The starting rosters for the game were released on December 18, 2007, with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady starting for the AFC and the Green Bay Packers' Brett Favre for the NFC. However, Brett Favre withdrew due to an ankle injury. Notable Pro Bowl selections included the late Sean Taylor. The Dallas Cowboys had a record thirteen players named to the Pro Bowl roster, while five teams, including all four members of the NFC South, had no players initially named (Jeff Garcia of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was later chosen as a replacement quarterback for Brett Favre.) On February 4, 2008, Brady, Patriots receiver Randy Moss, Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, and Chargers defensive lineman Jamal Williams decided to pull out of the 2008 Pro Bowl. Brady was replaced by Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson, Moss was replaced by Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson, Gates was replaced by Browns tight end Kellen Winslow, and Williams was replaced by Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Casey Hampton.[3]

The AFC was coached by Norv Turner of the San Diego Chargers staff, while Mike McCarthy and the staff of the Green Bay Packers coached the NFC. Three Washington Redskins players (Chris Cooley, Chris Samuels and Ethan Albright) wore #21 in memory of Taylor, their deceased teammate.[4] The game featured 41 players appearing in their first Pro Bowl (out of 86 total players), the most in eight years.[5] In addition, the NFC played their first defensive play with only ten players on the field, lacking a free safety, in Taylor's honor.

The game was the most watched Pro Bowl since 2000, pulling in a Nielsen rating of 6.3 and a 12 share.[6] It also marked the first ever Pro Bowl to be televised by Fox. The 2008 Pro Bowl also marked the fewest players represented by a Super Bowl winning team, with Osi Umenyiora being the lone representative of the New York Giants, winners of Super Bowl XLII.

The game marked a coaching rematch of a regular season meeting. The AFC was coached by Baltimore's John Harbaugh, while the NFC's coach was Philadelphia's Andy Reid.

The team was established in Chicago in 1898 and was a charter member of the NFL in 1920. Along with the Chicago Bears, the club is one of two franchises still in operation since the league's founding. The club moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1960 and played in that city through 1987 (sometimes referred to as the "football Cardinals", "Big Red", "Gridbirds" or "Cardiac Cards" to avoid confusion with the baseball St. Louis Cardinals). Before the 1988 NFL season, the team moved to Tempe, Arizona, an eastern suburb of Phoenix, and played their home games for the next 18 years at Arizona State University's Sun Devil Stadium. In 2006 the club began playing all home games at the newly constructed University of Phoenix Stadium in the northwestern suburb of Glendale.

The franchise's lone NFL championship game victory came in 1947 while they were based in Chicago, and came two decades before the first Super Bowl game was ever played. The club's other NFL championship occurred in 1925, eight years before the league began holding a championship game, and is a controversial title to this day. The much contested title was believed to belong to the Pottsville Maroons but was given to the Cardinals instead in what is called the 1925 NFL Championship controversy. In the six-plus decades since winning the championship in 1947, the Cardinals have qualified for the playoffs only six times and have won only five playoff games, three of which were achieved during their run in the 2008-09 NFL Playoffs in which they reached Super Bowl XLIII. The team has also won only four division titles (1974, 1975, 2008, and 2009) since their 1947–1948 NFL championship game appearances. In addition, the club has won one NFC Championship Game in 2008.

The Cardinals conduct their annual summer training camp at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

The Bills won two consecutive American Football League titles in 1964 and 1965, but the club has not won a league championship since the merger. Buffalo is also the only team to win four consecutive American Football Conference Championships -- and the only team ever to play in four consecutive Super Bowl games. Since the NFL's expansion to 32 teams in 2002 the Bills are the only AFC non-expansion team to not make the playoffs.[citation needed]

The Bills were named as the result of the winning entry in a local contest, which named the team after the AAFC Buffalo Bills, a previous football franchise from the All-America Football Conference that merged with the Cleveland Browns in 1950. That team, in turn, was named after William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody. The Bills' cheerleaders are known as the Buffalo Jills. The official mascot is Billy Buffalo.

The Bills conduct summer training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, New York, a suburb of Rochester.

They are the only NFL team to play their home games within New York State. Both the New York Jets and the New York Giants play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, near New York City. On October 2, 2005, the Bills played the New Orleans Saints in the first NFL regular-season game held in San Antonio, Texas. With the inception of the 5-year Bills Toronto Series deal in 2008 that is good through 2012, they are also the only team to play a home game in Canada. The franchise has tremendous support in the Western New York region.

On January 4, 2010 the Bills informed their entire coaching staff that they were free to seek employment with other teams, in an effort to renew and revitalize the struggling organization. On January 19, 2010, the Bills named Chan Gailey as their next head coach.

The Bears have won nine professional American football league championships (eight NFL Championships and Super Bowl XX). The Bears have the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with 26 members. The Bears have also recorded more regular season and overall victories than any other NFL franchise. The franchise recorded its 700th win on December 7, 2008.[2][3][4]

The club was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919[5], and moved to Chicago in 1921. Along with the Arizona Cardinals (originally from Chicago), it is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFL's founding. The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season. With the exception of the 2002 season, they have played their home games at Chicago's Soldier Field every year since 1971. The stadium is located next to Lake Michigan, and was recently remodeled in a modernization intended to update stadium amenities while preserving a historic Chicago structure. The team has a storied, long-standing rivalry with the Green Bay Packers, whom they have played 178 times. The Bears currently hold the edge in head to head match ups with a record of 90–82–5.[6]

The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois. The Bears practice at adjoining facilities there during the season. They hold their annual training camp from late July to mid-August at Ward Field on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

The Bengals are the current AFC North Division Champions.

The Bengals currently conduct summer training camp at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky and play home games at Paul Brown Stadium in Downtown Cincinnati.

Cleveland has won a total of eight league championships. They won all four AAFC titles (including a 15-0 undefeated season in 1948), and after joining the NFL won four additional championships prior to the league's merger with the American Football League (AFL) in 1970. Following the merger, the Browns were one of three NFL teams which joined the ten former AFL teams to form the new American Football Conference. Despite having the sixth-highest winning percentage of all NFL franchises [1], the Browns have not played in a league championship game since the merger; however, they have competed for the AFC Championship three times. Having lost all three games, along with two NFL Championship Games of the Super Bowl era prior to the merger (in 1968 and 1969), Cleveland is one of four NFL teams that has yet to reach the Super Bowl. Furthermore, Cleveland has never hosted a Super Bowl, making it the only NFL city to have neither hosted nor sent a team to the Super Bowl.[2][3]

An article from Forbes Magazine, dated September 2, 2009, lists the Cowboys as the highest valued sports franchise in the history of the United States, and second in the world (behind the United Kingdom's Manchester United), with an estimated value of approximately $1.65 billion, above the Washington Redskins ($1.5 billion) and the New England Patriots ($1.361 billion).[5] They are also the wealthiest team in the NFL, generating almost $269 million in annual revenue.[6]

Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and called the Portsmouth Spartans, the team began play in 1929 as an independent professional team,[1] one of many such teams in the Ohio and Scioto River valleys. For the 1930 season, the Spartans formally joined the National Football League (NFL) as the other area independents folded because of the Great Depression. Despite success within the NFL, they could not survive in Portsmouth, then the NFL's smallest city. The team was purchased and moved to Detroit for the 1934 season.

The Lions have won four NFL Championships, the last in 1957, giving the club the second-longest NFL championship drought behind the Arizona Cardinals, who last won in 1947 (as the Chicago Cardinals). The Lions are one of four current NFL teams that have yet to qualify for the Super Bowl. The team has qualified for the playoffs only nine times in the more than 50 years since winning the 1957 championship.

The Lions hold the second longest regular season losing streak in NFL history; losing 19 straight games from the final week of the 2007 season and ending on September 27, 2009, when the Lions defeated the Washington Redskins 19–14. It is second only to the 1976–77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers' losing streak of 26. Also since the NFL's expansion to 32 teams in 2002 the Lions are the only NFC team to not make the playoffs.

The 2008 Detroit Lions became the only team in NFL history to lose all 16 regular-season games. Ironically, their preseason record had been 4-0. They are only the second team to go winless without a tie (next to the 0–14 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers) since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. They went 2–14 in 2009. The Lions currently hold a 20 game road losing streak, the 4th longest in NFL history.

The Packers are the last vestige of "small town teams" that were once common in the NFL during the 1920s and 1930s. Founded in 1919 by Earl "Curly" Lambeau (hence the name Lambeau Field in which the team plays) and George Whitney Calhoun, the Green Bay Packers can trace their lineage to other semi-professional teams in Green Bay dating back to 1896. In 1919 and 1920 the Packers competed as a semi-professional football team against clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest. They joined the American Professional Football Association (APFA) in 1921, the forerunner to what is known today as the National Football League (NFL).

The Green Bay Packers have won twelve league championships (more than any other team in the NFL) including nine NFL Championships prior to the Super Bowl era and three Super Bowl victories in 1967 (Super Bowl I), 1968 (Super Bowl II) and 1996 (Super Bowl XXXI). The team has a historic rivalry with the Chicago Bears, whom they have played in over 170 games. The Packers also share a fierce blood rivalry with the Minnesota Vikings, who also reside in the NFC North along with the Packers, and the Dallas Cowboys who have historically been known as the Packers largest playoff rivals after the Packers defeated them in the famous Ice Bowl.[3]

The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States. Beginning with the 1992 season, the Packers had 13 non-losing seasons in a row (their worst record being 8–8 in 1999), two Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl win (Super Bowl XXXI). The Packers' 13 consecutive non-losing seasons was an active NFL record until the team finally suffered a losing campaign in 2005. They returned to playoff form with winning campaigns in 2007 (13-3), reaching the NFC Championship game and 2009 (11-5) under current head coach Mike McCarthy.

The club was officially founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1953, but can trace its history to the Dayton Triangles, a founding member of the NFL that was originally created in 1913. After a series of changes, it assumed the "Baltimore Colts" name, replacing a previous team that folded in 1950. Playing at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, the Colts became the first NFL team to have cheerleaders. The team then relocated to Indianapolis in 1984, first playing at the Hoosier Dome, which was then renamed the RCA Dome before moving to Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008.

The Colts won four NFL championships (three NFL Championships in 1958, 1959, 1968; and Super Bowl V in 1971) while in Baltimore. Since moving to Indianapolis, they won Super Bowl XLI in 2007. Also since 1998, the team has become the first in league history to win 12 games or more in five consecutive seasons�extending this record to seven after the 2009 season. The team headquarters and practice facilities are also located in Indianapolis. The club currently holds their annual training camp from late July to mid-August on the campus of Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana.

The club has played all of its home games at EverBank Field. The stadium is located near the St. Johns River. The team headquarters is also located in the stadium. The Jaguars practice during the season and training camp in the stadium and on adjoining practice fields.

From 1960 to 1969, the Chiefs were a successful franchise in the AFL, winning three league championships (1962, 1966, 1969) and having an all-time AFL record of 92–50–5.[3] The Chiefs were the second AFL team (after the New York Jets) to defeat an NFL franchise in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. The team's victory on January 11, 1970 remains the club's last championship game victory and appearance to date. The Chiefs were the second team, after the Green Bay Packers, to appear in more than one Super Bowl; and, they were the first team to appear in the championship game in two different decades.

The team made its first Super Bowl appearance following the 1971 season in Super Bowl VI, but lost to the Dallas Cowboys. In 1972, the Dolphins completed the NFL's first and only perfect season culminating in a Super Bowl win, winning all 14 regular season games, two playoff games and Super Bowl VII. The achievement became the fourth pro football team to accomplish the feat along with the 1937 Los Angeles Bulldogs (16-0-0, AFL), the 1948 Calgary Stampeders (14-0-0, CFL) and the 1948 Cleveland Browns (15-0-0, AAFC).

The 1972 Dolphins held the fourth perfect regular season in NFL history, but the other three teams were beaten in the NFL Championship game. The team also won Super Bowl VIII, becoming the first team to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls, and the second team (first AFL/AFC team) to win back-to-back championships. Miami also appeared in Super Bowl XVII and Super Bowl XIX, losing both games.

For most of their early history, the Dolphins were coached by Don Shula, the winningest head coach in professional football history. His Dolphins teams posted losing records in only two of his 26 seasons with the club. Six future Hall of Fame members played for Miami during the 1970s, including running back Larry Csonka and quarterback Bob Griese. During the 1980s and 1990s quarterback Dan Marino became the most prolific passer in NFL history, breaking numerous league passing records. He led the Dolphins to five division titles, 10 playoff appearances and Super Bowl XIX before retiring after the 1999 season.

The Vikings have been one of the most successful NFL franchises.[1] They currently have the fifth-highest winning percentage in the NFL. They are also one of only five NFL teams to win fifteen games during the regular season. The Vikings have won one NFL championship (pre-1970 AFL-NFL Merger), but subsequently lost 23–7 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV. The Vikings were the first team to play in four Super Bowls, though losing them. The Vikings have won their division 18 times, third most among teams currently playing in the NFL and most among current teams in their division. Counting playoff appearances only after 1970, they are tied with the second most in the league. No team has as many NFC or AFC Championship game appearances (nine) without a Super Bowl title. Only three other NFC teams have played in more Super Bowls than the Vikings. The team currently has ten members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The team played home games at Metropolitan Stadium through the 1981 NFL season and have played their home games at Mall of America Field at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome since 1982. The Vikings have been conducting summer training camp at Minnesota State University, Mankato since 1966. From 1961–65 they held camp at Bemidji State University.

An original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of those leagues. The team advanced to the playoffs four times before appearing in Super Bowl XX in January 1986, losing to the Chicago Bears. The team also appeared in Super Bowl XXXI in January 1997, losing to the Green Bay Packers.

Between 2001 and 2005, the Patriots became the second team in NFL history (after the Dallas Cowboys) to win three Super Bowls in four years (Super Bowl XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX), and the eighth to win consecutive Super Bowls. The Patriots, however, were defeated by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, after winning the first 18 games of their 2007 season. Under quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots have also compiled the longest winning streak consisting of regular season and playoff games in NFL history, a 21-game streak from October 2003–October 2004.

The Saints were founded on November 1, 1966 as an expansion team and played their home games at Tulane Stadium through the 1974 season. They went more than a decade before they managed to finish a season with a .500 record, two decades before having a winning season, and over four decades before reaching the Super Bowl. The team's first successful years were from 1987–1992, when the team made the playoffs four times and had winning records in the non-playoff seasons. In the 2000 season, the Saints defeated the then-defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams for the team's first playoff win.

The Saints reached the NFC Championship Game in the 2006 season but lost 39–14 to the Chicago Bears. They repeated this feat in their most successful season in 2009, this time winning the game and their first conference championship to send them to their first Super Bowl appearance. At Super Bowl XLIV, the Saints won the city of New Orleans its first league championship, defeating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17.

Since 1975, the Saints' home stadium has been the Louisiana Superdome,[1] except for the 2005 disruption caused by Hurricane Katrina.

The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). They were one of five teams that joined the NFL in 1925, but the only one admitted that year which still exists.

The Giants rank third among all NFL franchises with seven NFL titles: four in the pre–Super Bowl era (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956) and three since the advent of the Super Bowl (Super Bowls XXI (1986), XXV (1990), and XLII (2007). Their championship tally is surpassed only by the Green Bay Packers (12) and Chicago Bears (9). During their history, the Giants have featured 15 Hall of Fame players, including NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winners Mel Hein, Frank Gifford, Charlie Conerly, Y. A. Tittle, and Lawrence Taylor.

To distinguish it from the professional baseball team of the same name, the football team was incorporated as the "New York National League Football Company, Inc." in 1929 and changed to "New York Football Giants, Inc." in 1937. Although the baseball team moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season, the football team continues to use "New York Football Giants, Inc." as its legal corporate name,[1] and is often referred to by fans and sportscasters as the "New York Football Giants". The team has also gained several nicknames, including "Big Blue," the "G-Men", and the "Jints," an intentionally mangled abbreviation seen frequently in the New York Post and New York Daily News, originating from the baseball team when they were based in New York. Additionally the team as a whole is occasionally referred to as the "Big Blue Wrecking Crew", even though this moniker primarily and originally refers to the Giants defensive unit during the 80's and early 90's. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

The Jets hold the distinction of being the first AFL team to defeat an NFL club in an AFL-NFL World Championship Game when they defeated the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.[4]

During their first three seasons, the Raiders struggled both on and off the field. In 1963, Al Davis was brought to the team as head coach and general manager, and from 1963 until 2002 the team had only seven losing seasons. He also initiated the use of team slogans such as "Pride and Poise," "Commitment to Excellence," and "Just Win, Baby"�all of which are registered trademarks.[1][2][3] Except for a brief term as AFL Commissioner in 1966, Davis has been with the team continuously. Upon his return to Oakland in 1966, he became a managing partner of the franchise.

After a few years of legal battles, Davis moved the team from Oakland to Los Angeles, California, in 1982. While in LA, the Raiders won their third Super Bowl, but made just two playoff appearances through the rest of the 1980s. In 1995, Davis moved the team back to Oakland. In 2000, head coach Jon Gruden led Oakland to a 12–4 season and their first division title since 1990, which was the first of a 3-year winning streak for the Raiders in the AFC West. In 2002, under head coach Bill Callahan, Oakland faced Gruden's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, where the team lost a lopsided affair, 48–21. Following the loss, the team won a league-worst 26 games during the six full seasons from 2003-2008.

The club was established in 1933 as a replacement for the bankrupt Frankford Yellow Jackets after a syndicate led by future NFL commissioner Bert Bell purchased the rights to a Philadelphia franchise from the league. The Eagles were named after the Blue Eagle, a symbol used for the New Deal stimulus programs initiated during the Great Depression.

Eagles players who have been inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame include Chuck Bednarik, Bob Brown, Reggie White, Steve Van Buren, Tommy McDonald, Earle "Greasy" Neale, Pete Pihos, Sonny Jurgensen and Norm Van Brocklin. Bell was also inducted as a contributor.

The fifth-oldest franchise in the NFL, the Steelers were founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8, 1933, by Art Rooney, taking its original name from the National League baseball team of the same name, as was common practice for NFL teams to do at the time.[1] The ownership of the Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since its founding.[2] The current owner is Art's son, Dan Rooney, who has given much control of the franchise to his son Art Rooney II.

The team enjoys a large, widespread fanbase nicknamed Steeler Nation[3] and currently play their home games in Heinz Field on Pittsburgh's North Side, which also hosts the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. Built in 2001, the stadium replaced Three Rivers Stadium which hosted the Steelers for 31 seasons. Prior to Three Rivers, the Steelers had played their games in Pitt Stadium and Forbes Field.

The Chargers are the only team to start a season 0-4 and make the playoffs (1992), and the only team to start a season 4-8 and make the playoffs (2008).

The Chargers won one AFL title in 1963 and reached the AFL playoffs five times and the AFL Championship four times before joining the NFL (1970) as part of the AFL-NFL Merger.[1] In the 34 years since then, the Chargers have made ten trips to the playoffs and four appearances in the AFC Championship game.[1] At the end of the 1994 season, the Chargers faced the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX and fell 49-26.[1] The Chargers have six players and one coach enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio: wide receiver Lance Alworth (1962-1970), defensive end Fred Dean (1975-1981), quarterback Dan Fouts (1973-1987), head coach/general manager Sid Gillman (1960-1969, 1971), wide receiver Charlie Joiner (1976-1986), offensive lineman Ron Mix (1960–1969) and tight end Kellen Winslow (1979-1987).[2]

The 49ers began play in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and joined the NFL in 1950 after the AAFC merged into the older league. The team was the first NFL franchise to win five Super Bowls. San Francisco is second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl wins (6) and tied with the Dallas Cowboys with 5 each. Their five league titles place them in a four-way tie for fifth behind the Green Bay Packers (12), the Chicago Bears (9), the New York Giants (7), and the Steelers (6).

The 49ers teams of the 1980s and early 1990s were a great dynasty given their five Super Bowl triumphs in that span, including four in the 1980s. The Niners won 10 or more games for 16 straight seasons. Particularly notable seasons are the 1984 and 1989 teams. Three-time Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana, perennial Pro Bowler Ronnie Lott, all-time highest career quarterback rating holder Steve Young, and career touchdown leader Jerry Rice played for the 49ers during this period. Additionally, some of the most memorable plays (including "The Catch") and games (such as Super Bowl XXIII) were played by this team.

The name "49ers" comes from the name given to the gold prospectors who arrived in Northern California around 1849 during the California Gold Rush.

The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio. The NFL considers the franchise as a second incarnation of the previous Cleveland Rams team that was a charter member of the second American Football League. Although the NFL granted membership to the same owner, the NFL considers it a separate entity since only four of the players (William "Bud" Cooper, Harry "The Horse" Mattos, Stan Pincura, and Mike Sebastian) and none of the team's management joined the new NFL team.[1]

The team then became known as the Los Angeles Rams after the club moved to Los Angeles, California in 1946, opting not to compete with Paul Brown's Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference. Following the 1979 season, the Rams moved south to the suburbs in nearby Orange County, playing their home games at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim for fifteen seasons (1980–94), keeping the Los Angeles name. The club moved east to St. Louis prior to the 1995 season.

The team relocated from Houston, Texas to the state of Tennessee in 1997, first playing temporarily in Memphis for one season before moving to Nashville. For two seasons, the team was known as the Tennessee Oilers before changing its name to Titans in 1999.

The Redskins won the 1937 and 1942 Championship games, as well as Super Bowls XVII, XXII, and XXVI. They also played in and lost the 1936, 1940, 1943, and 1945 Championship games, as well as Super Bowls VII and XVIII. They have made twenty-two postseason appearances, and have an overall postseason record of 23 wins and 17 losses. Only four teams have appeared in more Super Bowls than the Redskins: the Dallas Cowboys (eight), Pittsburgh Steelers (seven), Denver Broncos (six), and New England Patriots (six); the Redskins' five appearances are tied with the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, and Miami Dolphins.[2]

All of the Redskins' league titles were attained during two ten-year spans. From 1936 to 1945, the Redskins went to the NFL Championship six times, winning two of them.[3] The second period lasted between 1982 and 1991 where the Redskins appeared in the postseason seven times, captured four Conference titles, and won three Super Bowls out of four appearances.[3] The Redskins have also experienced failure in their history. The most notable period of failure was from 1946 to 1970, during which the Redskins did not have a single postseason appearance.[1] During this period, the Redskins went without a single winning season between 1956 and 1968.[1] In 1961, the franchise posted their worst regular season record with a 1–12–1 showing.[1]

According to Forbes Magazine, the Redskins are the second most valuable franchise in the NFL, behind the Dallas Cowboys, and were valued at approximately $1.55 billion as of 2009.[4] Being the second most valuable franchise, the Redskins remain the highest grossing team in the NFL with $345 million in revenue during the 2009 season.[4] They have also broken the NFL's mark for single-season attendance eight years in a row.[5]

The Redskins were the first team in the NFL with an official marching band. The other team with a marching band is the Baltimore Ravens, their regional rivals.[6] The Redskins were the second team to have a fight song, "Hail to the Redskins".

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Boston was a dominant team in the new league, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903 and winning four more championships by 1918. However, they then went into one of the longest championship droughts in baseball history, called by some the "Curse of the Bambino" after its alleged beginning with the Red Sox's sale of Babe Ruth to the rival Yankees in 1918, an 86-year wait before the team's sixth World Championship in 2004. However, the team's history during that period was hardly one of futility, but was rather punctuated with some of the most memorable moments in World Series history, including Enos Slaughter's "mad dash" in 1946, the "Impossible Dream" of 1967, Carlton Fisk's home run in 1975, and Bill Buckner's error in 1986. Red Sox history has also been marked by the team's intense rivalry with the New York Yankees, arguably the fiercest and most historic in North American professional sports. Since 2003, the Red Sox have been perennial playoff contenders and have won two World Series, emerging as one of the most successful MLB teams of the last decade.

The Red Sox are consistently one of the top MLB teams in average road attendance, while the small capacity of Fenway Park prevents them from leading in overall attendance.[2][3] Every home game since May 15, 2003 has been sold out�a span of over seven years and an MLB record.[4]

The Cubs have not won the World Series in 102 years; a longer championship drought than that of any other major North American professional sports team.[1][2] The Cubs are often referred to as "The Lovable Losers" because of this distinction. They are also known as "The North Siders" because Wrigley Field, their home park since 1916, is located in Chicago's north side Lakeview community. They are also often called "The Boys in Blue" noting the team's primary uniform color, (which itself is often referred to as "Cubbie Blue") or simply as "The Cubbies."[3]

Chicago's manager is Mike Quade, who took over for Lou Piniella, who originally announced his retirement after the 2010 season, but instead left on August 22 due to in-family health issues while their general manager is Jim Hendry. The Cubs have rivalries with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the cross-town Chicago White Sox.

The club, which is the oldest active team in major North American sports still currently in its original city (only the Braves, who were also professionally founded in 1871 and did not lose two years due to the Great Chicago Fire, have played longer), is currently owned by a family trust of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, with his son Tom Ricketts operating the team on a daily basis. The Cubs used to be owned by the Wrigley Company and the Chicago Tribune

One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Chicago team was established as a major league baseball club in 1900. The club was originally called the Chicago White Stockings, after the nickname abandoned by the Cubs, and the name was soon shortened to Chicago White Sox, believed to have been because the paper would shorten it to Sox in the headlines. At this time, the team played their home games at South Side Park. In 1910, the team moved into historic Comiskey Park, which they would inhabit for more than eight decades.

The White Sox were a strong team during their first two decades, winning the 1906 World Series with a defense-oriented team dubbed "the Hitless Wonders", and the 1917 World Series led by Eddie Cicotte, Eddie Collins, and Shoeless Joe Jackson. The 1919 World Series, however, was marred by the Black Sox Scandal, in which several prominent members of the White Sox (including Cicotte and Jackson) were accused of conspiring with gamblers to purposefully lose games. Baseball's new commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis took decisive action, banning the tainted players from Major League Baseball for life. Decades of mediocrity followed for the White Sox until the 1950s, when perennially competitive teams were blocked from the playoffs by the dynastic New York Yankees, with the exception of the 1959 pennant winners led by Early Wynn, Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, and manager Al Lopez. Another pennant winner did not come until their championship season of 2005, when the White Sox won their first World Series championship in 88 years, breaking their epochal drought only a year after the Boston Red Sox had broken their slightly shorter but more celebrated "curse."

The Chicago White Sox are most prominently nicknamed "the South Siders", based on their particular district within Chicago. Other nicknames include "the Pale Hose", "the ChiSox", a combination of "Chicago" and "Sox" (as opposed to the BoSox), mostly just used by the national media, "the Go-Go Sox", a reference to 1959 AL champions, who got that nickname; "the Good Guys", a reference to the team's one-time motto "Good guys wear black", coined by Ken "Hawk" Harrelson; and "the Black Sox," referring specifically to the scandal-tainted 1919 team. Most fans and Chicago media refer to the team as simply "the Sox". The Spanish language media sometimes refer to the team as Medias Blancas for "White Socks."

Relative to other teams in the National League, the Reds have enjoyed success over their 140-plus years. They are tied with the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates for sixth-most World Series victories, with 5. They are trailing the New York Yankees, who have 27 World Series titles, St. Louis Cardinals, who have 10, Oakland Athletics with 9, Boston Red Sox with 7, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have 6. The Reds won the AA's inaugural season in 1882, and did not win another championship until the Black Sox scandal-ridden 1919 World Series.

After struggling in the 1920s (starting in 1927) and 1930s, the Reds made it back to the World Series in 1939, and won it in 1940. They returned to the bottom half of the standings from 1941–1960, except for a third-place finish in 1956, until winning the National League pennant in 1961. After losing to the Yankees in the 1961 World Series, the Reds were unable to piece together any consistent pennant-contending teams until the "Big Red Machine" teams of the 1970s. They won 6 National League West Division titles and four National League pennants from 1970 to 1979, including consecutive World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. Their most recent World Series championship was in 1990, and most recent playoff appearance was in 1995.

Since 2003, the Reds have played their home games in Great American Ball Park, a baseball-only facility built next door to their previous home, Riverfront Stadium, which has since been demolished. The Reds field manager is Dusty Baker, their general manager is Walt Jocketty, and their majority owner is Bob Castellini.

Originating in Seattle, Washington, as the Seattle Pilots, the club played for one season in 1969 before being acquired in bankruptcy court by current MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and then moved to Milwaukee. The Brewers were part of the American League from their creation as an expansion club in 1969 through the 1997 season, after which they moved to the National League Central Division. Milwaukee had previously been a National League city when its team was the Milwaukee Braves (1953–1965).

In 1982, Milwaukee won the American League East Division and the American League Pennant, earning their only World Series appearance to date. In the Series, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, four games to three.

In 2008, the Brewers achieved their first postseason berth in the 26 years since their World Series appearance as the wildcard team in the National League. They were eliminated in the NLDS by the eventual World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. They have had only 3 playoff berths in their 40 year history.

One of baseball's first expansion teams in 1962, the Mets were a byword for ineptitude until they surprisingly won the 1969 World Series. They have played in a total of four World Series, the most of any MLB expansion team, including a second dramatic win in 1986.

The franchise is the defending World Champion of Major League Baseball and lead the League in both revenue and titles, with 27 World Series championships and 40 American League Pennants. They have more championships than any other franchise in North American professional sports history, passing the 24 Stanley Cup championships by the Montreal Canadiens in 1999.[5][6][7] Throughout the team's history, the franchise has produced some of the most celebrated players in Major League history, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra. The franchise has seen 44 of its players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Yankees have retired the numbers of 16 of its players.

The Yankees have achieved widespread popularity and a dedicated fanbase, although they have acquired a polarizing reputation for their heavy spending in pursuit of winning. Their rivalry with the Boston Red Sox is arguably the fiercest and most historic in North American professional sports. To support the Yankees and expand their media coverage, the dedicated television channel YES Network was launched in 2002, and it has become a large source of revenue for the franchise.

The Phillies have won two World Series championships (against Kansas City in 1980 and Tampa Bay in 2008) and seven National League pennants, the first of which came in 1915. The franchise has also experienced long periods of struggle. The age of the team and its history of adversity has earned it the distinction of having lost the most games of any team in the history of American professional sports.[2]

The franchise was founded in Philadelphia in 1883, replacing the team from Worcester, Massachusetts. The team has played at several stadiums in the city, beginning with Recreation Park and continuing at Baker Bowl; Shibe Park, which was later renamed Connie Mack Stadium in honor of the longtime Philadelphia Athletics manager; Veterans Stadium; and now Citizens Bank Park. The team's heated rivalry with the New York Mets has been an issue of contention within the division in recent seasons. The team's spring training facilities are located in Clearwater, Florida, where its Class-A minor league affiliate Clearwater Threshers play at Bright House Field.

The franchise joined the National League in its sixth season in 1887 and was competitive from its early years, winning three National League titles from 1901 to 1903, playing in the very first World Series and winning a World Series in 1909 behind Honus Wagner. The Pirates have had many ups and downs during their long history, most famously winning the 1960 World Series on a walk-off home run by Bill Mazeroski, the only time that Game 7 of the World Series has ever ended with a home run. They also won the 1971 World Series behind Roberto Clemente and the 1979 World Series under the slogan "We Are Family", led by "Pops" Willie Stargell. The Pirates have won all of their World Series in seven games (losing the series 3-5 to Boston in 1903 and 0-4 in 1927 to the Yankees). After a run of success in the early 1990s, the Pirates have struggled more recently, with 18 consecutive losing seasons to date, the longest in North American professional sports [1].

In November 2007, majority owner Stuart Sternberg made significant changes to his franchise's image, changing the club's name from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to the "Tampa Bay Rays", which he described as "a beacon that radiates throughout Tampa Bay and across the entire state of Florida." [1] The teams' primary colors, formerly black, green, and blue, were changed to navy blue, Columbia blue, and gold, and the team's symbol was changed from a manta ray to a ray of sunlight.

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The All-Star Weekend began on Friday, February 13, 2009 with the Celebrity Game and the Rookie Challenge, a game between the league's best rookies and second-year players. On Saturday, the event continued with the All-Star Saturday Night, which featured the Shooting Stars Competition, Skills Challenge, Three-Point Shootout and Slam Dunk Contest.[1] The H–O–R–S–E Competition was first introduced and was played before the All-Star Saturday Night. The third D-League All-Star Game and the second D-League Dream Factory Friday Night, the latter of which was modeled after the NBA All-Star Saturday Night, also took place during the All-Star Weekend. The D-League Dream Factory Friday Night was held on Friday and the D-League All-Star Game was held on Saturday.[3][4]

The Western Conference All-Star team defeated the Eastern Conference All-Star team 146–119. West's Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were named joint-winners of the game's MVP.[5] In the Rookie Challenge, the Sophomores defeated the Rookies, with Sophomores' Kevin Durant named as the game MVP. In the All-Star Saturday Night events, Nate Robinson won his second Slam Dunk Contest while Daequan Cook and Derrick Rose won the Three-Point Shootout and Skills Challenge respectively. Team Detroit won their second Shootings Stars Competition, beating the home team, Team Phoenix in the final round. Kevin Durant also took home another trophy by winning the inaugural H–O–R–S–E Competition.[6]

The Celtics either dominated the league or played a large part in the playoffs in the late 1950s through the mid 1980s (winning 16 NBA Championships in 30 years between 1957 and 1986, and reaching at least the conference championship series in 29 of 35 seasons between 1953 and 1988). After the deaths of the second overall draft pick Len Bias in 1986 and all-star Reggie Lewis in 1993, the team fell into a steady decline, only making the playoffs four times from 1996 to 2007. The franchise has recently returned to prominence when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce during the 2007 off-season. Four Celtics (Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Dave Cowens, and Larry Bird) have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for an NBA record total of 10 MVP awards.

Charlotte's NBA Development League team is the Maine Red Claws.[2] The Bobcats were also the brother team of the Charlotte Sting of the WNBA before the Sting folded on January 3, 2007.[3]

The Bobcats are currently owned by Michael Jordan.[4] Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television (B.E.T.) paid $300 million for the franchise in 2003. However, Forbes currently estimates the team's value at $284 million.[5] On February 27, Johnson announced that he was selling the Bobcats to a group headed by minority owner and basketball operations head Michael Jordan, pending league approval.[6]. On March 17, 2010, the NBA's Board of Governors unanimously approved Jordan's $275 million bid to buy the Charlotte Bobcats from Bob Johnson. Jordan takes over the team immediately after serving as a minority investor with the final say on basketball decisions since 2006.

1970 as an expansion team.

In the Rockets' debut season, they won only 15 games. But after drafting Elvin Hayes first overall in the 1969 NBA Draft, they made their first appearance in the playoffs in 1969. After Hayes was traded, Moses Malone was acquired to replace him. Malone won two MVPs during his time in Houston, and he led the Rockets to the conference finals in his first year with the Rockets. He also took the Rockets to the NBA Finals in 1981, but they were defeated in six games by the Boston Celtics.[2]

In 1984, the Rockets drafted future Hall-of-Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, who led them to the 1986 Finals in his second year, where they lost again to Boston. In the next seven seasons, they lost in the first round of the playoffs five times. They did not win their first championship until 1994, when Olajuwon led them to the finals. The team repeated as champions in 1995. However, the Rockets did not advance to the finals again, and missed the playoffs from 1999–2003. They did not reach the playoffs again until they drafted Yao Ming and they did not advance past the first round of the playoffs again until 2009.[3]

populous city in the state of California and the western United States, with a population of 3.83 million[2] within its administrative limits on a land area of 498.3 square

miles (1,290.6 km2). The urban area of Los Angeles extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of over 14.8 million, it is the 14th largest urban area in the

world, affording it megacity status. The Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is home to nearly 12.9 million residents[3] while the broader Los

Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside combined statistical area (CSA) contains nearly 17.8 million people. Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one

of the most multicultural counties[4] in the United States. The city's inhabitants are referred to as "Angelenos" (/ændʒɨˈliːnoʊz/).[5]

Los Angeles was founded on September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula (The Village of

Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the river of Porziuncola).[6] It became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its independence from Spain. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican

-American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was

incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood.

Often known by its initials, L.A., and nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is a world center of business, international trade, entertainment, culture, media, fashion,

science, technology, and education.[7][8] It is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial

economic engines within the United States. In 2008, Los Angeles was named the world's eighth most economically powerful city by Forbes.com, third in the U.S. behind New York

City and Chicago.[9] The Los Angeles combined statistical area (CSA) has a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of $831 billion (as of 2008), making it the third largest economic

center in the world, after the Greater Tokyo Area and the New York metropolitan area.[10][11][12] As the home base of Hollywood, it is known as the "Entertainment Capital of the

World", leading the world in the creation of motion pictures, television production, video games, and recorded music. The importance of the entertainment business to the city

has led many celebrities to call Los Angeles and its surrounding suburbs home. Los Angeles hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics.

Los Angeles enjoys a subtropical climate, with an average of 35 days with measurable precipitation annually.[13]

The Heat were formed in 1988 as an expansion franchise along with the Charlotte Hornets. Since then, Miami has fielded squads that have made the playoffs 13 out of the 21 seasons, captured seven division titles and won the 2006 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks 4–2.

The Suns have been a generally successful team since they began play as an expansion team in 1968, owning the NBA's fourth-best all-time winning percentage, winning 56 percent of its games, as of the end of the 2009–2010 season. In forty-two years of play, they have posted nineteen fifty-win seasons, making nine trips to the Western Conference Finals, and advancing to the NBA Finals in 1976 and 1993.

Despite four decades of success, the Suns have never won an NBA Championship.[1]

The team has advanced to the NBA Finals three times, winning the NBA Championship once, in 1977. The other NBA Finals appearances were in 1990 and 1992.[5] The team has qualified for the playoffs in 26 seasons of their 39-season existence, including a streak of 21 straight appearances from 1983 through 2003.[6] Five Hall of Fame players have played for the Trail Blazers (Lenny Wilkens, Bill Walton, Clyde Drexler, Dražen Petrović, and Scottie Pippen).[7] Bill Walton is the franchise's most decorated player; he was the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1977, and the regular season MVP the following year.[5][8] Three Blazer rookies (Geoff Petrie, Sidney Wicks, and Brandon Roy) have won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Two Hall of Fame coaches, Lenny Wilkens and Jack Ramsay, have patrolled the sidelines for the Blazers, and two others, Mike Schuler and Mike Dunleavy, have won the NBA Coach of the Year award with the team.[9][dead link]

The Spurs are one of four former American Basketball Association teams (along with the Nets, Pacers, and Nuggets) to remain intact in the NBA after the 1976 ABA-NBA merger and is the only former ABA team to have won an NBA championship. The Spurs have won four NBA championships, more than any NBA franchise except the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and Chicago Bulls. The Spurs' perfect record in NBA Finals series is surpassed only by the Chicago Bulls, who have won six without a loss;[1] the Bulls and Spurs are the only two teams to maintain perfect records through multiple Finals series. As of July 2009, the Spurs rank third among active franchises for the highest winning percentage in NBA history; they have only missed the playoffs 4 times as an NBA franchise.

In their 33 NBA seasons, since 1976–1977, the Spurs have captured 17 division titles, which gives the Spurs the most division titles in the NBA during that 33-year span (the Lakers are second with 16). They have made the playoffs in 19 of the last 20 seasons, and have not missed the playoffs in the 13 seasons since Tim Duncan came to the Spurs in 1997.

The SuperSonics won the NBA Championship in 1979, and are one of just two teams out of the six major-league men's professional sports franchises that have existed in Seattle (the Sonics, Mariners, Pilots, Seahawks, Sounders, and Metropolitans, winners of the 1917 Stanley Cup) to have won a championship.

Sam Schulman owned the team from its 1967 inception until 1983. It was also owned by Barry Ackerley (1983–2001), and the Basketball Club of Seattle, headed by Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz (2001–2006). In 2006, the SuperSonics were purchased by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett. After failing to find public funding to construct a new arena in the Seattle area, the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City before the 2008–09 season, following a $45 million settlement with the city of Seattle to pay off the team's existing lease at KeyArena in advance of its 2010 expiration.[3]

Like most expansion teams, the Raptors struggled in their early years; but after the acquisition of Vince Carter through a draft day trade in 1998, the team set league attendance records and made the NBA Playoffs in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Carter was instrumental in leading the team to their first playoff series win in 2001, where they advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. During the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons, they failed to make significant progress and he was traded in 2004 to the New Jersey Nets. After Carter left, Chris Bosh emerged as the team leader, but they continued to struggle. However, with the appointment of Bryan Colangelo as General Manager and a revamp of the roster for the 2006–07 season, they qualified for their first playoff berth in five years and captured their first division title. In the following season, they advanced to the playoffs again. In a bid to persuade Bosh to stay beyond the final year of his contract, the team had a roster overhaul in the 2009–10 season. However, the attempt to make the playoffs was unsuccessful and Bosh signed with the Miami Heat in July 2010.