Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick have a special understanding, writes Kieran Shannon.

Few champions have returned to the field under this thick a cloud. But as the accusations and rumours and innuendo pile up, New England Patriots players insist they have shut out the noise as they begin the defence of their Super Bowl title tonight against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I met a member of the medical profession for a coffee the other day, and as we chatted I felt I had to correct her on some of the clinical terminology on offer, to tidy up the doctor-speak, if you like.

American Football: There were more questions than there were answers after one of the most enthralling Super Bowls of the modern era delivered a fourth title in just over a decade to Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots on Sunday night.

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.

The New England Patriots escaped a winter blizzard to make their way to the Super Bowl city of Phoenix on Monday but there was no avoiding another storm as the mystery of the deflated footballs continued to swirl.

Take it again. Tim Smyczek’s simple act of sportsmanship in his Australian Open match with Rafa Nadal won’t endure in sporting folklore, says Larry Ryan.

It’s rare that the two best teams in the NFL make it through to the Super Bowl.

He says he has no interest in knowing what other coaches in other sports do, but the way Brian Cody’s team went about devouring Tipperary in Nowlan Park last Sunday brought to mind a scene in a fascinating documentary about the NewEngland Patriots coach, Bill Belichick.

With so many subplots funnelling into tomorrow night’s Super Bowl, the expectations are that it will be one of the most watched NFL title games of all 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).

TOM Brady and Randy Moss set records and the New England Patriots put themselves among the greatest sport legends in American history on Saturday by completing an undefeated season.

THE PHILADELPHIA Eagles gave the rest of the NFL a smidgen of hope on Sunday night: they showed the New England Patriots can be vulnerable.

THE New England Patriots last night settled a bitter season-long contest with divisional rivals the New York Jets when they won the wild card match between the two sides at the Gillette Stadium in Boston.

NEW ENGLAND Patriots boss Bill Belichick is fuming about the sub-standard practice facilities his players have been given in the build-up to Sunday’s Superbowl XXXIX against Philadelphia in Jacksonville.

TOPPING their own standard for dramatic triumphs, the New England Patriots won their second Super Bowl crown in three years on Sunday with a repeat of the same heart-stopping thrills that brought a title in 2002.

SUPER BOWL berths are at stake tomorrow when the Indianapolis Colts try to avenge a November loss to New England and the jinx-plagued Philadelphia Eagles seek their first title game since 1981.

THE New England Patriots became the first team to clinch a divisional title and the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs earned play-off berths in Week 14 of the NFL.

KURT WARNER was hospitalised with concussion and coaches Dave Wannstedt and Bill Belichick were also suffering with major headaches after the first weekend of American Football’s NFL season.