Puxatony Phil

Watch Super Bowl 46 Live Online

2012-02-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

The television set won't be the only place to watch video of the New York Giants and the New England Patriots this Sunday. For the first time, U.S. football fans will be able to watch the Super Bowl live on a computer or on a phone.

You may be wondering whether anyone without super-strength eyesight would be able to follow the football on a tiny phone screen. And what about the ads? After all, many people tune in more for the commercials than for the game.

I got a chance to test the offering with a pair of playoff games and last weekend's all-star Pro Bowl. Although it's impossible to say what will happen Sunday, I have found the experience decent so far, but no substitute for the big screen.

The phone offering is made possible through a collaboration involving the National Football League, Comcast Corp.'s NBC and Verizon Wireless. The nation's largest wireless carrier had rights to carry NBC's Sunday night broadcasts live during the regular season, as well as some games from the NFL Network and ESPN. The post-season games broadcast by NBC are an extension of that package.

That means you'll need service through Verizon Wireless to watch on an iPhone or an Android phone. Unless you have the higher-speed 4G service through Verizon, you'll also need its V Cast video service, which costs $3 a day or $10 a month on top of your regular phone bill. A generous data plan or a Wi-Fi connection will help you avoid additional charges.

If you don't have the right phone or wireless carrier, or if you have a super-cheap data plan with low caps, you can watch for free on a computer instead at NBCSports.com. You can interact with the game more that way, but you won't get the same commercials.

To get started on the phone, you need to install the NFL Mobilesoftware . The app is free; it's the software's live video that requires V Cast. You can get the app on the phone through the Android Market or Apple's app store . Or you can go to http://www.verizonwireless.com/nfl and enter your cellphone number. A text message will be sent with a link to get your app. You can also call the NFL by hitting the star key twice and dialing 635. That will also get you a link via text.

Watch the Super Bowl Online! Watch Super Bowl 46 at NFL.com

2012-02-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

You can watch this year's Super Bowl at NFL.com. Go to NFL.com to watch Super Bowl 46 between the Patriots and Giants online. You can use your computer to find NFL.com and then watch the Super Bowl there. The Super Bowl can be viewed from anywhere these days.

Puxatony Phil Picture

2012-02-02T10:12:00.000-08:00

Puxatony Phil sees his shadow in 2012

Puxatony Phil Photo

2012-02-02T10:11:00.001-08:00

Puxatony Phil Picture

Puxatony Phil Sees His Shadow: 6 More Weeks of Winter

2012-02-02T10:10:00.001-08:00

Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his lair to “see” his shadow on Thursday, in the process predicting six more weeks of winter.

But, at this rate, that might not be so bad.

The groundhog made his “prediction” on Gobbler’s Knob, a tiny hill in the town for which he’s named about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Temperatures were near freezing when he emerged at dawn — unseasonably warm — and were forecast to climb into the mid-40s in a winter that’s brought little snow and only a few notably cold days to much of the East.

Thursday’s ceremony is largely that: Phil’s prediction is determined ahead of time by the Inner Circle, a group who dons top hats and tuxedos and decides in advance what the groundhog will predict.

Organizers expected 15,000 to 18,000 people to witness the furry creature’s prognostication ceremony just before 7:30 a.m. EST.

This year’s crowd was warmer than most. The average early-morning temperature usually hovers around 17 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett was among the spectators this year. Those who couldn’t make it to Gobbler’s Knob could follow the groundhog on Twitter and Facebook, or watch a webcast of the event on his website.

“What started as a small gathering in 1887 has now evolved into tens of thousands of visitors from around the nation and even the world coming to Punxsutawney to participate in this time-honored Groundhog Day tradition,” Corbett said.

The Groundhog Day celebration is rooted in a German superstition that says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early.

Phil has now seen his shadow 100 times and hasn’t seen it just 16 times since 1886, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle, which runs the event. There are no records for the remaining years.

The tradition attained a large following with the 1993 Bill Murray comedy “Groundhog Day,” in which a weatherman covering the event must relive the day over and over again. Before the movie came out, Phil was lucky to have an audience of 2,500, said Mike Johnston, vice president of the Inner Circle.

And while the group has records of Phil’s predictions dating back to 1886, what it doesn’t have is a tally of whether Phil was right.

Johnston said the reason is simple: “He’s never been wrong.” Phil is “incapable of error,” he said, because the groundhog smartly avoids being site-specific in his prognostications.

If Phil predicts six more weeks of winter, said Johnston, “I guarantee you someone’s going to have six more weeks of winter.”

Puxatony Phil Sees His Shadow in 2012

2012-02-02T10:09:00.003-08:00

At 7:25 a.m. this morning, amidst mostly cloudy skies, and temperatures in the low 30s, Groundhog Phil saw his shadow in the little town of Punxsutawney, Pa.

According to folklore, Phil’s sighting of his own shadow means there will be 6 more weeks of winter. Had Phil not seen his shadow, it would have meant “there will be an early spring.”

If Phil’s forecast is right, it signals a dramatic reversal from the mild weather pattern affecting much of the country. Many parts of the central and eastern U.S. have seen temperatures 20 to 30 degrees above normal in recent days. On February 1, just 19% of the Lower 48 had snow cover compared to 52% at this time last year.

Historic odds heavily favor a forecast for winter to last deep into March. Since the Groundhog’s first prediction in 1887, Phil has seen his shadow 99 times and failed to spot it just 16 times. There are 9 missing years in the record, but Phil has issued a forecast without exception.

But just how accurate is the prognosticator of prognosticators?

Puxatony Phil Says Six More Weeks of Winter

2012-02-02T10:09:00.001-08:00

Famed groundhog prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil has weighed in with his yearly forecast from central Pennsylvania: Six more weeks of winter.

Here's Phil's forecast, as relayed at the annual ceremony: "Many shadows do I see: six more weeks of winter it must be."

BY DEGREES: Reactions to a mild, dry winter vary

GALLERY: Groundhog Day celebrations

The pronouncement brought groans from the thousands of people gathered for the annual event at Gobbler's Knob, the tiny hill in Punxsutawney, which is about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Temperatures were near freezing when Phil emerged from his lair at dawn — unseasonably warm — and are forecast to climb into the mid-40s in a winter that's brought little snow and only a few notably cold days to much of the East.

Today's ceremony, which is also a big tourist draw to the area, is largely ceremonial, the Associated Press reassures us: Phil's prediction is determined ahead of time by the Inner Circle, a group which dons top hats and tuxedos and decides what the groundhog will predict.

Phil has now seen his shadow 100 times and hasn't seen it just 16 times since 1886, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, which runs the event. There are no records for the remaining years.

Here's a dissenting view, to say the least, from WGN meteorologist Tim McGill on the Chicago Weather Center blog"

Should be good fun but still, meteorologists and weathermen everywhere shun the hoopla surrounding February 2nd. We are expected to act as the groundhog's spokesperson and explain the archaic shenanigans of a bunch of old men with large top hats who enjoy pulling a rodent out his hole, thrusting him in the air and making proclamations about whether or not winter will continue. This will be my 26th Groundhog Day as a broadcast meteorologist so I have heard just about every joke there is regarding the day.

McGill adds that experts have found that Phil's forecast is accurate only about 39% of the time.

"Punxsutawney Phil is a punk when it comes to weather forecasting," McGill writes. "In his defense, long range forecasting is tricky at best."