'Kitten Bowl' teams vie for purring rights.

• Author: Elber, Lynn
• Position: Living

Byline: Lynn Elber

LOS ANGELES -- Football tampering is inevitable when felines take the field Sunday in Hallmark Channel's Kitten Bowl -- a four-team playoff to promote the adoption of shelter animals.

The channel says kitties simply can't help the fact that claws and balls don't go together.

"Our issues tend to be more related to the size of the 'yarnage' markers on the 'kitiron' and, of course, the length of their milk breaks,'' said Bill Abbott, president and CEO of Hallmark parent Crown Media Family Networks.

In other words, cute trumps controversy when fluffy, big-eyed kitties are involved, just as it should.

"Kitten Bowl II'' kicks off at noon, starting with semifinal matches between the Northpole Panthers and Hallmark Channel Hearties, and the Good Witch Wildcats versus the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Mountain Lions. The winners then play for ultimate purring rights.

Hallmark goes for giggles as well, with "quartercats'' dubbed Tawny Unitas, Ryan Fitzcatrick and Joe Montuna.

John Sterling and...