You could say that things went pretty much according to plan in NFL Playoff action last weekend with 8 teams going head to head for the right to move on to their respective conference champsionships. The macthups for next Sunday will be Pittsburgh vs New England & Philadelphia vs Atlanta.

Last Saturday, in the only game that gave the favorite a bit of a scare, Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers had to rely on Jets Kicker Doug Brien missing 2 field goal attempts in the 4th Quarter, to even make it to OT. Jeff Reed booted a 33-yard field goal 11:04 into the extra frame to seal the deal of the Steelers.

In the first of two NFC divisional playoffs Atlanta blew St. Louis out of the water 47-17 and exposed numerous gaps in the Rams defence. Warrick Dunn rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns, including a 62-yard run, and Michael Vick threw for a pair of TDs while running for 119 yards. Atlanta scored first and never gave the lead up while making an impressive run of 19-0 in the second half.

On Sunday in Philadelphia, Donovan McNabb threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Philadelphia Eagles past the Minnesota Vikings, 27-14, in an NFC Divisional Playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field.

Philadelphia advanced to its fourth consecutive NFC Championship Game and will host Atlanta next Sunday at 3 p.m. (ET). The Falcons advanced with a 47-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Saturday.

New England also came up victorious against the Colts in a one sided affair. For the second year in a row, the Pats made the league's MVP, Peyton Manning, look ordinary and his Indianapolis teammates inept, this time beating them 20-3 behind Corey Dillon 's 144 yards rushing.

Feb 6
Jacsonville
FOX

The NHL labour talks resumed Wednesday - at O'Hare Airport. According to sources, NHL Players' Association president Trevor Linden, NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin and outside counsel John McCambridge were meeting in an airport lounge with NHL board of governors chairman Harley Hotchkiss, NHL executive vice-president Bill Daly and league outside counsel Bob Batterman.

''It's important. It's a necessary step,'' Linden said Monday night from Vancouver. ''And I wasn't prepared to wait for a (league) phone call, I didn't think it really mattered.

NHL labour talks will resume at an undisclosed location Wednesday, without commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow.

Hockey fans should perhaps not get their hopes too high. The NHLPA remains determined not to accept a salary cap while the owners are insistent on getting ''cost certainty'' - a fixed link between player costs and league revenues (salary cap).

The two sides haven't met since Dec. 14, when the NHL first rejected the union's Dec. 9 proposal - highlighted by a 24 per cent salary rollback - and the NHLPA returned the favour, quickly rejecting the league's salary cap-based counter-offer.

More than half of the NHL season has already been scrapped by the lockout, which was announced Sept. 15 by Bettman. Through Monday, 650 of the season's 1,230 regular-season games had gone by the wayside.

The league has never announced a drop-dead date to save the season, but few believe there can be hockey this season if there's no agreement before the end of the month.

None of the four major professional sports in North America has ever gone beginning to end without a single game played. The Stanley Cup is in danger of not being awarded for the first time since the Spanish flu wiped out the 1919 final. Even the Second World War couldn't stop the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Roger Clemens filed for a record $22 million in salary arbitration on Tuesday, and the Houston Astros offered the seven-time Cy Young Award winner $13.5 million.

The Rocket, who helped lead the Astros within one win of their first World Series appearance, still has not decided whether to pitch this year or retire.

Until now, the highest figure ever submitted for arbitration was $18.5 million in 2001 by New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who then agreed to a $189 million, 10-year deal.

The highest salary ever earned by a pitcher in a single season was $17.5 million, last year by Boston's Pedro Martinez.

''We looked at what some of the comparables were - Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson - and we tried to use those star-quality players to come up with a number,'' Astros general manager Tim Purpura said.

Clemens, 42, left the Yankees after the 2003 season and intended to retire. But after former teammate Andy Pettitte signed with the Astros, Clemens was persuaded to sign with his hometown club.

He took an undermarket deal that guaranteed him $5 million, of which $3.5 million was deferred without interest until July 1, 2006. Clemens earned an additional $1,825,000 in bonuses based on his selection to the NL all-star team and Houston's home attendance, which was more than 3.3 million, including the post-season.

Clemens had a remarkable season, going 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA and 218 strikeouts. As he did last winter, he says he is leaning toward retirement but has not ruled out playing.

We've decided to include the betED $5 question in our newsletter! It's simple: Simply come up with the answer to our question within 24 hours of receiving this email, email it to our promotions department and you will have $5 credited to your account. You can collect free money every week* and use it to wager at the betED Sportsbook or Casino.

Which team won Super Bowl XI?

A - Dallas Cowboys
B - Minnesota Vikings
C - Denver Broncos
D - Oakland Raiders

Send the correct answer to promotions@beted.com & include your member user name in the email, and you will win $5!

*Conditions apply.