Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was played on Sunday, January 26, and broadcast in the U.S. on NBC. The format for the game was considerably altered in an effort to improve competitiveness. The biggest changes included an "unconferenced" format in which players would be selected regardless of the conference in which their team competes, a draft format to select the teams and various tweaks to increase the excitement of the game itself. Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice served as the non-playing captains for the two competing squads. Notable events Some NFL-related events that made headlines throughout 2013 include: Harris Poll tabs professional football as America's favorite sport A nationwide poll conducted by Harris Interactive in December 2013 concluded that pro football is the favorite sport of Americans. Of the respondents asked the question, "If you had to choose, which ONE of these sports would you say is your favorite?", 35% chose pro football. That is up by one percentage point over the results of the previous year. Football has taken the top spot in the annual poll each year since it was first conducted in 1985. Baseball finished second, with 14% naming it as their favorite, followed by college football at 11%. Aaron Hernandez charged with murder In August, former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd. Hernandez was released by the Patriots following his arrest in the murder investigation in June. In an effort to further distance themselves from the troubled Hernandez, the Patriots offered fans an opportunity to trade-in Hernandez jerseys for another jersey of comparable value. Hernandez would be convicted of the murder charge and sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2015. Riley Cooper incident Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper was caught on video using a racial slur during a music concert. After the video went viral during the team's training camp, Cooper was briefly sent away from the team to seek counseling. The Eagles also levied an undisclosed fine. Concussion litigation brought by former players In August, just prior to the start of the season, a settlement proposal was announced in a class-action lawsuit brought against the league by former players who contended that the league concealed a link between head injuries sustained by players and traumatic brain injury which may only become apparent later in life. The judge in the case later rejected the settlement on the grounds that