We already knew that pigskin fanatics in 223 countries would be able to catch Super Bowl XLII this Sunday, but thanks to Raytheon's Global Broadcasting Service (GBS), even sailors and Marines stationed aboard ships in the Pacific Ocean will be able to catch the Giants attempt to mar the Patriots' currently unblemished record. The aforementioned technology has been in use for over a decade delivering "high-speed, multimedia broadcasts of mission critical information to military and government decision makers," but this weekend, it'll be used to bring home entertainment to folks far, far away from home. Sadly, it doesn't sound like the broadcast will be in HD this go 'round, but we suppose any football is better than none at all, right?

[Via DailyWireless, image courtesy of ProJo]

Just in case you've been living under a rock (or mounds of year-end spreadsheets -- same difference), we reckoned you should know that you've but four days left before Super Bowl XLII kicks off from Arizona. Besides the obvious necessities -- an HDTV, lots of seating space, a truckload of junk food and an HD DVR attached to a battery backup system -- you may also need to cross a few unnoticed "t"s to ensure the best game day experience possible. Of course, Engadget HD is lookin' out for you and yours, and we're here to make sure you aren't scrambling for an HD signal from your local FOX affiliate three minutes after kickoff. Hit up the checklist here while you still have time.

Further Super Bowl XL II reading:

• Poll: Did you (or will you) buy a new HDTV for the Super Bowl?
• CEA expects Super Bowl to drive over two million HDTV sales
• HD DVD ad to air during Super Bowl XLII, BDA sez it's futile
• Check for HD before RSVP-ing that Superbowl party
• How to get geared up for Super Bowl XLII

Tossing up autonomous robots into the galaxy to perform a variety of prototypical tests is intriguing to say the least, but a trio of high-school teams were able to bring robotic competition a bit closer to home as they took home the gold in the highly-anticipated FIRST Robotics corrivalry. Cooked up by Dean Kamen (you know, the Segway inventor) in 1989, the challenge garnered entrants from a whopping 23 countries this year, and teammates from Bobcat Robotics from South Windsor, Connecticut, Highrollers from Las Vegas, Nevada, and Gompei and the HERD from Worcester, Massachusetts were able to craft the most dexterous and successful machine. Their creation reportedly excelled at "completing simple -- albeit goofy -- tasks such as shooting balls or stacking inner tubes," but we can already imagine the evil potential these innocent bots already posses. Apparently, "thousands of screaming high-school participants" were in attendance to witness the unveiling of a new champion, and if the popularity of this contest is any indication, we could be seeing these uber-intelligent, entirely autonomous robot armies being constructed an awful lot sooner than previously expected hoped.

Did Zug punk the entirety of the Super Bowl-watching population this year, an estimated 90 million people? Or is their chronicle of "the most ambitious prank in history" a prank in and of itself? We don't know the answer -- for the record, we're leaning towards hoax -- but Zug claims that with some social networking and 2,350 Prince-themed pendants (ordered from Chinese manufacturer Ok Fun Times Electronics Co.), they were able to get the audience to light up and spell out ZUG.COM during the halftime show, thinking they'd instead be spelling out PRINCE. Ok, makes sense, but you'd think everyone would have heard about this by now, right? Well, Zug claims the media's been trying to cover it up; they expect us to imagine how few would really want to admit that five unauthorized people could transport a quarter ton of boxes on pallets -- contents unknown -- into the most televised sporting event of the year. For the record, what was the cost on this supposed stunt? $40,000 in equipment and legal fees, as well as a 2nd mortgage on lead prankster John Hargrave's home.

Just in cased you missed the cultural institution that is Super Bowl commercial watching (wait, there's a football game in there somewhere?), this year produced a couple definite must-sees for the Engadget nerderati. Our personal fav was Garmin's Garmin Man vs. Maposaurus Ultraman homage, although Sprints connectile dysfunction faux-infomercial wasn't too bad either. Check out the videos after the break.

C'mon folks, everyone and their grandmother will likely be watching the Super Bowl this coming Sunday (even across the pond), and even if you have no interest in the Colts, Bears, or large men in awkward suits, someone in your family probably feels otherwise. Nevertheless, the NFL showcased its mighty power (and terrible decision making) by condemning Fall Creek Baptist Church's "Super Bowl Bash," saying that advertising a fee-based party that utilized "license-protected words" was against regulations. Furthermore, ditching the door charge and the taboo language wasn't good enough to solve the problem, as "the law" limits Super Bowl (wait, can we say that now?) party TVs to a quantity of one, and that single set must not be over 55-inches. Needless to say, we don't doubt that good few of you fine, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens will be catching the big game with a couple of your friends on your 60-inch plasma (or 100-inch projection screen), but we'd highly recommend building an underground bunker between now and Sunday to make sure your plans are safe. Of course, bars and other eateries are somehow exempt from this bogus rule, and as expected, all the grumbling stems from Nielsen's obvious inability to estimate just how many folks are watching a single tube on this advertisers' dream night, but ratings drops or not, we wouldn't mess with Touchdown Jesus.

Ah Vizio, at it again with the low-cost offerings (which Sony doesn't appreciate very much). While we're sure more than a few folks are kicking back and gazing at their recently-purchased $1,000 42-inch PDP, the firm has divulged that come next February, we can all expect a 47-inch LCD HDTV to hit Sam's Club, Costco, and potentially other big box retailers for "less than $2,000." Oh, and it sports 1080p, too. The firm's CEO declared that current 1080p sets in the $3,000+ range simply "aren't affordable," and is hoping the Super Bowl rush to pick up an HDTV before the big game will boost sales of its undercutting set. An analyst noted that Vizio's offerings didn't "have all the extra features" that other manufactures typically include, and that it didn't feature "the best picture quality," but admitted that it was a bargain and "a good value" nonetheless. So if you know that aging set will need replacing come Super Bowl Sunday, and you've only got about two large to throw down, Vizio should be able to fit the bill quite nicely.

Either Microsoft has never had a Super Bowl commercial, or they've wasted some serious cash on mega-expensive advertising that no one -- at least not at Engadget HQ, anyway -- can seem to recall being aired in recent memory. Looks like that could soon change though; amidst all this hype about the Zune / Argo / Xboy / Microsoft portable media player / whatever the hell it's called, we've received word that Microsoft may be taking this effort all the way to the end zone. According to Digital Music News, the Zune could be starring in a Super Bowl XLI commercial in 2007, which would, of course display the company's commitment to the project initiative -- as well as giving it the kiss of death. Remember what happened to the last prominently placed portable media player to get some Super Bowl commercial action? Yeah, barely, right?