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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Champ Bailey finally gets a chance to live up to his name. The 12-time Pro Bowler is headed to his first Super Bowl in his 15th -- and most trying -- NFL season, one in which he missed 11 games and parts of two others because of a nagging foot injury. "It hurt not being out there," Bailey said after Denver topped New England in the AFC championship game, "but here I am. Im on the field and my teams still in the running. Thats what its all about." Baileys subdued celebration and measured reaction in delirious Denver stood in stark contrast to the scene in Seattle later Sunday night, where Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman stole the spotlight with his game-saving deflection, his taunting of Michael Crabtree and his television rant on the field afterward. The two contrasting styles will draw much attention in the days leading up to the Super Bowl on Feb. 2. Sherman is the 25-year-old trash-talking leader of the leagues best defence, Bailey the 35-year-old sage of a unit thats been through the ringer this season, but has come on strong over the past month despite injuries that cost them several starters, including Von Miller and Chris Harris Jr. Bailey is one of the leagues top cornerbacks, but hes clearly on the downslope of his spectacular career that includes the most Pro Bowls by a defensive back in NFL history. Bailey was greeted in the locker room by former teammate John Lynch, who was with him the previous time hed come this close to the Super Bowl -- 2,919 days earlier. One week after sealing a playoff win with a 100-yard interception return to hand Tom Brady his first playoff loss back in 2006, Bailey had another interception in his grasp and the end zone in his sights, but Hines Ward somehow came down with the football instead and Pittsburgh went on to beat Denver 34-17 for the AFC title following the 2005 season. "I said hed play really big and I think quietly he really did," Lynch said. "Its been a tough year. Everyone thinks hes old, over the hill, but hes been a great player throughout his whole career and great players, when it matters most, play great." Bailey had no spectacular plays this time, no pick-6s or takeaways or forced fumbles or sacks, just his usual steady play and calming leadership. He was hardly tested by Brady at all and finished with three tackles. "I thought yesterday was his best performance of the season," coach John Fox said Monday. Peyton Manning, who knows a little bit about overcoming injuries and long odds to reach the Super Bowl, said he was "certainly happy for Champ, I know a lot of people are." "Theres a guy -- lets see, Champs one year younger than me so hes in his 15th season -- like I said, its hard to get to the Super Bowl. Its hard to win it, but Im telling you its hard to get there," Manning said. "... Im glad that hes back out there on the field. Hes battled through some injuries and has stayed at it and been committed to his rehab." Bailey started just three games this season, and he finished just one of those, against Jacksonville on Oct. 13. After aggravating his foot injury in his two other starts, he was relegated to slot duty by the time he finally got healthy in mid-December. That changed when Harris got hurt in the Broncos playoff win over San Diego and Bailey started Sunday opposite Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, then moved into the slot on passing downs to thwart the heart of the Patriots offence. "I knew Id be back at some point," Bailey said. "My coaches, teammates, they never gave up on me. They knew Id be back to 100 per cent at some point. Here I am, Im playing probably my best football of the year -- because I havent played much. Im just looking forward to the next one, making sure my body is right for the next game." And dont count on him getting caught up in the comparisons at the Super Bowl between him and Sherman, who represents this new breed of cornerback, the bigger, athletic DBs who trash talk as well as any of the receivers they cover. About the only trash-talking that came out of Baileys mouth Sunday was when he was asked about how the Broncos shut down the Patriots ground game. The Broncos held LeGarrette Blount to 6 yards on five carries a week after scoring four TDs against Indianapolis. "Well," Bailey said matter-of-factly, "they didnt play the Broncos last week." Notes: Fox said RB Knowshon Moreno is day to day after X-rays on his ribs were negative and CB Tony Carter has a pinched nerve but no concussion. ... The Broncos return to work Thursday. . Coetzees finish, with six birdies and no bogeys, took him to 19-under 268 overall and past South African compatriots Thomas Aiken and Justin Walters, the overnight co-leaders. Coetzee was flawless on the East Course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club to clinch his maiden title after 24 top 10 finishes. . -- The Denver Broncos are shuffling their offensive line this off-season and Orlando Franklin provided some insight into their plans Monday by tweeting that hes moving from right tackle to left guard. . The Redblacks are taking on the Edmonton Eskimos in their second regular season game Friday night. Catch the game live on TSN as the back end of a doubleheader starting at 10pm et/7pm pt. . Lisicki beat South African Chanelle Scheepers by a 7-5, 7-6 (7-1) margin. Next up for the Wimbledon runner-up will be Slovenian Polona Hercog, who outlasted Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-4, 5-7, 6-1. . The 20-year-old Inoue landed a series of combinations and the bout was stopped 2 minutes, 54 seconds into the sixth round. Inoue, the first Japanese boxer to claim a world title in just his sixth professional fight, improved to 6-0 with five knockouts.HOUSTON -- The Miami Marlins know what they need to do to get back into the National League post-season picture. With timely hitting and good pitching, the Marlins are one win away from sweeping the slumping Houston Astros. Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run double, and Jordany Valdespin added a two-run home run to power the Marlins to a 7-3 victory over Houston on Saturday night. Stantons double in the second inning broke a 2-2 tie. Christian Yelich had two hits, including an RBI single as part of the four-run frame. Valdespin hit his first homer of the season in the ninth off Chad Qualls. The Marlins have won six of seven. "To come here and to keep going and to keep competing and keeping that good feeling going, Im very happy," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "Were going to be tested. A lot of good teams left to play and a lot of ground to make up, but Im very happy with where were at right now." Stanton said a sweep against the Astros would put the Marlins in a good position. "We have to get sweeps in series like this," Stanton said. "You always say you sweep guys like this, and you stay afloat against the guys on the top. A sweep is three games gained instead of one." The Marlins were able to capitalize on starter Jarred Cosarts wildness when he walked the bases loaded in the second, setting up the run-scoring hits by Yelich and Stanton. "Its just who is able to capitalize the most is who is able to stay afloat and win games," Stanton said. "You arent always going to be able to capitalize, but the more you do, the more you are going to be in good shape. Weve been doing all right lately." Tom Koehler (7-7) gave up three runs and nine hits with two strikeouts in five innings. "I walked that tight rope that whole day and fortunately enough, I stayed balanced enough to get through five," Koehler said. "I handed it over to the bullpen who did a great job." Jason Castro had two hits, including a two-run home run in the first that put the Astros up 2-1. Jose Altuve added three hits for Houston, which lost its fourth straight and fell a season-high 20 games below .500 (42-62). Cosart (9-7) allowed five runs and seven hits with four strikeouts and four walks in 5 2-3 innings.ddddddddddddThe right-hander has struggled in July, allowing 21 runs in 21 1-3 innings over four starts. "Tale of two innings, obviously," Cosart said. "Pretty self-explanatory. Its the same as always when I have a bad game. I just didnt throw strikes." Carter cut the lead to 5-3 with an RBI single in the fifth. Casey McGehee gave Miami a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first. Houston left runners in scoring position in each inning from the second to the seventh. Altuve and Marwin Gonzalez started the third with singles before Carter lined a ball to Koehler that went off the right-handers back and was caught by shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria. Koehler struck out Castro and Matt Dominguez to end the inning. "It was kind of weird," Koehler said of the out. "It used my back as a ramp to get to (Hechavarria). We looked, and after icing my shoulder, my shoulder was redder than my back. There is not really proof that I got hit, which is good." The Astros went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position against Koehler and finished 1 for 12 overall. "We had some opportunities and, you know, had the right guys out there," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "We hit one line drive off the pitchers back or shoulder and the short stop catches the ball. Its just one of those things. We had some opportunities. We were just not able to get the big hit." NOTES: After the game, Houston placed RHP Josh Zeid on the disabled list with a left foot injury. The Astros also optioned RHP Brad Peacock to Triple-A Oklahoma City to work on his fastball command, Porter said. LHP Brett Oberholtzer will start in Peacocks place Monday against Oakland. ... Houston RHP Collin McHugh will be activated from the disabled list to start on Sunday. McHugh, 4-8 with a 3.28 ERA, has been out since July 7 because of an injury to his right middle finger. McHugh, who last started in the majors on July 6 in a loss at the Los Angeles Angels, threw five innings in a rehab outing Tuesday for Oklahoma City. Miami will start RHP Jacob Turner, 3-6 with a 6.03 ERA. ... Gonzalez returned to the lineup after missing Fridays game because of soreness in his right hamstring. ' ' '
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