If the Seattle Seahawks lose Sunday to the Robert Griffin III-led Washington Redskins at FedEx Field, they will not be able to point to injuries as an excuse. In his final press conference before the NFC wild card game, coach Pete Carroll said Friday that he can't recall having a healthier team at this time of year than he has now.

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Ali-Frazier, Chamberlain-Russell, Palmer-Nicklaus, Rice-Sanders, Federer-Nadal.

Or Harding-Kerrigan?

Where does Russell Wilson vs. Robert Griffin III fit in the sports pantheon of great individual rivalries?

Um, well, nowhere. Yet. But we'll all be checking in Sunday night on the topic, right? No reason not to get a head start now.

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Ali-Frazier, Chamberlain-Russell, Palmer-Nicklaus, Rice-Sanders, Federer-Nadal.

Or Harding-Kerrigan?

Where does Russell Wilson vs. Robert Griffin III fit in the sports pantheon of great individual rivalries?

Um, well, nowhere. Yet. But we'll all be checking in Sunday night on the topic, right? No reason not to get a head start now.

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In 2013, there's some sports stuff I want to hear, and don't want to hear.

WHAT I DON'T WANT TO HEAR

"Russell Wilson is slow to get up."

"The Big East Conference is pleased to announce the addition of the University of Hawaii, and the Sorbonne."

"The initial excavation revealed the remains of a prehistoric village that carbon-dates to at least 10,000 years ago. So until researchers more fully examine the extraordinary discovery, the arena construction at this site is on hold until further notice.'

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As the NFL world convulsed on Black Monday, as Robert Griffin III limped around FedEx Field with a sore knee that doesn't figure to heal by Sunday, the Seahawks sit in the dark and damp in Renton like a wise cat who knows what it's like to catch a bird in flight.

Seven coaches and five general managers were fired Monday -- more may have been tied to railroad tracks after this is written -- in a gruesome sign of the ruthlessly impatient nature of the NFL. Meanwhile, the Seahawks sit quietly,  11 wins and a 10-year quarterback in hand.

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As the NFL world convulsed on Black Monday, as Robert Griffin III limped around FedEx Field with a sore knee that doesn't figure to heal by Sunday, the Seahawks sit in the dark and damp in Renton like a wise cat who knows what it's like to catch a bird in flight.

Seven coaches and five general managers were fired Monday -- more may have been tied to railroad tracks after this is written -- in a gruesome sign of the ruthlessly impatient nature of the NFL. Meanwhile, the Seahawks sit quietly,  11 wins and a 10-year quarterback in hand.

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Russell Wilson's quarterback rating, last eight games: 127.3, 131.0, 125.9, 104.9, 88.0, 104.4, 115.3, 136.3 . . . 16 touchdowns, two interceptions, four rushing touchdowns. The Seahawks went 7-1 in those games and outscored their opponents 272-111. In the minds of many, including Peter King of Sports Illustrated, Wilson should win the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year award over Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck.

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Believe it or not, the NFL's most adept rookie decision-maker, Russell Wilson, had a moment of indecision Sunday. Tied at 13 inside two minutes, his first-and-goal-from-the-1 quandary was to run from the pocket for the game-winning touchdown, or throw for the game-winning touchdown -- and break the single-season rookie record set by NFL demi-god Peyton Manning.

After a split second of pondering a blast of individual glory, he decided to keep running.

"I realized," he said of pursuing the passing record, "that's not me."

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Quarterback Russell Wilson survived six sacks and multiple other hits to lead the Seahawks on a 90-yard scoring drive in the final three minutes that ended with a one-yard Wilson touchdown run for a 20-13 victory over the St. Louis Rams at CenturyLink Field Sunday. It then took an end zone interception by Richard Sherman with 33 seconds left to preserve the victory, Seattle's fifth in a row.

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GAME: St. Louis Rams (7-7-1, 3rd, NFC West) at Seattle Seahawks (10-5, 2nd NFC West). TYPE: Regular season. WEEK: 17. WHEN: Sunday, 1:25 p.m., CenturyLink Field. MEETING: 29th (Seahawks lead 17-11). STREAKS: Seahawks W 4; Rams W 1. HEAD COACHES: Jeff Fisher, St. Louis; Pete Carroll, Seattle. LINE: Seahawks by 10½. TV: FOX. RADIO: ESPN 710 AM, KIRO 97.3 FM.

Winners of six of seven and looking to extend their longest winning streak in five seasons to five games, the Seahawks close out the regular season Sunday with a faint chance of winning the NFC West and with a more realistic shot at locking down the conference's No. 5 seed. But in St. Louis, the Seahawks will face an opponent that has been on a hot streak of its own.

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Given the states of disrepair for the local enterprises over the last couple of decades, it wouldn't take much to stand out in the Seattle sports management crowd.

Karl v. Walker. Piniella v. Lincoln. Holmgren v. Whitsitt, Holmgren v. Ferguson, Holmgren v. Ruskell. Neuheisel v. Huntsman. Bavasi v. Knowledge. Willingham vs. Tee Times.

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The NFL’s most egregious Pro Bowl snub, Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman, won his appeal and won’t have to serve a four-game suspension for using a banned substance, meaning the Seahawks will have Sherman and Brandon Browner available for the playoffs. But news of Sherman’s failed test, first reported Nov. 28, certainly cost him a trip to Hawaii.

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Good year for the Seahawks. Bad year for the NFL.

The reversal upon appeal Thursday of Seahawks CB Richard Sherman's positive drug test is another setback for the NFL in the conduct of its business affairs, which is separate from the deaths in the murder-suicide of Kansas City linebacker Jovan Belcher and the intoxication manslaughter charge of a teammate and friend Jerry Brown against the Cowboys Jason Brent.

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Defensive ends don't normally win NFL awards, especially as members of special teams. But 6-foot-4, 325-pound Red Bryant won one Thursday -- NFC Special Teams Player of the Week -- for his role in starting the biggest play in Seattle's 42-13 rout of the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday at CenturyLink Field.

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It wasn't the first standing ovation of Richard Sherman's athletic life, but it might have been the most gratifying. When he told his Seahawks teammates Thursday in the locker room that he had been cleared of using a stimulant banned by the NFL, they cheered.

“I just said I won, and then everybody was happy, clapping hands and all of that stuff,” he told reporters after he tweeted to the world in the morning:  "Thank you nfl for upholding the truth! To the 12s Thank you your faith is rewarded! Thank you lord."

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The spectacle of 49ers demolition Sunday was of a breadth and depth that caused some lesser deeds and feats by the Seahawks to go under-appreciated. Such as getting away with starting two more rookies in the crucible.

OG J.R. Sweezy and CB Jeremy Lane were injury replacements for more accomplished starters. Couldn't tell. Or, if San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh could tell, he has not, among his splutters, mumblings and grunts post-game, disclosed the fact.

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The Seahawks placed five players on the 43-man NFC Pro Bowl team announced Wednesday night and, as expected, quarterback Russell Wilson didn’t make it. A bigger surprise: Neither did CB Richard Sherman. The 10-win Seahawks, who play St. Louis Sunday at CenturyLink Field, will be represented by RB Marshawn Lynch, C Max Unger, OT Russell Okung, S Earl Thomas and KR Leon Washington.

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Pro Bowl teams will be announced Wednesday on the NFL Network (4 p.m. PT), and three quarterbacks will be selected to represent the NFC. Despite topping the NFL in passer rating since Week 8 (114.26), leading the Seahawks to the playoffs, and becoming one of the favorites for Offensive Rookie of the Year, Russell Wilson is likely to get snubbed and, unfortunately for him, deservedly so.

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The word "classic," as it is used in sports, has pretty much been bludgeoned, if not to death, then at least as severely as Kam Chancellor separated Vernon Davis from his senses in the Seahawks' 42-13 victory over San Francisco Sunday night at CenturyLink Field.

But there are times when a game carries a memory beyond a big result. It's when conditions and circumstances combine with apex moments to create an experience that will stay on tongues and in the minds of all who watched.

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Despite figuratively slapping the smug off Jim Harbaugh's face Sunday night, Pete Carroll could not deny that the 49ers' coach still had one edge on him that was carefully mentioned post-game.

"We will wake up (Monday)," Harbaugh said, "and we will still have a half-game lead on the division."

It was said in a way that a villain tells James Bond, who has the momentary advantage, that the battle isn't over. So Bond has to find another, harder way to save the girl and the world.

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