I like the one week break between the Conference Finals and the Superbowl: it keeps a lid on the hype, which really seems to pick up steam in the second week. This year it seems more like a big game than a Roman Spectacle, and since the weight of the spectacle usually sinks the game, this is a good thing.

The halftime show seems to be focused a little more on content than spectacle as well - all performances will be live:

Canadian singer Shania Twain and Southern California band No Doubt are headlining halftime entertainment for Sunday's game.

Sting also will appear.

"It's such a big event that there are no limits," Twain said Thursday. "The sky is the limit."

Twain will perform two songs: "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" from her blockbuster album "Come on Over," and the title song of her latest album, "Up."

....Producers Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, and Joel Gallen, director-producer of Tenth Planet Productions, said the show would focus on music rather than special effects, with live performances.

Last year, most of the musical performers prerecorded their performances to reduce the possibility of technical problems. U2 performed live, though. [AP]