Its Super Bowl week, which means the Fix works overtime. Todays bonus Fix will be accompanied by another Sunday morning.  In case you haven’t heard, it has snowed a little bit here in North Texas. It’s also been cold, icy and windy. Taxis are running slow. There are lines to get drinks at bars. Super Bowl XLV, which began with such old-school promise, has turned into a virtual whine-fest. It’s cold? Wear a jacket. It’s icy? Either walk around it or buy some soccer cleats and conquer it. Look, it stinks that some people had their travel plans alteredhorror stories of frenzied hours-long train rides to catch flights out of different airports are being swapped here frequently. And it’s not funny when fragments of falling ice injure workers at Cowboys Stadium.  But it’s not the end of the world, by any means. It just requires five extra minutes here and there. These fine people of North Texas are not adept at snow or ice removal. Visitors are acting like this is some kind of surprise. It would be like going to the circus and leaving disappointed because there was no long division presentation. To get from the media center in Dallas to the convention center, where the NFL Experience is taking place, for example, requires a 20-minute walk across quasi-plowed, icy roads and sidewalks. During the walk two days ago, I glanced down and saw a half-eaten piece of pizza frozen under a sheet of ice I was gliding down. I thought it was awesome. I’m in the minority.  “Given the manner in which the region has responded to the sleet that fused into a glare of frozen water,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes, “we can’t and won’t support a return of the league’s championship game to any point north of Houston.”  ESPNs Bill Simmons also chimes in, listing 10 Jeff Foxworthy-style rules for getting to host the Super Bowl. “If your solution for highways laden with black ice and/or snow is We need more sand, you shouldn’t host the Super Bowl,” Simmons writes.  One problem that has sprung up and become almost its own Super Bowl meme among the attendees is “getting to ESPN.” While most events and activities are taking place in Dallas, the actual Super Bowl is in Arlington. But ESPN decided to set up shop in Fort Worth, which is equidistant from Arlington in the opposite direction from Dallas. So on Friday morning, in the pounding snow, it took a little under 90 minutes to travel from Dallas to Fort Worth. ESPN’s decision to do most of their filming outdoors also had to change. “I’m not sure how much contingency planning went into it,” Mo Davenport, senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Radio, told Media Bistro’s Marcus Vanderberg, “but you have to react to what the environment gives you. This is an environment like no other.  Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel, as he often does, comes to the defense of the cold weather, arguing that it’s actually pretty snobby and elitist to complain about it. “The Super Bowl is a television show for the majority of fans,” Wetzel writes, “Know anyone in your neighborhood who wouldnt gladly slip on some boots and button up their coat for a chance to hit up a Super Bowl weekend?  The stadium roof will probably be closed, but for what it’s worth, the Weather Channel calls for a sun and a high of 41 on Saturday, with a rain/snow mix and high of 41 again for Super Bowl Sunday.  Outside of the weather, one way to bring down a fan’s happy mood this weekend is to mention the possible labor stoppage. Still, there’s eventually going to be no way to avoid the topic, and commissioner Roger Goodell addressed it at a press conference Friday, saying that the union and owners must dive into intensive relations and begin these talks immediately. “The commitment on behalf of the ownership is to get an agreement,” Goodell said. “And we will get an agreement.”  With a March 3 deadline looming, time is running out to reach a deal. “The only ones occupied by this troubling reality,” NFL.com’s Sam Wyche writes, “are the ones involved in trying to salvage a potentially bad situation that will soon become a focal point once fans realize the popular sport is dangerously close to being shelved.”  In an announcement that wasn’t as shocking as it was disappointing for Steelers fans, injured center Maurkice Pouncey was officially declared out for Sunday’s game, following about four days of optimistic “maybe he’ll play” speculation. Pouncey, a Pro Bowl selection, injured himself after slipping on a sheet of ice yesterday on a sidewoh wait, sorry. Pouncey suffered a high ankle sprain in the AFC Championship game about two weeks ago. Doug Legursky will start in his place. Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says that fans should consider Steelers line coach Sean Kugler as the team’s MVP because of the work he has done with his players. “A lot of people are saying his line  especially without Pouncey  is no match for the Green Bay Packers’ stout front seven,” Cook writes. “Of course, a lot of those same people said the Steelers wouldn’t make it to the Super Bowl with that line. It’s hard to imagine any NFL assistant doing a better job than Kugler this season.”  This year’s Super Bowl may have tipped the scales in terms of pop culture. On radio row Thursday, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino was attracting larger crowds than All-Pro NFL players. Chad Johnson (he no longer wants to go by Ochocinco) has been running around with a team of NFL starsincluding New York’s Darrelle Revis and Tampa Bay’s Gerald McCoydressed in bright orange “OCNN” (Ochocinco News Network) T-shirts, asking actual questions in press conferences alongside the media hordes. There’s the obvious buzz around the annual Puppy Bowl, David Spade was one of the more popular red carpet walkers at Friday night’s NFLPA party, and some people here are wondering just how “Glee” will try to keep the post-Super Bowl eyeballs on the television (hint: it involves Katy Perry and scantily-clad cheerleaders). While all the side attractions are well and good, there are two stellar human interest stories floating around that shouldn’t get lost in the mix.  Karen Crouse of the New York Times profiles Green Bay strong safety Charlie Peprah, whose grandfather was Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, a general who became the Ghanaian head of state in a bloodless coup in 1972, and then executed in 1979.  Chris Henry of FanHouse, meanwhile, tells the story of Green Bay defensive end Cullen Jenkins and the uncertainly surrounding the status of his father, who moved to Hawaii a month before and hadn’t contacted either of his sons. (The other, Kris Jenkins, plays for the New York Jets.) On Thursday, Hawaii police, doing a welfare check after reading reports from media week, found the elder Jenkins to be safe and sound. “An even better ending,” Henry writes, “will have Darome Jenkins at will call Sunday night.”  Found a good column from the world of sports? Don’t keep it to yourself  write to us at dailyfixlinks@gmail.com and we’ll consider your find for inclusion in the Daily Fix. You can email Nando at nandodifino@yahoo.com.
Whining about the weather reaches a fever pitch in North Texas ahead of the Super Bowl. Plus: The clock keeps ticking for a new NFL CBA; what Pouncey's injury means to the Steelers line; and more.