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Show /port/ B2 MONDAY • NOVEMBER 13 • 2006 Midway in NFL season Okay. It's halfway through the NFL regular season, and Indianapolis is clearly a step or more ahead of the rest. They've had some close wins, but they have won them all. After the Colts, there are quite a few teams that could contend. Chicago looked tough, but then they made Miami look great. Their schedule gets tougher and we will see what they can really do soon. There is only seven more weeks until the playoffs begin. AFC In the tougher of the two conferences, this could be the Colts year, but isn't that what people have been saying for the last three years? Can Peyton finally make it to the Super Bowl? They look dominant even without a run defense. If not the Colts there are, maybe, four teams that have a legitimate shot at them. Baltimore, New England and Denver look like teams that could knock down the Colts. The Broncos and the Ravens command respect because of the way they defend, first and third in scoring defense, respectively. It looked like the Patriots would suffer this year when they lost key guys on both sides of the ball, but Coach Bill Belichick always has his club prepared. San Diego hasn't received a ton of attention, but they really can play against anyone. The Steelers really dropped off. They should be right there but Ben Roethlisberger has been through a lot. They're done. NFC Chicago looked unbeatable before they nearly lost to Arizona on Monday night and then the offense laid another egg against the Dolphins. They are definitely beatable when the offense sputters. They looked like the class of the NFC three weeks ago. Now it is up in the air. Atlanta's Michael Vick was making a MVP bid, but then they dropped a game to the Lions. The Saints and Giants are probably the two teams beside the Bears that have been impressive. The Giants, 6-2, are 3-0 in their division but their defense is questionable, although they, as well as Eli Mannning, have been improving from week to week. Choking could run in the family. The feel good story of the year is without a doubt the Saints. They looked good early in the year and they have beaten some good teams (Philadelphia and Atlanta), but Reggie Bush is going to become less and less of a good decoy and teams may start to figure them out. Seattle could be a dark horse if they get healthy, but so far they have been a disappointment. Perhaps it is the Madden curse. Lucky for them, they play in a pretty weak division. They just have to hold off the Rams. our /oort/ /taff */ oick/ for Ihe NFC division winners AFC division winners AFC championship NFC championship Super Bowl champicago over Indianpolis j j P J vjfti' {.' Vjy'i'ri Ben Webster Jason Adkins *X^ii:v^ t'-t&jij*;!' y(-'•""',' V Jack Waters i--V, ' • ' . , ( i ' ; '_• "i'\-'i't i '•!:> I -7r4 i^'J L*-Jj: James Warnick Heck shines early From BASKETBALL *B1 ments at the end, as he fouled out during the final minute. Ryan Toolson provided a lot of offense off the bench for the Wolverines, as he netted 24 points with three assists. Matt Peterson added 13 points as well for UVSC. The first half started out one-sided, as UVSC slowly picked away at Mesa State, eventually leading to a 27-4 lead after 12 minutes of play. A timeout then gave Mesa State a chance to regroup after giving up 11 costly turnovers in their humiliating start. Coach Dick Hunsaker said, "At 27-4 what can you say? To let a team back in it that's not a good thing. It was a good learning game for us." Coach Jim Heaps of Mesa State must have had a lot of motivation to offer, as Mesa State went on a huge run, finishing the half with a 30-8 run after the timeout. Soriano led the resurgence for the Mavericks shooting lights out, hitting all of his 3-pointers, finishing the first half with a jaw-dropping 24 points. The second half brought a lot of competition, with both teams trading baskets. Mesa State shot a mind-boggling 82 percent from the field in the second half, forcing UVSC to capitalize on turnovers. Mesa State had 23 total turnovers in the game, providing UVSC with more possessions to give them the edge needed to win. Wolverine guard Chris Bailey led the charge defensively, snatching six steals to go along with his five assists. "1 wish I could predict a better effort defensively and on the backboards," Hunsaker said. "We were out rebounded 0V. 15 NOON by Mesa State, a division II team." Coming out of a timeout with 12 minutes to play in the game, Utah Valley had a one-point lead at 50-49. They then began a series of possessions that pumped up the enthusiastic fans and led to an 8-0 run. David Heck started it all by assisting Jordan Brady, who finished the play with a powerful dunk to give the fans the energy to carry the team the rest of the game. Heck then took matters into his own hands by hitting a 3-pointer from a difficult angle, arching it high over the corner of the backboard and hitting nothing but net. Bailey then had another one of his memorable steals that lead to a fast break assist for him. Bailey made his acrobatic steal, firing it to David Heck, who scored and was fouled in the process. The crowd jumped to its feet, and remained standing and cheering as Heck finished the 3-point play with a free throw, giving UVSC a 58-49 lead with just over 10 minutes to play. The final 10 minutes were no different than the beginning of the second half, both teams trading buckets back and forth. The Wolverines were able to keep their lead around 10 up to the climactic final minute of play. Coach Dick Hunsaker loosened his tie'for that stretch as UVSC held on. After a free throw by Chris Bailey UVSC led by what would seem a comfortable seven points but Mesa State wouldn't let go easy tying the game to set up Heck's game-winner. The Wolverines play at home twice this week and they travel to PAC-10 California on Wednesday. |