Every Super Bowl is full of so many compelling stories, and the army of reporters that descends upon the host city keeps busy delving into every little crevice trying to find something unique. Most of the time the media comes up empty because there are simply too many ears to the ground and eyes poring over the Internet to miss that one golden nugget of a story.

Now that Super Sunday is here, MiamiDolphins.com Senior Internet Writer Andy Kent has emptied his notebook from the week and here are some of the treasures he managed to dig up.

TASTE OF THE NFL PUTS CLASSY FINISHING TOUCH ON SUPER BOWL WEEK: It's always one of the most anticipated events leading up to the big game on Sunday, and last night the 19th Annual Taste of the NFL did not disappoint, especially for Dol-fans and rock and roll fans.

Dubbed "The Super Bowl Party With A Purpose," this lavish food and wine tasting took place underneath a huge tent at the Broward Convention Center and there was plenty of out-of-this-world food to satisfy even the most critical palate while at the same time warming up those not used to the cooler evening temperatures. All the while the participants whipping up the tasty meals and those consuming them could revel in the fact that they were contributing to a very worthy cause – fighting hunger.

"You get to see a lot of people from around the country and this raises a tremendous amount of money for hunger related charities," said former Dolphins safety Dick Anderson, who was on the undefeated 1972 team. "Half of the money raised here, and it's anywhere between $500,000 and $900,000, stays locally. So one dollar raised serves 10 meals actually in the homeless community and the people with hunger through the food bank. It's really the first event at the Super Bowl that was a true charity and now there are a lot of charity events around the Super Bowl and it's just fun to be a part of it."

Anderson teamed up with Chef Allen Susser of Chef Allen's in Aventura for the 19th straight year, making them the most senior station at the event. And while the competition among the chefs representing each of the 31 NFL cities was fierce, only one chef could lay claim to that title, and that was Chef Allen.

In order to keep up with the likes of Chef Jack McDavid of Jack's Firehouse in Philadelphia and his Cold Smoked Maple Leaf Farms Duck, Chef Allen had to get creative and once again he delivered. His specialty item was Wild Florida Shrimp Sliders With Valencia Orange Kimchee and judging from the big smile on his face, Chef Allen isn't losing any of his enthusiasm for participating in The Taste of the NFL.

"It's definitely a great event, there's a lot of creativity from the chefs and the participation of the players has been fabulous," he said. "But overall it's the people that come out. They're doing something good for the community and we're thrilled to be a part of that. Dick has been fabulous and he has just been the pillar of being a part of this and he brings in the Dolphins and everything that means. The Dolphins are Miami, and this being the fourth time we've hosted this in Miami, that's just been great and it's just been a pleasure working with Dick. He's such a great person and has lots of wonderful energy to fight hunger."

Current Dolphins center Jake Grove was among those in attendance and he brought his father, mother, sisters and brother-in-law along for the experience. The one thing he knew for sure was that he doesn't expect to find any of these items, like Pittsburgh's Handmade Organic Goat Cheese & Potato Pierogie With Crispy Heirloom Pork Belly on the training table down in Davie when training camp starts up this summer.

Three of Anderson's former team from the'72 team – quarterback Earl Morrall, defensive lineman Manny Fernanez and running back Mercury Morris were also on hand signing autographs in front of the Shula's Steakouse station.

As the food stations were being broken down, those who decided to stay until the end were treated to a private concert by Barenaked Ladies. The popular rock band had performed earlier in the evening on Fort Lauderdale Beach in the Super Bowl Saturday Night event that was free and open to the public and concluded with a fireworks display.

NFL NETWORK'S MARIUCCI, CBS' SIMMS HIGH ON HENNE: Former San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions head coach Steve Mariucci, who is now also an analyst on the NFL Network, was a fan of Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne back when Henne was starting at Michigan just up the road from Detroit, and he likes him even more now.

"I love him and I think he made great strides," Mariucci said. "I was watching him when I was coaching with the Lions because he was right up the street there starting as a freshman and playing very well and you kind of knew the kid had a little something. There are some intangibles things that you better have, otherwise forget about it, and he's got it I think. The better he gets the less and less Wildcat I think you're going to see over there. You think the Colts run Wildcat? I don't think so. So Wildcat teams might do some of that when you have a quarterback that you want to give him a rest or put him out there once in a while for dun, but when you have a great one you just put him out there and let him play quarterback. Chad Henne's going to be good."

Former New York Giants and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Phil Simms is the lead color analyst for CBS and will be calling Sunday's Super Bowl with Jim Nantz. He agrees with Mariucci and has talked a lot about Henne throughout the year on the set and covering Dolphins games.

"He's the real deal. There's nothing I've seen him do that surprises me," Simms said. "I thought I saw it when he was coming out of college and he's shown a lot of people that no doubt he has a terrific arm, but he's a better athlete than everybody thinks and that's going to be a really big thing for him. I don't know if he's every going to be a great touch passer. He'll be good enough.

"So you know what? Just don't throw a lot of touch passes. You get more hammer throws in there where he can let it go and they'll catch it, but he's not going to be Peyton Manning who can drop it in and throw it soft. That's just not his style unless he really changes his throwing motion. He has a good personality and there's nothing I saw from him at any time this year that made me change my opinion of him."

HOF ELECTION ALLOWS EMMITT TO REFLECT ON WHAT FLORIDA HAS MEANT TO HIS CAREER: Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher and one third of the legendary Triplets with the Dallas Cowboys, was full of emotion when he was officially elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame yesterday on his first try. And the fact that he announced his retirement in Jacksonville five years ago before Super Bowl XXXIX and is now getting the word in South Florida was not lost on Smith.

"You know the connection that I have to this state is, this is where it all began for me," said Smith, whose 18,355 rushing yards and 164 rushing titles still stand as NFL records. "To be able to be a shining star in this state and to represent this state on a national basis because of my background from this place is an honor. I believe that Florida is one of the best states as far as football is concerned, high school football as well as some of the college football. We know how good Florida, Miami and Florida State were in the '80s and how they were in the '90s, so it's just a wonderful thing to be able to say I'm from Florida. It's such a beautiful state and I'm just honored."

Though his four children were at home most likely watching the announcement on television, Emmitt's mother, Mary, father, Emmitt III and wife, Pat, were in the audience inside the Broward Convention Center when he was introduced along with Jerry Rice, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, John Randle, Floyd Little and Dick Lebeau. Pride filled their chests and they were brought to tears at the same time Emmitt shed some of his own when talking about what this moment means to his father.

Mary runs Emmitt, Inc., a business that collects and sells trading cards and collectibles signed by Smith. When she thought about how long of a journey her son had made to reach this pinnacle it overwhelmed her.

"I tell you it's a blessing," Mary Smith said. "I carried a child for nine months, and then to birth him and to raise him and to put him through kindergarten, then through elementary school, middle school, high school, college, then see him play professional football and now the Hall of Fame. I am overly blessed and overly happy for him and for myself to still be here and see this. So it is a wonderful feeling. Florida's home and this is his birthplace and I guess this is where everything takes place, in the state of Florida."

MIAMI'S ROOKIE CORNERS SOMETHING SPECIAL IN DEION'S EYES: None other than the self-proclaimed best cover cornerback ever, Deion Sanders, has jumped on the Vontae Davis-Sean Smith bandwagon after watching the two rookies get tested by the league's best wide receivers in 2009.

During a break for brunch on Media Day in between the Colts' media session and the Saints', Sanders didn't hold back on his opinion of the two young defensive backs.

"I think they did a great job, really, and I think they rank in the top five already as a tandem," said Sanders, who is an analyst on the NFL Network. "They're going to be awesome man. I really like them. I really like their diversity. They're two totally different corners and I like that they started them in the fire and let them learn on duty, not sitting them on the sideline and let them learn from afar. They're going to be good in years to come.

"Vontae's physical, he's aggressive, he anticipates well and he has to study and prepare. Smith is long, rangy and he's going to have to study long-armed corners like a Nnamdi Asomougha and understand how to use what God has given him. You've got to use those arms; you've got to use that ability because they play two different types of games. But both of those guys are going to be extraordinary in the next few years."

ROBY EAGER TO CARRY ON LATE COUSIN'S LEGACY: The fact that Courtney Roby of the New Orleans Saints is considered one of the league's most dangerous punt returners is quite amusing to his family and close friends given his blood lines.

Roby is the younger cousin of the late Reggie Roby, who was one of the NFL's best punters for the Miami Dolphins from 1983-92 and then played six more seasons for four more teams (the Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers). He died unexpectedly at the age of 43 on February, 22nd, 2005 in Nashville, Tennessee and Courtney, 27, remembers getting the news.

"It was unfortunate that I was at the NFL Combine and we were supposed to just kind of get together and just talk about what was ahead of me being in the NFL and then he passed," Roby recalled. "That was just one of those things that shocked me and shocked everybody. Unfortunately, I was not able to talk to him as an adult and just get some insight from him.

"Even when we played Miami in the regular season I thought about him and he was somebody that did a lot for our family and made a name not only for himself, but for myself. Whenever somebody hears Roby they think of Reggie Roby and I've been called Reggie Roby myself a few times, so I'm just trying to keep his legacy alive."

TWO EX-DOLPHIN FULLBACKS HERE FOR THE BIG GAME: Saints fullbacks Heath Evans and Kyle Eckel both had brief stints in Miami with the Dolphins, but they still have an emotional connection to Sun Life Stadium and South Florida and have gotten goose bumps about being on one of the Super Bowl teams this week.

Evans appeared in six games for the Dolphins in 2005 and then went on to play a much more productive role in New England with the Patriots, eventually reaching Super Bowl XLII with them but losing to the New York Giants. Eckel began his career in Miami's training camp in 2007 but was released before the season started and got picked up by the Patriots, going on to be a part of the first 16-0 team in league history.

For Evans, he will look at the field tomorrow in a different light because it was on that same field on October 25th against the Dolphins when his season came to an end, forcing him to be a spectator for Super Bowl XLIV.

"Until I tore my ACL on this turf back in October, this stadium had been good to me," said Evans, who grew up in nearby West Palm Beach. "Not so much anymore. I'm kind of bitter with it now but it's exciting times for this team and really for the whole state of Louisiana."

Eckel wasn't easy to recognize this week as he is sporting a full beard and long hair as opposed to the clean-cut look and military haircut he was sporting back in 2007 since he had just gotten out of the Navy. He decided to follow the hockey tradition and keep the beard, and now he's excited to be back where his career started.

"I love South Florida. I guess that's a pretty common statement because everybody says that," Eckel said. "I wasn't really enjoying all of the luxuries of it at the time. It was my first chance in the NFL and I was making that workout money in the offseason, which gets you by, but I was sharing a small apartment with Matt Prater who is now the kicker with the Broncos. We're good friends and I was getting fast food every other night but it was a great time because it was almost like being in college.

"We were working out and figuring out ways to get food and managing rent and bills, but it was fun. I had a blast and I wore flip-flops every day and it was fun. I worked out every day and had a great strength coach and the guys on the team were fun. As far as playing in the Super Bowl, I've been on the losing side so I won't be able to tell you how much fun it was this week until after the game."

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