NFL Football

Eli, the baby of the Manning quarterback clan, has finally arrived. Playing before the largest home crowd in Green Bay history (72,740 spectators), in the third-coldest game in league history (minus-1 at kickoff), Manning threw neither a touchdown nor an interception. Manning repeatedly put the Giants in position to win the NFC championship Sunday, and when Lawrence Tynes came through at last with a 47-yard field goal in overtime, New York had itself an improbable 23-20 victory over the Green Bay Packers at frostbitten Lambeau Field. Now comes Mission Impossible: beating the undefeated New England Patriots in two weeks in a Super Bowl matchup hardly anyone saw coming. Manning wasn't the only Giant who came through. Tynes had two earlier misses - a 36-yarder at the end of regulation following a bad snap, and a 43-yarder with 6:49 to go - before nailing his long winner 2:35 into OT. He got a reprieve in overtime after Corey Webster intercepted a struggling Brett Favre - the kind of mistake Manning often has made before his recent turnaround. The best game Eli has had in his four-year career was the season finale against the Patriots, when he threw four touchdown passes. He and the Giants are getting another shot at New England, the first team to go 18-0. The Patriots will be after their fourth Super Bowl title in seven years on Feb. 3, as well as the league's first perfect season since Miami went 17-0 in 1972.

History has been the Pat's constant companion all season, but in Sunday's AFC Championship Game in frigid Gillette Stadium, New England put this one in the win column by looking to their own storied past rather than writing another gaudy chapter in the league record books. This was the way the Patriots used to win games, long before the points-palooza of 2007 and chatter about a perfect season and running up the score became a near weekly refrain. New England didn't remotely dominate the San Diego Chargers in the AFC title game. All they did was defeat them, 21-12. Reminiscent of how the blue-collar Patriots got things done in their previous Super Bowl seasons of 2001, 2003 and 2004, when they won with sturdy bend-but-don't-break defense, a propensity for takeaways, and just enough ball-control offense to get the job done. It was old-fashioned, conventional football, and for the most part it led to wins that were narrow, with New England needing to bleed the clock in the final minutes of the game to lock things down. That was exactly the recipe for success on Sunday, when the Patriots limited the Chargers to four field goals, forced two San Diego turnovers, and held the ball for the staggering total of 9:13 to end the game. The Chargers' four best drives reached all the way to the New England 8, 5, 22 and 6 yard lines. And all that the Patriots allowed were four measly Nate Kaeding field goals. Eighteen down, one to go.

Super Bowl matchup

Australian Open

Fifth-seeded David Ferrer, who lost to Federer in the Masters Cup final in November, beat fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. He will play third-ranked Novak Djokovic, who ousted the last Australian hope when he defeated No. 19 Lleyton Hewitt 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. Hewitt didn't have his usual high energy level after beating Marcos Baghdatis in five sets in his previous match, which didn't end until 4:33 a.m. Sunday. That match was delayed by the length of Federer's victory over Tipsarevic.

Roger Federer sure didn't want to put in another 4½ hours. So he made fast work of Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-6 (7), 6-3 Monday to continue his march to a third consecutive Australian Open title and narrow his pursuit of Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slam titles. Federer next faces American James Blake, a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 winner over 19-year-old Croatian Marin Cilic, advancing past the fourth round here for the first time and matching his best Grand Slam showing.

Venus Williams, the eighth-seeded woman, realizes she needs to get over her slow starts. She had to fight back twice from service breaks in the first set before advancing to the quarters with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Marta Domachowska, a qualifier from Poland. She next faces No. 4 Ana Ivanovic, who put together a 6-1, 7-6 (2) win over Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki. No. 8 Daniela Hantuchova beat No. 27 Maria Kirilenko 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 and will next play Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska, who upset No. 14 Nadia Petrova 1-6, 7-5, 6-0. Williams is hoping that she can meet sister Serena, who was sitting courtside, in the final. Serena, the defending champion, is in the other half of the draw, where she next meets No. 3 Jelena Jankovic on Tuesday. A victory would set up a matchup between the winner of the other quarterfinal between top-seeded Justine Henin and No. 5 Maria Sharapova, last year's losing finalist.

Australian Open

World Cup Skiing

Bode Miller won the combined title for the slalom and downhill Sunday, setting a U.S. record with his 28th World Cup victory. Miller finished 14th in the slalom after finishing second in Saturday's downhill race. Jean-Baptiste Grange of France won the slalom on Sunday. Phil Mahre set the American record of 27 World Cup victories more than two decades ago. "It's a nice record, something you dream about as a kid," the 30-year-old Miller said. "As a professional skier, you're more focussed on winning each individual race. Before the season, it was my target to break that record and it's a really good feeling if you reach your goals."

Benjamin Raich was second in the combined and went back to the top of the overall World Cup standings. The 27-year-old Grange, who led after the first leg, finished in a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 45.04 seconds. The Frenchman edged Jens Byggmark by 0.15 seconds, and Mario Matt took third. American Ted Ligety, who faced a 0.74-second deficit, started fast in his second run but lost control of a ski at the bumpy upper part of the course. He finished eighth.

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Maria Holaus of Austria won a sunny Super-G on Sunday to claim her first World Cup victory while Julia Mancuso of the United States finished second. Holaus covered the melting Olympia delle Tofane course in 1 minute, 24.63 seconds. Mancuso finished 0.23 behind, and overall World Cup leader Nicole Hosp of Austria was third. Emily Brydon of Canada finished fourth and downhill winner Lindsey Vonn of the United States was fifth.

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Five-time Olympic biathlon champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen got his fifth win of the World Cup season Sunday. The Norwegian won a 15-kilometer mass start race in 36 minutes, 26.99 seconds, with one missed shot. Bjoern Ferry of Sweden finished second, 20.5 seconds behind, also with one miss, and Michael Greis of Germany was third. In the women's 12.5-kilometer race, Andrea Henkel of Germany recorded her second victory in two days. Henkel won in 36:07.37 with one miss. Anna Carin Olofsson of Sweden finished 16.1 seconds behind with no misses and World Cup leader Kati Wilhelm of Germany was third.

Australian Open

Roger Federer took his time about this one -- needing 41/2 hours and five sets to advance at the Australian Open. There was never a letup in the tension. Starting when Federer was forced to rally before outlasting 49th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-1, 10-8 to reach the fourth round of the tournament he has won the last two years. That pushed back the night session two hours.

Venus Williams beat Sania Mirza in straight sets in the first night match. Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis went on court at 11:47 p.m. Saturday, the last scheduled match at Rod Laver Arena on Day 6, and Hewitt ripped a forehand winner on his fifth match point 4 hours, 45 minutes later. The Aussie set a record for the latest finish for a day's play at a Grand Slam, beating 2006 runner-up Baghdatis 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-3, and completing the marathon at 4:33 a.m. local time Sunday.

James Blake, seeded 12th, came back from down two sets, then from a double break in the fourth before beating veteran Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean 4-6, 2-6, 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-2. No. 7 Fernando Gonzalez, who lost the Australian final last year to Federer, was ousted 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1 by Croatia's Marin Cilic, who had never gone past the first round in three previous majors. Cilic, who called it his best performance, faces Blake next. Two of Russia's top 10 women also were ousted. No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by 18-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze lost 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-2 to No. 27 Maria Kirilenko. Fourth-seeded Ana Ivanovic reached the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 28 Katarina Srebotnik.

Australian Open

Bowl games, 1/1/08

Georgia would love to be back at the Superdome next week, playing for the title it really wanted. Instead, the Bulldogs will have to settle for being Sugar Bowl champs. Overpowering the country's last unbeaten team, black-clad Georgia took out its frustration at getting passed over for a shot at the BCS championship with a 41-10 rout of Colt Brennan and the Warriors on Tuesday night. Next Monday, on the very same Superdome field, Ohio State will meet LSU in the national title game. The No. 4 Bulldogs feel they're as deserving as either of those teams, and they'll certainly get no argument from Hawaii, which came to the Big Easy with a perfect record and left all beaten up.

This would have been a perfect Rose Bowl for the USC Trojans, except for the one part they couldn't control. They couldn't pick their opponent. The sixth-ranked Trojans routed Illinois 49-17 on Tuesday and showed the rest of the country that, yes, maybe they are the best team in college football right now. Certainly, a better test could have come against Georgia or Virginia Tech, or maybe next week against Ohio State in the national title game. But the Rose Bowl wanted a Pac-10-Big Ten matchup, and the national title game didn't want Southern California. So, it wound up being USC-Illinois in the Granddaddy of 'Em All, and the Trojans made the Illini pay.

Colorful confetti flip-flopping around him, fans in black and gold chanting his name, Tony Temple and his Missouri teammates were basking in a terrific ending to a magical season. Only one thing was wrong - the setting. See, this was the Cotton Bowl, not the national championship game they were a win away from reaching, and it wasn't the Orange, Fiesta or Sugar Bowl like they thought they deserved. Motivated instead of deflated, the guys from the 'Show-Me State' did their best to prove they belonged in the BCS by routing Darren McFadden and Arkansas 38-7 on Tuesday. Temple led the way, rushing for 281 yards and four touchdowns, both records in the 72-year history of the Cotton Bowl. Mizzou (12-2) was ranked No. 1 after beating Kansas in the regular season finale, then lost badly to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game - so badly that the Jayhawks wound up with an at-large berth into the Orange Bowl. Coach Gary Pinkel kept his team's spirits up by having them put together a list of reasons why Dallas was a great place to spend New Year's Day. Recruiting and appeasing their largest out-of-state alumni base likely were near the top.

Michigan coach Lloyd Carr was doused with water, surrounded by dancing players and then carried onto the field. He went out a winner. Chad Henne threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns, Mike Hart ran for 129 yards and two scores and the Wolverines upset No. 9 Florida 41-35 Tuesday in the Capital One Bowl to win their first bowl game since 2003. This one was special. Michigan's senior class won its first bowl game in four tries and Carr ended his coaching career on a high note. Henne, Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham torched Florida's secondary all game. Arrington caught nine passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and Manningham added five catches for 78 yards and a score. The Gators (9-4) kept it close thanks to four turnovers and plenty of big plays by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and speedster Percy Harvin. Playing with a broken bone in his non-throwing hand and facing constant blitzes, Tebow was 17-of-33 for 154 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 57 yards and a score. Harvin ran 13 times for 165 yards and a touchdown, and caught nine passes for 77 yards and a score. It wasn't enough.

NCAA Football

A Perfect Season

For NE, anyway, who had a record-breaking finale in the 38-35 win over the Giants. The game could not have been scripted better. What a treat.

A big thank you to Roger Goodell of the NFL Network. This game was on their schedule, meaning a lot of people would not have seen it without going to a sportsbar. Goodell decided that a game of this magnitude should be seen everywhere, and as a result, it was simulcast by CBS and NBC. Thanks to Goodell, some 34.5 million viewers watched this game.

Thanks also to Tom Coughlin, without whom this game would have been a bore (yes, Tony Dungy, I'm thinking about you and Peyton Manning). Neither team had any real stake in the game, except for the records that the Pats stood to break (and they keep reminding us they don't care about those). The Giants weren't even going to play their first string team, according to the pundits. But Coughlin didn't listen to the pundits, and the Giants played like it was the Super Bowl, not a game that didn't really matter for them. Eli Manning had the game of his life for three quarters. He played like a kid who just enjoys playing, not the machine he too often becomes, and he completed some really impressive passes, including four for touchdowns. As long as they threw the ball, they owned the Pats defense for the first half.

By the second half, the Pats defense was starting to click and had better control of the game. They had taken away the Giants running game in the first half, and in the second they started pressuring Manning. By the fourth quarter, it was easy to see that the Giants were out of surprises; the Pats were all over them. And I can't be the only person who just *knew* that Randy Moss was going to run that exact same pattern again and get his record 23rd touchdown catch on Brady's record setting 50th touchdown pass. I can't believe the Giants didn't see that one coming.

I noticed something that happens on the sidelines that may help account for the Pats success. When the Pats offense were off the field, they were watching the play of the Giants and Tom Brady has them huddling up to discuss things. Not with the coaches, just the guys who would be back on the field momentarily. They did this a lot, all season. I didn't see the Giants doing that. Eli Manning sat on the bench and rested, watched the game, but didn't engage his teammates. Brady is a leader, the other guys really want to play with him. I don't see that in Manning and the Giants. And he's running out of time, imo, to change his teammates' opinions.

Brady has had some year. In this game he went 32-42 passing for 356 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. For the season he had an NFL-record 50 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 4,805 yards (third all-time for one season), 68.9 percent completion rate and a 117.2 rating this season. Brady's previous high for touchdowns passes in a season was 28, which he eclipsed four hours before the Red Sox won the World Series. He's only the fourth quarterback to average 300 passing yards per game for a season.

The Patriots traded second-, fourth- and seventh-round picks (the 60th, 110th and 238th overall choices) in the draft last spring to Miami (60 and 238) and Oakland (110) for Wes Welker and Randy Moss, respectively. Between them, they got 210 receptions for 2,668 yards with an average of 12.7 ypc, and 31 touchdowns. That's some good trading.

There are those who say the Pats offense isn't playing as well now as they did at the beginning of the season. In the last five games of the year, three played with weather a factor, New England scored 27, 34, 20, 28 and 38. We'll take that kind of a slump any day.

I hope the Super Bowl is this good. I doubt it will be.

Everyone else in the NFL

From disarray and heartache to confidence and dominance, the Washington Redskins will enter the playoffs as the hottest team in the NFC after Sunday's 27-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys with a hot quarterback and maybe the hottest running back. And with a defense coming off a game in which it allowed exactly 1 yard rushing. And, perhaps most importantly, on a mission for the teammate who wore No. 21. It's been four weeks since the Redskins attended the funeral of their best defensive player, and they haven't lost since. "Win for Sean" was as strong Sunday as it was when the four-game winning streak began Dec. 6, reinforced by everything from the fiery speech given by kick returner Rock Cartwright on the field before the game to the white "21" on the front of the black baseball cap worn by coach Joe Gibbs at his postgame news conference. The Redskins (9-7) will travel to Seattle on Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. game, a rematch of a 2005 division playoff won 20-10 by the Seahawks. Washington will be riding the longest current winning streak in the NFC, including three straight victories by double digits. It's a remarkable renaissance for a team that stayed afloat with close, ugly games before losing four straight, the last defeat coming the day before Taylor's funeral.

Kerry Collins waited all season to prove his value in Tennessee. The Titans wouldn't have been celebrating Sunday night without him. Collins rescued his teammates in the most precarious circumstances, leading them to three straight second-half field goals in relief of injured Vince Young and helping Tennessee rally for a 16-10 win at Indianapolis that drew cheers from Nashville and moans from Cleveland. The final piece of the AFC playoff picture came down to the final game on the final weekend of the regular season. Tennessee had to win to make the postseason for the first time since 2003, while an Indy win would have sent the Browns to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Inside the RCA Dome, you could almost hear the groans coming from the shores of Lake Erie when Peyton Manning traded his helmet for a headset early in the second quarter. To the Browns' chagrin, that was how the Colts chose to play.

Three teams finished the season 11-3; Indianapolis, Dallas and Green Bay. I'm rooting for Green Bay to meet NE in the Super Bowl.

Wild Card Weekend	Game
Sat, 1/5, 4:30pm	Washington Redskins at Seattle Seahawks
Sat, 1/5, 8pm	Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers
Sunday, 1/6, 1pm	New York Giants at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sun, 1/6, 4:30pm	Tennessee Titans at San Diego Chargers
Divisional Playoffs	Game
Sat, 1/12, 4:30pm	Seahawks/Bucs/Giants at Green Bay Packers
Sat, 1/12, 8pm	Steelers/Jags/Titans at New England Patriots
Sun, 1/13, 1pm	Chargers/Steelers/Jags at Indianapolis Colts
Sun, 1/13, 4:30pm	Bucs/Giants/Redskins at Dallas Cowboys
Conf. Championships	Game
Sun, 1/20, TBA	AFC Championship Game
Sun, 1/20, TBA	NFC Championship Game
Super Bowl XLII	Game
Sun, 2/3, TBA	University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.

Finally, farewell to Vinny Testaverde, who announced his retirement on Saturday after a 21-year NFL career. I was sad to see him leave NE, and Tom Brady said Testaverde was "one of the best teammates I've ever had". Testaverde was a class act who battled through a horrible first six years in Tampa Bay to have a good NFL career. Maybe he'll end up coaching quarterbacks somewhere.

NFL Football

A simple slant pattern to his favorite receiver gave Brett Favre yet another record in a milestone season. It's been a pretty big year for his team, too. The Green Bay Packers secured a first-round playoff bye for the first time since 1997. Favre threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns, eclipsing Dan Marino to become the NFL career leader in yards passing, in a 33-14 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Greg Jennings and Donald Lee caught scoring passes and kicker Mason Crosby was 4-for-4 from 44, 50, 25 and 46 yards for Green Bay, which needed only to win for the first-round bye after the Seahawks lost 13-10 to the Panthers. Green Bay (12-2) also kept pace with the Cowboys for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and is one victory off the franchise record.

After Baltimore's Matt Stover missed a 44-yard field goal in the extra period, Miami's Greg Camarillo turned a short completion into a 64-yard touchdown, and the Dolphins beat the Baltimore Ravens 22-16. With the 1972 perfect-season Dolphins cheering them on, the woebegone 2007 team rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit and snapped a 16-game losing streak. Camarillo broke over the middle on third down and had two steps on the secondary when he caught a pass from Cleo Lemon near midfield. Finding himself in the clear, Camarillo sprinted to the end zone for his first NFL touchdown. The Miami bench quickly emptied as Holliday and his teammates ran after Camarillo and mobbed him in the corner of the stadium. With their first victory since Dec. 10, 2006, the Dolphins (1-13) avoided matching the worst start in NFL history. Cam Cameron finally earned his first victory as an NFL head coach, 11 months after taking the job.

The Patriots found another way to stay unbeaten - with a running game. Facing rain, wind and chilly gusts above 20 mph, New England relied on Laurence Maroney 's rushing instead of Tom Brady 's passing and beat the New York Jets 20-10 Sunday in the Spygate rematch to clinch home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. After the Patriots became the second team in NFL history to go 14-0, Bill Belichick broke into a broad grin at his sideline and kept it until he met Eric Mangini, his former protege and defensive coordinator. Mangini had angered Belichick when he left to become coach of the Jets last season. Most of their previous four midfield meetings were colder than Sunday's weather. Mangini had turned Belichick in for having a video assistant use a sideline videocamera in violation of NFL rules after the season opener in which the Patriots beat the Jets (3-11). The NFL fined Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 and took away their first-round draft choice next year for the illegal taping. He said there was no extra meaning to Sunday's win because of that. Video helped the Patriots when they challenged a call of a 7-yard touchdown pass from Chad Pennington , who was in for the injured Kellen Clemens , to Justin McCareins with 2:32 left. Replay officials ruled he didn't get both feet in the back of the end zone. Then Mike Nugent missed a 35-yard field goal attempt.

NFL scores

PGA Golf

"Doesn’t help us, does it?" Colin Montgomerie said. "If he took a bloody year off, it would help. Never mind 10 weeks."

He's talking about Tiger Woods, of course, who won the Target World Challenge with a seven-shot victory, receiving a $1.35 million check that goes to his Tiger Woods Learning Center. Woods has had quite a year in 2007. He became a father for the first time. After winning, he walked over to his 6-month-old daughter, dressed in a red fleece top, for a kiss on the cheek and a pat on the head. Then came the presentation on the 18th green at Sherwood Country Club, where Woods collected his eighth trophy of the year.

Jim Furyk cut a six-shot lead down to two at the turn and was poised to get even closer on the 10th hole. Woods holed a 12-foot birdie putt up the slope, and Furyk three-putted for bogey from 4 feet above the hole. It was a stunning two-shot swing, and Woods soon restored his margin and coasted to victory.

He closed with a 4-under 68 to tie the tournament record at 22-under 266, making him the first player to win consecutive titles at this year-end tournament for an elite, 16-man field.

Masters champion Zach Johnson won the B-flight and a load of Christmas cash. Johnson birdied the last hole for a 68 to finish second, worth $840,000. Furyk, who hit another tee shot in the water for double bogey on the 15th, shot a 71 to finish third and won $570,000.

The margin of victory was the largest at this tournament in its nine-year history, and it was the third time this year that Woods won a tournament by seven shots or more. And this after taking a 10-week break.

MLBaseball

The Mitchell Report names names, including Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Pettitte admits using HGH twice in 2002 while recovering from an injury. Clemens has not commented.

Ok, show of hands...who thinks this will be a turning point in MLB?

The NY Times has a good breakdown, name by name, of the players in the report. They also have a couple interesting articles, including one that tracks two players to see how many of their teammates were also in the report.