A walk on Washington Street in downtown Indianapolis made me think of a previous trip to sin city. Streets closed for pedestrian use and drinking in the streets. I have to tip my hat to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Indiana State Police. Their handling of the crowds and chaos (not that there was much chaos) was very well planned and executed. Their presence and hard work made everyone feel completely safe. A job well done.

That’s radio row. A massive ballroom inside the JW Marriott, full of past and present athletes, coaches, executives, analysts, and commentators. Everywhere you turn, a recognizable face. You name them and they probably made an appearance inside, even if it was for 2 minutes. Some radio stations have already packed up and left but many still remain as they discuss the topic on everyone’s mind….Super Bowl XLVI!

For about 30 minutes Madonna met with us and answered questions leading up to her Super Bowl XLVI halftime show performance.  Check out all my photos of her in my slideshow.

Preparations are underway for Madonna’s news conference at 2 p.m.

Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling was on radio row pitching his company’s first video game “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.” Schilling’s 38 Studios is based in Providence, Rhode Island.

Former Pats safety Rodney Harrison was making the rounds on radio row. He’s here supporting his former team, which he played for from 2003-2008, winning two Super Bowls. Harrison gave a shout out to loyal Patriots fans in Rhode Island. He left with these two words…”GO PATS!”

Big names on radio row!
Thursday morning on New York’s Boomer and Carton Show with former NFL player and current commentator Boomer Esaison, former Eagles, Rams, and Chiefs head coach Dick Vermeil stopped by. Vermeil is a Super Bowl winner with the St. Louis Rams.

Wednesday saw a crowd of past an present NFL players and coaches inside radio row as well as celebrities and other athletes from the sports world. Activity is increasing Thursday and rumors are swirling that such people as Broncos QB Tim Tebow (remember him??), Super Bowl halftime performer Madonna, and former President Bill Clinton will be stopping by radio row. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for you.

We bumped into former Patriots Linebacker Steve DeOssie, who also played for the New York Giants, winning a Super Bowl Championship. DeOssie’s son Zak currently plays for the Giants. I’ll give you three guesses who Steve is rooting for in Super Bowl XLVI and the first two don’t count.

Wednesday we talked to host committee members from New Orleans, the site of Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. They say it’s an honor to get to host the Super Bowl once again. It will be the tenth time the city has hosted a Super Bowl, the most of any city. The last time New Orleans played host was in 2002 when the Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams to win their first Super Bowl. Host committee members say they would love to welcome back the Patriots, as long it’s against the Saints though.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame had part of it’s traveling exhibit ‘Pro Football and the American Spirit’ on display just off radio row. Inside you can see and read about former Cowboys defensive tackle Chad Hennings, who was the only NFL player to serve in the Gulf War. Hennings flew 45 missions over northern Iraq. On display was the small American flag he placed on his glare shield during each of those missions as well as his helmet from his final season of his 9 year career.

Another part of the exhibit was former Arizona Cardinals defensive back Pat Tillman’s Army Ranger uniform. Tillman played for the Cardinals from 1998-2001. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks Tillman enlisted in the Army. He served several tours in Afghanistan before being killed by friendly fire in 2004 at the age of 27.

Our third day here on radio row. It’s pretty quiet. Just a few radio shows on the air early along with police and hotel security who are continually making rounds. As the day moves on, who knows who or what we’ll see…

As a host city, Indianapolis commissioned people from all across the country to make scarves for volunteers to wear around the city. So far they have received more than 13,000 handmade scarves from 46 states including Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Eyewitness news will bring you the story beginning Wednesday morning at 6 a.m.

Danielle got to hold and even smell Tom Brady’s game worn jersey from 10/16/11 at Gillette in their 20-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The never washed jersey is being auction off by he NFL. The money raised is going to various NFL charities. To bid and view the auction click here

Our second day live at the JW Marriott, Super Bowl XLVI Media headquarters, and this time (and for the rest of the week) we are live inside on “radio row” where all the radio stations and sports shows from around the nation are broadcasting coverage of the Super Rematch between the Patriots and Giants.

I was out for a stroll with the intention of snapping some photos for our blog when my travels took me to Lucas Oil Stadium of all places. It was there that I stumbled upon a temporary Patriots street sign put in place close to the site of Super Bowl XLVI (appropriately). I then found myself walking into the side gates of the stadium, through intense security which included metal detectors inside Lucas Oil and then down the tunnel onto the field. I think I froze for a good 6 minutes, until my mission of exploring the stadium began. I was lucky enough to walk on the field, see both teams locker rooms and sit in the seats. Oh, and did I mention they had just painted the logos on the field? Perhaps the horse shoes on a majority of the seats will prove lucky for Tom Brady and the Patriots come Sunday…

Up at 3am, on location outside the Super Bowl media headquarters at 4:30 and on the air at 6am. It was a little chilly Monday morning but we’ll be much warmer for the rest of the week.

Windy and chilly in the Super Bowl village today. Most of the people were local Colts fans (haha) but we did manage to track down 1 Patriots fan who is all smiles these days at his Indianapolis home, but his father, who is a Colts fan, can’t say the same!

We interviewed 2 Rhode Islanders now living in Indianapolis who are some of the very few New England Patriots fans found in Colts land. You’ll hear from Lori and Guy this week on. Eyewitness News!

Danielle North and Chief Photographer Les Breault and I have successfully received our NFL media credentials and are now Off to work.

We got our breakfast and coffee and we’re getting ready to pick up our media credentials for access to all things Super Bowl XLVI!! Bring it!

Floor of the jet bridge at Indianapolis International