2009 Super Bowl

The Puppy Bowl is this Sunday, and Ref. Andrew is back as the game's referee! We were lucky enough to talk to him last year, so to get pumped up for the game, check out part two of our interview with Ref. Andrew. We already learned a bit of background on the pups and the referee in Part I, now let's hear more about the action, including last year's "streaker" (!) on the field, in the interview below.

PetSugar: What do you say to yourself when you get up that morning?
Ref. Andrew: I look myself in the mirror for a long time, in the eye, and I say: 'This is your calling, this is what you're meant to do.' It's what I'm born into, my destiny.

PS: Do you have any secret weapons on hand in case things get a little hairy?
RA: Just experience and I consult the Puppy Bowl referee guidebook. I like to keep a little peanut butter behind the ears sometimes, but otherwise it's just my strong bond with the dogs and they know who's boss when I'm out there.

PS: How many pups play at a time?
RA: There are 10 to 12 dogs out there but we do have substitutions. You'll see that on the field, if a puppy's acting up and has too many penalties or is being a dirty dog, I have to eject him from the game. We give everyone a fair shot and I tell you, the puppies we have this year are some of the cutest but also you'll see there's so much action, touchdowns being scored, tackles, it's an exciting year for Puppy Bowl.

PS: Which penalty do you see most and how do you keep order?
RA: There's two: The first is unnecessary ruffness (r-u-f-f, of course) and then the other one is a personal foul. As you can imagine, there are a lot of foul things on that field with puppies. But I throw my yellow flag on it — it's a dirty job but someone's got to do it.

Learn about the special guest performer before Puppy Bowl, kitty halftime, and last year's "streaker" (!) when you read more

The Puppy Bowl is this Sunday, and Ref. Andrew is back as the game's referee! We were lucky enough to talk to him last year, so to get pumped up for the game, check out our interview with Ref. Andrew, who had tons to say about what he describes as "puppies pretending to play football in a miniature football stadium with 'Puppy Penalties,' 'Fido First Downs,' and 'Terrier Tackles' — it's the cutest two hours of television you could ever ask for."

We agree and will absolutely tune into Animal Planet on Feb. 6 at 3 p.m. EST to the action on the gridiron. Find out what it's like behind the scenes and start the first of our two-part interview below.

PetSugar: How did you get this job?
Ref. Andrew: I'd say that it's very similar to American Idol where they fill arenas with potential hopefuls that want to be the ref . . . but, in reality, I was already working for Animal Planet. I like to think I was born into the position. Some people are teachers, some people are firemen, and I referee adorable little puppies pretending to play football — it was meant to be.

PS: What's your practice like in the off-season?
RA: It's a strict regimen. I mostly eat carbohydrates and sugars to stay fueled and I train in dog parks with big dogs so that I'm ready for the little ones. I've got a really strict exercise regimen as well — gotta be in tip-top shape for the puppies.

Learn more about the "athletes" themselves when you read more

The fun of the Super Bowl may be behind us (go Steelers!), but the ads will remain, at least for a little while. Not all of last night's ads had me laughing out loud, but there were a few I particularly liked — and I'm curious to know which ones caught your eye (besides the movie trailers — we're talking about those over here).

My top tier includes Hulu's "evil plot to destroy the world" ad with Alec Baldwin, Teleflora's offensive talking flowers (seriously, folks? Don't send me flowers in a box from now on!), Pedigree's giant pets, and cars.com's David Abernathy, boy genius ad (which reminded me a little of a Wes Anderson movie, though I was also oddly put off when I found out it was for cars.com). Others that made me laugh — maybe more than they should have — were SoBe's 3-D lizards, the Doritos crystal ball (which topped USA Today's ad meter), and the Denny's thugs. The dating Budweiser clydesdales made me "squee" a little, and of course I got a laugh out of Conan's Swedish ad. And even though it's basically a repeat from last year, I'm so glad the E-Trade baby has a friend.

What about you? Which ads had you chuckling or "awww"-ing long after they left the screen?

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Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones hopped on set to start filming their new sitcom last week, and it looks like it was just in time! The first ad for the new show, now called Parks and Recreation, aired during the special post-Super Bowl episode of The Office last night.

The short promo shows Poehler as Leslie Knope, a parks committee member from Pawnee, Indiana, wandering around an abandoned pit and picking up trash while talking about her vow to turn it into a lovely park. Things get a little dicey, however, when she finds a particularly unappetizing specimen.

I have to say, I'm not in love with the name Parks and Recreation — can you really hear anyone saying, "Nah, I gotta stay in tonight and watch the new Parks and Recreation"? I might have preferred the previous rumored title — Public Service — but as NBC's Ben Silverman told the New York Times, they didn't "want to seem mean" about making fun of public service. Eh, OK. To check out the promo, just read more

It was like movie preview-palooza during the Super Bowl this year with spots airing for Transformers 2, Star Trek, G.I. Joe, Angels and Demons, Monsters vs. Aliens, Land of the Lost and Pixar's Up. Did you catch them all? Which one did you like the most?

I was more impressed with the preview for G.I. Joe than I thought I would be and the spots for Up and Monsters vs. Aliens are adorable. I think my favorite, though, is the one for the Judd Apatow-produced comedy Year One starring Jack Black, Michael Cera and Paul Rudd. There's a longer preview for it that came online over the weekend which you can check out after the jump.

Care to check out these TV spots again? Just read more

C'mon. . . who realllly watches the Super Bowl for the football? OK, maybe there's a good portion of you, but usually I'm too busy drooling over the delicious dishes and whipping up fancy cocktails to pay attention to what's happening on the field. Although there is always one thing that piques my interest — the commercials! I can't wait to watch the big Monsters vs. Aliens 3D Trailer, but just in case I miss any of the commercials, I can also head on over to AOL's 2009 Super Bowl Commercial site where all the ads will be streamed!

Check back at the Underwire on Monday -- we'll be posting about the most popular clips and moments from Sunday's game.

Diehard football fans take the Super Bowl incredibly seriously, especially if their team is in it! And while I'm perfectly OK with being a sports fanatic, a little enthusiasm goes a long way. With so much paraphernalia out there, there will never be a shortage of gear to chose from, but ladies, tell me, where do you stand on guys wearing football jerseys as a fashion statement?

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