Just some things to chew on while counting down the days to Super Bowl XLII:

Each member of the winning Super Bowl XLII team will receive $78,000, a $5,000 increase from the last two Super Bowl winning shares. Members of the losing team will receive $40,000, an increase of $2,000 over last year.
That's not exactly a bad day’s work, eh?

The Patriots have been designated as the home team and are practicing at Arizona State University in Tempe. New England was 10-0 as a home team this year.

The Giants, of course, are the road team, and they've won an NFL-record 10 consecutive road games, including three in the playoffs. New York is practicing at the Arizona Cardinals facility in Tempe.

Anyone tail-gating at Super Bowl XLII will have to do so with cold food. Security measures have banned grills. In a security release on Monday, Super Bowl officials noted that fans “may tailgate near their vehicles with their own food and beverages but may not bring grills. Fans may not take up more than one parking spot and tents are prohibited.’’

Maybe open fires are OK?

The pre-game show will include the music of nine-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys.

Jordin Sparks, who last year became the youngest winner of American Idol, will sing the national anthem. Her father, Phillippi Sparks was a cornerback for the Giants and Dallas Cowboys.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, a top rock band since their debut album in 1976, will provide the halftime entertainment. The group is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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