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Check out a full play-by-play recap from tvnz.co.nz's American
sports nut John Whiting as the New Orleans Saints took on the
Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl.
FULLTIME
Saints 31-17 Colts
3:46pm
Drew Brees takes a knee and the Super Bowl officially heads to the
city of New Orleans. The stuff of legends.
3:43pm
1:16 on clock and Indianapolis take a timeout. Five yards out from
the endzone, Manning's pass on second down is deflected away,
Joseph Addai is stuffed on third down then another pass on fourth
down is batted away. The New Orleans Saints will win the Super
Bowl!
3:37pm
Peyton Manning desperately rallies his side but with just two
minutes remaining, surely the Colts cannot win from here.
3:30pm
TOUCHDOWN SAINTS!
Huge interception off Peyton Manning! Manning goes for a pass to
Reggie Wayne but Tracy Porter gets right up in his grill for an
easy interception and goes 70 yards the other way for a touchdown.
Up by two touchdowns now, that could, and should be the ball game!
Unbelievable stuff.
Who dat?!
3:26pm
We enter the critical stages in Miami with under five minutes
on the clock.
3:18pm
TOUCHDOWN SAINTS!
Drew Brees pounces on his chance and swiftly has the Saints inside
the red-zone. Brees has been superb in this second half and looks
almost unstoppable. A two yard pass to Jeremy Shockey see the
Saints into the endzone again, taking the lead. Opting for the
two-point conversion, Lance Moore has it but bobbles the ball -
Saints lead 22-17.
But New Orleans challenge the ruling on the field and after
several minutes of conjecture the referees overturn the decision
and the Saints now lead by seven.
3:07pm
Manning has Austin Collie open near the endzone but underthrows him
by a yard or two. The Colts go for a 51 yard field goal but Matt
Stover pushes it wide left and the Saints get the ball with 10:39
left in the game.
3:03pm
Enter the fourth quarter in Miami and Peyton Manning faces a
crucial drive. Score here and he could well seal the result. Fail
and the Saints have a golden chance.
2:58pm
The Saints are blitzing hard and while they're not bringing Manning
down, they are forcing him to pass before he wants to. The long
pass has been kept in check and the New Orleans pass rush is
getting stronger.
2:50pm
Dwight Freeney's back in the game and looking great. He's putting
on spin moves, jukes and tackles. The defensive end is proving that
even at 75 percent he's better than most.
Meanwhile, the Saints make it into the red zone but take a field
goal - bringing the Super Bowl to a one-point game with the Colts
in front 17-16.
2:40pm
TOUCHDOWN COLTS!
Now Peyton Manning is hardly one to take anything lying down, so
you always knew that he'd come firing back after seeing his side
surrender the lead. And that he did, immediately guiding the Colts
downfield on a 76 yard drive. Then just like that Indianapolis were
back in the lead after Joseph Addai pounded in a touchdown from
just four yards out.
2:28pm
TOUCHDOWN SAINTS!
It was only a matter of time really, the Saints had been looking
red-hot for a fair amount of time but couldn't convert. This time
would be different though, with Pierre Thomas taking a 16-yard pass
to the house to give New Orleans their first lead of the night,
13-10. More of a worry for the Colts - Dwight Freeney getting his
injured ankle attended to on the sideline and looking in some
discomfort.
2:22pm
We're back underway in Miami and the Saints go for an onside kick
to start the third quarter. After the referees finally clear a huge
pile of players, the ball goes New Orleans' way. A gutsy call
that's for sure but it worked out well.
1:57pm
HALFTIME
It's been an action-packed game so far. All expectations have been
lived up to with an intensely close contest on the scoreboard and
plenty of offence. Drew Brees has the biggest stats at this point
in time with 164 yards. His counterpart Peyton Manning has been
solid as always with 97 yards and one touchdown. New Orleans'
running game has yet to have an impact with just 22 combined yards
while the Colts have 72 yards combined thanks to Joseph Addai.
The halftime show is cracking into full gear with Chris Daughtry
on stage and The Who still to come. Stay tuned, the second half is
going to be a wild ride.
1:50pm
The Colts' drive fails and they have to punt with less than a
minute remaining on the clock. The Saints will get one more shot in
the first half and in comes the hurry-up offence. New Orleans
progress the football but can't muster a touchdown. This time they
take a field goal and we are at halftime with Colts leading
10-6.
1:44pm
First and goal at the two minute warning, the Saints opt to go for
it on fourth down. It's a big decision going into halftime and it
fails with Pierre Thomas stuffed on the goal-line. Instead of
coming away with three points, New Orleans get nothing.
1:34pm
The celebrities are out in full force today trying their hardest to
get their faces on camera. Ashton Kutcher (wearing a Chicago Bears
cap) is there along with his cougar wife Demi Moore. Director Spike
Lee's there as is Hillary Swank. Meanwhile the real glamour is
going down on the field with the Saints really heating up on
offence.
1:26pm
Pierre Garcon drops a crucial catch which Manning landed right on
his chest. It would have been a 20 yard completion but instead the
Colts have to punt and Brees gets the ball back 30 yards out from
his own goal-line.
1:18pm
As the second quarter gets started, the Saints have just one first
down. But with Brees marshalling his troops, New Orleans put on a
nice drive in response to the Indy touchdown. There are certainly
no nerves for Brees in his first Super Bowl appearance, and it
feels like a home game for the Saints with the amount of cheers
they're getting. Who else but Dwight Freeney ends the Saints'
possession with a big sack - N.O. settling for a field goal.
1:05pm
TOUCHDOWN COLTS!
Manning throws a 19 yard bullet to Pierre Garcon in the endzone to
cap off a 96 yard drive (ties the longest ever in a Super Bowl).
The Colts are really starting to exploit the Saints' defence now
with running back Joseph Addai going 26 yards up the gut earlier in
the drive. Stover slots the extra point and it's 10-0 Colts just
inside the first quarter.
12:54pm
Already it looks like it's going to be an aerial game with both
sides struggling to rush the football. With 10 minutes gone the
Saints have a combined five yards rushing while the Colts have only
have five as well. After another tough drive and a big dropped
catch, the Saints are forced to punt away for the second
time.
12:44pm
COLTS SCORE!
Matt Stover knocks through a 38-yard field goal to give
Indianapolis the opening points of the game following a great drive
by Peyton Manning. Manning is already 6/8 for 58 yards just seven
minutes into the first quarter. An ominous sign?
12:36pm
The Saints go three-and-out on their opening drive. Drew Bress
connected on a six yard pass but Indy's defence was up to the
challenge on the next two downs. Thomas Morstead gave the Colts
their first touch after a nice 43-yard punt.
12:30pm
New Orleans have won the coin toss and will receive the football
first from the opening kickoff.
12:25pm
America the Beautiful sung by Queen Latifah, backed by a full choir
of children was a nice touch before former American Idol Carrie
Underwood got everyone's blood boiling with her rendition of the US
nation anthem. With all the formalities over, it's time for the
action to take the field!
12:16pm
Both teams have just been introduced in front of a sold out crowd
at Sun Life Stadium. Despite being in Miami, there are a huge
amount of Saints fans on hand. Digressing slightly, it seems there
are several New Orleans fans in the newsroom too with some of the
girls commenting that "black and gold looks hot, blue and white's
just ugly." That's some deep stuff there.
12:00pm
Welcome to all you fans in New Zealand and worldwide! Given the
class of these two sides, i'm ready for what promises to be one of
the most entertaining Super Bowls in recent history. Personally,
I'm torn on who to support in this one - as a San Diego Chargers
fan i'm out of luck this season. My head says Peyton Manning and
the Colts will be too good buy my heart wants to see the Saints
come away with the Vince Lombardi trophy for a city that deserves
something special.
Stay tuned here all afternoon from midday (New Zealand time) where i'll bring you all the biggest moments on and off the field as well as a photogallery as the game progresses. Kickoff is at 12:30pm. Let's get it on!
Share your comments or thoughts on the Super Bowl by e-mailing sport@tvnz.co.nz
