It won’t get you a ticket to Super Bowl XLVI, but you’ll amaze your friends and relatives with these football factoids. And may you roll winners in all your pools.

Quarter Century Club: Some 25 years ago last week, the Giants won their first Super Bowl. Over the past quarter century, four teams — the Giants, Patriots, 49ers and Cowboys — have won three Super Bowls apiece. Four others — the Redskins, Packers, Broncos and Steelers — have won two apiece. No team has won more than three. The Pats have played in six Super Bowls in the past 25 years and the Giants five. So the winner of this year’s Super Bowl between the Giants and Patriots will be considered the best NFL team of the past quarter century.

Been There, Done That: For just the fourth time in history, the Super Bowl matches coaches who have won previous Super Bowls.  Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick join Bill Walsh (49ers) and Don Shula (Dolphins), 1985, and Chuck Noll (Steelers) and Tom Landy (Cowboys), who matched wits in 1976 and 1979.

Parcell Roots: Coughlin and Belichick were both assistants to Bill Parcells when the Giants won Super Bowl XXV in 1991. Coughlin was the receivers coach, and Belichick as defensive coordinator designed the scheme that beat the heavily-favored Bills.

Roger Terry, It’s Eli and Tom: For only the third time in history, quarterbacks who have won Super Bowls — Tom Brady (3) and Eli Manning (1) — are facing off again. Pittsburgh’s Terry Bradshaw and Dallas’ Roger Staubach met in 1976 and again in 1979.  The Steelers won both encounters.

Been There, Done That, Redux: Giants-Patriots is just the sixth rematch in Super Bowl history. Steelers-Cowboys three times, 49ers-Bengals twice. Dolphins-Redskins twice and Cowboys-Bills twice are the others.

Lucky Seven: If the Giants win Sunday, they will be the first seven-loss champion in NFL history.

Coaching Icons: Bill Belichick will be coaching in his fifth Super Bowl, same as Tom Landry and one behind the all-time leader, Don Shula.

Starting QBs: Tom Brady will join the Broncos John Elway as the only quarterbacks history to start five Super Bowls

If I Were A Betting Man: How long with the National Anthem last (over/under 1:36)? How many times will they show Peyton Manning on TV (over/under 5 1./2 times)?; How many viewers will watch the game (over/under 115 million?. And my favorite — where will the coin toss land __ heads $110 vs tails $110. Point spread 3; over/under 55)

Only the Lonely: Four current teams — Lions, Browns, Jaguars and Texans — have never reached the Super Bowl. The Lions and Browns did win NFL championships four times apiece.

Longest Drought: The Jets last appeared in Super Bowl III in 1969 and the Chiefs the following year.

Glass Half Full: The Giants trailed at halftime of all four Super Bowls in which they played, yet managed to win three of them.

Giants-Pats at Harvard: Not counting Super Bowl XLII, the Giants and Patriots have met nine times in the regular season, with the Pats holding a 5-4 edge. In their first meeting in 1970, the Giants beat the Boston Patriots 16-0 at Harvard Stadium. Pete Gogolak kicked three field goals that day, and Fran Tarkenton threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Clifton McNeil. Joe Kapp was the Patriots quarterback.

Three-peat: The Patriots have been to the Super Bowl five times in the past 10 years; the previous four games were all decided by three points.

Streaking: The Pats have won 10 game in a row. The Giants are riding a five-game win streak.

Almost, But Not Quite: The Giants and Patriots came close to meeting in several other Super Bowls. A year after the Pats lost to the Bears in 1986, the Giants won their first Super Bowl, beating the Broncos. And the Patriots beat the Rams to win their first Super Bowl in 2002 — a year after the Giants lost to the Ravens.

Deja blue: Just as he did four years against the Packers, Lawrence Tynes (9) kicked the Giants into the Super Bowl, this time against the 49ers in overtime.

Sometimes, you just got to roll with it baby.

New York football Giants fans, you know what I’m talking about.

A little more than a month ago, on a frigid Sunday afternoon in New York, the Giants looked like anything but Super Bowl contenders. A discouraging loss to the Redskins left the Giants all but dead at 7-7.

Watching that game at the Westchester Country Airport, my flight to sunny Tampa delayed, put me in a foul mood. From all appearances,the season was over.

A week later, Christmas Eve in Florida, I couldn’t even get the Giants-Jets game on TV, since the local Fox affiliate was showing Tampa Bay vs. Carolina.

With the Giants trailing 7-0 early, I headed to Indian Rocks Beach, figuring at least I could get some sun on a beautiful day in paradise, maybe even a swim in the Gulf.

When I checked my smartphone about an hour later, I noticed the Giants had taken the lead on a 99-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz.

Filled with a renewed sense of hope this holiday season, I gathered up my towel and flip flops and headed for Goose’s, the nearest sports bar. That was the turning point.

Ever since Goose’s, the Giants have been the hottest team in pro football. They beat the Jets that day, then took out the Cowboys in a winner-take-all game to clinch the NFC East and make the playoffs.

In rapid-fire succession, the Giants beat the Falcons for their first playoff win ever in Met Life Stadium, did a Lambeau leap over the heavily-favored Packers in Green Bay, and then outlasted the 49ers in overtime in the NFC Championship game.

The Giants are going to the Super Bowl for a rematch with the Patiots. It’s deja blue all over again. Just like four years ago, when they won Super Bowl XLII.

Can they do it again? Who knows,

Right now, I’m just Just rollin’ with it.

Giants Leonard Marshall levels 49ers Joe Montana in New York’s epic 15-13 upset in 1990 NFC Championship game that dashed San Francisco’s hopes for a Super Bowl three-peat.

The New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers is one of the all-time great NFL rivalries, starting with their first-ever meeting in 1952 at the Polo Grounds.

That day Charlie Conerly threw a touchdown pass and Ray Poole’s three field goals made the difference in a 23-14 Giants win. Y.A. Tittle, who would later take the Giants to three straight NFL Championship games, pitched two touchdowns for the Niners.

Here’s 10 things you need to know about Giants-49ers:

1. Even Steven: The two teams have split 28 regular season games. In those games, the 49ers outscored the Giants by just seven points, 560 to 553.

2. Playoffs…playoffs: Same in the playoffs. San Francisco holds a 4-3 edge in playoff matchups, scoring 161 points to the Giants 156.

3. Familiar foes: No two NFL teams have met in the playoffs more often than these two, with Sunday’s title game at Candlestick Park marking their league record-tying eighth postseason showdown. Only the Bears-Giants and Cowboys-Rams have as many playoff matchups.

4. 10-Year Super run: The two teams met five times in the playoffs between 1981 and 1990. In four of those five games, the winner went on to win the Super Bowl.

5. Hey Joe: Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. led the Niners to divisional round wins over the Giants in 1981 and 1984, and San Francisco went on to win its first two Super Bowls.

6. Home cooking: The Giants won their first-ever playoff game in Giants Stadium in 1985, beating the 49ers 17-3 on touchdown passes by Phil Simms to tight ends Mark Bavaro and Don Hasselback. Hasselbeck went on to father NFL quarterbacks Tim and Matt.

7. 49 vs. 49ers: In 1986, Simms threw four touchdown passes and Lawrence Taylor took an errant Montana pass to the house as the Giants romped 49-3 en route to their first Super Bowl.

8. Bahr for three: The two teams met in the NFC Championship game for the only previous time in 1990. Matt Bahr, right, kicked five field goals, the last in the final seconds, to send the Giants to more Super Bowl glory with a 15-13 victory. Bahr’s field goal was set up by a costly fumble by Roger Craig.

9. Running Watters: Ricky Watters set a playoff record with five touchdowns (all rushing) and 30 points in 1993 when the 49ers beat the Giants 44-3, the last game for both Simms and Taylor.

10. Huge comeback: In their last playoff meeting in 2002, the 49ers overcame a 24-point deficit to win 39-38 the second greatest comeback in NFL playoff history. 19-year veteran Trey Jenkin, playing in his only game for the Giants, botched a snap as they Giants attempted a potential game-winning field goal in the waning seconds.

Packers Jim Taylor rumbles in 1962 NFL Championship game at Yankee Stadium.

The Giants-Packers rivalry is one of the most storied in the NFL, dating back to their first meeting in 1928, which New York won 6-0.

Five times the two teams squared off for the NFL championship, with the Packers winning four, including back-to-back victories in 1961 and 1962. Four years ago, the Giants beat Packers Bay in a 23-20 overtime thriller in frigid Green Bay to win the NFC Championship and a trip to the Super Bowl.

Four of the six post-season meetings between the two clubs were decided by a touchdown or less. The Pack won the other two via shutouts.

New York and Green Bay have met 50 times in the regular season, with the Pack holding a 27-21-2 advantage. Their most recent meeting occurred in November, when the Packers won 38-35 on a last-second field goal by Mason Crosby.

Here are thumbnails on their six playoff meetings:

Dec. 11, 1938 — Giants 23, Packers 17
In a see-saw battle, the Giants rallied to become the first team since the NFL split into two divisions in 1933 to win two NFL championships.

The Giants took a 16-14 halftime lead before Green Bay surged in front in the third quarter on Tiny Engebresten’s 15-yard field goal.

Giants halfback Hank Soar, who would later become a major league baseball umpire (he was the first base ump when Don Larsen pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series), carried the ball five times and caught a pass on the ensuing drive before making a leaping catch from quarterback Ed Danowski for 23 yards and the winning touchdown.

A championship game record crowd of 48,120 witnessed the game at New York’s Polo Grounds. Each member of the Giants teams received $900, while the losing Packers received $700 per man.

Dec. 10, 1939 — Packers 27, Giants 0
Green Bay avenged its loss to New York the previous year with a resounding victory, the first shutout in championship game history.

The Packers took a 7-0 lead in the first half on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Arnie Herber to Milt Gantenbein.

Green Bay then pulled away with 20 points in the second half, which featured a 31-yard touchdown pass from Cecil Isbell to Joe Laws in the third quarter and a 1-yard touchdown run by Ed Jankowski in the final period.

The game was moved from City Stadium in Green Bay and held at the larger Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis near Milwaukee. Top tickets were priced at $4.40.

Dec. 17 , 1944 — Packers 14, Giants 7
In a game played in the midst of World War II, Green Bay scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter and held on to win the NFL title.

The Packers, right, celebrated a victory that avenged a 24-0 loss to the Giants a month earlier,

Ted Fritsch scored on a 1-yard run and then hauled in a 28-yard touchdown pass from Irv Comp to give Curly Lambeau’s visiting Packers the win.

Ward Cuff scored on a 1-yard plunge in the fourth quarter for the only score for coach Steve Owens and the Giants.

Giants tackle Al Blozis played in the game while on furlough. Six weeks later he was killed in battle by German machine-gun fire. His number 32 was later retired by the Giants.

Dec. 31, 1962 — Packers 37, Giants 0
In the first NFL championship game ever played in Green Bay, the Packers routed the Giants to give coach Vince Lombardi the first of his five NFL titles. A total of 16 Hall of Famers, 11 of them Packers, dressed for the contest.

The Packers were led by Paul Hornung, who scored a record-tying 19 points with a touchdown, three field goals, and four extra points.

After a scoreless first quarter, Hornung, who finished with 89 yards rushing, ran for a 6-yard touchdown, the first of 24 Packers points in the second quarter. Green Bay’s defense had four interceptions, and the Giants’ offense picked up only six first downs, one by penalty.

Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr passed for three touchdowns, two to tight end Ron Kramer.

Dec. 30, 1962 — Packers 16, Giants 7
With the temperature in the teens and an icy wind estimated at 30 miles an hour or more, Yankee Stadium was an icebox for the players and 64,892 fans. Both teams came out with cleatless, rubber-soled shoes, and the weather put a crimp in the Giants passing attack led by quarterback Y.A. Tittle.

“I remember the first pass Y. A. threw me; it was a simple square out,” said Giants flanker Frank Gifford. “The wind took it, and the ball sailed way over my head. Y. A. was a great, precise passer. One of the Packers, I don’t remember who, turned to me and said, ‘It’s going to be a long day, Frank.’ ”

Green Bay fullback Jim Taylor led all rushers with 85 yards and scored the game’s only offensive touchdown and guard Jerry Kramer kicked three field goals to account for the Packers scoring.

The Giants registered their only touchdown in the third quarter when Jim Collier recovered a blocked punt in the end zone.

New York would go on to lose its third straight championship game — this one to the Chicago Bears — in 1963, before enduring 18 years of playoff futility. The Packers would win the 1965 NFL championship game, and then went on to win the first two Supers Bowls in 1966 and 1967.

Jan 20, 2008 — Giants 23, Packers 20 (overtime)
In one of the coldest games in NFL history, the Giants beat the Packers in overtime in the NFC Championship game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The game-time temperature was -4 with a wind chill of -24

Following Corey Webster’s interception of a Brett Favre pass early in overtime, Lawrence Tynes, above, kicked his third field goal of the game from 47 yards out to give the Giants a hard-earned victory.

Green Bay led 10-6 at the half sparked by a 90-yard touchdown pass from Favre to Donald Driver, but the Giants rebounded in the third quarter to take the lead on touchdown runs by Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.

Mason Crosby’s fourth quarter field goal tied the game 20-20, and Tynes missed a pair of field goals, including one at the gun, before kicking the game-winner.

The Giants advanced to the Super Bowl, where they knocked off the previously unbeaten New England Patriots to win their third Super Bowl.

Catcher Jorge Posada played his entire career with the Yankees.

Sometime soon, Jorge Posada will announce his retirement, a Yankee catcher for life.

There’s something to be said for playing an entire career with one team. Players like Ted Williams of the Red Sox, Stan Musial of the Cardinals, and Cal Ripken of the Orioles have done just that and become the faces of their franchises.

Posada caught 1,574 games with the Yankees, third behind only Hall of Fame catchers Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra.

Few realize that Berra did not play his entire career with the Yankees. Early in 1965, a season after being fired as Yankee manager, Yogi started two games as catcher and pinch-hit twice for the Mets, getting two hits in nine at bats before becoming a full-time coach.

Berra is one of many legendary Yankee stars who played for other teams. Babe Ruth began his career as a pitcher with the Red Sox of course, and returned to Boston to play his final season with the Braves. Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, Tony Lazzeri, Joe Gordon and Charlie Keller all played for other teams.

Andy Pettitte spent three years with the Houston Astros. Lefty Gomex went 0-1 with the Washington Senators in 1943. Red Ruffing, like Ruth, started out as a Red Sox pitcher. Reliever Joe Page came out of retirement to pitch for the 1954 Pirates.

But there is a core contingent of players throughout the years who spent their entire careers in pinstripes. Here they are, the all-time, all-the-time Yankees:

First Team

C — Bill Dickey — .313 career hitter with high of .362 in 1936, 202 home runs, 100 RBIs four straight years, beginning in 1936. (1928-46)

1B — Lou Gehrig — The Iron Horse, 2,130 consecutive games, 493 home run, .340 lifetime batting average. Captain, two-time MVP, 1934 Triple Crown. (1923-39)

2B — Robinson Cano — Seven years with Yankees, hit .300 or better five times, including career-high .342 in 2006. (2005-Present)

SS — Derek Jeter — First Yankee to accumulate 3,000 hits, .313 lifetime hitter, 240 home runs, 339 stolen bases. Rookie of the Year 1995, five Gold Gloves. (1995-Present)

3B — Red Rolfe — Batted .289 lifetime, led American League in runs, hits, doubles in 1939. (1931-42)

OF — Joe DiMaggio — The Yankee Clipper, right, 56-game hitting streak in 1941 is all-time mark. Hit .325 with 361 home runs. Three-time MVP (1936-51)

OF — Mickey Mantle — The Mick, 536 career home runs, .298 average. Three-time MVP, Triple Crown in 1956. (1951-68)

OF — Earle Combs –  The Kentucky Colonel, .325 career hitter, led league in triples three times and hits once. (1924-35)

LHP — Whitey Ford — Yankees all-time winningest pitcher, 236 wins, .690 career win percentage highest for 200-game winner. MLB Cy Young winner 1961. (1950-67)

RHP — Spud Chandler — 109-43, including 20 wins in 1943 and 146. Won MVP in 1943. (1937-47)

Relief — Mariano Rivera — Became all-time saves leader last year with 603. Lowest ERA among active pitchers at 2.21. (1995-Present)

Second Team

C — Jorge Posada –  A .276 lifetime hitter with 275 career home runs. (1995-2011)

1B — Don Mattingly — Donnie Baseball, below,.307 career average, MVP in 1985. (1982-95)

2B — Bobby Richardson — Five-time Gold Glove winner, World Series MVP in 1960. (1955-66)

SS — Phil Rizzuto — The Scooter, 1950 MVP, long-time Yankee broadcaster. (1941-56)

3B — Gil McDougald — Utility infielder, Rookie of the Year in 1951. (1951-60)

OF — Bernie Williams — Batting champion in 1998, hit .297 lifetime. Four Gold Gloves. (1991-2006)

OF — Tommy Henrich — Old Reliable, batted .282 lifetime with 183 homers. (1937-50)

OF — Roy White — Batted .271 lifetime with 160 home runs, 233 stolen bases. (1965-79)

LHP — Ron Guidry — Louisiana Lightning, three-time 20-game winner, 170-91 lifetime, AL Cy Young in 1978. (1975-89)

RHP — Mel Stottlemyre — Won 20 games three times, 164-139 career mark. (1964-74)

Notes – Others who received major consideration include catcher Thurman Munson, shortstop Frankie Crosetti and outfielder George Selkirk….The Yankees have had some great relief pitchers through the years, but other than Rivera all wore other uniforms at one time. Wilcy Moore, Johnny Murphy, Joe Page, Luis Arroyo, Sparky Lyle and Goose Gossage were among the top relievers.

If you’re a Baby Boomer, you know the feeling. You try and tell your kids or someone else from the younger generation what it was like to grow up in America in the 50s. Usually they just roll their eyes and give one of those “C’mon old man, get with it” looks.

Hey, if you could pre-determine your fate, you’d be hard pressed to pick a better time and place to be born and raised than the 50s in the suburbs of New York. Our parents had lived through the Great Depression, our fathers had fought in World War II. The pace was picking up in the 50s, and the USA was on the rise. And New York was right smack dab in the heart of it all.

The 50s were a time of optimism and prosperity, at least in Westchester County, where every family it seemed had a house, a car and lots of kids. Growing up in White Plains, the oldest of four, with my grandparents and 11 cousins all living within three, tree-lined blocks, was an amazing experience.

As kids, we felt safe and secure. We rode bikes around the neighborhood, caught frogs and turtles in nearby ponds, and played sports. Lots of sports. Baseball, stickball and Whiffle ball. Football and basketball. On fields, in vacant lots, in driveways, even in the streets.

New York was the center of the baseball universe in the 50s. For 10 straight seasons, from 1949 through 1958, New York had at least one and oftentimes two teams in the World Series. The Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants left for California after 1957, but they Yankee dynasty remained in the Bronx. Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra were household words, their baseball cards prized treasures.

Early Years of Television
We followed the Yankees and other favorite teams on the radio or through the newspapers, but we didn’t watch a whole lot of sports on television. SportsCenter was still decades away.

Television took off in the 50s, and it had an immediate, powerful impact on America. The picture was black and white, at least in the beginning, and there were seven channels available in New York. We watched the “Ed Sullivan Show” and “Ozzie and Harriet” and “Leave it to Beaver.”

As the late David Halberstam wrote in his marvelous book “The Fifties” — “One reason that Americans as a people became nostalgic about the fifties…..was not so much that life was better in fifties, (though in some ways it was), but because at the time it had been portrayed so idyllically on television.”

I still remember the first time I ever watched color TV. One of our neighbors on the dead-end street where I grew up hosted a party during the 1957 World Series. The Braves played the Yankees in living color, with the NBC peacock as the backdrop.

A year later, my Dad took me to my first baseball game, at Yankee Stadium. Talk about love at first sight. Pinstripe fever. A SportsLifer for life.

The 50s were a time of change and set the stage for the turbulent 60s.in America.

Plaxico Burress and the Giants ruined the Patriots’ unbeaten season in Super Bowl XLII.
Been there, done that. Just ask the New York Giants.

As they get ready for the unbeaten Packers on Sunday, the struggling G-Men can take solace in their Giant killer pedigree.

At least three times in their long and glorious history the Giants have taken out unbeaten opponents — twice in championship games.

As recently as four seasons ago, the Giants spoiled the undefeated dreams of the New England Patriots in one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.

The Giants, a number five seed and 12-point underdog, rallied in the final minutes to upend previously unbeaten (18-0) New England and alter the course of NFL history. Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with just 35 seconds remaining to give New York the monumental 17-14 win.

The Giants, who lost six games during the regular season, avenged a 38-35 loss to the Patriots in the final game of the regular season.

Sneakers Game
Nearly 75 years earlier, in December of 1934, the Chicago Bears waltzed into Manhattan with a 13-0 record, a record-setting offense, and high hopes for an unbeaten season and an NFL championship.

The Bears took an early lead over the 8-5 Giants in the second NFL Championship game ever played. But the Giants then made a surprise move as reported by the New York Times, coming out in the second half “with basketball shoes replacing the cleated football shoes. The solidly frozen ground made cleats useless, and the basketball shoes made all the difference.”

Trailing 13-3, the Giants rallied for four touchdowns in the fourth quarter and an improbable 30-13 win in a contest, shown at right, that became known in NFL lore as the “Sneakers Game.”

In December of 1998, the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, led by John Elway, took a 13-0 record into a December game against the Giants at the Meadowlands.

Denver went up 16-13 in the fourth quarter on a 27-yard touchdown run by Terrell Davis. But the Giants, then 5-8, put together a finishing drive. With just 48 seconds left in the game, New York scored on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Kent Graham to Amani Toomer for a shocking 20-16 win.

Can history repeat itself?

Extra Points: The Giants also had a chance to knock off the only undefeated team in NFL history, the 1972 Miami Dolphins. With just two games remaining in the regular season, the Dolphins (12-0) came into Yankee Stadium and beat the Giants 23-13 on the strength of  three Gary Yepremian field goals. Miami went on to defeat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII and finish a perfect 17-0.

This isn’t the first time the Green Bay Packers have taken an unbeaten record into a Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Detroit Lions.

On November 22, 1962, exactly one year to the day  before President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the Packers came into Tiger Stadium sporting a 10-0 record.

The dream of an undefeated season ended that day for the Pack as the Lions, then 8-2, sacked Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr 10 times and roared off with a 26-14 win. The victory avenged a last minute, 9-7 loss in Green Bay earlier in the season.

“To this day, I don’t know if I have ever been in a locker room quite like that one,” Dick LeBeau told the Detroit News. “It was a group of men who came together with a singleness of purpose that they were going to win a game that day.”

A Lions defensive back and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who has coached in the NFL for 39 years, including in six Super Bowls.

On Turkey Day in 1962, Detroit’s Milt Plum connected with Gail Cogdill for a pair of touchdown passes, then defensive end Sam Williams rumbled six yards with a Starr  fumble to give the Lions a  huge lead  in the second quarter. When Starr was tackled in the end zone by Roger Brown for a safety, the Lions led 23-0.

Plum added a 47-yard field goal in the third quarter before the Packers made the score respectable with a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Thanksgiving Day Massacre
Detroit’s domination of the game that came to be referred to as “The Thanksgiving Day Massacre” was more complete than the score indicated. The Lions outgained the Packers, 304 yards to 122. The usually unstoppable Green Bay running attack was held to just 73 yards on 27 attempts, and the passing attack netted 49 yards.

The game, played in 37-degree temperatures in the Motor City, featured 10 turnovers, three fumbles and two interceptions by each team.

“It’s a known fact that the Detroit defense is good,” summed up Lombardi. “They completely overpowered us in the first half…My club wasn’t flat. We were ready. They just overwhelmed us.”

It was the only NFL game that day, and it drew 30 million viewers, at the time the largest television audience ever for CBS.

The Packers went on to win their final three games — beating the Rams twice and the 49ers — to finish 13-1. Green Bay then won its second straight NFL championship under Vince Lombardi with a 16-7 win over the New York Giants on a cold, blustery December day at Yankee Stadium.

Detroit, which also lost to the Giants and the Bear, finished 11-3, second in the NFL’s Western Conference.

More than 27 million Americans live a fantasy life. They play fantasy football.

According to a recent feature in AdWeek by Anthony Crupi — headlined ‘Billion Dollar Draft’ — media companies are cashing in on that sports obsession.

This year, we’ll spend an estimated $800 million per year on fantasy sports media products and services, according to the market research firm Ipsos. And football gets 71 percent of that spend.

Way before the Internet, fantasy football started as a small cottage industry which tested the math skills of owners who kept their team stats.

With broadband access and mobile usage, fantasy football has grown……fast.

This year, for example, ESPN’s fantasy football use is up 19 percent year-to-year. ESPN’s fantasy site had more than 100 million page hits in the first month of the season, according to AdWeek.

Dutchess Dawgs in The Hunt
ESPN hosts my fantasy league, the Nightcap Football  League (NFL), a group of current and former IBM PR guys who are living out their GM fantasies..

My team, the Dutchess Dawgs, has won three division titles in four years, and advanced to the championship game three times– only to lose each time.

This year the Dawgs are struggling just to stay in the playoff hunt. Losing first pick Jamaal Charles for the season in game two hurt…..as have recent injuries to Miles Austin, Ahmad Bradshaw, Julio Jones, AJ Green and Shonn Greene.

But the Dawgs have managed to hang around, fueled by recent waiver wire acquisitions like Marshawn Lynch, Brandon Pettigrew and Earl Bennett.

With just two weeks remaining in the season, the 6-5 Dawgs are locked in a three-way tie for the Nightcap Superman Division lead.

Forget his 409 wins at Penn State, Joe Paterno’s legacy will be his failure to do more.

Things aren’t very happy in Happy Valley these days, where Penn State University has been rocked by perhaps the ugliest scandal in collegiate sports history.

Coach Joe Paterno did what he was obligated to do. He even admitted should have done more. Now he has paid the ultimate price.

But the real victims here are the young boys who were abused on Paterno’s watch.

Anyone who cares about innocent children should read the 23-page Grand Jury report. It is an eye opener.

Page 6 in the report refers to March 1, 2002, when a Penn State graduate assistant, later identified as assistant coach Mike McQueary, witnessed the rape of a young boy by former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky in the showers of the Lasch Football Building on the University Park Campus.

The next morning, the graduate assistant telephoned Paterno and went to his house to report the issue. Paterno then notified his immediate superior at the time, Penn State athletic director Tim Curley.

According to the Grand Jury report, Sandusky’s keys to the locker room were taken away and the incident was reported to The Second Mile, Sandusky’s non-profit organization serving the youth of Pennsylvania.

The graduate assistant was never questioned by University Police, and nobody conducted a further investigation until more than eight years later, when McQueary testified to the Grand Jury last December.

Should Have Done More
Legally, Joe Paterno did what he was supposed to do. He reported the incident to his boss.

But morally, Joe Paterno failed that young boy in the showers and the other victims. As an authority figure, he should have followed up to ensure a proper investigation. He should have gone to the police.

Like others at Penn State, Paterno’s inactivity led to his dismissal.

The Grand Jury report cites seven other young boys who were victimized by Sandusky. No doubt, in time other horrors will surface.

This could have been prevented if Joe Paterno State had done the right thing when he had the opportunity.

“This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more,” Paterno said in a statement earlier this week.

Paterno could have done more, should have done more. Instead of turning away, he could have pursued the situation and made sure the authorities followed up.

But he didn’t, and sadly that will be his legacy.