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Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald continued tearing up the postseason by catching five passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns, winning the game Most Valuable Player Award as the NFC beat the AFC 30-21 in the annual Pro Bowl this afternoon. After the game Larry said teammate and fellow receiver Anquan Boldin wasn’t going anywhere, attempting to extinguish the ongoing rumors that “Q” will be traded this upcoming offseason.

“Q’s not going anywhere. We’re gonna try to keep him, do whatever we can to make sure he’s an Arizona Cardinal. He’s a huge part of what we’ve been able to accomplish this year and for us to continue to have success, he’s gonna have to be a part of it.”

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Larry Fitzgerald: ‘Q’s Not Going Anywhere’

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The AFC and NFC teams had their first practices today for Sunday’s annual Pro Bowl. This is the 30th straight time the game will be played in Honolulu, but the Pro Bowl will not return to Hawaii in 2010. Next year the game moves to the weekend before the Super Bowl in Miami. Here’s what NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had to say about it at his Super Bowl XLIII presser last week:

“The entire premise of shifting the Pro Bowl was to make our event bigger and better than it is right now. We’ve had a great experience in Hawaii. We expect to continue to be in Hawaii. We expect it will be in the rotation. What we thought, though, would be a very interesting alternative would be to play the game as part of the lead up to the Super Bowl. So we’ll be playing it on Sunday night in Miami in advance of the Super Bowl. That will bring more interest, clearly. It will bring more exposure for our great players, and we think be a positive. In addition, we think that while we’ll miss the Super Bowl guys, it really puts an emphasis on team accomplishment. Make it to the Super Bowl: that’s the crowning achievement. But if you get the opportunity to play in the Pro Bowl, it’s a great opportunity and it’s something that you deserve as an individual player, those accolades, and we’d like to put you on the biggest stage, and we believe the biggest stage is prior to the Super Bowl. But we do continue and hope to be in Hawaii.”

I think this is a great decision. As much as I love Hawaii (OK, I’ve never been there but I’ve heard really good things), this game after the Super Bowl is anti-climatic. Kicking off Super Bowl week with the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl game seems like a no-brainer. If it’s successful (and why wouldn’t it be?), I don’t see the Pro Bowl returning to Hawaii anytime in the near future.

Source: NFL Media, Photo: Newscom

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AFC-NFC Pro Bowl Practices Begin

It was like icing on the cake for Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson’s incredible rookie season. AD walked away with Pro Bowl MVP honors today after ripping through the AFC defense for 129 yards and two TDs in the NFC’s 42-30 win. It was the first 100-yard rushing effort since Marshall Faulk (180 yards) and Chris Warren (127 yards) reached the mark in 1995. This award was on the heels of AD’s being named the NFL’s Rookie of the Year last month. And I learned that he brought every Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman with him (although G Steve Hutchinson and C Matt Birk were there courtesy of the NFL as Pro Bowl players) as a “thank you” for their help in his 1,341 yard season. I can’t wait to see what Adrian has in-store for next season. As long as he can stay injury free, there’s no limit to how good this guy can be.

As for the Pro Bowl game, it was pretty much as expected — a lot of offense. In fact, the teams combined for 48 points in the first half, tying a Pro Bowl record. The defense is at a real disadvantage in this game with not being able to play up on the receivers (outside of the five-yard-line). And they aren’t allowed to blitz. Obviously that rule is in effect to cut down on the risk of injury in a totally meaningless game, but it really puts the D in a bad position.

There were a lot of good individual efforts besides Adrian Peterson. Terrell Owens had eight catches for 101 yards and two TDs. T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught two TDs as well. Antonio Cromartie had two picks. And Antoine Bethea was in on nine tackles.

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Adrian Peterson Wins Pro Bowl MVP Award, Offenses Shine as NFC Beats AFC 42-30

I don’t really know what to make of the Pro Bowl anymore. My email inbox was so flooded with Pro Bowl alternate announcements last month, I lost track of them all. I guess I had better things to think about — like the Super Bowl. But I can tell you there are 41 first-timers in Hawaii for the practices/vacation and game tomorrow. That’s the most since the year 2000 when there were 44. I realize it’s mostly due to injury that a player would not participate in this event after being awarded with Pro Bowl recognition, but it makes the game less than what it could be. I would’ve liked to have seen Tom Brady vs. Brett Favre. In their places — Derek Anderson and Jeff Garcia. I realize these guys are excellent QBs, but this game does not feature the “best-of-the-best” anymore. The list goes on. I’ll watch the game but I really could care less.

An interesting Pro Bowl factoid: The N.Y. Giants won the Super Bowl and have one Pro Bowler in Hawaii — Osi Umenyiora. The Dallas Cowboys have 12 players there. What’s wrong with this picture?

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First-Timers, Alternates Fill Pro Bowl Rosters

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Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre received 1,140,863 votes to lead all NFL All-Stars in balloting for the 2008 NFL Pro Bowl. There was a record 83.7 million votes cast on NFL.com and on wireless phones with Sprint service using more than 2,262,000 ballots. There were nearly 14 million more votes cast this year than last year. That is insane! Obviously the promotion of and ease of access for the voting process was a factor, but +14 million votes? Sheesh. Just when I thought the NFL couldn’t get any more popular. The AFC and NFC Pro Bowl teams will be announced Tuesday.

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Brett Favre Leads Record Pro Bowl Voting

Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre leads all NFL players in balloting for the 2008 NFL Pro Bowl with 842,167 votes. Presented by Sprint, 2008 Pro Bowl voting will continue on NFL.com and on wireless phones with Sprint service through Tuesday, December 11. There have been 62 million votes cast on NFL.com and on wireless phones with Sprint service using more than 1,654,000 ballots. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (776,475 votes) ranks second overall while, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (740,302 votes), New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss (606,238 votes) and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (604,027 votes) round out the top five. The teams will be announced at 4 p.m. EST on Tuesday, December 18.

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Brett Favre Leads Pro Bowl Charge With One Week of Voting Remaining, 62M Votes Cast

The “non-exclusive” franchise tag guarantees Briggs $7.2 million next season, but it also deters other teams from signing him. The Bears could match any offer for Briggs or receive two number one draft picks in his place. If he sits out next season, as he is threatening, the Bears could use the franchise tag again. Briggs reportedly rejected a six-year, $33 million offer last spring. The deal was reportedly for seven years, and he turned it down because it was “below market value.” He proceeded to turn-in a Pro Bowl season with 117 solo tackles. I’m sure he was hoping such stellar play was worthy of a permanent home in Chicago. Not so.

My take? Give Lance Briggs his due. He’s earned it. He’s one of the best linebackers in the league and he’s still a very young player with only four seasons under his belt. Why would you not make that commitment to keeping such a talent on your team? This was the wrong franchise designation by the Bears. They should keep Lance Briggs for the long-haul.

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Briggs Deserves Long-Term Deal