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1B Sports Weekend Jan. 25-26, 2014 Peyton Manning eyes title with 2nd team By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Pro Football Writer For all the NFL records Peyton Manning owns — and there are plenty — he is one victory away from the one accomplishment that eventually might define his legacy more than any other. If Manning's Denver Broncos beat the Seattle Seahawks next weekend, he would become the first starting quarterback to win Super Bowl titles with two franchises. Manning is already a larger-than-life figure in Indianapolis, of course, widely credited with turning a basketball town into a football town by making the Colts truly matter. He led them to two NFL championship games, winning in 2007, losing in 2010. And now Manning, at the age of 37, two years removed from sitting out an entire season after a series of neck operations, has a chance to forever stamp himself as a figure of similar importance in Denver, too. As it is, he already has joined Craig Morton and Kurt Warner as the only QBs to lead two clubs to the Super Bowl, although they didn't win with both. "If he can win this game, he definitely will be an icon in two cities," said Morton, who was in Denver for six of his 18 NFL seasons. "Well, he probably already is. But ... there's so much focus on the Super Bowl. If you win, you're in granite. If you lose, you're in the mud." Spoken from experience. Morton went 0-2 as a Super Bowl starter, losing with the Dallas Cowboys in 1971, then the Broncos in 1978. Warner went 1-2, winning with the St. Louis Rams in 2000, then losing with them in 2002, before losing with the Arizona Cardinals in 2009. There are similarities. Morton eventually lost his starting job in Dallas, spent some time with bad New York Giants teams, then rebuilt his career in Denver. Warner eventually lost his starting job in St. Louis, spent some time with the Giants (before being replaced by Manning's younger brother, Eli), then rebuilt his career in Arizona. "Everybody thought I was done. They thought I couldn't play anymore. So to get back to that level and go back to the Super Bowl is a great accomplishment," Warner said. "It's cool to have Peyton there, after there were all the questions about his health. Similar to me, he was let go and sent off to greener pastures. He's such a special player anyway, but here's an opportunity to put some icing on that cake and separate himself from all the other great quarterbacks." The older Manning was let go by the Colts after missing all of 2011, then wooed by champion-QB-turned-executive John Elway to Denver, where No. 18 quickly resumed his AP photo Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning talks to the media after NFL football practice at the team's training facility in Englewood, Colo. on Thursday. year-in, year-out excellence. Manning's offense set a passel It's rare for a player at any position to transition well of league records this season, including his individual pass- enough from one team to another to help both win a chaming standards of 55 touchdowns and 5,477 yards, which is pionship. why he's expected to land a fifth NFL MVP award, adding Manning, the only member of the active rosters of the to yet another mark he already holds. Broncos or Seahawks who's won a Super Bowl previously, And while Manning is not the sort to wax on about his can become only the 15th starting player to win titles with standing in the game or his status in Denver, he did reflect a two teams, according to STATS. bit on the journey he's been on. "It's a real challenge to go to a different location, different "I had never switched teams before. I had no idea how group of guys. A completely new adjustment," said Bart long it would take to form some chemistry offensively, to get Oates, a center on championship clubs with the New York comfortable with the culture," said Manning, who threw for Giants in 1987 and 1991, and the San Francisco 49ers in 400 yards in the AFC championship game victory over the 1994. New England Patriots. "People will remember Peyton in Denver, no matter "I talked to some other players that had changed teams, what. But if you bring them a championship, they'll love and I think it depends on the individual, how you mesh with Peyton. That's immortalized," Oates added. "They celebrate your new teammates, how comfortable you are in your new championships every year. They don't celebrate runners-up." surroundings," he said. Tehama Tracker Nadal ousts Federer at Aussie Open Saturday's schedule WRESTLING Red Bluff at Clearlake Tournament in Lakeport, 9 a.m. Corning at Tim Brown Tournament in Sacramento NHL Minnesota at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Sunday's schedule NBA Portland at Golden State, 6 p.m. Denver at Sacramento, 6 p.m. Monday's schedule NBA Sacramento at Utah, 6 p.m. NHL Los Angeles at San Jose, 7 p.m. Sports on TV Saturday AUTO RACING 11 a.m. FOX — United Sportscar Championship, Rolex 24, start of race, at Daytona Beach, Fla. BOXING 6 p.m. SHO — Junior middleweights, Jermell Charlo (22-0-0) vs. Gabriel Rosado (21-7-0); champion Lamont Peterson (312-1) vs. Dierry Jean (25-0-0), for IBF junior welterweight title, at Washington 6:45 p.m. HBO — Heavyweights, Bryant Jennings (17-0-0) vs. Artur Szpilka (16-00); champion Mikey Garcia (33-0-0) vs. Juan Carlos Burgos (30-1-2), for WBO junior lightweight title, at New York COLLEGE FOOTBALL 1 p.m. NFL — Senior Bowl, at Mobile, Ala. EXTREME SPORTS 11 a.m. ESPN — X Games, at Aspen, Colo. 1 p.m. ABC — X Games, at Aspen, Colo. 6 p.m. ESPN — X Games, at Aspen, Colo. GOLF 10 a.m. TGC — PGA Tour, Farmers Insurance Open, third round, at San Diego Noon CBS — PGA Tour, Farmers Insurance Open, third round, at San Diego TGC — LPGA, Bahamas Classic, third round, at Paradise Island, Bahamas 1:30 a.m. TGC — European PGA Tour, Qatar Masters, final round, at Doha, Qatar MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 8 a.m. ESPNU — Ohio at E. Michigan 9 a.m. ESPN — Florida st. at Duke ESPN2 — Virginia Commonwealth at La Salle FS1 — Xavier at Providence NBCSN — George Washington at George Mason 10 a.m. CBS — National coverage, Syracuse at Miami ESPNU — Vanderbilt at Texas A&M 11 a.m. ESPN2 — West Virginia at Oklahoma St. FS1 — Villanova at Marquette 1 p.m. ESPN — Tennessee at Florida ESPN2 — Western Kentucky at Louisiana-Lafayette NBCSN — Saint Joseph's at Richmond 3 p.m. ESPN2 — Pittsburgh at Maryland 4 p.m. ESPN — Michigan at Michigan St. ESPNU — UConn at Rutgers 5 p.m. ESPN2 — LSU at Alabama FS1 — Georgetown at Creighton 6 p.m. ESPNU — Kansas at TCU 7 p.m. ESPN2 — BYU at Gonzaga 8 p.m. ESPNU — San Diego St. at Utah St. MEN'S COLLEGE HOCKEY 4 p.m. NBCSN — Northeastern at Notre Dame MIXED MARTIAL ARTS 5 p.m. FOX — UFC, featherweights, Darren Elkins (18-3-0) vs. Jeremy Stephens (22-9-0); lightweights, Donald Cerrone (21-6-0) vs. Adriano Martins (25-6-0); heavyweights, Stipe Miocic (10-1-0) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (16-7-0); lightweights, Benson Henderson (19-3-0) vs. Josh Thomson (20-5-0), at Chicago MOTORSPORTS 7:30 p.m. FS1 — AMA Supercross, at Oakland, Calif. NHL HOCKEY 7 p.m. NBCSN — Anaheim vs. Los Angeles, at Dodger Stadium RUGBY 11 a.m. NBCSN — USA Sevens, pool play, at Las Vegas 1 p.m. NBC — USA Sevens, pool play, at Las Vegas SOCCER 4:30 a.m. FS1 — FA Cup, fourth round, Liverpool at Bournemouth 7 a.m. FS1 — FA Cup, fourth round, Kidderminster at Sunderland TENNIS Midnight ESPN — Australian Open, men's championship, at Melbourne, Australia WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 9 a.m. FSN — FIU at UAB 11 a.m. FSN — Kansas at Kansas St. Sunday AUTO RACING 4 a.m. FS1 — United Sportscar Championship, Rolex 24, at Daytona Beach, Fla. BOWLING 9 a.m. ESPN — PBA, Tournament of Champions, at Allen Park, Mich. EXTREME SPORTS 11 a.m. ESPN — X Games, at Aspen, Colo. 6 p.m. ESPN — X Games, at Aspen, Colo. GOLF 10 a.m. TGC — PGA Tour, Farmers Insurance Open, final round, at San Diego Noon CBS — PGA Tour, Farmers Insurance Open, final round, at San Diego TGC — LPGA, Bahamas Classic, final round, at Paradise Island, Bahamas MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 9 a.m. NBCSN — Fordham at UMass 1 p.m. NBCSN — Harvard at Dartmouth 3 p.m. ESPNU — Clemson at North Carolina 5 p.m. ESPNU — California at UCLA FS1 — Utah at Arizona NBA BASKETBALL 10 a.m. ABC — San Antonio at Miami 12:30 p.m. ABC — L.A. Lakers at New York 3:30 p.m. ESPN — Brooklyn at Boston NFL FOOTBALL 4:30 p.m. NBC — Pro Bowl, at Honolulu NHL HOCKEY 9:30 a.m. NBC — N.Y. Rangers at New Jersey RUGBY 11 a.m. NBCSN — USA Sevens, semifinals, teams TBD, at Las Vegas 1:30 p.m. NBC — USA Sevens, finals, teams TBD, at Las Vegas WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 10 a.m. CBS — Minnesota at Penn St. 11 a.m. ESPN2 — South Carolina at Vanderbilt 1 p.m. ESPN2 — Tennessee at Texas A&M FSN — Baylor at Oklahoma St. 3 p.m. FS1 — Georgetown at St. John's NBCSN — Dayton at Saint Joseph's Monday MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 4 p.m. ESPN — Duke at Pittsburgh ESPNU — Norfolk St. at Savannah St. 6 p.m. ESPN — Oklahoma St. at Oklahoma ESPNU — Ark.-Pine Bluff at Texas Southern FS1 — Villanova at Georgetown NHL HOCKEY 4:30 p.m. NBCSN — Buffalo at Pittsburgh 7 p.m. NBCSN — Los Angeles at San Jose WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 4 p.m. ESPN2 — Notre Dame at Maryland 6 p.m. ESPN2 — Southern Cal at Stanford MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — For five matches at the Australian Open, Roger Federer appeared to be as graceful and confident on court as he was at the height of his career, losing just one set as he cruised into the semifinals. And then he ran into a familiar wall — the man who bedevils him like nobody else at the Grand Slams. Federer hasn't defeated Rafael Nadal at a major for nearly seven years, his last win coming at Wimbledon in 2007. Nadal now enjoys a 23-10 record against him overall — and he's 9-2 against Federer at the slams. Federer's mounting frustration was clear during his 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-3 semifinal loss on Friday night. At one point during a changeover, a clearly frustrated Federer complained to the chair umpire about Nadal's grunting, which he thought to be excessive. He later said he doesn't think the umpires enforce certain rules when it comes to Nadal, pointing out that the Spaniard had only received two penalties in all of their matches for taking too much time between points. "I'm not complaining about so many things," Federer said. "I just think it's important to enforce the rules on many levels, whatever it may be. On all the AP photo Roger Federer fell to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semifinals Friday. players the same way. Don't give me or (Novak) Djokovic a free pass just because of who we are. I think we should all be judged the same way." Federer may be feeling better about his form given the way he's started the year, reaching the final of his first tournament at Brisbane and now the semifinals of the Australian Open for the 11th consecutive year, notching wins over 2008 finalist JoWilfried Tsonga and No. 4-ranked Andy Murray, the Wimbledon champion. But he hasn't found an answer against Nadal. "You know, Rafa was his usual self, what I kind of expected," he said. "When he usually comes in against me, he always plays solid, if not great." "It's a totally different match. I don't know how to explain it. It's totally different playing Rafa over anybody else. Playing Murray or Rafa is day and night." Though he was disappointed with his play in the semifinals, he insists he's heading in the right direction. The experiment with the larger racket has so far proven successful and he likes what his new coach, Stefan Edberg, is bringing to his team. He's feeling much more positive about his game, compared with where he was last summer when he suffered a string of surprising losses to lower-ranked players. "I needed a good moment again because I've been going through a tougher time for some time," Federer said. "This is a step in the right direction and that's the way I want to go. I have a belief this could be a very good year for me again." PREP ROUNDUP GIRLS BASKETBALL BOYS SOCCER The Red Bluff Lady Spartans (15-4, 2-0 Sac River League) defeated West Valley (10-8) on the road Thursday, 54-46. The Spartans' Emily Gallagher finished with 15 points, Chelsey Bushnell notched 10 points and five assists, and Daisy Brose tallied seven points and three assists. Red Bluff visits Foothill (8-6) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Corning Cardinals (13-0-2) continued their unbeaten streak after beating Lassen (3-8) on the road Thursday, 7-1. Corning hosts Anderson (0-7) at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday. The Los Molinos Bulldogs (6-2) thumped visiting Biggs (0-6) at home Thursday, 15-0. The Bulldogs' Jose Gonzales finished with three goals while Erick Hernandez, Jasmine Madera, Felipe Martinez and Mariella Sanchez each scored two goals. Ramon Pena had seven saves at goalkeeper, and Adrian Madera had two. Los Molinos hosts Mercy at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday. GIRLS SOCCER The Corning Lady Cardinals (77-1) fell to Lassen (4-5-2) on the road Thursday, 2-0. The Cards host Anderson (0-7-2) at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday.