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The Joy of Six: Super Bowl scandals | DJ Gallo

From an unfortunate nighttime visit in Miami to Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson, half a dozen moments the league would rather forgetSuper Bowl drunkenness has a long history, back to before the big game was even called the Super Bowl. In the debut game, Packers v Chiefs in 1967, Green Bay’s Max McGee decided to go out drinking the night before the game. He was a seldom used, 34-year old receiver who had only caught four passes all season and believed his team wouldn’t need him the next day. After meeting two flight attendants at the hotel bar and with the city of Los Angeles before them, McGee headed out into the night and didn’t return until 6.30am and remained...

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Deflategate was supposed to kill Goodell and the Patriots. They're still thriving

New England are into another Super Bowl and the NFL commissioner is still in power despite numerous debacles. So much for scandalsIt has now been two years since the start of Deflategate, an ordeal that should have ruined the New England Patriots and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Instead, the only key figure who is worse-off than before is the man who started the fiasco. On Saturday, a day before the Patriots went to yet another Super Bowl, the Indianapolis Colts fired their general manager Ryan Grigson. The move was celebrated by Patriots fans, who knew Grigson had told the NFL that New England were underinflating footballs during their rout of the Colts in the 2015 AFC championship game. Upon hearing of...

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NFL Championship Games predictions: Falcons to end Packers' hopes

Aaron Rodgers has had a great run but injuries will catch up with Green Bay, while the Patriots’ struggles against Houston do not bode well for Tom BradyJust like that, the end game is upon us. A starting field of 32 NFL teams has been whittled down to four. And of our 226 Pick The Playoffs contestants, a mere 12 are still in with a shot of a perfect score. Congratulations to bouncebounceprod, francaise, Mark Lewis, MisterHorse, mmmbop86, nbcnfl, Nick Young, ShadowWarrior, smjdublin, themagicman, waterhoose and, yes, me on calling every postseason game correctly so far. I’ll post the full standings in the comments section below shortly. But before that, here are my picks for the Conference Championship Games. Related:...

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NFL playoff predictions: Aaron Rodgers to drag Packers past Cowboys

Rodgers has thrown for 22 touchdowns in the past eight games, and he can spoil the Cowboys’ season on Sunday. Plus, go for the Falcons, Patriots and SteelersTime for the real fun to begin? Wildcard weekend was a damp squib, with every home team winning exactly as it was expected to do. That this was a predictable outcome is evidenced by the fact that more than one third of our Pick The Playoff contestants did, quite literally, predict it. Related: San Diego refused to be bullied by the NFL and billionaire owners | Les Carpenter Continue reading...

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NFL divisional round: the teams best placed to score an upset

The four games this weekend look like home bankers, but history suggests at least one visiting team will win – and the Steelers perhaps have the best chanceWelcome to what the NFL calls the divisional round of the playoffs, where four teams that won a wildcard playoff game hit the road to tangle with a team that posted a better record during the regular season and thereby got a weekend off. Decks appear stacked. Related: Odell Beckham Jr's real mistake was not making himself invisible Continue reading...

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