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Guards' Super Bowl sick call blitz threatens to lock down Chicago jail

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Employees at one of the largest U.S. jails would rather watch the big game than the big house, raising concerns with a Chicago-area sheriff that an annual problem with Super Bowl fever could force a lockdown on Sunday.

As the New England Patriots prepare to play the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League's championship game in Houston, officials in the Cook County Sheriff's Office said they are telephoning guards who in years past have called in sick on Super Bowl Sunday. The Super Bowl is the most heavily watched show on television every year.