Puppy Bowl 17 will be hosted by Martha Stewart and Snoop Dog

It's that most wonderful time of the year because it's the season for the 2021 Puppy Bowl. On Sunday, February 7, Animal Planet will present the 17th edition, of this beloved event. Puppy Bowl XVII will offer 70 adorable and adoptable puppies from 22 different shelters who will compete on either Team Ruff (orange bandanas) or Team Fluff (blue bandanas). The hosts this year are tag team celebrities Martha Stewart and Snoop Dog who will surely add to the excitement. Snoop's French Bulldogs, Juelz Broadus, and Choc are slated to make special appearances as are Martha's pups, Chow Chows Empress Qin and Emperor HanFrench Bulldogs Crème Brûlée and Bête Noire.

Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg have been friends since 2012 when he was a guest on her show. It would seem unlikely that a 77-year-old cooking icon and a 47-year-old rapper would have anything in common. Instead of mixing like oil and water, they clicked and now the duo has done television commercials and a late-night show together. it's not staged as each says they truly love and admire the other. Hosting the 17th annual Puppy Bowl is quite an honor for them and they will no doubt entertain the viewing audience.

The goal for the pup's is hoisting the prized "Lombarky" trophy. The 3-hour game begins at 2:00 PM EST live on Animal Planet and this year those who subscribe to the Discovery+ channel will also be able to enjoy the fun festivities through the streaming service. During the epic three-hour face-off, rescue pups will chase, pull, tug, and drag doggie toys around a miniature football field and carry them into the end zone. This is the canine event of the year and you don't want to miss it. These puppies are always adorable and never fail to entertain.

The official Puppy Bowl "Rufferee" Dan Schachner will return for his 10th year of presiding over the puptastic game. SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele and ESPN's Monday Night Football play-by-play announcer Steve Levy will give the sideline commentary. Each doggie in the Puppy Bowl that appears on screen is up for adoption from the 22 shelters across the northeast U.S, from which they hail. The desire this year is to match the 100% adoption rate of the previous 16 games. This includes all puppies and kittens that participated.

In between game segments, there will be Pup Close and Personal segments that will help viewers learn more about the adoptable dogs. Those watching will find out about each pup's back story their shelters and rescue groups. Viewers will also get to know the hardworking staff members who are assisting the puppy participants in finding their forever homes. Click on the following link to get to know the 70 participants in this year's game.

The puppies have some competition as the Hallmark Channel will host its second annual Kitten Bowl which also airs at 2:00 PM on Sunday and runs until 4. The Kitten Bowl is only on once so you might want to tape it. You can also watch it live and catch one of the 3 encore presentations of the Puppy Bowl which airs again at 6, 9, and midnight. The annual Puppy Bowl is usually filmed in October on a soundstage in Manhattan. Due to COVID, the event was relocated to the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls, NY. The arena is 4,794-seat multi-purpose facility that is located in downtown Glens Fall. It was built in 1979 and is currently the home of the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL (East Coast Hockey League).