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Matchups for the AFC championship game Sunday between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium:WHEN THE COLTS (13-5) HAVE THE BALL:Andrew Luck (12) led the NFL in TD passes with 40, and hes proven himself as a real force in his three pro seasons. Except, that is, against New England. Luck stands 0-3 vs. the Patriots — the only team hes played more than once and not beaten. The Colts have been outscored 144-66 in those games.Luck needs to be as calculating yet fearless on offence as New England figures to be on a defence led by NT Vince Wilfork (75), DE Rob Ninkovich (50), LB Jamie Collins (91), CB Darrelle Revis (24) and S Devin McCourty (32). The Patriots have had success confusing Luck, who then has forced passes. Hes a good runner and might need to take off a lot on Sunday.RB Boom Herron (36) has been a find and the Colts need some early production from him to avoid getting one-dimensional. That means a developing offensive line must seize control; a decent running game will keep New Englands dangerous offence on the sideline. Key confrontations will include two rookies, LG Jack Mewhort (72) and C Jonotthan Harrison (75) against Wilfork and LB Donta Hightower (54).Eventually, though, Indy has to win some of the matchups in the passing game. Luck certainly is capable, so can WRs T.Y. Hilton (13) and Hakeem Nicks (14), long-time star Reggie Wayne (87) and a slew of tight ends produce?WHEN THE PATRIOTS (13-4) HAVE THE BALL:Bother Brady with the pass rush and someone tame Gronk.One of the games all-time great winners, QB Tom Brady (12) will pick apart any defence that gives him time. Brady has had better corps of targets in his 15 seasons, but the one unmatchable weapon is All-Pro TE Rob Gronkowski (87). Gronk is more than a security blanket for Brady, hes a game breaker, and the Colts will be hard-pressed to find anyone to slow him. LB Jerrell Freeman (50) and safety Mike Adams (29) will get the call at times, and everyone will get a shot at — or get run over by — Gronk at some point.The best way to slow Gronkowski and the other receivers — Julian Edelman (11), Danny Amendola (80), Brandon LaFell (19) — is to make Brady hurry his throws. That means producing a pass rush, which will fall on a variety of defenders: rookie DE Jonathan Newsome (91), veteran LBs Erik Walden (93) and QQwell Jackson (52) and DE Cory Redding (90).New Englands blockers have been inconsistent, one reason the Patriots ranked 11th in offence. The onus on protecting Brady falls mostly on tackles Sebastian Vollmer (76) and Nate Solder (77).Even if the Colts are winning that trench battle in the passing game, they could get overwhelmed by the Patriots on the ground. Yes, they rushed for a mere 14 yards against Baltimore, but in the past two games vs. the Colts, RB LeGarrette Blount (29) gained 166 yards and scored four TDs in last years divisional game, then RB Jonas Gray (35) ran for 201 yards and four TDs this season.If New England can pound it on the ground, Indy must move CBs Vontae Davis (21) and Greg Toler (28), Adams and fellow S Sergio Brown (38) in tight. Then, Bradys eyes will light up as he searches for his receivers.SPECIAL TEAMS:One slight edge in Indianapolis favour is here, where the Colts have All-Pros in placekicker Adam Vinatieri (4) and punter Pat McAfee (1). Vinatieri won three Super Bowls as a Patriot and one as Colt. He will break Jerry Rices record for most post-season games played when he competes in No. 30 on Sunday. Vinatieri also can break a tie with Tony Fritsch for most consecutive post-season games with a field goal (13).McAfees 42.8-yard average was second in the conference, and Indys kick coverage is solid. New Englands Ryan Allen (6) had a net of 39.9 yards per punt.The Patriots have a strong field goal guy in Stephen Gostkowski (3), who missed only two and led the NFL with 156 points. Edelman topped the AFC with a 12.0-yard average on punt runbacks and scored once.COACHING:Bill Belichick just tied Tom Landry for postseason victories (20) and is seeking a sixth trip to the Super Bowl. Belichick keeps things fresh by finding new ways to exploit the opposition. Last week, it was at times putting eligible receivers at ineligible positions, perfectly legal if devious. His staffs best coaching work this season has been done on both lines.Chuck Paganos Colts have gone 11-5 in each of his three seasons in Indy; he missed a huge chunk of 2012 battling leukemia. A defence-minded coach and former co-ordinator in Baltimore, his squads have been marked by their offence with Luck, and excellent special teams. In a matchup with Belichick, Pagano is not likely to get cute.INTANGIBLES:The Patriots are tired of hearing they havent won a title in a decade after taking three Super Bowls in four seasons (2001-04). They also get reminded they lost their last two trips against an underdog.New England is 8-0 in home games that meant anything, and has that 42-20 romp at Indianapolis in its pocket.The Colts have played an extra playoff game, which might be good for momentum with victories over Cincinnati and Denver. It also cant be too good for freshness.Lucks poor record against the Patriots cant be ignored, and New England has a big edge in conference championship experience.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL .Y. - Geno Smith still thinks of himself as the New York Jets starting quarterback. . The 6-foot-10 centre who won an NBA title with the Miami Heat was voted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday, adding that honour to becoming a board member at his alma mater. http://www.270airmax.fr/soldes-nike-hom ... -noir.html. The top-ranked Williams carried her winning momentum from 2013 into the new season, beating No. 2-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to defend her title at the Brisbane International and set the tone for the Australian Open. . After Andrew Romine served up two monster home runs in the inning, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he thought Romine was one of the bright spots on the night, showing just how bad the series opener against the last-place Minnesota Twins went for the Tigers. . MacArthur scored two goals, and the Senators outlasted Detroit in a testy third period to beat the Red Wings 4-2 on Saturday night.Three AFC teams and two NFC teams will have a chance this week to book their ticket to playoffs and, for two clubs, a first round bye. The Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts will have a chance to secure half of the six playoff spots this weekend with wins, or with help. In the NFC, both the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers can secure postseason berths with a win and a little help from teams within the conference. Below are the playoff scenarios for Week 15 via NFL Communications. AFC DENVER BRONCOS (at San Diego Chargers) Denver clinches AFC West division with: 1) DEN win or tie Denver clinches a first-round bye with: 1) DEN win + IND loss + CIN loss + PIT loss or tie OR 2) DEN win + IND loss + CIN loss + DEN clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over PIT Denver clinches a playoff spot with: 1) MIA loss or tie + HOU loss or tie + CIN loss + PIT loss OR 2) MIA loss or tie + HOU loss or tie + BAL loss + CLE loss or tie OR 3) MIA loss or tie + HOU loss or tie + BAL loss + PIT win NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (vs. Miami DDolphins) New England clinches AFC East division with: 1) NE win or tie New England clinches a first round bye with: 1) NE win + IND loss + PIT loss or tie + CIN loss or tie OR 2) NE win + IND loss + PIT loss or tie + DEN loss New England clinches a playoff spot with: 1) BUF loss or tie + CIN loss + PIT loss + BAL loss + HOU loss or tie OR 2) BUF loss or tie + CIN loss + PIT loss + KC loss or tie + SD loss OR 3) BUF loss or tie + HOU loss or tie + KC loss or tie + SD loss + BAL loss INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (vs.dddddddddddd. Houston Texans) Indianapolis clinches AFC South division with: 1) IND win or tie NFC ARIZONA CARDINALS (at St. Louis Rams) Arizona clinches a playoff spot with: 1) ARI win + DAL/PHI game does not end in a tie OR 2) ARI win + DET loss + ARI clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over GB OR 3) ARI win + DET loss + GB win or tie GREEN BAY PACKERS (at Buffalo Bills) Green Bay clinches a playoff spot with: 1) GB win + DAL loss + GB clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over DAL ' ' '