NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Around the Super Bowl and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of everything surrounding the game:
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RAVENS WIN
This was the APNewsAlert sent seconds after the final play:
The Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in the Super Bowl.
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49ERS COME UP SHORT ON DRIVE
San Francisco came up just short on that last drive and, maybe, the game, too.
The Baltimore Ravens defense made the stand of the game, blitzing Colin Kaepernick and forcing him to throw a bad pass on fourth-and-goal at the 5. His previous two passes were incompletes, too.
The turnover on downs brought a screeching halt to what had been an unbelievable comeback by the 49ers, who scored 23 points in 12 minutes and 20 seconds after the Superdome power outage.
It was a bit of karmic payback for the 49ers, who reached the Super Bowl after stopping Atlanta on fourth down at their own 10 two weeks ago.
? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour
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2-MINUTE WARNING
Two minutes left in regulation at the Super Bowl, and it's unlikely they'll go to overtime.
Baltimore leads San Francisco 34-29 but San Francisco has the ball, second and goal on the Ravens 5-yard line.
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RAVENS SCORE, NEED 'D' TO HOLD TIGHT
OK, Ravens defense, it's up to you now.
Justin Tucker's 38-yard field goal extended Baltimore's lead to 34-29. But there's still 4:19 left to play, and San Francisco has been averaging almost two points a minute since that wacky power outage interrupted the game.
Seems like it would be a good time for Ray Lewis to make a play. He's been awfully quiet in his final NFL game.
? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour
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UTILITY BLAMES OUTAGE ON STADIUM
A spokesman for the utility that provides power to the Superdome says the outage began because equipment maintained by stadium staff failed.
Philip Allison, a spokesman for Entergy New Orleans, says power was flowing into the stadium before the lights failed.
"All of our distribution and transmission feeds going into the Superdome were operating as expected," Allison said.
Several banks of arena lights went out and the CBS broadcast audio went silent as power went out in the telecasters' booth.
Auxiliary power kept the playing field from going totally dark, but escalators stopped working and the concourses were only illuminated by small banks of lights tied in to emergency service.
? Paul Newberry ? http://twitter.com/pnewberry1963
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TIGHTENING UP
Yeah, that San Francisco touchdown was worthy of a "Kaepernicking."
Colin Kaepernick cut Baltimore's lead to 31-29 on a 15-yard scoring run. After he crossed the goal line, Kaepernick let out a roar and kissed his right biceps ? the move that now known as "Kaepernicking."
The 49ers went for two, but Kaepernick's pass fell incomplete.
San Francisco has now racked up 23 points in 12 minutes and 20 seconds, a rate of almost two points a minute. Talk about a power surge.
? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour
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RAVENS SCORE, BUT NOT AS MUCH AS THEY WANTED
Even Baltimore's scores are going San Francisco's way.
The Niners came up with two huge stops after the Ravens got to the San Francisco 1, forcing Baltimore to settle for Justin Tucker's 19-yard field goal. Justin Smith stuffed Ray Rice for no gain, and Joe Flacco threw an incompletion on third down.
Baltimore still leads 31-23.
? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour
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ADS OVER FOOTBALL?
Even for a moment, is it possible Americans care more about commercials than football at the Super Bowl?
At the start of the fourth quarter, eight of nine unsponsored trending topics in the United States on Twitter have something to do with an ad ? not football or a power outage. The other isn't about football either, it's (hash)WhileWatchingTheGame, with people talking about doing other things.
? Oskar Garcia ? http://twitter.com/oskargarcia
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A BALLGAME AGAIN
Let the conspiracy theories begin!
After failing to score a touchdown in the first half and looking downright dismal offensively, the San Francisco 49ers have been unstoppable since the lights in the Superdome came back on and are now down by just five points. For those scoring at home, that's 17 points in four minutes, 10 seconds.
Still think that fake field goal on fourth-and-9 was a good idea, John Harbaugh?
After Colin Kaepernick's 14-yard pass to Vernon Davis put the Niners at the Baltimore 6 and Frank Gore ran it on the next play to make it 28-20. Baltimore had the ball for all of two plays when Ray Rice fumbled and San Francisco cornerback Tarell Brown recovered at the Baltimore 24.
The 49ers only managed three yards, and David Akers' 39-yard field goal attempt was wide left. But hold on ? San Francisco's newfound luck continued, with the Ravens getting whistled for running into the kicker. That's a 5-yard penalty, and Akers made this one to cut Baltimore's lead to 28-23.
? Nancy Armour ? http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour
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RALLY TIME?
Hey, the San Francisco 49ers scored a touchdown!
And 49ers fans everywhere collectively say, "Finally!"
Michael Crabtree caught a 31-yard touchdown pass with about 7 ? minutes left in the third quarter to cut Baltimore's lead to 28-13. San Francisco's only other points came on a pair of field goals by David Akers.
Don't get too excited yet, Niners fans. Your team is still down by 15 and no team has ever trailed by more than 10 and come back to win the Super Bowl.
? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour
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STAT OF THE DAY: 84 MINS REST
This stat of the day comes from CBS, which tracked how long Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense were off the field from halftime through a 109-yard kickoff return and a nearly 30-minute power outage.
That total: 84 minutes, about the equivalent of a children's animated film.
When the Ravens did take the field again, they punted without getting a first down.
? Oskar Garcia ? http://twitter.com/oskargarcia .
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QUICKQUOTE: JEROME BOGER
The head referee officiating the Super Bowl simply wanted to get the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers back to business.
To get play started, Jerome Boger simply stated: "Let's go."
The clock began rolling and play resumed.
? Oskar Garcia ? http://twitter.com/oskargarcia
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PLAY BALL!
Well, that was interesting.
Following a delay of 35 minutes caused by a power outage in the Superdome, the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers are back out on the field. And no jokes about how the Niners haven't allowed any points in a half-hour.
The Ravens had just scored to take a 28-6 lead when lights throughout the Superdome went dark. There was limited emergency power in the concourses and at the top of the dome, but the scoreboards and most of the lights were out.
The lights gradually began coming back on after about 25 minutes, and a loud buzz could be heard. Players returned to the field and, after 10 more minutes, play resumed with 13:22 left in the third quarter.
? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour
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1H AD HIGHLIGHTS
Here are some of the funnier highlights of the Super Bowl commercials during the first half:
? Best Buy's 30-second ad in the first quarter starred Amy Poehler, of NBC's "Parks and Recreation," asking a Best Buy employee endless questions about electronics.
"Will this one read '50 shades of Grey' to me in a sexy voice," Poehler asks about an e-book reader. When the staffer says no she asks, "Will you?"
? M&M's showed its red M singing Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything For Love," and wooing beautiful women, but stopping short when they try to eat him.
? Doritos went for humor with two user-created spots. Winners of the "Crash the Super Bowl" contest included one about a Doritos-crazy goat. Another showed a dad playing princess with his daughter to get Doritos. His buddies catch him, but instead of making fun of him they join in the fun. "Is that my wedding dress?" says his wife when she sees them playing.
? Budweiser showed rival 49ers and Ravens fans each creating a voodoo doll for the other team with the help of a mysterious figure in a bar. "It's only weird if it doesn't work," reads the copy.
? Mae Anderson ? http://twitter.com/maetron
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ALI WATCHING, DAUGHTER SAYS
One of Muhammad Ali's daughters says the boxer is watching the Super Bowl at his home in Arizona.
May May Ali knocked down rumors of her father being near death on Sunday, telling The Associated Press she spoke with him by phone on Sunday morning.
"He's fine, in fact he was talking well this morning," she said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "These rumors pop up every once in a while but there's nothing to them."
The rumors were started by a report in a British tabloid quoting Ali's brother, Rahman, as saying the former heavyweight champion was near death. Rahman, though, said he hadn't seen his brother since last summer and had no contact with the family.
The report was widely repeated on the Internet. Ali, 71, suffers from Parkinson's disease.
? Tim Dahlberg ? http://twitter.com/timdahlberg
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POWER OUTAGE
The power has gone out at the Superdome during the third quarter of the Super Bowl.
Minutes after Baltimore scored on a 109-yard Jacoby Jones kickoff return to take a 28-6 lead, several banks of arena lights went out in the dome. Emergency lights went on but play was immediately halted.
Players are standing on the field but when it became clear it would not be a brief outage, they left the field and went to the sideline.
Several of the Ravens are sitting on the field, stretching to try to keep loose.
Lights are on outside the dome; the outage appears confined to the arena.
? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour
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BEYONCE BRINGS IT
Beyonce wasn't messing around with her halftime performance.
No immediately obvious malfunctions, no weird cross-genre collaborations with rock stars or one-hit wonders.
Just Beyonce, then Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams to bring back Destiny's Child.
Beyonce sang a medley of hits, including "Crazy In Love," ''Baby Boy" and "Single Ladies." She also danced in front of a screen using multiple images of herself as a backup dancer when she wasn't backed by her all-female band and nearly two dozen dancers.
But when Rowland and Williams sprang up from trap doors onstage, the world got the performance it was anticipating.
Not surprisingly, the show dominated worldwide Twitter trends as the second half began.
? Oskar Garcia ? http://twitter.com/oskargarcia
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DAVID AKERS, 49ERS HERO. WHO KNEW?
Raise your hand if you had David Akers scoring all of San Francisco's points in the first half.
Yeah, didn't think so.
San Francisco's much-maligned kicker made two field goals, accounting for the 49ers' only points in what's shaping up to be a Baltimore rout. The Ravens have a 21-6 lead at halftime, and no team has ever come back to win the Super Bowl after trailing more than 10.
? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour
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GAME OVER, MAYBE NOT, BUT RAVENS SCORE AGAIN
The Baltimore Ravens are making a serious case for just awarding the Lombardi Trophy at halftime.
Joe Flacco threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones, who made San Francisco cornerback Chris Culliver look silly once again. This time, though, it wasn't for anything Culliver said.
Jones caught the ball at the 9, and Culliver completely whiffed on the tackle. Safety Dashon Goldson wasn't much better, running right by Jones when he came in to help. Jones then sprinted untouched into the end zone.
It was the 11th touchdown pass this postseason for Joe Flacco, matching an NFL record.
And, just a reminder, no team has ever been down by more than 10 points and come back to win the Super Bowl.
? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour
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PAST HALFTIME SNAFUS
As Beyonce prepares for her halftime show, many across the country will be looking as much for snafus as for highlights.
Last year, it was British singer M.I.A. giving the finger to 114 million people watching the halftime show. NBC censors were less than a second away from catching it.
And in 2004, Janet Jackson defined Super Bowl performance snafus when her wardrobe malfunction left a nipple exposed briefly to the audience.
? Oskar Garcia ? http://twitter.com/oskargarcia
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HEAD SCRATCHING PLAY
What the heck were the Baltimore Ravens thinking on that call?
Lined up for a 31-yard field goal on fourth-and-9, the Ravens went for the fake. Did we mention it was fourth-and-9? Kicker Justin Tucker got eight, and the Ravens turned the ball over on downs.
Had they kicked the field goal, they would have went up by two touchdowns.
Hey, at least they're still up 14-3.
? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour
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THAT'S NOT WHAT KAEPERNICK WANTED TO DO
This is starting to get ugly for the San Francisco 49ers.
They already trail 14-3, a larger deficit than any team has ever come back from to win the Super Bowl. On the first play after Baltimore's second score, Colin Kaepernick was intercepted. He was looking for Randy Moss but didn't come anywhere close, making for easy pickings by Ed Reed.
It was Reed's ninth career interception in the postseason.
Some pushing and shoving followed, but the refs quickly stepped in to separate the players.
? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour
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RAVENS GET ASSIST FROM NINERS ON SECOND TD
The Baltimore Ravens got an assist from the San Francisco 49ers on their latest touchdown.
Ed Dickson's 14-yard catch was a huge gain for the Ravens as is, bringing them to the San Francisco 15. But the 49ers got 15 more yards out of the play because Donte Whitner hauled Dickson down by his face mask ? a big no-no.
Two plays later, Flacco found Dennis Pitta for a 1-yard score that gave Baltimore a 14-3 lead. And the second quarter is only half over.
Oh, more bad news for the Niners? No team has ever trailed by more than 10 and come back to win the Super Bowl.
? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour
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REP: KEYS DIDN'T LIP SYNC
In case you were wondering, a spokeswoman for Alicia Keys says the singer did not lip sync during her national anthem at the Super Bowl.
Whether she would or wouldn't became a public debate after Beyonce admitted lip syncing the song at President Barack Obama's recent inauguration.
Beyonce made up for it by belting out a live version at her Super Bowl press conference earlier this week. She's the game's halftime performer ? and says she'll sing fully live.
? Mesfin Fekadu ?http://twitter.com/musicmesfin
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GOT TO HOLD ONTO THE FOOTBALL
FUMBLE!!!
The San Francisco 49ers stopped themselves when the Baltimore Ravens couldn't. After advancing to the Baltimore 24 yard line with first downs on three of their previous four plays, the 49ers turned the ball over on a fumble by LaMichael James.
The rookie running back spun away from Ravens safety Bernard Pollard only to be slammed by cornerback Corey Graham and linebacker Courtney Upshaw. The ball popped loose and San Francisco's drive was over.
? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour
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FIELD GOAL FOR NINERS BETTER THAN NOTHING
The San Francisco 49ers settled for a 36-yard field goal, cutting Baltimore's lead to 7-3, after Colin Kaepernick was sacked on third down.
Kaepernick and the Niners picked apart that stingy Baltimore defense on the drive, with Ray Lewis getting beat so badly on several plays it looked as if he'd already retired. A 24-yard catch by Vernon Davis put San Francisco at the Baltimore 8, and Kaepernick went deep to the end zone. But Michael Crabtree couldn't snag the ball, and it looked as if he might have tipped it, too, making it impossible for Randy Moss to grab, either.
Kaepernick was then sacked by Paul Kruger for a 10-yard loss, forcing them to kick the field goal. But David Akers, who has struggled all season, came through.
? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour
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RAVENS SCORE FIRST
The Baltimore Ravens are on the board first, taking a 7-0 lead on the San Francisco 49ers.
Baltimore caught a break when the 49ers were called for a penalty on third down, extending the Ravens' drive. On the next play, Joe Flacco found Anquan Boldin for a 13-yard touchdown.
Flacco has now thrown nine touchdowns in the postseason and no interceptions.
? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour
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ANTHEM: PIANO AND KEYS
Alicia Keys' national anthem before the Super Bowl was simple:
Just her in a red gown, singing and playing a white piano on the field.
Keys became a trending topic on Twitter after the anthem.
? Oskar Garcia ? http://twitter.com/oskargarcia .
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EMOTIONAL KICKOFF
The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers have a tough act to follow after an emotional performance by the chorus from Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The chorus, which featured 26 children from the Newtown, Conn., school where 20 first-graders and six adults were killed in a shooting rampage Dec. 14, were joined by Jennifer Hudson for "America the Beautiful" before the start of the Super Bowl. The kids came out first, dressed simply in khakis and white polo shirts, a green ribbon pinned to the right side of their shirts. Several were smiling as the Super Bowl crowd rose to give them a standing ovation. They sang the first chorus, their voices high and sweet with innocence, before Hudson joined them.
Hudson's mother and nephew were shot to death five years ago by her former brother-in-law.
It was a powerful image, and Ravens nose tackle Terrence Cody appeared to be crying as he listened with his head tilted back, his eyes closed. Baltimore coach John Harbaugh stood with his left arm draped over the shoulder of his daughter, Allison.
The children were given another ovation as they left the field.
? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour
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EDITOR'S NOTE ? "Super Bowl Watch" shows you the Super Bowl and the events surrounding the game through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across New Orleans and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/super-bowl-watch-ravens-win-stop-niners-surge-035705000--spt.html
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