Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/22395
Monday Warriors at Magic, 4 p.m., CSNBA Georgetown vs. St. John’s, 4 p.m., ESPN2 Orange Bowl, Stanford vs. Va. Tech, 5:37 p.m., ESPN Sports 1B Monday, January 3, 2011 49ers top Cards 38-7 now. The 41-year-old quarterback sat out Minnesota’s season-ending loss to the Lions on Sunday with a con- cussion, and it appears that perhaps the toughest man to ever play in the NFL had his career end not on the field trying to rally the Vikings to another victory, but on the bench as a third-string rookie floundered in Favre’s place. No one — not even Brett Favre — can play forever. ‘‘I know it’s time, and that’s OK. It is,’’ Favre said after the 20-13 defeat. ‘‘Again, I hold no regrets, and I can’t think of too many players offhand that can walk away and say that. Individually and from a team stand- point, it was way more than I ever dreamed of.’’ He also retired in 2008 with the Packers and 2009 with the Jets, only to return to the field both times when the football bug bit him in the summer. He knows that there will be doubters again. ‘‘I don’t know for me if it’s ever easy,’’ Favre said. MCT photo 49ers Shawntae Spencer (36) and San Francisco 49ers Nate Clements (22) tackle Cardinals’ Tim Hightower (34) in the second quarter in San Francisco, Sunday. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In his likely last hurrah for San Francisco, Alex Smith made his case for a start- ing job elsewhere. Smith threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis in what likely was the quarterback’s final game with the 49ers, and San Francisco beat Ari- zona 38-7 on Sunday in a matchup for last place in the awful NFC West. Smith, the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick who becomes a free agent, passed for 276 yards and two TDs overall and the Niners (6-10) made interim coach Jim Tomsula a winner in what will probably be his only game coaching the team. Tomsula was promoted from his defensive line duties after Mike Singletary was fired last week. Larry Fitzgerald had a 10-yard TD reception from John Skelton among his 11 catches for Arizona (5-11), which failed to win back-to-back games all year. Brian Westbrook had a pair of 6- yard TD runs in the third quarter for San Francisco. Scoreboard NFL Final Glance By The Associated Press AMERICAN CONFERENCE East WL T Pct PF PA y-New Eng. 14 2 0 .875 518 313 x-N.Y. Jets 11 5 0 .688 367 304 Miami Buffalo 4 12 0 .250 283 425 South WL T Pct PF PA y-Indianap. 10 6 0 .625 435 388 Jacksonville 8 8 0 .500 353 419 Houston 6 10 0 .375 390 427 Tennessee 6 10 0 .375 356 339 North WL T Pct PF PA y-Pittsburgh 12 4 0 .750 375 232 x-Baltimore 12 4 0 .750 357 270 Cleveland 5 11 0 .313 271 332 Cincinnati 4 12 0 .250 322 395 West WL T Pct PF PA y-Kans. City10 6 0 .625 366 326 San Diego 9 7 0 .563 441 322 Raiders 8 8 0 .500 410 371 Denver 4 12 0 .250 344 471 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East WL T Pct PF PA y-Philadel. 10 6 0 .625 439 377 N.Y. Giants 10 6 0 .625 394 347 Dallas 6 10 0 .375 394 436 Washington 6 10 0 .375 302 377 South WL T Pct PF PA y-Atlanta 13 3 0 .813 414 288 x-New Orl. 11 5 0 .688 384 307 Tampa Bay 10 6 0 .625 341 318 Carolina 2 14 0 .125 196 408 North WL T Pct PF PA y-Chicago 11 5 0 .688 334 286 x-Green Bay10 6 0 .625 388 240 Detroit 6 10 0 .375 362 369 Minnesota 6 10 0 .375 281 348 West WL T Pct PF PA St. Louis 7 8 0 .467 283 312 Seattle 6 9 0 .400 294 401 49ers 6 10 0 .375 305 346 Arizona 5 11 0 .313 289 434 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division ——— Sunday’s Games Oakland 31, Kansas City 10 Tampa Bay 23, New Orleans 13 New England 38, Miami 7 Detroit 20, Minnesota 13 Atlanta 31, Carolina 10 Pittsburgh 41, Cleveland 9 N.Y. Jets 38, Buffalo 7 Baltimore 13, Cincinnati 7 San Francisco 38, Arizona 7 San Diego 33, Denver 28 Green Bay 10, Chicago 3 Houston 34, Jacksonville 17 N.Y. Giants 17, Washington 14 Dallas 14, Philadelphia 13 Indianapolis 23, Tennessee 20 St. Louis at Seattle, late PLAYOFFS By The Associated Press Wild-card Playoffs Saturday, Jan. 8 New Orleans at St. Louis or Seattle, 1:30 7 9 0 .438 273 333 p.m. (NBC) N.Y. Jets at Indianapolis, 5 p.m. (NBC) Sunday, Jan. 9 Baltimore at Kansas City, 10 a.m. (CBS) Green Bay at Philadelphia, 1:30 p.m. (FOX) Divisional Playoffs Saturday, Jan. 15 TBD Sunday, Jan. 16 TBD Conference Championships Sunday, Jan. 23 AFC, TBA (CBS) NFC, TBA (FOX) Pro Bowl Sunday, Jan. 30 At Honolulu AFC vs. NFC, 4 p.m. (FOX) Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 6 At Arlington,Texas AFC champion vs. NFC champion, 3:21 p.m. (FOX) BOWLS By The Associated Press Subject to Change Friday, Dec. 31 Chick-fil-A Bowl At Atlanta Florida State 26, South Carolina 17 Saturday, Jan. 1 TicketCity Bowl At Dallas Texas Tech 45, Northwestern 38 Capital One Bowl At Orlando, Fla. Alabama 49, Michigan State 7 Outback Bowl At Tampa, Fla. Florida 37, Penn State 24 Gator Bowl At Jacksonville, Fla. Mississippi State 52, Michigan 14 Rose Bowl At Pasadena, Calif. TCU 21, Wisconsin 19 Fiesta Bowl At Glendale, Ariz. Oklahoma 48, Connecticut 20 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) Monday, Jan. 10 BCS National Championship At Glendale, Ariz. Auburn (13-0) vs. Oregon (12-0), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN) Saturday, Jan. 22 At Orlando, Fla. East-West Shrine Classic, 1 p.m. The game affected both teams’ top- 10 picks in April’s draft — exact posi- tioning still to be determined. The teams went 1-2 in the division a year ago and had high hopes entering 2010, with the 49ers favored to win the West. Instead, they began 0-5 and couldn’t produce the franchise’s first winning season since its last trip to the postseason in 2002. Davis finished the year with seven TD receptions, six fewer than a year ago when he tied Antonio Gates’ record by a tight end with 13. Tarell Brown added a late 62-yard intercep- tion return for a touchdown in San Francisco’s second-highest scoring output of the season. Westbrook — clobbered on an around-the-neck tackle by safety Adri- an Wilson late in the first half — had his second big game of the year against the Cardinals. He ran for 136 yards and a score in a 27-6 Monday night victory on Nov. 29 after Frank Gore went down with a season-ending fractured right hip. On Sunday, West- brook became the only active player and one of four overall with 40 career rushing touchdowns and 30 TDs receiving. Smith hit Ted Ginn Jr. on a 37-yard touchdown pass to the right corner of the end zone to put San Francisco ahead 7-0 late in the first quarter. Smith was sacked times in his pre- vious start, a 34-7 loss at San Diego on Dec. 16. Singletary turned back to Troy Smith in last Sunday’s loss at St. Louis, then Tomsula named Alex Smith his starter for the season finale. Alex Smith completed his first six passes before throwing an incomple- tion late in the first quarter to tackle Adam Snyder, who reported eligible. The Niners were 1-for-7 on third downs in the first half and Smith was sacked twice but San Francisco put together a solid second half for a com- manding victory — though not many fans stuck around to see it. It was a dis- mal crowd at Candlestick Park on a cool, overcast afternoon after heavy rain fell over night. ‘‘I’m sure throughout this year, the comment has been made that, ’We’ll wait and see in August or September’ and that’s fine. It’s time. I’m OK with it.’’ If this indeed is the end — for real, this time — for Favre, one of the most colorful and celebrated careers in league history concluded with a season filled with interceptions, injuries and insults. He was picked off 19 times this season and his 69.9 quarterback rating is the lowest of his career. The Vikings sunk to the bottom of the NFC North after starting the season with Super Bowl aspirations, coach Brad Childress was fired during the season and Favre was fined $50,000 for failure to cooperate with an NFL investigation into allegations that he sent lewd photos and messages to a game-day hostess when both worked for the New York Jets in 2008. Favre’s reputation took a serious hit from the humil- iating scandal, which tarnished the image of one of the league’s most popular players. He declined to comment on the fine after the game. His long-awaited union with receiver Randy Moss also was a spectacular failure and his cherished streak of 297 straight starts ended three weeks ago, with a sprained throwing shoulder making it impossible for Favre to let those famously zip-filled passes rip from his right arm. And just for good measure, the Metrodome roof caved in to provide a perfect metaphor for Favre and the Vikings’ 2010, forcing the Vikings to play ‘‘home’’ games at Detroit and at the University of Minnesota’s outdoor stadium in December. ‘‘It’s been a wonderful experience for me,’’ Favre said. ‘‘This year did not work out the way we would have hoped, but that’s football. I don’t regret coming back. I enjoyed my experience here.’’ Bush, Campbell lead Raiders past KC KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — If this turns out to be Tom Cable’s last year as Oakland’s head coach, at least he’ll know he made history. After beating Kansas City 31-10 Sunday in their regular-season finale, the 2010 Raiders became the only team since the 1970 merger to go unbeaten in their division and still not make the playoffs. The short-handed Raiders (8-8) wrapped up a division record of 6-0, while the Chiefs (10-6) went 2-4 in the division and will host the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday at 1 p.m. EST as AFC West champions. The Chiefs are the No. 4 seed, the Raiders are through for the year. ‘‘We are disappointed because we are not going to the playoffs, but at the same time we stuck to the goal and stuck to the plan as we have done very week, and we got our eighth win,’’ said Cable, whose job status with the Raiders has been the subject of speculation. ‘‘I’m very happy about that.’’ Michael Bush rushed for 137 yards and Jason Camp- bell threw a TD pass for the Raiders, who beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadi- um for the fourth year in a row and ruined their perfect home record. Running back Darren McFadden and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Richard Seymour were inactive because of injuries, but the Raiders dominated from End of the line? Favre says it is Brett Favre was the NFL’s ultimate iron man for 19 years, inspiring coaches and teammates with unparal- leled toughness and thrilling fans with a daredevil’s verve and a showman’s sense of the moment. Yet the once-irrepressible Favre never looked older or more fragile than in year No. 20. The magic of last season, and most of his brilliant career, never seemed farther away. It had to end some time. And Favre says that time is MCT photo Raiders’ linebacker Kamerion Wimbley (96) is congratulated by teammates cornerback Mike Mitchell (34) and defensive end Jarvis Moss (94) after he sacked Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. start to finish, intercepting two of Matt Cassel’s passes and getting seven sacks. The interceptions both led directly to Oakland’s last two scores. Jacoby Ford scored on a 10-yard reverse after Michael Huff’s inter- ception, and Stanford Routt returned a pick 22 yards for the Raiders’ final TD when Cassel was hurried while throwing from his end zone. The Chiefs were still digesting their lopsided loss several hours later when Indianapolis beat Tennessee 23-20 and determined their seed and first-round oppo- nent. The Chiefs’ worst home game of the season came on the heels of news that offen- sive coordinator Charlie Weis is returning to college coaching to become Flori- da’s offensive coordinator. Weis, in one year with the Chiefs, has been given much credit for developing Cassel into a topflight quar- terback and turning Jamaal Charles into a Pro Bowl running back. Weis was not made available to the media. The Raiders posted their best record since 2002 amid talk that Cable may be out; the team went to 17-27 since he became head coach four games into the 2008 season. It was the first time since ’02, when Oakland went to the Super Bowl, that it didn’t lose at least 11 games.