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'Final Four' coaches know Super path
For the first time in NFL history, each of the four head coaches in the two conference championships games have taken teams to at least one Super Bowl.
Denver's Mike Shanahan, Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher, Carolina's John Fox and Seattle's Mike Holmgren all have been to past Super Bowls as head coaches. In Super Bowl XXXII Shanahan's Broncos defeated Holmgren's Green Bay Packers. The Packers, under Holmgren, won Super Bowl XXXI.
Cowher led the Steelers to Super Bowl XXX, losing to the Dallas Cowboys. He will be coaching in his sixth AFC title game. Fox coached the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII against the New England Patriots.
Eight times, three of the four teams in the conference finals were led by coaches with previous Super Bowl appearances, the most recent time in 1998 -- Shanahan, Bill Parcells (New York Jets) and Dan Reeves (Atlanta).
Meanwhile, Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, who is expected to be named head coach of the Houston Texans at the end of the playoffs, will be involved in his eighth conference title game -- four as a player with the Broncos, once as an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers and three as a Broncos' assistant.
NOTEWORTHY
Former Denver resident and two-time world lightweight champion Stevie Johnston is ranked No. 9 among light welterweights (140 pounds) this month by the World Boxing Council. Johnston, who currently holds the North American Boxing Council's light welterweight title, is scheduled to box Steve Quinonez (31-9-1) on Jan. 27 at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It will be the third bout for Johnston (37-3-1) since his return from a two-year layoff.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim infielder (and former Colorado Rockies prospect) Chone Figgins received the "Rising Star" award at the Los Angeles Sports Fans Choice Awards dinner on Sunday in Beverly Hills, Calif. -- not long after signing a new contract with the team. Proving that he's still a regular guy despite new fame and fortune, Figgins showed up in the hotel lobby a few hours after the awards ceremony carrying bags of food from McDonald's.