Super Bowl LVI takes the field Sunday at sparkling-new SoFi Stadium

Former Miami Dolphins’ head football coach Brian Flores has every right to file lawsuits, but they can be put on hold so as not to put a damper on Super Bowl LVI Sunday.

It has nothing to do with the National Football League’s big prize itself that matches the 4th-seeds, the underdog AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals and the home team NFC champion Los Angeles Rams. The kickoff at the sparkling-new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood is scheduled for 4:30 on NBC, sunny skies are predicted with temperatures around 77 degrees.

Then there’s the Pepsi-Cola halftime show that will feature a cast of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog and Kendrick Lamar, all California natives, and Eminem and Mary J. Blige. It’s a headline mixture of 43 Grammy Award winners and all five have been in the spotlight for years, as well as creating 22 one billion albums.

And the star-studded show has been billed as a musical visionary, so while these off-the-field interruptions are known, the show itself must go on.

It will be only the third time these teams have met. On Oct. 7 of 1990, the Bengals had the upper hand, 34-31, in a thriller. On Dec. 19 of 1993, Cincinnati’s defense stymied the Rams in a 15-3 triumph, and on Oct. 27 of 2019, Los Angeles came out on top 24-10.

The Rams (12-5), an early 5-point favorite, will have a chance to reel in a second-straight Super Bowl on their home field as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did for the first time last season in defeating the visiting Kansas City Chiefs.

But the Rams have been Super Bowl champions, the Bengals (10-7) have not, and in fact will be on the big stage for the first time in 33 years. It had also been 13 seasons since it last won the division.

But while Los Angeles is listed as the favorite, underdogs are always a popular choice, and in several listings, Cincinnati is picked by 54 percent and LA by 46 percent. Of course, it’s common knowledge that the ball does take funny bounces, but at least there’s no overwhelming selection.

But there are team statistics revealed, and of course this is then and now is now, and as the ball bounces …

Well, in average points per game, it’s all even at 27.1 each.

In yards per game, it’s the Rams 372, the Bengals 361.5.

In opposition points per game, the Bengals have allowed 22.1, the Rams 21.9.

In opposing yards per game, it’s 350.8 Bengals and 344.9 Rams.

in turnovers, it’s 23 for the Bengals, 21 for the Rams.

in penalties, it’s 76 for the Rams, 72 for the Bengals, and in penalty yards, it’s 637 for the Rams, 620 for the Bengals.

There are few injuries at this time, but the most important and good news for the home side is that Los Angeles All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp is cleared to play after a knee injury sidelined him from the 2018 Super Bowl game won by the New England Patriots,13-3, in Tom Brady’s final year there.

As the glue-fingered, fast stepping Kupp was absent, so was the Rams’ offense in scoring only a field goal. Now he can hardly wait to step on the field after coming back from a late-season ACL injury, he is one of five players to be a unanimous first-team selection to the AP All-Pro team, and the first wide receiver since Steve Smith in 2005 and fourth overall to win the receiving triple crown.

He was tough to keep up with, speedy enough to race to the end zone after a catch, and tough to bring down when he has the ball. At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, he led the league with 145 receptions, 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. And he’s led the league in disguising his routes. If you want a big bundle of versatility, Kupp is the one.

He excelled in his only previous game against Cincinnati. He had a career-high 220 yards on seven catches and a touchdown during the 2019 contest played in London. His 65-yard touchdown in the second quarter was the third-longest of his career.

Cincinnati defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo didn’t think stopping Kupp was feasible.

“He’s just a terrific player,” Ananumo says. “All the yards he has and catches that he has, you have to contain them. You try and do a good job of always knowing where he is, making sure we’re putting a body on him constantly. Yes, he’s a terrific player and they got a bunch of other ones too.”

So let’s get it on. Let’s rumble on the West Coast. Pre-game weather conditions fit right in, a full house is expected, and the Flores lawsuits that deal with racism and discrimination will not be a part of this first Super Bowl tilt in Los Angeles in 29 years.