Welcome to Wednesday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY WEDNESDAY:
No games scheduled

AROUND THE WEB:

Eli Manning celebrated a comeback victory over the Patriots Sunday, but his family says the Giants quarterback still gets unfairly criticized. (AP)

♦ Archie Manning enjoyed watching his son Eli lead the Giants to a last-minute victory Sunday against the Patriots, but he had trouble listening to the commentary on Fox. The elder Manning said he doesn’t agree with Troy Aikman and Joe Buck‘s criticism. “I don’t always listen to Troy and Joe,” Archie told ESPN. “They’re kind of hard on Eli. Joe’s always been really tough on Eli, and it seems this year Troy is too. But that’s OK. Sometimes I just mute them.”

In a 2009 interview, Peyton Manning made a similar comment, chastising Buck for being critical of Eli during another comeback attempt.

♦ Tiger Woods‘ former caddy Steve Williams apologized for his off-color comment at a banquet over the weekend, when he made a racially insensitive remark while joking about the golfer. Woods told reporters that he and Williams met on Monday in Australia and cleared the air, and he’s convinced that “Stevie’s certainly not a racist. There’s no doubt about that.” In the Sporting News, columnist David Steele writes that Woods deserves credit for taking the high road and helping to quash a controversy that would not be good for his sport.

♦ In the San Jose Mercury News, Mark Purdy writes about the man he calls the most influential American sports figure of the last 50 years: former baseball commissioner and 1984 Los Angeles Olympic organizer Peter Ueberroth, who is being inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame Wednesday.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 9, 1972, in an 8-3 victory over the Red Wings at Boston Garden, which Bruin became the seventh player in NHL history to record 1,000 career points?

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Ah, the Super Bowl. The biggest game of the year is Sunday in Miami, and the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints will finally end the waiting as they fight for the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XLIV.

But what makes the Super Bowl the greatest game of the season is much more than just the matchup itself, even if few games have had as much hype as this year’s. Yes, the Super Bowl is the spectacle that it is because of the myriad betting opportunities it presents. And while Super Bowl squares are always fun, nothing is better than prop bets.

You can always bet the over/under or the spread, but isn’t it more fun to wager on whether Austin Collie catches the first touchdown or not? (He is at 10-1 odds right now.) So without further ado, here are some of the ridiculous prop bets to be watching for this year.

Okay, one quick disclaimer here: WEEI.com in no way, shape or form encourages gambling, even on the most hilarious of the bets below. Use your money for more important things, like party supplies.

Carrie Underwood’s national anthem: Over/under 1 minute 42 seconds

A little bit of research shows that Underwood, the country music star and former American Idol winner, sang the Star Spangled Banner back in 2006 for the NFC Championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers.

If you notice, that video is 1 minute 45 seconds long. It’s going to be a close call, but on an even bigger stage Underwood might embellish the performance a little bit.

Which commercial will have the highest rating on USA Today’s Ad meter?

The choices presented to us are Doritos, Coca-cola, Anheuser-Busch, Godaddy.com, Career Builder, Focus on the Family or other. Now, maybe the appearance of Tim Tebow will push the “Focus on the Family” ad to greater heights. Maybe there is a Budweiser commercial on the level of this:

But curiously absent from the set list is the Super Bowl commercial that could be the most compelling: the McDonald’s remake of the classic Larry Bird-Michael Jordan “Showdown” ad with NBA superstars LeBron James and Dwight Howard.

So many questions can be asked. Will either wear an outfit as terrible as His Airness? Will they bother to say no dunking? And why remake the best commercial of all-time with someone who can’t even shoot? Those questions alone could make it the most-watched commercial of the night.

How many times will Archie Manning be shown on TV?

The line is set at two and a half. But Manning has two allegiances in this game: the Saints, and his son Peyton. That means he can be shown whenever either team is being discussed. Drew Brees throws a touchdown? The former Saints signal caller could be on the screen. Manning hits Dallas Clark for a big gain? You bet they will probably show his father beaming with pride. This could be the easiest prop bet of all to predict.

Anything with Kim Kardashian

How many times will Reggie Bush’s girlfriend be shown on screen? What color top will she be wearing? Will she be engaged to Bush by July 31st if the Saints pull out the win? All of these are actual bets for this game. She might end up playing a bigger role in this telecast than Dwight Freeney.

What CBS show will get the most promos during the game?

The logical choice might be Undercover Boss, the new show that will follow the game. From this sneak peek, it looks pretty intense.

I suppose that makes it a drama? But don’t discount NCIS. After all, it is America’s No. 1 show, for reasons described here. Who would have thought a naval crime scene show could be so popular? Another darkhorse? Any of the CSI shows, which, of course, feature theme songs by a certain Super Bowl halftime performing band.

How many times will Pete Townshend perform his legendary windmill move?

That clip is 19 seconds long. In it, Townshend does his patented windmill move twice. With a set list that includes a mashup of five songs, Townshend will have ample opportunity to strut his stuff on stage and rock out. If this one doesn’t entice you, you can always bet on whether any member of the band will break a guitar, and if so, what it will hit first.

The game.

And here we get to the game itself. There are too many bets to list, from the coin toss to whether either team will score in the last three minutes of the game. The best of the best? The over/under on Drew Brees’ passing attempts, which is set at 33.3, and whether Manning will have throw for more yards than in the Colts victory in Super Bowl XLI, when he passed for 247 yards. In what could be a shootout, both seem ripe for the over pick.