A sporting news

One thing about huge sporting events, and the Super Bowl definitely counts as one - they generate a lot of trivia and interest in trivial statistics. Not like the baseball guys who go a bit overboard in their spare time with crazy stats like: What left-handed relief pitcher born on a military base at night stuck out the most right-handed batters during a home day game at Fenway Park, only to see the game called because of rain? Nothing like that. But the Super Bowl does have reams of information available for the determined and the scholarly, the curious and the guy trying to win that bet or office pool.

The following trivia was gleaned from ESPN.com, About.com, Sportsline.com, Wikipedia.org, Wiki.answers.com and CBS Sports:

This year's Super Bowl XLIII between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers starts off with some interesting facts, even before the game begins. According to CBS Sports, Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach is the youngest coach, 36 years old, to take his team to a Super Bowl. Being black, he will also be the youngest black coach to take his team to the Super Bowl (Tony Dungy took the Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl two years ago, Super Bowl XLI, and won, so Tomlin won't be first in ether of those categories). This is the Steelers' seventh appearance, which is not a record, but, if they win, they will have won six Super Bowls - and that is a record.

The Arizona Cardinals have never been to the Super Bowl. Ever. So everything they do will be a Super Bowl team record. The Cardinals franchise never went to the Super Bowl while in St. Louis, either. And the four years previous to that, when the Super Bowl was called the World Championship (before the American Football League merged with the National Football League), they were spectators as well.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, who already has a Super Bowl ri ng from Super Bowl XXXIV when his St. Louis Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans, holds the Super Bowl record for most passing yards with 414. He also won the MVP award for that game. His team, the Cardinals, also have the distinction of allowing the most points per game (26.6) than any other team to make it to the Super Bowl. They face a team, the Steelers, who led the League in defense during the regular season.

NBC is the hosting network for Super Bowl XLIII and are charging a record $3 million for a 30-second commercial slot, a record - even in these harsh economic times. NBC is tied with CBS with the most number of Super Bowls broadcast: 16.

This is the fourth time Tampa has hosted the Super Bowl, the second time it has been held at Raymond James Stadium. The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans has hosted the most Super Bowls: 6. The city of Miami has hosted the most Super Bowls: 10. They will host Super Bowl XLIV in 2010 as well.

A couple of other interesting trivia facts that could come in handy to decide ties in that office pool:

San Francisco 49ers Jerry Rice set a record in Super Bowl XXIII with 215 receiving yards against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Devon Hester of the Chicago Bears is the only player in history to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, which he accomplished against the victorious Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI.

The Buffalo Bills have been to four (and those four were consecutive) Super Bowls without a victory, the most of any team in the NFL.

The Dallas Cowboys have been to the most Super Bowls: 8. They have won five Championships.

The only Super Bowl starting quarterback from West Virginia University appeared in Super Bowl XXV. Jeff Hostetler started for the winning New York Giants against the hapless Buffalo Bills.

College with the most starting quarterbacks (not counting multiples, such as Joe Montana's and Terry Bradshaw's four trips and wins, which makes them the quarterbacks with the most victories and the most victories without a loss): Univerity of Alabama - 3 (Bart Starr, Joe Namath, Ken Stabler); Notre Dame - 3 (Darryl Lamonica, Joe Montana, Joe Theismann). However, there is a distinction to be made in that not one of the Alabama quarterbacks lost a game in four Super Bowls (Starr played in the first two, when it was known as the World Championship), while Daryle Lamonica lost in Super Bowl II against Starr and Joe Theismann lost in Super Bowl XVIII against the Raiders. Notre Dame quarterbacks have started 7 Super Bowls; Montana won 4, Theismann won 1).Jim Kelly of the Buffalo Bills lost more games without a win than any other quarterback: 4.

No Super Bowl has ever seen two quarterbacks from the same college start a gainst each other.

There have been only three starting left-handed quarterbacks: Ken Stabler (Oakland Raiders), Boomer Esiason (Cincinnati Bengals), and Steve Young (San Francisco 49ers).

There are five active professional NFL football teams that have yet to play in a Super Bowl: Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the New Orleans Saints.

There's plenty more trivia out there for the imaginative and the curious. By the end of Super Bowl XLIII, there will be plenty more.