Falcons survive Seattle rally in thriller

(Reuters) - The top-seeded Atlanta Falcons needed a last-minute field goal to claim a nerve-jangling 30-28 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday despite squandering a 20-point lead in an exhilarating fourth quarter.Atlanta will now host the San Francisco 49ers on January 20 in the National Football Conference championship game with a berth in the Super Bowl on the line.Matt Bryant's 49-yard field...

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Brady powers Patriots past Texans into AFC title game

(Reuters) - Tom Brady set a record for most playoff wins by a quarterback in leading the New England Patriots to a 41-28 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday to move one win away from a second consecutive trip to the Super Bowl.Brady, who surpassed Hall of Famer Joe Montana with his 17th playoff win, completed 25-of-40 passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns in the divisional playoff, setting...

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PREVIEW-NFL-Texans' Schaub facing big test against Patriots

Jan 11 (Reuters) - Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub starts his first road playoff game, at the New England Patriots on Sunday, with the pressure on.The Patriots, corning in from a bye week, loom as favorites in the American Football Conference (AFC) divisional round clash as they look to go one better than last season when they lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.New England crushed...

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Texans' Schaub facing big test against Patriots

(Reuters) - Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub starts his first road playoff game, at the New England Patriots on Sunday, with the pressure on.The Patriots, corning in from a bye week, loom as favorites in the American Football Conference (AFC) divisional round clash as they look to go one better than last season when they lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.New England crushed Houston...

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Chiefs announce coordinators, assistant coaches

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid is wasting about as much time putting together his first coaching staff in Kansas City as he did in finding his new job.The Chiefs coach announced Friday that former Eagles coach Doug Pederson would be his offensive coordinator and longtime Jets assistant Bob Sutton the defensive coordinator, along with the majority of the staff Reid hopes will turn around a 2-14...

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Analysis: In battle for the car, Sirius faces fight from Pandora

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sirius XM Radio Inc's grip on drivers is under an increasing threat as the availability of Internet connections in more cars is helping Pandora Media Inc counter some of its rival's big selling points.In a sign of how important drivers are to the two companies, each of their top executives made the trek to Las Vegas this week to court automakers at the annual Consumer Electronics...

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CES 2013: Shhh, don’t tell, but Las Vegas likes secrets, even at a trade show

LAS VEGAS—In a leather banquette in a sparkling Las Vegas club, a knockout blonde discreetly kicked the Louis Vuitton bag at her feet.“It’s in there,” she whispered to me, conspiratorially. I followed this dame’s fishnet-clad legs down to her shoe’s pointed toe. Beautiful bag. “I call it the football,” she said. “I’m not going to bring it out yet.”Leslie Bradshaw’s honey-colored Cali perfection brings...

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Whitman says it will take five years to turn HP around

Whitman says it will take five years to turn HP aroundTo understand what an unholy mess HP (HPQ) is in right now, consider that CEO Meg Whitman says she needs more time to fix the company than she would have had to fix the entire California economy if she’d been elected governor. In a long Businessweek article about HP’s current turmoil, Whitman says that it will take her five years to execute her...

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New York governor wants casinos to spur upstate economy

(Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed on Wednesday dozens of new initiatives for the state, including new casinos and other measures aimed at helping upstate areas regain their financial footing after decades of economic decline.Cuomo, in his annual State of the State address, proposed locating up to three casinos upstate to increase tourism and provide some local property tax relief...

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ECB to hold fire as euro zone economy shows glimmers of hope

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.75 percent on Thursday, refraining from a cut as the euro zone economy shows some signs of stabilising and inflation still tops its target.The 17-country euro zone is in recession, but recent data points to some stabilisation, and ECB President Mario Draghi could strike a slightly more positive...

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