The National Football League (NFL) is the largest professional American football league, consisting of thirty-two teams from American cities and regions. The league's teams are divided into two conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Each conference is then further divided into four divisions consisting of four teams each, labeled East, West, North, and South.

During the league's regular season, each team plays 16 games over a 17-week period generally from September to January. At the end of each regular season, the six best teams from each conference play in the NFL playoffs, a 12-team single-elimination tournament that culminates with the NFL championship, the Super Bowl. This game is held at a pre-selected site which is usually a city that hosts an NFL team or a popular college stadium. One week later, selected all-star players from both the AFC and NFC meet in the Pro Bowl, currently held in Hawaii.

Formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (it adopted the name National Football League in 1922), the NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues of North America. It also has by far the highest per-game attendance of any domestic professional sports league in the world; its 2005 attendance of 67,593 per game was over 25,000 higher than the 2005-06 per-game attendance of the league in second place, the Bundesliga in German football (soccer).

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SI.com - NFL

Jets officially waive Pennington after Favre deal
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:49:30 -0400
Read full story for latest details.
Broncos RB Torain out 3 months after surgery
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:17:42 -0400
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No. 1 pick Williams has surgery
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:12:39 -0400
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Packers: 'Bittersweet time for this organization'
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:43:27 -0400
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Redman gets start vs. Jags
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:19:59 -0400
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Favre will still be a Packer on cover of 'Madden'
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:59:53 -0400
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ESPN.com - NFL

All talk, no action: Packers' plans for Favre TBD
ESPN.com news services Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:27:24 -0700
Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy was scheduled to meet with his quarterbacks -- including the reinstated Brett Favre -- on Monday as the team begins dealing with Favre's return to training camp.
Jets release Pennington; Dolphins show interest
Tim Graham Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:31:23 -0700
A half dozen teams are interested in former Jets quarterback Chad Pennington.
Delhomme: Smith-Lucas fight won't slow Panthers
Associated Press Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:09:23 -0700
The potential was there to hold grudges, take sides and lose focus after the Steve Smith-Ken Lucas altercation. But Jake Delhomme feels his teammates have avoided all those potential pitfalls.

USATODAY.com NFL - Top Stories

Now showing: Brett Favre on Broadway
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:40:33 -0000
During the Thursday night introductory press conference that marked Brett Favre's first official act as a New York Jet, someone ...
Ex-NFLers have a Whaler of a good time with Alaska kids
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:05:51 -0000
When the Whalers from Barrow, Alaska, line up for their first game Saturday with Skyview (Soldotna), they'll utilize lessons ...
Jets cut Chad Pennington with Favre in the fold
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:47:37 -0000
Chad Pennington quickly became the odd man out once Brett Favre joined the New York Jets. Pennington was released Thursday, ending ...
AFC impact: Favre's arrival bad news for Bills?
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:45:16 -0000
Buffalo fullback Darian Barnes very likely summed up the feelings of many NFL fans when asked his opinion regarding the resolution ...
Analysis: Favre makes Jets players in Big Apple, AFC East
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:40:00 -0000
The New York Jets, now 40 years removed from their lone Super Bowl title, have long played second-fiddle to the New York Giants, ...
Headed to Broadway: Packers trade Brett Favre to N.Y. Jets
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:40:32 -0000
The Brett Favre era in Green Bay officially came to a close early Thursday morning as the Packers traded their iconic quarterback ...

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