6B SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2016 SPORTS THE OKLAHOMAN | …

[Pages:1]6B SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2016

SPORTS

THE OKLAHOMAN |

THE OKLAHOMAN |

SPORTS

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2016

7B

DENVER BRONCOS VS. CAROLINA PANTHERS?5:30 P.M. SUNDAY?LEVI'S STADIUM, SANTA CLARA, CALIF.?KWTV-9 (COX 10/HD 709, DISH 9, DIRECTV 9, U-VERSE 9/HD 1009)

people who will define Super Bowl 50

Super Bowl 50 arrives Sunday, sans the Roman numerals but with compelling storylines ranging from an ascending superstar in Cam Newton to an outgoing superstar in Peyton Manning. In honor of Super Bowl 50, here are 50 people that should make you interested in Super Sunday.

BY BERRY TRAMEL ? COLUMNIST ? BTRAMEL@

1 Cam Newton: The compelling question about the presumptive NFL MVP? How will he celebrate if he scores a touchdown?

6 Jim Nantz: This is his fourth Super Bowl playby-play assignment. Nantz also has been the primary voice of 25 Final Fours and 27 Masters.

7 Demaryius Thomas: The Bronco receiver is enjoying this postseason -- his mother was released from prison in November, after serving 15 years for a drug conviction.

8 Luke Kuechly: This Panther is the NFL's best linebacker; he also can become the first player to return interceptions for TDs in three straight playoff games.

9 Beyonce: The singing star will team with Coldplay to provide the halftime act. Beyonce performed at Super Bowl 47. The NFL must have liked what it saw.

10 Josh Norman: Maybe Richard Sherman isn't the NFL's best cornerback. It might be this Panther.

11 Aqib Talib: 30 career interceptions for the Bronco cornerback, but his biggest play was tipping New England's two-point conversion pass at the end of the AFC title game.

12 Helen Mirren: The British star gives an anti-drunk driving speech for Budweiser that could go down as the greatest commercial of all time.

13 Ted Ginn Jr.: At Ohio State, Ginn returned the opening kickoff of a national championship game for a touchdown. Alas, Ginn only returns punts for Carolina.

14 DeMarcus Ware: The same force in Denver (17-? sacks in 27 games) he was for nine years in Dallas (117 sacks in 140 games). Only this time, Ware is with a functional franchise.

2 Von Miller: In the discussion for the NFL's best defensive player is this Bronco pass rusher supreme. Miller vs. Cam Newton is the best Super Bowl matchup.

15 Ron Rivera: The Panthers' head coach has a championship pedigree -- he was a backup linebacker on the famed 1985 Chicago Bears.

16 Phil Simms: The worst analyst in major American sport calls his eighth Super Bowl as the main analyst.

17 Michael Oher: The man whose life inspired "The Blind Side" movie still plays left tackle, protecting Carolina quarterback Cam Newton.

18 Chris Harris Jr.: The Bixby High School graduate teamed with fellow cornerback Aqib Talib to give Denver two elite cornerbacks, just as they did at Kansas in the Jayhawks' magical 2008 season.

19 Kevin Hart: The commercials are a Super Bowl staple, and Hart's a hit in a Hyundai Genesis ad in which he plays a father tracking his daughter on a date.

20 Jared Allen: The NFL's active-player sack leader with 136 has found new life with Carolina but seeks his first Super Bowl ring.

21 Ryan Harris: The offensive lineman was out of football, living in suburban Denver, when injuries hit the Broncos in September. Now he's the left tackle charged with protecting Peyton Manning's blind side.

22 Harold Bryant: CBS Sports' executive producer and senior vice president, production, is under the gun. CBS's football production historically is inferior to NBC's and FOX's. Sometimes, you can't even hear the announcers very well. Of course, sometimes, you don't want to.

23 Gary Kubiak: The old Texas A&M quarterback can become a Rocky Mountain legend with a Super Bowl victory in his first year coaching the Broncos.

24 Ryan Kalil: The Panther center declined to give his brother a Super Bowl ticket, but that's OK. Matt Kalil, a left tackle for the Vikings, gets a comp ticket from the league.

25 T.J. Ward: The primary safety assigned to Rob Gronkowski (eight catches, 144 yards) in the AFC title game, Ward now has to corral Carolina tight end Greg Olsen.

26 Willem Dafoe: His Snickers commercial, playing the Marilyn Monroe role from "The Seven Year Itch," will be a hit, because you can't miss with Marilyn Monroe.

27 Jerry Richardson: The Panthers' principal owner has a championship pedigree -- he caught a touchdown pass from Johnny Unitas in the 1959 NFL title game.

28 Brock Osweiler: Denver's 6-foot-8 quarterback of the stretch drive and quarterback of the future. If needed, could Osweiler produce in the Super Bowl?

29 Greg Olsen: Cam Newton's favorite target (77 catches, 1,104 yards) is proving a champion can have a tight end as its primary target.

30 Ed Mangan: The NFL's head of field operations is on the spot. The sod at 2-year-old Levi's Stadium has consistently been shaky. Super Bowl 50's turf is recently laid. Will it hold up?

31 Jonathan Stewart: The Oregon alum is carving out quite the career as a Carolina tailback -- 5,814 career rushing yards over eight seasons, plus 189 yards in these playoffs.

32 Emmanuel Sanders: The Bronco receiver ignited a war of words with loquacious Carolina cornerback Josh Norman. Didn't seem wise.

3 Lady Gaga: The NFL is getting bold. Twelve years after the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction, it has asked the enigmatic Lady Gaga to sing the national anthem.

33 Bruce DeHaven: The Panthers' specialteams coach is still going strong, 16 years after being fired from that position by the Buffalo Bills, after the Music City Miracle.

34 Tracy Wolfson: The highlight of CBS's broadcast team, Wolfson has shined since moving up from the SEC Game of the Week.

35 Owen Daniels: Four touchdowns were scored in the Bronco-Patriot AFC title game. The Denver tight end had two of them.

36 Thomas Davis: The Panther linebacker plans to play despite suffering a broken forearm in the NFC Championship Game.

37 Wade Phillips: Thirtyeight NFL seasons, and no Super Bowl titles for one of the NFL's greatest defensive coordinators. That changes if Denver wins.

38 Graham Gano: The Carolina kicker was born in Scotland and lived there until his teen years.

39 Ronnie Hillman: The Bronco tailback is a veteran of Snoop Dogg's Snoop Youth Football League and has the rapper's unabashed loyalty.

40 Mike Shula: The Panthers' offensive coordinator seeks a Super Bowl ring, just like his dad got coaching the great Dolphin teams of the early 1970s.

41 Seal: The soulful British singer's "Kiss From a Rose" gets a rousing rendition from a choir of "Super Bowl Babies," people of various generations conceived as their parents celebrated a Super Bowl victory.

4 Peyton Manning: As popular as any American athlete, but still one Super Bowl ring behind his brother.

42 Louis Vasquez: The Bronco guard blocked for Graham Harrell on Mike Leach's great 2008 Texas Tech team.

43 Roman Harper: The Carolina safety is renting out his Charlotte apartment for $5,000 on Super Sunday, to benefit his foundation. What will they think of next?

44 Mike Carey: The retired NFL referee has been solid in explaining calls and replay reviews from the booth.

45 Fozzy Whittaker: The Carolina kickoff returner once returned kickoffs for Texas touchdowns in back-to-back games against OU and OSU.

46 Antonio Smith: Quite a 12-year career for the Bronco defensive lineman who went to John Marshall and OSU. This is his second Super Bowl ('08 Cardinals).

47 Reggie Herring: The Bronco linebacker coach was a 23-year-old prodigy as Jimmy Johnson's linebacker coach at OSU in 1982.

48 Daryl Williams: Carolina's backup offensive tackle gets a Super Bowl trip in his rookie year out of OU.

49 Corey Nelson: The Bronco backup linebacker is in his second year out of OU.

50 Sam Mills III: The defensive qualitycontrol assistant for Carolina is the son of an iconic Panther linebacker. Sam Mills Jr.'s number was the first retired in franchise history.

Denver year-by-year win loss tie

P playoffs

conference title

Super Bowl title *Strike-shortened season

9

11

7

11 11 10 10 11

9

8

8

9

9

2 5

6

8

5

2

6

6

8

6

3

4

342

3

3344

7

5 5 4 8 5 11

8798

10 5 8 7 6 6

7 9 8 8 12 8

7

win

loss

P playoffs

tie Carolina year-by-year

conference title

Super Bowl title

9 4 9 12 8 9 15 9 5 9 5 8 9 4 8 14 10 9 4 8

1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 *1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 *1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

5 John Elway: The Bronco superstar quarterback- turned-general manager can join Jerry West as the greatest player/executive combination in sports history.

4 3 7 2 2 4 4 3 5 5 5 4 5 7 7 6 9 12 10 10 8 10 2 9 13 11 11 10 8 11 5 12 8 9 7 8 13 12 14 6 11 8 9 10 10 13 9 7 8 8 4 8 13 13 12 12

7 12 7 4 8 7

7 11 7 11 8 7 12 8 2 6 7 12 7 15

SOURCE: WWW.PRO-FOOTBALL-

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