Patriots and Giants downplay the Evan Green story as the Superbowl approaches
By "Gary Collins"

Playoffs 2091 (Miami, FL) - 
The New England Patriots bottled up the two man Buffalo Bills rushing attack and relied on Sam Gibson's 314 yards passing as they knocked off the Buffalo Bills 16-10 at a rainy Rich Stadium in Buffalo.

'We never let the Bills get going on offense. It was great. We had them all tied up all game.' an excited Patriots safety Vance Hazelton said after the game.

'The defense gave us every opportunity today.' halfback Keith Bench said. Bench had a rushing touchdown as the only offensive scoring the Patriots had. 'We got ourselves in position to score, and we did.'

The Patriots will meet the New York Giants in the 2091 Super Bowl. The Giants, helped by a Johnny Sparks 69 yard punt return in overtime to set up a one yard touchdown run by Louis Close, came from behind to beat the Minnesota Vikings 20-14 in overtime.

'The blocking helped me out bigtime on that punt return.' Sparks said. 'I was just glad I helped us get in a position to win the game.'

'It was the longest yard of my life' Close said after his touchdown run set off a huge celebration at Giants Stadium. 'It felt like I was on cloud 9 until my teammates jumped all over me.'

It seemed destined that a Patriots/Giants game would eventually happen in the Super Bowl after the Giants cut loose Evan Green following a storm of controversy during Green's two seasons in New York. The Giants gave up on Green and shipped him over the New England for a fourth rounder following the 2089 season, and both Green, and the Giants have taken their shots at each other in the media ever since Green walked into Giants camp.

While the Green story has now taken focus in the week leading up to the game, players from both sides have tried their best to downplay it.

'Look, I'm not concerned about Evan Green vs the Giants here.' Patriots defensive lineman Mike Barrett said when asked about the story. 'You have 100 plus men on both sides of the field, players and coaches and general managers alike concerned about one thing. Winning.'

'You can't get distracted with that sort of thing.' Giants offensive lineman Jay Lee said. Lee had his fair share of trouble with Green, even coming to blows on a couple of occassions. 'If this was a meaningless game, then yea, talk about it all you want and throw a few personal fouls into the mix. This is the Super Bowl. If you get distracted about one player on the other team, then you're not going to win. Mike's right, we gotta be concerned about winning, not Evan Green.'

Green could not be reached for comments. While both teams have downplayed the story, it would be fitting if the deciding play of the game rested in the hands of Green.