Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York • Page 27

DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE DemocratandChronicle.com WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2011 3 Big Ben gets the nod over Rodgers it, A. i jr-n USX. Wniti may Vif NAM Y. HUH The Associated Press Aaron Rodgers has been red hot in this season's playoffs, leading No. 6 seed Green Bay to the Super Bowl.

CHARLES KRUPA The Associated Press Ben Roethlisberger is seeking his third Super Bowl ring and to improve on his 10-2 postseason record. made second team All-Pro at defensive tackle: First Team Haloti Ngata, Baltimore (45 of the maximum 50 votes) and Nda-mukong Suh, Detroit (30 votes); Second Team Vince Wilfork, New England (15 votes) and Williams (3 votes) he edged Justin Smith of San Francisco by one vote. Western Regional Off Track Betting pioneer Russ DeBella died last Saturday at age 65. He was the familiar voice at WROTB parlors from 1973 until he retired in 2005. Before the days of simulcasting, Russ gave the updated odds over the loudspeaker at OTB parlors, using letters instead of numbers (for example, etc).

Rochester's popular party band Nik and the Nice Guys will be busy the next two sports weeks, working official gigs for the NHL All-Star Game weekend in Raleigh, N.C., this weekend, and then Super Bowl week in North Texas. NFL Comeback Player of the Year will be announced Monday, and Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick is eligible after spending 1 Vi years in prison on dog-fighting charges. I admire Vick for his comeback and applaud his 2010 season, but I would prefer to see the award go to a player coming back from an injury or a non-productive season. Other contenders include Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers, Wes Welker, Osi Umenyiora and Seattle wide receiver Mike Williams. James was a legitimate league Most Valuable Player the past two seasons.

A total of 133 players from 31 teams received votes for the Associated Press 2010 NFL All-Pro Team. Arizona was the only team with no player receiving a vote. 10 players Baltimore, Green Bay; 9 players Atlanta; 8 players New England, Kansas City; 6 players New York Giants, Oakland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tennessee; 5 players Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, New York Jets; 4 players Cleveland, Indianapolis, Minnesota, San Francisco; 3 players Dallas, Jacksonville, San Diego; 2 players Denver, Detroit, Miami; 1 player Buffalo, Carolina, Cincinnati, Seattle, Tampa Bay and Washington. Buffalo's Kyle Williams Bowl XLV. But I'm giving Pittsburgh a very slight edge at quarterback because Roethlisberger already has twice accomplished what Rogers is trying to do for the first time.

Assuming Jay Cutler has worn out his welcome in Chicago, I wonder if this would be a reasonable swap of quarterbacks: Cutler to the Washington Redskins for Chicago native Donovan McNabb. The Rochester Knighthawks will enter Saturday night's home game against the Boston Blazers ranked No. 3 in this week's National Lacrosse League Power Rankings by Inside Lacrosse Magazine. The Knighthawks soared from No. 6 to No.

3 after last Saturday's 11-10 overtime road victory over Boston. The complete rankings: Toronto, Minnesota (only loss was to the Knighthawks), Rochester, Buffalo, Bos- ton, Washington, Calgary, Philadelphia, Colorado and Edmonton. The Knighthawks also are No. 2, behind only Toronto, in this week's Massey computer rankings. The K-hawks are off to an encouraging start this season despite little help from special teams.

Rochester ranks last in the 10-team league in penalty killing (5-for-10) and has only three power-play goals in a league-fewest 7 attempts. Rochester got a break last week when Boston played Friday night in Toronto. The K-hawks were the fresher team Saturday night in Boston. The Blazers will be at a disadvantage again entering this Saturday's game in Rochester. They'll play Friday night at home against Philadelphia while the Knighthawks will be idle.

The nine-game NLL package on Versus will start with the Ail-Star Si J- Packers' Raji basking in limelight BOB MATTHEWS Contact him at: 55 Exchange Blvd. Rochester, NY 14614 (585) 258-2325 matthewsaOemocratandChronicle.com When the position-by-position comparisons begin for Super Bowl XLV, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers figures to receive most of the favorable nods over Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlis-berger. I'll probably be in the minority, but I prefer Roethlisberger. THE CASE FOR RODGERS He's the new hot-shot NFL QB. He looks more like the ideal QB than the stockier Roethlisberger.

He throws a prettier spiral. He runs faster. He was red-hot in the NFC playoffs (until the second half of last Sunday's 24-19 conference championship victory over Chicago). He has better receivers. THE CASE FOR ROETHLISBERGER He's probably tougher.

He has a knack for escaping a strong pass rush and finding open receivers while he's on the run. He can't match Rodgers for passing velocity but his throws usually get there on time. The main knock on Rodgers has been a mediocre record in close games. Pressure doesn't bother Big Ben. He's 10-2 in the postseason, including 2-for-2 in Super Bowls.

Obviously, it won't be a surprise if Rodgers and his Packers win Super Marta FROM PAGE ID club just picked up the third and final year of Marta's deal with WPS. No terms were disclosed, but her WPS deal was reportedly for $1.5 million over three years. The Flash are owned by Alex' father, Joe Sahlen. Sahlen's is a meat packing a production company in Elma, near Buffalo, that has been around 100-plus years. Sahlen's owned and operated the Buffalo Flash of the W-League the past two years.

The team won last year's championship and wanted to move up to the pro level. "It's a surprise, but it's not because I know my Dad and he wants the best," Alex Sahlen, 28, said about acquiring Marta. "He basically said: 'I want this player. Let's make it Wambach is considered one of the best scorers in the world. Marta's sheer wizardry with her feet and ball skills make her one of the most entertaining man or woman to watch.

She's taken the torch from Mia Hamm as the best overall player in the world. "She has incredible physical attributes matched with phenomenal technical abilities," said Flash head coach, Aa-ran Lines, a former Rochester Rhinos midfielder. Like many area players, Victor senior Meredith Martin, 18, a two-time All-Greater Rochester pick, is already looking forward to seeing Marta play. "It's a great opportunity for the soccer community here to see such a world-class player," said Martin, who will play in college at Division II Saint Anselm in Manchester, N.H. "I've only seen her on TV, so I'm very pumped to see her live." JDIVERONDemocratandChronicle.com Game at 2 p.m.

pn Sunday, Feb. 27. Home teams are 6-11 this NLL season. The average score this season is 12.00 to 9.41. The Colorado Mammoth have lost 10 straight home games.

WhenLeBron James bailed out on Cleveland last summer, everyone knew the Cavaliers would go backwards this season. But few expected the Cavs to be this bad. Entering Tuesday night's game in Boston, Cleveland was an NBA-worst 8-38, with 17 straight losses, 21 straight road losses, a 1-27 record in its last 28 games and an NBA-worst point differential per game. Last season, Cleveland was 34-11 through 45 games and 37-8 through 45 games in 2008-09. Cleveland had a point differential last season and in 2008-09.

One thing this year's Cavs are doing well is showing why LeBron -r Whatever he did, it worked. After all, he's already a Super Bowl champion, and is on the cusp of joining an exclusive club of two-time winning coaches before his 40th birthday, no less. Maybe that's why Tomlin appears to be as beloved by his players as any other NFL coach. mm me. I go in the locker room, and the postgame, the stage is set up.

So I'm like, 'Man, this is really I'm turning around and people are handing out the NFC Championship hats and T-shirts. I'm like, 'Man, this is coming It's just a blessing." And it was another big step in what has been an impressive second NFL season for Raji. While the former Boston College standout isn't nearly as well-known as fellow 2009 first-round Packers draft pick Clay Matthews, he has been critical to the success of the Packers defense this season. Given the Packers' lack of defensive line depth, Raji doesn't leave the field very often. And despite the heavy work load, Raji seems to be getting better as the season goes on.

Now there's no telling what's next for the Packers' big man, al CHRIS JENKINS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS GREEN BAY, Wis. -Watching B.J. Raji rumble into the end zone in real time, Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy was as fired up as any Packers fan. When McCarthy had the chance to watch the key play from Sunday's NFC Championship game victory over the Chicago Bears again on film, he managed to find a few teachable moments. First off, it's safe to say Raji should tuck the ball away until he's safely in the end zone next time.

And what on Earth was that hip-shaking celebratory dance all about? "He got two minuses on the play one for holding the ball out, and one for the dance," McCarthy joked. Risky ballhandling skills aside, Raji's pivotal play slowed a frantic fourth-quarter comeback attempt by the Bears and third-string quarterback Tomlin JIM PRISCHLING The Associated Press The Packers' B.J. Raji returns an interception for the game-clinching touchdown against the Bears Sunday. Caleb Hanie. Raji's ram- Cowboys Stadium, bling 18-yard return "It really kind of hap- turned out to be the win- pened so quickly that ning score, setting the once the game ended, I Packers up to play the felt like I was living the Pittsburgh Steelers in the dream," Raji said.

"Every- Super Bowl on Feb. 6 at thing slowed down for though he does have an idea. Would you believe a 337-pound running back? Raji already has taken a handful of snaps as a Green Bay fullback, and is subtly lobbying for a chance to carry the ball. "I'm more worried about winning," Raji said. "If Coach feels he's giving me the ball to win, I'm very ecstatic about that.

If Coach feels he needs me to block so he can run play action stuff or run the ball, I'm fine with that as well. As long as we win, I'm happy." Already, Raji's limited exploits on offense have earned him a nickname: "The Freezer," a tip of the hat to former Chicago Bears player William "The Refrigerator" Perry. "I was miked up for the Atlanta game, and one of the trainers came to me and said, 'You look like The Fridge out Raji said. "And I was just playing around, 'I'm the over the team right away," said Hoke, a 10-year veteran with Pittsburgh. "He put his imprint on this team when he first got here two different teams, two different personalities, two different coaching styles.

They both do great. I was very close to Coach Cowher. I think Coach Tomlin is a great coach. I'm close to him. Two different styles, but two different ways of winning and they both win." 44TH ANNUAL BIG GAME SALE February 4th, 5 and 6 Booking Tournaments and Leagues Now puts his stamp on Steelers "It was a different feel to have a young guy, this coordinator from Minnesota who came up through the ranks pretty quickly coming in here," Towns-end said.

"Before he had spoken to us, there was this type of unknown of how it was going to be. "But all that disappeared when he came on. When he first got there, he was so well-received, and the way he addressed us as men, guys gained an instant respect for their new coach." The rest is history. In four seasons, the Steelers who will meet the Packers in the Super Bowl on Feb. 6 have made the playoffs three times, won three AFC North titles and have secured two berths in the Super Bowl.

Their worst season under Tomlin? 9-7. Not bad. "Coach Tomlin took THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PITTSBURGH -Coach Mike Tomlin still is only 38 years old, still hasn't played a down of NFL football, and still has only one year as a coordinator on his resume. But after his Pittsburgh Steelers secured their second Super Bowl appearance in his four seasons as coach, the last thing Tomlin has to worry about is whether he's gained the respect of his players past or present. "I think a lot of guys," Pittsburgh defensive tackle Chris Hoke said, "would love to come play for coach Tomlin." Former Steelers corner-back Deshea Townsend concurs.

And he should know. He played for both Bill Cowher and Tomlin, and was a key member of that Pittsburgh transition phase. "He had to put his iden- GENE J. PUSKAR The Associated Press Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin, left, is one win away from his second Super Bowl title in four years. -i -bimm i thy on the team.

He had to do things he felt would make us better, and he had to do his own way," Townsend said of Tomlin. "He was coming in for an established coach, one that guys respected. So, not only was he the new guy, he was the new guy for a guy who had been there a long time." DEM0CRATANDCHR0NICLE.COM For more on the Marta signing, go to Jeff DiVeron-ica's Direct Kicks blog..