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2B Daily News – Wednesday, February 1, 2012 Giants' have big advantage with breakout receivers INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Eli Manning has a 1-2-3 punch at receiver that's not only dynamic, but highly entertaining. Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham give the Giants a pass-catching trio rivaling any in the NFL, and it could be New York's biggest advantage on offense against the New England Patriots in Sunday's Super Bowl. Cruz is coming off a record-setting season, Nicks had another 1,000-yard season and Manningham is finally healthy after dealing with a knee injury much of the year. For the inconsistent Patriots defense, which ranked 31st against the pass, that's one big headache. ''Once you look at it and see they have a receiver over there and a bunch of different things, you understand that's an area we can excel,'' Cruz said at media day Tuesday, referring to the Patriots receiver Julian Edelman, who plays nickel back at times. ''We don't want to force it. We want it to happen naturally and take it play by play and we'll see how it goes and how they come out and play us and we'll adjust accordingly.'' The Giants (12-7) have adjusted well this season. Starting with a revamped offensive line, New York quickly discovered that the running game which carried the team for decades wasn't as good as usual. Four yards and a cloud of dust turned into 2 or 3 yards and that didn't add up to a first down. Something had to change and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride opted to unleash Eli and his receivers. ''It's never bothered me to throw the ball,'' Gilbride said. ''I have always enjoyed the challenge of being able to come up with some plays that would give our guys a chance and put them in position to be successful. I think we have the talent level to do that and it seemed foolish to keep banging our head against the wall when we weren't having success that way to not take advantage of guys who were having success. So it was not by design but necessity we evolved into more of a passing team.'' INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The boot is off and Rob Gronkowski's ankle is feel- ing much better. New Eng- land's All-Pro tight end shed his walking boot in time for media day Tuesday, and sounded optimistic he'd be lining up against the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Sunday. ''I'm improving every day,'' Gronkowski said. ''The only reason it's getting so blown up is because it's the Super Bowl. It's just like any other injury during any other week.'' Gronkowski, who suf- fered a high left ankle sprain in the AFC title game Jan. 22, said he could be any- where from in perfect health to ''2 percent'' for the game, adding that it's still six days away. The outgoing Gronkows- ki smiled frequently from The numbers have been sensational. Manning threw for a franchise record 4,933 yards, 29 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Cruz caught 82 pass- es and set a franchise-record with 1,536 yards receiving and nine touch- downs, including at least five of 68 yards or longer. Nicks had 76 catches for 1,192 yards and seven TDs despite missing a game, Manningham had 39 catches for 523 yards and four TDs in 13 games. And if that's not enough, the Giants found a pass catching tight end this season in Jake Ballard, who had 38 receptions for 604 yards and four TDs. ''I feel it starts with us as an offense,'' Manningham said. ''We know how good we are. We know how we can go out and make plays and we know our potential. We're trying to play the fullest out there. Usually when we go out there and play good, we win.'' What has been so amazing about the receivers is their ability to turn short passes into big gains. The Giants' five-game winning streak that carried them to the Super Bowl is dotted with game-breaking plays by the receivers. In the Giants' 29-14 win over the Jets in the next to last game of the reg- ular season, Cruz used his speed to turn a 10-yard, third-down pass into an NFL record-tying 99-yard touchdown catch and run that ended with his usual salsa in the end zone. A week later in the 31-14 NFC title clinching victory over Dallas, Cruz ignited the team with a 74-yard catch and run for a score late in the first quar- ter of a scoreless game. Nicks took over in the playoffs, scoring four TDs in the wins over Atlanta and Green Bay. The big plays were a 72-yard catch and run against the Falcons in a 24-2 win and a 37-yard desperation pass before halftime against Green Bay in a 37-20 upset of the defending Super Bowl champions. Manningham caught a 17-yard touchdown in the 20-17 overtime win against San Francisco in the NFC title game on a play that Gilbride and Man- ning drew up on the sideline to counter something they saw in the Niners' the podium during his hour- long appearance that opened with a question, of course, about how he was feeling. ''Good. How are you feeling?'' he replied. At one point, Gronkows- ki even put on a red tri-cor- nered hat, reminiscent of those worn by the original patriots during the era of the American Revolution. ''He's obviously making progress,'' quarterback Tom Brady said of his key pass- catcher. ''He's out of his boot today, which makes me feel a lot better. I told him he should write like 'Mom I love you' on his sock or something because I'm sure there'll be a lot of pictures of his sock. ''If anybody wants to be out there, it's him. No one's as tough as him.'' Gronkowski was careful not to convey an overly opti- defense. The receivers attend a weekly meet- ing with Manning on Fridays to dis- cuss upcoming opponents and watch videotape of their tendencies in down- and-distance situations and what to expect when they go into certain defen- sive fronts and alignments. ''I feel like as a group we like to make plays, we like to get the job done,'' Nicks said. ''It comes from us working hard; getting in that time with Eli. We put in a lot of time off the field and on the field to get the job done.'' If the Patriots are going to win, they need to find a way to limit Manning and the receivers. Cornerback Devin McCourty said the Patriots can't let the Giants' get their running game going. ''If you worry about the run too much they have three guys with a great quarterback that can get down the field, throw it short, break tackles, and take it the distance,'' he said. ''So the biggest thing with their receiving core is they do everything well. They're not just a bunch of fast guys that know how to run vertical. They can catch short pass- es and break tackles so we have to be ready to go, each guy on the defense; linebackers, defensive line, and the sec- ondary.'' The Giants' receiving corps is dif- ferent than the group that Manning had against New England in the 2008 Super Bowl. Amani Toomer has retired. Plaxico Burress is with the Jets after serving a nearly two years in jail on a gun charge and Steve Smith signed with Philadel- phia as a free agent. Cruz, Nicks and Manningham are pretty good replacements. ''I had three talented receivers, who I had great faith to get open, there are some similarities in that matter with the guys now and the team, with Hakeem, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham,'' said Manning, who threw a game-win- ning pass to Burress in the last Super Bowl between these teams. ''I'm just looking for matchups. If guys are dou- ble-teamed or they're covered; I have to have faith in each one of those guys to get open and make some big plays for us.'' Pats Gronkowski sheds boot, sounds ready to play mistic attitude about his chances of playing, repeat- edly saying he was working with the Patriots training staff and approaching the situation on a day-to-day basis. He also was non-com- mittal when asked if he could play if he had the injury during the regular season. ''I couldn't answer that,'' he said. ''It's not a regular- season game. It's the Super Bowl this week and (we're) just preparing like it's a big game and it's the biggest game. It ain't no regular-sea- son game. So you've got to treat it a lot differently.'' Gronkowski set an NFL record for his position this season with 17 touchdown catches and had 90 recep- tions overall for 1,327 yards. He's made a team-high 15 catches for a 15.5-yard aver- age and three touchdowns in Local Business Operators: Appointments being accepted for Custom personalized Online Marketing Presentations www..RedBluffDailyNews.com Want to learn more about online users? Who is using Facebook and Google? Where do local residents turn for online news and information? National online marketing experts will be in Tehama County February 6 – 10, 2012 Only! PLUS! Free to registered businesses: Pulse of America Survey data on Demographics and Spending Patterns of local digital households To register for an appointment, call your Daily News Account Executive (530) 527-2151 or email advertise@redbluffdailynews.com the postseason. He also developed into a powerful blocker. He missed the Patriots last three practices on Thurs- day, Friday and Monday. They didn't practice on Tuesday. But many of his team- mates are confident that he'll be ready to play. ''Rob's a big boy. He's tough and everything else, so I'm not too worried about him,'' wide receiver Wes Welker said. ''I know he's going to give his best out there and do whatever he can do to help us win the game.'' ''We're trying to get everybody to play,'' line- backer Tracy White said. ''We're not too worried about Gronkowski. He'll be out there.'' Gronkowski has started every game this season and was healthy for nearly every practice before the ankle injury. NCAA Top 25 Schedule Tuesday's results No. 1 Kentucky 69, Tennessee 44 No. 5 N. Carolina 68, Wake Forest 53 Illinois 42, No. 9 Michigan State 41 No. 15 Marquette 66, Seton Hall 59 No. 16 Virginia 65, Clemson 61 No. 19 Wisconsin 52, Penn State 46 Arkansas 82, No. 25 Vanderbilt 74 Today's games No. 14 Georgetown vs. UConn, 4 p.m. No. 21 Florida St. vs. Georgia Tech, 4 p.m. No. 20 Indiana at No. 23 Michigan, 3:30 p.m. No. 13 Creighton vs. Illinois St., 5:05 p.m. No. 8 Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 6 p.m. No. 6 Baylor at Texas A&M, 6 p.m. No. 17 San Diego St. vs. Boise St., 7 p.m. No. 11 UNLV vs. Colorado St., 7:30 p.m. Thursday's games No. 7 Duke at Virginia Tech, 4 p.m. No. 10 Murray St. vs. SE Missou St., 5 p.m. No. 12 Florida vs. South Carolina, 6 p.m. No. 18 Saint Mary's vs. San Diego, 7 p.m. No. 24 Gonzaga at BYU, 8 p.m. Friday's games No games scheduled Saturday's games No. 1 Kentucky at South Carolina, 3 p.m. No. 2 Syracuse vs. St. John's at Madison Square Garden, 9 a.m. No. 3 Ohio St.at No. 19 Wisconsin, 11 a.m. No. 4 Missouri vs. No. 8 Kansas, 6 p.m. No. 5 North Carolina at Maryland, 1 p.m. No. 6 Baylor at Oklahoma St., 10:30 a.m. No. 10 Murray State at UT-Martin, 4 p.m. No. 11 UNLV at Wyoming, 1 p.m. No. 12 Florida vs. No. 25 Vandy, 10 a.m. No. 13 Creighton at Northern Iowa, 2 p.m. No. 14 Georgetown vs. S. Florida, 8 a.m. No. 15 Marquette at Notre Dame, 10 a.m. No. 16 Virginia at No. 21 Florida St., 10 a.m. No. 17 San Diego State vs.TCU, 7 p.m. No. 20 Indiana at Purdue, 4 p.m. No. 22 Mississippi St. vs. Auburn, 1 p.m. No. 24 Gonzaga at Pepperdine, 7 p.m. Sunday's games No. 7 Duke vs. Miami, Noon No. 9 Mich. St. vs.No. 23 Michigan, 10 a.m. MEDIA (Continued from page 1B) ''I've never seen anything like this ever.'' Actually, none of the players had. For the first time, the NFL let fans in on the act, too. For $25 — or more, for those who waited until the last minute to buy their tickets — fans could sit in the stands at the stadi- um and listen to the inter- views over a headset. ''We can't hear all of the questions, so we have to guess,'' said Lee Clifford, who brought his sons, 10- year-old Ben and 8-year- old Nick. ''I guess lots of people can get a pass to a media event.'' Even people who carry their own disco ball, as the camera crew from Telemu- ndo did. Media day has never been the stuff of Woodward and Bernstein. But it's gone from off- the-wall to downright goofy in recent years, the tipping point coming four years ago when a reporter from Mexico's TV Azteca showed up in a wedding dress from a slasher movie in hopes of winning Tom Brady's heart. Imagine asking Vince Lombardi if he could name three Kardashians. Gronkowski actually did pretty well — he got Kim and Khloe right away, but needed a few more seconds to come up with Kourtney. Or getting John Elway to salsa dance, as New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz did with singer Ciara. There were no brides or proposals for Brady this year, although the fashion- conscious QB did talk about having his nails paint- ed. ''They were pretty easy on me,'' Brady said when asked what it was like to grow up with three older sisters. ''They dressed me up a few times in their clothes and painted my nails once, but it was nice.'' Most of the players were good sports about the whole thing, knowing what they were in for when they arrived at Lucas Oil Stadi- um. Even the normally dour Belichick managed a chuckle or two. ''It's kind of catching me off guard,'' Patriots corner- back Sterling Moore said. ''I definitely thought he'd be a little more strict in his interviews.'' He might have been a lit- tle more cranky if he'd heard Welker when the receiver was asked if he NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Clippers Lakers Phoenix WL Pct GB 12 6 .667 — 12 9 .571 1.5 7 13 .350 6 WARRIORS 612 .333 6 KINGS 614 .300 7 Southwest Division WL Pct GB 14 8 .636 — Dallas San Antonio 13 9 .591 1 Houston Memphis 12 9 .571 1.5 11 10 .524 2.5 New Orleans 4 17 .190 9.5 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Oklahoma City 16 4 .800 — Denver Utah Portland 14 7 .667 2.5 12 7 .632 3.5 12 9 .571 4.5 Minnesota 10 11 .476 6.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division Philadelphia 15 6 .714 — Boston New York WL Pct GB 10 10 .500 4.5 New Jersey 7 15 .318 8.5 Toronto Southeast Division WL Pct GB 16 5 .762 — 16 6 .727 .5 12 9 .571 4 Miami Atlanta Orlando Washington 4 17 .190 12 Charlotte Central Division Chicago Indiana 3 18 .143 13 WL Pct GB 18 5 .783 — 14 6 .700 2.5 Milwaukee 9 11 .450 7.5 Cleveland Detroit 8 12 .400 8.5 4 19 .174 14 —————————————————— Tuesday's results Sacramento at Golden State, late Atlanta 100, Toronto 77 Boston 93, Cleveland 90 Indiana 106, New Jersey 99 Memphis 100, Denver 97, OT New York 113, Detroit 86 Charlotte at L.A. Lakers, late Today's games Chicago at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Washington at Orlando, 4 p.m. Detroit at New Jersey, 4:30 p.m. Toronto at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Indiana at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Miami at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. Oklahoma City at Dallas, 5 p.m. Phoenix at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Houston at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Charlotte at Portland, 7 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Utah, 7:30 p.m. Thursday's games Portland at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Utah at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Memphis at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Chicago at New York, 5 p.m. New Orleans at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Denver at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. 8 13 .381 7 7 15 .318 8.5 knew how to spell Belichick's last name. ''Tough one. B-E-L-I-C- H-I,'' Welker said, and then paused. ''K. Wait, that right? Is it CK?'' Told Belichick's name ended in ''CK,'' Welker smacked his head. Umenyiora fared better with the other Elis, naming Plaxico Burress' little boy, Elijah. As for Gronkowski and Madonna, he wasn't crazy for that question. Silly stuff, to be sure. But the fans loved every minute of it. Parents let their kids skip school — Zane Bishop, a high school senior, had his head buried in a book during the break, cramming for his AP Gov- ernment exam Wednesday — and the tickets were in such high demand people were actually scalping them. ''It's such an intimate experience,'' said Nick Lowery, a Patriots fan who drove from Columbia, Mo. ''This is really cool.'' Unlike the NFL draft, when rowdy New Yorkers waste no opportunity to heckle picks and boo play- ers, the fans were on their best behavior. Most in the crowd of 7,300 were Colts fans, with many sporting Peyton Manning's No. 18 jersey. But the fans greeted both teams with applause when they came in, and cheered when Eli Manning, Brady and Welker talked about how much they were enjoying Indianapolis and praised Colts fans. They even set aside their hatred for the Patriots, the Colts' biggest rival. ''Our philosophy has been 'Fans first.' It's all about Hoosier hospitality,'' said Toni Meyer of Indi- anapolis. Added Bill Burns, ''The Patriots, we really don't like 'em here. But there hasn't been any animosity.'' The only complaint was that fans wanted more. Though they could hear interviews with the head coach and four players on the headset, they were restricted to the stands. No autographs, no photographs with their favorite players. ''I kind of wish we'd been on the field, but I understand,'' said Burns, who wore a hat with a ''Press'' card on the side and carried a toy purple microphone. ''It probably would have been a bit of a madhouse.'' Too late. It passed that threshold years ago. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA SHARKS 27 14 6 60 131 110 Kings Dallas 25 21 2 52 126 136 Phoenix 22 21 8 52 131 138 Ducks 19 23 7 45 128 145 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA Detroit 34 16 1 69 163 118 Nashville 31 16 4 66 145 131 St. Louis 29 13 7 65 124 102 Chicago 29 15 6 64 162 144 Columbus 13 30 6 32 115 163 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 30 15 4 64 158 122 Minnesota 24 19 7 55 119 131 Colorado 26 24 2 54 133 147 Calgary 23 22 6 52 121 140 Edmonton 19 26 5 43 125 144 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA N.Y.Rangers 31 12 5 67 135 100 Philadelphia29 14 6 64 163 144 Pittsburgh 29 17 4 62 157 131 New Jersey 27 19 3 57 133 139 N.Y. Islanders20 22 7 47 120 145 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Boston 32 14 2 66 175 105 Ottawa 27 20 6 60 160 164 Toronto 25 19 6 56 155 152 Buffalo 21 24 5 47 122 150 Montreal 19 22 9 47 131 137 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Washington 26 19 4 56 139 141 Florida 22 15 11 55 122 136 Winnipeg 23 22 6 52 126 144 Tampa Bay 22 23 4 48 140 168 Carolina 18 25 9 45 132 164 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. —————————————————— Tuesday's results Columbus at San Jose, late Anaheim 4, Phoenix 1 Boston 4, Ottawa 3 Buffalo 3, Montreal 1 Detroit 3, Calgary 1 Edmonton 3, Colorado 2 Nashville 5, Minnesota 4 New Jersey 4, N.Y. Rangers 3, SO N.Y. Islanders 5, Carolina 2 Pittsburgh 5, Toronto 4, SO Tampa Bay 4, Washington 3, OT Winnipeg 2, Philadelphia 1, SO Chicago at Vancouver, late Today's games N.Y. Rangers at Buffalo, 4:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Toronto, 4:30 p.m. Washington at Florida, 5 p.m. Dallas at Anaheim, 7:30 p.m. Columbus at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Thursday's games Dallas at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Carolina at Boston, 4 p.m. Montreal at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Nashville at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Winnipeg at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Minnesota at Colorado, 6 p.m. Chicago at Edmonton, 6:30 p.m. Detroit at Vancouver, 7 p.m. 24 16 10 58 111 111