Las Vegas dogs in Puppy Bowl offer alternatives to Super Bowl

Las Vegas Review-Journal

5 years ago

Puppies play during Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl in Silver Spring, Md., in this Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2007 file photo. Puppy Bowl IV will premiere on Animal Planet on Feb 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Stephen J Boitano, FILE)

George, a chihuahua-miniature poodle mix from the Nevada SPCA, is a starter for Team Ruff in Puppy Bowl XV. (Animal Planet)

André Holland as Ray Burke in High Flying Bird, directed by Steven Soderbergh. (Peter Andrews/Netflix)

Melody Herzfeld from “Song of Parkland.” (HBO)

Students embrace in a scene from “Song of Parkland.” (HBO)

Host/chef Gordon Ramsay in an episode of Hell’s Kitchen. (FOX)

Ray Romano debuts his first Netflix comedy special, Ray Romano: Right Here, Around the Corner (Netflix)

Atmosphere at the Puppy Bowl X at the Discovery Times Square Experience in New York on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014. (Mark Von Holden/AP Images for Discovery Communications)

Still reeling from the fact that the Saints won’t be playing?

Simply can’t stomach the idea of yet another Sunday looking at a fuming Bill Belichick?

No longer feel the need to watch the Big Game now that most of the commercials already are online?

You’re in luck. From puppies to pimples, here’s a look at some of the televised alternatives to Super Bowl LIII.

Puppy Bowl XV

Noon, Animal Planet

The Nevada SPCA has become the Tom Brady of the Puppy Bowl: It’s hard to imagine one without the other. This year, the local no-kill animal sanctuary is being represented by George, a chihuahua-miniature poodle mix, who’s a starter for Team Ruff. The shelter also has Bennett, a shih tzu-poodle, waiting in the wings as a “backup pup” for Team Ruff, presumably in case George or any of the other starters should happen to fail concussion protocols or test positive for banned substances. Gotti, a Boykin spaniel, and Norma, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, will wait to take the field as reserves for Team Fluff.

Kitten Bowl VI

2 p.m., Hallmark Channel

If the Puppy Bowl’s Kitty Halftime Show — starring Adam Feline of Purrr-oon 5, naturally — doesn’t scratch your feline itch, consider this annual competition. Hosted by Beth Stern, with Dean Cain and Rodney Peete calling the play-by-play and Boomer Esiason and Rashad Jennings on commentary, it’s all rescue cats all the time.

The Poppy Bowl

5 p.m., TLC

Six fan favorite episodes of “Dr. Pimple Popper” have been compiled, along with behind-the-scenes stories and updates on some of Dr. Sandra Lee’s most memorable patients.

“The Office”

8 a.m., Comedy Central

Ten years ago, Michael Scott and the gang landed the coveted post-Super Bowl time slot on NBC for an hourlong episode. This year, you can spend significantly more time at Dunder Mifflin with this 14-hour marathon.

The Wizarding World

10:30 a.m., USA

Have a magical Sunday with consecutive airings of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2” and “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”

“Cops”

9 a.m., Paramount Network

You don’t have to go to a Super Bowl party to be surrounded by drunk, shirtless dudes thanks to this marathon that runs until 4 a.m. Monday.

“The New Edition Story” and “The Bobby Brown Story”

Noon, BET

Grab your Candy Girl and settle in for a full day of R&B drama with back-to-back airings of the three-part New Edition miniseries and its two-part follow-up on Brown.

“Botched”

4 a.m., E!

Running through noon Monday, this is a marathon of the plastic surgeries-gone-wrong series, not an in-depth investigation of that pass interference noncall in the NFC Championship Game.

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.