Russ McCutcheon

The Vince Lombardi Trophy is seen during a news conference for NFL footballs Super Bowl XLVI Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)AP2012

Before settling into your favorite recliner or couch for Sunday’s big game, here’s a quick collection of information to help you enjoy America’s most watched sports event:

1 – Kickoff on NBC is at 6:30 pm, ET.

2 – Tickets were still being sold on the NFL’s website this week for between $2,609 and $15,343.

3 – This game is the sixth rematch of previous Super Bowl opponents. The other rematches paired the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers (twice), the Cowboys and Buffalo Bills (in the only back-to-back rematch), the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals.

4 – Both the Giants and the Patriots are seeking to win their fourth Super Bowls. Pittsburgh owns the record with six SB titles.

5 – The 30-minute Super Bowl halftime is twice as long as that for other games due to the logistics of a musical extravaganza, which this year stars Madonna.

6 – The two Super Bowl coaches, New York’s Tom Coughlin and New England’s Bill Belichick, were assistants to Bill Parcells when the Giants won Super Bowls XXI and XXV.

7 – If New England wins, Belichick will join Pittsburgh’s Chuck Noll as the only coach to lead four Super Bowl winners. If New York wins, Coughlin, at 65, will become the game’s oldest winning coach.

8 – The “MHK” on the Patriot jerseys is in honor of Myra H. Kraft, the wife of team owner Bob Kraft. Mrs. Kraft passed away in July.

9 – Giants linebacker Mathias Kiwanuku is returning to Indianapolis, his hometown, where he starred in high school. The Boston College grad is the grandson of the first elected prime minister of Uganda, Benedictor Kiwanuka, who was assassinated by Idi Amin’s henchmen in 1972.

10 – New England’s Tom Brady was this season’s third-rated NFL quarterback based on a statistical formula. He finished behind Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. New York’s Eli Manning was seventh-rated.

Super Bowl Fun in Brookfield: Bars, Recipes, Food

The Pack isnt in the Super Bowl but you can still have fun and give Brookfield businesses some love on the big day.

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Catholic schools around the Alle-Kiski Valley are ready to celebrate their mission.

Catholic Schools Week begins Sunday with the theme Catholic School — Faith, Academics, Service.

Catholic Schools Week, which began in 1974, is a celebration of everything a Catholic education represents. This years theme fits perfectly, according to Patrice Majeran, principal at Cardinal Maida Academy in Vandergrift.

(It) gives us a chance to say: Were not just here because of our faith, but our faith plays a large part in everything we do, she said.

Traditionally Catholic Schools Week is filled with fun activities for students, and this year will be no different.

The students get pretty excited, said Bill Heasley, principal at Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament School in Harrison. The field trips are really special for them. The older kids are going to Seven Springs, the middle age-group of kids are going to Funfest in Harmar, and the youngest kids are going bowling.

We try to mix in the fun with the faith.

Cathy Collett, principal at Mary Queen of Apostles in New Kensington, said as well as having fun activities — students in grades 6-8 will be treated to a live animal presentation by the Pittsburgh Zoo — MQA has focused its Catholic Schools Week planning around this years theme.

This year we added a few more things that have to do with service, she said. We have three new projects that will run through Lent.

The projects are Souper Bowl — a food collection for parish food banks, Change a Life — where students will donate their extra change that supports preschool nutrition in Haiti, and Give a Little Hope — students will donate toiletries to the Hope Center for abuse victims.

Most schools, including St. John Baptist School in Plum and St. Irenaeus School in Oakmont, will kick off the observance with an opening Mass and open house.

The Mass and open house give people a chance to come in and see what were doing here, Majeran said. We can show them all the benefits of a Catholic education.

Heasley said the opening Mass gives his students a chance to showcase the school.

The kids get to do all the readings and bring down the gifts at the Mass, he said. Its the 11 oclock Mass, so the whole parish is there.

Majeran said that above all, Catholic Schools Week is about the students.

The kids get really excited, she said. We give them the heads up of whats going on before hand. It gets them geared up.

A weeklong celebratioN

Starting Sunday, Catholic schools across the United States will participate in a week-long celebration of service and academic success with activities for students and their families.

Heres a look at some of the events happening in Catholic schools across the Alle-Kiski Valley, this week:

Mary Queen of Apostles, New Kensington:

? Sunday: Open House, 11:30 am to 2 pm

? Monday: Catholic Schools Week and Beyond, beginning of three service projects

? Tuesday: Forensic classroom assembly

? Wednesday: Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera assembly for grades 4-8

? Thursday: 100th Day of School celebration

? Friday: Pittsburgh Zoo assembly (with live animals) grades 6-8, early dismissal (11:30 am)

Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Harrison:

? Sunday: Mass at 11 am

? Monday: Field trips for all grades

? Tuesday: Assorted classroom activities

? Wednesday: Wacky Hair Day

? Thursday: Character education assembly and early dismissal (11:45 am)

? Friday: Closing Mass, 9:30 am; early dismissal (11:45 am)

St. Irenaeus School, Oakmont:

? Sunday: Mass at 11 am and start of book fair

? Monday: Educational games

? Wednesday: Mystery Day

? Saturday: Flea market

St. John the Baptist, Plum:

? Sunday: Mass at 11 am followed by an open house and start of book fair

? Monday: Crafts for community workers and Moving Molecules mobile lab

? Tuesday: All-school Mass and a presentation by a storytelling cartoonist

? Wednesday: Parent/teacher conferences and electronics day; book fair ends

? Thursday: Parent/teacher conferences and electronics day

? Friday: Eucharistic adoration

Cardinal Maida Academy, Vandergrift:

? Monday: Students will make blankets for hospital neonatal intensive care unit patients

? Tuesday: 100th Day of School celebration

? Wednesday: Childrens Liturgy, pajama party, and older students read to younger students

? Thursday: Religion Quiz Bowl

? Friday: Scavenger hunt

This might have been another largely episodic installment of Fringe, but this week I couldn’t take my eyes off the television. The collision of the two worlds, the two “casts,” kept me riveted for the entire hour. Though I’m still anxious to learn more about Olivia’s past and Nina’a treachery, if they made a hundred more episodes like this one I would watch them all without complaint.

Also, after nearly four years, we finally get a story that revolves around Astrid!

The night begins with Other Astrid (Jasika Nicole) crossing to our side for an unknown reason. Alternate Broyles (Lance Reddick) briefs Alternate Lincoln (Seth Gabel) and Bolivia (Anna Torv), and Bolivia says that Astrid has had a rough week, and she’ll go retrieve her.

Other Astrid heads straight for Walter’s lab, and when she corrects him after he calls her yet another random name, he quickly realizes shes different. Olivia walks in next, followed by Astrid, who shrieks at the sight of her double. Olivia, showing a rare moment of humor, says “I always wondered why no one does that.”

Actually, this entire episode sparkled with wit and humor, a facet weve been missing of late, but that is a welcome reprieve that allows us to breathe a little easier, even in the face of tragedy.

Other Astrid is a little different, with a disorder that surely falls somewhere on the autism spectrum, though it’s never been defined for the audience. Her father has just passed away, and she’s reeling a little from the shock and from the regret of perhaps not loving him as well as she could have. She seems to want to know about Astrid’s father, but before they can decide exactly how to handle this unexpected visit, two things happen: Bolivia shows up, and they get a case.

It’s easy to forget sometimes how different the Olivia’s are, or how brilliant an actress Anna Torv is, but seeing them side-by-side reinforces both of those facts. Bolivia is fun, she likes to tease, and she pretty much always says exactly what’s on her mind. She also doesn’t let it bother her when Walter calls her names like “viper” or pretends not to like her. It’s really amazing, to watch them both in close proximity.

The case follows a man, who after receiving news he has cancer, sits at a bus stop. Although the doctor assured the man he has a 95% chance at survival, a second man arrives at the bus stop and informs the patient he is in the 5%, and will not survive.  When the bus rolls past, the second, prophetic man is gone and the victim is dead, blood running down his cheeks like tears.

Peter (Joshua Jackson) still irks Walter (John Noble) with the way he takes over an investigation and spouts answers Walter is used to providing alone, and even though he’s agreed to help, Walter’s not exactly being nice to his son. Other Astrid notices the tension between them, and in her way of asking questions normal people would avoid, gets Walter to admit he’s rude to Peter because having him around reminds him of everything he’s lost. Other Astrid suggests perhaps he should choose to believe instead that his Peter is his son, which will make him happy to have him around. I’m not sure if this is going to work, but at least Walter appears to consider the option.

Bolivia also makes a Peter comment, this time to Olivia, as the two of them sit across from one another searching for clues. Their body language alone is enough to tell them apart. Bolivia watches Peter for a moment, then makes a comment about how handsome he is, causing Olivia to look and really see him for the first time.

The prophetic guy is being pursued by the Observers as well as our team, and the strange men also realize for the first time that our favorite Observer (Michael Cerveris), did not take the last step necessary to complete erase Peter.

It appears our perpetrator can see the way the Observers can – past, present, and future in the same time – and chooses victims by his ability to release them before the suffering they’re going to endure or cause takes place. What’s even more strange is that he somehow acquired this ability at his lake house – which sits on the same lake where Peter drowned (or was saved, depending on the timeline) and where he reappeared earlier this season.

They learn the identity of the killer (angel of mercy?) through some expert sleuthing by Other Astrid, and catch him at his mother’s house, where we learn he believes God gave him this power in order to prove his worth to the world.

He’s ready to die, or he’s already foreseen his own death, which occurs when Olivia shoots him. At the end of the day, she tells Peter he makes a pretty good partner. I wonder if this is going to be the beginning of something between them. Lincoln Lee (both of them) was conspicuously missing from this episode, and nothing has happened to make us believe the potential romance between him and Olivia will ever reach any kind of fruition.

I’ve always suspected that this IS Peter’s timeline, that there is no where to return to, and that it’s more a matter of figuring out how to make these people remember him than finding the ones who already do. Believe me, I could still be wrong, because there are moments on just this episode that confused me.

For instance – since there was no Peter to save, why did the Olivia’s switch places at all in this timeline? They obviously did, and in the same context where Walternate held Olivia on their side while Bolivia lived undercover on ours…but why?

There are still so many things we don’t know.

What I do know is that I hope we continue to see crossover between the worlds. The interactions between Bolivia and Walter were adorable and fun, and I like the way they see things differently and thus force our characters to look at their own lives through slightly different eyes.

What do you think? Would you rather see more episodes that proffer information about the larger questions of the series, or are you enjoying these standalone stories with a clue or two sprinkled in?

What are the Observers going to do now that they know our Observer (oh yeah, who has a name now – September) didn’t do as he was told? Is he still  alive?

I’d love to discuss it – leave your thoughts in the comments!

Season 4, Episode 11 “Making Angels” (originally aired February 3, 2012)

Fringe airs Friday nights at 9/8c on Fox

Images courtesy of Liane Hentcher and Fox

My trip to Boracay was a gift from my visiting nieces who coaxed me to join them island-hopping–not my idea of fun–on a motorized boat for hire on the beach. The waves were unpredictable, sometimes calm, but sometimes high and angry. Our only life-saving gears were the safety vests which served as jackets against splashing waves.

The two boatmen and their pilot were topless natives who I presumed must be expert swimmers, but whether they were trained in saving drowning people is another story. The men did not carry any cell phones for emergency or SOS calls. To our surprise, our boat could not dock at Crystal Cove because there was no available slot. Meaning: there was no coordination between the Crystal Cove authorities and tourist boat operators; and should any boat capsize, only God’s hand could pluck us from going down the sea. Thank God, we made it to Crystal Cove, but no thanks to the boat operators and island authorities. Sight-seeing on a motorized boat is no fun in Boracay.

Suggestion: If we want more visitors to Boracay and other islands, tourism authorities should assign patrol boats to guide and assist tourist boats whether in distress or not. There ought to be a regular maritime weather advisory for the information of the boat-riding public.

How are the waves? “Kung minsan ho OK, kung minsan po mataas,” goes the answer of a local resident. My first-hand experience told me that no communication whatsoever exists between the authorities on the islands to be visited and the boat operators. Boating and docking depend mainly on the natives’ skill and experience.

A capsizing boat in the middle of the deep blue sea is not fun. It seems to me that technology has not visited Boracay’s interisland sight-seeing industry. Besides, these tourist boats that are docked on the mainland need a make-over and look like they need close regular maintenance.

Finally, the Kalibo airport is a pity with only one narrow landing strip.

No wonder planes that can easily take off from Manila can hardly touch down in Kalibo due to the traffic congestion. The result: two hours of delay in one’s hectic vacation. No fun at all.

–POMPEYO S. PEDROCHE, pspedroche@gmail.com

Watching the Super Bowl with friends can leave a lot of us feeling like information haves and have-nots. While some of us have been following the Patriots team, its players, its strategy, and its statistics since the day we were born, others at least know who Tom Brady is and that hes the one who throws the ball.

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Whether youre looking to impress the sports nerds in the room with a few of your own facts, or youre simply a true connoisseur of arguably useless knowledge, heres some fun trivia for you about Super Bowl 2012.

Five Fun Facts About the Super Bowl

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1. This year, a 30-second commercial costs $3.5 million, up $400,000 from last year, according to Superbowl-ads.com.

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2. The National Chicken Council (NCC) says that Super Bowl weekend is the biggest time of the year for wings. More than 1.25 billion wing portions will be consumed during Super Bowl weekend in 2012, totaling more than 100 million pounds of wings, according to the NCC’s 2012 Wing Report.

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3. If you still think the 1983 season finale of M*A*S*H was the most-watched broadcast in the US, think again. The 2010 Super Bowl between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts stole that title, only to be beaten exactly one year later when 111 million people tuned in to watch the 2011 Super Bowl between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to Nielsen Co. Will this years game top the 2011 record?

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4. Heading into the game, The New York Giants have three Super Bowl titles (XXI in 1986, XXVin 1990, and XLII in 2007). They also have four titles in the pre-Super Bowl era: 1927, 1934, 1938, 1956).

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5. On the other hand, The New England Patriots also have won three Super Bowl championships (XXXVI in 2001, XXXVIII in 2003, and XXXIX in 2004).

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So who will come out with a fourth title? Finally, heres some actual useful knowledge to have heading into Sunday.

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Where: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

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Kickoff Time: Sunday, Feb. 5 at 6:30 pm ET

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Channel: NBC

The Minnesota Vikings appeared in four super bowls, all of them in the seventies. Not only did they lose every game, they never held the lead at any time during those four appearances

The Dallas Cowboy-Pittsburgh Steelers rivalry was big during the seventies as well. In fact, they were the only two teams that competed in Super Bowl three times, Super Bowl 10, 13, and 30

The Washington Redskins appeared in five super bowls and had a big day in Super Bowl 22, they set the record for most yards gained, 602, and that day they also scored six touchdowns.

And just like we did in part one of these Super Bowl facts, we now turn to our eight year old “expert” if you will. We’ve been asking him some Super Bowl trivia, so let’s see how he scores here.

Who is, I know, Jerry Rice.”

“And how about a true or false question. There has never been an overtime game in Super Bowl History.”

“False,” replied Ethan.

“Thats actually true, but what about the first Super Bowl?”

“The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in and the MVP was Bart Starr and the score was 35 to 10,” said Ethan.

And what super bowl event would be complete without the commercials? In 1967, a 30 second commercial cost $42,000. For this years game, $3.5 million. Thats a look at some fun Super Bowl facts, and of course, enjoy this years game between the Giants and the Patriots.

Megan McDonnell helps her children Avery, 7, and Peyton, 2, walk the runway for Sprinkles Childrens Boutique at Saturdays fashion show during the Mid-Willamette Valley Womens Show at the Salem Conference Center. / Danielle Peterson / Statesman Journal

From Mardi Gras to country music, Saturday was packed with a slew of events.

Revelry started at 10 am, with the 18th annual Krewe of Nauga Champagne Pajama Breakfast and Native Noontime Ball at The Dock on Pensacola Beach.

Hundreds of people in their bathrobes and PJs rolled out of bed and in for breakfast, mimosas and dancing in the sunshine. Admission: $15 admission at the door. New Orleans band Dash Rip Rock performs until 3 pm

Mardi Gras festivities continued with the Krewe of Brewe Beach Babe Contest at 1 pm at the Sandshaker, with live music by Mainstream and free admission.

The Krewe of Daisy Dukes Ball was held in the evening at the Museum of Commerce.

Hundreds of people turned out for one of the biggest parties of the season, the Cordova Mall Ball. The annual Mall Ball raises money for Sacred Heart Childrens Hospital and provides a great fancy-dress night out with live music and food from some of the areas top restaurants. Tickets are $60 at the door.

http://www.pnj.com/article/20120121/MARDIGRAS/201210301/1186>Read more about the Nauga, Brewe and Mall Ball.