THE SCOOP
A New Jersey man has sued the NFL, accusing it of pricing average football fans out of the Super Bowl and that the league is in violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. Josh Finkelman, of New Brunswick, N.J., says the NFL made only 1 percent of all tickets available to the public for purchase at face value. He said that means most fans must buy their tickets on the secondary market, where they can command thousands of dollars.
The NFL notes that three-quarters of the game’s tickets are given to teams, which sell them at face value to fans who win lotteries.
A NEW QB?
Panthers coach Ron Rivera expects a few more big plays from 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick this time around, not the least of which is because of two key receivers he’ll look to connect with.
Rivera says that Kaepernick “didn’t play that well” against Carolina in a regular-season matchup Nov. 10. The Panthers limited the third-year quarterback to 91 yards passing, 16 yards rushing and no touchdowns in a 10-9 victory against the 49ers at Candlestick Park.
Rivera says the 49ers are a much better team than they played in November. Kaepernick was without wide receiver Michael Crabtree in the November meeting, and tight end Vernon Davis left early in the game with a concussion. Crabtree had eight catches for 125 yards in the wild-card victory against the Packers.
CANDLESTICK PREPARATIONS
San Francisco team officials are preparing just in case: If the Saints beat the Seahawks, and the 49ers beat the Panthers, then the NFC title will go through Candlestick Park.
Here’s the scenario: If the No. 6 Saints beat the No. 1 seed Seahawks on Saturday and the No. 5 49ers beat the No. 2 Panthers on Sunday, the ’Stick would host its ninth conference title game.
Among the items on the to-do list: Replacing or repairing the 140 or so seats that were damaged by souvenir hunters after the Dec. 23 game against the Falcons — the presumed swan song for the 49ers’ home since 1971.
INJURY UPDATE
Although already on injured reserve and out for the playoffs, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski will have surgery Thursday, according to the Associated Press. He has a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee sustained in a Dec. 8 game.
BY THE NUMBERS
18-2 Andrew Luck's record in games decided by a touchdown or less as Colts quarterback.
HE SAID IT
“I think we’ve got to get out of the past. I think we hold on to the past a little bit too much, especially in the negative. It’s a new team, new coaches, new quarterback. Everything’s new. There’s only, what, two guys on this team that are left as players on that team? And we keep wanting to talk about it. It’s time for us to move on and be (the) 2013, playoff-bound team that’s going to host a division game.” — Panthers receiver Steve Smith, who still intends to return from a knee injury for the divisional playoff game
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