1-22-12: Arizona Cardinals Bird Droppings - NFC/AFC Championship Gameday

It is almost time for the championship games, so lets start off your morning with the reading of a couple of links.

New York Giants' Antrel Rolle has another shot at elusive Super Bowl ring
From the scarred to the diehard, most Cardinals fans will feel something Sunday. Maybe it's a twinge, a longing, a tingling. Maybe it's a moment of remembrance for what it was like to have a team playing in the NFC Championship Game. In 2009, the moment was so powerful it made spectators weep. Like the rest of us, Antrel Rolle will never forget.

Arizona Sports News:

Phoenix Coyotes can't complete late rally vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
If there is one "can't-do" for the Coyotes, it's this: Don't leave the ice trailing after the first period. During another season in which they are walking a thin line between winning and losing, the Coyotes rely on getting a lead and sticking to a systematic offense and a stingy defense to produce results. The Coyotes fell behind by three goals, then mounted a furious rally, but they dropped a 4-3 decision to the Tampa Bay Lighting on Saturday night at Jobing.com Arena. The Coyotes have an 0-13 record when falling behind after one period.

ASU basketball falls to Pac-12 foe Utah on the road
For nearly the entire season, Utah has been considered the worst team in college basketball's power conferences. Because of the coaching change, first-year coach Larry Krystkowiak had little with which to work, and the Utes took their lumps. Boise State thumped them by 21. Cal State-Fullerton by 31. In their first Pac-12 game, against fellow conference newcomer Colorado, the Utes lost by 40. Since then, Krystkowiak kicked leading scorer Josh Watkins off the team for violation of team rules. No doubt about it, this is a team at the beginning stages of rebuilding. And yet Saturday at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, the Utes routed Arizona State 64-43, offering the Sun Devils (6-13, 2-5 Pac-12) a sobering reality check of where their program stands.

Arizona Wildcats basketball team gets edged at Colorado
The Arizona Wildcats had the ball, down one with 30 seconds and no timeouts left -- right where the Colorado Buffaloes wanted them. Colorado coach Tad Boyle doesn't believe in the foul-'em philosophy. Besides stopping the clock and giving opponents uncontested free shots, putting the ball in his players' hands at the end also puts all the pressure on their shoulders. "I think there's more pressure on the offense in those situations than on the defense and we believe in defense," Boyle said. Arizona coach Sean Miller had burned all of his timeouts to give his players a chance to catch their breath and combat the altitude in their first trip to Boulder since 1973. So, he couldn't stop the clock and set up a play in the frenetic final half-minute. After the 'Cats worked the ball around, Kevin Parrom air-balled a 3-pointer from the right wing at the buzzer and the Buffaloes escaped with a 64-63 win on Saturday.

NFL News:

NFC, AFC Championship Game Picks: Underestimate The Ravens And Eli Manning At Your Own Peril - SBNation.com
The stage for the Super Bowl will be set Sunday, and it all comes down to the Patriots and Ravens for the AFC Championship, and the Giants trying to knock off the 49ers out west. Who ya got?

Ben Roethlisberger Settles Civil Suit Alleging Rape - SBNation.com
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger settled his Lake Tahoe civil lawsuit with a hotel employee who accused him of sexual assault.