NFL
WILD CARD WEEKEND
SATURDAY
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 31, PITTSBURGH STEELERS 29
On Saturday, the Jacksonville Jaguars did something no team has been able to do in 75 years of Pittsburgh Steelers football—beat the Steelers on their home field twice! Pittsburgh struggled early, made a fourth-quarter charge against their new nemesis—but eventually fell when Jags kicker Josh Scobee drilled a 25-yard field goal with 37 seconds to play. The Jaguars face the difficult task of beating the undefeated New England Patriots next weekend in Foxborough.
SS Pick: Jacksonville 27, Pittsburgh 20
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 35, WASHINGTON REDSKINS 14
For three quarters of playoff football, the Washington Redskins forgot they were among the NFL’s hottest teams entering the playoffs. They could do nothing on the offensive end. Trailing 13-0 entering the fourth quarter, Washington scored on pair of touchdown passes to take the lead. Unfortunately for Joe Gibbs and the Skins, that woke up the hometown Seahawks. Seattle scored 21 unanswered points on a touchdown pass and a pair of INT returns for touchdown. Seattle battles the Green Bay Packers next weekend.
SS Pick: Washington 20, Seattle 16
SUNDAY
NEW YORK GIANTS 24, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 14
Often-maligned New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning won his first playoff game—and looked good doing it! Manning was an efficient 20-of-27 for 185 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to lead the Giants to yet another road victory. New York is now 8-1 away from home this season. Michael Strahan and the Giants defense registered just one sack, but there is no question—Tampa Bay quarterback Jeff Garcia will be hurting on Monday morning. New York faces division rival Dallas next weekend.
SS Pick: New York Giants 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 17, TENNESSEE TITANS 6
Maybe first-year head coach Norv Turner isn’t so bad after all. After a dismal 1-3 start, Turner and the Chargers did something on Sunday they’ve not done since the 1994 season—win a playoff game. LaDainian Tomlinson didn’t have huge numbers—just 42 yards on 21 carries—but he did score the Chargers’ final touchdown to seal his team’s victory. Chargers QB Philip Rivers threw for 292 yards and one touchdown in the victory. San Diego battles Indianapolis next week in Indy.
SS Pick: San Diego 31, Tennessee 16
NBA
LAKERS KEEP ROLLING; BYNUM BIG AGAIN
Just 20 years old, Andrew Bynum is turning into a man in the middle for the LA Lakers. Bynum, who was just over 18 when he became the youngest player ever in an NBA game just two seasons ago, has matured into a force for Phil Jackson’s team. On Sunday, he scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help the Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 112-96.
The win improved LA’s record to 21-11 on the season as they continue to march back toward respectability. Kobe Bryant scored 26 for the Lakers, and Derek Fisher had 22 as all five starters hit double figures in scoring.
For the Pacers (16-19), the odd-numbered quarters were their demise. In the first and third, the Lakers combined to outscore them 68-42. In the second and fourth quarters, the Pacers had a 54-44 advantage. Mike Dunleavy led Indy in scoring with 17 points. Indiana has lost six of its last seven games.
OTHER NBA SCORES
Denver 109, Philadelphia 96
Washington 108, Seattle 86
Milwaukee 93, Charlotte 89
Memphis 101, Miami 94
Dallas 101, Minnesota 78
San Antonio 88, LA Clippers 82
NHL
DETROIT BEAT BLACKHAWKS—FINALLY
The Detroit Red Wings haven’t lost many games this year. They have clearly been the best team in the NHL—unless they played the Chicago Blackhawks. That problem ended Sunday, when the Red Wings finally beat the Blackhawks 3-1 to end their four-game winless (0-3-1) streak against Chicago.
Henrik Zetterberg, Dan Cleary, and Mikael Samuelsson all lit the lamp in the first period for Detroit.
That’s all the Red Wings would need as Chris Osgood continued his strong play between the pipes. Osgood turned away 19 shots to earn the win.
Detroit has now won six straight road games and seven of their last eight contests.
OTHER NHL SCORE
Atlanta 5, Buffalo 2
QUESTION OF THE DAY
TODAY’S QUESTION: Pittsburgh has won the Super Bowl five times. What other two teams share that record with the men from the Steel City?
PREVIOUS QUESTION: It’s Wild Card Weekend. Which NFL team was the last Wild Card team to win the Super Bowl?
ANSWER: Even if your memory is very short, you can still get this one right. Less than two years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers became the fourth NFL team to claw their way through from Wild Card status to Super Bowl champs. The Steelers became the first team seeded sixth to win the big game. Pittsburgh is one of three teams to have won the Super Bowl five times.
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today’s sports news
SMITH, TULSA WAX BG
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane and Paul Smith blew past the Bowling Green Falcons on Sunday night in Mobile like they weren’t there. Smith, a strong, dedicated Christian, paced the Tulsa scoring attack by hitting on 27 of 45 passes for 312 yards as Tulsa beat Bowling Green 63-7 in the GMAC Bowl. For Smith, it was just another day at the office. His 312-yard passing performance gives him 14 straight games in which he has amassed more than 300 yards. That’s an NCAA record. It was another big day for the QB whose favorite verse says, “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord” (Proverbs 21:31).
BAD ADVICE
Be careful whom you listen to. That’s one of the key lessons we can learn as we watch Roger Clemens try to wriggle out of the spotlight regarding the steroids accusations that came from the Mitchell Report. While appearing on the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes on Sunday, Clemens was asked what The Daily feels is the key question regarding all of the athletes whose names appear in the report and who now what to “clear things up.” Mike Wallace asked simply, “Why didn’t you speak to George Mitchell’s investigators?” The Rocket answered with the words that tell us much about the short-sightedness of the people who run baseball players’ lives: “I listened to my counsel. I was advised not to.” Then Clemens trotted out the old “everybody’s doing it” (or not doing it, in this case) excuse. “A lot of players didn’t go down and talk to him.” The players who were mentioned in the Mitchell Report and who refused to discuss matters with Mitchell after he requested interviews with them were given bad advice. Shortsighted advice. Protecting baseball at the expense of the individual advice. Too bad it turned out this way, but that often happens when we get bad advice from those who are not dedicated to our best interests.
GETTING UGLIER
Continuing on the same theme: Clemens has filed a lawsuit against the man who claimed to have injected the Rocket with steroids. The lawsuit was filed in Houston, where Clemens lives, and it suggests that Brian McNamee’s statements to the George Mitchell investigators were “untrue and defamatory.” Tru-TV might want to get the rights to this one. It’s not going to be pretty.
WHO IS HE?
Testing your knowledge of past stars -- taken from the pages of Sports Spectrum magazine.
FRIDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• Was once dubbed “The Strongest Man on Earth.”
• As a weightlifter, he once squatted 1,175 pounds
• He won gold in the 1956 Olympics
• He could bench press 700 pounds
• NFL Defensive Player of the Year: 1985, 1988
Once said, “I can’t get through a minute of the day without Jesus. The greatest thing in my life is being a Christian.”
WHO IS HE?
MONDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• Was named the 1970 Sporting News Rookie of the Year in the National League
• Hit .320 with 21 home runs for Cincinnati that season.
• Hit two pinch-hit home runs in the 1975 World Series
• In that same series, had a batting average of .429
• Fifteen years ago, he contemplated suicide, but ended up hearing the gospel and getting saved. “I love Jesus because He gave me a new life,” he says.
WHO IS HE?
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER:
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: MATT HASSELBECK
MATT HASSELBECK, QUARTERBACK, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
BIO NOTE: Hasselbeck spent three seasons in Green Bay, where he three 29 passes as the backup for you-know-who.
RECENT NEWS: Hasselbeck was 20 for 32 for 229 yards and a touchdown to help the Seahawks beat Washington on Saturday. Now Hasselbeck returns to Green Bay for Round 2 of the playoffs.
FAITH QUOTE: "Your testimony is louder when you're going through hard times. It's easy when everything is going your way. The true test of a person is who they are during those difficult times. Always, actions speak louder than words. It's easy in the good times to say the right things. But so what? The true test of a person is who they are during those difficult time."
—Sports Spectrum magazine
SS DAILY INTERVIEW:
To hear today's interview, go to the Sports Spectrum radio home page. It can be found at www.sport.org.
THE MONDAY GUEST
DEAN LOCKWOOD, assistant basketball coach, University of Tennessee women
When you think of the Tennessee Lady Vols’ basketball team, you automatically think of Pat Summitt, the legendary architect of that program. But Coach Summitt depends on the help of some trusted assistants, including Dean Lockwood. The Spring Arbor College graduate was at one time an assistant in the men’s program at Tennessee.
