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]

Most of these puppies look like trouble, but if anyone is going to raise the bar of puppy mayhem, it's probably going to be Bruin, the Alaskan Malamute. Look for at least 17 penalties from this puppy in the first quarter alone. And Jack the Mini Dachshund looks like he'd chew up your Super Bowl tickets without thinking twice.

But my favorite aspect of the Puppy Bowl (Sunday, 3 p.m., Animal Planet) is always the fine reporting of the event at Planet Haystack, which always treats it as, well, its Super Bowl. A snippet from last year's coverage:

Look ... it's this simple: Whichever puppy dropped the fleece squirrel into the water bowl at the two-hour mark of PB 3, well ... that puppy should've been flagged, ejected, suspended and fined. The Bowl Cam gave the viewer conclusive evidence that the puppy toy "went for a swim." It was an obvious penalty — and there should be outrage over such a flagrant foul. There's no room in the game for that. The game's growth depends on it.

Secretly, Eli Manning is more interested in this game as well.

Meet The Puppy Players [Puppy Bowl IV]
MVP of Puppy Bowl III = The Puggle? [Planet Haystack]