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2B – Daily News – Tuesday, December 7, 2010 Brady, Patriots rout Jets in AFC East showdown N.Y. Jets 3 New England 45 FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady turned this anticipated classic into a classic rout. Brady doesn’t lose many big games, certain- ly not at home and defi- nitely not with so much on the line. He threw for four touchdowns and 326 yards Monday night in New England’s 45-3 romp past the New York Jets for his NFL-record 26th straight regular-sea- son home victory. In surpassing Brett Favre’s mark for consecu- tive wins in the comforts of his own stadium, Brady also lifted the Patriots (10-2) to the best record in the AFC. If this was for bragging rights in the conference, Rex Ryan and the Jets (9-3) will have to be silent for a while. It was a mismatch from the start. The Jets, who had won eight suc- cessive road games, five this season, came in with a vaunted defense and an offense that had come alive behind second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez and big-play receiver Santonio Holmes. But Brady didn’t have to sweat anything in his second straight game with four TD passes and no interceptions — and 12th such game of his career. He hasn’t been picked off in seven consecutive games. New York couldn’t produce a pass rush and its blitzes were fruitless most of the night. With 4:40 remaining in the third quarter, the Patriots already were over their 30.4 points per game average that leads the league. And when the star quarterback wasn’t doing the damage, former Jets running back Danny Woodhead was. He turned a shovel pass into a 50- yard gain, had a 35-yard jaunt with another short Raiders get back to winning ways vs. Chargers Oakland Raiders ALAMEDA (AP) — The Oakland Raiders got back to doing what made them success- ful during a three-game winning streak and got back into the AFC West playoff race as well. In order to stay in contention the Raiders need to prove that the two lopsided losses in the middle of this recent stretch were an aberration and that the four wins surrounding them are evidence of what kind of team they really are. The running game got back on track with 251 yards, Jason Campbell played a mistake-free game in his return as starting quarterback and the defense held high-powered San Diego to one touchdown in a 28-13 victory over the Chargers on Sunday. ‘‘If we just keep running the ball and doing what we do, then I think that’s the Raiders,’’ running back Michael Bush said Monday. ‘‘We come out, pound you, pound you, pound you, throw the ball, then I think we’ll get a lot accomplished.’’ The Raiders (6-6) still trail Kansas City (8-4) by two games in the AFC West and may not be able to afford any more losses if they want to have a realistic chance to make it to the playoffs. That task starts this week with a trip to AFC South-leading Jacksonville (7-5). Oakland then has home games against Denver (3-9) and Indianapolis (6-6), fol- lowed by a season-ending trip to the Chiefs. ‘‘We definitely talk about it. We know at this point pretty much every game is a must-win,’’ safety Michael Huff said. ‘‘We gotta win out and kind of you know get some help, hopefully San Diego beats Kansas City this week. But, the main thing is just kind of playing our game, and winning every game. Once it gets to the end of the year, I think everything takes care of itself.’’ Behind a powerful running game and a stout defensive line, the Raiders won three straight games starting in late October to move into first place in the divi- sion at this point of the season for the first time since the AFC championship season in 2002. Oakland ran the ball 117 times for 679 yards on the way to outscoring Denver, Seattle and Kansas City 115-35 for the fran- chise’s best stretch in years. But the Raiders looked like a completely different team after a bye week, getting outscored 68- 20 in losses to Pittsburgh and Miami. They ran the ball just 28 times for 77 yards in those two games as they struggled to get going in the running game and then abandoned it too quickly. The Raiders spent all week talking about getting back to their identity and now that they did in the win against the Charg- ers they can’t revert to how they played the previous two games. ‘‘We can’t now. If we do, shame on us,’’ coach Tom Cable said. ‘‘If we do, we have no chance to win the division. So we can’t. We don’t have a choice now. That’s what it is.’’ The Raiders ran the ball 52 times against the Chargers to gain their most yards ever in a game against the Chargers. Dar- ren McFadden ran for 97 yards, Michael Bush added 95 and Campbell even got into the act with 37 yards, including a 9-yard keeper for a touchdown on an expertly executed fourth-and-1 fake that set the tone for the game. ‘‘I’ve always kind of felt like if you play good in the line of scrimmage on both sides you have a great chance,’’ Cable said. ‘‘We did that yesterday. As a line coach you know what that does for your team, it takes care of your quarterback, it protects him, helps him when he does want to throw the football.’’ Because of their success early running the ball, the Raiders never had to abandon the strategy and stuck with it on the ground all day long. The players saw the toll it took on the Chargers, who were worn down by the second half as Oakland held the ball for more than 38 minutes. ‘‘For us to be able to do that is pretty amazing,’’ offensive line- man Lansgton Walker said. ‘‘It just shows the fortitude of our offense. Both the coaches and the players.’’ Inconsistent 49ers face must-win against Seattle San Francisco 49ers SANTA CLARA (AP) — Mike Singletary tries to block out the speculation about his uncertain future with San Francisco, insist- ing he refuses to read news- papers or other reports and that he knows full well what could ultimately happen in a matter of a month. ‘‘I think one of the sad- dest things about our society today, anybody can say any- thing and write anything and have no responsibility,’’ Singletary said. ‘‘For me, everything I say I’m respon- sible for. So any kind of reports or whatever that come out, and I know that there are many, I really don’t read them. If it’s true, it’s true. But until I know it’s true, my eyes are on Seat- tle.’’ His once-favored 49ers (4-8), still reeling from their surprising 0-5 start, might be mathematically eliminat- ed from playoff contention if they lose at home Sunday to the NFC West rival Sea- hawks. Team owner John York and his team president son, Jed, have expressed their frustrations with this disappointing season and might decide to fire Single- tary with two years remain- ing on his four-year con- tract. ‘‘If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen,’’ tight ODDS Glantz-Culver Line For Dec.7 NFL Thursday Indianapolis 2.5 (46.5) at Tennessee NCAABasketball Today at St.John’s 13.5 Kansas-x at Marshall 10 1.5 Old Dominion 8.5 at Georgia Tech 4.5 at Iowa at Utah at Utah St. Purdue Michigan St.-x 1 at San Diego Pk at Rutgers 19 NBA Today at Atlanta Denver at Portland 6.5 2.5 at Philadelphia 5.5 at Houston at Dallas 6 9 4 NHL Today at Montreal -160 at Boston -145 at Florida -115 at Calgary -130 at Edmonton -125 Ottawa +140 Buffalo +125 Colorado-105 Tampa Bay +110 Anaheim +105 New Jersey at Charlotte Cleveland Detroit Golden State Phoenix at L.A.Lakers 13 Washington 3.5 8.5 10.5 9 St.Bonaventure Memphis James Madison at East Carolina Georgia N.Iowa Pepperdine Long Beach St. at Valparaiso Syracuse Fresno St. Marist at Loyola Marymount 15.5 Sacramento St. x-at New York end Vernon Davis said. ‘‘But everything that goes on upstairs, we kind of leave that to them.’’ Singletary said Monday he is undecided on his start- ing quarterback — Alex Smith or Troy Smith — for the must-win game with Seattle, which thoroughly shocked San Francisco 31-6 in Week 1. That one still stings. Troy Smith has started the past five games in this season of constant change for the Niners, but Single- tary was contemplating another switch Monday on the heels of Sunday’s 34-16 beating at Green Bay. Troy Smith took over after Alex Smith, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2005 out of Utah, separated his non-throwing left shoulder at Carolina on Oct. 24. There have been so many other fluctuations along the way for this fran- chise. Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye was fired after a loss at Kansas City in Week 3 and replaced by quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson. Brian Westbrook has been thrust into a bigger role after do-everything run- ning back Frank Gore went down with a season-ending NCAABASKETBALL The Top Twenty Five The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 5, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking: Record Pts Pvs 8-0 6-0 9-0 7-0 7-1 7-0 6-2 8-0 1.Duke (65) 2. Ohio St. 3. Pittsburgh 4. Kansas 5. Kansas St. 6. Connecticut 7. Michigan St. 8. Syracuse 9. Georgetown 8-0 10.Baylor 11.Tennessee 12.Villanova 13. Memphis 17.Kentucky 18.BYU 19. Purdue 20.UNLV 21.Washington 22. Minnesota 6-0 6-0 6-1 7-0 14. San Diego St. 7-0 15. Missouri 16. Illinois 6-1 8-1 5-2 8-0 7-1 8-0 5-2 7-1 23.Notre Dame 8-0 24. Louisville 25.Texas 6-0 6-2 1,625 1 1,534 2 1,494 3 1,403 4 1,291 5 1,285 7 1,168 6 1,126 8 1,011 16 990 11 914 13 870 12 802 14 759 17 726 9 715 20 557 10 515 21 432 22 426 24 302 23 294 15 291 25 162 — 146 19 Others receiving votes: Florida 72, Vander- bilt 52, North Carolina 43, Arizona 38, UCF 28, Cleveland St. 13, Gonzaga 9, Texas A&M 9, Cincinnati 6, Northwestern 6, Saint Mary’s, Calif. 5, Temple 3, Wichita St. 3. Monday’s Top 25 results No. 5 Kansas State 89, Alcorn State 55 No. 21 Washington 94, Portland 72 Today’s Top 25 games No.4 Kan.vs.No.13 Memphis, 4 p.m., ESPN No.7 Mich.St.vs.No.8 Syra., 6 p.m., ESPN No. 19 Purdue at Valparaiso, 6 p.m. Today’s other televised game Georgia at Georgia Tech, 4 p.n., ESPN2 fractured right hip last week at Arizona. An inexperienced offen- sive line features a pair of rookies and a center who hasn’t played the position since college. The leader of the line, left tackle Joe Sta- ley, is injured. On Sunday, Westbrook had nine carries for 31 yards and rookie Anthony Dixon nine for 33 — far from what this team can get away with to stay in contention. Sin- gletary had said late last week the Niners needed to be more creative to compete without Gore. Troy Smith went 10 for 25 for 194 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception Sunday, but will Singletary and his staff decide to turn back to Alex Smith because of his knowl- edge of the entire playbook and ability to throw deep? While Davis would pre- fer to know who is going to set up behind center, he knows his job is to worry about catching the ball no matter who’s throwing. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Dallas WL OT Pts GF GA 16 8 2 34 76 69 Phoenix 13 7 6 32 74 72 Kings Central Division Detroit SHARKS 13 9 4 30 78 73 Ducks 15 10 0 30 69 61 13 13 3 29 71 87 WL OT Pts GF GA 17 5 3 37 86 67 Chicago 15 12 2 32 90 84 Columbus 15 10 1 31 70 71 St. Louis 13 9 4 30 67 72 Nashville 12 8 6 30 65 68 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 14 8 3 31 80 64 Colorado 13 10 3 29 91 82 Minnesota 11 11 4 26 63 76 Edmonton 10 12 4 24 70 93 Calgary 11 14 2 24 74 82 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA Pittsburgh 19 8 2 40 91 67 Philadelphia 17 7 4 38 95 69 N.Y. Rangers16 12 1 33 83 77 New Jersey 8 17 2 18 50 81 N.Y. Islanders5 15 5 15 53 83 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Montreal 17 8 2 36 71 53 Boston 14 8 3 31 72 50 Ottawa 12 14 2 26 61 81 Buffalo 11 13 3 25 68 73 Toronto 10 12 4 24 59 76 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Washington 18 8 3 39 96 79 Tampa Bay 15 9 3 33 84 94 Atlanta 15 10 3 33 88 80 Carolina 11 12 3 25 75 84 Florida 11 14 0 22 64 66 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. ————————————————— Monday’s results San Jose 5, Detroit 2 Atlanta 3, Nashville 2, OT Columbus 3, Dallas 2, SO Pittsburgh 2, New Jersey 1 Toronto 5, Washington 4, SO Today’s games Ottawa at Montreal, 4 p.m. Buffalo at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Colorado at Florida, 4:30 p.m. Anaheim at Edmonton, 6:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Calgary, 6:30 p.m. Davis made four receptions for a career-high 126 yards and a 66-yard touchdown grab just before halftime — San Francisco’s longest play from scrimmage this season and Davis’ team-leading fifth TD catch of the year — in the loss to the Packers. Not much else went right for the offense on a day the 49ers had possession for only 22 minutes, 49 seconds to more than 37 minutes for Green Bay. ‘‘Yes, we were on the field a long time but that’s something we could’ve con- trolled, and we didn’t,’’ Sin- gletary said. ‘‘We couldn’t get off the field after a while. That was probably the most disappointing thing. ... (Also) just the overall phys- icality that we didn’t play with. I just thought that we could’ve done a better job, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. We could’ve done a better job tackling.’’ The 49ers managed only four first downs via the rush. NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Lakers WL Pct GB 14 6 .700 — Phoenix 11 9 .550 3 WARRIORS 812 .400 6 KINGS 414 .222 9 Clippers 4 17 .190 10.5 Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 17 3 .850 — Dallas 16 4 .800 1 New Orleans13 7 .650 4 Memphis 8 14 .364 10 Houston 7 13 .350 10 Northwest Division WL Pct GB 16 6 .727 — Utah Denver 13 6 .684 1.5 Okla. City 14 8 .636 2 Portland 9 11 .450 6 Minnesota 5 16 .238 10.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB Boston 16 4 .800 — New York 13 9 .591 4 Toronto 8 13 .381 8.5 Philadelphia 6 14 .300 10 New Jersey 6 15 .286 10.5 Southeast Division WL Pct GB Orlando 15 6 .714 — Atlanta 14 8 .636 1.5 Miami WL Pct GB Chicago 11 8 .579 — Indiana 10 9 .526 1 Cleveland 7 13 .350 4.5 Milwaukee 7 13 .350 4.5 Detroit 7 14 .333 5 ————————————————— Monday’s results Sacramento at L.A. Clippers, late Atlanta 80, Orlando 74 Chicago 99, Oklahoma City 90 Indiana 124, Toronto 100 Miami 88, Milwaukee 78 New York 121, Minnesota 114 Utah 94, Memphis 85 Today’s games Golden State at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Cleveland at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Denver at Charlotte, 4 p.m. New Jersey at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Detroit at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Phoenix at Portland, 7 p.m. Washington at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. 14 8 .636 1.5 Charlotte 7 13 .350 7.5 Washington 6 13 .316 8 Central Division Davis acknowledges everybody will have to come to play Sunday if the Niners have any chance to extend their season and end a seven-year playoff drought. This is it. ‘‘We just have to attack everybody we play pretty much. It’s as simple as that,’’ Davis said. ‘‘We don’t have time to make no mis- takes. We have to go because if we lose to any of these teams, then probably nothing’s going to happen for us. But we have a good shot if we win all four games. That’s what we need to concentrate on. That needs to be our big focus — win each game, one game at a time.’’ NFL AFC West WL T Pct PF PA Kansas City 8 4 0 .667 295 237 RAIDERS 66 0 .500 283 269 Chargers 6 6 0 .500 323 253 Denver East 3 9 0 .250 256 333 WL T Pct PF PA New England 10 2 0 .833 379 269 N.Y. Jets 9 3 0 .750 267 232 Miami Buffalo South 6 6 0 .500 215 238 2 10 0 .167 243 333 WL T Pct PF PA Jacksonville 7 5 0 .583 257 300 Indianapolis 6 6 0 .500 317 290 Houston 5 7 0 .417 288 321 Tennessee 5 7 0 .417 263 235 North WL T Pct PF PA Pittsburgh 9 3 0 .750 267 191 Baltimore 8 4 0 .667 260 201 Cleveland 5 7 0 .417 229 239 Cincinnati 2 10 0 .167 255 322 NFC West Seattle WL T Pct PF PA 6 6 0 .500 240 289 St. Louis 6 6 0 .500 232 237 49ERS 48 0 .333 203 259 Arizona 3 9 0 .250 200 338 East WL T Pct PF PA N.Y. Giants 8 4 0 .667 308 247 Philadelphia 8 4 0 .667 344 281 Washington 5 7 0 .417 222 293 Dallas South 4 8 0 .333 294 336 WL T Pct PF PA Atlanta 10 2 0 .833 304 233 New Orleans 9 3 0 .750 299 227 Tampa Bay 7 5 0 .583 243 251 Carolina 1 11 0 .083 154 307 North WL T Pct PF PA Chicago 9 3 0 .750 246 192 Green Bay 8 4 0 .667 303 182 Minnesota 5 7 0 .417 227 253 Detroit ————————————————— Monday’s result New England 45, N.Y. Jets 3 Thursday’s game Indianapolis at Tennessee, 5:20 p.m. Sunday’s games Oakland at Jacksonville, 10 a.m. Seattle at San Francisco, 1:05 p.m. Atlanta at Carolina, 10 a.m. Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. Cleveland at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Green Bay at Detroit, 10 a.m. N.Y. Giants at Minnesota, 10 a.m. Tampa Bay at Washington, 10 a.m. Denver at Arizona, 1:15 p.m. Kansas City at San Diego, 1:15 p.m. Miami at N.Y. Jets, 1:15 p.m. New England at Chicago, 1:15 p.m. St. Louis at New Orleans, 1:05 p.m. Philadelphia at Dallas, 5:20 p.m. Monday, Dec.13 game Baltimore at Houston, 5:30 p.m. 2 10 0 .167 278 306 pass and made Ryan even more regretful to have let him escape earlier this season. Brady moved into 13th place all-time with 252 TD passes; he has thrown for 27 TDs and been intercepted only four times as the three-time Super Bowl winner makes a strong case for his second league MVP award. NCAAFOOTBALL Bowl Glance Saturday, Dec. 18 New Mexico Bowl At Albuquerque UTEP (6-6) vs. BYU (6-6), 11 a.m. (ESPN) Humanitarian Bowl At Boise, Idaho Northern Illinois (10-3) vs. Fresno State (8-4), 2:30 p.m. (ESPN) New Orleans Bowl Ohio (8-4) vs. Troy (7-5), 6 p.m. (ESPN) Tuesday, Dec. 21 Beef ’O’Brady’s Bowl At St.Petersburg, Fla. Louisville (6-6) vs. Southern Mississippi (8-4), 5 p.m. (ESPN) Wednesday, Dec. 22 MAACO Bowl At Las Vegas Utah (10-2) vs. Boise State (11-1), 5 p.m. (ESPN) Thursday, Dec. 23 Poinsettia Bowl At San Diego San Diego State (8-4) vs. Navy (8-3), 5 p.m. (ESPN) Friday, Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl At Honolulu Hawaii (10-3) vs. Tulsa (9-3), 5 p.m. (ESPN) Sunday, Dec. 26 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl At Detroit Toledo (8-4) vs. Florida International (6-6), 5:30 p.m.(ESPN) Monday, Dec. 27 Independence Bowl At Shreveport, La. Georgia Tech (6-6) vs. Air Force (8-4), 2 p.m. (ESPN2) Tuesday, Dec. 28 Champs Sports Bowl At Orlando, Fla. North Carolina State (8-4) vs. West Virginia (9-3), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN) Insight Bowl At Tempe, Ariz. Missouri (10-2) vs. Iowa (7-5), 7 p.m. (ESPN) Wednesday, Dec. 29 Military Bowl At Washington East Carolina (6-6) vs. Maryland (8-4), 11:30 a.m. (ESPN) Texas Bowl At Houston Baylor (7-5) vs. Illinois (6-6), 3 p.m. (ESPN) Alamo Bowl At San Antonio Arizona (7-5) vs. Oklahoma State (10-2), 6:15 p.m. (ESPN) Thursday, Dec. 30 Armed Forces Bowl At Fort Worth, Texas SMU (7-6) vs. Army (6-5), 9 a.m. (ESPN) Pinstripe Bowl At Bronx, N.Y. Syracuse (7-5) vs. Kansas State (7-5), 12:30 p.m. (ESPN) Music City Bowl At Nashville, Tenn. North Carolina (7-5) vs. Tennessee (6-6), 3:40 p.m. (ESPN) Holiday Bowl At San Diego Nebraska (10-3) vs. Washington (6-6), 7 p.m. (ESPN) Friday, Dec. 31 Meineke Bowl At Charlotte, N.C. Clemson (6-6) vs. South Florida (7-5), 9 a.m. (ESPN) Sun Bowl At El Paso, Texas Notre Dame (7-5) vs. Miami (7-5), 11 a.m. (CBS) Liberty Bowl At Memphis, Tenn. Georgia (6-6) vs. UCF (10-3), 12:30 p.m. (ESPN) Chick-fil-A Bowl At Atlanta South Carolina (9-4) vs. Florida State (9-4), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) Saturday, Jan. 1 TicketCity Bowl At Dallas Northwestern (7-5) vs. Texas Tech (7-5), 9 a.m. (ESPNU) Capital One Bowl At Orlando, Fla. Michigan State (11-1) vs. Alabama (9-3), 10 a.m. (ESPN) Outback Bowl At Tampa, Fla. Florida (7-5) vs. Penn State (7-5), 10 a.m. (ABC) Gator Bowl At Jacksonville, Fla. Michigan (7-5) vs. Mississippi State (8-4), 10:30 a.m. (ESPN2) Rose Bowl At Pasadena TCU (12-0) vs. Wisconsin (11-1), 2 p.m. (ESPN) Fiesta Bowl At Glendale, Ariz. Connecticut (8-4) vs. Oklahoma (11-2), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Jan. 3 Orange Bowl At Miami Stanford (11-1) vs. Virginia Tech (11-2), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN) Tuesday, Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl At New Orleans Ohio State (11-1) vs. Arkansas (10-2), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN) Thursday, Jan. 6 GoDaddy.com Bowl At Mobile, Ala. Miami (Ohio) (9-4) vs. Middle Tennessee (6-6), 5 p.m. (ESPN) Friday, Jan. 7 Cotton Bowl At Arlington, Texas Texas A&M (9-3) vs. LSU (10-2), 5 p.m. (FOX) Saturday, Jan. 8 BBVA Compass Bowl At Birmingham, Ala. Pittsburgh (7-5) vs. Kentucky (6-6), 9 a.m. (ESPN) Sunday, Jan. 9 Fight Hunger Bowl At San Francisco Boston College (7-5) vs. Nevada (12-1), 6 p.m. (ESPN) Monday, Jan. 10 BCS National Championship At Glendale, Ariz. Auburn (13-0) vs. Oregon (12-0), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)