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SEATTLE -- Richard Sherman did a CenturyLink Leap. Golden Tate grabbed a 12th Man flag and circled the field with it. Even team owner Paul Allen made an appearance and gave a victory speech. The Seattle Seahawks are headed to the Big Apple for the Super Bowl. "To see all our work that we put in -- the mornings, the nights, the weights, all your life, as a young player and in the NFL," Malcolm Smith said after his end zone interception with 22 seconds remaining clinched the 23-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. "Its amazing." Seattles top-ranked defence forced three fourth-quarter turnovers, and Russell Wilson threw a 35-yard touchdown pass on fourth down for the winning points. Seattle will meet Denver (15-3) for the NFL title in two weeks in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Its the first trip to the big game for the Seahawks (15-3) since they lost to Pittsburgh after the 2005 season. The conference champs had the best records in the league this year, the second time the top seeds have gotten to the Super Bowl in 20 seasons. It also is a classic confrontation of Denvers record-setting offence led by Peyton Manning against the NFLs stingiest defence. Denver opened as a 1-point favourite over Seattle on the Glantz-Culver Line. "It will be a great matchup," coach Pete Carroll said. "I think its an extraordinary opportunity to go against a guy that set all the records in the history of the game." Moments after Sherman tipped Colin Kaepernicks pass to Smith for the interception, the All-Pro cornerback jumped into the stands behind the end zone, saluting the Seahawks raucous fans. With 12th Man flags waving everywhere, and "New York, New York" blaring over the loudspeakers, CenturyLink Field rocked like never before. "Thats as sweet as it gets," said Sherman, who also went into several rants about 49ers wideout Michael Crabtree, whom he called a "sorry receiver." "This is really special," added Carroll, who has turned around the Seahawks in four seasons in charge. "It would really be a mistake to not remember the connection and the relationship between this football team and the 12th Man and these fans. Its unbelievable." San Francisco (14-5) led 17-13 when Wilson, given a free play as Aldon Smith jumped offside, hurled the ball to Jermaine Kearse, who made a leaping catch in the end zone. Steven Hauschka then kicked his third field goal following Kam Chancellors pick, and Smith intercepted in the end zone on the 49ers final possession. "This feels even sweeter, with the amazing support we have had from the 12th Man," Allen said, comparing this Super Bowl trip to the previous one. Until Seattles top-ranked defence forced a fumble and had two interceptions in the final period, the game was marked by big offensive plays in the second half. That was somewhat shocking considering the strength of both teams defences. And those plays came rapidly. Marshawn Lynch, in full "Beast Mode," ran over a teammate and then outsped the 49ers to the corner of the end zone for a 40-yard TD, making it 10-10. Kaepernick then was responsible for consecutive 22-yard gains, hitting Crabtree, then rushing to the Seattle 28. His fumble on the next play was recovered by centre Jonathan Goodwin, who even lumbered for 2 yards. Anquan Boldin outleapt All-Pro safety Earl Thomas on the next play for a 26-yard touchdown. Then, Doug Baldwin, who played for 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh at Stanford, stepped up -- and through San Franciscos coverage -- on a scintillating 69-yard kickoff return that made the stadium shake for the first time all day. That set up Hauschkas 40-yard field goal. And a frantic finish. Seattle took its first lead on Wilsons throw to Kearse with 13:44 left, and CenturyLink rocked again. The place went silent soon after when Niners All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman sustained an ugly left knee injury midway and was carted off. Bowman, who was having a huge game, had forced a fumble at the San Francisco 1, but Lynch recovered. "I never heard him yell like that, or even stay down for a moment," teammate Patrick Willis said of Bowman. The Seahawks had gotten their first turnover moments earlier when Cliff Avril stripped Kaepernick and Michael Bennett recovered. But Lynch and Wilson botched a handoff on fourth down on the play after Bowmans injury. It took only two plays for Chancellor to haul in Kaepernicks underthrow to Boldin, and Hauschkas 47-yarder ended the scoring. But not the excitement. Kaepernick, who rushed for 130 yards, got San Francisco to the Seattle 18 with his arm. But his pass for Crabtree was brilliantly tipped by Sherman to Smith. "We knew it would come down to us in the back end to win this thing," Sherman said. The final play was similar to last years Super Bowl ending, when Kaepernick missed Crabtree in the end zone from the 5 and Baltimore survived. "Its tough. Any time you get this close to the Super Bowl and lose, its pretty upsetting," tight end Vernon Davis said. "We just didnt get it. Weve been down this road before in the same kind of situation. Its hard." Whether it was nerves or just a great play by Aldon Smith, Wilson fumbled on Seattles first snap. Smith got credit for a sack and a recovery, too -- a defenders dream -- at the Seahawks 15. More staunch defence followed, this time by Seattle, which held and only gave up Phil Dawsons 25-yard field goal. Seattle simply had no answers for Kaepernicks runs, looking either flat-footed or plain-out lost when he took off. He gained 98 yards on the ground in the first half, including a 58-yard second-quarter run, the longest of his three-year career and the longest Seattles defence allowed all season. But he was less effective in the second half and was plagued by turnovers. Wilson came up with a huge improvisation of his own moments after Kaepernicks long jaunt. Wilson avoided the rush with some nifty scrambling before spotting Baldwin behind the defence for a 51-yard pickup. All it resulted in was Hauschkas 32-yard field goal, making it 10-3. Baldwin finished with six receptions for 106 yards. And now its on to New Jersey, where Carroll once coached the Jets for a season. That didnt end well -- he was fired so the team could hire Rich Kotite. He heads back with a chance to add a Super Bowl crown to two national titles as coach at Southern California. "Its quite a magical moment," Carroll said. "You cant really grasp the moment. Did we really do this?" Yep -- the Seahawks and their 12th Man. Cheap Sabres Jerseys . The Eastern Conference-leading Celtics finished their recent trek at 3-1 on Monday in Salt Lake City when Rajon Rondo made a key jumper with 24.1 seconds remaining, as Boston held off the Utah Jazz, 107-102, at EnergySolutions Arena. Sabres Jerseys 2021 . - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to meet with Richie Incognito to determine if one of the central figures in the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal can help their struggling offensive line. https://www.cheapsabres.com/. -- The Minnesota Twins have granted relief pitcher Matt Guerrier his unconditional release, making the 35-year-old right-hander a free agent. Sabres Jerseys China . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN. Sabres Jerseys 2020 . Hughes, 30, is a former Major Leaguer with the Baltimore Orioles, having played in 14 games with the Os in 2010. He played with Class AA Binghamton of the Eastern League in the New York Mets system last season.Phil Taylor moved three points clear at the top of the Premier League after starting the second phase with wins over Gary Anderson and James Wade in Sheffield. The Power kicked off the evening top of the standings with a one point advantage over Michael van Gerwen and made the most of playing twice to extend his lead with two strong victories. Premier League results - Night Ten James Wade 7-4 Raymond van Barnveld Gary Anderson 3-7 Phil Taylor Robert Thornton 5-7 Michael van Gerwen Adrian Lewis 6-6 Peter Wright Phil Taylor 7-4 James Wade Taylor said this week that he felt two wins would all but guarantee a return to the O2 for Finals Night in May after missing out last year and he delivered those victories on the opening night of the second phase of the tournament. First up for Taylor was defending Premier League champion and two-time defending world champion Gary Anderson and the Power clocked up an impressive 7-3 success after reeling off five successive legs after trailing 3-2.The Flying Scotsman missed chances to forge a 4-2 and that seemed to affect him as Taylor cruised through the remainder of the match to apply the pressure on Van Gerwen who was up next.The Dutchman responded by ending a run of three successive draws in a high-quality contest against a rejuvenated Robert Thornton. Michael van Gerwen was back to his best with a win over Robert Thornton (Pic: Lawrence Lustig) MVG recorded an average of 117.95 in his victory but was made to work hard by Thornton who fought back from 6-2 down to 6-5 and give himself a chance of an unlikely point - it was not to be for the Scot and Van Gerwen reduced the gap on Taylor back to just a point.However the Power was back in the final match of the evening to secure a valuable 7-4 victory over James Wade and a priceless lead aat the top of the table ahead of next weeks fixtures in Belfast.ddddddddddddTaylor was too strong for the Machine, although both men showed signs of tiredness in their second match of the evening.With scoring and finishing scrappy, Taylor looked to have done enough when he moved into a 5-1 lead as Wade wasted a string of chances. Premier League - Night 11 fixtures Robert Thornton v Peter Wright Raymond van Barneveld v Phil Taylor James Wade v Adrian Lewis Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson Raymond van Barneveld v Robert Thornton However the Machine fought back to 5-3 and 6-4 to remain in with a chance of a point before a ruthless Taylor closed out the match and a win that underlines the resurgence he has shown in an unbeaten run now stretching nine weeks.Im over the moon and its another four points and a step closer to getting into the play-offs, said Taylor.I think another one or two wins will put me through and thats what Im after.Gary Anderson was the first stepping point. At three-each it was a close match and then he let me in, and I took advantage of him. It was hard in the second match against James, its difficult but youve got to do it and to get the two points from that game is lovely.In the nights opening match, Wade had begun with a fine 7-4 victory over Raymond van Barneveld.Barney knew he needed victory to keep alive any slim hopes of a play-off place and the pair could not be separated until the 10th leg when Wade broke for the first time and a 6-4 advantage which he consolidated to win the match.Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright shared the points in a scrappy and disjointed affair. The first 10 legs went with throw before Snakebite looked to have secured a crucial break but somehow Jackpot managed to earn a share of the spoils. Also See: Premier League darts - as it happened When Mardle played Snakebite Fixtures/Results Premier League table ' ' '
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