mat burke named the walter payton nfl man of the year for improving literacy among at risk youth. ♪ ♪e announcer ] at southwest airlines, we're always looking for new ways to make you happy. and we know what really makes you happy are new places to fly. announcing new nonstop service from bwi airport to atlanta starting february 12th. book all of our destinations only at southwest.com. ♪

the walter payton award, symbolic of his strong play.and his wife started a program -- 8 reading program for kids. he is the nfl man of the year. that is sports. >> all right, thank you. by the way, that was my highlight. very well deserved. >> still ahead in the next hour -- >> a man accused of sexually assaulting a girl is back in court. >> handcuffed. a police officer accused of tipping off the drug deals for an upcoming raid. >> the weather is pretty quiet right now. we have a little bit of rain and snow in the forecast. >> traffic and delays developing now on the vw parkway. an update on that and more coming up.

. >> the nfl is proud to announce matt burke as the walter payton man of the year. >> reporter: he is being honored for his work in children's children's literacy. >> to see that he has a real relationship with sports and reading and education is so important for students students to see. >> reporter: burke came to taneytown elementary to kick off his ready, set read program. >> it shows you, if you work hard, you can really do anything. >> reporter: the program gives kids at-home reading goals and journals to practice writing. >> once in a lifetime for a football player to come to your school. so i was excited. >> the kids admit, they haven't always been excited about reading but this program changes that. >> i like the program because it makes me read a lot more than usual. >> reporter: the students say they felt a special connection to burke, as they watched him receive his trophy at the nfl awards. >> i feel so excited because he did all of this work to inspire us. >> reporter: so far, they seem to be taking in his message that while careers come special go, an -- and go, an educa

before the super bowl, mat burke was named the walter payton nfl man of the year for his commitment to and across this country. stay with wjz 13, maryland's news station, news and first morning weather at noon. updates available at any time from anywhere, at wjz.com. ,,,,, @@