Quarterback Cam Newton threw five touchdown passes to lead the Carolina Panthers to a 10th straight NFL victory on Sunday, a 44-16 pounding of the Washington Redskins.

It’s almost a year now since this column fulfilled a near life-long sporting ambition with a trip to Chicago to see the Bears host the Green Bay Packers at the iconic Soldier Field.

The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots could produce one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time tomorrow night but the real winner may be debated for decades given the "deflategate" scandal hanging over the game.

Chicago Bears’ defensive end Lamarr Houston will miss the rest of the season after a freak injury while celebrating a sack.

Peyton Manning broke Brett Favre’s all-time record for touchdown passes, leading Denver to a 42-17 rout of San Francisco to cap a scintillating Sunday in the NFL.

Not a puck did we see of Saturday’s All-Ireland hurling final replay.

An embattled NFL, reeling from off-field brutality issues, received more bad news with numerous injuries to key players in the second week of an already tumultuous campaign.

Screened in over 200 countries, Super Bowl will be lapped up by well over 100 million Americans for whom it has become as symbolic of their country as Apple Pie.

The NFL play-off picture was completed on Sunday with a dramatic final series of regular season games delivering big results for the Green Bay Packers, the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Diego Chargers.

The NFL couldn’t have scripted it much better heading into the last week of the regular season.

Almost Christmas. Deck the halls.

I was going to kick off this Monday by saying that mental health had popped up on the agenda once again last week, but it doesn’t seem to drift too far from the agenda at any stage nowadays.

The contents of the Micheál Martin tapes were shocking.

It’s December.

As the NFL heads into December, nearly every division race has an outright favourite.

Legendary Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, who suffered what was diagnosed as a “minor stroke” on Friday, was released from hospital on Sunday and made a triumphant return to the airwaves when he appeared on ESPN Radio yesterday.

Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes on Sunday to help Pittsburgh beat the New York Giants 24-20 in an NFL game played with Hurricane Sandy’s devastation as a backdrop.

FORGET the Australia win, Ireland touched down in Dunedin this morning to prepare for what will be the biggest week of their World Cup to date.

UNITED STATES captain Todd Clever admitted he was a nervous man after his side held off a late Russian rally to win their Pool C encounter 13-6 in New Plymouth.

Russia 6 USA 13

Russia technical director Kingsley Jones believes the Bears can emerge victorious from their first ever World Cup finals match – if they can secure set-piece possession against the United States in New Plymouth.

A car salesman in suburban Chicago who was fired for refusing to remove a Green Bay Packers tie said he will not be coming back even though his former boss has relented.

PITTSBURGH native Mike McCarthy will come face-to-face with the city of his birth in the Super Bowl on Sunday week after the showdown so long desired by the purists became a reality on Sunday night.

The Green Bay Packers today beat the Chicago Bears 21-14 to win the NFC title and secure a Super Bowl place.

THE NFL’s oldest rivalry will be played out on its greatest possible stage tomorrow evening as the Green Bay Packers visit the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game (8pm, Irish time).

NEW YORK has been buzzing this week ahead of Rex Ryan’s Jets’ AFC play-off showdown at their arch-rivals, the New England Patriots, tomorrow evening (9.30pm, Irish time).

QUARTERBACK Tom Brady last night broke the NFL record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception as the New England Patriots won the AFC East Division thanks to a resounding 34-3 win over the Buffalo Bills.

THE Tennessee Titans remained unbeaten in the NFL as Rob Bironas booted a 41-yards field goal to seal a 19-16 overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.

A SPIKE in global oil prices, the continued weakness of the Dollar and more losses for the banking stocks dragged the Dublin market lower for a second consecutive day.

WHILE New England try to complete the first undefeated NFL regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, Washington and Tennessee will attempt to simply reach the playoffs.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS secured a record 15th successive victory in the NFL with a 28-7 success against Miami Dolphins.

THE New England Patriots romped to victory again on Sunday, downing the Cleveland Browns 34-17 to easily remain among the NFL’s unbeaten teams.

GREEN Bay quarterback Brett Favre marked another NFL milestone as he guided the Packers to a 31-24 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

SUPER BOWL XLI (41) is the first to feature two black head coaches, but tomorrow night the spotlight will be on the super-powered Indianapolis offence and Chicago’s vaunted defence.

TOM BRADY threw for 269 yards and a touchdown, while Asante Samuel picked off three passes as the New England Patriots beat Chicago 17-13 in a showdown of American football division leaders on Sunday.

THE Indianapolis Colts, the only team in NFL history to start 9-0 in consecutive seasons, fell to the upstart Dallas Cowboys 21-14 on Sunday.

UNDEFEATED Indianapolis and once-beaten Chicago made National Football League history Sunday in proving themselves the teams to beat for home-field advantage in the playoffs.

THE Miami Dolphins stunned the Chicago Bears on Sunday, leaving the Indianapolis Colts to emerge from the day’s action as the lone unbeaten team in the NFL.

BALTIMORE rallied to shock Cleveland, Cincinnati left their mark on the Steelers and Indianapolis held off Jacksonville as three NFL grudge matches lived up their billings.

Big Brother reject Dennis Rodman today shook off his eviction blues by signing for the Genesis Brighton Bears basketball team.

NFL win leader Indianapolis saw a Super Bowl dream end in misery while road triumphs on Sunday allowed bottom-seeds Pittsburgh and Carolina to sustain their title hopes.