SEATTLE - In the buildup to their playoff opener, the Seattle Seahawks never acknowledged the history of flameouts that followed Super Bowl champions that made the playoffs the following season.Then again, the entire second half of this season has been about the Seahawks putting history in the past and focusing on the present.Guys are playing selfless. There arent any egos, there arent any agendas, and guys just want to do whatever it takes to win, Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman said.If that means making a tackle, then make the tackle; if that means catching the football, were going to catch the football. Guys are playing for one another, they dont care about stats, nor do they care about anything else.Seattle used a bevy of big plays in its 31-17 win over Carolina on Saturday night in an NFC divisional playoff game, becoming the first defending Super Bowl champion to win a playoff game since New England in January 2006.The Seahawks used two of the longest scoring plays in franchise post-season history and a virtuoso passing performance from Russell Wilson to overwhelm the Panthers and advance to the NFC championship game for the second straight season.Seattle will host Green Bay in the conference title game next Sunday, a rematch of the first game of the regular season when the Seahawks outscored the Packers 19-6 in the second half for a 36-16 victory.Its going to be one of those for the ages, Wilson said. You look forward to that, and I definitely look forward to playing at home.The biggest play of Seattles victory was Kam Chancellors 90-yard interception return for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter that gave the Seahawks a 21-point lead. But that was just part of a night of big plays from the Seahawks, especially in the pass game.Seattle had six offensive plays of 25 yards or more, five of those coming in the pass game. Jermaine Kearse had the best day of his career with 129 yards receiving, including a 63-yard touchdown where he pulled in the pass from Wilson with one arm while shielding the defender.Kearse had two other catches of 33 yards, and Luke Willson had receptions of 29 and 25 yards in the fourth quarter, the second for a touchdown.The five passes of 25 or more yards tied the most in Wilsons career. He threw for 268 yards, but 199 of those came on third downs where Wilson was a perfect 8 for 8 passing.His passer rating of 149.2 was the fifth-highest in post-season history and Wilson now has a career passer rating of 109.6 in the playoffs, the highest all time for any QB with at least 150 pass attempts.Sometimes I think Im made for these situations, Wilson said. I just try to be prepared for us. When youre prepared, youre never scared. You just go.One of the big questions with Green Bay revisiting is will the Packers challenge Sherman this time? In the season opener, Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers did not throw to Shermans side once, cutting off one-third of the field. Rodgers passer rating of 81.5 in the loss was his second-lowest of the season.That was long before Seattle started on its current run of defensive dominance. Carolina finished with 362 total yards on Saturday, with most of those coming in the fourth quarter with the Panthers trailing. They were the first team to top 300 total yards against the Seahawks since the New York Giants in Week 10.Carolina was also the first team to score in the fourth quarter against Seattle since Kansas City in Week 11.Were mad about those seven points, defensive end Cliff Avril said.Seattle will again have injury concerns going into the NFC championship game. Center Max Unger re-injured his ankle late in the fourth quarter. Saturday was Ungers first game since Week 11, having missed the final six games of the regular season with a high-ankle sprain.Cornerback Byron Maxwell appeared on just four special-teams plays after missing practice during the week with an illness.And Seattle will be without rookie wide receiver Paul Richardson as well after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Richardson had 13 receptions in the final three games of the regular season and one catch on Saturday before being injured landing hard on the turf jumping for a deep throw.Richardson also tore the ACL in his left knee in college at Colorado.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFLWholesale Air Jordan 3 Canada .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Cheap Air Jordan 3 Canada . PAUL, Minn. http://www.cheapairjordan3canada.com/ . Scheffler told The Associated Press on Wednesday he made the choice because he had three concussions over the past four years. Cheap Air Jordan 3 Sale . PETERSBURG, Fla. Wholesale Air Jordan 3 . LOUIS -- Julius Randle had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Aaron Harrison finished with 18 points and No.MONTPELLIER, France -- Stage 6 of the 100th Tour de France was a textbook demonstration of teamwork. Like playing pass the parcel, an Australian deliberately handed over the race lead to a South African teammate and friend, so he could be the first rider from that country to wear the famed yellow jersey. And the German, Andre Greipel, who won the stage with a fierce finishing sprint, owed a debt of gratitude to teammates who plied him with drinks all afternoon, ferrying bottles back and forth from cars at the back of the race, so he didnt melt in the scorching sun. "Room service," the big German said light-heartedly. As the new leader of cyclings showcase race, Daryl Impey can look forward to some first-class treatment, too. Being the first South African to wear the yellow jersey "will definitely change my life," Impey said. Rugby, cricket and, for the majority black population, football, are the big sports for South Africans. Impey can shop in the malls of Johannesburg, where he trains and lives, without being recognized, said his wife, Alexandra. But that was before his buddy on the Orica GreenEdge team, Simon Gerrans, passed him the race lead at the Tour. "Wearing the yellow jersey now is definitely going to change things for cycling, put it on the map in South Africa," said Impey. "Hopefully people will start recognizing me, maybe." Gerrans knows the feeling. To wear canary yellow at the Tour is to be king for a day -- or more depending on how long the rider keeps the lead. Gerrans had it for two unforgettable days. Fans clapped and cheered when they saw him. Reporters chased him. A particularly boisterous crowd of Aussie fans played air guitar for him. The jersey also carries extra responsibilities: news conferences, podium ceremonies and other distractions can eat into rest and recovery -- so important for riders to survive the three-week trek over 3,404 kilometres (2,115 miles). Injuries from crashes have already culled seven of the 198 riders who started in Corsica on June 29. Impey worked for Gerrans earlier at the Tour, helping him win Stage 3 and riding hard in the time trial Orica won as a team in Stage 4. Gerrans figured it was time for some pay-back. So on Thursday he rode in five seconds behind Impey in Montpellier. That was enough for the race lead to pass from one to the other, because they started the day with the exact same overall time, with Gerrans in first place and Impey second. "Daryl was a huge part of me getting the jersey so I thought it was a nice gesture to be able to pass it on to him now. Hopefully for a few days," Gerrans said. "To have the yellow jersey, it just really changes your life as a cyclist." "Ill have a bit more time to myself now and pass all that extra work on to Daryl," Gerrans added. "I dont count it as losing the jersey. I count it as passing it onto a mate.dddddddddddd It was the plan before the stage and we were able to execute it perfectly." Impeys father was a pro cyclist in South Africa, said his wife, Alexandra. She said Impey also used to train with Burry Stander, a two-time Olympic mountain biker killed Jan. 3 when he was hit by a minibus taxi while biking with his wife. Stander was the second leading cyclist to be killed in a road accident in South Africa in recent years. Carla Swart died in January 2011 when she was hit by a truck while training. Describing roads around Johannesburg as "pretty scary," Alexandra Impey said: "I feel more relaxed when hes training here in Europe." Greipels sprint-finish victory capped a hard day of riding for the pack, across 176.5-kilometres (110 miles) of flat, sun-kissed terrain from Aix-en-Provence. Anxious that the regions famous wind, the mistral, might blow hard and split up the race, teams cranked up the pace, reeling in a breakaway rider and motoring at high speed to make sure they wouldnt get left behind. This in heat that turned tarmac sticky, with temperatures in the thirties (above 90 Fahrenheit). Bottles flew from the peloton as riders emptied them and tossed them aside. At the finish, French rider Thibaut Pinot immediately pulled up at a drinks station, pouring a whole bottle of water over his head and downing another in huge gulps. "We rode strong all day in poor conditions," said Mark Cavendish, who won Stage 5 in a sprint but crashed late in Stage 6 and expended too much energy getting back into the race to challenge Greipel in the final dash. Water-carrying is the job of so-called "domestiques," racers who ride in support of leaders going either for overall victory or stage wins. "The yellow jersey doesnt get bottles, as a general rule," said Matt White, a director on Impeys team. While leaders concentrate on staying up front, their support riders drop back to team cars behind the peloton to pick up drinks. "Its a dangerous place to be, getting water bottles at 60 kilometres per hour (37 miles per hour) and putting them in your pockets," said White. So leaders dont do it. Domestiques stuff bottles into pockets and inside their shirts. ""You look like an idiot, but its the easiest way to carry them," said one of Greipels water carriers, Australian Adam Hansen. Then they race back to distribute the drinks to teammates. "When youve got to go all the way back and all the way forward, its hard work," said Hansen. So Greipel doesnt do it, to keep him fresh for finishing sprints where he excels. His stage win Thursday was his fifth at the Tour. Greipel said he downed four to five litres (8 to 10 pints) of liquid -- about 10 bottles -- as he rode. But he didnt get one of them himself. "Thats our job: to make it easy as possible for him," said Hansen. China NFL JerseysCheap Nike NFL JerseysNFL Jerseys CheapWholesale NFL JerseysCheap Basketball Jerseys OnlineStitched Hockey JerseysWholesale Baseball JerseysFootball Jerseys OutletCollege Jerseys For SaleCheap MLB JerseysWholesale Soccer JerseysWholesale Jerseys For SaleWholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '