Parentheses

Conference championships Sunday (Line in parentheses) Time TV NFC Tampa Bay at Philadelphia (-4) 3 p.m. 45, 5 AFC Tennessee at Oakland (-7 1/2 ) 6:30 p.m. 13, 9 Super Bowl XXXVII Jan. 26 At Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego NFC vs. AFC, 6:18 p.m., chs. 2, 7

Jan. 6-7 AFC: Indianapolis 23, Kansas City 8; New England 37, New York Jets 16 NFC: Seattle 21, Dallas 20; Philadelphia 23, New York Giants 20 Divisional games Jan. 13-14 AFC: Indianapolis 15, Ravens 6; New England 24, San Diego 21 NFC: New Orleans 27, Philadelphia 24; Chicago 27, Seattle 24, OT Conference Championships Today (Line in parentheses) NFC: New Orleans at Chicago (-2 1/2 ), 3 p.m., chs. 45, 5 AFC: New England at Indianapolis (-3), 6:30 p.m., chs. 13, 9 Super Bowl Feb. 4 At Dolphin Stadium, Miami, 6 p.m., chs. 13, 9

Baseball top 101. Perry Hall (6-1) .. .. .. .. .. ..482. Northeast (11-0).. .. .. .. .. .. ..413. Archbishop Curley (10-1) .. .. .. ..40Calvert Hall (14-3).. .. .. .. .. ..395. Arundel (9-2).. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..286. Mount St. Joseph (11-2). .. .. .. ..237. Gilman (9-1) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..158. Severna Park (8-1) .. .. .. .. .. ..149. C.M. Wright (9-1). .. .. .. .. .. ..1210. Old Mill (7-4) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 6Records are through Sunday.Other teams receiving votes, with records and points in parentheses: Franklin (5-1, 5)

The first poem we ran in this column was by David Allan Evans of South Dakota, about a couple washing windows together. Here Tania Rochelle of Georgia presents us with another couple, this time raking leaves. I especially like the image of the pair "bent like parentheses/ around their brittle little lawn." - Ted Kooser "Raking" Anna Bell and Lane, eighty, make small leaf piles in the heat, each pile a great joint effort, like fifty years of marriage, sharing chores a rusty dance.

The Brine/Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association's Division I poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday and total points:No. School ..... ..... Record ... Pts1. Virginia .... ....... 9-1 ..... 452. Princeton ... ....... 9-1 ..... 423. Maryland .... ....... 5-1 ..... 394. Dartmouth ... ....... 5-3 ..... 365. Penn State .. ....... 8-2 ..... 336. Harvard ..... ....... 5-2 ..... 307. Old Dominion ........ 7-5 ..... 278. Temple ...... ....... 6-3 ..... 249. Loyola, Md. .....

Week 5 YESTERDAY'S RESULTS Detroit 35, Ravens 17 Buffalo 20, Miami 14 Seattle 37, St. Louis 31 Tennessee 34, Houston 20 N.Y. Jets 14, Tampa Bay 12 New England 31, Atlanta 28 Green Bay 52, New Orleans 3 Cleveland 20, Chicago 10 Indianapolis 28, San Francisco 3 Dallas 33, Philadelphia 10 Carolina 24, Arizona 20 Denver 21, Washington 19 Jacksonville 23, Cincinnati 20 Tonight's game(Line in parentheses) Pittsburgh at San Diego (-3), 9 p.m., Chs. 2, 7 Open date Kansas City, Oakland, N.Y. Giants, Minnesota WEEK 6 SUNDAY'S GAMES (Line in parentheses)

The first poem we ran in this column was by David Allan Evans of South Dakota, about a couple washing windows together. Here Tania Rochelle of Georgia presents us with another couple, this time raking leaves. I especially like the image of the pair "bent like parentheses/ around their brittle little lawn." - Ted Kooser "Raking" Anna Bell and Lane, eighty, make small leaf piles in the heat, each pile a great joint effort, like fifty years of marriage, sharing chores a rusty dance.

Jan. 6-7 AFC: Indianapolis 23, Kansas City 8; New England 37, New York Jets 16 NFC: Seattle 21, Dallas 20; Philadelphia 23, New York Giants 20 Divisional games Jan. 13-14 AFC: Indianapolis 15, Ravens 6; New England 24, San Diego 21 NFC: New Orleans 27, Philadelphia 24; Chicago 27, Seattle 24, OT Conference Championships Today (Line in parentheses) NFC: New Orleans at Chicago (-2 1/2 ), 3 p.m., chs. 45, 5 AFC: New England at Indianapolis (-3), 6:30 p.m., chs. 13, 9 Super Bowl Feb. 4 At Dolphin Stadium, Miami, 6 p.m., chs. 13, 9

1. Indianapolis (2) That Peyton Manning guy can really throw. 2. Seattle (4) Close to wrapping up home field in the NFC. 3. Chicago (5) Hard to believe, but the Bears have an offense. 4. Jacksonville (9) Play the Jags, bring the ice bags. 5. Cincinnati (3) So far, so good with Carson Palmer. 6. Atlanta (6) Two-pronged ground attack works wonders. 7. Ravens (7) Ray Lewis has something to brag about again. 8. Pittsburgh (1) Playing Ben Roethlisberger was a macho mistake. 9. New England (8)

Week 15 Saturday's results New England 28, Tampa Bay 0 N.Y. Giants 27, Kansas City 17 Denver 28, Buffalo 17 Yesterday's results Miami 24, N.Y. Jets 20 Houston 30, Arizona 19 Seattle 28, Tennessee 24 San Diego 26, Indianapolis 17 Philadelphia 17, St. Louis 16 Carolina 27, New Orleans 10 Jacksonville 10, San Francisco 9 Pittsburgh 18, Minnesota 3 Cincinnati 41, Detroit 17 Cleveland 9, Oakland 7 Washington 35, Dallas 7 Chicago 16, Atlanta 3...

(Last week's ranking in parentheses): 1. Colts (1) Starting with Cincinnati today, the schedule gets tougher. 2. Broncos (2) Who is that bearded quarterback anyway? 3. Steelers (3) Down to their third-string running back and third-string quarterback. 4. Panthers (4) The Bears' defense will be a litmus test. 5. Seahawks (8) Operating quietly under the radar. 6. Bengals (7) The Jungle has become a haven. 7. Falcons (5) Loss to the Packers is another ominous sign. 8. Cowboys (10)

Week 10 Yesterday's results Jacksonville 30, Ravens 3 Detroit 29, Arizona 21 Indianapolis 31, Houston 17 Chicago 17, San Francisco 9 New England 23, Miami 16 Minnesota 24, N.Y. Giants 21 Buffalo 14, Kansas City 3 Denver 31, Oakland 17 Carolina 30, N.Y. Jets 3 Seattle 31, St. Louis 16 Green Bay 33, Atlanta 25 Tampa Bay 36, Washington 35 Pittsburgh 34, Cleveland 21 Tonight's game(Line in parentheses) Dallas@Philadelphia (-3), 9 p.m., chs. 2, 7 Open date Cincinnati, San Diego, New Orleans, Tennessee Week 11 Sunday's games (Line in parentheses)