AS IT IS 2016-02-04 Trending Today: Puppy Bowl

（单词翻译）

AS IT IS 2016-02-04 Trending Today: Puppy¹ Bowl

This is What's Trending Today:

This weekend is Super Bowl Sunday.

Two teams will play for the championship of American football. The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos are busy preparing for Super Bowl 50. The game will be played at Levi’s Stadium, a newly built sports center in Santa Clara, California.

But on social media today, tweets and posts were directed at another bowl game -- the Puppy Bowl!

The Animal Planet television channel created the Puppy Bowl in 2005. The TV program shows puppies² on a small field similar to a football field. The young animals play with a football, and announcers describe their actions, just like in a real American football game. The Puppy Bowl is set to be broadcast on Animal Planet this Sunday.

The Puppy Bowl is an alternative to the real Super Bowl. It is for people who do not like watching American football.  

On Wednesday, Animal Planet announced the starting lineup for the 2016 Puppy Bowl. Fifty puppies will “play” in the game. They are from animal shelters, and are available for adoption³. Each one is in need of a good home.

On Twitter and Facebook Wednesday, people commented about their favorite puppies and made predictions for this year’s Puppy Bowl. “Puppy Bowl” was even a trending sports topic on Facebook.

The only concern?  Puppy football lasts only one game, and not a full season like American football.

Words in This Story 

alternative - n. something that can be chosen instead of something else?

lineup - n. a list of the players who are playing in a game