Millions of viewers got to see Beyonce do her thing on the big stage at yesterday’s Super Bowl halftime show last night. But the halftime show wasn’t always a showcase for solo-artists with attitude. Once upon a time, halftime at the Super Bowl meant one thing and one thing alone: Up With People.

Has your opinion of football changed as we find out more and more about the toll the game takes on its players? We take your calls to find out. 

Call in at 212-433-9692 or leave a comment below.

The National Football League is at the center of a legal case being brought by 4,000 former football players and their wives. The claim? That the N.F.L. covered up life-altering brain injuries. Paul Barrett is covering the case, and the attorney who's arguing it, for Bloomberg Businessweek.

I am an English major and a fan of professional football. So for this year’s Super Bowl, it will come as no surprise that I'm rooting for the Baltimore Ravens, the only team in the NFL named for a poem. In the spirit of literature and gridiron, I want to re-name all the NFL franchises. ...

Forget the teams playing in the 2014 Super Bowl, the biggest match-up may be between New Jersey and New York City.

In the past two years, seven former NFL players have killed themselves, and in each case, many argued that depression and dementia brought on by job-related concussions were to blame. The pressure is on the NFL to better protect its players, and the league is defending itself by running public service announcements during games. Bob talks to NFL Chief Marketing Officer Mark Waller about the campaign.

Acid Pauli - Mst

The conclusion of our three-part series focuses on the music heard on the 40-year-old album.

Everyone knows the UK loves their Football. But what about our Football: The American Version? The NFL returns to London this weekend for it's annual showcase game, and we want to find out if there's any real desire for the American version of the game in England.

Kevin Cook explains why he thinks the 1970s were the most colorful decade in NFL history and were the years that pro football grew up. His book The Last Headbangers: NFL Football in the Rowdy, Reckless ‘70s—the Era that Created Modern Sports draws on interviews with legendary coaches and players—Franco Harris, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, Ken “Snake” Stabler—and tells the story of their heroics and off-field carousing.

Football legend Floyd Little talks about his journey from poverty to military school, college, the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In Promises to Keep: My Inspired Run from Syracuse to Denver to the Hall, he shares his favorite tales from his first high school game, his time playing for Syracuse and for the Denver Broncos. He also recounts stories about fellow Hall of Famers of his era, his Broncos teammates, and shares his thoughts about today's NFL stars.

Labor Day has passed and fall is officially in the air. For some people, that means it's time to start getting ready for the 2012 fantasy football season. With over 27 million participants, the popularity of fantasy football is at an all-time high. The phenomenon of this popularity is documented in a comedy on FX, called The League, which presents six long-time friends as they navigate extreme football fandom. 

We already know the impact that recent NCAA penalties will have on the Penn State football program, but how will they affect the Penn State community?

After the national anthems are finished, the focus of the Euro 2012 final will be squarely on the field. But in the background of what's sure to be a fantastic soccer match, there's still plenty of music to be heard.

Before the Euro 2012 final even starts on Sunday, both Italy and Spain will display their national melodies front and center. What exactly will the players be singing (or humming along with) when their anthems are played?

A committee of university presidents has approved a new playoff system for college football. After this year, the much-derided Bowl Championship Series will come to an end, and be replaced by a four-team playoff and a Super Bowl-style title game.

It's no secret that coming out is tough. No one can ever really gauge just how someone will react beforehand, no matter how close to you they may be. Now imagine that you're making millions of dollars in an industry that relies heavily on it's super macho image. This may seem like an unrealistic scenario, but for retired NFL player Wade Davis, this was an all too familiar reality.

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship will kick off a week from today. Normally it's a cause for celebration, but concerns that some racist fans in the host countries of Poland and the Ukraine will harm black and Asian fans and players have dominated any discussion about the tournament. Is racism really that entrenched in European soccer?

Michael Oher, the football star made famous in the book and movie The Blind Side, talks about rising above the circumstances of his youth. In I Beat the Odds, Oher looks back on how he went from being a homeless child in Memphis to playing in the NFL, and looks at how he broke out of the cycle of poverty, addiction, and hopelessness that trapped his family.

Gregory Porter says he got into songwriting because his mother was a minister. "Melodies, lyrics, thoughts come to me in the most average of places ... when I'm birdwatching, which I like to do," he said on Soundcheck. Watch a video of Porter singing "On My Way To Harlem."