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♦ TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2005
Outside
the
'Home’
Former Boston Brave des
HUDSON, N.C. (AP) - Charles
“Cutt" R. Cozart, who pitched for
the Boston Braves in 1945, died
Friday at a Caldwell County hos
pice. He was 85.
Cozart. a native of Caldweli
County, pitched eight innings in
five games for the Braves, ending
the season 1 -0 with a 10.13 ERA,
according to the Atlanta Braves
Web site.
Cozart was inducted into the
county’s sports hall of fame in
1995. He retired from the Caldwell
County Sheriff's Office.
Survivors include his wife,
Willa Bean Cozart of Hudson;
three daughters, Lisa C. Greene
of Lenora, Rend C. Wheeler of
Hildebran, and Freda P. Hardin
of Gastonia; a brother, Thomas
"Snook" Clark; four grandchildren;
two great-grandchildren.
Funeral services are planned
for Monday at Concord Baptist
Church.
Manning breaks Q 6 ratkig
NEW YORK (AP) - Peyton
Manning set yet another NFL
passing record Sunday, finishing
the season with a rating of 121.1,
more than eight points better than
Steve Young's previous mark.
Curtis Martin worked overtime
to capture the league's rush
ing title by a yard over Shaun
Alexander.
Manning, who last week set a
record with 49 touchdown passes
for the season, threw just two
passes Sunday in Denver before
leaving for Jim Sorgi. Manning
went 1 -for-2 for 6 yards. He would
have needed to go 0-for-20 with
five interceptions to lose out on
the record of 112.8, set by San
Francisco's Steve Young in 1994.
In the rushing race, Martin
rushed for 153 yards on 28 car
ries as the New York Jets lost to
St. Louis in overtime. That gave
him 1,697 yards, one more than
Alexander, who had 80 yards in 19
carries as Seattle beat Atlanta.
Utah's Meyer voted best
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Utah's
Urban Meyer received the
Football Writers Association/
Eddie Robinson coach of the year
award Saturday after leading the
Utes to a 12-0 season.
The honor was announced dur
ing the Utes' 35-7 victory over
Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl, the
final piece in Utah's first perfect
season since 1930.
The other finalists for the award
- first presented in 1957 to Ohio
State's Woody Hayes - were
Southern California’s Pete Carroll,
Tommy Tuberville of Auburn, Mike
Price of Texas-EI Paso, lowa’s
Kirk Ferentz and California coach
Jeff Tedford.
Meyer was 22-2 at Utah and
guided the Utes to the first Bowl
Championship Series game for a
team from a conference without
an automatic BCS berth.
Saturday's game was Meyer's
last with the Utes. He was hired
by Florida to replace the fired Ron
Zook, but was allowed to coach
Utah one last time.
Meyer will be presented with
the award Sept. 3 in his Florida
debut when the Gators host
Wyoming.
Russia, Canada to meet
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP)
- Anton Khudobin helped Russia
set up a title-game showdown
with Canada in the world junior
championships, making 22 saves
in a 7-2 semifinal victory over
the defending champion United
States on Sunday night.
Canada beat the Czech
Republic 3-1 in the first semifinal
to advance to the championship
game for the fourth straight year.
Coria wins two matches
PERTH, Australia (AP)
- Guillermo Coria beat David
Sanguinetti 6-1, 7-6 (4) Sunday
and then teamed with Gisela
Dulko to win the mixed doubles,
giving Argentina a 2-1 victory over
Italy in the opener of the Hopman
Cup, an Australian Open tuneup.
Francesco Schiavone defeated
Dulko 6-1, 6-3 in the first match.
Coria, last year's losing finalist
at the French Open, evened the
series by winning his singles.
Coria and Dulko then topped
Schiavone and Sanguinetti 7-5,6-
0 in the deciding mixed doubles.
Pamette upset techy
GOLD COAST, Australia (AP)
- Flavia Pennetta of Italy upset
former champion and sixth-seed
ed Nathalie Dechy of France 7-6
(7), 6-1 on the opening day of
the Australian women's hardcourt
championships.
Dechy, the 2003 champion,
has made at least the quarter
finals of this event four times,
but she struggled Sunday in this
warmup for the Australian Open,
which starts Jan. 17.
Fifth-seeded Silvia Farina Elia
of Italy beat Stephanie Foretz
of France 6-3, 7-5, and eighth
seeded Magdalena Maleeva of
Bulgaria defeated Yuliana Fedak
of Ukraine 6-4, 6-1.
Denisa Chladkova of the Czech
Republic defeated Severine
Beltrame of France 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
p OOTBALL
NFL Capsules
Rams 32, Jets 29
ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Rams won a
finale that, in the end. they needed much
more than the New York Jets.
Marc Bulger threw for 450 yards and
three touchdowns and Jeff Wilkins hit a
31-yard field goal with 3:03 left in overtime
Sunday to give the Rams a 32-29 win over
the Jets, clinching their fourth playoff berth
in five seasons under coach Mike Martz.
The Rams (8-8) won their last two
games to qualify as the NFC wild card, and
will play at NFC West champion Seattle on
Saturday.
Their effort took on more meaning when
the Vikings lost to the Redskins, because
the Rams had to win to make it into the
postseason But the Jets (10-6) qualified
well before overtime began when Buffalo
lost 29-24 to the Steelers
Redskins 21, Vikings 18
LANDOVER. Md. (AP) - The Vikings
wilted for the second year in a row with a
chance to clinch a postseason berth in the
finale. But they got in anyway when New
Orleans beat Carolina.
The Vikings (8-8) lost seven of their last
10 games after a 5-1 start. Last year, they
fell from 6-0 to 9-7 and were eliminated
by a touchdown pass on the last play of
the season at Arizona. Mike Tice jokingly
referred to himself as "Coach Collapse”
last week, but at least he is in the playoffs
for the first time since taking over from
Dennis Green during the 2001 season.
The Redskins (6-10) gave a spirited
finish to Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs'
disappointing comeback season, his worst
in 13 years with the Redskins.
Broncos 33, Colts 14
DENVER (AP) - The Broncos took care
of the Indianapolis B' team and earned
the right to face Peyton Manning and the
real Colts next week in the playoffs. Jake
Plummer threw for 246 yards and two
touchdowns to lift the Broncos to the AFC's
final wild-card spot.
The result eliminated Jacksonville and
Baltimore from the playoff race and meant
the Broncos (10-6) start the postsea
son next Sunday in a familiar place - at
Indianapolis (12-4). where they lost 41-10
in last year's first round.
Saints 21, Panthers 18
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The Saints
finally won a game that mattered, then
missed the playoffs anyway when St. Louis
won.
Needing to beat the Panthers to stay in
playoff contention, the Saints (8-8) forced
Falcons fall short to Seattle
By TIM KORTE
AP Sports Writer
SEATTLE - The Seattle
Seahawks have one more
shot to knock off" the St.
Louis Rams - this time it’ll
come in the wild-card play
offs.
“We felt like we let one,
for sure, get away from us,”
Seattle cornerback Ken
Lucas said of the earlier
meetings this season. “Then
we went to their place and
they took care of business.
We get another chance to
redeem ourselves.”
The Seahawks (9-7) will
be home for Saturday’s
opening round of the play
offs because they edged the
Rams (8-8) by one game for
the NFC West title.
Matt Hasselbeck threw
two touchdown passes and
got another TD on a sneak,
leading Seattle to a 28-26
win over the Atlanta Falcons
on Sunday, a victoiy that
locked up the division title
and assured a home game
for the rematch with the
Rams.
Had the Seahawks lost to
Atlanta (11-5), they would
have traveled to St. Louis
next weekend.
Seattle’s defense has been
vulnerable to huge collapses
this season, perhaps none
more dramatic than an
Oct. 10 meltdown. St. Louis
erased a 27-10 deficit in the
fourth quarter in Seattle and
won 33-27 in overtime.
Then came a 43-39 loss to
Dallas, where the Seahawks
blew a 39-29 lead.
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three turnovers and had six sacks Aaron
Brooks passed for 216 yards and threw a
44-yard touchdown pass to Joe Horn. The
win capped an impressive turnaround for
the Saints and might have saved coach
Jim Haslett's job. On shaky ground a
month ago when New Orleans was 4-8. the
Saints won their final four.
Steelers 29, Bills 24
ORCHARD PARK, N Y (AP) - Fourth
string running back Willie Parker had 102
yards rushing and backup linebacker
James Harrison returned a fumble 18
yards for a touchdown, knogking Buffalo
out of playoff contention.
The Steelers won their 14th straight to
match the record set by Miami in 1972 and
became just the fourth team in NFL history
to finish 15-1.
The Bills (9-7) had a six-game winning
streak snapped, but made it close when
Willis McGahee scored his second touch
down on a 1 -yard plunge with 78 seconds
left. But the Bills failed on an onside kick.
Ravens 30, Dolphins 23
BALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore (9-7),
playing against downtrodden Miami (4-12),
which started third-string quarterback Sage
Rosenfels, built a 27-7 lead, then held on.
But with Denver's victory, Baltimore fell out
of playoff contention. Jamal Lewis scored
a touchdown and ran for 167 yards, giving
him 1,006 for the season.
Baltimore's Jarret Johnson returned an
interception for a score and teammate
Ed Reed got his ninth interception and
returned it 41 yards to get an NFL record
for return yardage in a season (358).
Chargers 24, Chiefs 17
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Doug Flutie and
Phillip Rivers each threw a touchdown
pass and the Chargers warmed up for their
first playoff game in nine seasons. Having
clinched the AFC West two weeks earlier
and the AFC’s No. 4 seed a week ago,
the Chargers rested Pro Bowlers Drew
Brees. LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio
Gates, as well as defensive tackle Jamal
Williams.
San Diego (12-4) was still too much for
Kansas City (7-9), which had its four-game
winning streak snapped.
Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez set the
NFL's single-season record for tight ends
with 102 catches. He broke the record of
96 set by Ben Coates in 1994. Gonzalez's
14 catches, for 144 yards, were a Chiefs
single-game record, breaking Ed Podolak s
record of 12 set in 1973.
Patriots 21, 49ers 7
FOXBORO. Mass. (AP) - New England,
a franchise-best 14-2 for the second
straight season, got Tom Brady s two TD
passes after he threw an interception and
lost a fumble.
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AP
Atlanta running back Warrick Dunn (28) is stopped inch
es short of the goal line on the two-point attempt that
would have tied the game as Seattle Seahawks line
backer Isiah Kacyvenski (58) starts the celebration for a
28-26 victory at Qwest Field in Seattle, Wash., Sunday.
They could have done it
again against the Falcons,
but they didn’t. Warrick
Dunn was smothered by a
collection of Seattle defend
ers on a 2-point conversion
attempt that would have
forced overtime but instead
ended the game.
Atlanta reserve quarter
back Matt Schaub threw
a 3-yard TD pass to Brian
Finneran as time expired.
Cleats
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SPORTS
Corner room
Corey Dillon ran for 116 yards and one
touchdown, but also lost a fumble. And the
Patnots' regular-season record of scoring
first in 20 straight games ended on Ken
Dorsey's 4-yard pass to third-string tight
end Steve Bush late in the first quarter.
The 49ers matched their franchise-worst
2-14 record and clinched the top pick in
this year's draft
Bengals 38. Eagles 10
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - With Donovan
McNabb and several other starters sitting
out, the Eagles' backups were thoroughly
dominated. Rudi Johnson ran for three
touchdowns and 99 yards, and Jon Kitna
threw a sconng pass, helping the Bengals
win their second straight game to finish 8-8
for the second year in a row.
The Eagles (13-3) had five turnovers
in their worst performance since a 38-0
loss to Seattle in the 1998 season opener.
Philadelphia secured home-field advan
tage throughout the NFC playoffs two
weeks ago.
Titans 24, Lions 19
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Billy Volek
threw for 175 yards and a touchdown
before being knocked out of the game with
a separated right shoulder in the fourth
quarter, and the Titans snapped a five
game skid. The Titans (5-11) were without
14 players from their opening day roster
because of injuries, but had more than
enough to handle Detroit (6-10).
Packers 31, Bears 14
CHICAGO (AP) - Brett Favre and the
Packers (10-6) warmed up for the playoffs.
Favre played the first quarter and one
series in the second, going 9-of-13 for 196
yards and two touchdowns as the Packers
beat the Bears (5-11) for the 21st time in
the last 26 meetings - including 11 straight
on the road. Favre also went over 4,000
yards passing in a season for the fourth
time in his career and reached 30 TD
passes for an eighth time.
Browns 22, Texans 14
HOUSTON (AP) - Kelly Holcomb’s
return to the lineup provided a lift to the
Browns' punchless offense and Cleveland
(4-12) ended a nine-game losing streak,
denying Houston (7-9) its first non-losing
season. Lee Suggs had his third straight
100-yard rushing day with 131 yards and
Phil Dawson kicked five field goals, giv
ing Browns interim coach Terry Robiskie
his only win in five games since replacing
Butch Davis on Nov. 30.
Cardinals 12, Buccaneers 7
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Neil Rackers kicked
four field goals and the Cardinals stifled the
Tampa Bay offense.
Coach Jon Gruden’s team lost its fourth
in a row to finish 5-11, Tampa Bay's worst
record since going 5-11 under Sam Wyche
The game’s final drive cov
ered 69 yards and consumed
4:28, and it seemed for a
moment that maybe the
Seahawks might fold again.
Not this time, though.
“It’s a testament to where
we have come from,” rookie
safety Michael Boulware
said. “Earlier in the sea
son, we’ve lost those and
now we’re starting to win
them.”
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Jaguars 13, Raiders 6
OAKLAND. Calif. (AP) - On a muddy,
rain-soaked field, the Jaguars (9-7) con
cluded their first winning season in five
years. Greg Jones scored on a 1 -yard am
for the game's only touchdown that broke
a third-quarter tie.
Giants 28, Cowboys 24
EAST RUTHERFORD. N.J. (AP) - Tiki
Barber became the Giants' all-time leading
rusher and capped his achievement with a
winning flair. Barber finished a record-set
ting night by scoring on a 3-yard run with
11 seconds to play. Eli Manning also threw
three touchdown passes as the Giants (6-
10) snapped an eight-game losing streak.
H ASKETBALL
NBA Capsules
Kings 86, Spurs 81
SACRAMENTO. Calif. (AP) - Peja
Stojakovic had 28 points, including six 3-
pointers. and Mike Bibby scored 13 of his
16 points in the second half for the Kings.
Chris Webber added 14 points and 13
rebounds for Sacramento, which snapped
the Spurs' five-game winning streak. The
Kings also avoided their first three-game
home losing streak since April 2000 with a
gritty fourth-quarter performance.
Rockets 99, Jazz 80
HOUSTON (AP) - Tracy McGrady
scored 25 points to help Houston win its
third straight game. Bob Sura tied season
highs with 24 points and 10 rebounds for
the Rockets, who won for the 10th time in
their last 14 games.
Clippers 89, 76ers 83
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Elton Brand
had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the
Clipppers and Corey Maggette added 26.
Allen Iverson scored 35 points while
playing at least 40 minutes for the 10th
straight game. He shot 16-for-30, while
the 76ers' other starters were a combined
4-for-20 from the field.
Men's College Top 25 Capsules
No. 4 North Carolina 105, William &
Mary 66
CHAPEL HILL. N.C. - Sean May scored
24 points on 9-of-13 shooting to lead No. 4
North Carolina past William & Mary 105-66
Sunday. The Tar Heels (12-1) have won
12 in a row since losing to Santa Clara in
the opener.
Jawad Williams had 19 points, Rashad
McCants added 15 and Raymond Felton
finished with 12 assists for North Carolina.
No. 13 Washington 76, Stanford 73
SEATTLE (AP) - Mike Jensen and Tre
Late playoff qualfiers
unlikely to go too far
By DAVE GOLDBERG
AP Football Writer
The Jets, Vikings and
Rams made it into the NFL
playoffs Sunday.
The way they played, they
might be out in a week.
New York and Minnesota
backed in, the Vikings losing
seven of their last 10 for the
second straight season. The
Jets lost 32-29 in overtime
at the Rams, and the Vikings
lost 21-18 at the Redskins.
But the Jets, who went
5-6 after starting 5-0, got in
as an AFC wild card. And
Minnesota and St. Louis
both qualified in the NFC at
8-8, the second time that’s
happened; Dallas and Detroit
were .500 playoff teams in
1999.
It all meant that the NFC’s
hottest team got left out of
the postseason.
That was New Orleans,
which won its last four games,
three on the road, including a
21-18 victory at the Carolina
Panthers on Sunday to fin
ish 8-8. Carolina, which lost
to New England in the last
Super Bowl, won five straight
games after starting 1-7, but
finished 7-9 and missed the
playoffs after losing two of
its last three games.
“It’s a shame ... we don’t
get a chance to show off what
we can do in the playoffs,”
said New Orleans coach Jim
Haslett, who may have saved
his job with the late run.
Buffalo, which had won six
straight, blew a chance to
make the playoffs by losing
29-24 at home to Pittsburgh,
even though the Steelers
rested many starters. With
the Jets losing, the Bills (9-7)
would have made the play
offs with a victory.
It wouldn’t be too surpris
ing if the Jets, Vikings and
Rams wind up as first-round
losers. Then again, it’s hard
to predict anything in the
NFC.
The Vikings will play
Sunday afternoon at 4:30
p.m. EST at Green Bay (10-
6), to whom they have lost
twice by the same score - 34-
31 at Lambeau Field on Nov.
14 and at the Metrodome on
Dec. 24.
The Rams will be at Seattle
mmSoSs.
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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Simmons each had 17 points to lead the
Huskies to their eighth straight win.
Washington (12-1, 2-0 Pac-10) dropped
the two-time defending conference cham
pion Cardinal (6-6) to their first 0-2 start in
league play since 1990-91.
No. 14 Arizona 97, Arizona St. 79
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Channing Frye
had 21 points and Mustafa Shakur added
20, including a season-high four 3-point
ers, for the Wildcats (11-2). who won their
eighth straight in the Pac-10 opener for
both teams.
West Virginia 82, No. 17 N.C. State 69
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Johannes Herber
and Mike Gansey each scored 15 points
to give the Mountaineers their best start in
more than 40 years.
Patrick Beilen and Tyrone Sally each
scored 11 points for West Virginia, which
improved to 10-0 for the first time since the
1959-60 season when Jerry West played
for the Mountaineers.
No. 19 Louisville 98, Tennessee St.
64
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Francisco
Garcia matched his career-high with 29
points, including eight straight dunng a 27-
4 run, and Louisville pulled away.
Garcia hit four 3-pointers and Larry
O'Bannon added three over Tennessee
State's zone as the Cardinals (11-2) hit 12
from behind the arc despite the absence of
3-point specialist Taquan Dean because of
back spasms.
Women's Top 25 Capsules
Rutgers 51, No. 4 Texas 47
AUSTIN, Texas - Rutgers used a 13-0
run to end the game and upset No. 4 Texas
51-47, snapping the Longhorns' 41-game
home winning streak on Sunday.
The 24th-ranked Scarlet Knights (8-2)
overcame an 18-point deficit and held
Texas scoreless in the final 8 1/2 minutes.
Freshman Matee Ajavon scored 12 of her
game-high 16 points in the second half for
Rutgers.
No. 1 LSU 79, Tulane 45
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Seimone
Augustus scored 23 points to lead top
ranked LSU over Tulane.
Temeka Johnson and Scholanda Hoston
had 15 points apiece, with Johnson adding
nine assists for LSU (13-0). Sylvia Fowles
added seven points, nine rebounds and a
career-high five blocks.
No. 5 Stanford 72, Washington St 39
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Brooke Smith
scored 19 points to lead Stanford to its 19th
consecutive Pac 10 home opener.
Candice Wiggins had 12 points and
Kelley Suminski added 11 for Stanford (10-
2), which improved to 39-0 all-time against
Washington State.
at 4:30 p.m. EST on Saturday
to open the wild-card round.
The Seahawks (9-7)
clinched the NFC West by
holding off Atlanta 28-26
Sunday. But the Rams won
both meetings this season,
coming back from 17 points
down with six minutes left in
regulation to win in Seattle
33- in overtime.
Then they won in St. Louis
23-
The Jets will play at the
AFC West champion San
Diego Chargers (12-4) at
8:30 p.m. EST next Saturday
as the fifth-seeded team. The
Chargers beat Kansas City
24- on Sunday with back
ups.
New York beat the Chargers
34- in the second week,
but that was before San
Diego came together to win
10 of the last 12 games that
meant anything. AFC South
champion Indianapolis (12-
4) will be at home Sunday at
1 p.m. in a rematch against
Denver (10-6), which got in
by beating the Colts 33-14 as
Indy rested Peyton Manning,
Edgerrin James and most of
its record-setting offense.
The top seedings in each
conference were set before
Sunday.
In the AFC, North champ
Pittsburgh (15-1) and East
champ New England (14-
2) will host second-round
games the weekend of Jan.
15 and 16. Both won Sunday
despite using backups; the
Patriots beat San Francisco
21-7.
In the NFC, East winner
Philadelphia (13-3) earned
the top seeding, and South
winner Atlanta is No. 2.
The Eagles clinched home
field advantage throughout
the conference playoffs two
weeks ago, then lost their
final two games with back
ups.
The teams with byes tradi
tionally advance.
But in this wacky season,
who knows what will hap
pen, especially in the NFC.
Minnesota, for example,
ended up 8-8 after starting
5-1. Last year, the Vikings
finished 9-7 on a last-second
play in Arizona and missed
the playoffs.
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