On the cover

More than 90 puppies from more than 38 rescue organizations have been drafted to represent Team Ruff and Team Fluff in Animal Planet's

Puppy Bowl XIV, the cutest competition in sports history. The event is a good alternative for those who don’t care to watch the Super Bowl or the myriad reruns on television that night.

Tailgating starts with a pre-game show at 1 p.m., featuring commentator James Hound and pregame analysts Rodt Weiler and Sheena Inu. Gordon Setter and Greta Dane will serve as field correspondents. Pre-game rituals can be seen with the help of a new locker room webcam. A new Puppy Bowl stadium also will be revealed during the broadcast.

The dogs hit the gridiron at 3 p.m. More than a dozen cameras will capture the excitement, which begins with Jokgu the piano-playing chicken pecking out “The Star-Spangled Banner” on a keyboard as a bunch of cheerleading ducklings, piglets and baby bunnies help excite the fans on the sidelines.

Puppy Bowl XIV features pups rescued from areas devastated by natural disasters in 2017, including Texas, Puerto Rico and Florida. Others include a sight-impaired husky, a deaf dalmatian, a sight-impaired deaf border collie and a Pomeranian mix with a cleft palate.

For information or to view the roster, go to AnimalPlanet.com/PuppyBowl.