UPDATE 1-NBA-Paul pulls the strings as Clippers slice up Mavs

(adds quotes, detail)
* Crawford returns for Clippers
* Mavericks lose fourth straight
Jan 9 (Reuters) - Chris Paul orchestrated another Los Angeles Clippers triumph with a season-high 16 assists as he pulled the strings in a 99-93 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
With the game evenly poised heading into the closing stages, Paul scored or assisted on eight of his team's 10 field goals in the fourth quarter to lift the Clippers to a franchise-record 13th straight home win.
Los Angeles had trailed 83-82 with nine minutes remaining but an 8-0 run, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers set up by their point guard, gave them the momentum the Clippers needed to pull away for the victory.
"Our maestro Chris Paul was finding guys, getting to the paint and making good things happen," Los Angeles forward Caron Butler told reporters.
Paul finished with 19 points to tie reserve Matt Barnes for the team-high in scoring. Blake Griffin added 15 and 13 rebounds.
"That's the identity of our team - every night it's going to be a collective effort," Butler added. "We're building something truly special here."
While the Clippers (28-8) are riding high with the NBA's best record, the Mavericks (13-23) have lost four straight and appear unlikely to make the playoffs on current form.
Darren Collison led Dallas with 22 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 15 as he continues his rehabilitation from knee surgery that sidelined him until late last month.
The Mavericks fell behind early but they surged in the third where they took a 10-point advantage before Los Angeles scored the final seven of the quarter.
In the end, Dallas were undone by their inability to grab a rebound. Los Angeles beat the Mavericks 47-34 on the glass and snagged a few key offensive rebounds in the last few minutes to halt the visitors.
Top reserve Jamal Crawford returned to the lineup for the Clippers after missing two games with a sore left foot.
"I'm not all the way there obviously," said Crawford, who had 11 points. "I figured 50 percent was better than zero.

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Paul pulls the strings as Clippers slice up Mavs

(Reuters) - Chris Paul orchestrated another Los Angeles Clippers triumph with a season-high 16 assists as he pulled the strings in a 99-93 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
With the game evenly poised heading into the closing stages, Paul scored or assisted on eight of his team's 10 field goals in the fourth quarter to lift the Clippers to a franchise-record 13th straight home win.
Los Angeles had trailed 83-82 with nine minutes remaining but an 8-0 run, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers set up by their point guard, gave them the momentum the Clippers needed to pull away for the victory.
"Our maestro Chris Paul was finding guys, getting to the paint and making good things happen," Los Angeles forward Caron Butler told reporters.
Paul finished with 19 points to tie reserve Matt Barnes for the team-high in scoring. Blake Griffin added 15 and 13 rebounds.
"That's the identity of our team - every night it's going to be a collective effort," Butler added. "We're building something truly special here."
While the Clippers (28-8) are riding high with the NBA's best record, the Mavericks (13-23) have lost four straight and appear unlikely to make the playoffs on current form.
Darren Collison led Dallas with 22 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 15 as he continues his rehabilitation from knee surgery that sidelined him until late last month.
The Mavericks fell behind early but they surged in the third where they took a 10-point advantage before Los Angeles scored the final seven of the quarter.
In the end, Dallas were undone by their inability to grab a rebound. Los Angeles beat the Mavericks 47-34 on the glass and snagged a few key offensive rebounds in the last few minutes to halt the visitors.
Top reserve Jamal Crawford returned to the lineup for the Clippers after missing two games with a sore left foot.
"I'm not all the way there obviously," said Crawford, who had 11 points. "I figured 50 percent was better than zero."

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NBA-Varejao faces two months out after operation

Jan 10 (Reuters) - The Cleveland Cavaliers' Brazilian center Anderson Varejao has been ruled out for six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery on a quadriceps muscle on Thursday, the National Basketball Association team said.
Varejao suffered the injury on December 18 against the Toronto Raptors and on Thursday had an operation to repair a small split in his vastus medialis muscle, the Cavaliers said.
"Varejao is resting comfortably and will be admitted overnight. Rehab guidelines will be established today and he is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks," the team said in a statement.
Varejao is the Cavaliers' leading rebounder, averaging 14.4 rebounds a game and he is also their second top scorer averaging 14.1 points per game.

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Baseball-Nationals convince LaRoche to extend Washington stay

Jan 8 (Reuters) - The Washington Nationals finally persuaded Adam LaRoche to put pen to paper on Tuesday after spending the first half of the off-season courting their lead slugger.
The free agent inked a two-year deal worth $24 million with an option for a third season, adding solidity to an improving Nationals team and rewarding the franchise for their patience.
The 33-year-old had earlier declined to re-sign with the Nationals as he sought out a three-year deal but the first baseman eventually opted to return to a team where he has spent the last two seasons.
"We were patient with Adam and his representatives," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told the team's website (washingtonnationals.mlb.com).
"At the end of the day, I think we both agreed (Washington) was the best place for Adam to be."
Last season, LaRoche was instrumental in helping lead the Nationals to their first post-season berth since the team relocated from Montreal in 2004.
He hit .271 and led the team with 33 home runs and 100 RBIs as Washington (98-64) captured the National League East Division with the best overall MLB record.
Washington were beaten 3-2 in the best-of-five NL Division Series by the St Louis Cardinals, giving up four runs in the top of the ninth inning to fall 9-7 in the series decider. (Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by John O'Brien)

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Nationals convince LaRoche to extend Washington stay

The Washington Nationals finally persuaded Adam LaRoche to put pen to paper on Tuesday after spending the first half of the off-season courting their lead slugger.
The free agent inked a two-year deal worth $24 million with an option for a third season, adding solidity to an improving Nationals team and rewarding the franchise for their patience.
The 33-year-old had earlier declined to re-sign with the Nationals as he sought out a three-year deal but the first baseman eventually opted to return to a team where he has spent the last two seasons.
"We were patient with Adam and his representatives," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told the team's website (washingtonnationals.mlb.com).
"At the end of the day, I think we both agreed (Washington) was the best place for Adam to be."
Last season, LaRoche was instrumental in helping lead the Nationals to their first post-season berth since the team relocated from Montreal in 2004.
He hit .271 and led the team with 33 home runs and 100 RBIs as Washington (98-64) captured the National League East Division with the best overall MLB record.
Washington were beaten 3-2 in the best-of-five NL Division Series by the St Louis Cardinals, giving up four runs in the top of the ninth inning to fall 9-7 in the series decider.

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Baseball-Record earnings for South Korean league

Jan 9 (Reuters) - South Korean baseball underlined its continuing growth by posting a record $33 million in revenue last year, local media reported on Wednesday.

Winning gold at the Beijing Olympics and finishing runners-up at the 2009 World Baseball Classic boosted baseball's popularity and attendances crossed the 7 million-mark for the first time last year, Yonhap News agency reported.

The league pocketed 35 billion won ($32.9 million) in 2012, bettering the 34 billion it earned a year earlier, the report said citing figures from the marketing wing of the Korea Baseball Organisation (KBO).

The league received 25 billion won from its television broadcasting contract and 8 billion from corporate sponsorship, while 2 billion came from merchandise sales.

Each of the eight KBO clubs, having collectively drawn 7.15 million fans, took home 3.8 billion won after the league broke its attendance record for the fourth straight year.

The KBO will welcome a ninth club this year in what would be the league's first expansion since 1991 while another team could be included in 2015.

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Reid among 7 NFL coaches sacked in firing frenzy

Andy Reid is the winningest coach in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles. Lovie Smith led the Chicago Bears to the 2007 Super Bowl.
Now they're looking for work.
Seven coaches and five general managers were fired Monday in a flurry of pink slips that were delivered the day after the regular-season ended.
Ken Whisenhunt is out after helping Arizona reach the Super Bowl following the 2008 season. Also gone: Norv Turner in San Diego, Pat Shurmur in Cleveland, Romeo Crennel in Kansas City and Chan Gailey in Buffalo.
Three teams made it a clean sweep, saying goodbye to the GM along with the coach — San Diego, Cleveland, Arizona. General managers also were fired in Jacksonville and New York, where Rex Ryan held onto his coaching job with the Jets despite a losing record.
Reid was the longest tenured of the coaches, removed after 14 seasons and a Super Bowl appearance in 2005 — a loss to New England. Smith spent nine seasons with the Bears.
Turner has now been fired as head coach by three teams. San Diego won the AFC West from 2006-09, but didn't make the postseason the last three years under Turner and GM A.J. Smith.
"Both Norv and A.J. are consummate NFL professionals, and they understand that in this league, the bottom line is winning," Chargers President Dean Spanos said in a statement.
Whisenhunt was fired after six seasons. He had more wins than any other coach in Cardinals history, going 45-51, and has one year worth about $5.5 million left on his contract. GM Rod Graves had been with Arizona for 16 years, nine in his current position. A 5-11 record after a 4-0 start cost him and Whisenhunt their jobs.
Gailey was dumped after three seasons with the Bills; Shurmur after two; and Crennel had one full season with the Chiefs.
Reid took over a 3-13 Eagles team in 1999, drafted Donovan McNabb with the No. 2 overall pick and quickly turned the franchise into a title contender.
But the team hasn't won a playoff game since 2008 and after last season's 8-8 finish, owner Jeffrey Lurie said he was looking for improvement this year. Instead, it was even worse. The Eagles finished 4-12.
"When you have a season like that, it's embarrassing. It's personally crushing to me and it's terrible," Lurie said at a news conference. He said he respects Reid and plans to stay friends with him, "but, it is time for the Eagles to move in a new direction."
Shurmur went 9-23 in his two seasons with the Browns, who will embark on yet another offseason of change — the only constant in more than a decade of futility. Cleveland has lost at least 11 games in each of the past five seasons and made the playoffs just once since returning to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999.
"Ultimately our objective is to put together an organization that will be the best at everything we do," Browns CEO Joe Banner said. "On the field, our only goal is trying to win championships."
Crennel took over with three games left in the 2011 season after GM Scott Pioli fired Todd Haley. Kansas City will have the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft as a result of having one of the worst seasons in its 53-year history. The only other time the Chiefs finished 2-14 was 2008, the year before Pioli was hired.
"I am embarrassed by the poor product we gave our fans this season, and I believe we have no choice but to move the franchise in a different direction," Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement.
Gailey, the former Dallas Cowboys coach, compiled a 16-32 record in his three seasons in Buffalo, never doing better than 6-10.
"This will probably be, and I say probably, but I think it will be the first place that's ever fired me that I'll pull for," Gailey said.
Smith and the Bears went 10-6 this season and just missed a playoff spot. But Chicago started 7-1 and has struggled to put together a productive offense throughout Smith's tenure. His record was 81-63 with the Bears, and he took them to one Super Bowl loss and to one NFC championship game defeat.
Receiver and kick return standout Devin Hester was bitter about Smith's firing.
"The media, the false fans, you all got what you all wanted," Hester said as he cleared out his locker. "The majority of you all wanted him out. As players we wanted him in. I guess the fans — the false fans — outruled us. I thought he was a great coach, probably one of the best coaches I've ever been around."
The fired GMs included Mike Tannenbaum of the Jets; Gene Smith of the Jaguars; Tom Heckert of the Browns; Smith of the Chargers and Graves of Arizona.
"You hope that those guys that obviously were victims of black Monday land on their feet," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. "You've got guys that have been to Super Bowls and won championship games and all of a sudden they've forgot how to coach, I guess.

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Regular season winners don't always make champions

The Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons, who tied for the league's best record at 13-3, are well aware of one of the NFL's biggest truisms: more often than not, the regular season is for suckers.
Over the last decade, just two of the 13 teams that had the best regular season record — or tied for the best mark — went on to win the Super Bowl: the '02 Buccaneers and the '03 Patriots.
The last eight teams to enter the playoffs with the best record bowed out before they could put their fingerprints on the Lombardi Trophy and revel in a rain of confetti.
Both the Broncos and Falcons are promising to practice like champions this week and not allow rest and relaxation to turn into rust and ruin.
In the last seven seasons, three No. 6 seeds and a No. 4 seed ended up winning it all, giving hope to the likes of the Ravens, Redskins, Bengals and Vikings in this year's playoff pool.
A year ago, the Green Bay Packers rested their regulars in the season finale and they lost their edge, becoming the first 15-1 team to lose its first playoff game — to a New York Giants team that was 7-7 in mid-December and went on to win it all.
"That's kind of what it was for us when I was in Indy," Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley said of the '05 Colts, who went 14-2 but lost to Pittsburgh in the divisional round. "We kind of rested the last week, then we had a bye. It's too much. So, I like just grinding every week, just playing football."
That's exactly what Peyton Manning's new team did, securing the AFC's top seed Sunday with its 11th straight win.
Along with the Falcons, Patriots and 49ers, the Broncos get a break this week, one that can prove a pitfall as much as a profit.
"We've just got to practice like we're playing this week," Denver receiver Eric Decker said.
While the Broncos stormed into the playoffs, the Falcons, who already had the NFC's top seed secured, didn't gain any momentum Sunday, losing to Tampa Bay.
"Before this game was played, we were the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, at the end of the game, nothing has changed," Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez reasoned. "We're a very good team; we'll just use this as a wake-up call."
Says another Atlanta veteran, Asante Samuel: "We're going to practice like champs. And we're going to play like champs from now on."
So will the Broncos. Coach John Fox is using the bye week to stay sharp, calling for short, crisp practices on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and a mandatory weightlifting session Saturday, mainly to keep the team "focused, not concerned with flights to other states and those type of things, especially close states."
Like Nevada, where oddsmakers have made the Broncos the favorite to win the Super Bowl.
Of course, the Packers were in this position last year.
It's not just the NFL where the season's best team usually falters in the playoffs.
In the last 10 seasons, only two teams in each of the other major pro sports leagues parlayed the best regular-season record into a championship, according to STATS, LLC. They were: the 2007 Red Sox and the '09 Yankees, the 2002-03 Spurs and the '07-08 Celtics and the Red Wings in 2001-02 and '07-08.
Since the first Super Bowl, the team with the best regular-season record has won just 21 of 46 championships, or 46 percent, which is more than in the NHL (42 percent), NBA (41 percent) and MLB (28 percent), according to STATS.
"Everyone wants to have the best record, win the division and play at home for the playoffs, but in my opinion, the team that is playing the best has the best opportunity," said NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner, a former MVP and Super Bowl champion. "This game is always about confidence and momentum. If you have it, you're tough to beat, nobody wants to play you and it gives you a distinct advantage. It starts in the regular season and you want to be playing well down the stretch."
With that in mind, here's how the dozen playoff teams rank from hottest to coolest:
1. Broncos (13-3) — They haven't lost since a 31-21 setback at New England on Oct. 7, before Manning got his bearings and found a comfort zone with his new teammates.
2. Redskins (10-6) — They've won seven straight games since coach Mike Shanahan's comments about playing for next year (well, it is 2013 now!) after a loss to Carolina on Nov. 4 dropped them to 3-6.
3. Patriots (12-4) — Their only loss in their last 10 games was to San Francisco two weeks ago that snapped their 21-game home winning streak in December. Even in defeat, Tom Brady was spectacular as New England nearly became the first team since 1980 to win a game after trailing by 28.
4. Seahawks (11-5) — Forget the "Fail Mary" touchdown/touchback ending that gave Seattle a disputed win over the Packers in Week 3 and hastened the return of the regular officials. The real robbery was the selection of QB Russell Wilson in the third round of the draft. He's guided them to five straight wins.
5. Bengals (10-6) — Cincinnati matched the best finish in club history, winning seven of its last eight games behind Andy Dalton and A.J. Green, who will now try to secure the Bengals' first playoff win since 1990.
6. Colts (11-5) — Indy won nine of its last 11 despite a soft defense, rallying around assistant coach Bruce Arians, who took over while coach Chuck Pagano was treated for leukemia. Pagano is back and the Colts have gotten over their breakup with Manning and moved on with rookie Andrew Luck.
7. Packers (11-5) — Green Bay won nine of its last 11 but couldn't close out the season with a win at Minnesota that would have ensured them a first-round bye. Maybe that's a good thing for a team that won it all as a wild card two years ago.
8. Vikings (10-6) — Although Adrian Peterson came up just short of breaking Eric Dickerson's single season rushing record, he carried the Vikings into the playoffs with wins in their last four games.
9. 49ers (11-4-1) — San Francisco lost to division rivals St. Louis and Seattle in December, but Colin Kaepernick and Michael Crabtree put the 49ers into the playoffs with some much-needed momentum with dazzling performances in a win over Arizona on Sunday.
10. Falcons (13-3) — Atlanta lost two of its last four, but they didn't rest their regulars Sunday, when they lost to the Buccaneers and also lost two key defensive players to injuries in pass-rusher John Abraham and cornerback Dunta Robinson.
11. Ravens (10-6) — Baltimore lost four of its last five and changed offensive coordinators in December. The Ravens used their regular-season finale at Cincy to rest their regulars, sitting banged-up playmakers Anquan Boldin, Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs while pulling Joe Flacco and Ray Rice after only two series.
12. Texans (12-4) — For much of the year, they were the NFL's darlings behind J.J. Watt, Andre Johnson and Arian Foster, but they caved in December, losing three of their last four and falling from the top seed in the AFC to the third. Instead of a bye week to rest up, they get a short week to play Cincinnati.
All of this isn't to say the hottest team will be crowed champion or the coolest one has no shot.
"I think there are a lot of formulas," Fox said. "If you look at history, there are plenty of different scenarios. At the end of the day, you want to be playing your best football in January so you can get to February. That's really the only formula I know that's 100 percent.

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PREVIEW-NFL-Playoffs offer clash of generations

Jan 1 (Reuters) - With Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson set to make playoff debuts, the year of the rookie continues in the National Football League (NFL).
But defense and experience win championships and few know the road to the Super Bowl better than longtime quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
The wild-card weekend kicks off on Saturday with the Cincinnati Bengals visiting the Houston Texans, followed by NFC North rivals the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings renewing hostilities on Lambeau Field's famous frozen tundra.
Sunday's games will be a rookie quarterback showcase. Luck, the number one overall pick in last year's draft, will lead the resurgent Indianapolis Colts against the Baltimore Ravens, with Griffin, selected number two by the Washington Redskins, going against the Seattle Seahawks and their brilliant first-year quarterback Wilson.
More intriguing, however, is the possibility of a clash of the generations in the divisional playoffs the following weekend when Manning and the AFC top seeded Denver Broncos join the action along with Brady and the number two seeded New England Patriots.
In the NFC, the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons and number two San Francisco 49ers await their conference's wild-card winners.
OLD GUARD
While NFL fans have been mesmerized by the dynamic talents of Griffin, Luck and Wilson, the old guard of Brady, Manning and the Packers' Aaron Rodgers have trophy cases that contain Super Bowl rings and most valuable player awards.
Rodgers and Manning finished the regular season with the top two quarterback ratings, generating plenty of MVP buzz. They were followed by Griffin and Wilson.
Luck completed his first campaign by grabbing the single-season rookie passing yards record as the Colts went from last place to the playoffs in one year.
Wilson tied Manning's single-season rookie record with 26 touchdown passes, leading an explosive Seattle offence that became to first in 62 years to register back-to-back 50 point games.
While the spotlight will be focused on the trio of rookies, the pressure will be on two other quarterbacks.
The apprenticeship and honeymoon is over for Atlanta's Matt Ryan, the third overall pick in the 2008 draft, and the Ravens' Joe Flacco, taken 18th overall in that same draft class. The two must prove they are finally ready to deliver a championship.
Texans veteran play caller Matt Schaub will also be under the microscope while San Francisco's second year man Colin Kaepernick maybe the one true wild card, after taking over first string duties mid-season from Alex Smith.
In Minnesota, the Vikings' offense does not revolve so much around quarterback Christian Ponder as bruising running back Adrian Peterson, who rushed for a staggering 2,097 yards, falling just nine yards shy of Eric Dickerson's single-season record.
TOP RUSHERS
The wild-card weekend will also feature the NFL's top three rushers with Peterson, Redskins' powerhouse rookie Alfred Morris (1,613 yards) who averaged over 100 yards a game and the Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch (1,590).
Along with Lynch and quarterback Wilson, the Seahawks enter the postseason with the league's top ranked defense, allowing just 15.3 points a game. They are followed closely by their West division rivals the 49ers.
With six wins in their last seven games, including five straight to close out the campaign, the NFC Seahawks carry considerable momentum, but no team is hotter than the AFC Broncos, who have reeled off 11 consecutive wins.
The Seahawks were the NFL's best home team, winning all eight home dates, but must do something they have not done since 1983 - win a playoff game on the road.
Atlanta, the NFC's number one seed, went 7-1 at home and will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs while second seeded San Francisco was nearly as dominant, going 6-1-1 on its own turf.
"It's about consistency when you get into this opportunity," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said on the team's website. "You've got to bring what you've got. Don't show up without your stuff on that day.

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NFL-Playoff schedule for NFL postseason

Jan 1 (Reuters) - The playoff schedule for National Football League postseason beginning with wild-card games on Saturday:
Saturday
AFC wild-card game
Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) at Houston Texans (12-4), 2130 GMT/4:30 PM ET
--
NFC wild-card game
Minnesota Vikings (10-6) at Green Bay Packers (11-5), 0100 GMT/8 PM ET
---
Sunday
AFC wild-card game
Indianapolis Colts (11-5) at Baltimore Ravens (10-6), 1800 GMT/1 PM ET
--
NFC wild-card game
Seattle Seahawks (11-5) at Washington Redskins (10-6), 2130 GMT/4:30 PM ET
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Saturday, Jan. 12
AFC divisional game
Wild-card game winner at Denver Broncos (13-3), 2130 GMT/4:30 PM ET
--
NFC division game
Wild-card game winner at San Francisco 49ers (11-4-1). 0100 GMT/8 PM ET
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Sunday, Jan. 13
NFC divisional game
Wild-card game winner at Atlanta Falcons (13-3), 1800 GMT/1 PM ET
--
AFC divisional game
Wild-card game winner at New England Patriots (12-4), 2130 GMT/4:30 PM ET
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Sunday, Jan. 20
AFC championship game
Teams and site to be determined
--
NFC championship game
Teams and site to be determined
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Sunday, Feb. 3
Super Bowl, New Orleans

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NFL: Playoffs offer clash of generations

With Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson set to make playoff debuts, the year of the rookie continues in the National Football League (NFL).
But defense and experience win championships and few know the road to the Super Bowl better than longtime quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
The wild-card weekend kicks off on Saturday with the Cincinnati Bengals visiting the Houston Texans, followed by NFC North rivals the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings renewing hostilities on Lambeau Field's famous frozen tundra.
Sunday's games will be a rookie quarterback showcase. Luck, the number one overall pick in last year's draft, will lead the resurgent Indianapolis Colts against the Baltimore Ravens, with Griffin, selected number two by the Washington Redskins, going against the Seattle Seahawks and their brilliant first-year quarterback Wilson.
More intriguing, however, is the possibility of a clash of the generations in the divisional playoffs the following weekend when Manning and the AFC top seeded Denver Broncos join the action along with Brady and the number two seeded New England Patriots.
In the NFC, the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons and number two San Francisco 49ers await their conference's wild-card winners.
OLD GUARD
While NFL fans have been mesmerized by the dynamic talents of Griffin, Luck and Wilson, the old guard of Brady, Manning and the Packers' Aaron Rodgers have trophy cases that contain Super Bowl rings and most valuable player awards.
Rodgers and Manning finished the regular season with the top two quarterback ratings, generating plenty of MVP buzz. They were followed by Griffin and Wilson.
Luck completed his first campaign by grabbing the single-season rookie passing yards record as the Colts went from last place to the playoffs in one year.
Wilson tied Manning's single-season rookie record with 26 touchdown passes, leading an explosive Seattle offence that became to first in 62 years to register back-to-back 50 point games.
While the spotlight will be focused on the trio of rookies, the pressure will be on two other quarterbacks.
The apprenticeship and honeymoon is over for Atlanta's Matt Ryan, the third overall pick in the 2008 draft, and the Ravens' Joe Flacco, taken 18th overall in that same draft class. The two must prove they are finally ready to deliver a championship.
Texans veteran play caller Matt Schaub will also be under the microscope while San Francisco's second year man Colin Kaepernick maybe the one true wild card, after taking over first string duties mid-season from Alex Smith.
In Minnesota, the Vikings' offense does not revolve so much around quarterback Christian Ponder as bruising running back Adrian Peterson, who rushed for a staggering 2,097 yards, falling just nine yards shy of Eric Dickerson's single-season record.
TOP RUSHERS
The wild-card weekend will also feature the NFL's top three rushers with Peterson, Redskins' powerhouse rookie Alfred Morris (1,613 yards) who averaged over 100 yards a game and the Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch (1,590).
Along with Lynch and quarterback Wilson, the Seahawks enter the postseason with the league's top ranked defense, allowing just 15.3 points a game. They are followed closely by their West division rivals the 49ers.
With six wins in their last seven games, including five straight to close out the campaign, the NFC Seahawks carry considerable momentum, but no team is hotter than the AFC Broncos, who have reeled off 11 consecutive wins.
The Seahawks were the NFL's best home team, winning all eight home dates, but must do something they have not done since 1983 - win a playoff game on the road.
Atlanta, the NFC's number one seed, went 7-1 at home and will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs while second seeded San Francisco was nearly as dominant, going 6-1-1 on its own turf.
"It's about consistency when you get into this opportunity," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said on the team's website. "You've got to bring what you've got. Don't show up without your stuff on that day.
"We know how to do that. Now we have to see if we can bring it to life and not get distracted by the fact it's the playoffs.

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Ross, Diamondbacks agree to $26 million, 3-yr deal

 Cody Ross and the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to a $26 million, three-year contract Saturday that includes a club option for 2016.
Ross, who turns 32 on Sunday and lives in nearby Scottsdale, adds to the abundance of outfielders on the Arizona roster, leading to speculation a trade might be coming. Ross batted .267 with 22 home runs and 81 RBIs last season for the Boston Red Sox. He's a .267 career hitter in nine big league seasons with six teams.
"Could not be happier to be in the Dbacks family! Truly Blessed!" Ross posted on his Twitter account.
The addition gives the Diamondbacks four veteran outfielders — Ross, Justin Upton, Gerardo Parra and Jason Kubel — along with two youngsters the organization has deemed ready for the majors: Adam Eaton and A.J. Pollock.
That would indicate a trade could be in the works, with Kubel the center of that speculation. In his first season with Arizona last year, the left-handed slugger hit .253 with 30 home runs and 90 RBIs. He was hitting .300 on July 22 but batted .176 with 19 RBIs the rest of the season.
Ross, who throws left-handed and bats right-handed, was a fourth-round draft pick of Detroit out of Carlsbad, N.M., High School in 1999. He had brief major league stints with the Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati before becoming a full-time big leaguer with the Florida Marlins.
Ross was claimed by San Francisco off waivers in August 2010 and was MVP of that year's NL championship series, hitting .350 with three home runs and five RBIs against Philadelphia. He also homered against Texas in the World Series and batted .294 (15 for 51) with five homers, five doubles and 10 RBIs in 15 postseason games for the champion Giants.
He committed one error in each of the last two seasons.
The Diamondbacks also announced that infielder Gustavo Nunez cleared waivers and was returned to Detroit, opening a spot for Ross on the 40-man roster. Nunez was claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh in October after the Pirates selected him from the Tigers in the 2011 Rule 5 draft.

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AP source: Ibanez, Mariners agree to $2.75M deal

 Raul Ibanez and the Seattle Mariners have agreed to a $2.75 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday night.
The deal allows Ibanez to earn an additional $1.25 million in performance bonuses, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced.
Ibanez returns to the team he began his big league career with from 1996-00, then rejoined from 2004-08.
Now 40, Ibanez spent the past season with the New York Yankees and became popular with fans for his late-game home runs. He had hoped to remain with New York, but the Yankees have moved slowly during the offseason.
Ibanez hit .240 with 19 homers and 62 RBIs in 384 at-bats, his pull swing making him a natural for the short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium. He batted just .197 with five RBIs in 61 at-bats against left-handers.
Including the playoffs, Ibanez hit five home runs that tied the score for the Yankees and eight that put New York ahead, according to STATS. He homered twice after entering as a pinch hitter on Sept. 22 in a 10-9, 14-inning win over Oakland. And with New York fighting for the AL East title, he delivered a tying, pinch-hit homer against Boston in the ninth on Oct. 2 and then singled in the winning run in the 12th.
Then in Game 3 of the division series against Baltimore, he became the first player in major league history to homer twice in a postseason game he didn't start. He pinch-hit for Alex Rodriguez in the ninth inning and hit a tying home run, then hit a winning shot in the 12th.
Three days later his two-run homer in a four-run ninth inning tied the AL championship series opener against Detroit, a game the Yankees lost 6-4 in 12 innings as the Tigers started their way to a four-game sweep.
Ibanez had a $1.1 million base salary last season and earned another $2.05 million in performance bonuses.
He joins a Seattle team that added power-hitting Kendrys Morales earlier in the week in a trade that sent left-hander Jason Vargas to the Los Angeles Angels. Former Yankees prospect Jesus Montero started 77 games at designated hitter last season for the Mariners and 55 behind the plate, so Ibanez's acquisition by the Mariners could make catcher John Jaso expendable. Jaso made 39 starts behind the plate and 44 at DH.
In 17 major league seasons that also included time with Kansas City (2001-03) and Philadelphia (2009-11), Ibanez has a .278 career average with 271 home runs and 1,116 RBIs.
With Ichiro Suzuki likely to see most of his time in a corner outfield spot because New York hasn't attempted to re-sign Nick Swisher, Ibanez's departure leaves the Yankees searching for a left-handed bat for a part-time designated hitter role. New York's priority before filling that spot appears to be a right-handed bat because Andruw Jones left for Rakuten in Japan after a subpar season and all three starting outfielders — Suzuki, Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner — are left-handed hitters.

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AP source: Swisher, Tribe reach $56M, 4-year deal

 The Indians' pitch to bring Nick Swisher "home" worked.
Two people familiar with the negotiations said Swisher has agreed to a $56 million, four-year contract with the Indians, who used the free agent outfielder's deep Ohio connections to convince him to join the club. The people spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because Swisher must take a physical before the deal can be finalized. The Indians are expected to announce Swisher's signing after Christmas, one of the people said.
The Indians will not comment until Swisher completes his physical.
"Wow! What a crazy few weeks," Swisher said on Twitter. "Hey Cleveland! Are you ready? Because I'm coming home!"
Swisher's deal includes a $14 million option for 2017 that could become guaranteed based on plate appearances the previous year.
Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis was excited about the club's newest addition.
"Welcome to the Tribe (at)nickswisher, pumped to get ya," Kipnis tweeted.
The 32-year-old Swisher spent the last four seasons with the New York Yankees, taking advantage of the short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium. A switch-hitter, Swisher hit .272 this season with 24 homers and 93 RBIs.
Swisher will fill an outfield hole for the Indians, who traded Shin-Soo Choo to Cincinnati. Swisher will play right, with recently acquired Drew Stubbs likely taking over in center with Michael Brantley shifting from center to left field.
Swisher, who was born in Columbus and played at Ohio State, visited the Indians earlier in the week. The club used Swisher's ties with the Buckeyes to convince him to join a team that won just 68 games last season following an historic collapse in August.
During his tour of Progressive Field, Swisher watched a video presentation on the stadium's giant scoreboard that featured messages from current Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer and basketball coach Thad Matta, who urged him to sign with the Indians. Later, Swisher and his wife, actress JoAnna Garcia, had lunch with former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who was at the school when Swisher played there.
Swisher's signing is a significant win for the Indians, who have been in the market for an outfielder throughout the offseason. During the winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn., they offered Shane Victorino a $44 million, four-year contract before he agreed to a $39 million, three-year deal with Boston.
Seattle, Texas and Boston were believed to be interested in Swisher, an All-Star in 2010 who was regarded as the second-best free agent hitter this offseason behind Josh Hamilton. The Indians have been desperate to add power and Swisher, who has hit at least 22 homers in each of the past seven seasons, will bolster the middle of new manager Terry Francona's lineup.
Swisher's value may have been damaged by several poor postseasons with the Yankees. He batted .162 in the postseason for New York with seven RBIs and 38 strikeouts in 130 at-bats.
Swisher spent four seasons with Oakland and one with the Chicago White Sox before joining the Yankees.
The Indians will lose their second-round pick in next year's amateur draft as compensation for signing Swisher, and the Yankees will get an extra selection following the first round.
It's been a busy offseason for Indians general manager Chris Antonetti, who is trying to fix a team that has lost at least 93 games in three of the past four seasons.
Antonetti fired manager Manny Acta and replaced him with Francona, the former Boston manager who has spent the past few weeks meeting with his new players. Antonetti also signed free agent first baseman Mark Reynolds and was part of a three-team, nine-player deal that sent Choo to the Reds for Stubbs and brought Cleveland prized pitching prospect Trevor Bauer from Arizona.
The signing of Swisher will take some pressure of Antonetti, who has been criticized by fans for several moves in recent years.
His agreement was first reported by the New York Daily News.
Now that they've landed Swisher, the Indians are expected to focus on improving their starting pitching. The club agreed to terms with left-hander Scott Kazmir to a minor league deal this week, pending a physical. The Indians still need to add a designated hitter and there remains interest in Travis Hafner, who was limited to just 66 games last season because of injuries and remains an unsigned free agent.

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Baseball: Indians sign Swisher to four-year, $56 million deal

 Free agent outfielder Nick Swisher has agreed to a four-year, $56 million contract with the Cleveland Indians, Major League Baseball's website said on Sunday.
The deal, which is pending a physical, makes the 32-year-old Swisher the highest paid free agent ever signed by the Indians, who are trying to recover from a 94-loss season in 2012.
Swisher, who spent the past four seasons with the New York Yankees, hit .272 with 93 runs batted in and 24 home runs while playing in 148 games last season.
"Hey Cleveland! Are you ready? Because I'm coming home!" Swisher, an Ohio native, wrote on his Twitter account.
Cleveland had the second worst record in the American League last season at 68-94 and hired former Red Sox skipper Terry Francona to manage the club and signed slugger Mark Reynolds to play first base earlier this postseason.

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Former Braves player arrested on battery charge

DULUTH, Ga. (AP) — Former Atlanta Braves star center fielder Andruw Jones was free on bond after being arrested in suburban Atlanta early Tuesday on a battery charge, according to jail records.
Around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a call for a domestic dispute between Jones and his wife in Duluth.
Gwinnett County Detention Center records say Jones was booked into the jail around 3:45 a.m. and had been released on $2,400 bond by 11 a.m.
Once one of the premier players in the big leagues, Jones broke into the majors with the Atlanta Braves in 1996 and won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1998-07 as their center fielder. He has 434 career home runs over the span of 17 seasons in the majors.
Jones earlier this month signed a $3.5 million, one-year contract with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's Pacific League.

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The Hidden Costs of Spain's Regional Bullfighting Ban

Today in sports: The lost cows of the Catalonia bullfight ban, the NFL wants an extra game in London, and a new documentary revisits baseball's most memorable case of fan interference.
RELATED: NFL Coaches Behaving Badly; Dodgers Divorce Settlement Reached
The final bullfight in Barcelona's La Monumental arena took place Sunday, in anticipation of a new regional ordinance outlawing the gruesome piece of cultural heritage. No matter how distasteful the practice may seem, The New York Times notes that next summer, once the ban is in effect, there's going to be a surplus of bulls bred for bullfighting out in the fields. "Which in economic terms is a disaster," explains bull farmer Leopoldo de la Maza. He informed The Times that "a four-year-old bull sent to the slaughterhouse earned a breeder about 450 euros, or $605...instead of at least €6,000 if the bull met its death in Madrid or another major bull ring." That's a tough burden for a rural population already struggling through the continent's financial crisis. Then there's the cultural aspect, which a 68-year-old bullfighting fan named Cristobal explained to the AFP: "For a city like Barcelona to close this arena," he said, "is like throwing a Picasso painting into the garbage,"  [The New York Times and AFP via Time]
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, apparently not content with the disruption caused by forcing just two teams to travel 8,000 miles to play each other in London in the middle of a season, is pushing owners to vote to approve a second game in the United Kingdom at their annual meeting in Houston in October. The league has played one game a year at London's Wembley Stadium since 2007, the majority of which have been duds, and resulted in grumbling from players and coaches--like Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints--about terrible field conditions prolonged travel time.  [Sports Business Journal via Fox Sports]
Tonight marks the premiere of Catching Hell on ESPN, the new documentary from Alex Gibney about Steve Bartman, the turtleneck glad, portable-radio toting Chicago Cubs fan who interfered with Cubs left fielder Moises Alou's attempt to catch a pop fly hit by Florida Marlins secncd baseman Luis Castillo in game six of the 2003 National League Championship Series. At the time, Chicago led the series 3-2, and the game 3-0. Florida ended up coming back to win the game and the pennant, denying the Cubs their first World Series visit since 1908. Bartman's since gone into hiding, and while Gibney doesn't track him down, he reconstructs the whole series of events leading up to the play. Cubs fans probably won't want to watch. Red Sox fans, however, will likely want to do nothing, if only to remind themselves that blowing a 9-game playoff lead in September isn't as soul-crushing when you've won the World Series twice in seven seasons. (Full disclosure: Gibney is the brother of The Atlantic's staff editor James Gibney.) [Hit Fix]
Through the first two-thirds of Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski's new interview with Cal Fussman for Esquire's "What I've Learned" series, he manages to avoid sounding like a man who considers himself holier-than-though basketball royalty. This is pleasing, since this quality is what makes Duke (and Krzyzewski) reliably booable. That changes, as it must, when Krzyzewski is asked about LeBron James' departure from Cleveland for Miami last summer to go play with his fellow superstars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Most people agree the move--and the live television event announcing the decision, which was also called The Decision--was shortsighted, needlessly brutal, and bad for the soul of pro basketball. Not Krzyzewski. "How can going to Miami to play for the Arison family and to be with Dwyane Wade be bad?" he says. "I don't think it was a bad decision. How it was carried out? I wish I could have changed some of that for LeBron. He's a good friend, and one of my guys." This last point in not precisely true, since James didn't go to Duke. He did play for Krzyzewski on the U.S. national team, which is like saying your counselor at sleepaway camp is your big brother.

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Kobe Bryant May Not Go to Italy; Red Sox Braintrust Falling Apart

Today in sports: Another member of the Red Sox braintrust may be leaving town, Kobe Bryant's move to Italy runs into a scheduling snag, and the perilous state lockout talks didn't stop five NBA stars from enjoying a night out in New York this past weekend.
On Friday, the Boston Red Sox announced that manager Terry Francona wouldn't return to manage the team in 2012. Now it looks like general manager Theo Epstein could be on the move as well, possibly to take over as general manager of the Chicago Cubs, who fired Jim Hendry in August. Epstein technically still has a year left on his contract with the Red Sox, but the club pointedly still hasn't picked up his option for 2012. If they don't do so by Saturday, Epstein will be free to take any job he wants, with Chicago seen as the most likely landing spot, since they could also make him team president. One baseball source tells ESPN Red Sox reporter Gordon Edes the odds of Epstein leaving Boston for Chicago right now are about "50/50," but he's reportedly been interested in the job since it opened up back in August.  Along with the Cubs, the Los Angeles Angels are also reportedly interested in bringing in Epstein. [ESPN Boston]
Vritus Bologna team president Claudio Sabatini told reporters to expect an update on the team's pursuit of Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant's later Monday night. On Friday, Sabatini told the Associated Press a deal for Bryant to join the Italian team for 35 days was "95% done," but rival clubs Cremona and Varese have complicated the process by refusing to sign off on a proposed schedule change allowing Bologna to play half of its first ten games at home in order to maximize Bryant's presence at the box office. Meanwhile, it emerged over the weekend that the German molecular orthopedist who performed knee injury on Bryant in July also treated actor Nick Nolte and Pope John Paul II for arthritis. [AFP and ESPN the Magazine]
At a meeting in Washington D.C., the presidents and chancellors of the Big East conference's 14 remaining member school (plus representatives from soon-to-be member Texas Christian) gave commissioner John Marinatto the go-ahead to "aggressively pursue" talks with other universities about joining the league. So far, the Big East has been the hunted rather than the hunter when it comes to conference expansion, losing Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the Atlantic Coast Conference last month, but almost all of the remaining member schools have pledged to keep the conference in-tact. together. Navy, East Carolina, Air Force, Houston, Memphis, Central Florida, and former member school Temple top the list of possible targets. One member school that's not on-board with keeping the league together is the University of Connecticut. Last week, Connecticut governor Daniel Malloy said UConn would only consider remaining in the Big East as a "fall back" if it didn't get an invitation to join ACC. [Boston Globe]
NBA commissioner David Stern warned there would be "enormous consequences" if players and ownership failed to reach a breakthrough during negotiations this weekend in New York on a new collective bargaining agreement, but that didn't stop Carmelo Anthony, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade from attending five-year anniversary party of Tenjun, a club in the meatpacking district, on Friday night. A witness said the group appeared to be "in great spirits, most notably Carmelo," who briefly Swizz Beatz for a stint in the club's DJ booth. The weekend's negotiations were less succesful, though players and owners continued to negotiate "in small groups" today after not meeting at all yesterday.

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The Cardinals Have Turned on Their 'Lucky Squirrel'

Today in sports: the St. Louis Cardinals do not want to be the team with a ballpark that's overrun with rodents, the Patriots will talk about how they can't talk this week, and Kevin Garnett is the union's enforcer in the NBA lockout talks.
Game three of the NL Division Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies was briefly delayed Tuesday night when a squirrel got loose on the field at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals lost, but a meme was born, and a fake BuschSquirrel Twitter account was active by the end of the night. Then on Wednesday, with the Cardinals facing elimination, a squirrel -- "possibly the same squirrel," per the AP -- ran across home plate after Phillies ace Roy Halladay delivered a pitch. St. Louis went on to win and force an elimination game tonight in Philadelphia. A resident lucky squirrel -- or possibly multiple lucky squirrels -- is the kind of thing superstitious baseball fans dream of, but Busch Stadium officials see it as a nuisance and possible liability risk. Which is why the grounds crew has covered the field with seven traps to kill humanely capture the squirrel so it can be set free at another location. The good news: Cardinals PR director Ron Watermon told the St. Louis Dispatch that if the traps didn't work, the team would not turn to "more drastic measures, such as pellet guns," because manager Tony LaRussa is a staunch animal rights activist. [STLtoday]
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has forbidden his team from saying anything to the media this week that provide the New York Jets with extra motivation when the two teams play Sunday. He reemphasized that point this week, a fact the public learned when an unnamed player -- yes -- talked to a reporter from the New York Post. "You ain't gonna hear nothing from us, that's for damn sure," said the anonymous player. Boss' orders." Which violates the first rule of media gag rules: don't talk about media gag rules. [New York Post]
The Boston Red Sox have until midnight to pick up the 2012 option on general manager Theo Epstein's contract. Red Sox owner Jon Henry didn't make retaining Epstein sound like a high priority Friday morning during an interview on Boston's WEEI. "162 games, it’s a long season and the pressure here is 365 days so," Henry mused. "Theo is not going to be the general manager forever...he's the guy now, he's been the guy, we've had tremendous success." Not a ringing endorsement, or a comment that suggests Epstein will still be the guy come Saturday morning. [The Boston Globe]
The then-unprecedented $126 million contract extension Kevin Garnett signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1998 was held up by owners during the last NBA lockout as the kind of contract teams (and, by association, their fans) simply could not abide. Eleven years later, Garnett's again a key actor in the labor talks, this time as the union's go-to strongman and hardliner. When there were talks of concessions during a closed door meeting earlier this week in New York, a witness says Garnett became"apoplectic" and screamed an appeal about how the union had to hold strong for "the next generation" of players. So far, his message has resonated.

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The St. Louis Cardinals Are Cashing In on Their 'Rally Squirrel'

Today in sports: the St. Louis Cardinals are still trying to evict their new marketing sensation, a look at the toxic chemistry that led to the Red Sox historic collapse, and the future of the Oakland Raiders following the death of owner Al Davis.
RELATED: The Faces of Opening Day; Bountygate's Smoking Gun
The St. Louis Cardinals are trying to capture and remove the squirrel (or squirrels) that ran across the Busch Stadium playing surface during the National League Division Series, but that hasn't stopped the club from trying to maximize the critters' marketing potential. According to the Associated Press, the Cardinals will hand out  "40,000 rally towels with a squirrel motif" prior to Game 3 of the NL Championship Series tonight, while the team store at Busch Stadium is already selling "Got Squirrel?" shirts and $5 plush "Rally Squirrels." Meanwhile, Cardinals officials say the grounds crew has captured and removed four of the animals from the stadium since last Friday. Major League Baseball has also cut a new playoff ad featuring the rogue squirrels. [Associated Press]
RELATED: Cardinals Manager Retires; The College Football 'Game of the Century' Isn't
Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has a deal in place to join the Chicago Cubs in a similar capacity, but an official announcement is still contingent on the two teams working out a compensation agreement. Sources tell ESPN's Buster Olney that Major League Baseball's league office has already voiced "great concern" over the nature of the compensation package "because they do not want this deal to affect how other teams compete in the market for front-office personnel." The deal will likely include a package of cash and minor league prospects, with no Chicago big leaguers being sent to Boston. [ESPN.com]
More than two weeks since the Red Sox completed their stunning imolation, the Boston Globe's Bob Hohler has written the most detailed account so far about the forces that contributed to the team's September collapse. He chalks it up to a lack of clubhouse discipline, but the specifics are startling: according to Hohler, starting pitchers John Lackey, Josh Beckett, and Jon Lester incurred the resentment of their teammates by drinking, eating takeout chicken, and playing video games in the clubhouse while games were going on, but nobody said anything. Anonymous club sources also tell Hohler that manager Terry Francona "appeared distracted" throughout the season, and speculate that the manager's marriage trouble and "use of pain medication" may have negatively impacted his performance. (Francona denied both suggestions, but acknowledged he "consulted the team’s internist, Dr. Larry Ronan, during spring training after one of his children expressed concern about a pill bottle in his hotel room," but was informed he didn't have a drug problem.) The team's front office enabled selfish behavior from the team.In August, after the team shuffled the start times of the team's series against Oakland to avoid a possible rainout due to Hurricane Irene, players "accused management of caring more about making money than winning." Ownership responded to the gripes by giving every player "$300 headphones and inviting them to enjoy a players-only night on principal owner John W. Henry’s yacht after they returned from a road trip Sept. 11," but that didn't stop the deluge of gripes.  [The Boston Globe]
Al Davis caused no small amount of problems for the NFL during his time as owner of the Oakland Raiders, but the 92-year-old's death Saturday seems unlikely to produce a messy court battle for control of the team. USA Today and CBS Sports' Charley Casserly report that Davis' wife Carol will inherit his majority stake, with son Mark taking over as managing partner. Davis only owned 40 percent of the franchise, but the team's limited partners are "specifically barred from combining to mount any challenge for control," notes Yahoo's Jason Cole. That will likely rule out moving the team back to Los Angeles, since both investment groups that are trying to convince teams to relocate also want to buy an ownership stake in any team. As for daily operations, current CEO Amy Trask will continue running the Raiders business affairs and is expected to hire a personnel executive for football decisions. One possible candidates for that post, even if it's just in an advisory capacity, is former Raiders coach John Madden. Back in 2006, Davis suggested Madden would be involved in determining the franchise's future after his death. Former Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf, who was Oakland's head scout during the 1980s, could also rejoin the team in a similar capacity.
The NBA's decision to cancel the first two weeks of the regular season will cost each team six to eight games, which may not be such a bad thing, since it will eliminate some of the grueling back-to-back games teams are forced to play during an 82-game season. Former New York Knicks and Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy suggests 70 games would be a more realistic number. That might reduce the value of the league's television package and take revenues from five or so home games away from local economies. The upside is that the league's product could end up being crisper and more closely-contested, with fewer player injuries down the stretch.

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