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Tehama Tracker Thursday's results 1B Sports Weekend Jan. 12-13, 2013 BOYS HOOPS Oroville 39 Red Bluff 60 GIRLS HOOPS Red Bluff 37 Kaepernick passes multiple-choice test 42 Oroville NFL PLAYOFFS | Green Bay at San Francisco, 5 p.m. Saturday on FOX Red Bluff Chelsey Bushnell — 14 pts Brittany Clatty — 8 pts Payten McKerras — 7 pts Daisy Brose — 6 pts Friday's results BOYS /GIRLS BASKETBALL Visit redbluffdailynews.com for game coverage of the Red Bluff Spartans boys and girls basketball games against Paradise on Friday. Today's games WRESTLING Red Bluff At Oak Ridge Tournament Corning At Sutter Tournament PLAYOFFS Packers 49ers FOX 5 p.m. Baltimore Denver CBS 1:30 p.m. Sunday's games PLAYOFFS Seattle FOX Atlanta 10 a.m. Houston New England CBS 1:30 p.m. NBA Warriors CSNB New England 5 p.m. Monday's games NBA Cleveland CSNB New England 5 p.m. (MCT) — GREEN BAY, Wis. — The difference between Colin Kaepernick and Alex Smith is obvious. It's entertainment value. Suddenly, the San Francisco 49ers' offense has upgraded from VCR to Blu-ray. Kaepernick can rocket a ball 40 yards downfield with the effortless flick of a wrist. In the open field, he's a gazelle. The 6-foot-4, 230pound quarterback is a rare athlete on the run. And — as well-documented in a Twitter uproar — his arms are swathed with (biblical) tattoos. At first glance, he doesn't neatly fit into the preconceived definition of an NFL quarterback. Thus, the easy thing to do is to stereotype Kaepernick as some hybrid, new-age quarterback. The 8-second video clip never does Kaepernick justice. His game isn't rooted in pure athleticism. "He's a coach on the field," said Kaepernick's offensive coordinator in high school, Brandon Harris. "That was exactly him. Don't let the tattoos and everything fool you. This guy's an intellectual." Drooling over Kaepernick's physical tools somewhat cheapens the product. There's substance beneath the style. Arguably his best attribute is smarts. Watching film this week, the Packers see a 25-year-old progressing through one, two, three reads before making a decision. They see a quarterback who scored a remarkable 37 on his Wonderlic test and earned a 3.5 grade-point average in college at Nevada. Seven starts into his career, Kaepernick is "before his time," Packers cornerback Tramon Williams said. "His reads," Williams said. "Most quarterbacks in their first year, it's hard to get out of their first read. For him to get to his second and third read, that's impressive for a guy who didn't start off MCT file photo 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick scrambles against Miami last year. as the starter." In a strange twist of irony, a Packers quarterback who grew up watching Joe Montana and a 49ers quarterback who grew up watching Brett Favre clash in the NFC divisional playoffs tonight. For 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh to sit Smith — the overall No. 1 pick in 2005, the proven commodity, the one who led San Francisco to the NFC Championship Game last season — he needed to trust Kaepernick. So far, the quarterback has delivered. There's deep thought behind the highlights. Athleticism and arm strength can be useless without decision-making. In a win against Arizona, Kaepernick looked right, pump-faked, looked left briefly and then gunned a 27-yard deep post to tight end Delanie Walker. Against New England, when the deep middle safety cheated inside, Kaepernick struck. He knew he had an open Randy Moss for a 24-yard touchdown. Kaepernick's 8.32 yards per pass attempt ranks first in the league. Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers has confused first- and secondyear quarterbacks in the past. Kaepernick's football IQ will be most important in this one. "He studies the game. He's unbelievable," said Harris, who coached Kaepernick at Pittman High (Calif.). "A lot of the reasons he's making those throws downfield is that he's getting the 'Niners in the right plays." Granted, he's not quite a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. But one NFC scout sees the 49ers' growing confidence in Kaepernick in the option and under center. "They think a lot of him in terms of handling the offense and making those decisions at the mesh point when they're doing the zone read stuff," the scout said. Green Bay is taking notice. If nothing is available downfield, that's when Kaepernick will take off, Williams said. In coverage, safety Morgan Burnett says he can "make you pay" if you slip up. And while, Seattle's Russell Wilson, Indianapolis' Andrew Luck and Minnesota's Christian Ponder all had running ability, inside linebacker A.J. Hawk agreed the Packers haven't faced a quarterback this dynamic all season. "He's definitely a dualthreat quarterback," Hawk said. "There's a reason he's in there playing. He causes a lot of problems for a defense. He's definitely unique." By "unique," Hawk is alluding to Kaepernick's four years in Chris Ault's pistol offense at Nevada. In the pistol, the quarterback lines up 4-5 yards behind center with the tailback 3 yards behind the quarterback. Kaepernick's breakaway speed dizzied defenses to the tune of 4,000-plus rushing yards. In 2009, he was selected as a pitcher by the Chicago Cubs. In 2011, he ran 4.53 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine. But Kaepernick's game is based on smarts first. By comparison, Wilson scored a 28 on his Wonderlic test and Robert Griffin III had a 24. Harris said Kaepernick didn't even run that much in high school. He used his head, his arm. When Kaepernick was a freshman at Nevada, Harris remembers the quarterback coming home and drawing up Nevada's entire protection scheme. And "two hours after being drafted," Harris said, Kaepernick was studying film with Harbaugh in San Francisco. He wanted to get an immediate jump on the offense. This part of the game attracted him most. The question now is how Kaepernick handles the moment, the pressure. A year ago, for one game anyway, Smith was brilliant. He threw for 299 yards and had four total touchdowns in San Francisco's 36-32 win over New Orleans. Pointing to Kaepernick's "firsts," Harris doesn't see the quarterback wilting away. In his first NFL start, Kaepernick posted a 133.1 passer rating in a 32-7 blowout of the Chicago Bears. Next up, his first postseason start — a showdown Kaepernick called just "another football game to me." "He's not going to be intimidated," Harris said. "He's a competitive dude, he's a confident dude. Fear is something that doesn't cross my mind when I think about him." Intelligence is. For San Francisco to beat Green Bay, Kaepernick probably will need to lean on this more than anything. Around town NFL PLAYOFFS | Baltimore at Denver, 1:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS Simpson University will host an evening with renowned baseball broadcaster Jon Miller, known as the "Voice" of the San Francisco Giants, on Sunday, Feb. 10, inside its gymnasium at 2211 College View Drive. The event is a fundraiser to benefit the Redding Community Baseball Field, a first-class, regulation-sized field being built on the university's campus for area youth and collegiate teams. Baseballthemed attire is encouraged. The 5:30 to 7 p.m. event (doors open at 5) will include baseball stadium-themed food, silent and live auctions, and tales from the legendary Miller, who has announced Giants games for 16 seasons on KNBR Radio and NBC Bay Area. Tickets cost $30 per person, or $300 for a table of 10. Sponsor tables can be purchased for $500 and include a photo with Miller prior to the event and acknowledgement in the event program. Seating is limited; tickets can be purchased online at simpsonu.edu/jonmiller. Lewis, Manning meet for the last time On the tube Saturday GOLF 6 a.m. TGC — European PGA Tour, Volvo Champions, third round, at Durban, South Africa (same-day tape) 4 p.m. TGC — PGA Tour, Sony Open, third round, at Honolulu MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 8 a.m. ESPN2 — Georgetown at St. John's 9 a.m. ESPN — Duke at NC State 10 a.m. ESPN2 — Tennessee at Alaba- DENVER (AP) — Sometime after the season is over, Peyton Manning will sit down with Ray Lewis and congratulate him on a job well done. During Lewis' 17-year career, he redefined his position and cemented himself as one of the most fearsome players in the game. What Manning hopes to avoid is congratulating Lewis on winning a second Super Bowl. In what could be the last game for Baltimore's seven-time All Pro linebacker, who is retiring after this season, the Broncos and Ravens meet today in the AFC divisional playoffs. Two NFL icons, each three wins away from a second championship. "I've addressed it every time I've played against him. He's an excellent player," said Manning, who'd rather share his most heartfelt praise for Lewis with the man himself than with the media. "He's special. That's all you can say." Special as Lewis may be, Manning has won his last nine games against the Ravens. Befitting a player who thinks about Super Bowls above all else, only one of the defeats really sticks with Lewis: a 15-6 loss to the Colts in the 2006 divisional playoffs. Indianapolis then won the Super Bowl. "We gave up five field goals to him and they went on to win the ma 11 a.m. ESPN — North Carolina at Florida St. NBCSN — Butler at Dayton Noon ESPN2 — Oklahoma St. at Oklahoma 1 p.m. NBCSN — Drexel at James Madison 3 p.m. NBCSN — Penn at Princeton 5 p.m. NBCSN — Colorado St. at San Diego St. 8 p.m. FSN — Washington at Stanford Super Bowl," said the inside linebacker, who returned from a biceps injury last week and finished with 13 tackles in a 24-9 win against the Colts. "That hurts to lose to somebody you thought you had beat and then they go on to win the Super Bowl. All the other times, whether you win or not, there's only one champ at the end of the day, and if that isn't you or the team that beat you, then so be it." The Broncos (13-3) are ninepoint favorites against the Ravens (11-6) and the odds-on favorite, at 3-1, to win the title. And while Lewis may carry the baggage from the game six years ago, it's the meeting between these teams a mere four weeks ago in Baltimore that holds the most weight in the respective locker rooms this week. Denver won that game 34-17, though it really wasn't that close. Manning threw for only 204 yards, but Knowshon Moreno rushed for 115 as the Broncos built a 31-3 lead. The Ravens, playing without Lewis that day, got a couple courtesy scores at the end. For Denver, it was supposed to be the first truly stern test during what has become an 11-game winning streak, compiled mostly against teams with losing records that were out of the playoff picture. For Baltimore, it was a humbling comedown, but one the NBA 5 p.m. WGN — Phoenix at Chicago PREP BASKETBALL 1 p.m. ESPN — Huntington Prep (W.Va.) vs. Cape Henry (Va.), at Portsmouth, Va. WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 1 p.m. FSN — West Virginia at Kansas St. Sunday GOLF 6 a.m. TGC — European PGA Tour, Volvo Champions, final round, at Dur- Ravens have spent this week excusing, going with a variety of explanations: Lewis and several others were out of the lineup, Broncos receivers pushed off too much, etc. "We'll make it different," said Ravens receiver, Anquan Boldin, in a tone-setting statement that came after Baltimore's win in the wild-card round. Boldin got shut out in the first meeting against the Broncos. The Broncos have not been big on bravado all season and they're not changing a thing for the playoffs. With Manning setting the tone, they remain focused and sound very much like a team that isn't taking anything for granted — not even a rematch against a team Denver beat by 17 on the road. "That was then and we're getting ready for now," defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said. "It was almost a month ago. We had a plan, went up there and we played pretty well. Each week we start fresh and talk to our guys about the things that they're good at, the things we need to be able to limit." In addition to Boldin, who had 145 yards receiving against the Colts, the Broncos must keep tabs on versatile running back Ray Rice. They did that well in the first meeting, when Rice finished with 38 yards rushing and 3 receiving. Baltimore was trailing 10-0 late in ban, South Africa (same-day tape) 4 p.m. TGC — PGA Tour, Sony Open, final round, at Honolulu MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 10:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. CBS — Michigan at Ohio St. TENNIS 3:30 p.m. ESPN2 — Australian Open, first round, at Melbourne, Australia Midnight ESPN2 — Australian Open, first round, at Melbourne, Australia WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL the second quarter when Chris Harris picked off Joe Flacco's pass and returned it 98 yards for a touchdown. Game over. "Before that turnover, that's when the turn of events happened with guys out," Rice said. "We aren't going to make any excuses, but I don't want to go into that game letting their defense dictate how we play ball. We have a certain way we play around here. It's playoff football." The Broncos like to think they've been playing playoff football for a while. Manning certainly has. All the doubts about his throwing motion, the strength of his neck and the chemistry with his receivers have pretty much been erased over a season in which he threw for 4,659 yards and 37 touchdowns. One of the few remaining question marks is Manning's 0-3 playoff record in games played when the temperature is below 40 degrees. The high in Denver on Saturday is forecast to be 20. Manning has been practicing and playing with a glove on his throwing hand for the last few weeks — a nod to the reality of the changed feel of his grip since his neck surgeries. Everything else, however, remains the same concerning his preparation. 9:30 a.m. FSN — Oklahoma St. at Texas 11 a.m. ESPN2 — Nebraska at Penn St. 11:30 a.m. FSN — Baylor at Kansas 1 p.m. ESPN2 — California at Stanford 1:30 p.m. FSN — Southern Miss. at Memphis AUTO RACING 11:30 p.m. NBCSN — Dakar Rally, stage 9, San Miguel de Tucuman to Cordoba, Argentina (delayed tape) 4 p.m. ESPN — Louisville at UConn Monday Midnight ESPN2 — Australian Open, MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 6 p.m. ESPN — Baylor at Kansas TENNIS 11 a.m. ESPN2 — Australian Open, first round, at Melbourne, Australia (sameday tape) 6 p.m. ESPN2 — Australian Open, first round, at Melbourne, Australia first round, at Melbourne, Australia