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Barring ties in Week 17 — and there are some wild scenarios
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The path to a first-round bye in the AFC has a bunch of curves in it.Already in are NFC division winners Dallas (East) Byron Murphy Jersey , New Orleans (South), Chicago (North) and the Los Angeles Rams (West). AFC divisions clinched belong to New England in the East and, well, nobody else. But there are clear leaders .Seattle owns an NFC wild card, and the LA Chargers have one in the AFC, though they can still win the AFC West.“You either believe in something or you don’t,” says coach Pete Carroll, whose 9-6 Seahawks made the postseason in what was considered a rebuilding year. “I think just staying the course and knowing we’re on to something. Believing in the history. We know what we’re capable of doing. We’ve shown it over a lot of years. You’re always adapting, but it’s staying what you’re true to. I think that’s what is happening. We look like a team that we have seen before, and that’s powerful.”Most powerful so far has been New Orleans, with the league’s best record at 13-2, and a dynamic offense led by Drew Brees. The Saints have home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs.The Rams (12-3) get the other opening-round bye if they beat San Francisco on Sunday. If they lose and the Bears win at Minnesota, Chicago (11-4) earns the week off and Los Angeles drops to the third seed.A Bears win also could keep the Vikings (8-6-1) out of the postseason, providing defending champion Philadelphia (8-7) wins at Washington. Only the Vikings or Eagles can get the second NFC wild card.“We’ve got to empty the bucket, and that’s the way we’ve got to play next week at home Andy Isabella Jersey ,” Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph says. “I’m really looking forward to that environment.”In the AFC, seeding is more muddled. Any of four teams could be the top or second seed.The simplest route is if Kansas City (11-4) and New England (10-5), currently the top two in the conference, both win Sunday. But if the Chiefs lose at home to Oakland and the Chargers (11-4) win at Denver, Los Angeles moves into the top spot.Houston (10-5) also could wind up No. 1 in the AFC with losses by the Chiefs, Patriots against the Jets, and Chargers. New England, the only unbeaten team at home this year, would get the first seed with a victory and losses by the Chiefs and Chargers.And get this: Houston doesn’t even own a division title. If the Texans fall at home to Jacksonville, the winner of the Colts at Titans game in Tennessee takes the AFC South, and the Texans become a wild card, joining either the Chiefs or Chargers.Texans coach Bill O’Brien, whose club began the season 0-3, is intrigued by the division being so ensconced in the playoff picture this year.“I think that’s an interesting question because I can remember the question was, two years ago Zach Allen Jersey , ‘Why is the AFC South so bad?'” he says. “Now, ‘Why is it so good?’“…I’ve never thought it was bad. I think every year it’s been extremely difficult to win games in the division. I just think there’s a lot of great coaches. You’ve got Frank (Reich) in Indy, Mike (Vrabel) in Tennessee, Doug (Marrone) in Jacksonville. You’ve got a lot of great players, quarterbacks, so you’ve got a tough division.”The AFC division often looked at as the toughest has been the North, which, not surprisingly, has come down to Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh. Except the Ravens (9-6) host the Browns, while the Steelers (8-6-1) must beat visiting Cincinnati and hope their archenemies from Cleveland sidetrack Baltimore, either beating or tying the Ravens.Neither the Ravens nor the Steelers can be a wild card — except if Pittsburgh ties the Bengals, then Indianapolis and Tennessee also tie. Then the Steelers are in.Of course, Pittsburgh also can win the North with a draw and a loss by Baltimore.Your head spinning yet? In a story June 27 about a sports exhibit at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the memorial and museum president was named Alice M. Greenwood. Her surname is Greenwald.A corrected version of the story is below:
Museum exhibit highlights impact of sports after 9/11
New exhibit at 9/11 Memorial & Museum highlights impact of sports after 2001 attacks
By MELISSA MURPHY
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – A new exhibit at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum highlights the impact of sports after the 2001 attacks, including the Mets’ win in New York’s first major sporting event after 9/11.
”Comeback Season: Sports After 9/11” explores how sports helped unite the country and features interviews with athletes such as Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza.
”In that first game back Hakeem Butler Jersey , the home team came back and won,” said Piazza, whose two-run homer for the Mets in the eighth inning on Sept. 21, 2001, lifted the team past Atlanta. ”That’s exactly the lesson the city, the country and the world needed to see that night.”
Carol Gies attended that game with her three sons and celebrated the moment in the stands. Her firefighter husband, Lt. Ronnie Gies, died in the attacks on the World Trade Center.
”When that ball went over the wall, I saw my children smile for the very first time since they lost their dad,” she said in an oral history recording.
The exhibit covers various sports, including football, hockey, basketball, soccer, NASCAR Chris Lindstrom Jersey , the New York City Marathon and the 2002 Winter Olympics. The story is told in nine chapters, using archival sports footage and testimonies from athletes, coaches and 9/11 families.
It opens with the U.S. Open final of Venus vs. Serena Williams on the weekend before the attacks. It moves through the cancellation of events, including the first stoppage of Major League Baseball since the death of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1945.
The Mets’ and Giants‘ stadiums were used as recovery and supply sites after the attacks. Piazza’s jersey, his batting helmet with ”NYPD” taped on the back and John Franco’s FDNY hat are on display.
So is Pat Tillman’s Army Ranger uniform, on loan from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Tillman, an Arizona Cardinal player, enlisted after 9/11 and died in Afghanistan.
New York Rangers Mike Richter, Eric Lindros and Mark Messier are pictured during a visit to thank rescue workers at ground zero on Sept. 16.
There’s a quote from Mets manager Bobby Valentine: ”When we went down there the first time, you could still smell it. You could still feel it. You could see the filth on the faces of the workers. When they saw us, their faces lit up. You could see their teeth through their black masks.”
A letter from 10-year-old Brielle Saracini to Derek Jeter dated Sept. 14 is on display. She explains to her favorite player that her father, Victor Saracini, was a pilot of hijacked Flight 175 that crashed into the south tower. Soon after, Jeter called to invite Brielle, her sister and mother to a game.
In the World Series http://www.lionsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jahlani-tavai-jersey , the Yankees hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks among heightened security for Games 3, 4, 5 at Yankee Stadium, just 14 miles from ground zero. Video shows Jeter hitting a walk-off home run in Game 4 and jumping into the arms of teammates at home plate.
Michael Jordan is pictured with members of the military before a Washington Wizards vs. Knicks game at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 30. Jordan had pledged his entire year’s salary to the 9/11 relief effort.
”Through the lens of sports, this exhibition celebrates the strength of the human spirit and our capacity to come together and support one another through unimaginable grief,” 9/11 Memorial & Museum President Alice M. Greenwald said. ”This story provides additional points of entry into the complex story of 9/11 to better understand our history and the impact it had on our world today, to reflect on our own lived memories from that time and to feel inspired by stories about the best of humanity.”
The exhibit was sponsored in part through the support of the Anheuser-Busch Foundation, MLB, the New York Mets and their chief operating officer, Jeff Wilpon. It runs through the summer of 2019.