Your Puppy Bowl Recap

The writers strike may have crippled other shows, but the Puppy Bowl remains strong; ratings for Puppy Bowl IV on Sunday were up 35 percent from last year. Just like Super Bowl XLII, some are calling this the best Puppy Bowl ever, although the Bissell Kitty halftime show had too much nipple in my opinion. The huge ratings bonanza for Animal Planet can be traced in part to the inspired play of Abigail the Jack Russell Terrier, who won the Most Valuable Player award. Not everyone was on board with that selection, however. From Planet Haystack, your most trusted name in Puppy Bowl coverage:

While Abigail had a lot going for her, she did not remain within herself and did not allow the game to come to her. Her sprints were random and frenetic ... she was out of position more than once ... and all of that splashing at the water dish was completely unnecessary, not to mention psychotic. Abigail gave all the appearances that she wasn't very well-coached, taking the element of "wreckless abandon" a little too far. Not unlike a puppy version of Bill Romanowski.

Puppy Bowl IV drew eight million viewers, a record. And look, the New York Times even interviewed yours truly about it.

Puppy Bowl IV: What, No Flea-Flicker? [Planet Haystack] Just Fine As Tackles, But They Can't Pass [New York Times] Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl Draws Eight Million Viewers [Multichannel News]