Not even Tom Brady's father knew whether the reigning Super Bowl MVP would attend Sunday's big game in the family's home in the Bay Area, the junior Brady having been invited last spring to take part in a Super Bowl 50 ceremony honoring all past MVPs.
According to a slew of reports that started flowing on Thursday evening, No. 12 will be on hand for No. 50 on Sunday, showing his usual class to look past the previous year of troubles he's had with Roger Goodell and the NFL league office and do the right thing for the history of the game that's much larger than the current much-criticized commissioner.
The Boston Globe has the NFL confirming that Brady will indeed take part in the pregame ceremony of MVPs on Sunday in Santa Clara.
The Globe has Goodell continuing to make news this week, this time extending the “Rooney Rule” to require teams to interview women for front office job openings. *Globe *columnist Chris Gasper looks at how current Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib turned his career around with the Patriots. The paper wonders how the Patriots would have matched up with the Panthers had they made it to Super Bowl 50, while it also looks at how CBS’ coverage of the big game will focus on history in this golden anniversary.
While Peyton Manning is preparing for Sunday's Super Bowl, which could be the quarterback's last game, the Washington Post looks at a budding controversy about how the future Hall of Famer handled his own investigation of the Al Jazeera report that HGH shipments were sent to his home.
The Boston Herald looks at Rob Gronkowski’s “super fun” week in San Francisco. Herald columnist Ron Borges says Sunday’s final score won’t alter fans’ opinions of Manning. The Herald isn't expecting much from Roger “the dodger“ Goodell’s press conference on Friday.
The Providence Journal says the latest Deflategate information this week is yet another loss for Goodell.
ESPNBoston.com has Devin McCourty at a Super Bowl event saying the “hungry” Patriots wish the new season started next week. Rookie Patriots safety Jordan Richards took part in a special event on Thursday at the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center in Boston.
WEEI.com says Brady’s decision to show up at Super Bowl 50 was a smart move. WEEI.com also has former Panthers fullback Brad Hoover claiming that the Patriots cheated to beat Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII. WEEI.com compares the 2007 Patriots and 2015 Panthers, two very different teams who could finish a season with just a single loss.
CSNNE.com has a one-on-one interview with Tom Brady Sr., who reveals that his son has a clock in his gym that's already counting down to Super Bowl LI. CSNNE.com also says that the latest Manning HGH information shows that, once again, the cover up was worse than the crime.
NFL.com notes that despite allegedly hitting his ex-girlfriend, soon-to-be former Browns QB Johnny Manziel won’t be charged. NFL.com also has McCourty telling a story of he and his twin brother, Titans CB Jason, once pulling a fast one on Bill Belichick.
