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2B Daily News – Wednesday, January 16, 2013 ENDING (Continued from page 1B) yard touchdown pass to force overtime at Denver last Saturday before beating the top-seeded Broncos. ''And, our guys have handled all those things extremely well. Individually, a lot of our guys — and collectively — have come out of it stronger and better men, and we're a stronger and better team.'' His younger brother, Jim, head man of the 49ers — siblings have never met as head coaches in the Super Bowl — has guided San Francisco to the NFL's final four in both of his seasons. This is John Harbaugh's third conference title game in five years in charge. The 49ers' Harbaugh sees the togetherness and developing maturity of his team as a reason it could reach the franchise's first Super Bowl since winning its fifth in 1995. ''We want to be about that,'' he said. ''But I don't think it's attributed to anything, I think it's just who we are as a team, who our players are. It's a talent and it's character. I've always thought that about our team. ''Being a great teammate, doing the best to your God-given ability each and every time, is a great gift that you can give another man. To have his back. OPEN (Continued from page 1B) fourth-round exit at the Australian Open. Her subsequent trip to the French Open ended in her only first-round exit at a Grand Slam tournament, more painful mentally than physically. Stunned by the defeat in Paris, she hired a new coaching consultant, amended her training regime and won Wimbledon, the London Olympics, the U.S. Open, the season-ending championship and added the 2013 Brisbane International title to her collection. Now she has 36 wins from her last 37 matches. And she decided that she'd ice her ankles, wait for the swelling and bruising and think about medical tests later. KINGS (Continued from page 1B) ''participate in some way'' in the new local ownership group ''if they want to remain a part of this team and this community.'' The mayor called the 49ERS (Continued from page 1B) for me to see because he is very, very good.'' Ten of the current 49ers were acquired during Nolan's regime, including first-team AllPros linebacker Patrick Willis and safety Dashon Goldson, second-teamers defensive tackle Justin Smith and left tackle Joe Staley and key contributors like running back Frank Gore, tight ends Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker, defensive lineman Ray McDonald and cornerback Tarell Brown. That helped transform the organization from a laughingstock that went 2-14 in 2004 in the final season under Erickson into a respectable one that still fell short of the playoffs. ''He turned us around,'' said punter Andy Lee, one of 13 players left from when Nolan coached. ''When he first got here we were the worst team in the NFL. Then we slowly started this climb from being the worst team in the NFL to a mediocre, That's a strong phrase, but I don't think that's just something our guys talk about, I think it's who they are.'' Who the Niners are is quite different this time around. Last season, they used a shutdown defense, strong special teams and a conservative, avoid-mistakes offense to get this far. But quarterback Alex Smith and that offense bogged down too often against the Giants. San Francisco added Randy Moss and Mario Manningham at wideout and still had the superb Frank Gore at running back. But Moss has been a complementary player and Manningham is out with a torn knee. Tight end Vernon Davis, Smith's most reliable target a year ago, has had a lesser role. The big changes? The emergence of receiver Michael Crabtree, the solidification of the offensive line, and, of course, Kaepernick. As he showed in setting a playoff record for QBs with 181 yards rushing, and throwing for 243 in the divisional round against Green Bay — his playoff debut, no less — Kaepernick is a game-breaker. ''I think quarterbacks that have a talent for running the ball can be very effective,'' Jim Harbaugh said, stating precisely what he felt when he left Smith on the bench after the incumbent recovered from a concussion late in the season and went the rest of the way with Kaepernick. ''That's been long known in football, the National Football League as well. A quarterback that can get out of the pocket, run, pick up first downs, that's a threat that the defense has to account for.'' It's also what the 49ers didn't have in their repertoire against New York. Now, they have inserted a whole section of plays in the game plan built around Kaepernick's speed and intermediate hurdler strides. ''There are some quarterback-driven runs that have been added because our quarterbacks are very good at those, and Colin especially,'' Jim Harbaugh said. ''It's already noted that he's very fast. He's very good at reading and executing that type of offense. So, that's the reason.'' And a main reason the people in the Bay Area believe this is the 49ers' year. Across the country in the Chesapeake Bay area, the other Harbaugh's stomping grounds, that conviction is just as strong. Critics say the Ravens are too old, inconsistent and banged-up on defense. That they don't pass protect well. The quarterback Joe Flacco has won a postseason game in each of his five pro sea- sons, yet has no Super Bowl appearances. Plus, the Ravens had every chance to knock off the Patriots last year and failed. But those detractors tend to ignore that Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin have become extremely dangerous in the passing game. That the line has been effective in the playoffs and Flacco barely was bothered by Denver's strong defense last weekend. And that Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata and Ed Reed have Baltimore's D on the upswing. Remember, 14 of Denver's points came on special teams, and the Ravens forced three turnovers by Peyton Manning. Then there's the Lewis retirement factor, which can't be underestimated. ''I think, for me personally, when he announced it, I just thought that Ray Lewis has been in the league for so many years, 17 years, and he only went to the Super Bowl once,'' Ngata said. ''I looked at it as, 'I've never been to the Super Bowl in seven years, and times like this never come around.' ''So, you definitely have to make the most out of it and work real hard to try to get there. I think every individual has worked a little bit harder just to know that we probably will never be in this situation again.'' ''I would really rather not know,'' she said. ''One year I won this tournament and had two bone bruises in both knees. I had no idea. I just knew I was in pain. I think sometimes what you don't know cannot hurt you.'' She expects to at least start her second-round match Thursday against Spain's Garbine Muguruza, who beat Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 4-6, 6-1, 14-12 — the final set lasted more than two hours. ''Oh, I'll be out there,'' Williams said. ''I mean, unless something fatal happens to me, there's no way I'm not going to be competing. I'm alive. My heart's beating. I'll be fine.'' If results go according to rankings, Williams will meet top-ranked Azarenka in the semifinals. But a lot can happen before then. Azarenka has lost 11 of her 12 matches against Williams, including the U.S. Open final. Even if Williams is on one leg, Azarenka is still wary of the 15-time Grand Slam champion. After her 6-1, 6-4 win over Monica Niculescu, she checked the progress in the Williams match. ''I heard she won love and love, so what kind of injury are we talking about?'' she joked. She progressed along with former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who beat Sabine Lisicki of Germany 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, and American teenager Sloane Stephens, who beat Simona Halep of Romania 6-1, 6-1. In a battle of two major winners, 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova defeated 2010 French Open titlist Francesca Schiavone 64, 2-6, 6-2. And 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm upset 12thseeded Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-2, 6-0 to set a record for being the oldest woman to win a singles match at the Australian Open. ''Some players' mothers are younger than me,'' she said, laughing. Murray, playing his first match at a major since winning the U.S. Open and breaking a 76-year drought for British men at Grand Slam tournaments, defeated Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-1, 6-3. No. 2 Roger Federer beat Benoit Paire of France 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 in his first competitive match of the season. Other men progressing included 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic. potential $500 million to $525 million price tag for the Kings an ''outrageous number.'' He admits potential buyers he could pull together in Sacramento will not top that figure, but he also doesn't believe it has to. Johnson said the Maloof family still must repay a $77 million loan to the city and other lenders if they leave. There also could be a potential relocation fee from the NBA that new owners wouldn't have to pay if the team stayed. Subtracting those totals and adding the ''proven support'' Kings fans have shown in the past, Johnson's goal is to line up buyers willing to pay about $400 million to $425 million for the team and argue Sacramento's side to the league. possible playoff team. He did a good job. I really don't have anything negative to say about him. He definitely was part of the turnover part of this organization.'' But the talent Nolan acquired and the work ethic he instilled in the locker room failed to lead to success on the field. The Niners went 4-12, 79 and 5-11 in his three full seasons at the helm. He was fired with a 2-5 record midway through the 2008 season and has spent the past few years as a successful defensive coordinator. After 2 1/2 more years of mediocrity under Mike Singletary, the Niners have turned into a winner the past two seasons under coach Jim Harbaugh. San Francisco has won back-to-back NFC West titles and is in the NFC title game for the second straight season where the 49ers will face Nolan and the Falcons on Sunday. ''Nolan did some good things when he was here, definitely,'' said Goldson, a fourth-round draft pick in 2007. ''But it's just a different feeling around here lately. It's kind of hard to go back to where we were because we've been dealing with a lot of success lately. It's just different.'' Nolan's run was not without its personnel missteps, most notably the first major decision he made. With the top pick in the 2005 draft, Nolan selected Alex Smith instead of local favorite Aaron Rodgers, a decision that set the franchise back. With a different offensive coordinator each season, Smith struggled to become a consistent NFL quarterback. Then there was a notable feud with Nolan when he tried to come back from a shoulder injury in his third season. Smith lacked arm strength and later needed two operations, but Nolan at the time said there was nothing wrong with Smith's shoulder and the issue was confidence. The two have long since moved past that episode and have respect for each other years later. ''I felt like I grew up and learned a lot from that entire situation,'' Smith said. ''We got along really well after that. I saw my fault in it. We definitely moved on. No hard feelings for sure at this point at all. I look back at that as what could I have done differently as a young player in this league. You learn from it. No resentment at all.'' ''We were there two years ago and we prevailed,'' Johnson said. ''We have a very compelling case.'' Smith finally emerged last year in his first season under Harbaugh, helping lead the Niners to the NFC title game, where they lost 20-17 in overtime to the New York Giants. Smith lost his job midway through this season to Colin Kaepernick, who has transformed the San Francisco offense with a running threat out of the pistol formation. It provides a stiff test for Nolan's new defense, but one the Niners are sure he will be up to. ''Absolutely,'' York said. ''He's one of the brightest defensive minds in the league and I know what he brings to the table. He knows our team fairly well. It's definitely going to give them an advantage.'' LANCE ARMSTRONG Anti-doping officials want confession under oath (AP) — A televised confession by Lance Armstrong isn't enough. Anti-doping officials want the disgraced cyclist to admit his guilt under oath before considering whether to lift a lifetime ban clouding his future as a competitive athlete. That was seconded by at least one former teammate whom Armstrong pushed aside on his way to the top of the Tour de France podium. ''Lance knows everything that happened,'' Frankie Andreu told The Associated Press on Tuesday. ''He's the one who knows who did what because he was the ringleader. It's up to him how much he wants to expose.'' Armstrong has been in conversations with U.S. Anti-Doping Agency officials, touching off speculation that he may be willing to cooperate with authorities there and name names. Interviewer Oprah Winfrey didn't say if the subject was broached during the taping Monday at a downtown Austin hotel. In an appearance on ''CBS This Morning,'' she declined to give details of what Armstrong told her, but said she was ''mesmerized and riveted by some of his answers.'' Asked whether the disgraced cyclist appeared genuinely contrite after a decade of fierce denials, Winfrey replied, ''I felt that he was thoughtful, I thought that he was serious, I thought that he certainly had prepared for this moment. I would say that he met the moment.'' She was promoting what has become a two-part special, Thursday and Friday, on her OWN network. Around the same time, World Anti-Doping Agency officials issued a statement saying nothing short of ''a full confession under oath'' would cause them to reconsider Armstrong's lifetime ban from sanctioned events. The International Cycling Union also urged Armstrong to tell his story to an independent commission it has set up to examine claims that the sport's governing body hid suspicious samples from the cyclist, accepted financial donations from him and helped him avoid detection in doping tests. The ban was only one of several penalties handed to Armstrong after a scathing, 1,000-page report by USADA last year. The cyclist was also stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, lost nearly all of his endorsements and was forced to cut ties with the Livestrong cancer charity he founded in 1997. The report portrayed Armstrong as the master- NFL PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE TITLE GAMES Sunday, Jan. 20 San Francisco at Atlanta, Noon (FOX) Baltimore at New England, 3:30 p.m. (CBS) WILD CARD Saturday, Jan. 5 Houston 19, Cincinnati 13 Green Bay 24, Minnesota 10 Sunday, Jan. 6 Baltimore 24, Indianapolis 9 Seattle 24, Washington 14 DIVISIONAL Saturday, Jan. 12 Baltimore 38, Denver 35, 2OT San Francisco 45, Green Bay 31 Sunday, Jan. 13 Atlanta 30, Seattle 28 New England 41, Houston 28 PRO BOWL Sunday, Jan. 27 At Honolulu AFC vs. NFC, 4 p.m. (NBC) SUPER BOWL Sunday, Feb. 3 At New Orleans AFC champion vs. NFC champion, 3 p.m. (CBS) mind of a long-running scheme that employed steroids, blood boosters such as EPO, and a range of other performance-enhancers to dominate the tour. It included revealing testimony from 11 former teammates, including Andreu and his wife, Betsy. ''A lot of it was news and shocking to me,'' Andreu said. ''I am sure it's shocking to the world. There's been signs leading up to this moment for a long time. For my wife and I, we've been attacked and ripped apart by Lance and all of his people, and all his supporters repeatedly for a long time. I just wish they wouldn't have been so blind and opened up their eyes earlier to all the signs that indicated there was deception there, so that we wouldn't have had to suffer as much. ''And it's not only us,'' he added, ''he's ruined a lot of people lives.'' Armstrong was believed to have left for Hawaii. The street outside his Spanishstyle villa on Austin's west side was quiet the day after international TV crews gathered there hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Nearby, members of his legal team mapped out a strategy on how to handle at least two pending lawsuits against Armstrong, and possibly a third. The AP reported earlier Tuesday that Justice Department officials were likely to join a whistleblower lawsuit against Armstrong by former teammate Floyd Landis, citing a source who works outside the government and requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record about the matter. The lawsuit by Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title after testing positive, alleges that Armstrong defrauded the U.S. government by repeatedly denying he used performance-enhancing drugs. The deadline to join the False Claims Act lawsuit, which could require Armstrong to return substantial sponsorship fees and pay a hefty penalty, is Thursday. NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific L.A. Clippers Golden State L.A. Lakers Sacramento Phoenix Southwest San Antonio Memphis Houston Dallas New Orleans Northwest Oklahoma City Denver Portland Utah Minnesota W 30 23 16 14 13 L 9 13 21 24 27 Pct GB .769 — .639 5.5 .432 13 .368 15.5 .325 17.5 W 29 24 21 16 12 L 11 12 18 23 26 Pct GB .725 — .667 3 .538 7.5 .410 12.5 .316 16 W 30 24 20 21 16 L 8 16 18 19 19 Pct GB .789 — .600 7 .526 10 .525 10 .457 12.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic New York Brooklyn Boston Philadelphia Toronto Central Indiana Chicago Milwaukee Detroit Cleveland Southeast W 24 23 20 16 14 L 13 15 17 23 24 Pct GB .649 — .605 1.5 .541 4 .410 9 .368 10.5 W 24 21 19 14 9 L 15 15 17 24 31 Pct GB .615 — .583 1.5 .528 3.5 .368 9.5 .225 15.5 W L Pct GB Miami 24 12 .667 — Atlanta 21 16 .568 3.5 Orlando 13 24 .351 11.5 Charlotte 9 29 .237 16 Washington 7 28 .200 16.5 —————————————————— Tuesday's results Indiana 103, Charlotte 76 New Orleans 111, Philadelphia 99 Brooklyn 113, Toronto 106 L.A. Clippers 117, Houston 109 Denver 115, Portland 111, OT Milwaukee at L.A. Lakers, late Today's games Chicago at Toronto, 4 p.m. Indiana at Orlando, 4 p.m. Brooklyn at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Houston at Dallas, 5 p.m. Denver at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. New Orleans at Boston, 5 p.m. Memphis at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Cleveland at Portland, 7 p.m. Washington at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Miami at Golden State, 7:30 p.m.