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WALLY HALL: Heavyweight QBs make for stellar title games

It may be hard for this Sunday's NFL conference championship games to duplicate the excitement of last Sunday, but it isn't impossible.

Last Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers never got in the end zone, but six field goals were enough to edge Kansas City 18-16. It turned out to be a day when kickers never were more valuable.

The Dallas Cowboys had tied the Green Bay Packers at 31-31 with less than a minute to play on a 52-yard field goal, but the Packers got a 35-yard pass completion with three seconds left and Mason Crosby kicked a 51-yard field goal to give the Packers the win. He kicked a 56-yarder with 1:33 to play.

Now comes the showdown between Tom Brady and the New England Patriots and "Big" Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brady has four Super Bowl rings; Roethlisberger has two.

If it comes down to the kicking game you have to like Pittsburgh, but this will be Brady's 33rd playoff game. Roethlisberger is a veteran too, as he makes his 20th appearance. The Steelers have won nine games in a row, while the Patriots have won eight.

And in the "other" game, Aaron Rodgers (17th playoff game) and the Packers travel to Atlanta to take on Matt Ryan (seventh playoff game) and the Falcons.

The Packers have the legacy, but they are five-point underdogs in the last game to be played in the Georgia Dome, which is coming down and will be replaced with a new stadium after this season.

The Falcons were the leading scorers in the regular season, putting up 540 points, but their defense was 27th in scoring by allowing 406 points.

If this one comes down to quarterbacks, the Packers will advance to Houston NRG Stadium on Feb. 5 for Super Bowl LI, or in English No. 51.


Malik Monk and De'Aaron Fox have more in common than most know.

Everyone is aware of Monk, who played high school basketball at Bentonville and chose Kentucky over all others. There were many who wanted him, just like Fox, who was rated the No. 1 point guard in the country.

Monk and Fox are half of the sensational freshman starters for the Wildcats.

Both are believed to be one-and-done on the college level. Some NBA Draft prediction websites have Fox as the No. 6 pick in the summer going to the Dallas Mavericks and Monk as the No. 7 pick going to Philadelphia.

Both are living up to the hype on the college level.

And both have an Arkansas connection.

Fox's mom, Lorraine Harris-Fox, played basketball at UALR from 1986-88. Probably the only two NBA teams that would make mom happier than Dallas to pick her son would be Houston or San Antonio.

The Foxes live in Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston.


When Kevin Durant opted for free agency and left Oklahoma City for Golden State there was much speculation about the relationship between Durant and Russell Westbrook, who is now the Thunder's lone star.

There also have been arguments as to who was the better player. Wednesday night provided some answers when the teams met and Golden State -- which is 9-1 in its past 10 games -- beat the Thunder -- which is 4-6 in their past 10 games -- 121-100.

Durant scored 40 points on 13-of-16 shooting, and had 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 turnovers.

Westbrook had 27 points on 8-of-23 shooting (that was the most shots taken by any player), 15 rebounds, 13 assists and 10 turnovers, one of which he received an inbounds pass and took five steps before he dribbled.

Golden State leads the Western Division with a 36-6 record. The Thunder are tied for sixth at 25-19.

Sports on 01/20/2017

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