INFO » fly to centre before streaking home on a sharp single up the middle

Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Kam Chancellor bobbed his head in celebration as he crossed the goal line on his game-clinching 90-yard interception return. The Seattle Seahawks resurgent defense has them thinking repeat. Another dominating second half performance has them one step closer. Russell Wilson tossed three touchdown passes and the Seahawks punched their ticket into the NFC Championship Game with a 31-17 NFC Divisional Playoff victory over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday night. Seattle will play the winner of Sundays NFC Divisional Playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys in next Sundays conference title game at CenturyLink Field. Chancellors pick-six came with the Panthers marching down the field looking to cut a 24-10 deficit to a one-possession game. Faced with a 2nd-and-4 at the Seattle 13 with a little over six minutes left, Cam Newton was looking to hit Ed Dickson on the right side of the field near the numbers. The ball-hawking Chancellor read Newtons eyes and cut in front of Dickson before strolling down the left sideline for the easy score. Chancellor had 10 tackles to go with that interception and showcased his athleticism by hurdling over the Carolina offensive line twice on a pair of Graham Gano field goal attempts at the end of the first half. I dont know if a strong safety can have a stronger game than Kam Chancellor did tonight, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. Kelvin Benjamins 15-yard touchdown catch with 2:34 left was the first fourth- quarter points allowed by the Seahawks in the last seven games. Their top- ranked defense has given up just 56 points during that stretch, including just 20 in the second half. Wilson, who was 8-of-8 on third down for 199 yards, finished 15-of-22 for 268 yards and added 22 yards on the ground. Jermaine Kearse caught three passes for 129 yards and a touchdown and Luke Willson had four receptions for 68 yards and a score for the Seahawks, who have won eight straight postseason games in Seattle. Marshawn Lynch carried the ball 14 times for 59 yards. Newton completed 23-of-36 passes for 246 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 37 yards for Carolina, which won its final four games of the regular season to win the NFC South and qualify for the postseason. The Panthers beat the Cardinals last Saturday in the NFC Wild Card round. Benjamin hauled in seven passes for 75 yards and two scores, while Greg Olsen caught four balls for 58 yards in defeat. The Panthers have lost five consecutive meetings against Seattle. We made some mistakes, we missed some opportunities, Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. Steven Hauschkas 37-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth staked Seattle to a 17-10 advantage, and its defense forced a three-and-out on Carolinas ensuing possession. Wilson hit Willson, who broke free from two defenders to pick up 29 yards on a 3rd-and-6, then found him again on the next third down. Willson hauled in a 25-yard score along the right seam on a 3rd-and-10 to extend Seattles advantage to 24-10 with 10:26 remaining. Both defenses came out strong in the early going as neither offense recorded a first down on their opening five series combined. The Panthers were faced with a 3rd-and-5 on their third touch. Newton lofted a pass along the right sideline intended for Philly Brown, but Richard Sherman leapt up and made an interception. Wilson rolled right and hit Kearse for a 33-yard completion on a 3rd-and-12, but a Ricardo Lockette taunting penalty on an ensuing 3rd-and-12 took Seattle out of field-goal range. Seattles defense, however, forced another Carolina giveaway when Tony McDaniel pounced on a loose ball at the Carolina 28 following a fumbled exchange between Newton and Jonathan Stewart. The miscue led to a 16-yard Doug Baldwin TD reception for the games first points with 56 seconds to play in the first. Carolina answered on its next sequence when Newton fired a 7-yard TD pass to Benjamin in between two Seattle defenders on a quick slant. The Seahawks counter punched, though, as Wilson floated a perfectly-thrown pass for Kearse along the left seam on a 3rd-and-7. Kearse made a one-handed catch in stride, dove near the goal line and was able to touch the top of the left pylon with the ball for a 63-yard score and a 14-7 cushion late in the second. Gano nailed a 35-yard field goal on the final play of the half to trim the margin to 14-10 entering the break. Game Notes The Seahawks are the first reigning Super Bowl champion to win a playoff game since the 2005 New England Patriots ... Seattle has outscored opponents 62-7 in the fourth quarter during its last seven games ... Seattle was 7-of-13 on third down, while Carolina finished 9-of-16. Sneakers Sale Australia . Sami Vatanen had a goal and an assist and Anaheim used a four-goal first period to extend their winning streak to six games with a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. Best Cheap Sneakers Australia . The win gives Canada its fifth title at the World Sledge Hockey Challenge. "Weve got to keep pushing," said Westlake, who led Canada with five goals in the tournament. "The second you let off the pedal, everyone catches up. http://www.cheapaustraliasneakers.com/ . -- Tony Finau won the Stonebrae Classic on Sunday for his first Web. Sneakers Cheap Online Australia . At Manchester United, Ferguson developed Beckham into one of the worlds most recognizable sportsmen, but the midfielder left United in 2003 for Real Madrid under a cloud after his relationship with the manager broke down. Cheap Sneakers Online Free Delivery . Henderson (20-3) received winning scores of 48-47 and 49-46, and the other judge scored it 48-47 for Thomson (20-6). The announcement drew boos from the United Center crowd. "Train this hard for this long, its such a long camp and I see my title shot disappear," said Thomson, who fought most of the fight with a broken right hand.PITTSBURGH -- Solid starting pitching. A couple of defensive gems. Just enough hitting to make a difference. For a night, the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates managed to recapture a little bit of their 2013 magic. Do it a few more times and maybe their miserable start to 2014 will become a memory. Edinson Volquez allowed one run in six sharp innings, Andrew McCutchen and Josh Harrison made a splash both at the plate and in the field, and the Pirates edged the Washington Nationals 3-1 Thursday night. Volquez (2-4) ended a three-game losing streak by limiting the Nationals to three hits, walking two and striking out four. Mark Melancon worked the ninth for his eighth save. McCutchen drove in two runs for the Pirates and made a sliding grab with two on in the ninth to end the game. Josh Harrison added two hits for Pittsburgh and added a run-saving catch of his own for the Pirates. "Thats what were known for, just playing routine baseball, not doing anything too out of the ordinary," McCutchen said. "(Just) getting in scoring position, getting some runs home and having pitching shut it down for us." Ian Desmond hit his eighth homer of the season for the Nationals, but Washington left 10 runners on base. Rookie Blake Treinen (0-2) struggled with his command in his second career start, giving up two runs on four hits in 5 2-3 innings, striking out four and walking five. The Nationals have lost three of four. "Our approach was fine," Washington manager Matt Williams said. "They made some really nice plays. That happens. Its big league baseball. They get paid to do that." Volquez had been a pleasant surprise during the seasons first month, but scuffled through his previous four starts, going 0-3 with a 10.19 ERA as part of a slide that had the Pirates well off the pace in the NL Central a year after making the franchises first post-season appearance in more than two decades. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle wondered if Volquez -- who led the National League in walks per nine innings last season -- was suddenly throwing too many strikes. The former All-Star did a better job mixing location and speed against Washingtons patchwork lineup. His only real miscue came on a 2-0 fastball in the fourth that Desmond sent iinto the seats in centre field that briefly tied the game at 1.dddddddddddd It was the 10th home run Volquez has surrendered this season, but he responded by retiring nine of the last 10 batters he faced. "Just keeping the ball in the strike zone, keeping the ball in the ballpark," Volquez said. "I did it for a couple innings and Desmond hit a homer. A solo shot cant beat you, its only one run. You stay in the game and keep pitching." Treinen, who faced Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw in his previous major league start, wasnt quite as crisp. He retired the first eight batters he faced thanks in part to a sinker that topped out at 97 mph before getting loose in the third. He loaded the bases with two outs on a pair of walks and a single by Harrison before hitting McCutchen with an 80 mph changeup to force in a run. Trouble surfaced again in the fifth thanks in part to Harrison, who has provided a spark in right field even as the Pirates mark time until the likely arrival of highly touted prospect Gregory Polanco next month. Harrison walked to lead off the inning and moved to second on a fly to centre before streaking home on a sharp single up the middle by McCutchen. Harrison is 13 for 37 (.351) since being moved into the leadoff spot earlier this month. Washington loaded the bases in the eighth off Tony Watson, but the left-hander retired Scott Hairston on a fly to shallow left field to get out of it and Melancon survived despite putting two runners on with McCutchens sliding grab on a sinking liner by Anthony Rendon sealing it. NOTES: The Pirates claimed right-handed reliever Josh Wall off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday and assigned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. Wall is 1-1 with a 15.15 ERA in 15 career major league games. To make room for Wall on the 40-man roster, the Pirates designated RHP Phil Irwin for assignment. ... Nationals 1B Adam LaRoche went 0 for 2 in a rehab start for Class A Potomac on Thursday night. LaRoche has been on the disabled list since May 10 with a strained right quadriceps. LaRoche is eligible to come off the DL on Sunday. ... The series continues Friday night when Washingtons Jordan Zimmerman (3-1, 3.70 ERA) faces Pittsburghs Charlie Morton (0-6, 3.45). ' ' '