I think it's safe to say that not too many people were expecting Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant to show up at a "Men Against Abuse" rally held over the weekend, considering his arrest last July on charges of allegedly hitting his mother, Angie Bryant, and pulling her hair. But not only did Bryant attend the event alongside Emmitt Smith, Roger Staubach, and Brandon Carr, he actually gave an impromptu speech:

"I made a mistake ... I just want everybody to know, it's not good to hit women and I challenge every man out here to X all domestic violence of your life."

A pretty brave move, I'd say, to both admit and apologize for his actions. In fact, Bryant's humility and willingness to admit his wrongdoing makes me think he's deserving of a second chance, especially considering his rough history.

It's happy news for New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. He and his wife Abby announced this week that they're expecting their second child.

She's due in June, and everyone's "very excited." Awww. Of course, everyone's also very anxious to know the sex of this baby. While I'm sure they're like most parents and want a healthy baby first and foremost, you know the hopes for a boy have got to be high. If not from themselves, then certainly from the rest of the football-loving world.

The NFL has always been known as a boys' club, for obvious reasons. It's a male-dominated world, from the players to the coaches to the media personalities who are commenting on said testosterone-y world. But now we've got Lauren Silberman, who's trying out at the NFL regional trials this coming Sunday in New Jersey. And she's the first woman to ever do so!

Silberman, 28, doesn't have all that much experience (she's trying out to be a kicker), but she has played soccer at the University of Wisconsin. She's probably a natural athlete too. Her shot at getting into the NFL is pretty slim, but she was able to get an invite to the trial after a video appeared online showing her making field goals at an event. Pretty cool, huh?

Let's hope she kicks (ha) ass. Wouldn't it be amazing to see a woman take the field to make a game-winning kick? Talk about Rudy-type inspiration. God I love that movie.

While the 49ers loss to the Ravens in Sunday's Super Bowl hit the team hard, that doesn't even begin to compare to the personal loss of the team's tight end, Delanie Walker. According to reports, after his aunt and uncle, Alice and Bryan Young, left the big game, they were killed in a fiery car crash.

Young tweeted the news this afternoon along with a picture of him with them: "Alice and bryan young my aunt and uncle was killed on Monday at 5 am after the super bowl by a drunk driver … we lost some good people they will be missed i love y'all" Heartbreaking.

Okay, New Orleans. Let's talk about this blackout at the Super Bowl. A whole 34 minutes in the dark! (Or anyway, in auxiliary lights.) What happened? Did the 49ers pull the plug for an extra-long time-out? Was Beyoncé too hot? Was it the ghost of Katrina?

There is an "official" explanation, but it's incredibly vague: An "abnormality in the system" cased the Super Bowl blackout, according to Superdome officials. A piece of monitoring equipment picked up on the abnormality and shut off the lights so the issue could be isolated. The emergency generators kicked in immediately. But they don't know what caused that "abnormality."

There have been some pretty crazy moments in the 47 years of Super Bowl history. But Super Bowl XLVII may just have taken the prize for the craziest game on record. The lights in the Superdome went out in the middle of the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, for crying out loud! And did you catch that Ravens player pushing the ref? Or that 108-yard touchdown run?

Nestled in between all those commercials were moments we'll be talking about for days. Just in case you missed 'em, here's what you need to know to keep up with the conversation:

It's Super Bowl time everybody! Are you ready for some FOOTBALL! We've gathered everything you need to know to enjoy the Super Bowl XLVII this weekend.

This Sunday, February 3, the Baltimore Ravens will face the San Francisco 49ers in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Kick-off time is at 5:30 E.T. The game will air on CBS, or you can watch the game online for free at CBSsports.com. Over 100 million people are expected to watch -- and several more will watch the halftime show. Here's EVEN MORE on the Super Bowl, including the part we're most looking forward to...

You seriously can't get through the media superstorm that is the week before the Super Bowl without a player saying something really, really stupid. Case in point: Chris Culliver. He's a cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers, and he recently caused a lot of controversy over his viewpoints on homosexuals.

A radio host asked the 24-year-old first about his sex plans with white women during Super Bowl week (yeah ...). He followed that up by asking Culliver if he'd ever pursue a homosexual man.

"I don't do the gay guys, man. I don't do that ... Ain't got no gay people on the team. They gotta get up outta here if they do. Can't be with that sweet stuff."

He then went on to say a gay teammate wouldn't be accepted. "Nah. Can't be ... in the locker room, nah. You've gotta come out 10 years later after that."

Disgusting, right? And, seriously, hate to say it, but we're all thinking it: Did this dude completely forget which city he plays for?