President to appear in Super Bowl coverage

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will appear before the game on the NBC Sports telecast of Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa on Sunday.

In a news release, Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics, said the president will do a live interview with the Today Show's Matt Lauer from the White House during the network's Super Bowl pre-game show.

The interview is slated for 5 p.m. Eastern time, and is part of NBC's daylong Super bowl coverage.

It starts at 9 a.m. Eastern with "Today," and also includes sports correspondents Bob Costas and Tiki Barber.

"The Super Bowl is much more than a game, it's become one of our country's biggest holidays," Ebersol said. "It's a day when families and friends gather together to celebrate a uniquely American day and we've put together a full day of football and entertainment that we believe has something for everyone."

NBC will televise the Pittsburgh-Arizona contest at Raymond James Stadium, with kickoff at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.