ESPN

With the 2014 Super Bowl scheduled to be played outdoors in cold-weather New Jersey, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell fielded a question Friday about Chicago's prospects to host the event.

"Chicago is a great community," Goodell said at his annual Super Bowl press conference. "I hear it from my wife every day, by the way, but as far as football fans are concerned, there is no greater passion in Chicago. There are a number of issues that go into playing a Super Bowl. It’s not just the stadium. It’s clearly the number of hotel rooms, the other infrastructure, all of which I presume that Chicago would meet.

"If they’re interested, we certainly will meet with them and discuss the ability to do that.”

But given the Bears current stadium situation, Chicago's odds to land a Super Bowl might be slim. Soldier Field's seating capacity of 61,500 is the smallest in the NFL. And all of the recent Super Bowls awarded to cold-weather cities (Detroit, Indianapolis, New York/New Jersey) have been or will be played in new, state of the art stadiums.

INDIANAPOLIS -- David Diehl is accustomed to rolling up his sleeves.

A veteran starter on the New York Giants' offensive line, Diehl embraces the hard-working, South Side mentality he inherited from his father, Jerry, a former milkman and beer vendor at old Comiskey Park. So it came as no surprise to witness the Chicago native roll up the sleeves of his game jersey Thursday morning at the Giants Super Bowl XLVI team hotel to show off two of his favorite tattoos: the Croatian shied and Chief Illiniwek.

"[The Chief] was my first tattoo I ever got," Diehl said.

Besides the ink on his upper right arm, Diehl pays homage to the retired school symbol whenever starting line-ups are announced during nationally televised game.

"David Diehl, University of Chief Illiniwek," he says.

"I've done that since my rookie year," Diehl said. "One time I think in the nine years I've played, the television station made me do from the University of Illinois because they made me record it. They forced me to do it. They told me you're not leaving the room until you record one of those. So I think it's been played one time.

"But I loved my five years I spent at the University of Illinois. The bonds, the people I met, the education I received...I can look back on those five years and say I wouldn't change anything about them. Being a guy from Chicago, staying in-state, that meant a lot to me. Winning a Big Tent title in 2001 and playing for coach [Ron] Turner...No. 1, playing for coach Turner gave me a huge boost going into the NFL and playing for the Giants my rookie year. For my five years at Illinois, I ran a pro offense, so when I got drafted by the Giants, I knew the entire offense. The only thing I had to do was switch terminology, which put me light years ahead of everybody else."

Diehl continues to be heavily involved in the Illinois football program. He donated a weight room to the program two years ago, and makes it a point to get to Champaign whenever possible.

"I'm especially excited about this upcoming season," Diehl said. "One of my fellow teammates, [former Bears assistant coach] Luke Butkus, took over as offensive line coach at Illinois. I'm happy he's back home and is going to do a great job for those guys."

The task now for Diehl turns to winning another Super Bowl ring. With Indianapolis being in such close proximity to Chicago, Diehl is able to be surrounded by his Chicago based family who made the short three-hour drive for Super Bowl week.

"It's great to do this Super Bowl so close to home. My family gets to experience it just as much as I do."

INDIANAPOLIS -- It all happened so fast for ex-Chicago Bears' defensive end Mark Anderson.

Anderson, selected in round No. 5 of the 2006 NFL draft, burst onto the scene as a rookie with a team-high 12 sacks, and was a valuable member of a defense that propelled the Bears to a berth in Super Bowl XLI.

Then it all began to unravel.

The Bears made Anderson a starter the following season. He lost his starting job then he lost his job period when the Bears released the pass-rusher in 2010. After a stint in Houston, Anderson found new life in New England, where he recorded 11 combined sacks for the AFC champion Patriots.

Surrounded by media at his own reserved section at Super Bowl XLVI media day Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium, Anderson admitted he took the initial trip to the Super Bowl for granted.

“Honestly it’s true," Anderson said. "After my first year in the league, I knew we would go back. I thought all you had to do was win a majority of the games in the regular season and then win out in the playoffs. We didn’t even make the playoffs my other four years with the Bears. This is my first year coming back to the playoffs, five years later."

Five years later, Anderson has re-made himself. A terrific situational pass-rusher early in career with the Bears, he now finds himself in playing in New England's hybrid 3-4 defense, as opposed to the 4-3 front used in Chicago.

The way Anderson sees it, the Patriots' defense affords him the opportunity to showcase his biggest football strength: athleticism.

"I really like the different packages and stuff, the freedom we have and different things I can do," Anderson said. "It's a fun defense. Once you understand what you need to do, you can really make a lot of plays and contribute a lot. I'm doing different packages at outside linebacker and defense end, so I just try to make the most of it at all times. If you're real athletic, you can rush out of the two-point or you can rush out of the three-point, you can do a lot of things. You can even drop back in coverage if you have to. It really can highlight your athleticism."

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama won't get to cheer for his beloved Bears, but he's throwing a Super Bowl party anyway, his hometown team falling one short of the title game.

Read the entire story.

DALLAS -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is not closing the book on cold weather cities hosting future Super Bowls.

Read the entire story.

As Bears fans shift their focus from a successful -- yet controversial -- season to the Super Bowl, Chicago mayoral candidate Gery Chico seized the moment to tap into the NFL's momentum and grab headlines.

Read the entire story.

After thoroughly ripping Soldier Field's turf, Herm Edwards champions the Bears' chances of beating the Patriots and even making it to the Super Bowl.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

MIAMI -- Sitting on a bus in bumper-to-bumper traffic trying to leave Sun Life Stadium has afforded me the opportunity to jot down a few final thoughts:

• It's amazing how a short quarterback like Drew Brees can stand in the pocket and survey the entire field. Both Brees and Peyton Manning showed, for the most part, exactly how a quarterback is supposed to go through his reads and check down on certain plays. Even though Manning's late game interception was inexcusable, that 27-yard throw he made to Dallas Clark in the third quarter was incredible.

• I still want Colts safety Antoine Bethea on the Chicago Bears next year. Too bad he'll be a restricted free agent if 2010 is played without a salary cap.

• Saints running back Pierre Thomas was the most impressive person I interviewed this week. I had no idea he was so charismatic off the field. On the field, he's quickly developing into an upper echelon running back, and it's sad Ron Turner's pleas for the Bears to sign Thomas back in 2007 fell on deaf ears at Halas Hall.

• For my money, there is not a single more exciting moment in sports than the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl. I've been lucky enough to cover the last six, and I get chills every single year when all those flashes go off around the stadium.

• The crowd was dead when The Who performed at halftime. Maybe it's time the NFL went back to scheduling current acts for their Super Bowl halftime show. I nominate Lil' Wayne and Lady Gaga for 2011, but seeing that the game will be played in Dallas, I have a hunch it'll be a well-known country music performer.

MIAMI -- Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees put on a clinic.

That's the best way to describe the New Orleans Saints quarterback’s performance in the biggest game of his career. Brees completed a remarkable 32 of 39 pass attempts for 288 yards and two touchdowns. But maybe just as important, he never turned the ball over.

"We knew that would be a key statistic coming into the game," Brees said. "We knew we had to win the turnover battle, take care of the football, and convert of third downs and score some touchdowns.”

New Orleans also took some chances in their 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts, the biggest being an outside kick to start the second half.

"That's the type of team we are," Brees said. "We play with a very aggressive mentality and a lot of confidence. We came into this game knowing we had to play loose and take a chance in order to win."

MIAMI -- It's hard to say what was more stunning in the New Orleans Saints' 31-17 Super Bowl win over the Indianapolis Colts. Was it Tracy Porter's 74-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter or Peyton Manning's bad throw that led to the turnover?

"He made a good break on it, and just made a heck of a play," Manning said in his postgame interview.

The Colts made a few bizarre decisions Sunday night, including calling a run play for Mike Hart on third-and-1 from their own 10-yard line with only :51 seconds left on the clock. Indianapolis failed to convert, the Saints got the ball back and eventually kicked a field goal as time expired in the first half.

"We gave them a short field, so that was a disappointing series," Manning said.

It was also odd to see Indianapolis try to run the ball with Joseph Addai on their second-to-last offensive play of the night. Addai was stopped for a two-yard loss. Then on fourth down from the Saints’ 5-yard line Manning threw an incomplete pass to Reggie Wayne.

For an offense that was so precise leading up the Super Bowl, it's puzzling why Manning and his teammates seemed to struggle for a good portion of the game.

MIAMI -- "We're Super Bowl champs, we're Super Bowl champs," former Illinois and current New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas kept repeating after his team’s 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Thomas played a major role in the Saints’ offensive attack, compiling 85 all-purpose yards, including a 16-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.

"It was one of our regular screens we always run," Thomas said. "It was a quick little draw fake, and I thought I was going to get held up by one of their linemen, but luckily he fell down. My offensive line and receivers did a heck of a job setting up their blocks downfield, and I just read my blocks. All I kept thinking about was to get in that end zone because this was going to be a big momentum swing."

"Pierre is a great player with a lot of heart," fellow Illinois alum and Indianapolis defensive back Kelvin Hayden said.

So just how long is the party going to last in New Orleans?

"Forever," Thomas said, smiling wide.

By JEFF DICKERSON

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Priority number one this week remains the Bears, but we'll do our best to sprinkle in some Super Bowl nuggets from soggy South Florida.

Monday is arrival day for both the Colts and Saints, and each team must make its head coach and six players available to the media.

As expected, Indianapolis defensive end Dwight Freeney is not scheduled to attend the Colts media session at their team hotel, so questions about his injured ankle will have to wait until Media Day at Sun Life Stadium on Tuesday morning. Freeney -- listed as questionable by the Colts -- should be a central figure when it comes to coverage this week. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported that Freeney has a torn ligament in his right ankle.

The Saints -- who landed Monday morning -- will not be available at their hotel, but instead at the Miami Dolphins Facility in Davie, Fla. Perhaps Sean Payton is looking to get in some extra work, not a bad idea, considering this is not a typical week in the life of an NFL player.

Here is Monday's player availability for each squad:

New Orleans: Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Jahri Evans, Darren Sharper, Will Smith and Jonathan Vilma.

Indianapolis: Joseph Addai, Gary Brackett, Ryan Diem, Kelvin Hayden, Peyton Manning and Daniel Muir.