At media day, crazy questions the norm

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Quick, Wes Welker, spell Bill Belichick. Hey, Osi Umenyiora, know any other Elis besides that Manning guy? Rob Gronkowski, what's your favorite song by Madonna?

Not exactly challenging questions about Sunday's Super Bowl between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. But that's media day, the NFL's annual version of the circus, minus the ringmaster.

With players and coaches penned into cubicles, mainstream reporters were joined Tuesday by a guy in a superhero costume, another in an old-time football uniform, kids with microphones and some women who wore dresses that left little to the imagination. They asked the Patriots and Giants anything that crossed their minds.

And we do mean anything.

"This is crazy, man. It's crazy," said Patriots safety Patrick Chung. "I've never seen anything like this ever."

Actually, none of the players had. For the first time, the NFL let fans in on the act, too. For $25 - or more, for those who waited until the last minute to buy their tickets - fans could sit in the stands at the stadium and listen to the interviews over a headset.

"We can't hear all of the questions, so we have to guess," said Lee Clifford, who brought his sons, 10-year-old Ben and 8-year-old Nick. "I guess lots of people can get a pass to a media event."

Even people who carry their own disco ball, as the camera crew from Telemundo did.

Media day has never been the stuff of Woodward and Bernstein.

But it's gone from off-the-wall to downright goofy in recent years, the tipping point coming four years ago when a reporter from Mexico's TV Azteca showed up in a wedding dress from a slasher movie in hopes of winning Tom Brady's heart.

Imagine asking Vince Lombardi if he could name three Kardashians. Gronkowski actually did pretty well - he got Kim and Khloe right away, but needed a few more seconds to come up with Kourtney. Or getting John Elway to salsa dance, as New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz did with singer Ciara.

There were no brides or proposals for Brady this year, although the fashion-conscious QB did talk about having his nails painted.

"They were pretty easy on me," Brady said when asked what it was like to grow up with three older sisters. "They dressed me up a few times in their clothes and painted my nails once, but it was nice."

Most of the players were good sports about the whole thing, knowing what they were in for when they arrived at Lucas Oil Stadium. Even the normally dour Belichick managed a chuckle or two.

"It's kind of catching me off guard," Patriots cornerback Sterling Moore said. "I definitely thought he'd be a little more strict in his interviews."

He might have been a little more cranky if he'd heard Welker when the receiver was asked if he knew how to spell Belichick's last name.

"Tough one. B-E-L-I-C-H-I," Welker said, and then paused. "K. Wait, that right? Is it CK?"

Told Belichick's name ended in "CK," Welker smacked his head.

Umenyiora fared better with the other Elis, naming Plaxico Burress' little boy, Elijah. As for Gronkowski and Madonna, he wasn't crazy for that question.

Silly stuff, to be sure. But the fans loved every minute of it.

O'Brien tries to stay focused: Plotting how to keep Tom Brady out of the clutches of the Giants' fearsome pass rushers will occupy most of Bill O'Brien's waking hours this week, and who knows how many of his dreams.

But it's not his only worry.

The Patriots offensive coordinator will succeed the late Joe Paterno as coach at Penn State after the Super Bowl and has been forced to do most of his recruiting by long distance and count on his newly assembled staff back in State College, Pa., to lock up the prospects. Today is signing day, when schools announce their prized recruits.

"I already have a pretty good idea of who they're going to be," O'Brien said, fielding questions about both his jobs - somewhat reluctantly - at Super Bowl media day.

"But right now, it's really more about the Patriots and making sure we're ready for today's practice, tomorrow's meetings and Sunday's game. So it's day-to-day. .. Last week was about Coach Paterno. It was about his memory and what he meant to Penn State and to college football. So it was an emotional time for me, being in the coaching profession."

TE Gronk sheds boot: The boot is off and Rob Gronkowski's ankle is feeling much better.

New England's All-Pro tight end shed his walking boot in time for media day Tuesday, and sounded optimistic he'd be lining up against the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

"I'm improving every day," Gronkowski said. "The only reason it's getting so blown up is because it's the Super Bowl. It's just like any other injury during any other week."

Gronkowski, who suffered a high left ankle sprain in the AFC title game Jan. 22, said he could be anywhere from in perfect health to "2 percent" for the game, adding that it's still six days away.

Eli's weapons: Eli Manning has a 1-2-3 punch at receiver that's not only dynamic, but highly entertaining.

Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham give the Giants a pass-catching trio rivaling any in the NFL, and it could be New York's biggest advantage on offense against the New England Patriots in Sunday's Super Bowl.

Cruz is coming off a record-setting season, Nicks had another 1,000-yard season and Manningham is finally healthy after dealing with a knee injury much of the year.

For the inconsistent Patriots defense, which ranked 31st against the pass, that's one big headache.

"Once you look at it and see they have a receiver over there and a bunch of different things, you understand that's an area we can excel," Cruz said at media day, referring to the Patriots receiver Julian Edelman, who plays nickel back at times. "We don't want to force it. We want it to happen naturally and take it play by play and we'll see how it goes and how they come out and play us and we'll adjust accordingly."