HAMILTON, Ohio -- Greater Cincinnati has a hometown girl starting in the big game Feb. 5 -- her name is Sable.
The Puppy Bowl, which precedes the Super Bowl each year, is an adorable display of football-themed puppy playtime broadcast on Animal Planet.
Sable is one of 40 puppies starting in Puppy Bowl XIII. She's a 14-week-old Husky/Lab mix from Animal Friends Humane Society in Hamilton. She's repping Team Fluff.
"Sable: Demonstrates great body control on sideline catches. Always manages to get two paws down in bounds," Sports Illustrated noted in its analysis of the starters.
Sable is the Buckeye State's sole player starting in the Puppy Bowl. The Tri-State only has one other pup: Woody, a Blue Heeler/Cattle Dog mix from Barktown Rescue in Boston, Kentucky.
Animal Planet has only introduced this season's starters, but a total of 78 puppies from 34 different rescues will participate. Top recruits came out of Florida Little Dog Rescue in Orlando and the Sato Project in Puerto Rico.
This year, three special needs doggies will take part, too. Fans are already going wild over Lucky, the three-legged dog.
All dogs shown in the Puppy Bowl are available for adoption (including Sable!).
The game kicks off at 3 p.m. on Feb. 5, Super Bowl Sunday. There's a new, pre-game "Tail-gate" that starts at 2 p.m. You can watch the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.
Editor's note: Cat lovers, although you're wrong and puppies are best, you can enjoy the Puppy Bowl's kitty halftime show featuring headliner Kitty Gaga.
