Jackson Free Press

When working on this week's Super Bowl preview and prediction, I came across more information than I could fit in a single article for the paper. So, I figured with the big game just a couple of days away, why not share some of the rest of the information I found that I couldn't use in print.

Between the print article and the paper, you should be able to have plenty of stats and information to spread around at any Super Bowl Party you are attending. If you missed the print article here is the link.

Also, if you missed my rant this week, here is a link to it as well.

If anyone is hoping for the weather to warm up on Super Bowl Sunday, it is Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. In the playoffs when the temperature is under 40 degrees, Manning is 0-3 (to be fair as well all three of those games were on the road).

The coldest non-domed Super Bowl was at Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 24-3. The game was played in New Orleans at Tulane Stadium and the high was 43 and the low was 24.

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks quarterback, has only played in one game under 40 degrees. That was week 15 of this season against the New York Giants, in what will be stadium the game will be played in this Sunday. The Seahawks won that game 23-0.

Manning and Wilson will set a Super Bowl record when the game kicks off. The two quarterbacks will set the record for biggest age difference between two quarterbacks. There is a 12 year and 250 days difference in age between the two starting single callers.

At 25, Wilson would join both Joe Montana and Joe Namath also won the big game at the age of 25. The Seahawks quarterback also has the most wins at 27 (including playoffs) for a second year quarterback starting the Super Bowl.

Manning has the Super Bowl experience, which is good but Wilson has some recent Super Bowl numbers on his side. Quarterbacks with previous Super Bowl experience have been in 19 Super Bowls and those quarterbacks have a 10-9 record.

Wilson has the recent history on his side. The quarterbacks with experience haven't fared so well as the quarterbacks without experience have won the last three straight (Eli Manning over Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers over Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees over Manning).

Both these teams meet in the preseason this year. That is important if anyone tells you the preseason meeting doesn't matter.

This will be the seventh time, since 1994, teams who faced off in the preseason play in the Super Bowl. The team that won the meaningless game went on to win five of the six previous Super Bowls.

In the preseason Seattle beat Denver 40-10.

These two teams have meet 52 times in regular …

News this weekend was like reliving 1996 again. That summer Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf caught the eye of the nation and media when people found out that he would stay in the locker room or stretch on the sideline during the national anthem.

Abdul-Rauf, whose birth name is Chris Jackson, converted to Islam in 1991. He changed his name in 1993. He was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 1990 and could light up the scoreboard in the NBA on any given night.

Born in Gulfport, Miss., Abdul-Rauf became one of the most highly recruited basketball players in the history of the state. When he was known as Chris Jackson, Abdul-Rauf was a standout player at Gulfport High School and Louisiana State University.

Abdul-Rauf was a smooth guard in high school and college and could score with the best in the country. He was a two-time Mr. Basketball in Mississippi and played in the McDonald’s All-American game.

He was also one of the best free-throw shooters in NBA history. Maybe, if not for the national-anthem firestorm, he could have earned the best free-throw percentage in league history.

Abdul-Rauf called the American flag “a symbol of oppression, of tyranny” when asked why he didn’t join his teammates during the national anthem. Fans, media, fellow players and more were divided on how to respond to him.

In June 1996, Abdul-Rauf was traded to Sacramento Kings, where he spent the next two years as mainly a reserve. He played overseas before resurfacing from 2000 to 2001 to play with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Abdul-Rauf didn’t play another minute in the NBA after his single season with the Grizzlies. He finished his career playing overseas in several countries.

Injuries played a part in Abdul-Rauf’s fall from the NBA, but the national anthem controversy without a doubt played a part in his exit from the league.

Fast-forward 20 years, and we are nearly at the same moment once again.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was the focus of a ton of media and social media attention this weekend for not standing for the national anthem.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. "To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

The quarterback is entering his sixth year in the league, and there is a chance that his decision could cause him to not make the final roster. There are a few reasons he could make the team, but this would be his final year.

Just a couple of seasons ago, Kaepernick looked like he was going to be one of the