PRO FOOTBALL
RENTON, Wash. (AP) - Seattle coach Pete Carroll says after speaking with Richard Sherman the fiery cornerback was apologetic that his rant against San Francisco’s Michael Crabtree overshadowed the Seahawks reaching their second Super Bowl in franchise history.
Carroll said the pair spoke Monday a day after Sherman deflected a pass intended for Crabtree and was intercepted by teammate Malcolm Smith in the closing seconds of Seattle’s 23-17 win over the 49ers to win the NFC championship.
Sherman lit up social media after his shouting postgame interview with Fox reporter Erin Andrews then didn’t back down from his comments toward Crabtree, later calling him “mediocre.”
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker deliberately tried to “take out” cornerback Aqib Talib when they collided in the AFC championship game.
Talib hurt his knee on the play early in the second quarter and missed the rest of Sunday’s game. Denver beat New England 26-16 to advance to the Super Bowl.
Belichick called the play one of the worst he’s seen and said Welker made no attempt to get open. Peyton Manning’s pass to Demaryius Thomas fell incomplete on the play.
Welker spent the previous six years with the Patriots before signing with the Broncos before the season. He said he was trying to get Talib to go behind him as the two headed for each other across the middle.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - NaVorro Bowman tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee when he went down during Sunday’s NFC championship loss at Seattle, a person with direct knowledge of the injury said.
The person said that Bowman would have surgery for the ACL tear but that the MCL is likely to heal with rest and he is expected to be ready for the 2014 season.
RENTON, Wash. (AP) - Wide receiver Percy Harvin could be back to practice later this week for the Seattle Seahawks and is expected to be available for the Super Bowl.
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TENNIS
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Eugenie Bouchard reached the semifinals in her first trip to the Australian Open, beating 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 Tuesday to set up a showdown with fourth-seeded Li Na.
Two-time Australian Open finalist Li, who beat Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-2 in an earlier quarterfinal featuring two women who’ll turn 32 next month, will have to face a teenager for the third time in the tournament.
In the men’s draw, Tomas Berdych reached his first Australian Open semifinal - completing a full set of major semifinals - by beating No. 3-seeded David Ferrer 6-1, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
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OLYMPICS
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia’s counter-terrorism agency says it’s studying a video posted by an Islamic militant group that asserted responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 34 people last month and is threatening to strike the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Security experts say the Russians are right in taking the threat seriously.
The video was posted online Sunday by a militant group in Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus. The Olympic host city of Sochi is 300 miles west of Dagestan.
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Jamaica has decided to accept an invitation for its bobsled team to compete in next month’s Sochi Olympics.
The Jamaicans have been a phenomenon for more than a quarter-century, dating to the team’s Olympic debut in Calgary in 1988. They last brought their bobsled to the Olympics in 2002.
Winston Watts will pilot the team’s two-man sled and says he has received calls from countless people around the world offering financial support. The Jamaican Olympic Committee said it and the Sochi Organizing Committee will cover the team’s travel costs.
LONDON (AP) - The manager of Vanessa-Mae says the musician will be swapping her violin for skis to compete at the Winter Olympics.
Giles Howard says the classical-pop violinist has qualified for the Thai team at the Sochi games.
The International Ski Federation’s rankings confirmed Vanessa-Mae had met the qualifying criteria to compete at Sochi.
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PRO HOCKEY
NEW YORK (AP) - The NHL suspended Vancouver coach John Tortorella without pay for 15 days for his conduct after a brawl between the Canucks and the Calgary Flames.
Tortorella went to Calgary’s locker room at intermission following the first period Saturday night, which began with several fights and four game misconducts per team. Vancouver won the game 3-2 in a shootout.
Tortorella’s suspension runs through Feb. 2. He will miss six games starting Tuesday night at Edmonton and is not allowed to have any interaction with the Canucks before, during or after games during that time.
Tortorella blamed Flames coach Bob Hartley for starting his fourth line, saying he couldn’t put star players Daniel and Henrik Sedin at risk just to deflate the situation. Hartley was fined $25,000 by the NHL.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - Henrik Sedin’s NHL ironman streak is ending at 679 games. He last missed a game 10 seasons ago.
Canucks assistant coach Mike Sullivan said the Vancouver captain will not play at Edmonton on Tuesday because of an undisclosed injury. He is listed as day to day.
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Arizona and Syracuse remained the top two teams in The Associated Press Top 25 for a seventh straight week.
The Wildcats (18-0) were again the runaway No. 1, receiving 61 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel. The Orange (18-0) got the other No. 1 votes.
Michigan State moved up one place to third while Villanova jumped two spots to fourth. Wichita State, at 19-0 the only other unbeaten in Division I, stayed fifth and was followed by Florida, San Diego State, Kansas, Wisconsin and Iowa.
In the women’s poll, Connecticut stayed at No. 1 after two more double-digit victories over ranked opponents.
Notre Dame, Duke, Stanford and Louisville followed the unbeaten Huskies, with the first five teams unchanged. Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Kentucky and South Carolina round out the top 10.
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BASEBALL
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter resumed on-field work for the first time since his 2013 season was cut short.
The Yankees captain hit off a tee in a batting cage and fielded 108 grounders on the grass in front of the infield dirt at the Yankees’ minor league complex.
Jeter, who turns 40 in June, was limited to 17 games last year after breaking an ankle during the 2012 playoffs.
NEW YORK (AP) - With many wearing Converse’s Chuck Taylor All-Stars and blue jeans in his honor, late baseball players’ union head Michael Weiner was remembered during a memorial service Monday night for his courage and grace.
Weiner died Nov. 21, 15 months after he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. He was 51.
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PENN STATE
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - The son of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky participated in a documentary about his father’s sexual-abuse case and hopes to become an advocate for child victims.
Matt Sandusky told the Centre Daily Times that he took part in “Happy Valley” because he has become strong enough to tell his story and wants to speak out to help other survivors. The 100-minute film, debuting this week at the Sundance Film Festival, explores whether it was an open secret that Sandusky was molesting boys
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