TheSTN – NBA: Players Of The Week Announced

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The Miami Heat’s LeBron James and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Jan. 23, through Sunday, Jan. 29.

James paced the Eastern Conference in scoring (29.0 ppg) in leading the Heat to a 4-0 week. James eclipsed the 30-point plateau three times and averaged 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.0 steals. Miami upended Chicago 97-93 on Jan. 29 to close the week behind James’ 35 points, 11 rebounds and five steals.

Westbrook led the Thunder to a 3-0 week, including wins over the Pistons and Hornets. Westbrook averaged 22.0 points, 7.3 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 steals. Oklahoma City’s 120-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 27 was keyed by Westbrook’s 28 points, 11 assists, seven steals and six rebounds.

Here is a recap of the week for James and Westbrook

LeBron James, Miami Heat

Jan. 25 @ Detroit: Collected 32 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals in a 101-98 win over the Pistons.
Jan. 27 vs. New York: Tallied 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a 99-89 win over the Knicks.
Jan. 29 vs. Chicago: Closed the week with 35 points, 11 rebounds and five assists during a 97-93 victory over the Bulls.

Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

Jan. 23 vs. Detroit: Posted 24 points, six assists and five rebounds in a 99-79 win over the Pistons.
Jan. 25 vs. New Orleans: Tallied 14 points, five assists, three blocks and three steals during a 101-91 win over the Hornets.
Jan. 27 @ Golden State: Scored 28 points and added 11 assists, seven steals and six rebounds as the Thunder bested the Warriors 120-109.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Joe Johnson and Jeff Teague, Boston’s Paul Pierce, Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving, Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Lakers’ Pau Gasol, Miami’s Chris Bosh, Minnesota’s Kevin Love, New Jersey’s Deron Williams, Philadelphia’s Lou Williams, Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge

TheSTN – NFL: Super Bowl Game Capsule

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REGULAR SEASON STAT LEADERS

PASSING
Manning: 359-589-4,933 (3C)-29-16-92.9
Brady: 401-611-5,235 (1C)-39 (1C)-12-105.6 (1C)

RUSHING
Bradshaw: 171-659-3.9-9
Green-Ellis: 181-667-3.7-11 (2C)

RECEIVING
Cruz: 82-1,536 (3L)-18.7-9
Welker: 122 (1L)-1,569 (1C)-12.9-9 (T2C)

OFFENSE
385.1
428.0 (1L)

TAKE/GIVE
+7
+17 (1C)

DEFENSE
376.4
411.1

SACKS
Pierre-Paul: 16.5
Anderson: 10.0

INTs
Webster: 6 (T2C)
Arrington: 7 (T1L)

PR
Ross: 7.1
Edelman: 10.7

KR
D. Thomas: 24.3
Woodhead: 21.9

PUNTING
Weatherford: 45.7
Mesko: 46.5

KICKING
Tynes: 100 (43/43 PAT; 19/24 FG)
Gostkowski: 143 (1C) (59/59 PAT; 28/33 FG)

GIANTS: Have won 7 championships (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956, 1986, 1990, 2007), 3rd most in NFL history. Are 3-1 in SBs, including 17-14 win over NE in SB XLII…Have won 5 in row, outscoring opp. 141-67…TOM COUGHLIN joins BILL PARCELLS as only Giants head coaches to lead 2 teams to SB. Coughlin has led NYG to 5 postseason appearances, tied with Parcells for most in team history. Coughlin notched 7th postseason road victory in NFC Champ. at SF, tied with HOFer TOM LANDRY for most all-time…Giants are 2nd team in NFL history (Arizona, 2008) to reach SB by beating 3 opponents with better reg. season records…Have won past 2 vs. NE (SB XLII & Wk. 9). NYG defeated NE 24-20 in Wk. 9 & team is 3-0 in SBs when facing club Giants played in reg. season…Giants had 2 players selected to Pro Bowl: QB ELI MANNING (2nd) & DE JASON PIERRE-PAUL (1st)…QB Manning was MVP of SB XLII. Has won 7 of past 8 postseason starts. Is franchise postseason passing leader (min. 100 att.) in att. (316), comp. (189), comp. pct. (59.8), yards (2,220), TDs (16) & rating (87.5). Had 330 pass yards in Div. & 316 yards in NFC Champ. Is 2nd player to take team to SB with consecutive 300-yard pass games in Div. & Champ. (HOFer JIM KELLY, 1990). Had franchise-record 4,933 pass yards & 8 300-yard games in reg. season. Has 24 career 300-yard games (incl. playoffs), most in team history. Recorded 7th consecutive season with 3,000+ pass yards & 20+ pass TDs, most in team history. Had 15 4th quarter TD passes in reg. season, most ever in season, topping HOFer JOHNNY UNITAS & PEYTON MANNING…RB BRANDON JACOBS has 4 career rush TDs in playoffs, tied with JOE MORRIS (4) for most in franchise history. Jacobs (424) & RB AHMAD BRADSHAW (408) rank 3rd & 4th in team history with most playoff rushing yards…WR HAKEEM NICKS has 18 catches for 335 yards & 4 TDs in postseason. His 335 yards & 4 TDs are most by Giant in single postseason. His 18 catches are tied for 2nd most by Giant, trailing AMANI TOOMER’s 21 in 2007. Nicks had 7 catches for 165 yards & 2 TDs in Div. & 6 catches for 115 yards & 2 TDs in WC. Is 3rd WR in SB era with 2+ games in single postseason with 100+ yards & 2+ TDs, joining HOFer JERRY RICE (1989) & LARRY FITZGERALD (2008). Nicks had 72-yard TD in WC & 66-yard TD in Div. Is only player in NFL history with 66+ rec. TD in consecutive games in same postseason. Ranked 2nd on team in reg. season with 76 catches, 1,192 yards & 7 TDs. Only player in team history with 75+ catches, 1,000+ yards & 7+ TDs in consecutive seasons. WR VICTOR CRUZ had 10 catches for 142 yards in NFC Champ. His 10 catches tied for 2nd most in playoff game by NYG (PLAXICO BURRESS, 11, 2007 NFC Champ). Had team-record 1,536 rec. yards in reg. season, 193 more than previous mark (1,343, AMANI TOOMER). Had team-high 9 rec. TDs in reg. season, incl. 99-yard TD in Week 16, tied for longest in NFL history. Had 5 rec. TDs of 65+ yards in reg. season, 2nd most in season in NFL history (6, HOFer ELROY “CRAZYLEGS” HIRSCH, 1951). Had 7 100-yard games in reg. season, most by Giant in season. Cruz (1,536) & Nicks (1,192) are 1st set of Giants to each record 1,000+ rec. yards in same season. WR MARIO MANNINGHAM has TD in all 3 playoff games this year & is 1st Giant with TD catch in 3 consecutive games in single postseason…DE Pierre-Paul ranked 4th in NFL during reg. season with 16.5 sacks. Joined HOFer LAWRENCE TAYLOR & MICHAEL STRAHAN as only Giants with 16+ sacks in season. Had sack in Wk. 9 meeting. DE JUSTIN TUCK had 2 sacks in SB XLII, tied for most in postseason game by Giant. Had 1.5 sacks in NFC Champ. DE OSI UMENYIORA has 5.5 career postseason sacks, incl. 3.5 this year. CB COREY WEBSTER led team with career-high 6 INTs in reg. season…K LAWRENCE TYNES had 31-yard FG in OT in NFC Champ. Also had 47-yard FG in OT in 2007 NFC Champ. Is only player in NFL history to score winning points in 2 playoff OT games. Is team leader in postseason points (52) & FGs (11). WR-ST DEVIN THOMAS had 2 FRs in NFC Champ leading to 10 points.

PATRIOTS: Advanced to Super Bowl for 7th time in franchise history (3-3)…With win in Super Bowl XLVI, head coach BILL BELICHICK (3) can tie HOFer CHUCK NOLL (4) for most SB wins by head coach in NFL history. Belichick & QB TOM BRADY will make 5th SB appearance together, most by head coach-quarterback duo all-time. Belichick & Brady (16) have most postseason wins by QB-head coach duo. Belichick (17) is tied with HOFer JOE GIBBS (17) for 3rd-most playoff wins all-time, trailing only HOFers TOM LANDRY (20) & DON SHULA (19)…Brady’s 16 postseason wins are tied with HOFer JOE MONTANA for most playoffs wins by QB in NFL history. Brady has 1,001 passing yards in 4 Super Bowls, 4th-most SB career passing yards (KURT WARNER, 1,156; Montana, 1,142; Elway, 1,128). Brady has 7 career SB TD passes, 4th most all-time. Brady (5,009) needs 381 passing yards to surpass PEYTON MANNING (5,389) for 3rd-most postseason passing yards in NFL history. Brady (36) needs 4 TD passes to join Montana (45) & BRETT FAVRE (44) as only QBs to reach 40 postseason TD passes all-time. Brady (472) needs 10 completions to surpass Favre (481) for most career postseason completions all-time. Has 16-5 (.762) playoff record, best postseason record as starting QB in NFL history (min. 15 starts). Named MVP of SBs XXXVI & XXXVIII. Brady will tie Elway (5) for most SB appearances by QB in NFL history. In 4 career games vs. NYG (incl. SB XLII), Brady has completed 97 of 160 passes (60.6 pct.) for 1,076 yards with 5 TDs vs. 2 INTs & 85.8 passer rating. Brady had 5,235 passing yards in ’11, 2nd-most passing yards in season in NFL history, trailing only DREW BREES (5,476) in ’11…RB BEN JARVUS GREEN-ELLIS registered 1st career postseason rush TD last week. Green-Ellis reached 10+ rush TDs in consecutive seasons (13 in ’10; 11 in ’11)…WR WES WELKER has 46 receptions in 6 career playoff games. Welker had 11 receptions for 103 yards in only career SB appearance (SB XLII vs. NYG). Welker joined CRIS CARTER (122 in ’94 & ’95) as only players to have 120+ receptions twice in career (123 in ’09; 122 in ’11). Joined HOFer JERRY RICE & MARVIN HARRISON as only players to have 4 100-catch seasons. WR DEION BRANCH was named MVP of SB XXXIX. Has 21 career SB receptions, 3rd-most all-time, trailing on HOFer JERRY RICE (33) & ANDRE REED (27). Branch (791) has most career postseason receiving yards in Patriots history…TE ROB GRONKOWSKI has 15 receptions for 232 yards with 3 TD catches in ’11 postseason. Had 8 catches for 101 receiving yards with 1 TD in only meeting vs. NYG (11/6/11). Gronkowski set single-season record for TEs in receiving yards (1,327) & TD receptions (17) in ’11. Became 1st TE in NFL history to lead league in TD catches. TE AARON HERNANDEZ has totaled 191 scrimmage yards (121 receiving, 70 rushing) in past 2 playoff games. Had career-best in catches (79), receiving yards (910) & TDs (7) in ’11…LB JEROD MAYO led club with 95 tackles in ’11. LB BRANDON SPIKES posted 1st career postseason INT last week. LB ROB NINKOVICH had career-best 6.5 sacks this season…DT VINCE WILFORK has 2.5 sacks in past 2 playoff games…CB KYLE ARRINGTON tied for NFL-best with 7 INTs.

TheSTN – NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Game Schedule 02.01.12

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Top 25 Games

6:30 PM (20) Indiana at (22) Michigan
7:00 PM Connecticut at (14) Georgetown
7:00 PM Georgia Tech at (24) Florida State
8:05 PM Illinois State at (12) Creighton
9:00 PM (6) Baylor at Texas A&M
9:00 PM Oklahoma at (8) Kansas
10:15 PM Boise State at (17) San Diego State
10:30 PM Colorado State at (13) UNLV

NCAA Division I Games

7:00 PM Xavier at George Washington
7:00 PM George Mason at Delaware
7:00 PM Oakland at IUPUI
7:00 PM Vermont at Boston University
7:00 PM Drexel at Northeastern
7:00 PM Southern Methodist at East Carolina
7:00 PM Hartford at New Hampshire
7:00 PM Eastern Michigan at Miami (OH)
7:00 PM Fordham at Temple
7:00 PM Massachusetts at Rhode Island
7:00 PM Davidson at Furman
7:00 PM Saint Joseph’s at Richmond
7:00 PM Tulane at Marshall
7:00 PM Georgia State at North Carolina-Wilmington
7:00 PM UMBC at Albany
7:00 PM Toledo at Akron
7:00 PM Ball State at Buffalo
7:00 PM Duquesne at Dayton
7:00 PM Towson at Hofstra
7:00 PM Charlotte at La Salle
7:00 PM Rutgers at Providence
7:00 PM Binghamton at Stony Brook
7:00 PM Bowling Green at Western Michigan
7:00 PM Virginia Commonwealth at William & Mary
7:00 PM Colgate at N.J.I.T.

7:30 PM Texas A&M-CC at Nicholls State

8:00 PM Georgia at Auburn
8:00 PM Evansville at Bradley
8:00 PM North Carolina State at Boston College
8:00 PM St. Bonaventure at Saint Louis
8:00 PM UTEP at Rice
8:00 PM Drake at Indiana State
8:00 PM Northwestern State at Central Arkansas
8:00 PM Maryland at Miami (FL)
8:00 PM Ohio at Northern Illinois
8:00 PM McNeese State at Sam Houston State
8:00 PM Lamar at Southeastern Louisiana
8:00 PM Texas State at Stephen F. Austin
8:00 PM Wyoming at TCU

8:05 PM Wichita State at Missouri State

8:15 PM Memphis at Southern Miss

8:30 PM Cal State Bakersfield at New Mexico State
8:30 PM St. John’s at DePaul
8:30 PM Minnesota at Iowa

9:00 PM Houston at UAB
9:00 PM UTSA at Texas-Arlington

TheSTN – NBA Game & TV Schedule 02.01.12

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Washington at Orlando - 7:00 PM
Sun Sports

Chicago at Philadelphia - 7:00 PM
Comcast Sports Chicago
COMCAST

Toronto at Boston - 7:30 PM

Detroit at New Jersey - 7:30 PM
Fox Sports Detroit
YES

Phoenix at New Orleans – 8:00 PM
Cox Sports Television

Oklahoma City at Dallas – 8:00 PM
FOX SW

Miami at Milwaukee - 8:00 PM
Sun Sports
FSN North – Wisconsin

Indiana at Minnesota - 8:00 PM
Fox Sports North

Houston at San Antonio – 8:30 PM
Fox Sports Net Houston
FOX SW

Charlotte at Portland – 10:00 PM
Fox Sports Carolinas

LA Clippers at Utah – 10:30 PM
ROOT SPORTS

TheSTN – NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Game Schedule

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Top 25 Games

9:00 PM (4) Missouri at Texas

NCAA Division I Games

6:15 PM USC Upstate at Jacksonville State

7:00 PM Kennesaw State at Stetson
7:00 PM Princeton at Pennsylvania
7:00 PM Pittsburgh at West Virginia
7:00 PM Palm Beach Atlantic at UCF
7:00 PM James Madison at East Tennessee State
7:00 PM Morgan State at Hampton
7:00 PM Western Carolina at Wofford

7:05 PM Mercer at Florida Gulf Coast

7:30 PM Jacksonville at Lipscomb
7:30 PM Maryland-Eastern Shore at North Carolina Central
7:30 PM Howard at South Carolina State

8:00 PM North Florida at Belmont
8:00 PM Southeast Missouri State at Eastern Illinois
8:00 PM Delaware State at North Carolina A&T
8:00 PM Coppin State at Norfolk State
8:00 PM Charleston at Samford
8:00 PM Austin Peay at Tennessee State
8:00 PM SIU-Edwardsville at Tennessee Tech

8:30 PM Prairie View A&M at Alabama A&M
8:30 PM Jackson State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff
8:30 PM Grambling State at Mississippi Valley State
8:30 PM Northern Colorado at Northern Arizona

9:00 PM Texas Southern at Alabama State

TheSTN – NBA Game & TV Schedule 01.30.12

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Orlando at Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Sun Sports
COMCAST

Chicago at Washington 7:00 PM
NBA TV

New Orleans at Miami – 7:30 PM
Cox Sports Television
Sun Sports

Minnesota at Houston - 8:00 PM
Fox Sports North
Fox Sports Net Houston

Detroit at Milwaukee - 8:00 PM
Fox Sports Detroit
FSN North – Wisconsin

San Antonio at Memphis – 8:00 PM
FOX SW
SportSouth

Dallas at Phoenix – 9:00 PM
FOX SW

Portland at Utah – 9:00 PM
ROOT SPORTS

Oklahoma City at LA Clippers - 10:30 PM
FSN Prime Ticket
NBA TV

TheSTN – NHL Excitement Continues: Stretch Run Preview

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The 2011-12 NHL regular season resumes Tuesday with 13 games. All-Star captains Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators and Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins will meet in Boston two days after facing off over All-Star Weekend in Ottawa. The Bruins (31-14-2, 64 points) and Senators (27-19-6, 60 points) will meet four times over the last three months of the season. Also Tuesday, one of hockey’s biggest rivalries is stoked when the Vancouver Canucks (30-15-4, 64 points) host the Chicago Blackhawks (29-15-6, 64 points) in a meeting of top Western Conference clubs. The Pittsburgh Penguins (28-17-4, 60 points), winners of seven consecutive games heading into the break, host the Toronto Maple Leafs (25-19-5, 55 points), one of many teams in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY RACE
Eight teams (Detroit, NY Rangers, St. Louis, Boston, Vancouver, Nashville, Chicago, Philadelphia) are within four points of first place for the Presidents’ Trophy, awarded to the Club with the highest regular-season point total. Another four teams (San Jose, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Los Angeles) are within 10 points of the top. Of those teams, Ottawa has played the most games (a League-high 52). The NY Rangers, Boston and San Jose have played the fewest (47).

PLAYOFF CHASE
No team is more than 10 points outside a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Of the teams currently in playoff position, five (Ottawa, Florida, New Jersey, St. Louis, Minnesota) did not make the postseason last year. Another five (Toronto, Winnipeg, Colorado, Dallas, Calgary) are within five points of a playoff spot . . . . First and eighth place in the Eastern and Western Conferences are separated by 11 and 12 points, respectively . . . Four teams (Colorado, Dallas, Calgary, Phoenix) are within three points of the eighth spot in the Western Conference.

DIVISION BATTLES HEAT UP
The top four Central Division teams (Detroit, St. Louis, Nashville, Chicago) are separated by three points . . . Six points separate the top three teams in the Atlantic Division: NY Rangers (66), Philadelphia (63) and Pittsburgh (60) . . . Boston (64), Ottawa (60) and Toronto (55) will face each other eight times as they battle for the Northeast Division title . . . Florida and Washington are tied for the Southeast Division lead with 55 points; they’ll square off four more times . . . The Panthers and Capitals also will have to hold off Winnipeg, which sits five points outside the division lead. The Jets face Washington and Florida six more times . . . Pacific Division rivals San Jose (60) and Los Angeles (58) battle three more times, including a home-and-home series to end the season; Dallas and Phoenix also linger with 52 points each . . . The Canucks (64) lead the Northwest by nine points over the Wild, but will meet twice more in Minnesota to end their season series.

ART ROSS BATTLE
Four players are within five points of the scoring lead and another eight are within nine points . . . Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin (26-32—58), the current League leader, has 11-4—15 in his last 10 games . . . Chicago’s Marian Hossa, who ranks third with 20-33—53, has 3-8—11 during a nine-game point streak.

GOAL/ASSISTS LEADERS
Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay leads the NHL with 32 goals, including 12 in his past 14 games. He had 45 or more goals in each of his last two seasons . . . Jonathan Toews of Chicago and James Neal of Pittsburgh each have 27 goals and are on pace to establish career highs . . . Sixteen other players have scored at least 20 goals and another eight have 19 . . . Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin paces the League with 41 assists . . . Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson isthe NHL’s leading scorer among defensemen by a 12-point margin (Karlsson 47, Florida’s Brian Campbell, 35). The last defenseman with so large a lead in the defense points race at the All-Star or Olympic break was Paul Coffey of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988-89, who owned a 15-point lead over second-place Steve Duchesne of the Los Angeles Kings . . . James Neal and Philadelphia’s Scott Hartnell are tied for the League lead with 13 power-play goals . . . Steven Stamkos and Evgeni Malkin have an NHL-best 40 power-play points.

TheSTN – Super Bowl XLVI: Giants vs Patriots Preview

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It all comes down to this.

On Sunday, February 5, the New York Giants and the New England Patriots will meet in Super Bowl XLVI (6:00 PM ET, NBC) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It marks a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, when the Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14 in one of the most exciting Super Bowls in history.

“It’s a great chess match with two elite quarterbacks and two teams with great traditions and great histories,” says NBC’s AL MICHAELS. “It should be a terrific matchup.”

Super Bowl XLVI is the first Super Bowl in which both starting quarterbacks have won a Super Bowl MVP award. New York quarterback ELI MANNING passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns – including the game-winning 13-yarder to PLAXICO BURRESS with 35 seconds remaining – in Super Bowl XLII and was named the game’s MVP. New England quarterback TOM BRADY has been named Super Bowl MVP twice (XXXVI, XXXVIII) and is one of only four players in NFL history to win the award multiple times, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers JOE MONTANA (XVI, XIX, XXIV), TERRY BRADSHAW (XIII, XIV) and BART STARR (I, II).

“I expect greatness from this game,” says NBC analyst CRIS COLLINSWORTH.

During the 2011 regular season, Brady passed for 5,235 yards and Manning had 4,933 passing yards. The duo combined for 10,168 passing yards, which would be the most ever by opposing starting quarterbacks in a Super Bowl. Brady and Manning combined for 8,142 passing yards in 2007, which would rank fourth all-time.

For the first time in NFL history, the Super Bowl will feature two teams coming off three-point victories. Both Championship Games were decided by three points and the combined differential of six points is the closest ever for the Championship Games. An average of 53.7 million viewers watched the AFC and NFC Championship Games, making it the most watched Championship Game Sunday since January 10, 1982.

“This is a big game for the Giants organization,” says Manning, who is one of only two players (Pro Football Hall of Famer JIM KELLY, 1990) to take his team to the Super Bowl with back-to-back 300-yard passing games in the Divisional Playoff and Championship Game. “This is a big game for every single player who’s going to be playing in this game. You hope that you can go out there and play the best football that you’ve ever played. That’s always the goal.”

New York has won seven NFL championships (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956, 1986, 1990, 2007), the third-most in NFL history. The Giants enter Super Bowl XLVI having won five games in a row, outscoring opponents 141-67. Head coach TOM COUGHLIN has guided the team to a second Super Bowl appearance in his tenure, joining BILL PARCELLS as the only coaches in franchise history to accomplish the feat.

“I’m delighted and excited,” says Coughlin about advancing to Super Bowl XLVI. “These guys have gone out and done it against the best that we’ve played.”

The Giants (9-7) – who defeated Atlanta (10-6), Green Bay (15-1) and San Francisco (13-3) – are only the second team to reach the Super Bowl via playoff victories over three opponents with a better regular-season record than its own (Arizona, 2008).

In the NFC Championship Game, Manning passed for 316 yards and two touchdowns in the Giants’ 20-17 overtime victory at San Francisco. Wide receiver VICTOR CRUZ had 10 catches for 142 yards and his 10 receptions tied for the second-most in a playoff game by a Giant. Wide receiver MARIO MANNINGHAM caught one of Manning’s touchdown passes and is the first player in franchise history with a TD catch in three consecutive games in a single postseason.

“It feels great because it was a tough game,” says Manning. “We had to fight for every yard that we got. I’m just excited about having another chance to go to the Super Bowl and play New England.”

Defensively, defensive end JUSTIN TUCK – who had two sacks against New England in Super Bowl XLII – had 1.5 sacks as the Giants recorded three sacks against the 49ers.

“Our confidence level is high and we feel good about where we are as a team,” says Tuck. “We feel confident that we can play with anybody.”

On special teams, DEVIN THOMAS had two fumble recoveries on punts which lead to 10 points. In overtime, JACQUIAN WILLIAMS forced a fumble on a punt return that was recovered by Thomas. The turnover set up LAWRENCE TYNES’ game-winning 31-yard field goal. Tynes is the only player in NFL history to score the winning points in two playoff overtime games. In the 2007 NFC Championship Game at Green Bay, Tynes converted a 47-yard field goal in OT to send the Giants to Super Bowl XLII.

“It’s my second NFC Championship Game and my second game-winner,” says Tynes. “It’s amazing.”

The Patriots have won 10 consecutive games, with the team’s last loss a 24-20 defeat to the Giants in Week 9. New England has advanced to its seventh Super Bowl and fifth since the 2001 season.

Head coach BILL BELICHICK and QB Brady are headed to their fifth Super Bowl together, the most ever by a head coach and starting quarterback combination. The duo had previously been tied with Pro Football Hall of Famers TOM LANDRY-ROGER STAUBACH (Dallas), CHUCK NOLL-Bradshaw (Pittsburgh) and MARV LEVY-Kelly (Buffalo).

“It’s certainly a great honor to be representing the AFC in this game,” says Belichick. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity versus the Giants, who are a great team. They’ve had a great year and we know this is going to be our toughest game. We have a lot of work cut out for us, but it’s exciting to have the opportunity to meet the challenge.”

Brady passed for 239 yards in the Patriots’ 23-20 win over Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game. He became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to surpass the 5,000-yard mark in the playoffs (5,009), joining BRETT FAVRE (5,855), Montana (5,772) and PEYTON MANNING (5,389).

“We’re a pretty mentally tough team,” says Brady, who will start his fifth Super Bowl and tie Pro Football Hall of Famer JOHN ELWAY for the most Super Bowl starts at QB. “There’s really some resiliency. We’ve shown it all season. We’re always going to fight to the end. It’s great to be part of a team like this.”

Against the Ravens, New England’s defense had three sacks and an interception while holding Baltimore to 20 points.

“Our defense saved us,” says Brady. “I’m proud of this team and my teammates.”

With the Patriots trailing 20-16, Brady rushed for a one-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. It marked the first go-ahead rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter of Brady’s career in both the regular season and playoffs. Brady is also just the third QB to rush for a fourth-quarter game-winning TD in the postseason, joining KENNY STABLER (1976) and BILLY VOLEK (2007).

In his career, Brady is 16-5 (.762) in the postseason and his 16 playoff wins are tied with Montana for the most in NFL history. Belichick has compiled a 17-6 (.739) postseason record and his 17 playoff wins are tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer JOE GIBBS for the third-most in NFL history. They trail only Pro Football Hall of Famers Landry (20) and DON SHULA (19).

TheSTN – NFL Films “Road To The Super Bowl” Debuts On NBC Sunday At 12 Noon ET

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How did the New York Giants and New England Patriots advance to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis? Re-live the journey as only NFL Films can present it on “Road to the Super Bowl” on Super Bowl Sunday, February 5 at 12:00 Noon ET on NBC.

“Road to the Super Bowl” begins with Kickoff Weekend and chronicles the 2011 NFL season utilizing NFL Films’ signature captivating video and sound from on the field and in the locker room from exclusive player and coach wirings.

“For those who love football, this show is red meat,” said NFL Films president Steve Sabol. “No interviews, no talking heads, all action.”

“Road to the Super Bowl” is the longest-running (42 years) and most honored (28 Sports Emmys) annual sports special. “Road to the Super Bowl,” which debuted following the 1969 season, was culled by NFL Films producers from more than 1.7 million feet of game footage to 980 feet for the one-hour special. In addition, more than 400 hours of audio were captured from 133 exclusive coach and player on-field wirings. Original orchestral music, including a 60-person choir, was used in producing the show.