- Things were not looking good for the San Francisco 49ers in the second quarter of Sunday's NFC Championship game. They were down 17-0, and the Atlanta Falcons looked like they could not be touched. However, just like the Seattle Seahawks last week, the 49ers were able to mount a huge comeback to take the lead against Atlanta late in the game. Unlilke the Seahawks, the 49ers finished the job, winning 28-24 in Atlanta.
- The 49ers, led by young quarterback Colin Kaepernick and veteran running back Frank Gore, stormed back. Two second quarter touchdowns brought the 49ers to 24-14 going into halftime. The second half was much lower scoring, but the 49ers got enough. A 5 yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter and a 9 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter by Gore gave the 49ers the lead they would not relinquish. The Falcons did a great job of keeping Kaepernick’s running in check, but he was able to throw for 233 yards and a touchdown.
- The 49ers will go to their 6th Super Bowl, which will be played in two weeks. They have won all five they have gone to in the past, but have not been to one since 1994, when Steve Young was their QB. Coach Jim Harbaugh and his defense held the high powered Falcons offense in check in the second half, and that led to a conference championship in only Harbaugh’s second season.
Ravens shut down Brady, Pats
- The New England Patriots had been 67-0 under Tom Brady at home when leading at halftime. 67-0. So when they rolled into halftime ahead of Ray Lewis's Ravens 13-7, history suggested that the game was over. But Ray Lewis was 2-0 in games that could potentially be the final one of his Hall of Fame career and it was his streak that endured yet again, only a week after the improbable 70 yard TD pass with 31 seconds left that led to a win against the Denver Broncos.
- The Patriots were plagued by poor play in the second half, especially on the offensive side where they repeatedly dropped easy passes to stall drives. And pending free agent Joe Flacco was fantastic, throwing for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns in an efficient 36 attempts.
- The win also avenges Baltimore's loss to New England in last year's AFC championship game, where a lase second dropped TD and subsequent missed field goal ended their season directly before the game which they will now play: the Super Bowl.
NBA to return to Seattle
- The owners of the Sacramento Kings, the Maloof family, reached an agreement Sunday night to sell the struggling franchise to a Seattle based group led by Chris Hansen, a hedge fund manager. In addition to the Maloofs 53% stake, a minority owner will also sell his 12% stake. The team has to file to relocate before March 1st in order to be able to move by next season and even though the sale needs to be officially approved by NBA owners, there are typically not any holdups by the time the process gets to this point.
- The Seattle Supersonics won the NBA championship in the 78-79 season, defeating the Washington Bullets, who they had lost to in the finals the year before. They made the NBA finals again in 95-96 but were beaten by Michael Jordan's Bulls in the first title of their second three-peat. After the 2007-2008 season, Kevin Durant's rookie season, the Supersonics were sold to a group that moved them to Oklahoma City, where they became the Thunder.
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