Four years after the New York Giants stunned the undefeated New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII, both teams have clawed their way back into the Big Game.

The quarterbacks and coaches are the same: Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, making a record fifth Super Bowl trip together for the Patriots, and Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin in their second appearance for the Giants. But Super Bowl XLVI has a whole new set of subplots. "There are so many emotional levels to this game," says NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth, who will man the booth in Indianapolis on Sunday, Feb. 5 with Al Michaels.

New England owner Robert Kraft's beloved wife, Myra, passed away in July after a long battle with cancer and the team has dedicated the season to her, even wearing patches on their uniforms with her initials, MHK. "She's an inspiration," says Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo. "We want to win a Super Bowl in her name."

After New England eked out a 23-20 victory in the AFC Championship game -- thanks to the Baltimore Ravens missing a field goal with 15 seconds left -- Kraft said, "Someone was smiling; we had an angel." The Patriots are also motivated by that loss four years ago to the 12-point underdog Giants, denying them an unprecedented 19-0 season." The bitter taste of that defeat is still very much alive for the people that were part of it," Collinsworth says. "They want a chance to at least settle the score."

They also want payback for a 24-20 regular-season defeat at home to the Giants on Nov. 6. The Patriots haven't lost a game since. "We've won 10; hopefully we can make it 11," says Brady.

The Giants were the late bloomers of the NFC. After a loss to the Washington Redskins dropped them to 7-7, there was talk of firing Coughlin and defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. New York won its last two regular-season games, then went on the road in the playoffs, defeating the Atlanta Falcons, the No. 1 seed and defending champion Green Bay Packers, and the No. 2 seed San Francisco 49ers, 20-17 in overtime. "Obviously, we don't want to take anything from the '07 team; that was a great team," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck says, "but this... seems like a team of destiny."

Although the early line favors the Pats, Collinsworth says, "I don't see where one team should be favored over the other. If anything, maybe the Giants a little bit, just because of what they did on the road this year."

Manning, the first starting quarterback to win five playoff games on the road, says New York "just kept believing that we could get hot and we could start playing our best football, and we did that at the end of the season. Hopefully we can continue that momentum." (He could become the greatest Super Bowl-winning quarterback in the Manning family, ironically on the home field of older brother Peyton, who won the 2007 Super Bowl but was sidelined this season after neck surgery.)

Brady, who has already won three Super Bowls, is chasing immortality. Another win would put him "in a very small group of people we're discussing as the greatest player of all time," Collinsworth says. "His play this season really carried his team. They didn't have the great defensive team that they had in those first three Super Bowl wins, so this was very much his signature season."

Whether it's Manning or Brady who leads his team to victory on Super Sunday, another major chapter in NFL history is sure to be written. Says Collinsworth, "Somebody's coming out of here a legend."

 

(NewsUSA) - Tax season tends to be people's least favorite time of the year, which is only compounded for small businesses. Don't live in fear under the ever-nearing tax thundercloud, make sure your business is prepared to meet the daunting season. Here are five basic rules to keep your business ahead of tax season.

1. Regularly update accounting records. Knowing the intricacies of your company's financial situation throughout the year makes tax season much less intimidating. Plus, if all records are up-to-date and exact, your accountant has more time to spend on finding ways to save the business money instead of organizing information.

2. Triple check your tax bracket. Marginal tax rate analyses help guarantee that your small business isn't needlessly pushed into a higher tax bracket. This is especially beneficial if your business is teetering on the edge. Recognize income when your tax bracket is lower; pay deductible expenses when the bracket is higher.

3. Take inventory of supplies, equipment and other potential write-offs. Equipment might be damaged or too outdated to maintain productivity. Replacing office supplies and obsolete assets before the new year gives the company added deductions. For costly technology, confer with your accountant to see whether an immediate or depreciable write-off is preferable. Financial planners like On Call Accountants help maximize deductions and increase expenses to prevent owing exorbitant fees. Learn more about possible deductions at www.oncallaccountants.com.

4. Contribute to a retirement plan. If you haven't set up a retirement plan yet, do it before the year-end to reduce this year's income. Qualified retirement plans afford tax deductions for all contributions. Find an appropriate plan for your business, and explore contribution limits. A retirement savings opportunity will also garner loyalty among employees.

5. Look into business tax credits. Small businesses may be eligible for numerous tax credits, as listed on the IRS website. Examples of possible credits are Low-Income Housing, Credit for Increasing Research Activities and Disabled Access Credit.

 - The kids are in school, which means they spend most of their day without parental supervision. The days when parents only had to worry about their kids skipping class and getting bullied for lunch money are gone. Now, new threats have emerged around cell phone use.

According to a survey performed by Internet monitoring software company SpectorSoft, sexting is parents' primary concern during the school season.

"Absolutely," said Rebecca Hagelin, a parent who uses SpectorSoft to track her three teenagers. "It's allowed my children to enjoy all the benefits the latest technology has to offer them, and it's allowed me to protect them from the dangers of some of the new technology," she said. "It's a win-win."

Smartphones with advanced Internet capabilities have greatly increased parental fears about cyberbullies, online predators, sexting and the exchange of inappropriate messages and pictures.

SpectorSoft reports that 82 percent of all families surveyed contain at least one child who has a smartphone. Even if teachers and school faculty can keep students off their phones during school hours, who protects them after school?

Bryan Bowers, author of "Keep Your Family Safe Online," said that the survey proves parents are starting to gain greater awareness of what their children are actually up to on their phones and online. "So many children have smartphones, and this tells me parents are starting to get the idea that these devices can be a problem for children," Bowers said. "They are starting to see the reality of what is out there."

SpectorSoft, focused on monitoring products for children since their inception in 1998, has released eBlaster Mobile for Android and BlackBerry phones. This software keeps track of all activity on these smartphones by monitoring and recording text messages, calls and Internet activity and then sending that information to the parent. It also has Geofencing capabilities to enable parents to better understand the whereabouts of their children through their mobile devices. Parents can create electronic location boundaries -- or fences -- that trigger an alert notification when their child enters or exits a pre-defined area with their mobile device.

eBlaster is designed for maximum parental convenience and child safety. The software can be downloaded from its website, www.spectorsoft.com, and then managed from any remote location. Plus, it has a GPS function reporting the exact location of the phone in the event of emergencies.