Page 25 - Florida Sentinel 1-22-16 Edition

Sports
Conference Championship Winners Will Move On To Super Bowl 50
The 2015-2016 NFL season is winding to a close with just two things left that need to be settled.
One of those things is who will be flying to California to compete in Super Bowl 50, and the other is who will be the winner.
This year’s Super Bowl will be played at Levi’s stadium in Santa Clara, California on Feb- ruary 7th, Kickoff will be at 6:30 p. m.
But, before we get to that point, let’s look at this week- end’s matchups.
Last week, the Carolina Panthers jumped out to a 31-0 lead over the Seattle Sea- hawks, then held on for a 31- 24 victory after going scoreless in the second half.
It was the Panther defense who saved the day in the end, although they have problems in their defensive backfield that need to be addressed.
In the Arizona Cardinal/Green Bay Packer contest, once again it got down to the last play, and then over- time to decide the winner.
Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a suc- cessful hail mary pass as the clock ran out in the 4th quar- ter to tie the game at 20 points each. However, in overtime the Cardinals scored first with a shovel pass from Carson Palmer to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald to give his team a 26-20 win and a trip to Carolina to face the Panthers for the NFC Championship.
Things were interesting in the AFC as well, as the Patriots found themselves needed all of quarterback Tom Brady’s experience to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-20.
The Denver Broncos also re- lied on the veteran arm of Pey- ton Manning to guide them to victory over the Pittsburg Steelers, 23-16. In that game, Manning took on a different role as did Brady in his game. Both quarterbacks found
CAM NEWTON .....looking to compete and win his first Super Bowl.
PEYTON MANNING .....looking to join brother, Eli, with two Super Bowl wins.
themselves being more mo- bile, with Brady scoring a touchdown, and Manning avoiding the pass rush of the Steelers.
This weekend, the Panthers are favored over the Cardinals, and the Patriots are favored to beat the Broncos.
As some sports analysts think that the Patriots will have no problem beating the Panthers, others think just the opposite, and feel the Panther defense will make the differ- ence and their Superman, Cam Newton, will once again put on an MVP perform- ance.
Kathryn Smith Hired By Bills As NFL's First Full-Time Female Coach
Newton Named PFWA MVP, Offensive Player of the Year
CHARLOTTE - Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has been voted the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).
Newton fronted a domi- nant Panthers offense with 35 touchdown passes, 10 rushing touchdowns and 3,837 passing yards while helping lead Car- olina to a 15-1 record in the regular season and top seed in the NFC.
Now in his fifth season, Newton is the 41st MVP hon- ored by the PFWA and the first member of the Panthers to earn the award.
CAM NEWTON
Newton has been the recip- ient of many honors this sea- son, including the AP All-Pro First Team, Sporting News Of- fensive Player of the Year and Sporting News All-Pro.
KATHRYN SMITH
BUFFALO- The Buffalo Bills made history Wednesday by hir- ing the NFL's first female full- time coach, naming Kathryn Smith as a special teams qual- ity control coach.
Smith served as the adminis- trative assistant to head coach Rex Ryan this season after working for 12 years for the New York Jets, including the final six with Ryan as Jets head coach.
"Kathryn Smith has done an outstanding job in the seven years that she has worked with our staff," Ryan said in a state- ment. "She certainly deserves this promotion based on her knowledge and strong commit- ment, just to name a couple of her outstanding qualities, and I just know she's going to do a great job serving in the role of Quality Control-Special Teams."
Seahawks QB Russell Wilson 'Going To School' This Offseason
Josh Gordon Applies To The NFL For Reinstatement
JOSH GORDON
SEATTLE- At the age of 27, Russell Wilson just deliv- ered his finest season as an NFL quarterback.
He led the league in passer rating (110.1), set career highs in completion percentage (68.1) and yards per attempt (8.3), and operated from the pocket better than he ever has before. Wilson will be enter- ing his fifth season in 2016. Now it's time for him to go to school, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said.
"Russell and I talked about this last night," Carroll said. "I think this is really the right time to really turn his focus and broaden his awareness of what is going on in the game overall. And so he and I will spend a lot of time this offsea- son introducing him to the perspective of what it’s like to look at the defense from the defensive side of the ball. I want him to learn and under- stand what is going on schematically, rotation-wise, fits-wise even more than he knows now."
The plan will be the same for safety Earl Thomas on the other side of the ball.
"We are going to school, and it will be a tremendous offsea- son for those guys," Carroll said. "And they are ready for that."
The biggest positive to come from the 2015 season for
Pete Carroll says QB Rus- sell Wilson has made huge strides, and that it's time for him to understand what the defense is doing "in even greater depth."
the Seahawks was Wilson's continued growth. He was coming off probably the most devastating interception in Super Bowl history. His con- tract was one of the biggest stories of the offsesaon, league-wide. And after the team got off to a 2-4 start, there were questions about whether Wilson was pro- gressing at the appropriate rate.
But down the stretch, he went on a tear, throwing 24 touchdowns against one inter- ception in the final seven games. As Marshawn Lynch, Jimmy Graham and Thomas Rawls went down with injuries, Wilson continued to perform, leading the team to a 10-6 record.
CLEVELAND -- Speedster Josh Gordon has asked the NFL for another chance.
The suspended Browns wide receiver applied to the league for reinstatement. Gordon, who was banned for a year in February for multiple viola- tions of the league's substance abuse policy, formally asked commissioner Roger Goodell to allow him back.
Gordon failed an alcohol test last year, wiping out the tal- ented receiver's 2015 season.
According to league policy, Gordon could apply in writing for reinstatement within 60 days of his suspension ending.
For Gordon to be rein- stated, he will have to demon- strate sustained abstinence during his suspension.
NFL PLAYOFF GAMES
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