Inland Waterways » Theyve got a first-round bye in the post-season

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are in a familiar position.Theyve got a first-round bye in the post-season for the fifth straight year, and theyre closing in on having home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.But first, they had to sweat through a 17-16 victory over the upset-minded New York Jets on Sunday.We made plenty of good (plays) in the fourth quarter to come from behind, so that was great, quarterback Tom Brady said. Im glad it came out the way it did — makes for a better Christmas. Its always tough to get a win here.Jonas Gray scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter after New England intercepted Geno Smith, and Vince Wilfork tipped Nick Folks 52-yard field goal attempt with just over 5 minutes left.Brady threw a 3-yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski for the Patriots (12-3), who could earn home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs if Denver loses to Cincinnati on Monday night.Right now, were focused on our last game, wide receiver Danny Amendola said. Well kind of assess the situation as we go.New England plays at home against Buffalo next week, then gets to rest for the opening round of the playoffs. The Patriots five consecutive seasons of first-round byes is the longest streak since the current playoff format began in 1990.This win, though, didnt come easy.With the Jets (3-12) leading 13-10 late in the third quarter, Geno Smiths pass for Jace Amaro hung in the air for an easy interception for Jamie Collins — which led to Grays score minutes later.Yeah, he underthrew it, Jets coach Rex Ryan said in what could have been his last home game with the team. Poor throw. That was a big play on their part.So was Wilforks tip of Folks long attempt that could have given New York a lead.It was reminiscent of the teams first meeting, when Chris Jones blocked Folks 58-yard try on the final play of New Englands 27-25 win at Gillette Stadium in October.Brady and the Patriots were then able to run out the clock for the win.Its unfortunate, Ryan said. I really thought it was going to be our day.Here are a few things to know about the Patriots win over the Jets:REXS LAST STAND?: Ryans future with the team is uncertain as his sixth season winds down.New York will miss the post-season for the fourth straight year, and Ryan and general manager John Idzik have come under heavy criticism by fans who have urged owner Woody Johnson to make changes. Several waved yellow penalty towels at MetLife Stadium with the words Fire Idzik! printed in green.Its tough because through this all, hes been the rock, right guard Willie Colon said of Ryan. I honestly want to win for him, more than anybody.SO-SO BRADY: It wasnt a vintage performance by Brady, by any means, but he got the job done — as usual — against the Jets.Brady finished 23 of 35 for 182 yards and was sacked four times, a modest showing while playing without wide receiver Julian Edelman (concussion) and running back LeGarrette Blount (shoulder). He still improved to 20-5 in the regular season — 21-6 overall — as a starter against the Patriots AFC East rivals.They always play us pretty hard, Brady said. We got their best today.REVIS RETURNS: Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis played against his former team for the first time at MetLife Stadium since signing with New England, and it was a mostly quiet return — except for the fans booing him when he made one of his four tackles.Revis spoke briefly to Ryan, his former coach, after the game.I just told him after the game, good luck, good to see him, and that was it, Revis said. I was just showing him my respect for him coaching me in the past.INJURIES: Jets centre Nick Mangold injured his left ankle in the second quarter and was carted off the field.He said he had X-rays, which revealed no break, but was scheduled for additional tests Monday.New York also played without wide receiver Percy Harvin in the second half after he injured a rib.PAYING RESPECTS: Mangold wore a black NYPD cap while walking into MetLife Stadium off the team bus in honour of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were murdered in Brooklyn on Saturday, and held it to his heart during the singing of the national anthem. The team also observed a 10-second moment of silence before the game.Jets defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson, recently critical of law enforcement in the Ferguson, Missouri, incident, spoke out in support of the officers.Some innocent blood was spilled, Richardson said. Im not with that at all. Thats the message that Im trying to get across. Its sad, real sad that two officers lost their lives and cant go home to their families.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Air Max Online Australia .com) - The St. Nike Air Max Sale Australia . -- The Chiefs have signed seven players to reserve/future contracts, including running back Joe McKnight, a former fourth-round pick of the New York Jets. http://www.cheapaustraliaairmax.com/ .com) - Klay Thompson is quickly proving he is worth every penny of his recently signed four-year contract extension. Air Max Sale Australia . The Maple Leafs will play on the road for the first time this season after dropping home contests to Montreal and Pittsburgh to begin the campaign. After losing a one-goal decision to the Canadiens on Wednesday, they were bested 5-2 on Saturday by the Penguins. Buy Nike Air Max Australia . Algeria led 3-0 at halftime, but withstood a stronger South Korean second half performance to claim its first World Cup win since 1982 and move into second place in Group H with one match left to play. Defeat for South Korea means it must now beat already-qualified Belgium to stand a chance of progressing to the knockout stages.DALLAS - Stephen Curry thought about protecting his ankles. Golden State coach Steve Kerr screamed for a timeout.The object of their preoccupation? Marreese Speights wayward shoe.In a game with a weird footnote, the Warriors won their franchise-record 15th in row Saturday as Curry scored 29 points in a 105-98 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.It was a bizarre sequence, said Kerr, at 20-2 off to the fastest start ever for a first-year coach.After Speights lost his shoe making a move for the Warriors in the third quarter, the big mans sneaker was thrown toward midcourt to get it out of the way as the possession continued.When the teams headed back the other way, Curry picked up the loose shoe and tried to toss it to Speights. But Mavericks centre Tyson Chandler swatted the sneaker in midair, knocking it near the sideline and prompting Curry to gesture toward an official.The blocked shoe drew the biggest roar from an otherwise quiet crowd.When I was on the wing, and I saw the shoe, and I immediately thought about my ankles, so I thought, I got to pick that up before I try to make that move, Curry said. On the other transition, when he went to go get his shoe back, but Tyson thought um, otherwise, I guess. Ive never seen that happen before.Chandler said the move was purely tactical, not motivational for a team that fell behind by 21 points in the first quarter and 28 in the second before getting within seven points in the final minute of the game.You cant run with a sock on, said Chandler, who had 11 point and 12 rebounds for his 12th double-double. I was hoping that we could exploit them at the other end until they either had to call timeout or he had to foul. But we didnt take advantage of it.Chandler was pretty sure there wasnt a rule against the swat, and Kerr was pretty sure he was ready for that to change.A shoe rule! he said, laughing. Like the Larry Bird exception. The Tyson Chandler rule. No deflectingg shoes!Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 23 points for Dallas, approved of the move.ddddddddddddhat was probably the best defensive play of the night, he said.Curry and Klay Thompson each scored 17 in the first half, and Thompson finished with 25 as the Warriors became the 12th NBA team to open a season 20-2.Monta Ellis scored 24 points to lead the Mavericks, who played without Chandler Parsons because of a sore back. Dallas dropped to 0-5 against the top seven teams in the Western Conference.TIP-INSWarriors: C Andrew Bogut had flu-like symptoms to go with right knee tendinitis that also kept him out of Wednesdays game against Houston. ... Kerr said F David Lee (strained left hamstring) has worked well the last couple of days without any repercussions. ... Draymond Green had 20 points and eight rebounds for Golden State, and Harrison Barnes added 12 points and nine boards.Mavericks: Coach Rick Carlisle got a technical early in the season half when he complained that Green wasnt called for an illegal screen on Ellis as Curry came around the pick and hit a 3-pointer. ... G Jameer Nelson returned after missing one game with a sore right shoulder.GOOD MEMORIESKerr made his first trip as a coach to the site of his last shining moment as a player, when he was an afterthought for San Antonio on its way to the title in 2003. He hit four 3-pointers as part of a huge fourth-quarter rally that helped the Spurs avoid a Game 7 in the Western Conference finals against the Mavericks. He had just one more 3-pointer in the playoffs before retiring after the season. That was fun, Kerr said.FILLING IN FOR PARSONSRichard Jefferson, starting in Parsons spot, had 13 points and 13 rebounds, his first double-double in those categories since Dec. 3, 2010, when he had 15 points and 10 boards for San Antonio against Minnesota.UP NEXTWarriors at New Orleans on Sunday to finish a back-to-back.Mavericks at New York on Tuesday. ' ' '