WHO ARE SEVEN GREAT FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO ARE NOT THE SUBJECT OF ACTIVE MURDER INVESTIGATIONS?  First-time eligibles Walter Jones and Derrick Brooks, along with Michael Strahan, Aeneas Williams and Andre Reed, plus seniors committee candidates Ray Guy (!) and Claude Humphrey have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Next year's first-time eligibles include Kurt Warner, Torry Holt, and Isaac Bruce, along with Orlando Pace and the late Junior Seau.

NINTH ANNUAL SEASON-ENDING BIG GAME POOL: Five questions, one blog:

1. Winner/final score.
2. Official Game MVP.
3. Which advertiser tops the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter?
4. Bruno Mars/RHCP setlist predictions?
5. Will Renee Fleming's rendition of the National Anthem run longer than 2:25?

Tiebreaker: Pick a prop bet as listed on Football Outsiders. Get it right. The tougher the odds of winning your bet, the more credit you get.

Previous winners: 2006: Benner; 2007: me; 2008: Joseph J. Finn ; 2009: Scott; 2010:Scott again; 2011: GoldnI; 2012: Phil; 2013: Benner. As they will tell you, the prizes are Fame and Glory within this community, but nothing financial.

[My predictions: Denver 31-23, Manning, Budweiser, Treasure/Locked/Grenade/Higher Ground, shorter, under 27.5 Omahas.]

THE "ENCHANTMENT UNDER THE SEA" NUMBER IS A SHOWSTOPPER:  Coming to the West End next year (and, presumably, Broadway thereafter)--Back To The Future: The Musical.  Provide your suggestions for songs (yes, there will be original songs, in addition to "Johnny B. Goode" and "Power of Love" making appearances) and for casting (Darren Criss as Marty? Norbert Leo Butz as Doc Brown?).

WHAT IS "THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA," ALEX? As you might have seen earlier this week on Jeopardy!, a player wagered for a tie rather than the win, claiming that doing so is the optimal game theory strategy.  I'm sure folks have thoughts on that.

NO, THIS ISN'T OLD-SCHOOL THROWING THINGS REWIND DAY:  We didn't get rid of Comments; they're just not showing up on the page right now. Until they're restored, please rail against the heavens or something.

update 2:15p:  Based on what I'm seeing on Twitter, we're not alone.

update, 4:50p:  Seems to be working. Do the ctrl-shift-refresh to be sure.

NOPE, STILL ALONE: So, that weird fifth nominee for Original Song--"Alone Yet Not Alone?"  It's been disqualified for campaign violations at the nominating level.  Unclear if the nomination slot will be filled (Coldplay, Kings of Leon, Lana Del Rey, and Ed Sheeran all were snubbed).  If one were cynical, one could say that this clears the way for a potentially pretty hip and fun set of performances of Song nominees--U2, Idina Menzel, Pharrell, and some combination of Karen O/Scarlett Johansson/Arcade Fire.

ETA:  The Academy will not be having a replacement nominee.   Assuming U2 is willing to perform, this would seem to make song performances pretty likely.

BIRMINGHAMIANS NEED SNOW PLOWS LIKE NEW YORKERS NEED TORNADO SHELTERS:  Gizmodo explains why we're not allowed to make fun of the South after its inability to handle a light snowfall this week.