Travel and Tourism

The 2012 Miss America pageant is here and we are not ashamed to admit we're very excited. Most beauty pageants are boring, but we've always liked Miss America because of the talent portion. Fingers crossed for

Asheville's Maria Beale Fletcher became a celebrity after being crowned Miss America 50 years ago. / Special to the Citizen-Times Asheville's Maria Beale Fletcher was crowned Miss America in 1962. The pageant returns tonight on ABC and WLOS/Channel 13.

By Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY ABC hosts Chris Harrison (The Bachelor) and Brooke Burke-Charvet (Dancing With the Stars) kept the Miss America Pagent 2012 rolling Saturday night, live from Las Vegas. After all the sashaying, posing and displaying of

Asheville's Maria Beale Fletcher became a celebrity after being crowned Miss America 50 years ago. / Special to the Citizen-Times Asheville's Maria Beale Fletcher was crowned Miss America in 1962. The pageant returns tonight on ABC and WLOS/Channel 13.

The 2012 Miss America pageant is here and we are not ashamed to admit we're very excited. Most beauty pageants are boring, but we've always liked Miss America because of the talent portion. Fingers crossed for

By Janie McCauley, The Associated Press 49ers defensive tackle Justin Smith (94) celebrates after sacking Saints quarterback Drew Brees during the third quarter of their NFL divisional playoff football game Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in San Francisco.

Although it has not necessarily resulted in breaking news, a lot has been achieved.” City officials and the 49ers listed a few key items that have been achieved: • The 49ers have invested millions of dollars to complete the

The San Francisco 49ers hosted the New Orleans Saints on Saturday afternoon at Candlestick Park in a playoff game that was a long time coming for the beleaguered Bay Area franchise. When the smoke had cleared, the 49ers came out on

By John Parker SAN FRANCISCO – The other 10 players on the 49ers' defense should consider themselves lucky they did not find themselves in Donte Whitner's path on Saturday. Teammates lauded the sixth-year safety's bone-jarring collisions as San

A closer look at the New Orleans Saints NFC divisional-round playoff game against the host San Francisco 49ers, Troy Aikman color.

Supermodel and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Gisele Bündchen has visited Kenya to experience firsthand the reality of energy poverty and to see how lives are being transformed in the East African country by making sustainable energy accessible to

Gisele Bundchen pushes her adorable son Benjamin in his stroller as they make their way to the park on Monday (January 2) in Boston, Mass. The 31-year-old supermodel mama and her boy were joined by dad Tom Brady! At the park, Gisele helped Benjamin

Gisele Bundchen is well known around these parts for her strong opinions on breastfeeding, potty training and home births. The model and mother of 2-year-old son Benjamin Brady is now teaming up with Birth Around the World to make sure women are

By MELO ESGUERRA MANILA, Philippines — Brazilian Supermodel Gisele Bundchen is the new face of not just one but three major campaigns for this Spring and Summer. She'll be the star of the campaigns of Salvatorre Ferragamo, Givenchy and Versace.

Supermodel and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Gisele Bündchen has visited Kenya to experience firsthand the reality of energy poverty and to see how lives are being transformed in the East African country by making sustainable energy accessible to

By Tom Krattenmaker Tim Tebow's riveting ride to the Super Bowl is over now, two steps short of pay dirt. What a ride it was: a faith-fueling story that instigated and renewed many a fan's interest in pro football while leaping the bounds of the sports

Sal Pace has invited Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow to lead the House in its daily morning prayer, which is led each day by different people of different faiths. Pace said the House has several dates available to accommodate Tebow.

“Is God answering Tim Tebow's Prayers?” is one popular line of inquiry driving the Tebow mania. Tebow must be praying for success on the field. The Broncos are winning. Is there causation behind this correlation? But the

By Jackie MacMullan Tim Tebow is a fine young man with a promising future as a preacher, a politician, a pundit, even a player in the NFL. Check out our complete coverage of the Patriots' divisional round romp over Tim Tebow and the Broncos.

It's one among many, many spoofs, satires and weird mashups to have hit the Internet since the Broncos's winning season began — thanks to the team's starting quarterback, Tim Tebow. The Internet responded to Tebow media-mania after “Tebowing” became

Alex Smith, playoff hero. The 49ers just took down the Saints and advanced to the NFC Championship Game with a downright insane 36-32 win in San Francisco. There were four lead changes in the last four minutes, with

Being better at home isn't special. Home field advantage is tangible in the NFL – the home team won 56.6 percent of games this season. It just usually doesn't manifest itself quite so much as it did for these two teams, and

Being better at home isn't special. Home field advantage is tangible in the NFL – the home team won 56.6 percent of games this season. It just usually doesn't manifest itself quite so much as it did for these two teams, and

Health Plan alex smith 49ers Alcohol Sunday, about Homes 2012 News Safety System Common Advanced – Services Diagnostic Saskatchewan frequently | Feedback alex smith 49ers All / – and AddThis of Radon | – about

Health Plan alex smith 49ers Alcohol Sunday, about Homes 2012 News Safety System Common Advanced – Services Diagnostic Saskatchewan frequently | Feedback alex smith 49ers All / – and AddThis of Radon | – about

Chad Ochocinco has saved his relationship with Evelyn Lozada the old fashioned way with a lot of groveling and the wedding is back on, this according to sources close to the couple. As TMZ first reported, Lozada put their wedding plans on hold

Chad Ochocinco responds to a Twitter follower who felt dissed by Chad for 2 years by giving him Tickets To Patriots vs. Broncos playoff game.

Reebok literally plans to cover all bases with its new “Sport of Fitness” multi-media campaign, which will feature Justin Verlander (MLB), John Wall (NBA), Chad Ochocinco (NFL), Lewis Hamilton (F1 driver) and athletes from such sports as cricket and

Chad Ochocinco has saved his relationship with Evelyn Lozada the old fashioned way with a lot of groveling and the wedding is back on, this according to sources close to the couple. As TMZ first reported, Lozada put their wedding plans on hold

A fan favorite for many, New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco did something out of the ordinary for one very lucky fan this weekend. After receiving a Tweet from a disgruntled fan, Ochocinco replied with a

Print. NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 07: Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions. The 49ers defense vs. the Saints offense will be a very interesting matchup to watch. Tweet Comment 463 comments | Add comment | 0 recs |

The 49ers offense has a couple injuries worth noting: Jonathan Goodwin missed a second-quarter series with a left leg injury but returned for the final snaps; Ted Ginn couldn't play the last couple series because of an

If there was any question who has the best defense in the NFC – and probably the NFL – it was answered Sunday by the San Francisco 49ers. Playing against the No. 1 offense in the NFL, the 49ers forced the New Orleans Saints to cough up the ball five

By Mark Purdy Mercury News Columnist The 49ers didn't mess around Saturday. After waiting nine long years for a playoff kickoff at Candlestick Park, they gave us a game for the ages. In fact, by the final play of their 36-32 victory over the New

Considering the circumstances and the two fourth-quarter touchdown plays, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith played the best game of his career. However, he couldn't have done it without plays labled, “whack” and “bang.” With the 49ers trailing 24-23 with

The schedule for the divisional round of the 2012 NFL playoffs.

The latest printable NFL playoff bracket update can be found here. The full remaining schedule can be found below. Sunday, Jan. 15: Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens, 1 pm ET on CBS Sunday, Jan. 15: New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers, 4:30 pm ET

Tim Tebow gets another shot at the Patriots this evening, but first, Drew Brees brings the Saints' record-breaking offense to San Francisco.

The 2011 NFL season has been all about quarterbacks, but even the best passers need someone catching the ball on the other end. As marquee names like Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers shine in the postseason, it's easy to overlook the contributions of the

In a 2012 NFL playoffs overwhelmed with top-notch superstars like Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, there is no shortage of big names in this year's postseason.

A critically condemned Alex Smith was all but branded with the bust logo on his behind, after middling through six straight sub-par seasons out in the Bay. But, Harbaugh's cautious offensive system and a genuine trust in Smith's ability proved to be a

Jim Harbaugh played for the win, and the 49ers delivered it for him on this Alex Smith-Vernon Davis touchdown pass with ten seconds remaning in the game—just a minute and a half after blowing an earlier lead. [Fox]

In fact, it was recited the other day by left tackle Joe Staley, who's a few months younger than Smith and not in the market for a son-in-law. The credentials for that job, however, don't really meet the expectations for an NFL quarterback.

A critically condemned Alex Smith was all but branded with the bust logo on his behind, after middling through six straight sub-par seasons out in the Bay. But, Harbaugh's cautious offensive system and a genuine trust in Smith's ability proved to be a

In fact, it was recited the other day by left tackle Joe Staley, who's a few months younger than Smith and not in the market for a son-in-law. The credentials for that job, however, don't really meet the expectations for an NFL quarterback.

It wasn't pretty, but the Long Beach State 49ers managed to win it's 17th straight home game on Saturday. TJ Robinson scored 14 points and had 19 rebounds to lead the 49ers to a 76-66 win over the Pacific Tigers in a hard-fought affair at Walter

Alex Smith found Vernon Davis for a 14-yard TD with 14 seconds left to give the 49ers a 36-32 win over the Saints in a wild NFC Divisional Round contest Candlestick Park that featured four lead changes in the final 4:11 of the fourth quarter.

GAME NOTES: Now that Atlantic 10 Conference play is in full swing, the Saint Louis Billikens try to get themselves back on track this afternoon as they clash with the Charlotte 49ers at Halton Arena. The Billikens kicked off the 2011-12 campaign with

Let's see, the franchise's first playoff win in almost a decade was made possible by much-maligned Alex Smith, who authored two touchdown drives in the final minutes to set up a possible showdown with Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers – the quarterback 49ers

By Kevin Seifert Books will be written about the San Francisco 49ers' epic 36-32 victory over the New Orleans Saints. But here's what applies to the NFC North: The Green Bay Packers now know they would host the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game if