Wichtiges » over for Tanaka after he put runners on the corner

RENTON, Wash. - Somewhere along the way, "pedestrian" became a favoured word for the Seattle Seahawks receivers. Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse and Golden Tate each used the word in some fashion after the Seahawks beat San Francisco to win the NFC championship Sunday. It was their way of responding to critics who have panned Seattles receiving corps as one of the weak points in the Seahawks roster. "It irritates the hell out of me when weve got guys who constantly want to talk about our receiving corps," Baldwin said after the 23-17 win over the 49ers. "Talking about were average. Were pedestrian. Were going to walk our ... to the Super Bowl. Pedestrians." Seattles receiving crew was supposed to have more experience and be considered a strength before the season began. Thats when the Seahawks were expected to have Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice as their starters, with Baldwin, Tate and Kearse filling secondary roles as extra receivers catching passes from Russell Wilson. But then Harvin missed 15 of 16 regular-season games following hip surgery in August and Rice was lost for the year after Week 8 with a knee injury. Its left an unheralded, underappreciated group as Seattles pass catching options. And while they despise being cast as a weak link, they also are more than happy to use those slights as motivation. Perhaps no player feeds off the negativity more than Baldwin. Before the NFC title game, the undrafted free agent out of Stanford talked about carrying a "boulder" around on his shoulder, not a chip. Then he made sure to note that pundits on Sunday morning were again pointing to Seattles receivers as the reason Wilson and the pass game had been struggling. "They were talking about Russell Wilson was struggling and the reason he was struggling was his receiving corps was appetizers," Baldwin said. "Ill take that. Ill be an appetizer. But thats a good ... appetizer if you ask me." Baldwin responded with one of the best games in his career on Sunday. He finished with six catches for 106 yards — the second-most in his three seasons — including a 51-yard reception in the first half that helped loosen the 49ers defence. But he wasnt alone. Tate had four receptions and Kearse made one of the biggest catches in his young career. On fourth-and-7 early in the fourth quarter, Wilsons hard count got the 49ers to jump into the neutral zone. Knowing it was a free play, Seattles receivers broke off the original routes and headed vertical to the end zone. Kearse was able to get a step on Carlos Rogers and pulled in a 35-yard TD pass from Wilson with 13:44 left that gave Seattle a 20-17 lead that the Seahawks did not relinquish. "When you run a route you got to always expect that the ball could come to you. But when the ball is in the air its all instinct, its all play-making ability," Kearse said. "Russ threw a good ball at me, it just shows the trust he has in us and you know well just try to make the best of every opportunity." Then later, prodded by Baldwin, Kearse followed the line in the wide receivers room. "Im just a pedestrian trying to walk my way to the Super Bowl," he said. What makes Seattles group of receivers unique is the lack of credentials. Take Harvin out of the equation, and of Seattles top five receivers, four were undrafted: Baldwin, Kearse, Ricardo Lockette and Bryan Walters. Tate was the only draftee, taken in the second round in 2010. Its another example of general manager John Schneiders ability to unearth hidden talents, but the group also comes with a built-in motivation to prove wrong anyone who overlooked or undervalued their potential. They also play in an offence where numbers will never be extraordinary. Only four times in 18 regular and post-season games this season did Seattle attempt 30 or more passes. Three times they didnt even attempt 20 throws. That leaves limited opportunities when the offence calls for the tight end and running backs to be involved in the pass game as well. And all that is without Harvin, who is expected to have recovered from a concussion in time for the Super Bowl. "At the end of the day, we want to be a team that makes the big play when we need to," Wilson said. "Always make the consistent ones, but make the big play when we need to, and the guys have done that all year." Toronto Raptors Jerseys .com) - There may be a debate in Philadelphia about who should be the starting quarterback of the Eagles. Kyle Lowry Raptors Jersey . Hamelin overcame a weak start to win bronze in the 500-metre race behind winner Wu Dajing of China and American J.R. Celski on Saturday at the world short track speed skating championship. http://www.nbaraptorsonline.com/Authentic-Norman-Powell-Jersey/ . LOUIS -- The St. Vince Carter Jersey . The 21-year-old Wickham headed Sunderland into a 26th-minute lead --to add to the double he scored at Manchester City and his strike in last weekends win at Chelsea -- and then sealed the win with a late header. Vince Carter Raptors Jersey . New York then missed its next six shots and scored only two points the rest of the night. The Los Angeles Clippers defence and the Knicks general ineptitude both played a role in the unsurprising finish to a meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions.MILWAUKEE -- The fan wanted a hug. Derek Jeter just wanted to get out of the way. Jeter calmly eluded a fan that tried to meet him in the sixth inning of the New York Yankees 5-3 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night. Masahiro Tanaka pitched into the seventh and Yangervis Solarte hit a three-run homer for the Yankees, who have won three straight and four of six. It was New Yorks first game in Milwaukee since 2005, and it took a surprising turn when a guy jumped out of the left-field stands and walked briskly toward Jeter at shortstop in the sixth inning. Jeter didnt appear to notice the fan at first. Jeter, who plans to retire after this season, took a few steps away as several security guards rushed in to tackle the person. Jeter said the guy, who was wearing a Ryan Braun jersey and white bandana, didnt appear threatening. "His face was calm," Jeter said. "He was saying he wanted a hug. I was thinking I wasnt going to hug him. That was pretty much it. It happened pretty quick. I didnt even see him until he got past the third-base line." Jeter warned the guy he had made a big mistake. "I told him, Youre going to get in trouble," Jeter said. "Then he repeated that he wanted a hug. I said, Look out." Thats when several security guards flattened the guy and then hauled him away. "If you saw his face, he wasnt coming out there with anger," Jeter said. "So, no, I wasnt scared." But Yankees manager Joe Girardi was worried about Jeter. "I was like, Derek, move," Girardi said. "Derek just kind of stood there. Obviously, he didnt feel threatened. Its not what you want because you never know what people are up to. Its an unfortunate part of the game." Tanaka (5-0) allowed two runs and seven hits in his first interleague game. The Japanese right-hander struck out seven and walked one. Tanaka also struck out in each of his first three major league at-bats. Yovani Gallardo (2-2) matched Tanaka pitch for pitch until New York scored four times in the fourth on four hits, highlighted by Solartes second home run of the season. Carlos Beltran walked and Brian McCann singled before Solarte hit Gallardos first pitch, a cutter, over the right-field wall. "Thats whats frustrating about this game," Gallardo said. "You have to stay away from the big inning." Solarte leads the Yankees with 18 RBIs.dddddddddddd He signed a minor league deal in January and then played his way onto the major league club with a strong spring training. "Hes obviously had a great first five or six weeks," Girardi said. "Hes played well and he deserves to be out there." The Yankees tacked on an insurance run in the eighth inning. Beltran hit a leadoff double against Brandon Kintzler, and Ichiro Suzuki then came in to run. Suzuki stole third and scored on Mark Teixeiras roller down the first-base line, making it 5-2. The Brewers got on the board in the sixth. Carlos Gomez and Scooter Gennett started the inning with consecutive doubles, and Jonathan Lucroy followed with an RBI single. Tanaka then got Aramis Ramirez to ground into a double play and struck out Mark Reynolds. Gallardo was impressed with Tanaka. "He kept the ball down in the zone and he was moving the ball around," Gallardo said. "He was pretty good at keeping our guys off balance." Adam Warren took over for Tanaka after he put runners on the corners in the seventh. Warren struck out pinch-hitter Lyle Overbay and Logan Schafer was cut down while trying to steal second. David Robertson allowed Reynolds sixth homer in the ninth, but struck out the side for his sixth save. Milwaukee has lost three straight and seven of nine since getting off to a hot start. The Brewers are playing without Ryan Braun, who has been sidelined by a right oblique strain. NOTES: Gomezs appeal hearing of his three-game suspension for a bench-clearing brawl in Pittsburgh on April 20 was Friday. It went OK, according to what manager Ron Roenicke heard in the clubhouse. "They should have a decision here in a few days," he said. ... The Miller Park roof was open for the first time in 19 games this season. ... Jeter received a loud round of applause from the near sellout crowd of 40,123 when the starting lineup was announced and again when he batted in the first. The Brewers plan to honour him before Sundays game. ... Yankees LHP CC Sabathia (3-4, 5.75 ERA) faces Brewers RHP Kyle Lohse (4-1, 2.72 ERA) on Saturday night. ... The University of Wisconsin mens basketball 2014 Final Four team and coach Bo Ryan were honoured in a pregame ceremony. Eighteen ceremonial first pitches were tossed as the team and staff stretched from third base to first across the mound. ' ' '