Sunday, January 19, 2014
Scoreboard
AFC
Basketball NBA standings
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but because this could be the last time they meet with the stakes so high. “I don’t know that there will ever be another rivalry like it, or has been a rivalry like it,” said John Elway, whose own rivalry with Dan Marino was held to only three meetings because of scheduling quirks over their decade-plus careers. The game will either give Brady a chance to match Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for a fourth title or afford Manning the opportunity to win a second ring, which would put him one behind Brady, and in the same company with his brother, Eli, Roger Staubach and Elway, among others. It would also make Manning the first QB to win championships with two different teams. While paying ultimate respect to each other — “I feel like he’s been a better player each year than he was the year before,” Manning said — neither quarterback professes to care much about how their own head-to-head showdowns will define their legacy. Don’t believe it, says Phil Simms, who admits in retirement that the smile was a little wider after he walked off the field with a win over a Staubach or Joe Theismann. “It’s always personal, no matter what,” Simms said. “It’s part of being a competitor and doing what you do.” One reason Brady has a .714 win percentage in the head-to-head meetings and also holds a 2-1 advantage in the playoffs is because, more often than not, he’s been surrounded by the more complete team. He has been anything but a one-man show in New England this season, illustrated best by the fact that the Patriots are in the AFC title game even though Brady
threw for 25 touchdowns — less than half of Manning’s record-setting 55. Without Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez or Wes Welker to throw to, Brady made it work, with a big assist from head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who used to coach the Broncos. New England’s running game, led by LeGarrette Blount and Shane Vereen, has averaged 214 yards the last three games. Brady’s 75 passes over the last three games are the fewest of any three-game stretch in his career. Welker, who played with Brady for six years before coming to Denver this season, says it’s not so much stats or physical attributes that defines these two Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks. “They do a great job of keeping guys accountable, and their leadership skills and everything else,” he said. “They are two guys you want quarterbacking your team. It’s a toss-up between those two.” Manning has thrown for 92 touchdowns since arriving in Denver at the start of the 2012 season, his neck rebuilt from multiple surgeries, his future uncertain because of his weakened throwing arm. He’d be the first to admit he’s not the same as he once was, physically. But nobody prepares better. His record-setting 5,477 yards and all those touchdown throws came with a gifted group of offensive stars surrounding him — Welker, Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas and this season’s difference maker, 6-foot-5 tight end Julius Thomas. But Manning had great players around him in Indianapolis, as well, and never put up these sort of numbers. “Honestly, no one will probably ever break that, not in this day and age,” former Broncos receiver Rod Smith said.
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Texas A&M and Mississippi State both have a deliberate offense and put an emphasis on tight defense, so the sporadic scoring in the first half wasn’t a surprise. The frantic scoring in the second half and overtime was. The Bulldogs shot 63.6 percent from the field in the second half and 62.5 percent in overtime. Colin Borchert added 14 points and Fred Thomas had 13. “We were grinding the whole game,” Sword said. Texas A&M came into the game giving up 60.2 points per game, but couldn’t stop the Bulldogs when it mattered most. Things turned ugly late in overtime when Texas A&M’s Jones and Mississippi State’s Thomas received technical fouls after exchanging words. Then Jones picked up another technical as he walked to the bench and had to be escorted off the floor by Texas A&M assistants. “I’d like to apologize about the way the game ended,” Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “I’ve never had a team act like that, demonstrate that type of character at the end.” Kennedy said the Aggies got frustrated after a few no-calls and didn’t
get back on defense. Texas A&M also fought foul trouble most of the afternoon and starters Alex Caruso and Kourtney Roberson both fouled out. The Aggies jumped out to an early 15-7 lead, but the Bulldogs slowly fought back when a few outside jumpers finally went down. Shooting has been a struggle all season for Mississippi State, which came into the game a leagueworst 29.1 percent from 3-point range. But Sword hit his first from behind the arc in more than a month to pull Mississippi State within 26-24. Then Thomas’ 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs a 27-26 lead going into halftime. The Aggies quickly reclaimed the lead early in the second half and Jones knocked down a 3-pointer with 10:30 remaining to push Texas A&M ahead 52-42. But Mississippi State was just getting started. Sword and Ware hit several clutch shots down the stretch for the Bulldogs, who have already won more games this season than all of last year. Now Ware hopes Saturday’s win leads to bigger things. “We still have to be humble,” Ware said. “Like coach says, we have to handle adversity and success. Don’t let things get to your head.”
EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB Toronto 20 18 .526 — Brooklyn 16 22 .421 4 New York 15 25 .375 6 Boston 14 27 .341 7½ Philadelphia 13 26 .333 7½ Southeast Division W L Pct GB Miami 29 11 .725 — Atlanta 20 19 .513 8½ Washington 19 20 .487 9½ Charlotte 17 25 .405 13 Orlando 10 30 .250 19 Central Division W L Pct GB Indiana 32 7 .821 — Chicago 18 20 .474 13½ Detroit 17 23 .425 15½ Cleveland 15 25 .375 17½ Milwaukee 7 31 .184 24½ WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct GB San Antonio 31 9 .775 — Houston 26 15 .634 5½ Dallas 24 17 .585 7½ Memphis 20 19 .513 10½ New Orleans 15 24 .385 15½ Northwest Division W L Pct GB Portland 30 9 .769 — Oklahoma City 30 10 .750 ½ Denver 20 19 .513 10 Minnesota 19 21 .475 11½ Utah 14 28 .333 17½ Pacific Division W L Pct GB L.A. Clippers 28 14 .667 — Golden State 26 16 .619 2 Phoenix 22 17 .564 4½ L.A. Lakers 15 25 .375 12 Sacramento 14 24 .368 12 ___ Saturday’s Games Indiana 106, L.A. Clippers 92 Detroit 104, Washington 98 Miami 104, Charlotte 96, OT Minnesota 98, Utah 72 Golden State 97, New Orleans 87 Philadelphia at Chicago, (n) Milwaukee at Houston, (n) Portland at Dallas, (n) Today’s Games L.A. Lakers at Toronto, Noon Boston at Orlando, 5 p.m. Sacramento at Oklahoma City, 6 p.m. Milwaukee at San Antonio, 6 p.m. Denver at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Monday’s Games Dallas at Cleveland, Noon L.A. Clippers at Detroit, Noon Philadelphia at Washington, 1 p.m. Toronto at Charlotte, 1 p.m. Brooklyn at New York, 1:30 p.m. New Orleans at Memphis, 4 p.m. Miami at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Chicago, 7 p.m. Portland at Houston, 7 p.m. Indiana at Golden State, 9:30 p.m.
Saturday men’s scores EAST Albany (NY) 85, Maine 78 American U. 66, Lafayette 61 Bryant 95, Fairleigh Dickinson 68 Buffalo 71, Kent St. 60 Colgate 63, Navy 41 Columbia 71, Cornell 61 Delaware 74, Northeastern 70 Fairfield 71, Manhattan 67 George Washington 79, St. Bonaventure 71 Hartford 60, New Hampshire 43 Holy Cross 61, Lehigh 42
LIU Brooklyn 62, CCSU 61 La Salle 74, Temple 68 Providence 81, Creighton 68 Quinnipiac 85, Niagara 71 Rhode Island 71, George Mason 69, OT Rider 66, Marist 56 Robert Morris 77, Mount St. Mary’s 69 Saint Joseph’s 85, Penn 68 Seton Hall 67, Georgetown 57 St. Francis (NY) 74, Sacred Heart 71 St. John’s 69, Dartmouth 55 Stony Brook 70, Mass.-Lowell 65 Syracuse 59, Pittsburgh 54 Vermont 73, UMBC 47 Villanova 88, DePaul 62 Wagner 56, St. Francis (Pa.) 50 Yale 74, Brown 67 SOUTH Alabama St. 67, Alabama A&M 58, OT Alcorn St. 65, MVSU 53 Appalachian St. 81, Georgia Southern 68 Belmont 79, Tennessee St. 65 Campbell 97, VMI 93, OT Charlotte 76, North Texas 74 Chattanooga 71, Wofford 57 Cincinnati 61, South Florida 54 Clemson 61, Wake Forest 53 Coppin St. 71, Hampton 68 Davidson 93, UNC Greensboro 82 Drexel 79, UNC Wilmington 63 Duke 95, NC State 60 E. Kentucky 60, Jacksonville St. 56 FIU 68, East Carolina 64 Florida 68, Auburn 61 Florida A&M 78, SC State 72 Florida Gulf Coast 90, ETSU 62 Furman 76, The Citadel 71 Gardner-Webb 67, Presbyterian 58 Georgia 66, Arkansas 61, OT Georgia St. 99, UALR 73 High Point 76, Liberty 70 Howard 88, Md.-Eastern Shore 55 Kentucky 74, Tennessee 66 Louisiana-Lafayette 72, Troy 59 Louisiana-Monroe 64, South Alabama 58 McNeese St. 70, Houston Baptist 68 Memphis 101, LeMoyne-Owen 78 Mercer 87, Lipscomb 66 Miami 56, Georgia Tech 42 Middle Tennessee 80, UTSA 58 Mississippi 75, South Carolina 74 Mississippi St. 81, Texas A&M 72, OT Morehead St. 82, UT-Martin 75 Morgan St. 87, Norfolk St. 70 N. Kentucky 82, Kennesaw St. 69 NC A&T 88, NJIT 82 NC Central 62, Delaware St. 52 North Carolina 82, Boston College 71 Old Dominion 65, FAU 60 Prairie View 85, Jackson St. 80, 2OT Radford 93, Longwood 76 Richmond 73, Dayton 64 SE Louisiana 91, Lamar 65 SE Missouri 83, Tennessee Tech 74 SMU 58, UCF 46 Sam Houston St. 77, New Orleans 70 Savannah St. 70, Bethune-Cookman 60, OT Stetson 77, SC-Upstate 73, OT Texas A&M-CC 70, Nicholls St. 67 Texas Southern 74, Grambling St. 72 Tulane 58, Rice 41 Tulsa 69, Marshall 52 UMass 84, Elon 74 UNC Asheville 80, Charleston Southern 76 UTEP 63, UAB 61 VCU 80, Duquesne 65 Virginia 78, Florida St. 66 W. Carolina 67, Samford 64 W. Kentucky 82, Arkansas St. 77, 2OT William & Mary 78, James Madison 56 Winthrop 73, Coastal Carolina 72, OT MIDWEST Butler 69, Marquette 57, OT E. Illinois 67, Austin Peay 64
E. Michigan 72, Cent. Michigan 59 Evansville 53, Loyola of Chicago 48 Illinois St. 77, Drake 63 Kansas 80, Oklahoma St. 78 Kansas St. 78, West Virginia 56 Miami (Ohio) 64, Ball St. 52 Michigan 77, Wisconsin 70 Michigan St. 78, Illinois 62 Missouri 68, Alabama 47 N. Dakota St. 65, W. Illinois 52 N. Iowa 94, Missouri St. 89 Nebraska-Omaha 80, S. Dakota St. 71 Northwestern 54, Indiana 47 Ohio 65, N. Illinois 46 Purdue 65, Penn St. 64 SIU-Edwardsville 67, Murray St. 60 Saint Louis 70, Fordham 48 South Dakota 75, IPFW 61 Texas-Pan American 84, Chicago St. 61 Toledo 75, Akron 61 UMKC 68, New Mexico St. 66 Valparaiso 75, Milwaukee 62 Wichita St. 68, Indiana St. 48 Youngstown St. 77, Detroit 63 SOUTHWEST Abilene Christian 73, Cent. Arkansas 72 Oklahoma 66, Baylor 64 Oral Roberts 79, Incarnate Word 77 Texas 86, Iowa St. 76 Texas Tech 60, TCU 49 Texas-Arlington 56, Texas St. 48 FAR WEST California 76, Washington St. 55 Colorado 83, Southern Cal 62 Colorado St. 74, Air Force 68 Denver 66, IUPUI 45 Gonzaga 82, Loyola Marymount 72 N. Arizona 77, Portland St. 56 New Mexico 89, Fresno St. 78 Pepperdine 76, Portland 65 Saint Mary’s (Cal) 79, Pacific 73 San Diego St. 63, UNLV 52 Utah 74, UCLA 69 Wyoming 67, San Jose St. 56
Football NFL postseason Wild-card Playoffs Saturday, Jan. 4 Indianapolis 45, Kansas City 44 New Orleans 26, Philadelphia 24 Sunday, Jan. 5 San Diego 27, Cincinnati 10 San Francisco 23, Green Bay 20 Divisional Playoffs Saturday, Jan. 11 Seattle 23, New Orleans 15 New England 43, Indianpolis 22 Sunday, Jan. 12 San Francisco 23, Carolina 10 Denver 24, San Diego 17 Conference Championships Today New England at Denver, 2 p.m. (CBS) San Francisco at Seattle, 5:30 p.m. (FOX) Pro Bowl Sunday, Jan. 26 At Honolulu TBD, 6:30 p.m. (NBC) Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2 At East Rutherford, N.J. AFC champion vs. NFC champion, 5:30 p.m. (FOX)
Daily Corinthian • 11A Montreal Toronto Detroit Ottawa Florida Buffalo
49 27 17 5 59 126 120 50 25 20 5 55 141 152 48 21 17 10 52 121 130 49 21 19 9 51 139 155 48 18 23 7 43 111 147 47 13 27 7 33 86 133 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Pittsburgh 48 34 12 2 70 156 115 Philadelphia 49 25 19 5 55 134 140 N.Y. Rangers 50 26 21 3 55 124 127 Columbus 48 24 20 4 52 138 135 Washington 48 22 18 8 52 141 146 New Jersey 50 20 19 11 51 115 123 Carolina 47 20 18 9 49 114 132 N.Y. Islanders 50 19 24 7 45 138 163 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Chicago 50 31 8 11 73 181 137 St. Louis 47 32 10 5 69 166 107 Colorado 48 31 12 5 67 142 122 Minnesota 50 26 19 5 57 122 123 Dallas 47 21 19 7 49 134 145 Nashville 50 21 22 7 49 121 151 Winnipeg 50 22 23 5 49 141 150 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Anaheim 51 37 9 5 79 175 126 San Jose 49 31 12 6 68 158 121 Los Angeles 49 29 14 6 64 126 100 Vancouver 49 24 16 9 57 124 125 Phoenix 48 23 16 9 55 139 145 Calgary 48 16 26 6 38 107 153 Edmonton 51 15 30 6 36 131 181 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Saturday’s Games Columbus 4, Buffalo 3, SO Detroit 3, Los Angeles 2, SO N.Y. Rangers 4, Ottawa 1 San Jose 5, Tampa Bay 4 Winnipeg 3, Edmonton 2, OT Toronto 5, Montreal 3 Philadelphia 6, N.Y. Islanders 4 Carolina 3, Florida 2 Anaheim 3, St. Louis 2 Colorado 5, Nashville 4 Phoenix 3, New Jersey 2 Dallas at Minnesota, (n) Calgary at Vancouver, (n) Today’s Games Boston at Chicago, 11:30 a.m. Tampa Bay at Carolina, 4 p.m. Washington at N.Y. Rangers, 6:30 p.m. Monday’s Games Philadelphia at N.Y. Islanders, Noon Los Angeles at Boston, 2 p.m. Florida at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m. St. Louis at Detroit, 6:30 p.m. Dallas at Nashville, 7 p.m. Toronto at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Calgary at San Jose, 9:30 p.m.
Transactions Saturday
EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Boston 47 30 15 2 62 136 104 Tampa Bay 49 28 16 5 61 141 120
BASKETBALL National Basketball Association NBA — Fined Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $100,000 for confronting the game officials on the court after the conclusion of the game on Wednesday, Jan. 15. HOUSTON ROCKETS — Recalled F Robert Covington from Rio Grande Valley (NBADL). FOOTBALL National Football League CINCINNATI BENGALS —Named Matt Burke linebackers coach. TENNESSEE TITANS — Named Lou Spanos linebackers coach. COLLEGE CLEMSON — Signed football coach Dabo Swinney to an eight-year contract through 2021. VANDERBILT — Named Derek Mason football coach.
game gets us to the Super Bowl or this and that.’ We all know. There’s nothing that needs to be said or a special meeting or anything.” Just football. “It’s like every game,” Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson confirmed. “Every game is no different even though it’s a championship game and all of that. We talk about playing 1-0 every week, and the game doesn’t change. “It comes down to not turning over the football, being in the plus in that situation, having a limited amount of penalties; you’re going to get some penalties, especially in a game like this, but not having too many of them. “The biggest thing is just staying on schedule.” The schedule brought these teams together in
September and December. Seattle won 29-3 at home in Week 2, then lost 19-17 at San Francisco on Dec. 8. CenturyLink Field might be the toughest venue in the NFL for visitors, with architecture that not only keeps the noise inside the stadium, but funnels it toward the field itself. Wilson became a starter as a rookie in 2012 and went undefeated. He won his first six home starts this season before a stumble against Arizona, but then Seattle defeated St. Louis to finish off the regular season, and New Orleans in a divisional-round playoff last weekend. “That’s pretty spectacular and it just shows how amazing our fans are, how much energy the city has for our football team,” Wilson said of the supersonic sound levels the
49ers can expect to deal with when they have the ball. “That’s what we’re looking forward to, and we want to bring something special to this city, and to do it we have to play one play at a time and see what happens at the end of the game.” Not that the 49ers are likely to be intimidated by the surroundings. They went 6-2 away from home in the regular season, and their two road wins have come at venerable Lambeau Field in frigid conditions, and at Carolina, which had won its last seven home games. “The last time we went up there we kind of lost it in the fourth quarter,” Smith said, “but we’re not too worried about that. We know what we have to do. We split with them. We happen to be up there and we’re ready to play.”
ed the drummers in the pep band and bounced around as he waited for the tip. Henderson had a 3-pointer early as the Rebels led 12-4 in the first six minutes. They were still ahead 18-12 on Summers’ basket when the Gamecocks found their game. Michael Carrera had a three-point play and two foul shots as part of 12-1 run to move in front. The Gamecocks kept up the pace, especially on defense as Ole Miss missed five shots and committed seven of its 11 first-half turnovers during a sixminute stretch. By then, South Carolina had built a double-digit lead and led 37-27 at halftime. Henderson missed his final seven shots of the half and was 1 of 5 on 3-pointers the first 20 minutes. Shaw topped the Gamecocks with nine points in the opening period.
South Carolina may have been fueled by the atmosphere and large crowd at the 18,000-seat arena. The program was celebrating the legacy of late coach Frank McGuire and several of his players, including Alex English, Bobby Cremins, Mike Dunleavy and Brian Winters were on hand for ceremonies.
Then Gamecocks football coach Steve Spurrier and his players took the floor at halftime, the crowd saluting a third straight 11-2 season. Also on hand was defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who gave up his senior season for the NFL draft. Clowney is considered by many the top pro prospect.
Hockey NHL standings
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plenty of spice. The sum total on both sides should be a worthy conference champion to meet either Denver or New England in two weeks in the New Jersey Meadowlands for the NFL crown. Even if both teams are playing down the drama they figure to provide before an ear-shattering wall of noise at CenturyLink Field on Sunday. “I think it’s pretty much, the game’s a bigger stage and gets you to the Super Bowl obviously,” said 49ers defensive lineman Justin Smith. “But I think for the most part how we’ve gone into every game in the year’s past is we try to be as regimented as possible in how we do things. We’re not going to get all caught up in ‘This
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this one. The Gamecocks came in having lost nine straight SEC games, including three this season. Point guard Tyrone Johnson was lost indefinitely when he broke his right foot in a loss at Texas A&M last Wednesday night. Established point guard Bruce Ellington, also the football team’s top receiver, gave up the rest of his senior season in basketball to train for the NFL draft. That left the Gamecocks with three freshmen rotating in at the position in Duane Notice, Jaylen Shaw and Thornwell. And Henderson looked like he was ready to build on his last showing when he scored 25 points to lead the Rebels past LSU, 88-74, on Wednesday. But Henderson and Ole Miss were off — way off — in the opening period. He laughed off the pregame fan taunts, imitat-
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