6,000
Number of seats added
to Florida’s Alltel Stadium
for Sunday’s Super Bowl
78,125
Number of people at who attended
the Super Bowl in Jacksonville,. Fla.
24
Number of seasons the
Philadelphia Eagles went
without a trip to the Super Bowl
$600
Maximum Super Bowl
ticket price this year
$140
million
Vnount the FOX network will make on
jvertising revenue from the Super Bowl
$25,000
Cost of the Vince Lombardi
Trophy, made by Tiffany & Co.
BY BARRY WILNER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dynasties
don’t have to be perfect or pretty.
They just have to win — like the
New England Patriots.
The Patriots won their third Super
Bowl in four years with a dominant
second half Sunday night, wearing
down the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21.
It wasn’t overpowering, and at
times it was downright ugly. But it was
more than enough to match the Dallas
Cowboys’ run of the 1990s and certify
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s Patriots
as die NFL’s latest dynasty.
“To me this trophy belongs to
these players,” Belichick said. “They
met all comers this year, a very chal
lenging year. We’re thrilled to win.
These players played great all year,
their best in the big games and they
deserve it, they really deserve it.”
With MVP Deion Branch tying a
Super Bowl record for receptions
with 11, Brady efficiently running the
offense and Rodney Harrison spark
ing a smothering defense, the Patri
ots (17-2) won their ninth successive
postseason game. That ties the
record of Vince Lombardi’s Packers
of the 1960s, and there’s hardly any
better company a team can keep.
The difference once again was an
Adam Vinatieri field goal, this one a
22-yarder with 8:40 to go. New Eng
land won its other two Super Bowls
by the margin of Vinatieri’s last-sec
ond kicks.
This time, the Patriots sealed it
with a stop.
Philadelphia (15-4) got the ball
back at its own 4-yard line with 46 sec
onds remaining. It was hardly enough
time and far too much territory to cov
er against such a formidable foe.
Harrison got his second intercep
tion with nine seconds remaining to
end it.
Playing before a sea of mostly
green jerseys in the crowd of 78,125,
the Patriots made sure Philadelphia
would not get its first pro sports
title since 1983. Indeed, it’s been 45
years since the Eagles won the NFL
crown. And even though they made
it to the Super Bowl for the first
time in 24 seasons — after three
straight conference championship
flops — their season still ended in
disappointment.
Corey Dillon, a newcomer to the
championship game, scored the go
ahead touchdown on a 2-yard run
early in the fourth period. And
when Branch wasn’t running free
and catching passes, the Patriots
flaunted their versatility by again
using linebacker Mike Vrabel to find
the end zone.
Vrabel has caught TD passes in two
straight Super Bowls and has five TDs
in as many career catches, not bad for
a linebacker — or anyone else.
Brady wasn’t as fluid as he was
when he won the MVP awards in the
2002 and 2004 games, but he was
on-target much of the time, finishing
23 for 33 for 236 yards and two TDs.
Harrison and his mates picked up
any offensive slack, forcing four
turnovers, including a goal-line inter
ception by the veteran safety. The Pa
triots also had four sacks, making
Donovan McNabb look ordinary, even
skittish at times.
And while Terrell Owens’ return
from a seven-week injury layoff was
an individual success — he had nine
catches for 122 yards — it was not
nearly the star turn that Branch made.
Branch’s 11 catches covered 133
yards as he victimized one of the
league’s best secondaries. He was
most instrumental on the opening
drive of the second half, which set
the tone for New England’s 57th vic
tory in its last 74 games.
While New England handled fre
quent blitzes, Branch caught four
passes for 71 yards on the series that
ended with Vrabel’s touchdown.
“We did a great job of adjusting
during the game,” Branch said. “It
was physical; a lot of guys were
bumped and bruised.”
The Eagles showed resilience by
responding with a 74-yard drive on
which Brian Westbrook accounted
for 39 yards, including the 10-yard
score. McNabb whipped a pass over
the middle between two defenders
for the touchdown.
Still, as winners always do, the Pa
triots reasserted themselves, effec
tively using screen passes against a
tiring defense. Even when Eagles de
fenders shouted to each other to
watch for the screen, New England
made it work, particularly on Kevin
Faulk’s 14-yarder that preceded Dil
lon’s 2-yard run to make it 21-14.
Vinatieri hit his chip shot to make
it 24-14. When the Eagles came back
on Greg Lewis’ 30-yard TD reception
with 1:48 remaining, things got tight.
Not that it bothered the Patriots.
Not that anything ever bothers these
Patriots, who will lose offensive co
ordinator Charlie Weis to Notre
Dame and expect defensive coordi
nator Romeo Crennel to become the
Cleveland Browns’ coach.
The victory gave the New England
region its second team champi
onship since the fall. This was hardly
as dramatic as the long-suffering Red
Sox winning the World Series. Still,
Boston is the hub of champions.
Philadelphia's title drought goes
on, but Owens certainly did his best
to end it. The all-pro receiver ful
filled his vow to start the Super
Bowl, defying his doctor and play
ing with a metal plate and two
screws in his right ankle.
“T.O. did a heck of a job,” coach
Andy Reid said. “I was proud of the
effort and they battled, but we came
up just short — too many turnovers
— and against such a tough football
team you can’t do that.”
And when battling the NFL’s lat
est dynasty, Reid may be right —
you can’t.
Men: Oregon loses for first time when shooting 50 percent from field
Continued from page 9
Oregon’s Jordan Kent, who started
for the first time this season, said
they were aware of the problems De
Witz and Lucas could cause them.
“We had a good game plan for
them, and, if we blocked out, it
shouldn’t have been too big of a
problem,” Jordan Kent said.
Oregon received another solid
game from swingman Malik Hair
ston. The freshman went 8 of 12 from
the field, including 2-of-3 from be
hind the arc, for 20 points - tying a
career-high.
Oregon point guard Aaron Brooks
also got back into the swing of things
with a 21-point performance and shot
4 of 7 from behind the three-point line.
The game started with the Ducks
jumping out to a 6-0 lead, but the
Beavers countered with a 7-0 run of
their own to take the lead.
They would trade the lead back
and forth for most of the first half
until Oregon State went on a 10-2
run heading into the locker room,
capped off by a Sasa Cuic fade-away
jumper to give the Beavers a 34-30
halftime lead.
The Ducks crawled back in it and
gained a 43-41 lead, but still managed
to blow two good opportunities to
take an even bigger advantage.
The first blown opportunity came
on an Oregon fast break. Center Ray
Schafer found himself wide open un
derneath the basket, but couldn’t
convert. The next time down the
floor, Hairston was on the lower
block and was just about to make a
move toward the basket when he
traveled and turned the ball over.
“We had them on the ropes and
had some crucial turnovers where
we could’ve had a 10 point lead,”
Brooks said.
The Beavers would put the game
away on a late 7-0 run, highlighted
by a Chris Stephens three-pointer.
The loss for the Ducks marks
the first time they have lost when
shooting over 50 percept in a game
this season.
Oregon welcomes the Washington
schools to town next week, with No.
13 Washington coming to McArthur
Court on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
claytonjones@dailyemerald.com
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