SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2017
1B
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NFL
Katie
Ledecky
swims
to AP
Female
Athlete of
the Year
By BETH HARRIS
Associated Press
AP Photo/Ron Jenkins
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner, left, and safety Earl Thomas (29) stop Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21)
center from advancing the ball in the fi rst half of Sunday’s game in Arlington, Texas.
Seahawks show resolve
Seattle’s playoff hopes remain alive heading to fi nal week
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE — All the built-in
excuses were there for the Seattle
Seahawks if they fell short.
Too many injuries.
Too much inconsistency.
Those factors still may end up
being the story of Seattle’s season
if it’s unable to fi nd a way into the
playoffs for a sixth straight year.
But the chances at the postseason
were extended into Week 17 by
winning at Dallas on Sunday. And
while it wasn’t pretty, the 21-12
win over the Cowboys may be one
of the more gratifying wins of Pete
Carroll’s tenure after the Seahawks
lost two straight, including a
35-point whipping by the Rams a
week earlier.
If there was a question about
Seattle’s resolve, it seemed to be
answered in Dallas.
“I thought it couldn’t have
been more obvious,” Carroll said
during his weekly radio show on
KIRO-AM on Tuesday. “They were
really disappointed in what had
shown the last couple of weeks.”
Seattle (9-6) still needs help to
fi nd its way into the playoffs. The
Seahawks must beat or tie Arizona
at home on Sunday and have
Atlanta lose at home to Carolina for
Seattle to squeak into the playoffs.
Atlanta has the tiebreaker over
Seattle because of a head-to-head
victory in November.
Even if Seattle doesn’t end up
getting the help it needs, the win
in Dallas at least made Week 17
relevant and continued a streak
during Carroll’s tenure of every
home game since 2010 having
some signifi cance.
Whether it was early or late in the
season, the Seahawks have never
played a game at CenturyLink Field
since 2010 that did not carry some
See SEAHAWKS/3B
AP Photo/Ron Jenkins
Seattle Seahawks’ Jimmy Graham (88) congratulates Doug Baldwin
(89) on his touchdown catch in the second half of an NFL football
game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.
Katie Ledecky got her start
in swimming because she just
wanted to make friends. Her
brother was eager to join a
team at a pool near their house
and as a 6-year-old, she tagged
along.
By summer’s end, the
Ledecky siblings had made
100 friends
ranging
in
age from 6 to
18. Some of
them remain
good friends
with Katie,
who went on
to become the
Ledecky
world’s best
swimmer in
the post-Michael Phelps era.
She earned fi ve golds and
a silver at this year’s world
championships in Budapest,
maintaining the upward trajec-
tory she fi rst established as a
surprise gold medalist at the
2012 London Olympics.
Her dominant performance
in Hungary earned Ledecky
Associated Press Female
Athlete of the Year honors.
In balloting by U.S. editors
and news directors announced
Tuesday, Ledecky received
351 points, edging out Serena
Williams with 343. Williams
won the Australian Open for
her Open era-record 23rd
Grand Slam tennis title .
Olympic track star Allyson
Felix fi nished third in voting,
with 248 points.
Last year, Ledecky was
second to gymnast Simone
Biles in the balloting.
The AP Male Athlete of
the Year will be announced
Wednesday.
Ledecky is the eighth
female swimmer to win and
the fi rst since Amy Van Dyken
in 1996. Among the others is
1969 winner Debbie Meyer.
See LEDECKY/3B
NFL
Fifty years later, Ice Bowl still brings chills
Wind chill in 1967
game was minus-48
By TIM DAHLBERG
Associated Press
The penultimate day of
1967 was as beautiful as it
gets in Green Bay in late
December. Chilly, yes, but the
Dallas Cowboys enjoyed the
sunshine as they practiced at
Lambeau Field for their New
Year’s Eve game against the
Green Bay Packers.
“You could work up a
sweat,” said Dan Reeves,
then a running back for
Dallas. “You just knew the
next day was going to be a
great day for football.”
It was sure looking that
way for everyone who loved
the NFL. Bart Starr was
under center for the Packers,
and the Cowboys countered
with Don Meredith and Bob
Hayes, the 1964 Olympic
100-meter gold medalist.
The Cowboys and Packers
were meeting for the second
straight year for the NFL
championship, with the
winner going to Super Bowl
No. 2 (the NFL had yet to get
around to Roman numerals)
against the champions of the
American Football League.
That night, opposing
coaches Vince Lombardi and
Tom Landry got together
with NFL offi cials and other
team members at the Oneida
Country Club for a dinner.
The mood was upbeat for a
league still trying to digest
the merger with the AFL and
turn the Super Bowl into a
must-see game.
Things were not so
cheerful the next morning,
when the wakeup call at the
Holiday Inn sent startled
players to their windows to
see what it was all about.
“Good morning,” the
operator said. “It’s 7:30 a.m.
and 17 below zero.”
It’s one of the defi ning
games of the NFL, a contest
See ICE BOWL/3B
AP Photo/File
In this Dec. 31, 1967, fi le photo, Green Bay quarterback Bart
Starr calls signals in bitter cold as he led the Packers to
a win over the Dallas Cowboys in Green Bay, Wisc. Fifty
years later, players from still shiver from memories of the
cold of a game that would become known as the Ice Bowl.
Sports shorts
Recently released, former Steelers
LB Harrison signs with Patriots
(AP) — Former Pittsburgh Steelers star James
Harrison has signed with the New England Patriots.
The Patriots announced the move Tuesday,
three days after Harrison’s unceremonious
departure from Pittsburgh.
Harrison, who is the Steelers’
career leader in sacks, piling up
80½ during his 14 seasons with the
Steelers and 82½ during his career,
briefl y retired in September 2014
following a forgettable 2013 season
in Cincinnati but returned when the
Harrison
Steelers ran into injury trouble.
But Harrison’s playing time dipped
signifi cantly this season — he has just one sack.
He was active in just fi ve games despite being
injury-free and with the Steelers turning more
toward Bud Dupree and rookie T.J. Watt. The
Patriots have been thin at defensive end and
outside linebacker all season.
“Because we’re rich as
hell, and we don’t need
it all, and other people
need it. Then, you’re an
(expletive) if you don’t
give it. Pretty simple.“
— Gregg Popovich
San Antonio Spurs head coach
when asked on Tuesday why
charitable work is a priority to
him. Popovich has been involved
with numerous charities during
his time in San Antonio such as
the San Antonio Food Bank.
Suns stun Grizzlies 99-97 on
Chandler’s last-second dunk
PHOENIX (AP) — Tyson Chandler dunked
Dragan Bender’s inbounds pass from the
opposite sideline with 0.4 seconds remaining to
give the Phoenix Suns a 99-97 victory over the
Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday
night.
Bender threw a perfect pass
and Chandler jumped over a
defender to slam it down, though
the play was reviewed by offi cials to see if
there was offensive basket interference. After
replay review, the basket counted, and Kobi
Simmons missed the Grizzlies’ last attempt to
tie at the buzzer.
Devin Booker scored 32 points in his
return from a three-week injury absence
before fouling out in the fi nal minute, but
the Suns needed one fi nal play after Jarell
Martin slammed in a rebound with 0.6 seconds
remaining to tie it at 97.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1987 — Steve Largent
of the Seattle Seahawks
becomes the NFL’s all-time
reception leader in the
Seahawks’ 41-20 loss to
Kansas City. Largent’s six
catches gives him 752,
surpassing the 750 by San
Diego’s Charlie Joiner.
Gayle Sierens announcing
the game for NBC becomes
the fi rst female play-by-play
announcer in NFL history.
1999 — Joe Sakic
scores his 1,000th career
point on a second-period
assist, helping the Colorado
Avalanche to a 5-1 win over
the St. Louis Blues.
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