And then there were four. NHL Jerseys Black Friday . Thirty-two teams started this National Football League season and the best four are left standing. In Seattle, the Seahawks first-half defence was outstanding . The New Orleans Saints offence only managed 34 passing yards for Drew Brees and just 42 rushing yards. The Seattle defence conceded no points in the first half and held tight end Jimmy Graham to not a single reception until the games final minute. Russell Wilson did not have a dominant game, but the starting 11 without the ball won the game for Seattle. And so did Marshawn Lynch . Of all the running backs in the league, I dont think there is another who gives a greater effort than Marshawn Lynch, play after play. It is impressive for me watch his willingness to absorb physical punishment for an extra yard or even less. Logic says it cant last, that his time is coming or maybe he just has a body type impervious to what normally slows and limits other running backs. In any case, he is not the fastest, quickest or even most skilled, but he never gives up on a play or any opportunity with an intense disregard for possible injury. Marshawn Lynch is a great running back. Seattle has a combination of speed, attitude, confidence and resolve . The intensity of the NFC championship San Francisco at Seattle will be a battle of wills as much as any skills. In New England, the Patriots went with 42 running plays and just 25 passing plays. The play-calling served a dual purpose. Firstly, when you run that much, you dictate aggressive energy to an opponent. After a while, you can wear a defence out because, like all human beings, you get tired of hitting. So, in a moment where you lose emotional concentration at "point of attack," what would normally be a two or three-yard play becomes a 70-yard touchdown run like LaGarrette Blounts 73-yard run in the fourth. Understanding football is one thing, but understanding the psychology of hitting is really unique. You can wear people out and the Patriots achieved that. The second part of that dual purpose was keeping the ball away from Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. If you dont limit the his time with the ball and his number of plays, Andrew Luck is going to beat you. It is not as if Luck has a great team around him, quite the opposite, but he is a classic example of a player as a quarterback who makes those around him look better than they are. Once the Colts protect Andrew Luck with a higher degree of consistency, he will be as good as any quarterback on any team in the NFL. As for the Patriots, Logan Mankins at left guard was outstanding and Jamie Collins at linebacker is the next defensive star in New England. Without Vince Wilfork, Brandon Spikes, Jerrod Mayo and Tommy Kelly on defence, the Patriots should not be in the AFC championship game, but here they are. It was an emotionally heated game in Carolina between the Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, especially early on, and it has been a while since I have seen that much confrontational talk and verbal exchanges. It seemed like on every play, someone was threatening someone elseabout something . I am sure that all week, the Panthers grew intensely tired of hearing how tough and physical the 49ers were and made a collective agreement to not allow any intimidation, but be the aggressor and not the participant. Now, I dont think Carolina backed down for one moment, but seven plays inside the five-yard line and only three points means that, in the toughest part of football - short yardage and goaline plays, the Niners won. In playoff football, the smallest of mistakes mean the biggest of consequences and the Panthers gave the 49ers four first downs on penalties in the first half and it seemed that all four were the result of excessive emotion. The Panthers will learn from this and, if they find themselves in the same position next year at this time, they will not make the same mistake of losing self-control. After a last-minute win over the Arizona Cardinals to close the season, a win over the Packers in the brutal cold of Green Bay in the NFC Wild Card playoff and a tough, physical win over the Panthers, right now, no team believes more in each other than the San Francisco 49ers. In Denver, the one word to describe the Broncos win over the San Diego Chargers is "methodical." I think the Charger made one key mistake to lose the game and Denver made the opposite to win . By the end of the third quarter, the Chargers had 79 total yards. In the fourth quarter alone, they had 180. I guess common sense says to play the time of possession game again for San Diego to win, but it was not working . I wonder what would have happened if the Chargers took their fourth-quarter approach all game long and just went for broke, because when they did in the fourth, the game became a game because of it. San Diego was simply way too conservative. With Denver, they did to the Chargers what the Chargers did to them back on that Thursday night game. Manning must have completed 80 per cent of his passes within the first 10 yards down field. They just incrementally kept moving down field with the shortest of distance created using a series of line of scrimmage screens, five-yard crossers, and check downs - no big plays, just little little plays of success and result. One interesting question that has already been asked is, in one game to win it all , who would be your quarterback - Brady or Manning? Given history, I would say Brady, but given ability to control a defense pre-snap, I would say Manning. To pick between that pair is a never-ending discussion. The season began with 32 and now it is down to four and, giving consideration to all discussion and analytical evaluation, it truly is the best four. cheap nfl jerseys . Manager Davey Johnson said left fielder Bryce Harper would not be suspended or fined by Major League Baseball for being ejected in Sundays 6-2 win at Pittsburgh. NBA Jerseys Black Friday Deals . -- The pack is back. http://www.cheapjerseysfox.com/ .A. Dickey has seen too much go wrong at Turner Field to believe he can waltz to an easy win. wholesale nfl jerseys . The Charles Schwab Cup points leader followed his opening 65 with a 71 to match Mike Goodes, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie and Anders Forsbrand at 8 under. Cheap MLB Jerseys Black Friday . Humphries, from Calgary, and Valouis, from Wakaw, Sask., finished with a two-run time of one minute 56.53 seconds. "We were close to pushing a start record for this track so it was a really good day for us," said Humphries, following her fourth national title.(Sports Network) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to extend their lead atop the Western Conference today, as they visit the Dallas Stars for an afternoon battle at American Airlines Center. The Canucks claimed the No. 1 seed in the West and the top overall spot in the NHL by one point over Detroit thanks to Fridays win at New Jersey. Prior to beating the Devils, Vancouver ended the Red Wings NHL-record home winning streak on Thursday with a 4-3 shootout victory in the Motor City. Detroit is not in action today. Vancouver also holds a comfortable lead in the Northwest Division, as they lead Colorado by 18 points. Meanwhile, Dallas is fighting for its playoff lives and is currently locked in a three-way tie for the eighth seed in the West with Los Angeles and Colorado. Neither the Kings nor the Avalanche are playing today. This afternoons battle is the first of four scheduled meetings between the Stars and Canucks this season. Vancouver won all four encounters in 2010-11 and has taken six straight and nine of 10 in this series overall. The Canucks have also come out on top in three straight and four of their last five tilts in Dallas. The Stars and Canucks will meet three times next month to complete the season series. The Canucks have posted a 3-1 record so far on a six-game road trip and have compiled a superb 12-1-3 mark over their last 16 games overall. Vancouver posted a 2-1 regulation victory over the Devils on Friday, as backup goaltender Cory Schneider made 30 saves, including stopping all 10 shots he faced in the final period. No. 1 netminder Roberto Luongo is expected to return to the crease today. Aaron Rome andd Mason Raymond scored for the Canucks, who have won two in a row since Tuesdays regulation loss in Nashville. Cheap NFL Jerseys Black Friday. "We found a way to win, we blocked a lot of shots," Rome said after the win in New Jersey. "We kept them to the outside for the most part and got good goaltending." The Canucks are sporting an NHL-best 22-10-2 road record this season and will complete this swing Tuesday in Phoenix. The Stars enter today on a three-game winning streak and have just one regulation loss over their last six contests (4-1-1). Dallas began a three-game homestand Friday against Minnesota and the Stars notched a 4-1 victory over the Wild. Tom Wandell scored twice to help the Stars reach a franchise milestone, as they became the 10th franchise in NHL history to record 1,500 wins. Over half of those victories (758) took place when the club was known as the Minnesota North Stars. Kari Lehtonen made 28 saves to backstop Dallas to the win, while Loui Eriksson and Eric Nystrom also tallied goals for the Stars. "Its encouraging," Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan said about his teams balanced attack. "Going down the stretch, if youre getting contributions from everybody then everybody gets more confidence." The Stars, who are 17-12-2 as the host this year, will complete this residency when they welcome Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Dallas forward Jamie Benn is expected to miss his sixth straight game today with a lacerated left leg. Benn, who was selected to his first All-Star Game this year, is second on the team this season with 49 points on 17 goals and 32 assists. ' ' '