Nicks rolls ankle; Ballard expects to play

Just a few days after saying that he's feeling better physically than he has all season, wide receiver Hakeem Nicks was limited in Friday's practice after rolling his right ankle while running a route.

"It's the same one I rolled earlier in the season, same one I always roll," Nicks said of the recurring injury. "I was running the in-cut and it just kind of gave out on me a little bit. It should be all right, though."

Tight end Jake Ballard, who has a PCL injury in his right knee, had to miss practice after a minor "procedure" Thursday night. The procedure should allow him to play Sunday but left his knee swollen.

Nicks and nearly all of the other injured Giants were listed as probable for Sunday's game. Ballard was listed as questionable. "I'm ready to go," he said. "If I was missing a leg, that probably wouldn't keep me out."

Four score

This is the fourth time since the current playoff format was adopted in 1990 that a fourth seed and second seed will meet for a conference title. The No. 4 seeds are 3-0 (Buffalo over Miami in 1992, Denver over Pittsburgh in '97 and Baltimore over Oakland in 2000). The Bills lost the Super Bowl; the Broncos and Ravens won it.

Giant steps

Tom Coughlin noted that with updated weather reports and a tarp on the field at Candlestick Park, the projected muddy conditions "may be better than what we thought at the beginning of the week" . . . Eli Manning threw a dig at honorary captain Rich Seubert, saying: "I thought he was 35 years old when I first got here." . . . Sunday will be the Giants' 19th appearance in a championship game, an NFL record. They are 3-11 in NFL Championship Games and 4-0 in NFC title games.