Barry Wilner

When it comes to the Super Bowl’s most successful performer, it all depends upon your perspective.

Someone will make history Sunday in a Super Bowl so filled with storylines it would fill a season of TV programming.

Tampa Bay has the league’s best linebacker corps and the Bucs are coming off sacking Aaron Rodgers five times in the NFC Championship.

Emphatically backing up their superb regular season with one of the most dominating halves in football history, the Panthers then hung on in the face of a furious Seahawks rally before surviving 31-24.

The NFL's regular officiating crews are back, and Commissioner Roger Goodell has apologized to fans who fretted about the replacements the last three weeks. After two days of marathon negotiations, the NFL and the officials' union announced that a tentative deal had been reached to end a lockout that began in June.