wild cards fight on and saints sean payton returns to the superdome plus the first triple crown winner in 45 years. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >>> soon we'll be done with the snow in the northern plains and then another shot of cold air will invade the u.s. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." . >>> good morning. welcome back. time to get a look at what's knew in sports. miguel cabrera joins an exclusive group of legends. finishing with a 333 batting average, 139 rbis, cabrera has won the 15th triple crown in major league history and it's the first time since boston's carl yastrzemski in 1967. unbelievable. cabrera joins an elite list that includes mickey mantle, ted williams and lou gehrig. he will be leading his detroit team to the playoffs. >>> the a's beat the rangers to clinch last night. >>> texas will play the orioles on friday night in the a.l. wild card game. the o's were shut down 4-3 by the rays. every van longoria homered three times last night. with that orioles loss, the yankees clinch the a.l. east. robinson canoe went f

suspended sean payton can attend the game at the superdome on sunday night., to basketball where the nba adopted a new anti-flopping rule that will apply a fine to players for repeated violations. the league official said the exaggerated falls to the floor has quote, no place in our game. we agree. it's terrible acting. now for a look at the weather, here is bill karins with the weather forecast. >> those are great clips. >> put them on repeat. >> the phantom fall. the areas in north dakota and northwest minnesota is where the snow is and coming down hard. interstate 29 is the worst drive. the fog is not going to make it too easy. not as bad as yesterday morning, but there's patchy fog and drizzles and showers popping up in central, pennsylvania. keep the umbrella handy. central and southern new england. if we get sun, a stray thunderstorm or two. it's still very warm and humid. it's like a summertime set up. enjoy the warmth while it lasts. it will slowly make its way through the great lakes and the east coast by sunday. areas in the 80s could be in the 50s

you asked the commissioner for special permission to have sean payton, along with mickey loomis and joe vitt here. how do you think payton's presence in the building tonight might have impacted this team and this performance? >> gave us some good mojo for sure. i love my coach. i love my coach. so glad he could be here. mickey, joe vitt as well. special for our team. special that they could be a part of this night with the record. just overcome with emotion right now. but, hopefully, it's the first of many opportunities we have of things like this as a team. >> michele: drew, is it a little bit sweeter that this came against the team that drafted you and then let you go, the chargers? >> yeah. i figured you guys are no dummies when you scheduled this on "sunday night football," week five. to be honest, with you i didn't think twice about it when tefs on the schedule the start of the year and then the talk of the record came you and what do you know? we are playing the chargers on "sunday night football." like i said it couldn't have been a sweeter night. >> michele: congratulations, dre

you asked the commissioner for special permission to have sean payton, along with mickey loomis and joe vitt here. how do you think payton's presence in the building tonight might have impacted this team and this performance? >> gave us some good mojo for sure. i love my coach. i love my coach. so glad he could be here. mickey, joe vitt as well. special for our team. special that they could be a part of this night with the record. just overcome with emotion right now. but, hopefully, it's the first of many opportunities we have of things like this as a team. >> michele: drew, is it a little bit sweeter that this came against the team that drafted you and then let you go, the chargers? >> yeah. i figured you guys are no dummies when you scheduled this on "sunday night football," week five. to be honest, with you i didn't think twice about it when tefs on the schedule the start of the year and then the talk of the record came you and what do you know? we are playing the chargers on "sunday night football." like i said it couldn't have been a sweeter night. >> michele: congratulations, dre

sean payton, the coach there to watch history. saints down 14. brees connects with colston. 16-yard touchdown. a three-point game. fourth quarter, first and goal. brees. 141 yards, three touchdowns. the most touchdown passes in saints history, brees, four tds, first one of the win to avoid that 0-5. and that is a look at some of your sports. i'm jade mccarthy with your "sportscenter" update. hope you have a great day. >> thanks, jade. >>> up next, the guy they call fearless felix. he's about to free fall 23 miles. free fall, felix -- >> wow, she ain't heavy, she's my wife. the annual wife-carrying contest crowned the winner. when it comes to getting my family to eat breakfast, i need all the help i can get. i tell them, "come straight to the table." i say, "it's breakfast time, not playtime." "there's fruit, milk and i'm putting a little nutella on your whole-wheat toast." funny, that last part gets through. [ male announcer ] serving nutella is quick and easy. its great taste comes from a unique combination of simple ingredients like hazelnuts,

you asked the commissioner for special permission to have sean payton, along with mickey loomis and joe vitt here. how do you think payton's presence in the building tonight might have impacted this team and this performance? >> gave us some good mojo for sure. i love my coach. i love my coach. so glad he could be here. mickey, joe vitt as well. special for our team. special that they could be a part of this night with the record. just overcome with emotion right now. but, hopefully, it's the first of many opportunities we have of things like this as a team. >> michele: drew, is it a little bit sweeter that this came against the team that drafted you and then let you go, the chargers? >> yeah. i figured you guys are no dummies when you scheduled this on "sunday night football," week five. to be honest, with you i didn't think twice about it when tefs on the schedule the start of the year and then the talk of the record came you and what do you know? we are playing the chargers on "sunday night football." like i said it couldn't have been a sweeter night. >> michele: congratulations, dre

brees shared the moment with sean payton and gm mickey loomis.ee were suspended for the bounty scandal. this programming note, drew brees will bring his great game here later this week, he will be a live guest on "early start." -- on "starting point." >> you can fill in the blanks. >>> today the voters have spoken in what was a huge test of political power for venezuela's hugo chavez. we go live to caracas coming up. ♪... ♪... ♪... choose the perfect hotel without bidding. it's hard to see opportunity in today's challenging environment. unless you have the right perspective. bny mellon wealth management has the vision and experience to look beyond the obvious. we'll uncover opportunities, find hidden risk, and make success a reality. bny mellon wealth management as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on e

just a pioneer of the game. >> coaches sean payton and mickey loomis, were allowed to attend the gamel be a guest wednesday morning on "starting point." mark that in your calendar. get ready for that. >>> the conservative commentator takes on the comedian. looking for substance in the bill o'reilly/jon stewart debate. [ mother ] you can't leave the table till you finish your vegetables. [ clock ticking ] [ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion. vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. could've had a v8... vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. wooohooo....hahaahahaha! oh...there you go. wooohooo....hahaahahaha! i'm gonna stand up to her! no you're not. i know. you know ronny folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico re are happy. how happy are they jimmy? happier than a witch in a broom factory. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can reple

. >>> drew brees going for a passdown record tonight and sean payton will be there with the permission goodell. last week he allowed greg williams to go to a rams game. is he softening or playing a pr game? >> let's start with this, when it comes to commissioners of professional sports leagues, they never do anything out of the kindness of their hearts, but let's give roger goodell is break on this one mere. you're talking about one of the three or four most legendary individual records in history of th national football league, drew brees is going for. plus due brees says these guys are very instrumental in his life to help that happen. there's no grassy knoll here. >> okay. real quickly, can we talk about the legendary tennessee women's basketball coach pat summitt. reports she was forced out because of early alzheimer's. she said no. >> she's telling the truth. during the press conference she said it was her decision. she says it's her decision now. in between we saw an affidavit but also in the affidavit she also said that she was mistaken. so she's fine. we're all good. >> we're a

it looks like the suspended coach, sean payton, will be attending what could be an historic game.attend a football game, even if he paid for a ticket. is that true? >> bottom line is when you get suspended by the commissioner, sorry, you cannot -- >> you cannot walk in the building? >> baby, you cannot do it. he can barely walk by the practice facility. roger goodell makes it clear, you have no contact. when they had the hall of fame game, they had to make some revisions, because one of his players, willie rope, got into the hall of fame. so he got to attend that ceremony. and that was the first time he could talk even to his players. >> reminder, sean payton was suspended for the year because of the bounty scandal that happened in the new orleans saints. he's being allowed to go to this game because drew brees is about to break a record held by johnny united since the 1400s. >> you are a geek. >> see how deep he was with the baseball stats. football, 1400s, big deal. >> one last, tom brady. >> you have lost your mind! >> thanks for being here and agreeing that tom brady -- >> oh,

johnnie unitas held the record and brees' coach sean payton, suspended by the nfl, but got special dispensationse brees asked for him. the first one of the year. whatever happened raising the level of political discourse. the dnc communications director calls mitt romney directly a liar. and congressman allen west joins us to talk about this and polls in his home state. him and the opening bell next. >> announcer: meet mary. she loves to shop online with her debit card, and so does bill, an identity thief who stole mary's identity, took over her bank accounts and stole her hard-earned money. now meet jack. after 40 years, he finally saved enough to enjoy retirement. angie, the waitress at jack's favorite diner, is also enjoying his retirement. with just a little information, she's opened up a credit line, draining the equity in jack's home. unfortunately, millions of americans just like you learn all it may take is a little misplaced information to wreak havoc on your life. this is identity theft, and no one helps stop it better than lifelock. see, ordinary credit monitoring services tell you a

the nfl allowed sean payton to come to a game by request by brees. out for the season in his role in the bountygate scandal. if you have been wishing and hoping to get a raise, it may be time to put your exercise shoes on and head to the gym. good morning. >> good morning, carol. there is a recent study by a researcher at cleveland state university and finds out the more you exercise the more it can make. 6% higher pay for men and 10% higher pay for women, and studies show that even moderate exercise has a positive impact and more frequent workouts drive your pay even higher. why is this? as exercise boosts your energy level, your workplace productivity goes up, too. and other studies looking at the flip side support the findings showing that people who aren't ain good shape tend to make less money. if you're interested in more tips her visit cnnmoney.com for tips on how to get fit without breaking the bank. >> thanks. more nfl players are coming out to support gay rights. they're not all posing shirtless for out magazine. chris coolly is, though. we

. >> you asked the nfl to give permission for sean payton, joe vitt, and general manager mickey loomisecause those three men are says instrumental in, i think, the success of our team as anyone. and certainly they've helped build the foundation of what we've been able to create here in new orleans. and there was so many people that were a huge part of that record that really extended over the course of four years. you know, that started back in 2009, so there's really four seasons, four teams that were a part of that record, and certainly those three men were a huge part of it and i felt it very appropriate that they be in the stadium to be a part of that historic night. >> i want to talk a little bit about this program that you support. the nfl launched the play 60 program back in 2007 as a campaigning to fight childhood obesity. so now they've upped the challenge for kids and have teamed up with xbox, which i think is brilliant, with the 60 million minutes challenge. so tell us a little bit about that program. >> well, right. so to repeat what you said, kinect for xbox 360 has partne

. >> cnn's don ridel was at the event and he caught up with actor sean payton there. >> you've been afor many years. has anything change fire department you in the last days? >> in the last days? no. i think it's an organization that was developed by somebody who's been an enormous inspiration to so many, and to myself, and he's done an incredible amount of good and i expect it will continue to. >> we could learn as soon as monday if armstrong is stripped of his tour de france titles. >>> a sheriff in the suburbs of detroit doesn't know what to make of 15 shootings in two days, but it's got him talking about the d.c. area sniper from ten years ago. the targets have either been people or cars. no injuries so far. the spree took place between seven prime minister tuesday and 6:45 on thursday. the sheriff of oakland county said "anything is possible in terms of what could develop. we don't want anything to develop that's certainly developed in the washington area and paralyzed that area for a long time." >>> more than a third of the people found dead in syria yesterday were at a mass gra

he broke the record set 52 years ago by colts quarterback johnny unitas and head coach sean payton got suspended this year because of the saints alleged bounty program, but brees asked the nfl commissioner for a special permission to allow payton to be at the game. >>> it is getting pretty chilly in parts of the country. so cold in fact we're seeing some records that are broken today. chad, tell us what's going on. >> 31 in tulsa. wisdom, montana, the winner or the loser depending on your point of view, five degrees over the weekend. that's 27 below freezing. i think that's the end of tomato season. if you have some -- just cut them up and make fried green tomato. wisdom, montana, 5 degrees above zero on sunday. laramie, 6. we had records today, not just like we're seeing now. in the 20s and 30s, not single digits like the weekend. st. joseph, missouri, 22. you had things out there in the garden, but not anymore. freeze threat moves to upstate new york, back to buffalo, down to chautauqua county, the poconos and alleghenies. not seeing temperatures that are below freezing in the big ci

certainly sean payton, mickey loomis were some. >> the browns said -- he's upset they reinstated the exactly the way that scott fujita presented it. i read what he put out there and i actually agree 100% with everything that he said. it's actually -- it's disappointing, kind of a shame when you see the way that the league and commissioner goodell has handled this entire situation, kind of the flip flopping, the back and forth, facing a lot of their -- basing a lot of their suspensions on speculation and rhetoric. it's really lost a lot of credibility with me and i think a lot of people. >> brian: we look forward to you when you come in to play the giants. i know you guys got one win now. but you got the talent to go to the playoffs and with you as quarterback, everybody has to be optimistic. thank you for joining us. nick seems to like you better than he does me. [ laughter ] >> football. >> brian: that's the connection. >> good luck, man. >> brian: why don't you tell us what's coming up next? >> just weeks after four americans were held in benghazi, security official at the u.s. emb

he's the author of "the new york times"' bestseller home team with new orleans saints coach sean payton. there's got to be a sequel to that with what's happened. [laughter] and in the blink of an eye with nascar's michaelal waltrip. he also is the voice of stormy on the cartoon network series 2021. [laughter] i thought where we'd start today is give the floor to michael howe and his presentation which probably gives us some material to react on. so, michael, it's all yours. >> thank you. okay. um, happy to be here. i'd like to thank a.j. for inviting me to the panel. as jim has said, we're sort of analyzing, at the fourth estate we're analyzing the election from a data perspective. we sort of believe we're going o from the perspective of data being apolitical. hopefully, we're doing a good job at that. we're measuring influence, the amplification of media and sources and journalists within the election coverage. we have a unique sort of methodology by which we're doing that measurement. we ingest, um, all the traditional print and broadcast and on the radio side we're only ingesting npr