January 23, 2012
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
Ray Lewis’ retirement party will have to wait at least two more weeks, but it is doubtful the future Hall of Fame linebacker is complaining. For the second time in his career and for the first time since 2000, he and his Baltimore Ravens teammates are headed to the Super Bowl.
Their playoff journey started with a wild card win at home two weeks ago and continued last week with a double overtime win in Denver. That led them to their second straight AFC Championship where they faced the New England Patriots, to whom they lost 23-20 last year. This year, the game wasn’t even close.
Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco threw for three touchdowns while his defense held Tom Brady to just one. New England scored six additional points on two field goals in the first half, but were scoreless after halftime. It was an embarrassing outing for Brady, who was 67-0 at home heading into the game. He was unable to lead his team to the end zone after the second quarter, and his final throw of the game landed in the hands of a Raven.
While much of the media attention has been focused on Lewis’ swan song, Flacco has been at the core of their playoff success—he has thrown eight touchdowns and no interceptions this postseason, and his six career road win record is the highest in playoff history. He has outplayed two of the game’s most elite quarterbacks (Peyton Manning and Tom Brady) in consecutive weeks and is now tasked with leading his team to their first Super Bowl victory in eleven years.
The Ravens will face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on February 3. The Niners, who outscored the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC title game, are coached by John Harbaugh’s younger brother, Jim. While the matchup is being jokingly referred to as the “Harbaugh Bowl,” the coaching brothers have said they want the focus to be on the teams. The Niners are seeking their sixth championship, while the Ravens are hoping to bring home their second.
That sure would be a nice going away present for number fifty-two.
Capitals
The Caps fell 6-3 in their first game under their new head coach, Adam Oates. Joel Ward scored twice and left wing Wotjek Wolski added a goal, but it wasn’t enough. Star players such as Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom were unsuccessful at scoring, despite the former setting up scoring opportunities early and recording four shots on goal. The Caps will need their power players to contribute on offense if they hope to do well during the shortened season.
Owner Ted Leonsis acknowledged on his blog that the season opener “didn’t go very well,” but he looked forward to the first home game scheduled for Tuesday night. The Caps hosted the Jets, who fell 2-1 in a shootout in their opener against the Bruins. After falling in their season opener to Tampa Bay, the Capitals had hoped for a better performance in their 2013 home debut.
The Verizon Center was a sea of fans “rocking the red” on Tuesday night, but the Caps’ performance gave them little to cheer about. They fell 4-2 to the Winnipeg Jets, who picked up their first win of the season. Washington trailed most of the game, with the Jets enjoying a three-goal lead entering the third period.
While Troy Brouwer was able to score on a power play early in the third, it was not enough to overcome the earlier deficit. The defeat was the first home opener loss for the Caps since 2000.
While the 0-2 start to the season is not what new coach Adam Oates was hoping for, he seems optimistic that the team’s unimpressive play is just an adjustment period. “It’s a new system, it’s going to be hard and we’ve got to fight through that,” he said after the game.
