conversion failed. 49ers up 5 but they trailed with only 13 seconds to go. it was smith to mr. davis touchdown. 49ers win 36-32. >> it was unbelievable. like i said, that's what i love most about this team. they'll somehow find a way to pick you back up. they've done that for me. i was devastated. i was hurting. i'm not even going to lie to you. but them boys found a way to pick it back up. i'm proud of everyone on this team. god is good, man. god is good. >> reporter: so the 49ers will face the green bay packers or the new york giants in the nfc title game. if it is against 9 new york giants, remember that game will be played in san francisco. much more coming up including a live report later in the newscast. diane. thanks, henry. fans are going crazy right now. they're out celebrate gt 9ers victory. it's starting to feel just a little like the early 90s in san francisco. nbc bay area's monte has that part for us. >> reporter: this is nothing short of an emotional roller coaster for fans. when the 9ers scored that touchdown with less than 10 seconds to go in the game, the place here went wild. now, here at pete's tavern the emotion, went from disappointment to pure joy from minute to minute fans thought the team had blown their chances then they would erupt again in cheering. this game couldn't have been scripted any better. the last niemt 49ers were in the playoffs was 1995. many fans here are hoping the team goes all the way to the super bowl. >> best playoff game we've had like forever. >> i cannot believe it we have done what we have done this season. i did not expect to win this game. i got no voice left. it's game time, baby! >> reporter: the mayors of san francisco and new orleans agreed to a friendly bet on today's game. if new orleans won the mayor agreed to deliver fresh seafood from fisherman's war of of to mayor land rieu. if the 9ers won the mayor would arrive some cajun seafood. monte francis, nbc bay area news. >> things seemed to have settled down a little bit at least on the streets of the city. we'll have team coverage of the 49ers' amazing victory today tonight at 11:00 with complete player and fan reaction. we'll also have fan reaction coming up later on in this newscast. for continuing coverage you can always visit our web site at nbcbayarea.com. in the race for the gop nomination, presidential hopeful rick santorum won the backing of a powerful group today. more than 100 conservative christian leaders voted to endorse santorum. the move is expected to bring him a flood of endorsements and campaign contributions. but as nbc bay area's brian moore reports, much of the focus today in north carolina was on mitt romney and his work at bain capital. >> reporter: one week before the south carolina primary, there's a showdown between mitt romney and the candidates vying to be the anti-romney. rick santorum unleashed his sharpest attack yet. >> it's a much better chance at putting those states in an executive from bain capital. >> reporter: attacks on romney's leadership at bain capital forced the front run for soften his tone. >> i want to get jobs for americans. and by the way, i'm concerned about our poor in this country. >> reporter: the latest reuters poll shows romney with a 21-point lead over santorum and ron paul. it shows the bain attacks have not helped newt gingrich or rick perry who's forced to explain he is pro business. >> i am probable the most pro capitalist in the state. >> reporter: south carolina's social conservatives are still shopping around. and jon huntsman is hoping the split vote works to his advantage. >> this is a great state, and i suspect we'll do well here as we did in new hampshire. >> i have a major announcement to make. >> reporter: meanwhile, comedian stephen colbert is hinting he might throw his hat into the ring, even though he's missed south carolina's filing deadline. brian moore, nbc news. and to italy now. tonight rescuers located two survivors inside a capsized cruise ship off the coast of tuscany but they have not been able to reach them as of yet. at least three people are confirmed dead, and dozens of people are missing tonight. the starboard side of the cruise ship run by carnival cruises is still completely submerged in water. divers have suspended the search tonight because of darkness there. the first alarm went off about 10:30 left night. it was just three hours after the ship had begun its cruise with more than 4,000 people on board, 3,000 passengers had not even undergone evacuation drills yet. the drills were scheduled for today. and one survivor from los angeles said the scramble to escape reminded her of the movie "titanic." many other survivors said the crew did not deploy many of the emergency life boats in time. today the captain was detained on charges of abandoning the ship. >> the ship was at an angle. so the life boat can't go down the side of the boat like this. so one of the boats was full of 200 people got caught on the railing. it tipped sideways and fell and swung and everybody screaming. >> the captain of the ship has been arrested in italy. he's being investigated for abandoning ship and manslaughter as we mentioned. the ship, by the way, is owned as i mentioned by carnival cruise lines. back here in the bay area, oakland mayor jean quan hosted an event to hon of three children killed by gun fire last year. dozens of people gathered near the tower safe church to take part in the community event. they remembered the three children, all killed by gun violence last year. mayor quan told us she wants young people to stay away weapons and violent crime especially in the city's hardest-hit neighborhoods. >> we think it's important to reach out to the community, to reach out to the young people, to ask them to really put down the guns. it's one of dozens of events this weekend in oakland commemorating the spirit of martin luther king to make sure that we have justice with peace. >> marry quan also signed up youngsters for summer youth jobs in oakland in hopes of keeping them off the streets. two wounded u.s. soldiers receiving treatment in the bay area are the recipients of the purple heart. 20-year-old army private jeffrey cleneva and 25-year-old army private first class -- believe received the honor at the v.a. fa tillity in palo al to today. one stepped on an i.e.d. and the other suffered traumatic brain injury during a mortar attack. >> i was not aware where we had situations where there was a soldier that had not been properly awarded the purple heart. but i'm honored to be here and be able to share this with these two great soldiers. >> both men are being treated at the facility's rehabilitation center. congratulations, by the way, to both. and still ahead at 6:00, the theft that has left an entire union city softball team benched. we'll have a live report straight ahead. >> we try them out to see what it feels like to have that disability. >> the valuable lesson in empathy from some young florida students they received this week. and daniel radcliffe hosts snl tonight. we'll show you his feelings about all theryar h potter parodies he's about to star in. r the softball season is up in the air so to speak for the union city girls softball league after someone stole 13 bags filled with equipment. nbc bay area's kimberly terry is in union city where the season might have to be suspended. kimberly? >> reporter: diane, that union city softball league hoping for a winning season instead suffering a major loss just a week before tryouts. they discovered $14,000 worth of equipment is gone from a storage unit at contempo park. the union city softball association used the storage unit to put all their bats, balls, bases and other items. in the break in was discovered on friday morning. the league says they have enough to hold tryouts which begin next weekend but not enough equipment to start the new season, which just begins in a matter of weeks. >> yeah. we need it to play. so if we don't have it we can't play. >> i'm sure they don't think about that. they don't think about the consequences that they're putting upon us and the kids here in the city. so i don't know. i don't want to try and think about that because it just makes me angry. >> i don't understand why they would steal out of nowhere. especially right before the season starts. >> reporter: the nonprofit league serves local girls from 4 to 14 years old and has been around for 35 years. if you have any information on who may have stolen the equipment or saw anything suspicious at the park here in union city on wednesday or thursday night you asked to call union city police. live in union city, kimberly terry, nbc bay area. coming up, a second christmas for a san jose family who lost just about everything in a fire over the christmas holiday. we're gonna erase breast cancer once and for all. walking 60 miles... in three days. (woman) we're united. (woman) a family. (woman) a coming together of thousands. so that one has to suffer the agony of a loss. the agony of my loss. we're going to erase breast cancer once and for all. (woman) walking 60 miles. (woman) in three days. join us. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. a flowerr shop on the peninsula shut down after a bizarre car crash in san bruno. investigators say it all happened just before 8:last night an el ca me know real. a speeding town car reportedly hit several parked cars before slamming into the forever yours florist. the driver is being treated at a local hospital. police are investigating whether alcohol may have been a factor in that accident. we have an update now on a story we first brought you about a month ago. a fire burned through a house just a few weeks before christmas, and the family living there managed to escape but lost most of their possessions. nbc bay area's damian trujillo covered the story. when the owners of a local hauling service saw it they decided to furnish the new home for the family. >> when i saw the unfortunate fire that happened to the o'neal family, we decided why don't we help them furnish their new home. that's why we're here today donating miscellaneous things, tvs and couches and beds and end tables, et cetera. >> the community has also raised thousands of dollars and helped them buy food and clothing as well. for some children, living with a disability is routine. and now it's an elementary school students in florida have a new understanding and appreciation for what they go through on a daily basis. they gained that understanding by spending a day in a wheelchair or blindfolded themselves. here's what they discovered in their own words. >> ready? >> i'm ready. >> everybody go. >> we're doing this program at school that's called one world, many abilities. it's basically like showing us what the difficulties are of being in a wheelchair, being deaf or being blind. >> okay. to demonstrate the different disabilities that people have. and we try them out to see what it feels like to have that disability. >> she need to go through a normal school day and is experiencing the difficulties that a normal person would have that is blind throughout the school day. >> using my hearing a lot more than usual. usually i just look at things and i understand, but i'm hearing things. i'm also understanding them. >> it all started because of oliver -- a student in my class. >> i feel very great that they're sharing in the experience. i want them to learn. when i see someone who has a disability, most children go ha-ha ha you have a disability. but i want them to be nice to them. i also want them to learn how hard it is to have it. >> there are also similar programs throughout the bay area as well at the elementary school level as well as middle school and high school. right now let's check in with rob mayeda on the weather front. rob it was a spectacularly gorgeous day. we don't need that but it had to be nice for the 49er game. >> guilty pleasure we've had temperatures in the 60s and 70s at the same time we know we need the snow at least for the sierra. we'll see those changes this week. today a perfect day for football around the bay area. 62 in san francisco. morgan hill 71 degrees today. 67 in santa cruz. mid 70s oakland towards livermore. i hope you soaked in the sunshine today. starting tomorrow temperatures will start to cool down as the winds kick. in right now chilly. napa down to 41 degrees. we'll see 30s as early as 11:00 tonight for the north bay valleys. 54 in san jose and still pretty nice in san francisco. 55 degrees. not too much wind outside for the moment. but by this time tomorrow evening you'll feel canadian air conditioning reaching the bay area. tomorrow morning 30s for many spots. chilly start during the day though unlike today where we warmed up to the upper 60s it will be breezy and cooler as that cold dry air drops in out of the north. then by mid-week a much-needed chance of rain returning to the bay area. if the winds pick up air quality improving for your sunday. right now the radar not picking up a whole lot. one system here, upper-level one moving through southern california. it's the one to the north that you're going to notice during the day tomorrow. it's going to crank up those northwesterly winds and take the daytime highs which were in the upper 60s today and drop them into the mid 50s. the winds will be gusty at times in the hills. could get up to 40 miles per hour along the headlands and coast. here comes the chance of seeing rain starting around wednesday i think for the far north bay. by thursday and friday we'll watch this progression drop to the south. thursday for the north bay, friday afternoon for now looks like the best chance for bay area wide rain and snow for the sierra. then as we go through the weekend. more showers as we possibly host the championship game for the nfc around the bay area next sunday. we'll look at temperatures tonight in the 30s. we'll see those temperatures quite chilly in areas not seeing a lot of clouds. as we go through the afternoon tomorrow we'll see those temperatures only in the mid 50s. so places like morgan hill you hit 71 today. upper 50s tomorrow. that's going to feel much cooler. breezy. that air is going to be chilly even in the sunshine. 53 in san francisco, mid 50s from the east bay up to the north bay as you wrap up the weekend on a chilly, breezy note with some chilly mornings. and then the seven-day forecast will show you wednesday, thursday and friday. rain starting off to the north moving south as we head towards the weekend. so we're talking about snow levels and rain again and maybe a home game forecast next sunday. we'll have to see how things pan out. >> let's keep our fingers crossed. coming up we go behind the scenes with tonight's host of "saturday night live." he is nicknamed mr. elusive that has eluded rescue attempts for more than two years is finally safe. earlier this week rescuers from the marine mammal center with the help ofph volunteers removea strap that had been tightly wrapped around the elephant naal's neck for more than two ristean cri veterinariansth cedetneer d m w and then determined mr. elusive had no other medical means and they released the poor guy back into the ocean. hope he's doing all right. harry potter is the host of this week's all new "saturday night live." you get it sort of. daniel radcliffe will host tonight's snl from megamovie star to broadway star and now host of the legendary comedy show. another impressive chapter in his young ca career. he says he's excited about hosting the show and playing comedy as well. >> there's really funny stuff. so yeah, you'll see something of harry potter certainly. >> joining daniel radcliffe is musical guest lon nadel ray there as well. to look at what's coming up in sports we turn to henry wilford at comcast sportsnet. i'm dating myself a little bit, but i remember covering all those playoff games in the early 90s, down on the sidelines. it's nice to have that energy back around here. >> reporter: it feels great. and believe me, i'm glad you're done talking about harry potter. we've got a real football game to talk about here, diane. i'm talking about the 49ers defense that had to come up big. but if the same could be said for their offense. boy, did we get a good, good game today. one of the best in the history of nfl playoffs. take a look at vernon davis. he is a star. all your highlights next. >> reporter: welcome back. i'm henry wilford. you don't need a sports fan to tell you what's the hottest ticket in the state. playoff football is back in the bay. 49ers and saints, my goodness. it was definitely worth the price of admission this afternoon. one of the most exciting playoff games in nfl history. both teams came to play for sure. jim harbaugh and alex smith fired up before the game. first quarter it was scoreless. alex smith goes to his key man, vernon davis. keep running until you cross the goal line. 49-yard touchdown, 7-049ers and he dunks the ball over the goal post. later in the first, smith to michael crabtree. another easy six points on the board. 14-0 san francisco after the extra point. here come the saints brees to m marques colston. niners down one. alex smith keeps it for himself. is he a hero? hold your horses. not so fast. 49ers up 5. but here comes drew brees. to the big fellow, jimmy graham. jimmy graham is a tight end, stiff arm, crosses the zone line. 9ers trailing with 13 seconds to go. and there is vernon davis again. tears of joy. 49ers win 36-32. they are headed to the nfc championship game. mindy bach has more. >> reporter: well, henry, vernon davis admitted he got off to a slow start in the season as he tried to learn jim harbaugh greg roman's new offense. he was coming off the end of the season. 49er touchdown score in the first half. at halftime he made an emotional plea to his teammates to trust in each other as they finished out this game. at the end of the game they put their trust in vernon davis. the first time a call was ever made to go to him, vernon davis delivered with a game-winning touchdown. >> vernon came on the way that we knew he could play. and today, man, i had to tell him on the sideline when he scored that -- made that catch and scored that touchdown i loved him to death. he saved my heart. i was hurting. i was hurting bad. that's what i love most about my teammates. when you feel at your lowest they'll find a way to pull you back up. my hat goes off to each and every one of these individuals on this team from the coaches to the players and everybody that believed we could do this. >> to have everybody give it all he got. that's what he did right there at the end when we needed it the most. i can't say enough about vernon. the leadership he's done, the way alex played today, that run and then who makes plays like this? >> happy for him. really happy for vernon. you know, at halftime he got in here at halftime and got a little emotional with us on offense. and got after us a little bit. and great to see him come out. then in the second half, really just stayed patient. just for vernon just to stay patient the whole third quarter. not much happening for us on offense even in the start of the fourth. then really three or four times he got one-on-one and he made the play every single time. >> reporter: vernon davis ending the game with 180 receiving yards and two touchdowns. i had a chance to ask him how he was doing. he admitted he's like minute dirks i'm absolutely exhausted but he's ready to do it again next week as the 49 evers reach their nfc championship game for the first time, henry, since the 1997 season. reporting live at candle stick,mandy bach, nbc bay area. >> great job, mindy. by the way, diane, those teams are going to face one team. either the packers or the gi