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2B – Daily News – Tuesday, January 5, 2010 NFL PLAYOFFS Wild-card Playoffs Saturday's games N.Y. Jets at Cincinnati, 1:30 p.m. (NBC) Philadelphia at Dallas, 5 p.m. (NBC) Sunday, Jan. 10 Baltimore at New England, 10 a.m. (CBS) Green Bay at Arizona, 1:40 p.m. (FOX) Divisional Playoffs Saturday, Jan. 16 Philadelphia, Green Bay or Arizona at New Orleans, 1:30 p.m. (FOX) Baltimore, N.Y. Jets or Cincinnati at Indi- anapolis, 5:15 p.m. (CBS) Sunday, Jan. 17 Dallas, Green Bay or Arizona at Minnesota, 10 a.m. (FOX) New England, N.Y. Jets or Cincinnati at San Diego, 1:40 p.m. (CBS) AFC-NFC Championships Sunday, Jan. 24 AFC, Noon (CBS) NFC, 3:40 p.m. (FOX) Super Bowl XLIV Sunday, Feb. 7 At Miami NFC champion vs. AFC champion, 3:25 p.m. (CBS) BOWLS Monday's bowl result Fiesta Bowl Boise State17, TCU 10 Today's bowl game Orange Bowl At Miami Iowa (10-2) vs. Georgia Tech (11-2), 5 p.m. (FOX) NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division W L Pct GB Lakers 27 6 .818 — Phoenix 21 13 .618 6.5 Clippers 14 18 .438 12.5 KINGS 14 19 .424 13 WARRIORS 9 23 .281 17.5 Southwest Division W L Pct GB Dallas 23 11 .676 — San Antonio 20 12 .625 2 Houston 20 14 .588 3 Memphis 16 16 .500 6 New Orleans 16 16 .500 6 Northwest Division W L Pct GB Portland 22 13 .629 — Denver 21 13 .618 .5 Okla. City 19 15 .559 2.5 Utah 18 16 .529 3.5 Minnesota 7 28 .200 15 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB Boston 24 8 .750 — Toronto 17 18 .486 8.5 New York 14 20 .412 11 Philadelphia 10 23 .303 14.5 New Jersey 3 30 .091 21.5 Southeast Division W L Pct GB Orlando 24 9 .727 — Atlanta 21 12 .636 3 Miami 17 15 .531 6.5 Charlotte 14 18 .438 9.5 Washington 10 21 .323 13 Central Division W L Pct GB Cleveland 27 9 .750 — Chicago 14 18 .438 11 Milwaukee 13 18 .419 11.5 Detroit 11 21 .344 14 Indiana 10 23 .303 15.5 ——— Monday's results Miami 92, Atlanta 75 New Orleans 91, Utah 87 Oklahoma City 98, Chicago 85 Portland at L.A. Clippers, late Today's games Golden State at Denver, 6 p.m., CSNBA Phoenix at Sacramento, 7 p.m., CSNCA Chicago at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Orlando at Indiana, 4 p.m. Washington at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Milwaukee at New Jersey, 4:30 p.m. Detroit at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Memphis at Portland, 7 p.m. Houston at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Sunday's late result L.A. Lakers 131, Dallas 96 NCAA Monday's Top 25 results Co. of Charleston 82, No. 9 N. Carolina 79, OT No.18 Florida St.94, Tex A&M-Corpus Christi 54 No. 23 Pittsburgh 74, Cincinnati 71 Today's Top 25 games No. 2 Texas at Arkansas, 4 p.m. ESPN2 No. 4 Purdue vs. Minnesota, 4 p.m. ESPN No. 14 Mississippi at UCF, 5 p.m. No. 15 N. Mexico at San Diego St., 7:30 p.m. No. 20 Georgia Tech at Georgia, 4 p.m. The Top Twenty Five The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Jan. 3, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking: Record Pts Pvs 1. Kansas (56) 13-0 1,614 1 2. Texas (8) 13-0 1,550 2 3. Kentucky (1) 15-0 1,489 3 4. Purdue 13-0 1,457 4 5. Duke 12-1 1,348 7 6. Villanova 12-1 1,279 8 7. Syracuse 13-1 1,173 5 8. West Virginia 11-1 1,147 6 9. North Carolina 11-3 1,098 9 10. Michigan St. 11-3 1,009 11 11. Kansas St. 13-1 996 12 12. Georgetown 11-1 911 13 13. Connecticut 10-3 760 10 14. Mississippi 11-2 699 16 15. New Mexico 14-1 667 19 16. Tennessee 10-2 649 14 17. Wisconsin 12-2 526 23 18. Florida St. 12-2 446 22 19. Gonzaga 11-3 351 — 20. Georgia Tech 11-2 203 — 21. Temple 11-3 173 18 22. Texas Tech 12-2 166 20 23. Pittsburgh 12-2 156 — 24. Washington 10-3 149 17 25. BYU 14-1 145 — Others receiving votes: Clemson 139, Texas A&M 86, Cincinnati 76, Florida 75, Baylor 73, Miami 70, Rhode Island 52, Southern Cal 46, Dayton 45, Ohio St. 42, Wake Forest 42, William & Mary 37, N. Iowa 35, UAB 29, Mis- sissippi St. 26, Virginia Tech 20, Oklahoma St. 16, California 15, UNLV 12, Cornell 9, Butler 6, Va. Commonwealth 5, Oregon 4, Minneso- ta 3, Vanderbilt 1. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division W L OT Pts GF GA SHARKS 27 8 7 61 142 106 Phoenix 25 14 4 54 111 99 Kings 24 15 3 51 124 120 Dallas 18 12 11 47 122 127 Ducks 16 19 7 39 115 137 Central Division W L OT Pts GF GA Chicago 29 10 3 61 137 90 Nashville 25 14 3 53 121 119 Detroit 21 14 6 48 108 104 St. Louis 17 18 6 40 108 121 Columbus 15 19 9 39 112 143 Northwest Division W L OT Pts GF GA Colorado 24 13 6 54 128 124 Calgary 24 12 5 53 114 98 Vancouver 25 16 1 51 132 103 Minnesota 20 19 3 43 111 124 Edmonton 16 22 4 36 115 138 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L OT Pts GF GA New Jersey 29 10 1 59 118 89 Pittsburgh 26 16 1 53 133 116 Rangers 20 17 5 45 111 117 Islanders 17 18 8 42 107 134 Philadelphia 19 19 3 41 117 118 Northeast Division W L OT Pts GF GA Buffalo 26 11 4 56 112 93 Boston 21 13 7 49 107 98 Ottawa 22 16 4 48 122 125 Montreal 21 20 3 45 114 120 Toronto 14 19 9 37 115 145 Southeast Division W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 24 11 6 54 145 116 Atlanta 18 17 6 42 132 135 Tampa Bay 16 15 10 42 103 121 Florida 17 18 7 41 123 135 Carolina 11 23 7 29 102 146 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Monday's results Los Angeles at San Jose, late N.Y. Rangers 3, Boston 2 Tuesday's games Dallas at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Florida at Toronto, 4 p.m. Montreal at Washington, 4 p.m. Atlanta at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m. Boston at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m. Calgary at Nashville, 5 p.m. Minnesota at Chicago, 5 p.m. VERSUS Phoenix at Edmonton, 6 p.m. Columbus at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Detroit at Anaheim, 7 p.m. DEALS National Football League BUFFALO—Fired interim head coach Perry Fewell. CINCINNATI—Placed DT Pat Sims on injured reserve. Signed CB Keiwan Ratliff. N.Y. GIANTS—Fired defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan. WASHINGTON—Fired coach Jim Zorn. National Basketball Association GOLDEN STATE—Waived C Mikki Moore. MILWAUKEE—Waived G Roko Ukic. National Hockey League LOS ANGELES—Signed D Jacob Muzzin to three-year contract. Activated C Jarret Stoll from the injured reserve list. Major League Baseball American League KANSAS CITY—Agreed to terms with LHP John Parrish on a minor league contract. National League COLORADO—Agreed to terms with C Miguel Olivo on a one-year contract. PITTSBURGH—Agreed to terms with LHP Brian Burres, LHP Neal Cotts and RHP Tyler Yates on minor league contracts. Named Steve Lombardozzi minor league fielding coordinator, Jim Benedict minor league pitch- ing coordinator, Bernie Holliday mental condi- tioning coordinator and Anthony Telford per- sonal development coordinator. College KENTUCKY—Announced the retirement of football coach Rich Brooks. LOUISIANA TECH—Announced the resig- nation of defensive line coach Jimmy Brum- baugh to take a similar position at Syracuse. MARSHALL—Named Bill Legg offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, Tony Petersen assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, JaJuan Seider running backs coach and Zach Smith wide receivers coach. OKLAHOMA STATE—Suspended junior basketball F forward Marshall Moses for one game for violating team policy. UNLV—Named J.D. Williams assistant head football coach, passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach; Rob Phenicie offen- sive coordinator; Kraig Paulson, defensive coordinator; Ty Gregorak linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator; Cedric Cormier receiving coach, Chad Germer offensive line coach; Dominic Daste tight ends coach. Scoreboard Scoreboard Redskins fire Zorn, meet with Shanahan ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The Washington Redskins moved quickly in their pursuit of Mike Shanahan on Monday, flying in the former Denver Broncos coach on the same day the team fired Jim Zorn. Shanahan and wife Peggy landed at Dulles International Airport near Red- skins Park in mid-afternoon and were driven away in a limousine to meet with owner Dan Snyder and general manager Bruce Allen. Snyder planned for Shanahan to stay overnight at the owner's house in Maryland, and a for- mal hiring announcement could come as early as Tuesday. Shanahan's arrival was the highlight of a long, eventful day as the Redskins sought a new direction after a 4-12 sea- son. The first move came in the pre- dawn hours, when Zorn was dismissed during a meeting in his office with Allen after the team's cross-country flight following a 23-20 loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. ''It's real clear that we're going to be aggressive,'' Allen said. ''What we're looking for in a head coach is somebody who can lead these men that we had in our locker room this year to levels they've haven't played through before.'' Shanahan won two Super Bowls in 14 seasons with the Broncos. He was fired a year ago after Denver missed the playoffs for the third straight sea- son. Shanahan would be expected to bring his son, Houston Texans offen- sive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, with him to Washington. While the Red- skins weren't making any announce- ments about a hiring, Texans coach Gary Kubiak spoke as if a Shanahan tandem in D.C. was virtually a fore- gone conclusion. ''Obviously it looks like Mike's coming right back in the business here real quick, and I know it's something he's always wanted, to work with his son,'' Kubiak said. ''I'd be the same way.'' Zorn went 12-20 over two seasons and lost 18 of his last 24 games after a 6-2 start in 2008. The Redskins strug- gled early this season despite a weak schedule and finished with their worst record since 1994. ''The status quo has to end,'' Allen said. ''We have to change the way we've been doing some business. ... Last place two years in a row is not Redskins football.'' Zorn's replacement will be Wash- ington's seventh coach since Snyder bought the team in 1999. The Redskins are 82-99 on his watch, missing the playoffs in eight of 11 seasons. ''No one in the organization is satis- fied with our record over the last two years,'' Snyder said in a statement released by the team, ''and I am sure that Jim would concur with that state- ment. It has been painful for him, too. I certainly accept responsibility for mis- takes that I have made.'' Zorn's dismissal had been expected for months. The front office stripped him of his play-calling duties in late October, and Snyder interviewed assis- tant coach Jerry Gray for the job weeks ago, according to the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which monitors minority hir- ing in the NFL. Neither Snyder nor Zorn was made available to reporters. ''Everybody's playing the waiting game now,'' running back Rock Cartwright said while he and his team- mates cleaned out their lockers. Shanahan made the playoffs in half of his 14 seasons in Denver, although he had only two losing seasons — 6-10 in 1999 and 7-9 in 2007. His greatest successes came early, with back-to- back Super Bowl titles after the 1997 and 1998 seasons with running back Terrell Davis and quarterback John Elway. His career regular-season record is 146-98, including 138-86 with the Broncos from 1995-2008 and 8-12 with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1988- 89. Shanahan's playoff record is 8-5. ''I think it's safe to say we all need a guy who's done it before, who's been to the big games,'' cornerback DeAn- gelo Hall said. ''It's kind of hard to envision yourself trying to get some- where when the person who's talking to you has never been there personally. That's probably the only thing that I want. I want to go to the Super Bowl.'' That's an indirect slap at Zorn, who often appeared overwhelmed and not fully in charge in two distraction-filled seasons. Zorn was a last-resort choice in 2008 after a monthlong search dur- ing which, for a variety of reasons, Snyder would up not hiring any of the names on the owner's original list. He had hired Zorn as an offensive coordi- nator, then promoted him to head coach two weeks later even though Zorn had never previously been a head coach or coordinator in the NFL. Zorn at first was charming and a bit corny, leading cheers of ''Hip! Hip! Hooray!'' in the locker room during the team's fast start. But his play-call- ing — supposedly his strength — and game management were often lacking, and the Redskins were under the 20- point mark in 20 of his 32 games. He also wasn't a strong leader, a trait some players abused by going over the coach's head. ''I think there's been a lack of com- munication, and I think that cost us a little bit,'' Cartwright said. ''Guys feel like they could go to someone else instead of talking to coach Zorn. I just know that some guys had more say in some things than other guys.'' It didn't help that the front office didn't give Zorn a solid roster. The offense line was aging and lacked qual- ity depth. Jason Campbell was under- mined by attempts to acquire other quarterbacks. Former first-round picks Carlos Rogers and LaRon Landry have been disappointments. Running back Clinton Portis looked worn down by years of wear and tear. Injuries to sev- eral key players compounded the prob- lems, and 12 players finished the sea- son on injured reserve. The new coach, Snyder and Allen therefore have a monumental rebuild- ing task ahead of them. The Redskins will have the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, but the Redskins need more than one college stud to right the ship. ''Maybe some of our greatest improvements,'' Allen said, ''is our players who are already on our roster playing better.'' Jim Zorn Mike Shanahan Bills open offseason with coaching staff purge ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills cleared the way for their next head coach, informing their entire coaching staff to start look- ing elsewhere for jobs. Interim head coach Perry Fewell was among those relieved of his duties on Monday, though the Bills said he is still a candidate and will be interviewed. Fewell is on a growing list of candidates likely to include former NFL head coaches Brian Billick, Marty Schottenheimer — who hasn't entirely ruled out the possibility of return- ing to coaching — and Bill Cowher. The latest development came shortly after Fewell addressed his players in a final team meeting, and less than a day after the Bills (6- 10) ended their season with a 30-7 win over the Indi- anapolis Colts. The Bills announced in a statement that the team's current staff remains under contract but the coaches have been informed that their obligations for this season have been complet- ed, and they now ''have the opportunity to seek posi- tions elsewhere.'' The release said their status will then be determined by the Bills' next head coach. Despite how the Bills phrased the release, a per- son familiar with the team's decisions told The Associat- ed Press that the staff was fired. The house-cleaning did not come as a surprise after Bills owner Ralph Wilson said no job was safe as he was preparing to revamp his entire front office once the season ended. Wilson made those comments to The Associated Press in Novem- ber, days after he fired Dick Jauron. The overhaul started last week when national scout Buddy Nix was promoted to general manager, filling a spot that had been held by the team's chief operating officer Russ Brandon, who has no football background. Brandon was promoted to chief executive officer. ''I'm anxious to see what happens,'' linebacker Paul Posluszny said. ''We all want to know what the situ- ation is, who the head coach will be, what type of defense we're going to run. There's a lot of questions, but you have to stay patient.'' Ex-chair of NFL brain panel denies link to brain disease DETROIT (AP) — Former NFL player Kyle Turley told members of Congress on Monday that while he still had a severe headache, the St. Louis Rams cleared him for full- contact drills four days after a concussion seven years ago. ''Frustrated with being injured and wanting to prove my toughness to my teammates and coaches, I used my head more aggressively than I normally would have in practice, not understanding the damage I was doing to my brain,'' Turley told the House Judiciary Committee. ''I would like to tell you that this was an isolated incident — just as Dr. Casson would.'' Turley, who retired in 2007 after a career with the Saints, Rams and Chiefs, was one of several witnesses who took shots at Ira Casson, a neurologist from New York and former co-chairman of the NFL's panel on head injuries. Under questioning, Casson stuck to his position that there is no proven connection between football head injuries and brain disease. ''There is not enough valid, reliable or objective scientif- ic evidence at present to determine whether or not repeat head impacts in professional football result in long-term brain damage,'' Casson said. Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., and Rep. Steve Cohen, D- Tenn., were skeptical. ''I find it really ridiculous that he's saying that concus- sions don't cause long-term cognitive problems,'' Sanchez said. ''I think most people you ask on the street would figure that repeated blows to the head aren't good for you.'' Dr. Randall Benson, a neurologist and professor at Wayne State University, agreed with her. ''It's easy to wait for absolutes when there are no absolutes in what we do,'' he said. ''It's common sense that playing football causes brain injuries. I think the questioning was somewhat of a waste of time because we all knew what Dr. Casson was going to say.'' Sanchez noted that the league formed its concussion committee in 1994, and wondered aloud whether the NFL's recent moves on concussions took too long to implement. ''It seems to me that the NFL has literally been dragging its feet on this issue until the past few years,'' Sanchez said, later asking: ''Why did it take 15 years?'' Casson said it was ''completely incorrect,'' to character- ize the committee as having ignored the problem. He resigned as co-chairman of the NFL's committee on mild traumatic brain injury in November, saying it was a mutual decision between himself and commissioner Roger Goodell. ''When I heard the first panel, I thought I had come to the wrong room and that I was at a tobacco-industry panel,'' said Bernie Parrish, who spent most of his career a half-century ago with the Cleveland Browns. ''The NFL uses the same merchants of death system as the tobacco industry. ''There was a lot of lying,'' he added. Casson said more research must be done on the effects of performance-enhancing drugs on the brains of football play- ers. Some lawmakers questioned other witnesses about pos- sible steroid links. Goodell, who was not present, was grilled by lawmakers in October about his league's concussion policies. Since then, the league has instituted stricter return-to-play guidelines for players showing concussion symptoms; required each team to enlist an independent neurologist as an adviser; entered into a partnership with Boston University brain researchers who have been critical of the league's stance on concussions; and conducted tests on helmets. The validity of those tests was questioned by witnesses at the hearing. Asked for his thoughts on those changes, Casson ques- tioned the merits of the independent neurologist mandate. ''We don't know if these independent neurologists have expertise in head injuries,'' he said. ''We don't know if their opinions are going to be independent and reliable and stand up to scrutiny.'' Cohen said he sensed the league's recent moves could have resulted from concern about lawsuits, as in, '''What did we know and when did we know it?' — and that should be secondary to the health of the NFL players and the college players and the kiddie league players and the high school players,'' he said. Sanchez also pressed Casson on whether the ''concept of permanent brain damage and dementia following repeated blows to the head is a very well-established and generally accepted principle in medicine.'' Casson refused to give a direct answer, and Sanchez's tone grew more exasperated when she asked whether he would not ''agree on something most laymen, probably most physicians, would agree with.'' ''We can disagree,'' he answered. At one point, Casson said, ''I'm not saying concussions are good for you.'' ''Well, that's the strongest statement I've gotten you to say,'' Sanchez said, drawing laugher in the packed confer- ence room.