Bundle up Super Bowl fans, the NFL owners awarded Super Bowl 48 in 2014 to New York/New Jersey and the brand new Meadowlands Stadium opening this fall as the home of the Giants and Jets.  It will be the first outdoor, cold weather site for the championship game.   The Big Apple beat out bids from Super Bowl regulars Miami and Tampa Bay.   Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy voted for the idea.  Why not?  He hopes his team which calls the frozen tundra home just might be a contender for that game and they might as well play in the elements.  The average high temperature in metropolitan New York the first week of February is around 34 degrees.  Don't forget the game kicks off after sunset so it will probably be cooler than that.  The league is already thinking ahead, planning to pass out hand warmers and heated seat cushions as souveniers.

On more pressing matters, the NFL owners tabled the overtime rule change to include the regular season.  In March, the league decided to alter it's OT format for only the playoffs.  A team that wins the toss and settles for a field goal, has to allow the opponent one shot with the ball.  Any touchdown will still end the game.  Owners fumbled the ball by not including the regular season to make it consistent.  Expect the first team to lose the regular season finale in overtime by not touching the ball on offense and getting denied a playoff spot to whine mightily.

Commissioner Roger Goodell also announced Tuesday the league and the NFL Players Association will sit down for substantive talks on a new collective bargaining agreement early in June.  The negoitations have been very tepid to date and time is running out.  Already headed into an uncapped year, the CBA expires after the 2010 season and considering how much is on the table, a work stoppage appears inevitible if the talks don't start moving forward soon.

The Packers will premier their 2009 highlight film next Wednesday night, June 2 at the Lambeau Field atrium.  Nick Barnett will be the host for the free event at 7:00 PM.  The title of the film is "12 days to contenders" referencing a stretch of three wins against the Cowboys, 49ers and Lions in a 12 day stretch that propelled the Pack back into the playoffs.