8B
MONDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2010
MiamiHerald.com
INTERNATIONAL EDITION
THE MIAMI HERALD
SPORTS FOR LATE GAME SCORES, GO TO MIAMIHERALD.COM/SPORTS
PATS GET TOP SEED IN AFC
Opponents’ timeout calls put heavy wait on kickers BY JUDY BATTISTA
New York Times Service
Pittsburgh for the division lead with one game left. Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis promised Hillis would not repeat his 144-yard performance against Baltimore in Week 3, and the big back didn’t, rushing for 35 yards on 12 carries. McCoy threw three interceptions and the Browns (5-10) did nothing to help embattled coach Eric Mangini, who fell to 10-21 in two seasons and will await a postseason review by president Mike Holmgren. l Chiefs 34, Titans 14: Matt Cassel threw three touchdown passes and Eric Berry returned an interception 54 yards for another
Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes recalls almost nothing of the moment that, but for a lucky break a few minutes later, might have defined his career. The Green Bay Packers called a timeout right before he tried a field goal at the end of regulation of the NFC Championship game in the 2007-08 season. Tynes remembers that. And he recalls thinking he should have gone back to the sideline to try a few more practice kicks in the brutally cold weather. After that, it all goes blank, perhaps the best defense mechanism in a job where a short memory is as important as a strong leg. “I really didn’t remember they iced me until I saw a greatest games DVD,” Tynes said. “I just thought I was going to make the kick. But I didn’t. I guess I’m part of the statistic.” It turns out he was part of the statistic in another way. Tynes ended up beating the Packers and sending the Giants to Super Bowl XLII with an overtime field goal — before which Green Bay did not call a timeout. Icing, when a team calls a timeout before a field goal is attempted, has been a part of football since a coach first realized that kickers might be an eccentric lot. Some kickers dread it. The best ones ignore it. But a study published in September by a University of San Diego professor has delivered the worst news of all to kickers: Icing works. Really, really well. Nadav Goldschmied, an adjunct professor at the university’s psychology department, examined field goals over six seasons, 2002
• TURN TO NFL, 7B
• TURN TO KICKER, 7B
RICK STEWART/GETTY IMAGES
SPRINTING AWAY: Danny Woodhead, center, of the New England Patriots runs against the Buffalo Bills at the Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday in Orchard Park, N.Y. New England won 34-3.
NEW ENGLAND ROUTS BUFFALO BILLS TO CAPTURE 7TH STRAIGHT WIN ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — (AP) — The New England Patriots clinched the top seed in the AFC playoffs Sunday thanks to Tom Brady’s three touchdown passes in a 34-3 rout over a familiar pushover, the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots (13-2) rolled to their seventh straight victory in winning the AFC East division and beating the Bills (4-11) for the 15th game in a row dating to 2003. New England is 20-1 in its past 21 meetings against Buffalo. Two of Brady’s TD passes went to rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski. Alge Crumpler and Danny Woodhead also scored for the Patriots, who forced seven turnovers. Brady finished 15 of 27 for
Soccer’s big year ends with a series of gaffes BY JERE LONGMAN
New York Times Service
It began as a celebrative year for Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, soccer’s world governing body. He took the World Cup to Africa for the first time, although many were sure that South Africa would fail as the host. As it turned out, Blatter, 74, was right. The stadiums were full, the South Africans were welcoming hosts and capable organizers, and fears of violence were unfounded. The problem with the end of Blatter’s year, though, is that FIFA has never adapted to the standards of transparency that govern many international entities. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, it is an insular body unregulated by any outside organization. And since his election in 1998, Blatter and other top FIFA officials have faced repeated charges of mismanagement and corruption. These charges resurfaced in the run-up to the December selection of host countries for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Reporting by The Sunday Times of London resulted in the suspension of two of the 24 members of FIFA’s executive committee for expressing their willingness to sell their votes. A former FIFA executive also told the English newspaper that bidding countries were trading votes to try to enhance their chances. The BBC showed that three other members of the executive committee had accepted bribes from FIFA’s failed marketing arm in the form of kickbacks related to international television-rights fees; a fourth was accused of attempting but failing to sell $84,000 worth of tickets to the 2010 World Cup at a profit. Blatter and his cohort denied wrongdoing, but some, including Transparency International, an • TURN TO SOCCER, 7B
27PGB08.indd 8
140 yards and set the NFL record for most attempts (319) without an interception. He topped the mark set by Bernie Kosar in the 1990-91 seasons. l Rams 25, 49ers 17: Sam Bradford set an NFL record for completions in a rookie season and his first touchdown pass in four games gave St. Louis breathing room in its playoff quest. The Rams (7-8) need to win at Seattle next week to clinch their first playoff berth since 2004. Troy Smith was benched in the fourth quarter of a loss that eliminated the 49ers (5-10) from playoff consideration in the weak NFC West. Smith passed for 356 yards in the 49ers’ overtime victory over the Rams in Novem-
ber, but did not play the last two games. Ted Ginn Jr. scored on a 78-yard punt return for San Francisco, his fourth career touchdown return. James Hall had 11/2 sacks for a defense that sacked Troy Smith three times and Alex Smith once, plus got a safety when Troy Smith fumbled a poor shotgun snap in the end zone. l Ravens 20, Browns 10: Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes, Baltimore’s defense bottled up Cleveland’s Peyton Hillis, and the Ravens clinched their third straight playoff appearance. Ed Reed intercepted rookie Colt McCoy twice as the Ravens (11-4) stayed in contention for the AFC North title. They remain tied with
Confidence and trust fuel the Heat ISRAEL GUTIERREZ
igutierrez@miamiherald.com
t was the matter-of-factness of it all that shows you how far the Heat has come. The Heat just went into a game against the two-time defending champion Lakers, on their home floor, on Christmas Day, and methodically dissected Kobe Bryant and his cast of champions. A triple-double from LeBron James. An assertive 24 points and 13 rebounds from Chris Bosh. A stellar defensive effort from Dwyane Wade against Bryant. And it was about as ho-hum as it gets. This from a team that’s less than a month removed from a 9-8 start that had every single aspect of the team being questioned, the head coach being apparently hung out to dry and the players looking
I
very little like their former selves. Now — after a thorough 96-80 beating of the Lakers — there’s talk of absolute trust. There’s talk of a true identity. There’s an understanding of the franchise’s philosophy. The transformation has been nothing short of astounding. “You can get whiplash if you really follow [the media] and your opinions from game to game,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the consistently changing judgments about his team. “It’s really just about us in the locker room and getting to our game. We’re building our identity.” Playing on one of the biggest stages the NBA has to offer, against the league’s glamour
DOMINATION: The Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade dunks over Los Angeles Lakers’ Lamar Odom during the first half of their NBA game Saturday. Wade scored 18 points as Heat won 96-80.
• TURN TO HEAT, 7B
MARK J. TERRILL/AP
India batsman tunes out troubles and sets a record BY HUW RICHARDS
New York Times Service
England dismisses Australia for 98
LONDON — Sachin Tendulkar’s MELBOURNE, Australia — 50th score of 100 or more in five(AP) — England took an iron day tests, achieved last week in grip on the Ashes by bowling out Centurion, South Africa, was more Australia for a record low score than just another landmark in a caof 98 and then scoring 157 withreer overflowing with them. out loss on Sunday’s opening day It was a significant moment of the fourth test. for cricket, a game that thinks in England can secure a success50s and 100s and applauds when ful Ashes defense by winning players reach those marks. this test at the Melbourne CrickUntil recently, it was unthinket Ground, and it would take an able that anyone would score as extraordinary turn of events to many as 50 centuries in tests. Tenprevent the tourists doing that dulkar not only met the old record, after a dominant first day. 34, set by his Indian compatriot Sent in by England captain Sunil Gavaskar, he smashed it. One Andrew Strauss, Australia was more, and he will have exceeded bundled out for its lowest ever the original mark by 50 percent. score against England at the It is not unthinkable that someMCG. All 10 wickets fell to catchbody may one day overtake Tenes behind the wicket as the hosts dulkar; his closest pursuers are failed to show the disciplined Ricky Ponting (39) and Jacques batting required on a seaming Kallis (38). pitch. It appears unlikely, barring some implausible explosion in the number of the matches or the emergence of another star that dulkar’s mark of 50 a truly special we will ever see the next step, moment. somebody scoring 100 centuTendulkar is a rare sporting ries in tests, and that makes Ten- marvel, a child prodigy who not
England’s opening pair put on a commanding performance, with Alastair Cook on 80 and Strauss on 64 at stumps. They showed the judiciousness and discipline that Australia’s batsmen so glaringly lacked. Australia’s score reached all kinds of lows: its lowest ever against England at the MCG (with the previous worst of 104 dating back to the first ever test, played in 1877); its lowest ever first innings at the MCG; the second time Australia had been bowled out for less than 100 in this calendar year; its lowest score on Australian soil since 1984; its lowest at the MCG since 1981; its lowest against England since 1968; and lowest against England in Australia since 1936.
ALEXANDER JOE/AFP-GETTY IMAGES
LEGENDARY: India’s Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to reach 50 hundredslast week.
only fulfilled the awesome poten- that allowed him to maintain his tial he showed when he broke into top-level play later in his career. It India’s team at 16, but then demonstrated the desire and durability • TURN TO TENDULKAR, 7B
12/27/2010 5:22:46 AM