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BALTIMORE -- As limited as they seemed on offense, the more aesthetically pleasing side of the ball, the Baltimore Ravens always figured to be a problem in the AFC. They still have a defense that is no fun to play against, and they still have a coach and a quarterback who have proven they can win the Super Bowl.But now that New England Patriots tight end?Rob Gronkowski is out for the year, turning the conference tournament into something of a jump ball, the Ravens have officially evolved into a gathering threat. Start with their history in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the most likely site of the upcoming AFC Championship Game and the scene of Baltimores next stop on Monday Night Football.John Harbaughs Ravens have won two playoff games in Foxborough, and they nearly won two others. Over the summer, after considering his relative success against New England while reading a MassLive.com ranking of the 25 biggest villains in Patriots history, Harbaugh decided he wasnt happy with his spot at No. 19.I think thats a little low, he told ESPN.com. I plan on making that higher in the future.He can start working on that next week. Harbaugh laughed when reminded of that comment after his team shredded the Dolphins and their six-game winning streak, but declined to add to it. The Ravens coach did stop outside his locker room to bat away the suggestion that the Gronk injury has opened a window of opportunity for some second-tier hopefuls in the AFC.I just think theyve got a great team, Harbaugh said of the Patriots. Theyve got Tom Brady. Theyve been the best team in the conference, and its going to be our toughest challenge of the year.No, a single 38-6 beatdown of a Miami team that wasnt as good as its winning streak suggested doesnt change the fact Baltimore has too many issues running the ball and too many receivers who have seen their 30th birthdays, including one, Steve Smith Sr., who started his career around the advent of the forward pass. But in the post-Gronk AFC, everybody is vulnerable and nobody with a defense, a coach, a kicker (Justin Tucker has made 35 consecutive field-goal attempts) and a quarterback can be counted out.Joe Flacco did a good job showing people Sunday why he remains the quarterback, and a pretty damn good one, by completing 36 of 47 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns before taking an early seat. When Flacco threw for three scores and 258 yards in the first half, building the Ravens a 24-0 lead, he reminded everyone (Ray Lewis included) that he was a Super Bowl MVP and a quarterback capable of pitching a perfect postseason game (11 touchdowns, 0 interceptions in that 2012 championship run). Lewis had blitzed Flacco from the blind side last month by assailing his supposedly passion-free approach to his craft before the retired linebacker tweeted his videotaped apology to the active quarterback.No blood, no foul. Flacco has never shown the demonstrative fire of, say, Brady, but theres a reason he has won 10 postseason games and 30 more regular-season games than he has lost. Flacco is the AFCs answer to Eli Manning -- a stoic whos a very good-but-not-great quarterback from September through December, and a fearless and opportunistic winner in January and the first week of February.Manning was the MVP of two Super Bowls four years apart, and before you start laughing over the possibility that Flacco could perform the same trick, remember that the 2011 Giants were 7-7 before ripping off six consecutive victories and seizing ring No. 2. At 7-5 and leading the AFC North, Baltimore has won four of five; its only loss came to Dallas, only the best team in the sport. Flacco completed passes to 10 different receivers Sunday, and he was so hot that he actually threw for 91 yards on a remarkable 18-play, 88-yard touchdown drive (a Smith penalty allowed him the statistical oddity).We go as he goes, Smith said of his quarterback.Flacco mightve called his best audible of the week when he jumped his offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg in a meeting about becoming more aggressive with his playcalling, a take-that poke at Lewis and all others who have doubted the quarterbacks inner fire. Mornhinweg agreed to open things up, and Flacco honored the coordinators faith by throwing touchdown passes on Baltimores first two drives.The rest of the day amounted to fast-break basketball for the home team, and a whole lot of half-court breakdowns for the visitors. The Dolphins were overwhelmed by a Baltimore defense that isnt as ferocious as the franchise standard -- the 2000 Ravens who obliterated the Giants in the Super Bowl -- but is better than the 2012 defense that won it all and almost all of Baltimores Marvin Lewis/Rex Ryan units.Their current coordinator, Dean Pees, also gives the Ravens a competitive edge that cant be dismissed -- Pees spent two years coaching New Englands linebackers and four years running its defense. In other words, he has a pretty good idea of how to defend Brady.But the Ravens didnt want to spend too much time Sunday talking about defense; theyve been doing that for years and years. They wanted to talk about offense, finally, and a breakout performance that breathes new life into their postseason hopes and dreams.I think it gives the guys a lot of confidence to see it and have done it, Flacco said. Now we have to go up into a hostile place in New England that we really enjoying playing [at]. ... Im looking forward to it, big time.So is the head coach. Harbaugh had a much better day than his kid brother Jim, whose Michigan Wolverines were denied a bid to college footballs final four. John went 2-for-2 on fourth-down gambles in the first half, and felt good enough about the performance to gesture to the crowd for more noise in the fourth quarter, with victory already assured.Harbaugh needed this one to set up the next one. He hasnt seen the Patriots since they used a Julian Edelman touchdown pass to Danny Amendola, and all that hocus pocus with ineligible and eligible receivers, to overcome two 14-point deficits in the playoffs two years ago. Harbaugh is still upset over the way the refs officiated that game and those formations, and he told ESPN.com before the season he was pissed off over Bradys postgame remark that Baltimore should study the rulebook and figure it out, a remark the Ravens coach described as uncalled for.So thats one reason why Harbaugh wants to become a higher-ranked Patriots villain in the near future. If nothing else, this Ravens team might be good enough to move him up the charts. Tony Bradley Jazz Jersey .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Tony Bradley Jersey .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. http://www.jazzauthentic.com/kids-karl-malone-jazz-jersey/ . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. John Stockton Jazz Jersey . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. Rudy Gobert Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. NEW YORK -- Aleksander Barkov emptied out his bag of tricks trying to beat Henrik Lundqvist in a shootout.Barkov tapped the puck off his skate, made a big deke to his forehand and then tried to reach way back with one arm for a backhand shot.He got the winner, but only by a matter of luck -- and about an inch.Barkov and Vincent Trochek scored in the shootout, lifting the Florida Panthers over the New York Rangers 3-2 on Sunday night.Barkov took his unconventional approach at Lundqvist knowing a goal would win the game. Lundqvist got his stick on the puck while Barkov tried going to the backhand, but it skipped over the paddle and trickled toward the goal line.Lundqvist dove desperately as the puck approached the line, but his glove didnt swat it away until after it had fully entered the cage.The Panthers trailed twice but came back behind goals from Keith Yandle and Aaron Ekblad. The win gives Florida a 3-1 record on this four-game trip, and the Panthers also got their first victory at Madison Square Garden since April 18, 2013.Were a pretty happy team with the wins we are stringing together, Ekblad said. We look to play tight games and limit chances.James Reimer played a big role in the win, making 33 saves and stopping two more shots during the shootout. Reimer is 3-3-1 on the season.He had a great bounce-back game for him, Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. Im real happy for him. The team worked hard ... but he had a huge effort tonight. That gave us the two points.It gets worse for New York. Mika Zibanejad left during overtime after falling hard into the end boards, and the team said he has a broken leg that will keep him out six to eight weeks.Lundqvist made 28 saves in his 700th start for the Rangers. He is only the fifth goalie in NHL history to play 700 games with one franchise.New Yorks Chris Kreider opened the scoring with 6:45 left in the first period on his fourth goal of the season. Derek Stepan skated through the neutral zone untouched and into the Panthers zone. He dished the puck off to Kreider, and he buried a shot from atop the faceoff circle for his 10th point in 13 gammes.ddddddddddddYandle tied it in the second period with a shot from the point while the Panthers were on the power play. It was his first trip back to New York since the Rangers traded him to Florida on June 20.The 30-year-old defenseman signed a seven-year, $44.45 million contract three days after the deal. Yandle spent one full season with the Rangers and part of another after they acquired him from the Coyotes on March 1, 2015.Its special for sure, Yandle said. Such a fun building to play in.The Rangers briefly retook the lead early in the third when Mats Zuccarello bounced a shot off Zibanejads body at 1:45. The goal was Zibanejads fifth of the season, but the Panthers eliminated the deficit when Ekblad scored his fifth with 7:54 left.Sunday was the first time the Rangers lost back-to-back games this season, but they remain two points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for first place in the Eastern Conference. They play a home-and-home with Pittsburgh this week.They had a couple opportunities in tight where Hank (Lundqvist) had to make some big saves, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. But thats the type of game right now that seems to be played throughout the league, tight. We were pretty even on both sides and lost in the shootout.Game notes Prior to the game, Rangers broadcaster Sam Rosen was honored for his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Rosen was joined on the ice by members of his family and broadcast partner Joe Micheletti, and former partner John Davidson. ... The Rangers scratched D Adam Clendening and C Oscar Lindberg. ... Zibanejad appeared in his 300th game and is three assists away from 100 for his career. ... The Panthers scratched C Seth Griffith, C Jared McCain and D Dylan McIlrath, who was making his first visit to New York since he was traded by the Rangers on Nov. 8.UP NEXTRangers: Travel to Pittsburgh on Monday night to play the first game of a home-and-home.Panthers: Return to BB&T Center to host Philadelphia on Tuesday night. ' ' '