Pittsburgh and Seattle keep dream alive

PITTSBURGH completed an improbable road sweep of top seeds and Seattle achieved a dream 30 years in the making. Each side won lopsided playoff triumphs on Sunday to book a Super Bowl 40 showdown.

Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck threw for two touchdowns and NFL rushing leader Shaun Alexander ran for two more as the Seahawks routed Carolina 34-14 to reach their first Super Bowl since the team’s 1976 founding.

Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger threw for two touchdowns and ran for another while Jerome Bettis rumbled for another score as the Steelers routed Denver 34-17, a Cinderella run bringing their first Super Bowl trip since 1996.