Sports

Super Bowl Diary: Adrian Peterson Is ROY

PHOENIX (CBS) ― Abigail Lorge, the national sports producer for the CBS Television Stations digital media group, is providing a running diary from Super Bowl XLII. 

Thursday, Jan. 31, 5:30 p.m. MT 
Adrian Peterson As ROY

The top no-brainer of the day: Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson won the sixth annual Rookie of the Year award over a group of finalists that included San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch and Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas.

Host Rich Eisen joked that ever since Peterson's stellar performance against the Bears and record-setting game against the Chargers, everyone on the set of the "NFL All Access" set, where the Rookie of the Year trophy was housed, referred to it as the Adrian Peterson trophy.

A visibly moved (and nervous) Peterson began his acceptance speech by thanking the award's sponsor, Diet Pepsi, and then God. (It was a sentiment I recognized, given that every morning I wake up and thank God for the caffeine in my coffee.) Peterson also acknowledged his teammates and coaches, adding: "I know I speak for all [the finalists] when I say I would love to be participating in this game on Sunday."

Peterson called his Nov. 4 performance against the Chargers, when he set the NFL's single-game rushing record with 296 yards, "a special day" when he felt a special vibe with his offensive lineman.

"I remember telling those guys, 'Let's keep pounding it. I'm really feeling it today, so let's keep it going.'"

Peterson's next stop will be the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, where he said he plans to spend a lot of time on the beach and maybe watching a "hula dance or two."

Willis, who will be joining Peterson at the Pro Bowl, was effusive in his praise for Giants QB Eli Manning, with whom he overlapped for one year at Ole Miss.

"Eli is a guy who knows how to get it done," Willis said. "For a long time he was scrutinized for not living up to expectations, but I'll be rooting for him [in the Super Bowl]."

Willis remembers his frosh year (when Manning was a senior) fondly.

"For me that was my best year of college – freshman year," he said. "The last three years were horrible."

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2:30 p.m. MT
Keys, Sparks Support The Giants

Alicia Keys, who is performing at the pregame show, and "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks, a Glendale, Ariz., native who has returned home to sing the national anthem, are both rooting for the Giants in Sunday's Super Bowl.

Keys, who announced her 32-city "As I Am" tour, said the final U.S. stop will be on June 18 in "my hometown, home of the soon-to-be Super Bowl champion New York Giants."

Sparks drew laughs from gathered journalists when she described telling her father, Phillippi Sparks, who played eight seasons for the Giants and one for the Dallas Cowboys, about being selected to sing the anthem:

"I said, 'Dad, I'm singing at the Super Bowl.' And he said, 'At least one of us made it there.'"

Sparks said her affinity for the Giants extends beyond her NFL pedigree.

"Of course, there's the tie to my dad," she said. "But you got to go for the underdogs."


Thursday, Jan. 31, 11:30 a.m. MT
Phoenix Rising

This cool and windy morning, I strolled around downtown Phoenix to get a feel for the scene as more and more major football figures descend on the city.

There are lots of former and current gridiron stars milling about - Keyshawn Johnson, Matt Hasselbeck, Boomer Esiason. I was impressed to see Ravens tight end Todd Heap walk briskly across the Convention Center plaza, signing autographs without breaking stride. But being the dorky journalist (redundant?) that I am, I've been most pleased to encounter Boston Globe columnist (and my curly-haired brother-in-frizz) Dan Shaughnessy.

Football fans - both Phoenix locals and road warriors from all over the country - are out in full force, hoping to get a glimpse of the greats, and maybe an autograph. I'm headed now to a Rookie of the Year press conference, but I'll check in again shortly.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)