The Daily Fives for January 24, 2011 From the Sports Mac

Top 5 Stories From Yesterday

1.         The Packers took advantage of an injury to Bears QB Jay Cutler to win in Chicago and win the NFC Championship and advance to Super Bowl XLV.

2.         The Steelers jumped out to a 24-point halftime lead and held on to beat the Jets at home to win the AFC Championship and advance to Super Bowl XLV.

3.         The Flyers go into Chicago and beat the Blackhawks in the first meeting between the teams since last year’s Stanley Cup finals.

4.         The Nuggets get a huge game from Carmelo Anthony to beat the Pacers at home in the only NBA game of the day.

5.         No. 17 Wisconsin rolls over Northwestern on the road to get the Big Ten road win in the only game featuring a Top 25 team.

Top 5 Games From Yesterday

1.         Predators 3, Oilers 2, Shootout: Cody Franson had the only goal of the shootout to lead Nashville to the road win in Edmonton.

2.         Wisconsin-Milwaukee 86, Butler 80, Overtime: The Panthers went six for eight from the free throw line in the last 42 seconds of OT to get the big Horizon road win over the Bulldogs.

3.         Steelers 24, Jets 19: Pittsburgh led 24-0 at the half and hung on after New York had come close to within five with three minutes remaining to win the AFC Championship.

4.         North Carolina State 72, Miami (Fla.) 70: Tracy Smith made the game winning layup with 16 seconds left to help the Wolf Pack get the ACC home win over the Hurricanes.

5.         Packers 21, Bears 14: B.J. Raji had an 18 yard INT return for a TD with six minutes left to provide the winning margin for Green Bay in the NFC Championship in Chicago.

Top 5 Performances From Yesterday

1.         Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers RB: 27 carries for 121 yards and a TD in Pittsburgh’s 24-19 AFC Championship win over New York.

2.         Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets SF: 36 points and eight rebounds in Denver’s 121-107 home win over Indiana.

3.         Greg Jennings, Packers WR: Eight catches for 130 yards in Green Bay’s 21-14 NFC Championship win over New York.

4.         Jeff Carter, Flyers C: Two goals and an assist in Philadelphia’s 4-1 road win over Chicago.

5.         Tyrone Conley, New Hampshire G: 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the Wildcats 80-60 America East home win over Maryland-Baltimore County.

5 Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

1.         Jay Cutler, Bears QB: just 6 for 14 for only 80 yards and an INT in Chicago’s 21-14 NFC Championship loss to Green Bay.

2.         Tim Stapleton, Thrashers C: had a -3 and three penalty minutes in Atlanta’s 7-1 road loss in Tampa Bay.

3.         Jets running game: Ran the ball 22 times for only 70 yards in their 24-19 AFC Championship loss to Pittsburgh.

4.         Danny Granger, Pacers SF: just 2 of 10 shooting and only eight points in Indiana’s 121-107 road loss in Denver.

5.         Jawanza Poland, South Florida G: just 3 of 10 shooting and only nine points in the Bulls 56-46 Big East road loss to West Virginia

Top 5 Events To Follow Today

1.         NCAA BB: No. 16 Notre Dame (16-4, 5-3) at No. 4 Pittsburgh (19-1, 7-0), 7:00 PM, ESPN: Another night, another big matchup in the Big East with the Irish on the road in the Steel City.

2.         NCAA BB: Furman (14-5, 6-2) at Wofford (10-9, 7-1), 7:00 PM: Two of the top teams in the SOCON square off in South Carolina.

3.         NHL: Rangers (28-19-3) at Capitals (27-14-8), 7:30 PM, Versus: Both teams will be looking for a win to build some momentum heading into the All Star break.

4.         NBA: Thunder (28-15) at Hornets (29-16), 8:00 PM: Oklahoma City makes another trip to the Big Easy to face Chris Paul and New Orleans.

5.         NHL: Stars (29-14-5) at Canucks (29-10-9), 10:00 PM: Two of the best in the West meet in Vancouver as they jockey for position at the top of the conference.