What you need to know about the NFC Championship

Ticket tape

Ticket prices continue to creep down, but fans looking to buy from online resellers today face the problem of getting them in time for kickoff. The traditional, less-expensive routes like FedEx and the mail are out of the question at this point. But some tickets can be e-mailed or left at will call. Other last-minute options include trolling the local market or just heading down to the stadium and hoping for a miracle.

• Bruce Brown, co-owner of Alliance Tickets in Bellevue, said his company has tickets ranging from $175 to $500. He's got access to about 150 tickets.

• www.nwclassifieds.com: A local seller was offering two seats eight rows back from the field for $450 each. Several ticket buyers were willing to pay between $120 and $500 per ticket.

• www.craigslist.com: A Federal Way plumber/handyman was offering 80 hours of work and $250 for four seats.

• www.razorgator.com: The online ticket market pegged its Friday average price at $309, down from $421 earlier in the week, with 750 seats left.

Ben Romano

Did you know

The winner of the NFC Championship Game Sunday at Qwest Field will be awarded the George Halas Trophy.

The trophy is named for the longtime Chicago Bears player, coach and owner. Halas is a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which is located on George Halas Drive in Canton, Ohio.

He was one of the best players in the NFL in the 1920s, and was a good enough baseball player that he played briefly for the Yankees in 1919.

Bill Reader

Carolina fun facts

Well, the jig could be up Sunday for Panthers fans, but don't worry, there's always plenty of sporting fun for those in the Tar Heel State.

For starters, the first NASCAR pileup is less than a month away, always a highly anticipated event in North Carolina. During the offseason, racing fans can check out the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame in Mooresville.

College basketball is heating up, with Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State all headed for the NCAA tournament, as usual.

There's an NBA team, well, sort of, the Charlotte Bobcats.

And North Carolina is the best place in the world for minor-league baseball. There are 10 minor-league teams in the state, the most famous, of course, being the Durham Bulls.

But the real jewel is in Asheville, a cool, little college town in the mountains of western North Carolina. The Asheville Tourists play at McCormick Field, a beautiful park built into a hillside in downtown. The stadium was rebuilt in 1992 in the same spot as the ballpark built in 1924.

Because Asheville is in the mountains, the heat won't be as bad as say, Kinston, where it's usually about, oh, 150 degrees for Kinston Indians games. It's a small, intimate park. A perfect place for a minor-league baseball game.

Bill Reader