Philip Rivers doesn't get back to N.C. State as often as he would like to but he enjoyed this trip back.
Rivers was the commencement speaker at N.C. State's graduation ceremony on Saturday morning at PNC Arena. On Friday, the San Diego Chargers quarterback was able to show his oldest daughter, Halle, 9, where she spent the first two years of her life.
So did you enjoy Madonna's Super Bowl Halftime show in all its garish glory? Enough to want to truck over to Charlotte to see the expanded version in-person? Because yet another major tour is bypassing the Triangle to play the other end of the state instead. Madonna's world tour has been announced, with a Nov. 15 date in Charlotte.
Tickets go on sale March 5 -- more than eight months ahead of the show date. But it might not be a bad idea to wait. The tour schedule has open dates around Nov. 15, so it's possible that another date closer to the Triangle will pop up.
ADDENDUM: Madonna's Super Bowl show was...a Satanic ritual?...
The Super Bowl coin toss was a big "heads up" last night so if you're a member of the Papa Rewards club, you've got a free large one-topping pizza and a 2 liter of Pepsi MAX coming your way.
Watch your in-box for an email from Papa John's giving you instructions on how to redeem your freebie. According to the chain's Twitter account, @PapaJohns the email will be coming tonight.
By the way, you didn't have to make the correct call on the coin toss to win. Since the majority of folks participating in the promotion picked heads rather than tails, all rewards club members will get the free pizza and Pepsi MAX.
Most of the Super Bowl's pre-game musical chatter centered on Madonna's halftime show, and her set was fine in a sensory-overload kind of way. But my favorite music during the game actually turned up right before halftime, in a Toyota commercial -- which featured the understated piano fanfare of "Hope You Know," a track on local trio Megafaun's eponymous 2011 album. Here, check it out.
If you're looking for a cuter, more relaxing alternative to tonight's big Super Bowl matchup, we humbly suggest the annual "Puppy Bowl" on Animal Planet.
This is the eighth year Animal Planet has aired the Puppy Bowl (sponsored by Petfinder.com) and it gets a little grander each year. Kitten cheerleaders were introduced for a Bissell Kitty Half-Time Show two years ago, and this year we get for the first time, pig pep squad antics before the game.
If you're a social media hound, Meep the Bird (aka @meepthebird) will be tweeting updates throughout the event.
All of the animals featured come from animal shelters and rescues across the country. If you're interested in adopting these or other adorable pets, check out petfinder.com.
"Puppy Bowl VIII" begins at 3 p.m. on Animal Planet and runs till 5. But it will repeat on a loop all day long.
Check out more adorable photos below.
Super Bowl XLVI (6pm, NBC) - As if you didn't know: New England Patriots vs. the New York Giants in Indianapolis. Madonna performs at halftime. Someone convince me to pull for their team and I will. If football isn't your thing, and you've already seen all the great commercials leaked online, there's always the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.
60 
Minutes Presents: Three Remarkable Women (8pm, CBS) - Morley Safer profiles Meryl Streep, Anna Wintour, and Dolly Parton.
Downton Abbey (9pm, UNC-TV) - In episode 5, the household prepares for the war's end and the family looks forward to having a private home again -- unless cousin Isobel (Penelope Wilton pictured with Elizabeth McGovern) has her way. Also, in a remarkably "soapy" twist, a wounded officer makes a startling claim that could alter the Downton succession plan.
Luck (9pm, HBO) - In the second episode of the series (which has already been renewed for another season by HBO), Ace (Dustin Hoffman) meets with his parole officer and starts to line up potential investors as a public face for his next big venture. Also, Walter finds a seasoned jockey for his prized thoroughbred, much to Rosie's dismay.
Shameless (9pm, Showtime) - When Eddie Jackson's body turns up, Frank thinks he should be in line to claim his pension and insurance benefits.
The Voice (10:30pm-ish, NBC) - Season 2 debuts after all the Super Bowl hoopla, so the 10:30pm start time is fluid. Tonight is the first night of blind auditions, during which coaches Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton begin choosing 12 vocalists for their respective teams.
No matter who you're rooting for on Sunday, it seems the ultimate winner of Super Bowl XLVI may be the grocery stores.
Consumer spending for the Super Bowl is expected to reach an all-time high of $11 billion, roughly $63.87 per viewer, according to the National Retail Federation. Grocery stores are expected to check out about 71 percent of that figure, or $45 per customer.
A record 173 million Americans are expected to watch the Super Bowl, up 2 million viewers from 2011, according to the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association,
Fifteen percent of those watchers are also planning on hosting a viewing party, and chances are they'll need plenty of chicken wings, potato chips and team-color frosted cake on hand.
"It's a very busy time for us as a grocery store but also many of our vendor partners as well," said Christy Phillips-Brown, a spokeswoman for Salisbury-based Food Lion.
She said Super Bowl Sunday marks one of the biggest weekends for frozen pizza sales of the year. Chips, deli trays and other snack items also see big sales, Phillips-Brown said.
Grocers are also promoting prepared foods to Super Bowl hosts. These items, like deli chili or potato salad, usually produce high margins when packaging and waste is at a low, minimizing costs.
An aspiring actor from Goldsboro could have an audience of 250 million people on Super Bowl Sunday. But he needs your help.
Jason Walston (right), a 2007 Elon University graduate, is featured in one of the top five commercials – out of more than 6,000 consumer-submitted entries – for Doritos’ sixth annual “Crash the Super Bowl” contest. The top two vote-getters will be aired during the Feb. 5’s Super Bowl broadcast on NBC. Those are determined by online voting.
The commercial, called “Hot Wild Girls,” was produced by Brad Scott and Nate Watkin of Denver. In the ad, an actor shows off the power of his smartphone by asking for things like Doritos, which suddenly appear (our Tech Junkie blog has video). Walston’s character then asks for “three hot wild girls,” but the phone misinterprets his request and hilarity ensues.
Papa John's Pizza has rolled out a fun promotion for Super Bowl XLVI that is bound to be popular with frugal football fans.
There's a FREE large one-topping pizza and a 2 liter of Pepsi Max at stake.
Bill Maher's take on what makes the Super Bowl great (and the World Series not-so-great) is sure to tick off a lot of people. Warning: there's cursing here. "Real Time with Bill Maher" airs on Friday nights at 10pm on HBO.
