Bill Belichick

If not for a goal-line stand in November, perhaps the Indianapolis Colts would be hosting the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game. Instead, Peyton Manning and the Colts will have to go into coach Bill Belichick's backyard when the former division rivals meet on Sunday afternoon. All that's on the line is a date in Super Bowl XXXVIII against either the Eagles or Carolina Panthers on Feb. 1 in Houston. New England, which owns the NFL's best record and a 13-game winning streak, is seeking its second Super Bowl title in three years under Belichick.

SHAME on Patriots coach Bill Belichick for running up the score in his team's 52-7 rout of the Redskins. With a comfortable lead in the second half, Belichick left star QB Tom Brady in the game along with talented receiver Randy Moss. There's a saying that applies to Belichick: "What goes around comes around. " Matt Engel Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Steve Belichick, the father of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, died Saturday night of heart failure at the age of 86. "I coached this game with a heavy heart," Bill Belichick said after yesterday's 24-17 win over the Saints. "My dad passed away. I found out about it the middle of last night. " The elder Belichick, an Ohio native, played fullback with the Detroit Lions in 1941 and was an assistant coach at Navy for 33 years. He played college football at Case Western Reserve, and also coached at North Carolina, Vanderbilt and Hiram.

Kyle Eckel received a call, almost out of the blue. It wasn't just any call, nor did it come from just anyone. The call for the two-time MVP of the Army-Navy game, who played for Episcopal Academy, was a personal invitation from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Eckel cleared waivers after being released by the Miami Dolphins on Friday, and Sunday evening got the call from Belichick to see if he had any interest in playing for the Patriots. The Pats have always liked Eckel.

Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell says his team's future rests firmly with coach Bill Belichick. After a second consecutive 7-9 season following a 6-10 season, Modell said yesterday he is optimistic about the team's direction under Belichick and predicted that fans who might have soured on the Browns "will be back when we start to win. " Modell said he is trying to look beyond the midway point of last season, when the Browns were 5-3 and...

SOME BRONCOS fan are apparently planning to shell out $10,000 to rent billboard space in an effort to convince coach John Fox to replace quarterback Kyle Orton with Tim Tebow. Fans could be heard chanting "Tebow! Tebow!" in the second half of Monday night's loss to the Raiders. But the next day, Fox said Orton would remain the starter. "We were sitting around after Fox said he didn't hear the chants for Tebow, and we figured if he's deaf, we hope he's not blind," fan Jesse Oaks told the Denver Post . Oaks said he and seven friends were planning to use the money to go to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, but decided instead to "better our team.

Thumbs up To Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who once again proved why he's the smartest man in the NFL. With the 33-year-old Randy Moss in the final year of his contract, Belichick decided that the seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver's declining play - he's got just nine catches in the first four games - and his increasingly bad attitude over the team's disinterest in giving him a new deal, were sufficient reasons to trade him to the desperate Vikings....

Take that, Bill Belichick. Don Shula, coach of the only NFL team to have a perfect season, the 17-0 Miami Dolphins of 1972, yesterday complimented the 9-0 New England Patriots. "They've got a real shot at doing it," said Shula, asked if the Pats could finish unbeaten. "They're capable. They make it look easy. " But . . . "The Spygate thing has diminished what they've accomplished," Shula said. "You would hate to have that attached to your accomplishments. They've got it. " Shula implied that if Belichick's team finishes unbeaten, the achievement will be tainted.

Bill Belichick doesn't smile. He doesn't smirk. The Patriots coach wears a perpetual grimace. In some ways, his personality represents the blustery winters of New England. "He was the dreariest coach you could imagine," recalled former Giants linebacker Harry Carson, who played under Belichick on Bill Parcells' 1986 Super Bowl team in New York. "We called him Captain Sominex because he put us to sleep with his delivery. " People say they haven't seen Belichick smile much since the Patriots won their second Super Bowl last year, although a 21-game winning streak provided ample opportunity.

Bill Belichick yesterday dropped his antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, a day after a judge refused to free him to negotiate to coach other teams. Belichick lost his attempt to gain a temporary restraining order against NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue's ruling that keeps him from coaching another team without the New York Jets' permission. U.S. District Judge John Bissell ruled that Belichick could only blame himself for his quandary after quitting the Jets. "It made sense to withdraw the case and assess our position," Belichick lawyer David Feher said.

NEW ENGLAND Patriots coach Bill Belichick confirmed that Josh McDaniels will be the team's offensive coordinator next season. McDaniels was brought in during the playoffs to serve as an offensive assistant. He was widely seen as the heir to offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, who had been hired to replace Joe Paterno at Penn State. But it wasn't official until Belichick confirmed the move yesterday, a day after the Patriots lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, 21-17.

INDIANAPOLIS - Bill Belichick gave clear instructions to his defensive unit: Let the runner score. Playing the odds and inviting critics, the calculating coach of the New England Patriots told his players to get out of the way, open a wide path for Ahmad Bradshaw and give Tom Brady a chance to win the Super Bowl in the final 57 seconds. Unusual? Certainly. Crazy? Not at all. The strategy failed, and the New York Giants won, 21-17, on Sunday night. But Belichick was certain it gave the Patriots their best opportunity.

INDIANAPOLIS - Tom Brady's two long incompletions in the final minutes, and several missed chances throughout the game cost the New England Patriots a chance at another Super Bowl victory. It also resulted in their second loss to the New York Giants in the big game in five seasons, 21-17, last night. "We just came up a little bit short," Brady said. "There were some missed opportunities out there. It was a very hard-fought game. We fought 'til the end. I'm very proud of that.

INDIANAPOLIS - Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez provide more than just a clever nickname, although "The Boston TE Party" is rather catchy. Those Patriots are the most productive tight end tandem in NFL history, the epitome of the evolution at the position and perhaps the No. 1 reason New England is back in the Super Bowl this year. Whether they influence Sunday's game against the New York Giants is another matter because there might not be a they in five days. Gronkowski has a high ankle sprain, and even if he plays - as many say he will, including him - there is doubt as to how effective he will be. "It's getting annoying," Gronkowski said after he was asked, literally, for the 20th time about the left ankle he sprained in the AFC championship.

INDIANAPOLIS - They're baaaacck. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have returned to the Super Bowl, and once again the New England Patriots quarterback and head coach are a victory away from adding their names to the record books. They've already made their mark in the NFL, obviously, and will set at least another at kickoff by becoming the starting quarterback-coach tandem with the most Super Bowl appearances, with five. But Brady and Belichick struck out at matching the four Super Bowl titles of quarterbacks Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw and coach Chuck Noll the last time they made it to the NFL final.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Season opener or Super Bowl, every game is a big game to Bill Belichick. His consistent approach to preparation for the next opponent, whether a powerhouse or a pushover, is the cornerstone of the coaching that has brought the New England Patriots to their fifth Super Bowl in 11 years. The more intense the practices, the more prepared his players are for the game. "You know what to expect week-in and week-out with him," wide receiver Matthew Slater said.

Here are seven questions about Penn State, new coach Bill O'Brien and what comes next:   Q. What does Joe Paterno think of all this? A. O'Brien went out of his way to laud Paterno on Saturday and said he looked forward to the chance to meet him. Paterno had issued a statement of congratulations Friday evening, even before Penn State made the hiring official. A source close to Paterno told the Daily News yesterday that Paterno is aware of O'Brien's remarks and appreciates the sentiment.

PENN STATE'S "deliberate and methodical" search for a new head coach seems to have come to an end. According to multiple reports, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien agreed to become Joe Paterno's successor after an interview in State College yesterday. In his 46th season, Paterno was fired Nov. 9 in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sexual-abuse scandal and questions about his handling of the situation. ESPN.com, citing unnamed sources, reported that an official announcement will be made tomorrow.

Andy Reid never ceases to amaze Bill Belichick. Nearly 7 years ago, the Patriots coach was absolutely dumbfounded as he stood on the sideline of what was then called Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville during the waning minutes of Super Bowl XXXIX and watched Reid's Eagles, who were trailing by 10 points at the time, stroll down the field on a time-consuming 13-play drive as if they were on a leisurely sunset walk along the beach. "Have I got the score right?" Belichick asked his assistants up in the booth via his headset.

Nothing like a winning start to make an NFL team flex its muscles. Consider the Buffalo Bills, who are following their 4-2 start with a big ambition: convincing taxpayers to foot the bill for an extensive face-lift of Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills CEO Russ Brandon told the Associated Press that the team has hired Populous, an architectural firm that specializes in sports-facility projects, to do a study on upgrading the stadium. Brandon called the renovations necessary in order to keep the stadium viable and to help ensure the Bills' long-term future in western New York.