With the Super Bowl quickly approaching there’s lots of little nuggets and tidbits of information you may have missed so this is our attempt at trying to keep you informed of the minutia.

Let me know what you think about the rematch, I’m interested in your thoughts I’d love to use some in another post.  You can leave them in the comments of this post, email them to me or tweet them to me.  I look forward to your opinions regardless of what team you root for.

A Hartford, CT animal control officer was one of the winners of the Patriots “Super Bowl for Super People” contest.

Patriots G Donald Brown has a rubber ducky collection and he plans on taking them to Indianapolis.

Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez has played for some famous coaches, Bill Belichick, Urban Meyer and UConn’s Geno Auriemma.

Gifts were all around in the Patriots locker room this weekend before leaving for Indianapolis.  Apparently QB Tom Brady bought each player a pair of the Uggs Boots he endorses, while WR Chad Ochocinco bought 70 pairs of Dr. Dre’s Beats Headphones, valued at $400 each, for all the players and coaches.  That’s $28,000 worth of headphones.

Here is a picture of the Lucas Oil Stadium field with the end zones and logos painted.

Patriots director of pro personnel Jason Licht lost out on the general managers job with Chicago Bears, who selected Kansas City Chiefs director of college scouting Phil Emery.  Emery, a former area scout for the Bears, has worked with former Patriots execs Thomas Dimitroff in Atlanta and Scott Pioli in Kansas City.

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They have temporarily changed the name of the street outside of Lucas Oil Stadium to “Patriots Path”.

The Patriots reported that 25,000 fans attended the send off rally on Sunday at Gillette Stadium prior to the team leaving for Indianapolis.

OL Nick McDonald went to the Super Bowl last season with Green Bay and won a ring, this year he gets to go back with the Patriots in search of a second one.

Two flawed teams will be playing in Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday in Indy.

Ever wondered how Brady responds from multiple interception games?

James Ihedigbo was meant to be with the Patriots.

Former Patriots safety and now NBC Sports studio analyst Rodney Harrison says the Patriots will need their best game.

Giants WR Mario Manningham can’t wait to face Patriots two way player Julian Edelman.

Where are the 2001 Patriots now?

New England special teamers are primed for the challenge of the Giants at Super Bowl XLVI.

Evidently Patriots T Matt Light gets under the skin of Giants DE Osi Umenyiora.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick turned up the heat in the teams practice facility this week and this is why.

The Twitter feed of the Indianapolis Host Committee is @SuperBowl2012.  It’s a great resource if you’re in town for the game, you can find information there and they even answer your questions.

A relaxed Bill Belichick led the media parade after the Patriots arrived in Indianapolis on Sunday night.

Pro Football Talk says TE Rob Gronkowski will likely play on Sunday but will probably need arthroscopic surgery after the Super Bowl.

New England has set their practice schedule for the week.

The Patriots will face the New York Giants on February 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium in Super Bowl XLVI.  Look for the Sox & Dawgs “In The Red Zone Game Preview” available this Friday.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

With the Super Bowl quickly approaching, there’s lots of little nuggets and tidbits of information you may have missed. So this is our attempt at trying to keep you informed of the minutia.

Let me know what you think about the rematch, I’m interested in your thoughts I’d love to use some in another post.  You can leave them in the comments of this post, email them to me or tweet them to me.  I look forward to your opinions regardless of what team you root for.

When the Patriots and Giants meet on February 5th it will be 3 months since the Patriots last lost a football game.  That was Week 9 in Foxboro to the Giants.

According to Bill Belichick’s girlfriend Linda Holliday’s twitter account, there will be no red hoodie in Indy.

The Patriots under Belichick are 7-2 in the playoffs when having a bye week.  Their only losses are in Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants and in the 2010 playoffs to the New York Jets.

The Patriots also average nearly a full touchdown more in margin of victory when coming off a playoff bye.

How last years debacles in Dallas lead to this years Social Media monitoring hub at the Super Bowl via Fang’s Bites.

Fang’s Bites gives us this as well, NBC Sports Group coverage plans for Super Bowl XLVI.

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has bet New England clam chowder against a New York cheesecake from New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

Senator Kerry urges Sunbeam Television and DirecTV to come to a settlement before the Super Bowl or some Boston area fans will be blacked out from the game.

The NFL will be tracking tweets about the Super Bowl under the primary hashtag of #SB46.

The NFL owners have extended Commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract through 2018.

Will Chad Ochocinco dress for the Super Bowl after being inactive for the AFC Championship Game?

Tom Brady graces the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated.

This is just the third rematch in Super Bowl history among starting QB’s.  The others were Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach (Pittsburgh-Dallas) and Troy Aikman and Jim Kelly (Dallas-Buffalo).  The two previous rematches were won by the same QB both times.

WR Wes Welker got engaged to the former Miss Hooters, Anna Burns.

The Patriots placed practice squad WR Dorin Dickerson on the IR and signed TE Carson Butler to the practice squad.

On Thursday the only players missing from practice were TE Rob Gronkowski and practice squad TE Carson Butler.

Do you want to hear Rex Ryan’s Super Bowl prediction?  Well as of right now you’re going to have to wait.

Baltimore’s Bernard Pollard hopes the Giants “put a thrashing” on the Patriots.

The seating capacity has been set at Lucas Oil Field at 67,000, that’s 35,000 seats less than Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

Ann Mara breaks shoulder and is ‘probable’ for the Super Bowl.

Giants Justin Tuck is preparing for an epic Super Bowl.

Looking for Super Bowl tickets?  The Boston Globe has some information on what is available through Ace Ticket.

Which Patriots team is your all-time favorite?  Personally I like the 1-15 Rod Rust squad…hey I’m hopped up on antihistamine.

A list of Super Bowl XLVI hotel deals and Indianapolis visitor information.

Why the Patriots and Giants are the perfect match up.

A portrait of faith for the Patriots.

The Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian has a look back at Super Bowl XLII and it’s affect on the Patriots.

Why everyone else hates the Patriots.

ESPN’s Sports Science took a look at Sterling Moore’s game saving play from the AFC Championship Game.

The Patriots will face the New York Giants on February 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium in Super Bowl XLVI.  Look for the Sox & Dawgs “In The Red Zone Game Preview” available on the Friday before the game.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

The New England Patriots have announced that they will have their send off rally on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

The rally will be held inside the stadium with gates opening at 10:15 a.m. and the team will show a replay of the AFC Championship game at 10:30 a.m.

The rally program will begin at noon with President Jonathan Kraft and Head Coach Bill Belichick expected to speak to the crowd.

The event is free and open to the public, the parking is free as well but tailgating will not be allowed.

Follow Steve on Twitter  @SteveMichaelsII

We’ve all seen the credit card commercials.

$2,000 per ticket

$1,000 per person airfare

$500 a night hotel

Getting an ulcer when you see the credit card bill…Priceless.

If you are a New England Patriots fan looking to attend the Super Bowl in Indianapolis on February 5 you better be prepared to pay, and pay big.

Tickets to the game are starting around $2000 per and go up from there to as much as $7500.  Then throw in roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodations, food, rental car and incidentals are you’re looking at spending the gross national product of a small third world country.

If you look around you can find some cheaper overnight options, maybe skip the rental car by staying closer to the venue but hey you still need to eat right?

While some have other plans, that include staying farther away from the venue to save hotel money and making a longer drive for the game and eating as cheaply as possible.

One of the things I do when traveling on a budget is to try to combine meals.  I might do more of a brunch type meal in the morning and skip lunch in exchange for a light snack.  Or find a buffet-style restaurant that’s all you can eat for a set rate.  If you can find a place that has a breakfast buffet and you can load up on heavier foods, like pancakes and waffles, it will hold you over longer when you can get that snack.  Then do dinner a little later than normal.

One of the other travel tips is to stay in a hotel that gives you a free breakfast of some sort.  There are plenty of chains that do this and you should take advantage of that offering as you can save anywhere from $5-$8 or more on a breakfast alone.  They also generally offer fresh fruit as well.  Grab that banana or apple to go as a midday snack, stretch that included “free” meal as far as it will go.

Also when going out to dinner at night, skip the cocktails.  This will easily add an additional 25%-30% to your meal tab.  If you need to have a cocktail at night, do your self a favor and stop at a local liquor store or grocery store and buy an 18 pack or a bottle of booze and drink in your room with your friends or family after dinner.

There are lots of little ways to save some money here and there and if you are like most people and really want to go to the game you are going to need to cut some corners in some areas.  But above all soak in the atmosphere and have fun you never know when you’ll get back.

Follow Steve on Twitter  @SteveMichaelsII

For the 15th time in his career, New England Patriots QB Tom Brady graces the cover of Sports Illustrated that will hit newsstands on Wednesday.

click on image to see full size

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A lot of New England Patriots fans are interested in the team itinerary for the next few weeks preparing for Super XLVI in Indianapolis .  The team released its schedule to media here it is.

Early this week players will be studying film, working out and getting treatment for injuries.  They will also use these days to get their family settled with the travel plans for the game.  The team will practice on Thursday and Friday in Foxboro with a possible Saturday practice as well.  They will use those days to install a majority of the game plan.

On Sunday they will travel to Indianapolis and there will be a sendoff rally of some sort with the details to be announced soon by the Patriots.  In the past they have been done at Gillette Stadium as the players have gotten ready to board the buses to the airport.

Next week in Indianapolis they will have some regular practices and film sessions plus media day at the stadium.  And it looks like possibly a Saturday walk through with the team photo being shot in there as well.

Follow Steve on Twitter  @SteveMichaelsII

New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski rolled his ankle during the team’s 23-20 win over Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.  It happened late in the game when Ravens S Bernard Pollard tackled Gronkowski after a pass and Gronk’s ankle got tangled up with Pollard and he rolled it.

He was taken from the field to the dressing room, had it re-taped and returned to play.  He was on the field when Tom Brady scored the go ahead touchdown on a one yard dive.

Every Patriot fan should remember Pollard.  He was with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008 and he hit Tom Brady in the knee in Week 1 tearing his ACL.  In 2009 while with the Houston Texans he was covering Wes Welker and was about to him when Welker tried to cut and tore up his ACL.  Now Gronkowski, I think Bill Belichick needs to sign this guy and soon before he kills the whole team.

Generally injured players do not speak with the media after the game, including an attempted bilingual interview with ESPN Deportes but Gronkowski was allowed to although he did avoid the media on Monday while at the team facility.

According to a league source, his ankle will be fine and it should not affect his availability for Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis on February 5.

Follow Steve on Twitter  @SteveMichaelsII

Photo credit: Reuters Pictures

From the Patriots’ media relations staff:

Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft today announced the opening of a “Super Bowl for Super People” online sweepstakes to recognize outstanding individuals in the public service sector as an extension of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation’s season-long “Celebrate Volunteerism” campaign.

Ten winners will be randomly selected from a pool of police officers, firefighters, teachers, military personnel and nurses in New England who have been identified as “Super People” by their superiors.

Two winners from each category will receive the “Super Bowl for Super People” package, an all-expenses paid, one-day trip to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis for them and a guest, including game tickets, round-trip airfare, transportation to and from the game and tickets to the Patriots’ postgame party.

“Throughout a season dedicated to my sweetheart [Myra Kraft], we recognized outstanding individuals for their many contributions to our community through ‘Celebrate Volunteerism,'” said Kraft. “In New England, we’re all part of the same community and part of the same family, and we all benefit from the dedication of hard-working public servants. We’re glad that through this sweepstakes we can reward those who have chosen a career in public service and through their commitment to giving back have earned the recognition of their superiors. We’re excited to have them in our day-of-game travel party as representatives of their professional communities”

Police chiefs, fire chiefs, school superintendents, commanding officers and doctors/head nurses are invited to nominate one outstanding contributor from their team via Patriots.com/community.

The sweepstakes opens Monday, January 23 at 6 p.m. and closes at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, January 25. Nominees must be 18 years of age or older, have transportation to the departure location on February 5 and live in New England. The randomly-selected winners will be contacted by Saturday, January 28.

Follow Steve on Twitter  @SteveMichaelsII

We know he is a beast on the field and there isn’t much he can’t do.  He catches, he blocks, he scores touchdowns rushing and receiving hell he even scores with strippers but who knew New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski was bilingual?  Certainly Gronk himself didn’t.

The sporting world found out another reason to love Gronk it’s because he is “Yo soy fiesta!”, translated to “I am party”.

During an interview with ESPN Deportes in which the reporter asked the questions in both Spanish and English, Gronk opened as only he could with, “Hola!, me llamo Roberto”!

I just hope our Hispanic brethren realize it was “Gronk being Gronk” and that they aren’t offended.

Follow Steve on Twitter  @SteveMichaelsII

Each time I see the replay of Sterling Moore knocking the ball away from Lee Evans I can’t believe that the rookie with only a few games of NFL experience had the presence of mind to make that play.  But thank God he did because when you combine that with just an awful field goal attempt by Baltimore it sent the Patriots to Super Bowl XLVI.

I say that whole attempt was bad, not just the awful kick by Billy Cundiff.  The snap wasn’t the best, the holder never got the laces spun out and it appeared as if the ball was still being spun as Cundiff made contact.  Wide Left.

John Harbaugh was all class in the loss as were the Ravens owners and players.  The two teams dislike each other but they respect each other.  It’s very different from say Patriots/Jets or Ravens/Steelers where it seems to be more dislike than respect going both ways.

The best part of this win combined with the Giants defeat of the Forty Niners is that Patriots can exercise those Super Bowl XLII demons, right?  Wrong, the best is knowing Jets head coach Rex Ryan’s head is about to explode whenever someone asks him for his Super Bowl prediction.

So at the time of this publication there are still 12 more days left until the game.  We’ve already given you the low down on the stadium where the game will be played and there will be much more to come from Sox & Dawgs in the next week and half or so.

Enjoy the notes below, some of them we will try to expand on before game time and I’m sure we will have forms of minutia for you along the way as well.

Oh and let me know what you think about the rematch I’m interested in your thoughts I’d love to use some in another post.  You can leave them in the comments of this post, email them to me or tweet them to me.  I look forward to your opinions regardless of who you root for.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

New England head coach Bill Belichick now has 192 career wins including playoffs, which are good for 9th all-time. Former Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks head coach Chuck Knox is 8th with 193 wins.

He is now tied for 3rd in post season coaching wins with long time Redskins coach Joe Gibbs is 3rd with 17.  Former Dolphins coach Don Shula is 2nd with 19 and Tom Landry, formerly of Dallas, is 1st with 21.

He is 17-6 in the post season overall, 16-5 with New England.

Here’s is the audio to Belichick’s weekly radio visit to WEEI-AM/FM on Monday afternoon.

The Patriots were 9-1 at The Razor, 6-2 on the road, 5-1 against the AFC East, 1-1 against the AFC North, 1-0 against the AFC South and 5-0 against the AFC West for a 10-2 record vs. the AFC.  They are 3-1 against the NFC East.

New England has won 10 consecutive games since losing to the Giants in Week 9.

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, New England is 76-15 at home including the playoffs it is the best record in the NFL in that time period.

Tom Brady is now 16-5 in the post season and is tied for most all time post season wins with his idol Joe Montana.

Brady has the 3rd most post season TD passes all-time with 36.  Brett Favre is 2nd with 44 TD passes in the post season. Montana is first with 45.

Brady’s weekly Monday morning call in on WEEI

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 100 consecutive games including playoffs, 83 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

The New England defense sacked Baltimore QB Joe Flacco 3 times in Sundays 23-20 win.

There’s a report that Baltimore kicker Billy Cundiff was distracted prior to attempting the game tying kick.

New England is MINUS 3 in playoff turnover differential. The offense gave up 3 INT and 2 fumble, while the defense had 1 INT and 1 fumble recovery.  They finished the regular season as a PLUS 17.

The Patriots are 13-3 at home in the playoffs all-time. They are 9-2 in the post season at Gillette Stadium.

Overall in the playoffs they are 23-15 and 7-1 in AFC Championship Games.

ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss has the Patriots 3 up, 3 down.

Early line on the game has the Patriots MINUS 3 1/2 and an over/under of 55.

The Patriots have been designated as the home team in the Super Bowl based on conference rotation.  As the home team they have the choice of which jersey they want to wear and have decided to wear their home blue meaning the Giants will be in their road whites, same as Super Bowl XLII.

Here’s a recap of the jersey’s worn by the Patriots during their previous six Super Bowl appearances.

Brady and Belichick will make a record 5th Super Bowl appearance as a quarterback/head coach combo topping Staubach/Landry; Kelly/Levy and Bradshaw/Noll.

Due to the fact that the Giants and Patriots are playing in the Super Bowl, the players elected to the Pro Bowl will not be able to participate and have been replaced by the NFL.  Here is the complete list.

NFL uniform rules do not allow teams to wear their alternate, throwback or third jerseys in post season play.

Some seats for the Super Bowl are going as high for $2,000.

With the Patriots as the home team, Brady will be using Peyton Manning’s locker.

The Patriots will face the New York Giants on February 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium in Super Bowl XLVI.  Look for the Sox & Dawgs “In The Red Zone Game Preview” available on the Friday before the game.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII