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2B – Daily News – Friday, January 14, 2011 GREEN BAY(11-6) at ATLANTA(13-3) BALTIMORE (13-4) at PITTSBURGH (12-4) NEW YORK JETS (12-5) at NEW ENGLAND (14-2) Saturday, 5 p.m., FOX OPENING LINE — Atlanta by 1 1/2 RECORD VS. SPREAD — Green Bay 10-7, Atlanta 11-5 SERIES RECORD — Tied 13-13 LAST MEETING — Falcons beat Packers 20-17, Nov. 28, 2010 bye LAST WEEK — Packers beat Eagles 21-16; Falcons PACKERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (9), RUSH (24), PASS (5) PACKERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (5), RUSH (18), PASS (5) FALCONS OFFENSE — OVERALL (16), RUSH (12), PASS (15) FALCONS DEFENSE — OVERALL (16), RUSH (10), PASS (22) STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Packers coming off first road playoff win since beating 49ers in San Fran- cisco for 1997 NFC championship. ... Green Bay is 4-5 during divisional round of playoffs; Atlanta is 2-4. ... Fal- cons beat Packers 20-17 during regular season on Matt Bryant’s 47-yard field goal with 9 seconds remaining. ... Green Bay has league’s third-best winning percentage in postseason with 26-16 record (.619). By comparison, Atlanta’s playoff mark is 6-9, though Falcons are 3-1 at home. ... Falcons went 7-1 at Georgia Dome during regu- lar season, losing only to New Orleans 17-14 in next-to- last week. Since start of 2008 season, Atlanta has best home mark in NFC (20-4) and trails only New England (21-3) overall. ... Atlanta has home-field advantage in NFC playoffs for only second time in team history. It first occurred in 1980, when Falcons lost to Dallas 30-27 at old Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium in divisional round. ... Will be third playoff meeting between Packers and Fal- cons. During 2002 season, Atlanta became first road team to beat Packers in postseason at Lambeau Field, winning 27-7 behind Michael Vick and suffocating defense. Green Bay won wild-card matchup 37-20 in 1995. ... Green Bay’s six losses this season have been by a combined 20 points. The 3.33 average margin is lowest in NFL. ... Atlanta WR Roddy White led NFL with career-best 115 catches. He ranked second with 1,389 yards, trailing Den- ver’s Brandon Lloyd (1,448). ... Packers have never trailed by more than seven points in a game this season. ... Fal- cons were least-penalized team in league, flagged just 3.6 times per game. Green Bay ranked third at 4.7. ... Both teams also ranked among top 10 in turnover margin, with Atlanta fourth and Packers ninth. ... Green Bay had three receivers with at least 50 catches for first time in franchise history: Greg Jennings (76), Donald Driver (51) and James Jones (50). ... Falcons will have to contend with player that wasn’t a factor in their first meeting. RB James Starks rushed for 123 yards in wild -card win over Philadelphia, more than he had during entire regular season. ... Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has passed for seven TDs in first two career playoff games, an NFL record. Five QBs had pre- viously shared mark with six. ... Falcons QB Matt Ryan has a 20-2 career record as starter at the Georgia Dome. ... Green Bay allowed just 15 points a game during regular season, ranking second in league behind Pittsburgh (14.5). In five of last nine games, Packers allowed seven points or less. SEATTLE (8-9) at CHICAGO (11-5) Saturday, 1:30 p.m., CBS OPENING LINE — Pittsburgh by 3 1/2 RECORD VS. SPREAD — Baltimore 9-8, Pittsburgh 9-6-1 SERIES RECORD — Steelers lead 20-12 LAST MEETING — Steelers beat Ravens 13-10, Dec. 5, 2010 bye LAST WEEK — Ravens beat Chiefs 30-7, Steelers RAVENS OFFENSE — OVERALL (22), RUSH (14), PASS (20) RAVENS DEFENSE — OVERALL (10), RUSH (5), PASS (21) (11), PASS (14) STEELERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (14), RUSH STEELERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (2), RUSH (1), PASS (12) STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Based on win- ning percentage, Ravens (9-5, .643) and Steelers (31- 10, .620) own NFL’s top two playoff records. Baltimore is 7-3 in road playoff games. Steelers are 18-8 at home, 5-3 since 2001. Pittsburgh is 7-1 in playoffs since 2005, with only loss to Jacksonville in wild-card round in 2007. ... Steelers, Ravens tied for AFC North title, but Pittsburgh won tiebreaker with better division record. ... All but one of last seven Ravens-Steelers games were decided by 4 points or fewer. ... Pittsburgh is 2-0 against Ravens in postseason, winning during 2001, 2008 sea- sons. Pittsburgh beat Baltimore 23-14 in AFC champi- onship game two seasons ago before defeating Arizona 27-23 in Super Bowl. ... Neither Ravens nor Steelers have allowed 100-yard rusher in last 14 playoff games. Washington (17 games) has longest current streak. Steelers allowed average of 62.8 yards rushing per game this season, third-lowest since 1970 NFL merger. ... Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is 8-2 in postseason. Ravens’ Joe Flacco is first QB to start and win playoff game in each of first three seasons. ... Ravens coach John Harbaugh is 2-5 against Pittsburgh, but he and Barry Switzer are only two NFL head coaches to win playoff games in each of first three seasons. ... Ravens RB Ray Rice averaged 128.3 yards rushing and receiv- ing in his last three playoff games. Rice is only RB in last 50 games to run for at least 100 yards against Pitts- burgh. He gained 141 yards in 23-20 Ravens loss at Heinz Field on Dec. 27, 2009. ... Ravens RB Willis McGahee has four rushing TDs in his last four playoff games. ... Baltimore has 29 interceptions in 14 postsea- son games, including three vs. Kansas City. ... By win- ning, Steelers would close within one victory of Cow- boys (33 wins) for most in postseason. Dallas has appeared in 57 playoff games, Pittsburgh in 51. Pitts- burgh would advance to 15th conference title game, surpassing Dallas (14) for most since 1970. ... Steelers are 8-0 in playoffs against division opponents since 1970 mer ger. Their only comparable loss was in 1947, when they were beaten by Philadelphia in one-game Eastern Conference playoff for right to advance to NFL title game. ... Steelers WR Hines Ward needs one catch to move past Thurman Thomas (76 catches) for fifth most playoff receptions. ... Steelers LB LaMarr Wood- ley has eight sacks in four playoff games. Sunday, 10 a.m., FOX OPENING LINE — Chicago by 9 1/2 RECORD VS. SPREAD — Seattle 8-9-0; Chicago 9- 6-1 SERIES RECORD — Seahawks lead 8-5 LAST MEETING — Seahawks beat Bears 23-20, Oct. 17, 2010 LAST WEEK — Seahawks beat New Orleans 41-36; Bears bye SEAHAWKS OFFENSE — OVERALL (28), RUSH (31), PASS (19) SEAHAWKS DEFENSE — OVERALL (27), RUSH (21), PASS (27) PASS (28) PASS (20) BEARS OFFENSE — OVERALL (30), RUSH (22), BEARS DEFENSE — OVERALL (9), RUSH (2), STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Matt Has- selbeck threw for 242 yards and touchdown in first meeting, Mike Williams had 10 catches and 123 yards and Seattle’s defense sacked Jay Cutler six times. Seattle was coming off bye and had made sev- eral big moves leading up to game, trading receiver Deion Branch to New England and acquiring Mar- shawn Lynch from Buffalo. Cutler, who was 17 of 39, dropped back to pass 47 times in that game while handing it off just 12 times. ... Bears beat Seahawks 27-24 in OT in divisional playoff game on way to Super Bowl four years ago, winning on Robbie Gould’s 49-yard field goal. Chicago’s Rex Gross- man threw for 282 yards in that game. ... Only 21 of 53 players on Seahawks’ active roster were with team last season. ... Lynch’s tackle-breaking, 67- yard TD run last week caused seismic event to be recorded by sensors outside Qwest Field. ... Hassel- beck threw four TD passes last week. Three-time Pro Bowler is 5-5 in 10 postseason starts for Seattle. ... Bears had better record on road (6-2) than at home (5-3) in regular season. ... Bears in playoffs for 25th time and third in seven seasons under coach Lovie Smith. Chicago is 16-17 in postseason, including 11- 7 at home. ... Offense had 258 rushing attempts and 276 pass plays (attempts plus sacks) during final nine regular-season games. ... Bears defense held offenses to 256 points (16 per game), fourth fewest in NFL. Chicago allowed 14 passing TDs, second fewest in NFL. ... Bears had 35 takeaways, tied for third in league. ... Cutler threw for 3,274 yards, third in franchise history, and became first Bears QB to throw for 3,000 in back-to-back seasons. ... RB Matt Forte ran for 717 yards over final nine games while averaging 4.9 per carry, eighth in league during that span. Forte finished with 1,069 yards rushing and 547 receiving, joining Walter Payton as only Bear with 1,000 yards rushing and 500 receiving in same season. He also had three receiving TDs, tied for most among NFL running backs this season. ... Devin Hester set NFL record with his 14th career kick return for a TD, and tied Eric Metcalf’s record with his 10th punt return TD. His 17.1-yard average on punt returns was best ever among those with 30 or more in a season. Auburn QB Cam Newton to enter draft MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft after leading Auburn to a national championship and drawing nearly as much attention for a pay- for-play scandal as for his dynamic performances. Auburn released a statement Thursday night announcing the quarter- back’s decision following his lone year as a major college starter. Newton led the Tigers to their first national title since 1957 and a 14-0 season with a 22-19 victory over Oregon on Monday night. ‘‘This decision was dif- ficult for me and my fami- ly,’’ Newton said, adding that he made it after talk- ing to coach Gene Chizik and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. ‘‘It’s been a blessing for me to be a part of some- thing so great,’’ he said. ‘‘Any time you win games it’s a big deal, but for this school to win a BCS national championship, what a way to make peo- ple happy. Auburn is a special place that I can call home.’’ The former backup to Tim Tebow at Florida arrived after leading Blinn College in Texas to a junior college national championship and won on a much bigger stage with the Tigers. NCAA Thursday’s Top 25 results Minnesota 70, No.8 Purdue 67 Stanford 58, No.17 Washington 56 Today’s Top 25 games No games scheduled Sunday, 1:30 p.m., CBS OPENING LINE — New England by 8 1/2 RECORD VS. SPREAD — New York 10-7; New England 11-5 SERIES RECORD — Tied 51-51-1 LAST MEETING — Patriots beat Jets 45-3, Dec. 6, 2010 LAST WEEK — Jets beat Colts 17-16; Patriots bye JETS OFFENSE — OVERALL (11), RUSH (4), PASS (22) (6) JETS DEFENSE — OVERALL (3), RUSH (3), PASS PATRIOTS OFFENSE — OVERALL (8), RUSH (9), PASS (11) PATRIOTS DEFENSE — OVERALL (25), RUSH (11), PASS (30) STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Fierce rivals split season series with both winning at home, the Jets with 28-14 victory Sept. 19 and the Patriots with 45-3 victory Dec. 6. ... Tom Brady is 14-4 against Jets, including 1-0 in playoffs. ... Since 2000, Jets’ five wins at Foxborough are most by a Patriots opponent during that span. ... Jets will set franchise record for road victories in a season with their eighth if they defeat Patriots. They’re tied with last year’s team, which won seven away from home on way to AFC championship game. ... In four postseason games under Rex Ryan, Jets averaging 148.8 yards rushing. Shonn Greene has 374 yards in those games, already ranking third in franchise postseason history in just his second NFL season. ... QB Mark Sanchez is 3-1 in postseason with 4 TDs and 3 INTs and 83.2 QB rating. Had solid sec- ond half vs. Indianapolis, leading Jets on winning drive with less than minute left by completing all three of his passes for 45 yards. Said his sore right shoulder, which had been bothering him since last month, felt best it has in three or four weeks. ... K Nick Folk kicked 32-yard FG to beat Colts as time expired. ... RB LaDainian Tomlinson has mostly struggled in playoffs during career, but was outstanding in first postseason game with Jets while rush- ing for 82 yards and two TDs and catching four passes for 17 yards vs. Colts. ... RT Damien Woody was placed on season-ending IR earlier in week after suffering left Achilles’ tendon injury in win over Colts last Saturday. He will be replaced by veteran backup Wayne Hunter. ... DE Shaun Ellis will extend his franchise record for most post- season games played, with his 11th Sunday. ... CB Dar- relle Revis coming off impressive performance vs. Colts in which he held Reggie Wayne to one catch for 1 yard. ... LB Jason Taylor is NFL’s active career sacks leader, but has failed to bring down a QB in seven postseason games. ... P Steve Weatherford tied NFL record by placing 42 punts inside 20-yard line during regular season. ... Patriots in p layoffs for 12th time in Robert Kraft’s 17 seasons as owner. ... They led NFL in scoring with 32.4 points per game and tied own NFL record by scoring at least 30 points in eight consecutive games, capped by 38-7 win over Miami in finale. ... Brady won NFL-record 28 straight starts at home during regular season but lost last playoff game there, 33-14 in first round last season. Brady threw three interceptions in that game against Ravens but this season he threw just four interceptions and 36 touchdown passes. ... Danny Woodhead, cut by Jets after first game, rushed for 547 yards and five TDs and caught 34 passes for 1 TD for Patriots. ... With 86 catches, Wes Welker has 432 the past four seasons, most in NFL. ... Patriots rookie CB Devin McCourty, first-round pick from Rutgers, tied for second in NFL with 7 INTs. ... K Shayne Graham has made all 12 of his FG attempts in eight games since tak- ing over when Stephen Gostkowski went on injured reserve with a thigh injury. ... Patriots are 11-2 in home playoff games. Loss to Ravens broke 11-game winning streak in Foxborough. ... Patriots committed 10 turnovers, fewest in the NFL since it went to 16-game schedule in 1978. NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Lakers WL Pct GB 29 11 .725 — Phoenix 16 21 .432 11.5 WARRIORS 15 23 .395 13 Clippers 13 24 .351 14.5 KINGS 828 .222 19 Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 33 6 .846 — Dallas 26 11 .703 6 New Orleans 23 16 .590 10 Memphis 18 21 .462 15 Houston 17 22 .436 16 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Okla. City 27 13 .675 — Utah 26 13 .667 .5 Denver 21 16 .568 4.5 Portland 20 19 .513 6.5 Minnesota 10 30 .250 17 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB Miami Boston 29 9 .763 — New York 22 16 .579 7 Philadelphia 15 23 .395 14 Toronto 13 25 .342 16 New Jersey 10 28 .263 19 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 30 10 .750 — Atlanta 26 14 .650 4 Orlando 25 14 .641 4.5 Charlotte 15 21 .417 13 Washington 10 27 .270 18.5 Central Division WL Pct GB Chicago 25 13 .658 — Indiana 16 20 .444 8 Milwaukee 14 22 .389 10 Detroit 12 26 .316 13 Cleveland 8 30 .211 17 ————————————————— Thursday’s results Minnesota 109, Washington 97 Oklahoma City 125, Orlando 124 Miami at Denver,late Today’s games LOCAL Red Bluff Parks & Recreation Volleyball Jan. 12 results Just 4 fun 6, 9 St. E Angles 15, 15 Team Volleyball 15, 4, 15, Tom’s Glass 10, 15, 12 Sacramento at New York,4:30 p.m.,CSNC Clippers at Golden State,7:30 p.m.,CSNB Chicago at Indiana, 4 p.m. Detroit at Toronto, 4 p.m. Milwaukee at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Charlotte at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at San Antonio, 5 p.m., ESPN New Orleans at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Cleveland at Utah, 6 p.m. New Jersey at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Portland at Phoenix, 7:30 p.m., ESPN Wednesday’s late results L.A. Lakers 115, Golden State 110 L.A. Clippers 111, Miami 105 Dallas NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA 26 13 5 57 127 118 Phoenix 22 13 9 53 126 124 Ducks Kings Detroit 24 18 4 52 124 127 23 18 1 47 126 108 SHARKS 21 18 5 47 121 122 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA 27 11 5 59 149 123 Nashville 23 14 6 52 113 101 Chicago 24 18 3 51 142 124 St. Louis 20 16 6 46 114 123 Columbus 20 20 3 43 110 134 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 28 9 6 62 145 103 Colorado 22 16 6 50 144 142 Minnesota 21 17 5 47 108 123 Calgary 18 20 5 41 117 129 Edmonton 13 21 7 33 103 141 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA Philadelphia 27 11 5 59 147 116 Pittsburgh 27 14 4 58 143 107 N.Y.Rangers 26 16 3 55 128 109 N.Y.Islanders 13 22 7 33 101 140 New Jersey 11 29 2 24 78 133 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Boston 24 12 7 55 130 98 Montreal 24 17 3 51 109 105 Buffalo 19 19 5 43 118 126 Toronto 18 21 4 40 113 130 Ottawa 17 21 6 40 99 136 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 26 13 5 57 131 137 Washington 24 13 7 55 126 116 Atlanta 22 16 7 51 140 140 Carolina 21 16 6 48 129 131 Florida 20 20 2 42 116 111 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. ————————————————— Thursday’s results Edmonton at San Jose,late Boston 7, Philadelphia 5 Buffalo 3, Carolina 2 Florida 3, Nashville 2 N.Y. Rangers 1, Vancouver 0 Ottawa 6, N.Y. Islanders 4 Phoenix 5, Toronto 1 St. Louis at Los Angeles, late Today’s games Detroit at Columbus, 4 p.m. Vancouver at Washington, 4 p.m., NHLN Calgary at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m. New Jersey at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m., CSNC Colorado at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Wednesday’s late result Anaheim 7, St. Louis 4