CMYK
SPORTS
SECTION
timesleader.com
THE TIMES LEADER
SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2012
PAUL SOKOLOSKI
PENGUINS
Family enjoys Street’s big day
Baby Pens collect three shorthanded goals in victory at St. John’s on Saturday.
OPINION
SAN FRANCISCO
49ERS
NEW ORLEANS
SAINTS
36
NEW ENGLAND
45
DENVER
10
PATRIOTS
32
BRONCOS
BRADYMANIA
By BRENDAN McCARTHY For The Times Leader
ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland — Ben Street had Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012 circled on his calendar ever since the AHL schedule was released. But in all his nervous, excited anticipation, he never dreamed this is how it would turn out. Street scored on a penalty shot and then set up Bryan PENGUINS Lerg for one of two WilkesBarre/Scranton shorthanded ICECAPS goals in the span of 21 seconds in the third period as the Penguins won their sixth straight road game, defeating the St. John’s IceCaps 6-4 Saturday night. Street is from Coquitlan, B.C., but both his parents are natives of St. John’s, meaning he had dozens of relatives in the stands of Mile One Centre for the Penguins’ first-ever game against the IceCaps. The Penguins actually finished the night with three shorthanded goals. Street’s fell into that category since his penalty shot came
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AP PHOTO
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, left, celebrates his 19-yard touchdown reception with quarterback Tom Brady during the first half Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.
See STREET, Page 8C
Pats’ QB tosses 6 TDs in rout of Broncos
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
By By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer
Eastern gets swept away by Monarchs Kyle Stackhouse has a double-double and a 16-1 run propels the King’s men to win. By DEREK LEVARSE dlevarse@timesleader.com
WILKES-BARRE — For 15 minutes, the game sputtered along with neither team reaching 20 points. King’s and Eastern were shooting a combined 25 percent from the KING’S floor. But the Monarchs would not only go on to EASTERN beat the Eagles 74-66 Saturday, they hit their season scoring average in the process. Down 18-13 and time ticking down in the first half, the Monarchs suddenly erupted, going on a 16-1 run in the final few minutes to take a 10-point lead into halftime.
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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady’s way of dealing with Tebowmania was to silence it with a record-shattering performance. Brady threw six touchdown passes, five in the first half, putting the New England Patriots into the AFC championship game after roughing up Tim
Tebow and the Denver Broncos 45-10 Saturday night. The Patriots (14-3), winners of nine straight games, will host either Baltimore or Houston next Sunday for a spot in the Super Bowl. Saturday night’s romp snapped a threegame postseason losing streak, two of those at Gillette Stadium, and lifted the Patriots to the verge of their fifth Su-
per Bowl appearance in 11 seasons. They’ve won three of those. From the first snap, this was a mismatch. The Patriots were not going to make the same mistakes the Steelers made against this team. A nation transfixed by Tebow’s play, if not his principles, tuned in Saturday to see if he had more heroics in store for
Brady and company. He had nothing left as the Patriots made this must-see TV only for those who live in New England. With New England up 42-7, the fans began their derisive Teeee-bow chants. On the next play, the Broncos quarterback was sacked for an 11-yard loss See PATRIOTS, Page 6C
Legendary comeback for Niners Saints fall on late touchdown pass By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer
SAN FRANCISCO — What a way to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of “The Catch.” Joe Montana to Dwight Clark then. Alex Smith to Vernon Davis now. Smith completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees had put the high-powered Saints ahead, and resurgent San Francisco capitalized on five New Orleans turnovers for a thrilling 36-32 playoff victory Saturday. “This is big for us,” Davis said. “It’s history. It’s legendary.” Smith ran for a 28-yard TD with 2:11 left and threw another scoring pass to Davis in the first quarter. Coach Jim Har-
baugh’s NFC West champions (14-3) proved that a hard-hitting, stingy defense can still win in the modern, wide-open NFL by holding off one of league’s most dynamic offenses. Brees completed a 66-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy GraSee NINERS, Page 6C
San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) celebrates with tight end Justin Peelle (81) after a touchdown.
BETWEEN A COUPLE groups of kids tossing baseballs and on a field strewn with golf balls, Alec Norton focused purely on football. No obstacle was going to stand in his way this time. His is a story of perseverance and preparation, about staying committed even when you fail. His rallying cry is the old adage, ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.’ That type of determination took Norton so far, he landed all the way down in Baltimore for today’s AFC playoff game between the Ravens and Houston Texans. But Norton had a playoff battle of his own to worry about.
He never quit The 13-year-old son of Todd and Sherri Norton of Nanticoke finished third in the boys division for 12- and 13-year olds of the Punt, Pass and Kick national finals, held Saturday at the Ravens practice facility. “It’s pretty good I got this far,” Alec Norton said. It’s even better that he didn’t quit. He has some kicking skills, developed when he played soccer for a few years, and was a two-way lineman, as well as the punter and kicker, for his Nanticoke youth football team. “He’s played baseball, always pitched,” Todd Norton said. “He could throw the ball from the center field fence to home plate. He’s a good athlete.” But the NFL’s Punt, Pass and Kick competition rates accuracy as well as distance. And Alec Norton had to work at it, which is why he’s been on the busy indoor field of the Wyoming Valley Sports Dome twice a week lately, practicing for the national finals. He wasn’t a natural like Berwick’s amazing Olivia Seely, who won her second Philadelphia Eagles team competition to earn her first trip to nationals Saturday in the girls 14-15 group. Alec Norton’s path to the finals began with frustration. He gave this competition a shot at the local level a couple years ago, and didn’t come close to winning. But he didn’t lose his desire. Norton came back to the local round as a 12-year-old last year, and although he fared a bit better than the first time, he didn’t make it out of that preliminary competition. But those first two experiences in the competition made him hungrier, if not more steely. “I just like football,” said Alec Norton, who stands 5-foot-9, and weighs 175 pounds. “I was getting better at kicking and punting over the years.” He got so good, Alec Norton not only captured the crown at the local level, he won the next two stages of the Punt, Pass and Kick competition. He came out on top at a regional event in Allentown and again at a national semifinal event held at the See PUNTING, Page 9C
See MONARCHS, Page 9C
LIVE High School Basketball Tune into Service Electric’s Ch. 2 • Mon. Jan. 16th: Girls Basketball Meyers @ Wyoming Seminary - 7:15pm • Tues. Jan. 17th: Boys Basketball Northwest @ Hanover - 7:15pm For a complete schedule go to www.sectv.com
Punting on a chance to give up
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