have to do is hear the enthusiasm when Troy University Coach Larry Blakeney speaks of his three former players in the Super Bowl. “All good players for us, and I’m proud of them all. Excited for ‘em.” Kicker Lawrence Tynes, defensive end Osi Umenyiroa and wide receiver/kick returner Jerrel Jernigan are New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI. And Blakely’s former pupils touch every facet of the game — offense, defense and special teams — for the NFC champions. Jernigan, in his rookie season, is experiencing something few first-year players get to. Tynes and Umenyiroa, who played together a couple seasons at Troy, also played for the Giants against the New England Patriots four years ago in Super Bowl XLII.

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