ekansekans's blog: "df"

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Oh, brother! John Harbaugh and his Baltimore Ravens set up a family reunion at the Super Bowl, shutting down the New England Patriots 28-13 Sunday in the AFC championship game. The Ravens reached their first Super Bowl in 12 years, thanks to three touchdown passes from Joe Flacco and a defence led by Ray Lewis that made Tom Brady look downright ordinary. Next up for Harbaugh and the Ravens is younger brother Jim and the San Francisco 49ers, who beat Atlanta 28-24 earlier in the day for the NFC title. "I dont know if we had a dream this big," John Harbaugh said. "We had a few dreams, we had a few fights, we had a few arguments -- just like all brothers." Theyll meet in two weeks in New Orleans -- what a place for a party to celebrate the first brother-vs.-brother coaching matchup in Super Bowl history. It also will be quite a last game for Lewis, the emotional linebacker who will retire after the matchup with the 49ers, who opened as a 5-point favourite. "This is our time. This is our time," said Lewis, who made 14 tackles Sunday and has 44 in three post-season games after missing 10 weeks with a torn right triceps. Driven by Lewis pending departure from the NFL, Baltimores defence stepped up in the playoffs. Brady was 67-0 at home when leading at halftime, but this was no contest in the second half. "Weve lost before. It takes a while to get over," Brady said. It also was a first for the Patriots, who hadnt lost an AFC championship at home. After they had avenged last years AFC title game loss at Gillette Stadium, many of the Ravens gathered on the field jumping, chest-bumping and whooping before several thousand fans wearing Ravens jerseys -- mostly Lewis No. 52 -- who remained in the stands. As in the previous two playoff wins against Indianapolis and Denver, the Ravens (13-6) were brilliant offensively in spots. This might be 17-year-veteran Lewis team, but its also Flaccos, and the quarterbacks six road wins are the most in playoff history. "It was pretty awesome," said Flacco, who has eight touchdown passes and no interceptions in the playoffs. "We were here last year and thought we had it, but came up a little short. Guys came out in the second half and made plays. ... We put pressure on them like that, and it worked pretty well." Flacco, whose contract ends after the Super Bowl, is the only quarterback to win a playoff game in each of his first five seasons. He was dynamic with his arm and precise with his decision making. Looking much more the championship passer than Brady did, his throws of 11 and 3 yards to Anquan Boldin and 5 to Dennis Pitta all were perfect. The touchdown by Pitta capped the Ravens best drive of the game, covering 87 yards in 10 plays and made it 14-13. It started with a 15-yard defensive pass interference penalty, and it was an indication of things to come. "Weve always believed in Joe," Harbaugh said. "And for Joe to come out and to have this kind of a game and this kind of a stage three weeks in a row ..." New England (13-5) lost a home AFC title matchup for the first time in five games. The loss denied Brady and coach Bill Belichick a shot at their sixth Super Bowl. Theyve gone 3-2, losing their last two times in the big game. Instead, its the AFC North champion Ravens heading to the Big Easy, seeking their second NFL championship. San Francisco has won five. "All these men out there, there might just be only five of us up here, but every man out there sacrificed this year for each other," Lewis said during the trophy ceremony. "And man, we did it and were on our way to the Super Bowl. Thats awesome." The Ravens have gotten there the hard way, with no post-season bye. Then again, five of the last seven Super Bowl champions took that route. The Ravens also were pushed into a second overtime in frigid Denver last weekend before eliminating Peyton Manning and the top-seeded Broncos. And now theyve cast aside the leagues most successful franchise of the last dozen years. "Id probably say we came up a little short in every area," Belichick said. New England, which hasnt won a Super Bowl since the 2004 season, had four injuries, the scariest when running back Stevan Ridley was knocked flat by Bernard Pollard in the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble. Baltimore turned that into the final touchdown, on the only short scoring drive it had, 47 yards. The Ravens gained just 130 yards in the first half. Brady guided a 13-play drive to Stephen Gostkowskis 31-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. Neither defence yielded a big play, and punters Zoltan Mesko and Sam Koch were the busiest guys on the field. That changed when the teams switched sides for the second quarter. Baltimore again was pinned deep, at its 10, but Flacco led a 13-play drive. Ray Rice, whose 83-yard run on the Ravens first play from scrimmage in their wild-card round victory here three years ago, ran left untouched for the TD. Awakened by Baltimores march, the Patriots staged a long one of their own, 79 yards, aided by a 15-yard personal foul by Ravens linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. Wes Welker picked up 24 yards on a short pass, then got free in the right corner of the end zone after a mix-up in the Ravens secondary, making it 10-7. It was 13-7 by halftime as Gostkowski connected from 25 yards, with New England outsmarting Baltimore several times. Danny Woodhead ran for 7 yards on a direct snap on fourth-and-1 in the drive. Defensive end Paul Kruger, whos good at sacks, not much in coverage -- found himself downfield on Aaron Hernandez on what became a 17-yard reception. But Brady made a mental error himself, not calling timeout quickly enough after a short scramble. So the Patriots didnt get a shot at the end zone and Gostkowski made his second kick. Shockingly for an offence that scored 557 points this season, that was it for New England. "We are probably the only team in the AFC that matches up good with the boy, No. 12 over there and his coach," linebacker Terrell Suggs said of Brady and Belichick. NOTES: Brady now has 5,949 yards passing, the most in NFL history for the post-season. He threw for 320 yards Sunday but was picked off twice in the fourth quarter. ... Ridley sustained a head injury but walked off the field. Patriots CB Aqib Talib hurt his thigh and DT Kyle Love injured his knee. Backup safety Patrick Chung was helped off the field after one play. ... Baltimore beat San Francisco 16-6 in the 2011 season. Wholesale NFL Jerseys From China . UFC president Dana White confirmed by text to The Canadian Press on Wednesday that the rematch is slated for Montreal in March. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . Then they went out and earned it. Nick Young scored 19 points off the bench, Blake Griffin added 17 and Randy Foye 13 to beat the Thunder 92-77 on Monday night. http://hipstervancouver.com/ . Contrary to the widely-held assumption, however, Liles does not believe that he has been suffering from a concussion. In fact, the 31-year-old believes that the symptoms hes been experiencing for the past 15 games are more closely related to the trouble hes been having with his neck, specifically a "locked" feeling which has quietly subsided of late.WASHINGTON -- A smile crept across Adam LaRoches face when he rounded the bases after his career-best 33rd homer gave him an even 100 RBIs. After a high-five from manager Davey Johnson and a hug from Jayson Werth, LaRoche acknowledged the crowds ovation with a tip of his red batting helmet during Washingtons 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night, 24 hours after the Nationals clinched the NL East title. "Feels good," LaRoche said, "to have a little celebration two nights in a row." This one was more muted, of course, than all the alcohol-spraying and mirth-making of Monday. Asked how hell mark his individual achievement, LaRoche replied: "I dont know. Im still recovering from last night. Ill have to take it easy tonight." As he spoke, the televisions in the Nationals Park home clubhouse were tuned to the game between the Yankees and Red Sox -- not Cincinnatis 3-1 victory over the Cardinals, which was relevant to Washingtons post-season plans. The Nationals and Reds are tied for the best record in the majors (97-64) heading into Wednesdays regular-season finales, with the top seed in the NL playoffs on the line, something the Nationals insist they arent all that worried about. Washington can clinch home-field advantage throughout the post-season with a victory in Game 162 or a loss by the Reds. "I dont know how its that important," Johnson said. "Youve got to beat the teams you play." On an evening when a thick fog was hanging over the stadium, Johnson decided most of his main guys deserved a rest. Indeed, LaRoche was Washingtons only everyday player who stayed in for more than five innings -- and he led off the sixth by driving the second pitch thrown by reliever Josh Lindblom (3-5) into the home bullpen in right field. Several Nationals relievers raised their fists as the ball cleared the wall. Last season was rough as could be for LaRoche. Trying to play despite a torn labrum in his left shoulder, he hit .172 with three homers in 43 games, then finally agreed to have surgery. What a turnaround: In 2012, LaRoche tied his career-best RBI total and joined Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn -- who each did it twice -- as the only Nationals players to reach 100 in that category. He heard some "MVP!" chants from fans in the seventh inning. "Its unfortunate he got hurt last year, for really the first time in his career. But hes a terrific player and a terrific teammate, and Im so happy for him," general manager Mike Rizzo said.dddddddddddd "Now were looking for him to get hot and carry us like he did quite often in the first half." Zach Duke (1-0) threw a scoreless sixth to get his first major league win since Aug. 14, 2011, for Arizona. Drew Storen earned his fourth save in five chances. Phillies rookie Darin Ruf hit a pair of solo homers -- off Tom Gorzelanny in the fourth inning, and Tyler Clippard in the eighth. All three of Rufs homers in the majors have come against Washington. Ruf led all minor leaguers with 38 home runs this year, earning the nickname "Babe." "I was just trying to put myself in a spot where I can compete next year in spring training for, if not for a starting job, just a spot on the team," said Ruf, who has driven in all seven of Philadelphias runs over its past three games against Washington. Johnson used Gorzelanny to begin the game instead of originally scheduled starter Gio Gonzalez, preferring to let the left-hander who is 21-8 with a 2.89 ERA stay fresh for a start in Game 1 of the division series. LaRoche and centre fielder Bryce Harper were the only regulars in Johnsons starting lineup. He opted to sit third baseman Zimmerman, right fielder Werth, left fielder Michael Morse, shortstop Ian Desmond, second baseman Danny Espinosa and catcher Kurt Suzuki. Instead, the lineup included players such as Mark DeRosa, making his first start at shortstop since 2006 for Texas. "How about that Goon Squad?" a grinning Johnson said, referring to the nickname Washingtons bench players have been given. "Told you they were tough." NOTES: DeRosa was charged with a fielding error in the third. ... Harper, the NL rookie of the month for September, went 1 for 3 with a single and a stolen base, his 18th, in the fifth inning. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel came out to argue that Harper advanced on a ball fouled off by the batter. ... The third-place Phillies are 81-80. ... Johnson said RHP Jordan Zimmermann will start Game 2 in the playoffs. RHP Edwin Jackson (9-11), pitching the regular-season finale against Philadelphia on Wednesday, or LHP Ross Detwiler (10-8) will take Game 3, depending on the opponent. ... LHP Cliff Lee (6-8) starts for the Phillies on Wednesday. ... LaRoche hit 32 homers for Atlanta in 2006, and drove in 100 runs for Arizona in 2010. ' ' '