NEW YORK, N.
[b]Knicks Jerseys 2021[/b] .Y. - The Seattle Seahawks finished the regular season where they started it: as the top team in the NFL.Defending Super Bowl champion Seattle (12-4) received 11 of 12 first-place votes Tuesday in the AP Pro32 power rankings, which are decided by a media panel that regularly covers the league.The Seahawks will open the playoffs at home on Jan. 10.Whos scared of the big, bad Seahawks? Everybody. Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune said.The Patriots (12-4) received the other first-place vote. New England is the top seed in the AFC and also opens the playoffs at home on Jan. 10.The Patriots are better in two ways from last years AFC runner-up: an improved roster, and home-field advantage, said Jenny Vrentas of The Monday Morning Quarterback.According to Glantz-Culver, the Seahawks (at 2-1) and Patriots (at 5-2) are the favourites to reach the Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 1.The Green Bay Packers (No. 3), Dallas Cowboys (No. 4) and Denver Broncos (No. 5) all finished 12-4 and won their respective divisions.The Cowboys open the playoffs on Sunday against Detroit.The surprise team of the 2014 season finishes things off in style with a resounding win at Washington, Newsdays Bob Glauber said. The only team in the tournament to beat the Seahawks on the road this season.Indeed, Dallas won all eight road games.Most of the remaining playoff teams rounded out the top 10: the Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 6), Detroit Lions (No. 7), Indianapolis Colts (No. 8), Cincinnati Bengals (No. 9) and the Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens (tied for No. 10).The Bengals, who havent won a playoff game since the 1990 season, face Andrew Luck on Sunday in Indianapolis. The Bengals have lost in the first round each of the past three years.Will they finally win a playoff game this year? asked NBC Sports Tony Dungy.The Ravens travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers on Saturday night, a renewal of their bitter rivalry.(Baltimore) hoping that Haloti Ngata can plug a few holes, Fox Sports John Czarnecki of the Ravens defensive lineman who is set to return after a four-game suspension.NFC South champion Carolina finished at No. 13 with a 7-8-1 record and faces the Cardinals on Saturday.The Panthers became the first team to win back-to-back titles in the NFC South since the NFL realigned in 2002, noted Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News.Going into the season, Seattle was No. 1, followed by Denver, New England, Green Bay and New Orleans. The Saints finished 7-9 and at No. 23 in the final poll.At the opposite end of the poll, Jacksonville, Cleveland and Oakland were picked to finish No. 30 to 32. Jacksonville (3-13) did indeed finish No. 30 followed by Tampa Bay, which has the No. 1 pick in the draft, and the Tennessee Titans.The Browns were 25th and the Raiders finished 29th.___AP NFL websites:
www.pro32.ap.org and
www.twitter.com/AP_NFL [b]J. R. Smith Jersey[/b] . Smith, an eighth overall pick, had two goals in only 276 minutes of playing time over 16 appearances last season. The left side midfielder played only 43 minutes in three games this season.
[b]Darrell Walker Jersey[/b] . Off-Season Game Plan examines a team facing some challenging times as GM Bryan Murray tries to put together a roster for next season. Perhaps the first challenge facing Murray is that its expected he will be moving out Jason Spezza, a premier point producer who is about to enter the final year of his contract.CHICAGO -- Dennis Rodman is preparing to thrill North Korean fans during an exhibition basketball tour there late next month. Though he ducked questions in an interview with The Associated Press about whether his Christmas-time visit would be used for propaganda purposes by Kim Jong Un, the 29-year-old leader of one of the worlds most repressive regimes, Rodman said hell be accompanied on the trip by a dozen or so former NBA players. But he refused to name names. "I have seven people right now," Rodman said. "I talked to a couple of guys last week. Lot of guys are saying, OK, great. Ill go. Well go. But Im not saying this to get people to go over there to prove a point -- OK, great, lets go over there and make a difference. "No-o-o-o-o-o," he continued. "Lets go over there because this is a great opportunity for everyone to see a different culture. ... This country is so bad. This city is so bad. OK, great, come see it and tell the world when you come back, Hey, its not as bad as you think. And thats why Im taking NBA players over there, to show them, so they can come back and talk about it." Back in the news as a self-appointed ambassador and friend of Kim, Rodman returned Thursday to where he won the last three of his five NBA championships playing alongside Michael Jordan. On a promotional tour to pitch a vodka brand, Rodman, 52, held court downtown amid camera flashes. Rodman said he wouldnt talk about his relationship with Kim or North Korean politics, including its widely condemned human-rights record and secretive nuclear weapons program. Though he eventually touched on those subjects, Rodman glossed over several related questions and largely ignored a challenge to his answer about whether North Korea was holding U.S. citizens as hostages, including 85-year-old Korean War veteran Merrill Newman. The Swedish Embassy is negotiating on behalf of Newmman because the U.
[b]Damyean Dotson Jersey[/b]. S. has no diplomatic ties to North Korea. Rodmans friendship with Kim has afforded him the kind of access denied statesmen from the West and even U.S. President Barack Obama. Rodman came under criticism for being "naive" during a previous visit to North Korea, where he was photographed often with Kim, and some members of the diplomatic community fear his antics could further aggravate already-sensitive negotiations. Rodman said his reasons for returning were much more personal and beyond that, Kims motives were not his concern. "Like I told you, this is not all about trying to create this major buzz," Rodman said. "Because I dont want my friend to sit there and say I been doing this all along to slip in some information on him. I dont want that. Thats why Im not doing that. Were friends and thats it. "This aint about me trying to be a politician and try to get some scoop on him and stuff like that. ... Hes my friend first. Other than that, I dont give a damn what ... he does." Rodman began his NBA career with the Detroit Pistons in 1986. It ended in 2000, after failed attempts to catch on with both the Lakers and Mavericks. Whether or not he misses the game, its clear he enjoys being back in the limelight, detractors and all. "People say, what do you do for a living? I dont know. I just float around the world. Basically, I dont do anything. I do a lot of major things around the world. I do things that is very significant right now, and people are actually paying attention to Dennis Rodman now. "Back when I was doing my finagling in sports, they thought I was a joke. They thought I was a cartoon character or something like that. All of a sudden now, people are taking me seriously. You know, an ambassador all around the world," he added. "Its like ... I think things have come full circle." ' ' '
