Growing up in a suburb outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it was simply inevitable that I'd become a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan. So, when news came out that Super Bowl MVP, franchise record-holder, hard-hitter, Dancing With the Stars champ Hines Ward was being released by the Steelers at the beginning of the month, I was, in a word, devastated.

Everyone in Pittsburgh and anyone who's a fan of the NFL (and Dancing With the Stars) know Hines for his famous smile, amazing attitude, talent, and charisma. But as a Steelers fan, we also know him as the cornerstone of the team, a veteran of 14 years whose experience and lovability will not be replaced any time soon. Now, with news that Hines has decided to retire as a Steeler, I tuned in to his noon press conference for the announcement, watching him get teary-eyed in his black and gold tie (yep, if I were seeing this at home alone, I'd be bawling). So ... why exactly do we love Hines so much? Let me count the ways.

Pretty much the ONLY person on the Internet who didn't weigh in this week on M.I.A. throwing the bird during her performance with Madonna at the Super Bowl half-time show was Madonna herself. But that all changed Friday morning when the Material Girl herself candidly told Ryan Seacrest what she thought of the flip-off.

Guess what. Madonna wasn't happy. Here's what she said about it:

Gisele BundchenGisele Bundchen, who's pretty well known for not knowing when to keep her mouth shut, has been in a lot of headlines lately due to her famous husband, Tom Brady, losing the most famous game of all time, the Super Bowl. From an email she sent asking everyone to pray for her husband to throwing his own teammates under the bus after they lost, it seems she's made more news than her quarterback husband himself.

But the New York Giants, who won the game, really didn't need to talk about Gisele, either, and especially not the way he did. The team's running back Brandon Jacobs told reporters, "She just needs to continue to stay cute and shut up."

Not only was this comment completely unnecessary, it was totally sexist! Giants, be the bigger men! You won the game, and there's absolutely no need to comment on the loser team's business.

The New York Giants came back to their hometown to celebrate their Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots at a parade that drew over a million people. And I happened to be one of them! I was able to squeeze in through the crowds (I'm lucky it was just me or I never would have made it through) to take pictures of those who made it out to the parade on a lovely, clear 48-degree day. You really couldn't ask for better weather!

The confetti rained down on us (I was on the corner of Broadway and Wall Street, as the parade made its way up from the Canyon of Heroes to City Hall) in between chants of "Boston sucks!" to "U.S.A.!" to "Go Giants!", even "Wall Street sucks!" The energy and excitement of everyone around me were contagious. Fans and families and friends and even their pets showed up from around the New York City area to watch the parade and catch a glimpse of their heroes. 

Since it's only been a couple of days since the Patriots lost the Super Bowl, Tom Brady is probably still licking his wounds and trying to come to terms with the fact that they totally could've won in those last few seconds. And well, he's also probably dreading running into his teammates anytime soon because his wife, Gisele Bundchen, made him look like even more of a loser after the game was over. Good grief. Will she ever learn to keep her mouth shut?

Instead of just being a good sport and accepting that the Giants won the game, Gisele had to go into some big rant about how Tom can't be expected to throw the ball and catch it, blah, blah, blah. There's no way that her dream guy can be the reason the Pats lost, so it had to be someone else's fault, right? Gisele certainly seemed to think so.

Sorry, don't have a photo of his feetSteve Tisch, the co-owner of the New York Giants, got his second Super Bowl ring Sunday night when his team beat the New England Patriots in a very exciting match-up. Of course, he credits the players and coaches and fans for the win, but there's one tiny superstition he totally believes helped bring his team the glory -- thanks to his two young daughters.

All of his toenails are painted red and blue.

Yep, that's right, the 62-year-old allowed his children, Elizabeth and Holden, to give him a patriotic pedicure. That was five weeks ago, and he was too nervous to remove the polish as the Giants kept on winning. Yep, Steve Tisch's toenails were painted while he was watching the Super Bowl. How adorable is that?

For weeks we were bombarded with never-ending hype over the new season of The Voice premiering immediately after the Super Bowl. However, none of the promos did the show justice like the one that aired during the big game. Judges Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton teamed up with funny lady Betty White for what was arguably one of the best commercials from the entire night.

In the spot, the four judges seem to be at a swanky hotel when they hear an angelic voice coming from afar. In true Voice nature, the battle is on to get to the source first. After a few punches and an action sequence, the foursome busts through a door to find none other than Betty White fresh out of the shower. Hilarious!!

Something tells me that the ad is a perfect indicator of how fabulous and funny the second season of the hit NBC show is going to be. See the commercial for yourself after the jump:

Let's be real: The Super Bowl makes most of us feel super sized. These days, it seems like the big game has become yet another occasion where it's socially acceptable to throw all diet rules out the window, and binge eat, and be completely unhealthy.

I think it's safe to assume that today, most football fans are feelin' a little on the pudgier side. Hell, I know I do. After consuming one-too-many wings, a handful (or three) of Doritos, and enough buffalo chicken dip to feed an entire village at last night's party, I feel like swearing off eating for days.

If only it were that easy. Clearly, not eating isn't a realistic fix for dropping those few extra pounds, and neither is hitting the gym for four straight hours during a busy work week.

However, there are a few easy, quick tweaks you can add to your daily routine this week to help beat the Super Bowl. Starting with drinking water, and lots of it!