By Larry Fine

(Reuters) – Tom Brady has been sharpening up for another test against the Baltimore Ravens, knowing that finding the right answers to their defensive schemes on Sunday will be key to the New England Patriots reaching another Super Bowl.

“I think it’s important to put stress on their whole defense,” the New England quarterback told a Foxborough news conference on Wednesday. “I think whatever they’re not covering, that’s what we have to be able to focus our play calling on and certainly our execution.

By Larry Fine

(Reuters) – It is rare to get a do-over in professional sports, but the Baltimore Ravens believe they have earned just that opportunity in their AFC title showdown on Sunday against the Patriots in New England.

One year ago, the visiting Ravens squandered a golden chance to book a trip to the Super Bowl when a dropped pass in the end zone followed by a short field goal miss at the end of the AFC title game allowed the Patriots to claim a 23-20 victory.

By Larry Fine

(Reuters) – A year after becoming the first brothers to face each other as NFL head coaches, John and Jim Harbaugh are once again one win away from taking their sibling rivalry to new heights in the Super Bowl.

John’s Baltimore Ravens play the New England Patriots for the AFC title while Jim’s San Francisco 49ers play Atlanta for the NFC crown and wins by each would turn the Super Bowl into a family affair.

By Larry Fine

(Reuters) – “Just win, baby” was the famed motto of late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis during his team’s heyday, but Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo thinks Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have gone too far.

Ayanbadejo believes the Patriots, one win away from a second consecutive Super Bowl berth, are hitting below the belt with the way they run their hurry-up offense.

By Larry Fine

(Reuters) – A bold mid-season quarterback change will get a high-profile test when Colin Kaepernick leads the San Francisco 49ers against Aaron Rodgers and the visiting Green Bay Packers in the NFL playoffs on Saturday.

Kaepernick replaced signal caller Alex Smith, after the former top draft pick came out with a concussion in Week 10 and San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh decided to make the switch permanent, putting his faith in the second-year player.

By Larry Fine

(Reuters) – Peyton Manning, who has mounted a remarkable comeback with the Broncos, will be aiming to extend two big winning streaks when Denver hosts the Baltimore Ravens in the National Football League playoffs on Saturday.

Manning and the Broncos are gunning for their 12th win in a row this season in the divisional round against the Ravens, a team he has beaten nine consecutive times, with eight of those coming with the Indianapolis Colts dating back to 2002.

By Larry Fine

(Reuters) – Major League Baseball and the players’ union have agreed to expand their drug program to include random in-season blood testing for human growth hormone and a new test for testosterone, they said on Thursday.

The advanced testing will start this season, in what will be the sternest doping program in major North American professional sports.

By Larry Fine

(Reuters) – The National Football League’s (NFL) four top-rated teams join the fray this weekend by hosting divisional round playoff games that will set the stage for the Super Bowl semi-finals.

Following first-round byes, the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers should all be rested and well-prepared to do battle with last week’s wild-card playoff winners.

By Larry Fine

(Reuters) – No one was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, with all-time home run leader Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens snubbed over suspicion they used performance enhancing drugs.

Craig Biggio, who stroked 3,060 hits in a 20-year career with the Houston Astros, came closest to winning election, named on 68.2 percent of the 569 ballots to fall 39 votes shy of the 427 needed for election to the Cooperstown, New York, shrine.

By Larry Fine

(Reuters) – Rookie quarterbacks will command center stage on Sunday with Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson extending superb National Football League (NFL) seasons in wild-card playoff games.

At least one from the extraordinary rookie class of 2012 will reach the second round of the postseason as Griffin leads the NFC East champion Washington Redskins against the visiting Seattle Seahawks and signal caller Wilson.