SIGHTS & SOUNDS FROM NEW ORLEANS
Reno in a frenzy over Kaepernick
Sports books in the Biggest Little City in the World are expecting a jump in Super Bowl betting this year – maybe enough to help Nevada set a record in wagering on the game – thanks to 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick played college football at Nevada, just down the street from the casinos in Reno.
Most of those casinos are offering an especially large number of proposition bets on the quarterback.
Kap-mania has run so rampant in Reno that sporting goods stores can't keep his jerseys in stock.
More than 7,000 fans set what Nevada officials said was a world record when they simultaneously kissed their biceps "Kaepernick style" during a break in last week's basketball game against San Diego State.
Players all talked out
The players can focus on football now – they're officially done talking to the media.
Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed was the last guy at the podium Thursday. After he finished talking with reporters, he took the placard with his name on it.
"I'm going to give it to my mother," he said.
He said he's very glad that his interviews are over for the week. Players had three hourlong sessions during the week, and Reed had an additional session with the media Monday.
The coaches for the 49ers and Ravens will speak with reporters for a final time this morning.
Mom cooks up a feast
How about some home cookin' in the Big Easy – as in 150 plates of it to feed a football team?
That's what Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones' mother, Emily, presented to the Baltimore players for dinner this week at the team hotel to kick off the Super Bowl prep, New Orleans-style.
"Gumbo, jambalaya, potato salad, bread pudding, macaroni, the whole nine yards. She made 150 plates," Jones said. "All they kept saying is she put her foot in it. I love it."
That's a real compliment in New Orleans.
Zoos get in on action
Officials at the Maryland Zoo and the San Francisco Zoological Gardens have wagered naming rights to their respective exhibits with ties to their hometown NFL teams.
The zoo in Baltimore is home to official Ravens mascots Rise and Conquer. If the 49ers win, it will rename the ravens' enclosure the "San Francisco 49ers exhibit."
If the Ravens win, the San Francisco zoo has agreed to rename the enclosure that houses its black rhino Boone – who is named after 49ers offensive tackle Alex Boone – in honor of the Ravens.
The new name would last one month, starting Feb. 11.
Holy guacamole!
Americans are expected to consume 158 million avocados at their Super Bowl parties. That's 79 million pounds of green goodness – up from 8 million pounds at the turn of the century.
– Associated Press
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