Papa John's Code: Promo Offers Free Pizza During 2015 NFL Playoffs

When the NFL Playoffs come around, you can bet on a special pizza deal from Papa John's.

Since becoming the official pizza sponsor of the NFL, Papa John's has released special pizza offers each year leading up to and during the Super Bowl. This year, it's a buy-one-get-one promotion during the playoffs.

Papa John's announced in a recent commercial featuring Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and Hall of Famer Joe Montana that football fans will receive a free, one-topping large pizza with the purchase of any large pizza (of equal or greater value at regular menu price) during the playoffs.

The NFL's conference playoffs will run through Sunday, Jan. 18 and the Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, Feb. 1. There's been no word yet if Papa John's will offer an additional free pizza promotion for the Super Bowl.

Tom Brady responds to Terrance Knighton's remarks on Super Bowl

Earlier this week, Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton created some buzz in the football world when he "guaranteed" a Broncos Super Bowl appearance—and victory.

Guarantee is used in quotation marks because Pot Roast alleges that his quotes were taken out of context. Here's what he told the Denver Post's Mark Kiszla:

"It doesn't matter what happens. At the end of the year, we're hoisting that trophy . . . I don't care if New England doesn't lose again. I don't care where we have to play. I don't care who our opponent is. We're not going to be satisfied until we hoist that trophy."

It seems that Knighton inadvertently replaced "our goal is" with "we are" going to win the Super Bowl. Judging from Knighton's follow-up tweet on Monday, that's likely the case:

I didn't guarantee a super bowl win. I just said I don't give a f**k who we play. We as a team have one goal. Being super bowl champs.
— Terrance Knighton (@MrKnighton2u) December 15, 2014

Regardless of if it was a guarantee or simply a stated goal, Knighton's words created a firestorm.

On Monday, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady responded to Pot Roast's remarks.

Former NFL player Raheem Brock buys part of Central Penn Piranha

CPP's Raheem Brock (Samuel Getty Photo)

The Central Penn Piranha will have a new home and new ownership in 2014, the team has announced.

Longtime owner-coach Ron Kerr is stepping down after winning three consecutive championships with the Piranha. Kerr is turning his coaching attention to the NCAA level, where he is an assistant coach at Shippensburg University.

Kerr has sold the team to new head coach Tom Laubach and Piranha defensive lineman Raheem Brock, a former NFL defender. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In addition to Kerr, longtime CPP general manager and PR guru Dave Kmiecik has also stepped down. Kmiecik is leaving the Piranha, but he isn't leaving football—he will continue working with the Baltimore Ravens and Harrisburg Stampede in 2014.

It won't be easy for CPP to replace men like Kerr—who lost a total of only eight games in eight seasons—or Kmiecik—who worked tirelessly behind the scenes for 19 years—but the Phish are swimming in the right direction. Excellence starts at the top, and CPP's new owners know how to win.

Brock played in the NFL for ten seasons and won Super Bowl XLI with the Indianapolis Colts in 2007. In his career, Brock recorded 347 tackles and 40.5 sacks.

Laubach has been with the team for seven years working under Kerr, who led the team to an 85-5 overall regular season record during his time with the club.

"The previous owners have set the bar high for us," Laubach said in a statement released by the team. "We will do many of the same things that have made us successful since 1995."

The CPP will be returning to the Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL) this summer and will be playing their home games at Warwick High School in Lititz, PA.

The Piranha's first game of the season, a preseason contest against the Brooklyn Seminoles, will take place at Warwick High School this Saturday (May 17). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Broncos' John Fox signs new contract, can make AFC West history

The Denver Broncos announced on Saturday that head coach John Fox has signed a new, three-year contract with the team. The new deal will keep Fox in Denver through the 2016 season.

“We are pleased to reach this agreement with John Fox, who has played a key role in the success and improvement of the Broncos during the last three seasons," Broncos general manager John Elway said in a statement. "While our team has made progress each year under Coach Fox, we both understand that there is still work to be done for us to reach our ultimate goal."

According to reports, Fox's three-year deal is worth $16.5 million. It's not a lucrative deal—eight NFL coaches earn more than $6 million annually—but it shows that Denver is committed to Fox.

With Denver the favorite to win the AFC West again in 2014, Fox is on track to become the first coach in AFC West history since John Madden to win four consecutive division titles. The San Diego Chargers were the last team in the division to claim four straight titles (2006-2009), but that was under two different head coaches—Marty Schottenheimer and Norv Turner.

It's been thirty-eight years since Madden led the Oakland Raiders to five consecutive division titles from 1972-1976; no AFC West coach has won more than three-straight since then. Fox is primed to be the first, owning a 34-14 record with the Broncos, including a 26-6 mark over the last two seasons.

Denver is hoping the third time will be the charm for Fox, who has reached two Super Bowls—XXXIII with the Panthers in 2004 and XLVIII with the Broncos in 2014—in the last decade. Fox is just the sixth coach in NFL history to have led two different teams to a Super Bowl.

The Broncos last Super Bowl victory came in 1999 when then-quarterback Elway led the team to a 34-19 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII. Mike Shanahan was Denver's coach at the time.

Papa John's Announces Special Super Bowl 2014 Pizza Deal

This year, Papa John's is giving fans extra incentive to make them their go-to option for Super Bowl parties. Between now and Sunday night, NFL fans can use promo code "PJMVP" on PapaJohns.com when ordering pizza to get a code to receive a free pizza the day after the Super Bowl (full details here).

"We are not only the official pizza of the NFL and the official pizza of the Super Bowl, we are also the official pizza of the Denver Broncos. We are involved heavily with Peyton Manning and we are excited about this new promotion," John Schnatter, Papa John's Owner/CEO, said over the phone on Thursday.

Schnatter opened up the first Papa John's Pizza restaurant in 1984 and since then his company has grown into a fast food powerhouse in both the marketing world and food sales.

Have a $10 @PapaJohns code to give out today! RT/Reply for chance to win! Great #PJMVP deal: http://t.co/u5asizocQM pic.twitter.com/nyqyeJVTvO
— Jon Heath (@JonHeathNFL) February 1, 2014

With over 3,800 locations (21 of which are owned by Manning) in all 50 states and 29 different countries, Papa John's now brings in over $2.6 billion in annual sales. After landing a deal with the NFL in 2010, Papa John's is now heavily affiliated with football—you can count on seeing multiple Papa John's commercials run on FOX this weekend during the Super Bowl.

One of those commercials will feature Manning and former NFL quarterback Joe Montana.

"Peyton has been wonderful for our brand and he's been wonderful for the Broncos. What you see with him is what you get—he's a great family man and he's always prepared and always wanting to get better—a lot like Papa John's. We just want to get better at what we do. He is stupendous."

Papa John's is also rolling out a new "Double Cheeseburger" pizza this week and Papa told me their next plan is to find out what is Peyton's favorite pizza and toppings are so they can debut a "Peyton Manning special" next.

For a chance to win a $10 code to Papa John's this weekend, follow @JonHeathNFL on Twitter.

Fruit of the Loom gives football fans cheaper apparel alternative

With the Big Game just two days away, fans everywhere are scrambling to prepare for game day.

Fruit of the Loom has stepped in to provide fans with a comfy, cheaper apparel alternative. Pro football jerseys start at $99.99, while Fruit of the Loom's short sleeve crew tee starts at $6.49.

The folks at Fruit of the Loom were kind enough to send me an orange tee to sample and I have been impressed by the comfortable feel and slimming design. It's a clean tee that can stand alone or be layered, well worth the $7.

The crew tee is available in sixteen different colors, including shades of orange and blue.

Video: Tim Tebow Stars in New T-Mobile Super Bowl 2014 Commercial

Win 2015 Super Bowl Tickets Through StubHub's TD Dance Contest

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StubHub is about to give two fans a reason to dance all the way to the Super Bowl in 2015.

As part of their #StubHubTD campaign, StubHub is asking fans to upload videos of their best touchdown celebration dances to sites such as Twitter, Vine, Instagram, and YouTube and use the hashtag #StubHubTD. The winner of the contest will take home two tickets to Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona.

The contest runs from Monday, January 27th through Monday, February 3rd.

StubHub is hosting the "ultimate tailgate" at the Big Game in New Jersey this weekend and is calling upon fans to join in on the fun and upload their #StubHubTD celebrations. Fans should take note that no purchase is necessary to enter—creativity, however, is a must!

The contest ends soon, upload your video today!

Papa John's Code: Win Free Pizza from Papa John's for Super Bowl 2014

As the official pizza sponsor of the NFL, Papa John's is about to roll out a big deal football fans.

Starting Thursday, January 30 and running through Super Bowl Sunday, if you buy a large pizza at regular price with the code PJMVP, you’ll get a code for a free pizza after the Super Bowl.

Pepperoni or cheese? What's your @PapaJohns #PJMVP? Vote at http://t.co/w8mKd8dKZe and RT for a chance to win $10 PJ gift card!
— Jon Heath (@JonHeathNFL) January 24, 2014

It's all part of a new Papa John's Pizza MVP (#PJMVP) campaign that is launching today. The pizza franchise is celebrating their 30th anniversary (watch for a new Peyton Manning commercial that will begin airing a week from today) and is encouraging fans to vote for their Pizza MVP—Team Pepperoni or Team Cheese—at PapaJohnsMVP.com.

I have teamed up with Papa John's to help promote Team Pepperoni and will be giving away five $10 Papa John's gift cards a day on Twitter starting today and running until Thursday, January 30. To enter to win a card, all you have to do is retweet one of my tweets mentioning the program this week.

Tweets by @JonHeathNFL
Increase your chances of winning a card by ultimately retweeting all 45 tweets mentioning the program. Good luck!

FOX 45 Anchor Projects Raves/Texans SB, Gets Blasted on Twitter

Think before you tweet, folks.  Think before you tweet.

According to his Twitter profile, Jeff Barnd is a "FOX 45 News Anchor #Baltimore Loves current events, politics and has an aversion to twitchy bug parts when you step on them."

Barnd also appears to a fan of professional football, or at least the Ravens.  On Thursday afternoon, Barnd sent out the following tweet:

At the time of this writing, Barnd's tweet is still live, but he'll probably want to take it down soon.

The Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans, of course, both play in the American Football Conference (AFC).  That means there's no way they would ever face off in the Super Bowl.

The NFC champion and AFC champion from each conference duke it out in the Super Bowl each year.  View some of the best Twitter response to Barnd's tweet after the jump.

LIVE: Denver Broncos Take on San Francisco 49ers — Twitter Updates

The Denver Broncos will take on the San Francisco 49ers at 7 p.m. (MT) tonight on  KTVD Channel 5 (20).  Out of town fans can watch the game on NFL.com's Preseason Live package.

KTVD's Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play) and John Lynch (color commentary) will be calling the game and Rod Macke will be reporting on the sidelines at Candlestick Park.

Last season, the Broncos finished 13-3 in regular season play while the 49ers went 11-4-1.  Denver's season ended when they fell to the Ravens in the divisional round of the playoffs. Three weeks later, San Francisco fell to the same Ravens in the Super Bowl.

Entering the 2013 season, the Broncos and 49ers are considered among the top teams in the NFL.  Tonight's game—or at least the first half—could be a preview of this season's Super Bowl.

Follow along live after the jump with some of our favorite game day Tweeters:

Broncos Show No Interest in Jeff Saturday, Who Will Likely Stay Retired

Almost immediately after news broke that center Dan Koppen had suffered a torn ACL, fans and pundits jumped to the same conclusion:  Jeff Saturday is available.

Saturday, 37, spent the first thirteen years of his career snapping to Manning, winning a Super Bowl (XLI) along the way.  Last year, Saturday started in fourteen games (allowing 3.5 sacks) in Green Bay before being benched, clearing the way for a younger Evan Dietrich-Smith to start the final two games of the season.

Despite his benching last season, Saturday still made the Pro Bowl based on name recognition and even swapped sides (from the NFC to the AFC) for a play to execute one final snap to Manning.

Make no mistake, that was Saturday's final snap to Manning.