By Peter Yoder

TWIF Featured Columnist

Finally. It is that time of the year.

Where all the media flock, all the cameras and the celebrities come to party and spend all their money on…puppy adoption.

Well, that’s not really the case. Yet.

However, I got a deal going with Madonna and Angelina Jolie (who both are notorious for their adoption exploits…although it being of humans). And it could pan out.

Yes, that’s right. It’s time for the Puppy Bowl!

After first witnessing the Puppy Bowl, I could not decide if this should replace my regular channel surfing during halftime of the Super Bowl, or if I in a roundabout of situational TV, I found it more valuable than the Super Bowl’s actual halftime show.

Well, as fate would have it, and as I first tuned into the Puppy Bowl, I forgot to turn The Game back on, so the Puppy Bowl speaks for itself.

Or maybe that was from the gas leak my landlord warned me about…I’m not sure because I can’t remember. Regardless, this was the first Puppy Bowl I had experienced.

So what’s in store for this year’s clash of infantile canines? Well here we go…

This will be the sixth annual Puppy Bowl.

Not only is this a fun programming event for others who want an option instead of the Super Bowl, or who are not interested in seeing another wardrobe malfunction or a nip slip from The Who (who will perform during this year’s Super Bowl halftime), but the Puppy Bowl is also for a good cause. 

All of these puppies are from shelters across the nation, and are up for adoption. The proceeds raised from the event go toward adoption awareness. 

The gridiron pooches are not just in the event itself, but there is a crew of them outside “tail”gating (I’m guessing these are the dogs that got cut during training camp).

Check out this from the Animal Planet Web site:

“For the first time in Puppy Bowl history, all the action will be captured in panoramic view with aerial coverage provided by the Twizzler’s blimp and its rogue hamster crew. In another fun first, the sidelines will also be hopping with the addition of spirited bunny rabbit cheerleaders. Animal Planet has also booked a bevy of frolicking felines for an all-new edition of the Kitty Halftime Show.”

Ah…hamsters running the Twizzler’s Blimp…this kind of worries me as I’m not sure they are capable of doing that. Who tested the hamsters’ vision? And how would we know anything about hamster vision?

Nonetheless, the scoring for the Puppy Bowl is a bit different.

When a puppy drags one of the football-shaped toys into the end zone, a “puppy touchdown” is declared.

Penalties are issued for puppies relieving themselves on the field (two thumbs up on that one). Timeouts are called if the water bowl needs to be refilled, or if the puppies begin to fight.

All said, though, there is one aspect that will be sorely missed: the recently deceased Harry Kalas.

Kalas was the radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Philadelphia Phillies and provided the voice over for those infamous NFL films showcasing the great games and players of yesteryear. He also worked for the TV program “Inside the NFL.”

And during the five years of the Puppy Bowl’s existence, Kalas was the play-by-play voice. Needless to say, his absence from this year’s event will certainly be noticed.

So tune into the Animal Planet at 3:30 p.m. EST on Super Bowl Sunday for the sixth annual Puppy Bowl and vege out.