Latest news with #DanSchachner
USA Today
09-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Who won Puppy Bowl 2025? Highlights from the fluffiest competition before Super Bowl
Who won Puppy Bowl 2025? Highlights from the fluffiest competition before Super Bowl Show Caption Hide Caption Watch Puppy Bowl drama: Dog Smoosh cries after a ruff call Puppy Bowl XXI referee Dan Schachner had to wipe away dog tears after Smoosh got emotional in Sunday's big game. The Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet, the cutest show before the kickoff of Super Bowl 59, lived up to the undeniable hype as the fluffiest game of the year. Its main purpose is to raise awareness and encourage the adoption of dogs from shelters and rescues. The 21st annual Puppy Bowl was filled with playful energy, featuring 142 puppy athletes, including 11 dogs with special needs. These adorable pups came from 80 shelters and rescues across 40 states and two countries. Representing Team Ruff and Team Fluff, they joyfully raced toward the end zone, all in search of their forever homes, with the Lombarky Trophy toy being an exciting bonus. Many of the puppies had fitting names for the big game, such as Saquon Barkley, the Australian Shepherd-Bernese Mountain Dog, and a pair of Pomeranian siblings named Jason and Travis, after the Kelce brothers. Dee-Bone Samuel, a poodle mix, has already added a trophy toy to their collection after being named this year's Popularity Playoffs champion. The big question remains: Which team won? Was it Team Fluff, featuring the adorable Labrador retriever mix, Abigail, and Smoosh the Pekingese? Or was it Team Ruff, led by Mr. Pickles the pug mix and Demure the Cairn Terrier, who claimed back-to-back Puppy Bowls? Here are the highlights as the action unfolds. Who won Puppy Bowl XXI? Winner will be updated when the Puppy Bowl concludes.
USA Today
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Can you actually bet on the Puppy Bowl? We tackle the ruff Animal Planet question
Hear this story Longtime Puppy Bowl referee and animal rescue advocate Dan Schachner has one sure-thing bet before Super Sunday: Strangers will drop unsolicited DMs into his Instagram account seeking top dog intel. "It's funny that people ask straight up, 'Who looks good for MVP? Does Smoosh have a shot? Does Team Fluff have a chance of winning?'" Schachner, the human among dogs in 14 Puppy Bowls, tells USA TODAY. "I have to delete every one of them. Because people are somewhere making prop bets on the Puppy Bowl." We are all shocked — shocked! — to discover gambling around the Puppy Bowl, Animal Planet's annual, adorable showcase for pet adoption (simulcast on Animal Planet, Discovery, Discovery+, Max, TBS, and truTV starting at 2 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PST). But can people legally wager on the tail-wagging pups playfully and unknowingly vying for the Lombarky Trophy? It's ruff finding Puppy Bowl action in casinos or American online sportsbooks like BetMGM that don't allow wagers on the TV event. The mutt matchup is filmed over an October week in a dog-sized astroturfed studio stadium before the show is intensively edited for three hours of pre-Super Bowl viewing. Puppy Bowl 2025Meet Mr. Pickles, Sprinkle, Julep and more, and find out how to watch Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. "The short answer: I've never seen betting on the Puppy Bowl in any legal market," says ESPN sports betting writer Doug Greenberg. "This is a pre-taped TV program. It's a known result. That's never allowed in sports betting." Puppy Bowl scores are awarded each time a dog player playfully pushes or carries a chew toy into the end zone. Last year's Puppy Bowl, which featured the first-ever dog assistant referee, ended with a 72-69 score as Team Ruff triumphed over perennial foe Team Fluff. U.S. betting organizations sniff around the field, with sportsbooks posting cheeky odds. But if you need proof that some have attempted to take it further, Colorado's Division of Gaming shot down a Puppy Bowl betting petition (from an unspecified party) in January 2021, according to the agency's official list of "rejected waging requests." (Fun fact: Dominating the state's wager rejection list are variations of "Color of Gatorade poured on the winning coach.") Those looking for real betting action on fake dog football need to move to offshore books like the Costa Rican-based BetUS, which lists wagers including the winning team, MVP, the first letter of MVP's name and predicting the answer to the question: "Will any puppy attempt to mate?" (Fear not concerned parents, betting "no" on the TV mating is the heavy favorite). BetUS spokesperson Andres Vargas told USA TODAY in an email statement that while the event is filmed months in advance, with the results known by at least production teams, "viewers remain unaware of the outcome until the broadcast airs." Vargas added that the Puppy Bowl betting selection is "surprisingly popular" without giving specific betting numbers. BetUS reps threw one bone, saying the site observed 2,700 people searching for Puppy Bowl odds over the last year. Schachner claims he doesn't even know the results. His refereeing duties, which include calling an "excessive licking" penalty in Sunday's event, do not involve keeping track of the score over days of chaotic dog-chasing or post-production. It's only during the editing that the many scores are tabulated. Adding to his blissful ignorance, Schachner says the crew shoots two different endings and 10 MVP award presentations. And, in case you're wondering, the media do not receive advance Puppy Bowl screeners. "It's actually more guarded than you might think," says Schachner. "If you're inclined to make a bet, I wish you well. But honest to God, I don't know the details."
Associated Press
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Returning referee Dan Schachner teases some of the rescue pup cuteness - and rulebreaking - in store, in 'Puppy Bowl XXI.' (Feb. 6)
Video Pawfect pooches prepare for Puppy Bowl Returning referee Dan Schachner teases some of the rescue pup cuteness - and rulebreaking - in store, in 'Puppy Bowl XXI.' (Feb. 6)
Associated Press
06-02-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
As 142 rescue pups are rostered on and off the 'Puppy Bowl XXI' field, regular referee Dan Schachner looks back at past attempts to give him a helping paw with scorekeeping. (Feb. 4)
Video 'Puppy Bowl' referee reviews former assistants, including a skunk and a sloth As 142 rescue pups are rostered on and off the 'Puppy Bowl XXI' field, regular referee Dan Schachner looks back at past attempts to give him a helping paw with scorekeeping. (Feb. 4)
