SPORTS
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
East Oregonian
Page 3B
Former
Rematches set for conference championships
fullback
recounts
ocean
escape
NFL
Green Bay
Packers quar-
terback Aaron
Rodgers waves
to fans after an
NFL divisional
playoff football
game against
the Dallas
Cowboys Sun-
day, Jan. 11,
2015, in Green
Bay, Wis. The
Packers won
26-21.
By BARRY WILNER
Associated Press
You again.
Not that the Patriots and
Seahawks are likely to mind
seeing who has joined them
in the NFL’s conference
championships. Remember,
New England routed Indi-
anapolis 42-20 and Seattle
romped over Green Bay 36-
16 to open the season.
step to reaching the Super
Bowl have been common
recently. In the AFC, from
2009-14, only in 2011 was
the conference champion-
ship not a repeat meeting.
In the NFC, it happened in
2010, 2011, 2013 and this
season.
Twice in the NFC, intrad-
ivision matchups meant a
third game between rivals:
2010 when Green Bay won
at Chicago, and 2013, when
Seattle beat San Francisco.
Not one of the others has
involved teams from the
same division. Excluding
2014 — if you know now
who is going to win next
Sunday, please clue us in —
in those rematches, the reg-
ular-season winner also won
the AFC playoff game only
once: Baltimore over New
England in 2012.
In the NFC, the Giants
lost to the 49ers during the
regular schedule, but beat
them in overtime in the con-
ference title match.
Rematches are a dou-
AP Photo/Matt Ludtke
ble-edged sword. The victor
-
ing a win and the knowl-
edge that more than enough
worked during that regu-
lar-season game to handle
the opponent. The loser has
the revenge factor — and
maybe a touch more moti-
vation.
“I’d like to think I’m a
better quarterback and we’re
a better team and more well-
equipped to handle the un-
known and the unforeseen,”
Colts QB Andrew Luck said.
“I think we’ve got a
bunch of good football play-
ers, and a chance to go up
New England and play them
and get another crack at it is
awesome. We’ll make sure
to take full advantage of it
and do what we can.”
The Colts did plenty on
Sunday in dominating Den-
ver, avenging their opening
loss of 2014. They also saw
the Patriots struggle, twice
falling into 14-point holes
before rallying to defeat Bal-
timore on Saturday.
As Patriots coach Bill
Belichick noted, dryly of
course: “I don’t think that’s a
formula to win a lot of play-
off games. They’re a tough
group and they never give
up, no matter what the situ-
ation is.”
The upcoming situation
is simply this: Luck and the
Colts have the look of a ris-
ing power after two highly
impressive postseason per-
formances. New England
showed some vulnerability
that Luck, who led the NFL
with 40 TD passes, and a
rapidly improving defense
just might be able to take ad-
vantage of.
Of course, after van-
quishing Peyton Manning
and the Broncos, Indy gets
Tom Brady, the most accom-
plished postseason quarter-
back of his era.
“That’s how it works in
the playoffs,” safety Mike
Adams says. “Everybody we
play is top-tier. Everybody
we play is big time. We got
to step our game up and be
ready.”
Even more intriguing
might be the NFC matchup.
Seattle was on a, well,
Super high for the season’s
traditional kickoff game, and
the defending NFL champs
dismantled Green Bay. Then
the Seahawks went into a
funk and, at one point were
3-3.
They are now 13-4 and
have that mean, hungry, de-
termined, versatile and, yes,
invincible air about them.
“Guys are playing self-
less. There aren’t any egos,
there aren’t any agendas,
and guys just want to do
whatever it takes to win,”
All-Pro cornerback Richard
Sherman said.
“If that means making a
tackle, then make the tack-
le; if that means catching
the football, we’re going to
catch the football. Guys are
playing for one another, they
don’t care about stats, nor
do they care about anything
else.”
Sounds a lot like Green
Bay, which displayed the
resilience of a championship
contender in its scintillating
comeback victory against
Dallas at Lambeau Field.
An ailing All-Pro QB Aar-
on Rodgers, still battling an
aching calf, got everyone in-
volved, including two rookie
targets who scored touch-
downs in the second half.
Just like the Seahawks,
the Packers are vastly im-
proved from midseason.
And equally as hungry.
“Looking forward to
going back up to Seattle,”
coach Mike McCarthy says,
“and looking forward to
winning the NFC champion-
ship.”
Seattle avoids playoff curse of Super Bowl winners
Seattle
Seahawks
strong safety
Kam Chan-
cellor (31)
runs in front
of Carolina
Panthers
tight end Ed
Dickson (84)
to score on
an inter-
ception 90
yards for a
touchdown
during the
second half
of an NFL
divisional
playoff foot-
ball game in
Seattle, Sat-
urday, Jan.
10, 2015.
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE — In the buildup to
their playoff opener, the Seattle Se-
ahawks never acknowledged the his-
-
per Bowl champions that made the
playoffs the following season.
Then again, the entire second half
of this season has been about the Se-
ahawks putting history in the past
and focusing on the present.
aren’t any egos, there aren’t any
agendas, and guys just want to do
whatever it takes to win,” Seattle
cornerback Richard Sherman said.
“If that means making a tackle,
then make the tackle; if that means
catching the football, we’re going
to catch the football. Guys are play-
ing for one another, they don’t care
about stats, nor do they care about
anything else.”
Seattle used a bevy of big plays
in its 31-17 win over Carolina on
Saturday night in an NFC division-
defending Super Bowl champion to
win a playoff game since New En-
gland in January 2006.
The Seahawks used two of the
longest scoring plays in franchise
postseason history and a virtuoso
passing performance from Russell
Wilson to overwhelm the Panthers
and advance to the NFC champi-
onship game for the second straight
season.
Seattle will host Green Bay in the
conference title game next Sunday,
regular season when the Seahawks
outscored the Packers 19-6 in the
second half for a 36-16 victory.
“It’s going to be one of those for
the ages,” Wilson said. “You look
forward to playing at home.”
The biggest play of Seattle’s vic-
tory was Kam Chancellor’s 90-yard
interception return for a touchdown
midway through the fourth quarter
that gave the Seahawks a 21-point
lead. But that was just part of a night
of big plays from the Seahawks, es-
pecially in the pass game.
AP Photo/John
Froschauer
Seattle had six offensive plays
coming in the pass game. Jermaine
Kearse had the best day of his career
with 129 yards receiving, including a
63-yard touchdown where he pulled
in the pass from Wilson with one
arm while shielding the defender.
Kearse had two other catches
of 33 yards, and Luke Willson had
receptions of 29 and 25 yards in
the fourth quarter, the second for a
touchdown.
yards tied the most in Wilson’s ca-
reer. He threw for 268 yards, but 199
of those came on third downs where
Wilson was a perfect 8 for 8 passing.
His passer rating of 149.2 was the
and Wilson now has a career passer
rating of 109.6 in the playoffs, the
highest all time for any QB with at
least 150 pass attempts.
Touchdown after
interception was seismic
SEATTLE (AP) — An inter-
ception and 90-yard touchdown by
Kam Chancellor was the biggest
play of the Seahawks’ playoff victo-
ry judging from seismic equipment
that monitored the shaking at Centu-
ryLink Field.
A Richard Sherman interception
and Marshawn Lynch run on Satur-
day also jogged the needles on the
WR Richardson out
with torn ACL
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Rook-
ie wide receiver Paul Richardson
will miss the rest of the playoffs for
the Seattle Seahawks after suffering
a torn anterior cruciate ligament in
his left knee.
injury on Sunday night. Fox Sports
Richardson was injured in the
second half of Seattle’s 31-17 win
over Carolina in an NFC division-
al playoff game on Saturday night.
Richardson landed hard on his left
knee jumping for a deep pass from
Russell Wilson and walked off the
not return.
Richardson also tore the ACL in
his left knee in college at Colorado.
Richardson had become more in-
volved in Seattle’s offense as the sea-
son progressed. Richardson had 13
NFL touchdown. He had one recep-
tion against the Panthers.
Seahawks expect Unger,
Maxwell to go vs. Packers
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Se-
attle Seahawks expect center Max Un-
ger and cornerback Byron Maxwell to
-
ship game versus Green Bay.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll said
Monday that Unger appeared to be
rolled up on in the fourth quarter of
the Seahawks’ win over Carolina on
Saturday. The concern was that Unger
had re-aggravated a high-ankle sprain.
Maxwell was ill last week and
was limited to just four snaps on spe-
cial teams. Carroll said it seems like
Maxwell has recovered.
Packers rally past stunned Cowboys; Colts raise questions for Manning
Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Slowed
by injury but perfect in the clutch,
Aaron Rodgers used his accurate
arm to help the Packers move one
step closer to the Super Bowl.
Green Bay’s way also helped in a
26-21 win Sunday over the Dallas
Cowboys.
Rodgers went 9 of 9 in the fourth
quarter, including and a laser-like
13-yard touchdown pass to Richard
Rodgers for the go-ahead score with
-
overturning what was initially a bril-
liant catch by Dallas’ Dez Bryant.
Bryant jumped high for the 31-
yard grab to the Packers 1 over cor-
nerback Sam Shields, who had solid
coverage on fourth-and-2 with 4:42
left in the game. But the play was
ruled incomplete on replay review
after Packers coach Mike McCarthy
challenged the call.
The NFL rule states the receiver
must maintain control all the way to
the ground. Replays showed Bryant
bobbled the ball as he rolled into the
end zone, with part of it touching
Hours after the game, Bryant
tweeted: “as I went to the ground I
rolled over and I tipped the ball to
gain better control. We lost and I ac-
cept it but please change that rule.”
NEW ENGLAND 35, BAL-
TIMORE 31 — At Foxborough,
Mass., Tom Brady dug the Patriots
out of two 14-point holes — the
history — to reach the AFC champi-
onship game for the fourth straight
year with a 35-31 win over the Bal-
timore Ravens on Saturday.
Thanks to three touchdown pass-
es by Brady and one by college
quarterback turned receiver Julian
Edelman, the resilient Patriots kept
their season alive.
Brady led a masterful march —
completing eight of nine passes and
decisive 23-yard touchdown com-
pletion to Brandon LaFell with just
-
Brady completed 33 of 50 pass-
es for 367 yards for an offense that
picked up just 14 on the ground, the
second fewest in team playoff histo-
ry. His 46 career playoff touchdown
passes surpassed Joe Montana’s 45
for most in NFL history.
INDIANAPOLIS 24, DEN-
VER 13 — At Denver, Andrew
Luck displaced Peyton Manning
in Indianapolis, and now he might
have sent his predecessor into retire-
ment, too.
Manning was murky about his
future following Denver’s 24-13
loss to the Colts in the AFC divi-
sional round Sunday, the Broncos’
After saying last month that he
planned on coming back for an
wasn’t so certain after his latest
Luck, the top pick in the 2012
draft following Manning’s tearful
divorce from the Colts, has Indy one
since 2009. Luck threw TD passes
to Dwayne Allen and Hakeem Nicks
and Daniel Herron ran for a score.
Manning, meanwhile, kept over-
throwing Emmanuel Sanders and
Demaryius Thomas deep.
“You never see Peyton over-
throw guys,” Colts defensive tackle
Jean Francois said. “He usually puts
the ball right on the numbers. And
when we he kept overthrowing it,
we knew we had him.”
By STEVEN WINE
Associated Press
PLANTATION, Fla. — The
former NFL fullback entered
the room with a wobble in his
walk, and needed assistance
climbing a podium so he could
face a media throng and dis-
cuss his death-defying 16-hour
swim to shore.
Rob Konrad sipped from a
bottle of water, his efforts to re-
hydrate ongoing four days after
the episode. His wife sat at his
side rubbing his leg in support,
and tears welled in their eyes as
he spoke Monday.
“Happy to be here,” he be-
gan with a wry smile.
“I shouldn’t be here,” he
said later, his voice cracking.
The 38-year-old Konrad’s
escape was a testament to will-
power and world-class athlet-
adventure last week received
worldwide attention.
Even endurance swimmer
Diana Nyad was impressed.
“It’s an incredible story,”
Nyad said. “Taking his life in
his hands and deciding he was
going to save himself, I admire
him.”
Konrad, who played for the
Miami Dolphins from 1999 to
2004, had been around boats
since his childhood on Boston’s
North Shore. So he knew what
it meant when he fell off his 31-
alone nine miles from land.
“A boater’s nightmare,” he
said.
He swam to Palm Beach,
covering a distance of 27 miles
before ringing the doorbell of
an oceanfront home for help at
4:30 a.m. Thursday.
The U.S. Coast Guard last
week provided a brief summa-
ry of the events. Konrad, still
weak after several days in the
hospital for treatment of hypo-
thermia and dehydration, held
details.
They were hard to believe,
he and his wife agreed.
“It was a miracle he made
it home,” Tammy Konrad said.
Her husband said he was
taking his boat for servicing
last Wednesday and decided to
was tending to the rod when a
into the ocean.
His boat was on autopilot
and headed east. There were
no other boats in sight. Konrad
wasn’t wearing a life preserver.
It was 12:30 p.m.
“I realized I was in some
real trouble,” he said.
Konrad quickly decided to
swim toward shore, although
more than 10 hours, and feared
succumbing to hypothermia or
cramps after two or three hours.
The ocean temperature was in
the low 70s — far from frigid,
but a lot colder than his body
temperature.
So Konrad decided he’d
better keep moving. He took
off his shirt and began alternat-
ing between a breaststroke and
backstroke.
Konrad said he got bit “by a
whole bunch of stuff.” A shark
circled before moved along.
“There was a lot of stuff
glowing at night, probably
He could also see lights
along the coast and pick out
landmarks. As he tired, he
gained emotional strength.
“Five or six hours in I real-
ized, ‘Maybe I can do this,”’ he
said.
Twice he was nearly res-
boat approached to within 50
it down. Then a Coast Guard
helicopter searching for him
“They had their lights on me
and kept going. They didn’t see
But the ex-Dolphin kept
swimming, thinking of his
daughters, ages 8 and 10.
Then the sound of the ocean
changed. He could hear waves
reached land as well.
“The problem was I couldn’t
walk. My body was shaking
uncontrollably. I crawled up on
the beach and warmed myself
up enough to be able to walk.”