Pro Bowl tries to strike balance between fun and competition
[...] Incognito, a Buffalo Bills guard, is like the vast majority of the 88 players invited to this all-star gathering Sunday night.
The NFL has seemed open to ways to energize its end-of-the-year showcase that is now sandwiched between conference championship and Super Bowl weeks.
A few years ago the league broke from the traditional AFC-NFC Pro Bowl matchup and allowed celebrity coaches to draft two teams.
[...] in hopes of giving the game a lift, the NFL has moved the Pro Bowl from Hawaii to Orlando, where it has become more of a weeklong event, complete with a re-imagined Skill Showdown.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman says the intensity would rise and more invited players would show up if the NFL gave them their weekly game salaries.
Under the collective bargaining agreement, each player from the winning team will make $61,000 this week and the losing players will take home $30,000.
Former NFL player and coach Herm Edwards says the game as played now is fine.
Thousands of fans have been out at ESPN's Wide World of Sports complex this week watching both the AFC and NFC practice.