--New England coach Bill Belichick and Patriots team owner Bob Kraft have offered Colts coach Tony Dungy and Indianapolis their congratulations for the Colts' AFC championship win Sunday night.

"No. 1, he said, he told me, 'You've got a great team and this was a great game. Your quarterback is very, very special. And I hope you guys go on to win it,'" Dungy said of his conversation with Belichick.

"Bob Kraft, the owner of the Patriots, called me and reiterated pretty much the same thing (as Belichick). (Kraft) hurt to lose, he was still wounded, but he was happy for us and wished us the best in representing the AFC in the Super Bowl."

--PK Adam Vinatieri will be playing in his fourth Super Bowl (the first three with New England; 2001, 2003, 2004) while WR Ricky Proehl -- who has yet to play in the post-season due to a hamstring injury -- is also preparing for his fourth Super Bowl appearance. His first two came with the St. Louis Rams (1999, 2001) and Carolina Panthers (2003).

--Other Indianapolis players on the active roster with Super Bowl experience include DT Dan Klecko (2003, 2004) and S Dexter Reid with New England (2004) along with DT Anthony "Booger" McFarland (Tampa Bat, 2002).

--WR Brandon Stokley, who is out for the year with an Achilles tendon injury, played and caught a touchdown pass for Baltimore in Super Bowl XXXV. The Ravens registered a 34-7 win over the New York Giants in that game.

--Offensive coordinator Tom Moore will be coaching in his third Super Bowl, the first two coming with Pittsburgh following the 1978 and 1979 seasons. Defensive line coach John Teerlinck, meanwhile, is also heading into his third Super Bowl after initial trips with Denver (1997, 1998).

--This will be the second Super Bowl for special teams coach Russ Purnell (Baltimore, 2000). Also, three members of the Colts' coaching staff have played in the Super Bowl -- Dungy (Pittsburgh, 1978), special assistant to the head coach Leslie Frazier (Chicago, 1985) and offensive quality control coach Pete Metzelaars (Buffalo; 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993).

--Leslie Frazier played cornerback for Chicago from 1981 to 1985. Frazier had a hand in the "Super Bowl Shuffle" video that was made by the Bears during their 1985 Super Bowl run.

--Team president Bill Polian will be taking part in his fifth Super Bowl, the first four with the Bills (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993).

--Rex Grossman, the grandfather of the Chicago quarterback, played for the Baltimore Colts from 1948 to 1950 when the team was a member of the All-America Football Conference. The senior Grossman hit 78-of-81 PAT attempts and 16-of-32 field-goal attempts during his three seasons with the team.

--The younger Grossman went to high school in Bloomington, Indiana, which is located about 30 miles south of Indianapolis. He led his prep team, Bloomington South, to a state title as a senior and was named as the state's Mr. Football.

--Colts WR Aaron Moorehead is the son of former Bears TE Emery Moorehead. The elder Moorehead played for Chicago from 1981-88.

--The Colts will wear white jerseys for Super Bowl XLI. Indianapolis was 5-3 in their white jerseys this season. It may be a good omen, however. Teams wearing white jerseys have won the last two Super Bowl games.

--All three of the Colts' Super Bowl appearances have come in games played in Miami (1968, 1971). The first two games were played in the Orange Bowl.

--The last time that Dungy participated in a Super Bowl, at the end of the 1978 season, it was against Dallas and was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami. His Pittsburgh Steelers team won the game 35-31.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"I'm just honored to be in this position, No. 1. No. 2, it makes me think about the guys who were in the league when I came in. I came in in 1981 and there were less than 15 African-American assistant coaches at that time. But there were some good guys, some guys who were exceptional and never really got a chance to do what Lovie and I have gotten a chance to do. So you think about those guys; I think about Sherman Lewis and Jimmy Raye and Earnel Durden and Lionel Taylor, guys like that who could have taken a team to a Super Bowl but didn't get the opportunity. So we feel like we've been blessed and have gotten that. I think about my generation of kids who watched Super Bowls and never really saw African-American coaches and didn't maybe necessarily think about the fact that you could be the coach. You could be a player, couldn't necessarily be the quarterback, and then we saw Doug Williams play and win, and I think guys a little bit younger than me all of a sudden felt like they could be the quarterback. What we're seeing now, Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick and guys like that because of what Doug did. And hopefully, young kids now will say, 'Hey, I might be the coach one day.' So that's special" -- Colts coach Tony Dungy on two African-American coaches facing off in Super Bowl XLI.

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