Sent by Rich Nye:

Okay, so Miami is looking pretty good right now at 72 and sunny. I don’t wish I was there working 18-hour days like our crew is right now, but I wouldn’t mind going for a vacay sometime.

WTHR sports director enjoys a meal the night before the Super bowl.

Engineer Roger Bishop snapped these great shots…go Colts!

Inside the stadium:

Dave Calabro:

President Barack Obama’s counterterrorism adviser says he’s not aware of any credible terrorist threats
against the Super Bowl.
 
John Brennan says officials are “very comfortable” with the security measures in place for Sunday night’s game in Miami between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts.

Fans aren’t going to be allowed to bring large bags into the Super Bowl stadium.

Also, there will be 100 magnetometers – like those in use at airports – to detect metal objects.

Other measures include radiological, biological and chemical weapon detection and protection devices. And nearly everyone entering the stadium will be subjected to a pat-down search.

Davie, FLA – One day before Super Bowl XLIV, not much had changed for the Colts in the injury department.

The team held their final practice Saturday. Defensive end Dwight Freeney did not participate, spending the session on a golf cart. Freeney is out with an injured ankle…in case you hadn’t heard.

Cornerback Jerraud Powers did light work. Reggie Wayne, who left practice a little early Friday with an injured knee, participated in his usual first team offense duties no worse for wear.

The Colts had a light, 35-minute walk-through. Freeney’s ankle still appears to be tender, but he didn’t have it wrapped Saturday.

Colts Coach Jim Caldwell said Friday that Freeney had improved since Thursday, but it’s still going to be a game-day decision. Caldwell said that practice is going according to plan, and that the team’s overall condition had improved during the week.

The rookie coach says things are moving in the right direction for the Colts.

Miami – The Super Bowl coaches made their final pregame comments to the media Friday morning. The players stopped talking Thursday. But the game is still two days away. So I have plenty of talking left before kickoff.

The Colts are 5 1/2 point favorites in the last betting line I saw. I think this game is closer than that. I remember three years ago feeling very confident that the Colts would beat the Bears. I don’t have that feeling at all about this game. I think this is a great matchup between clearly the two best teams in the NFL this season.  

An argument can be made that even though Peyton Manning won the NFL MVP award for a record 4th time, Drew Brees actually had a better season. The former Purdue quarterback led the NFL in passer rating, touchdown passes and completion percentage. His 70.6% completion percentage set an NFL record. The Colts played power running teams in the first two playoffs games. The Saints are more explosive, in fact the best offense in the NFL by yards and points. The Colts are not going to shut down the Saints. They must hope to hold them to some field goals and force a turnover or two.

The Saints defense is not overly impressive by league rankings. But they are opportunistic. The Saints ranked 2nd in takeaways this season. Darren Sharper led the NFL with 9 interceptions. The Saints scored more points as a defense than any other team in the league. I have to believe the Colts are going to score plenty of points if they don’t turn the ball over.

The Colts won more games this decade than any team in any decade. But they have just one Super Bowl appearance and victory in that decade. Another Vince Lombardi trophy Sunday would solidify the Colts as a dynasty of the decade. After throwing away a shot at perfection, this team needs to prove its greatness Sunday.  

The Colts have not lost a game that mattered this season. I’ll stick with my prediction from earlier this week. Colts 31, Saints 28.

Rich Nye, Sports Reporter

WTHR, Channel 13

rnye@wthr.com

Follow Rich at TheSportsGuy13 on Twitter