Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • Page C01

Zone: 1S PAGE: C1 Typesetter: COVER1KQueue: 63 Date: 00:10 Plate: CMYK CMYK SPORTS WWW.COURANT.COMMONDAY, SEPTEMBER26, 2005THE HARTFORD COURANTSECTION I NSIDE PORTS ORK OURANT LASSIFIED C15-20 The Races AL EAST WLGB Red AL WILD CARD WLGB Red Sox9164 1 2 Yankees9164 1 2 Yankees: Cano sends them out on high note; will they be back to the Bronx? Red Sox: Five in first, featuring 41st, a boon for Boomer. Indians: Another easy win? Nope, a catch lack of one. BALTIMORE An unidentified Red Sox player was yelling, breathe! I in the clubhouse as manager Terry Francona chatted with reporters in his office before game. can tell the troops are Francona said, leaning back in his chair and looking more relaxed than in recent days. The Red Sox scored five runs in the first and coasted to a 9-3victory to stay tied for first with the Yankees in the American League East and complete a three-game sweep of the Orioles at Camden Yards, setting the stage for a memorable week that ends with a three-game showdown with the Yankees in Boston.

not going to get too excited about anything, not until we clinch a playoff spot and then after that not until you win the World Johnny Damon said. not much comfort right now. We know we have to go play good baseball or we know our season is going to be The Red Sox begin a four-game series against the Blue Jays tonight at Fenway Park before the Yankees come to town. going home and we have a lot of business to tend Francona said. hope to be a force.

We have been and we expect The Red Sox won the season series 10-9 over the Orioles. AReason To Exhale Orioles Provide Some Relief In Airtight Race By DAVID HEUSCHKEL COURANT STAFF WRITER PLEASE SEE PAGE C7 RED SOX 9 ORIOLES 3 NEW YORK It was rookie dress-up day, a day annually reserved for levity the closest the old-guard, close-cropped Yankees get to letting their hair down. But Chien-Ming Wang and Robinson Cano are not the normal Yankees rookies up for September sightseeing, and there is not the usual late-season glide to the playoffs. This is a playoff race packed with pressure and key players in it. And any talk of kids taking center stage was tempered by the thought of the most senior Yankee leaving center field.

will not be Bernie last game in Yankee said Derek Jeter, who rarely goes out on such a limb. So there was some wading to do Sunday, through all the emotional undercurrents at Yankee Stadium, where Wang and Cano led the Yankees to an 8-4 victory over the Blue Jays in the final regularly scheduled home game. All that was clear was that they won another game they had to win, their 12th victory in 14 games. Cano, 22, whose base-running mistake cost the Yankees a chance to tie in the fifth inning, gave them the lead with a two-run homer in the seventh. Wang, 25, gave up three runs in the fifth, but pitched seven otherwise strong innings, allowing six hits.

As a reward for carrying the Yankees, as they frequently have this season, Cano and Wang were humiliated by teammates, Kids Welcome At Place Cano Homers; Wang Gets Win By DOM AMORE COURANT STAFF WRITER PLEASE SEE SHEFFIELD PAGE C5 YANKEES 8 BLUE JAYS 4 NFL WEEK 3 Week 3 Scores Patriots ....23 Steelers ...20 Chargers ..45 Giants ......23 Jaguars ....26 Jets ...20, OT Dolphins ..27 Panthers ..24 Falcons ....24 Bills ..........16 Cowboys .34 49ers ......31 Seahawks 37 Cardinals ..12 Vikings .....33 Saints ......16 Eagles ......23 Raiders ....20 Bucs ........17 Packers ....16 Rams .......31 Titans ......27 Colts .........13 Browns ......6 Bengals ...24 Bears .........7 Tonight Chiefs at Broncos, 9 p.m., Ch. 8 SAN Eli Manning talked himself Chargerblue in the face trying to convince San Diego he meant no harm by essentially telling it to get lost before the 2004 draft. Sunday night, it became clear that San Diego holds a major grudge against the quarterback, one that the 45-23 victory over the Giants will likely do little to quell over the years. The access roads to Qualcomm Stadium were lined with vendors selling T-shirts telling the Giants quarterback what he could do and where he could go. AlthoughManning set a career high with 352 passing yards and two touchdowns to help the Giants cut an 18-point first-half deficit to 21-20, he was overshadowed by Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who ran for 192 yards on 21 carries, scored three touchdowns and threw for another.

After dominating the first half with 79 yards rushing, 28 receiving and two touchdown runs, Tomlinson began the second half by throwing a 26-yard touchdown to Keenan McCardell on a halfback option. Then he added a 5-yard score with 8:34 to play. Manning was then spared embarrassment when an interception returned for a 30-yard touchdown by cornerback Drayton Florence was nullified by a roughing-the-passer penalty on Luis Castillo. But Drew Brees soon increased the lead with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Gates with 2:59 to play in the third. Having lost their first two games, the Chargershad incentive even without Manning adding fuel to their fire.

Manning did his best to defuse things, completing 14 of 22 for 206 yards in the first half, including touchdownpasses to Plaxico Burress (5 yards) and David Tyree (4 yards) that cut an 18-point deficit to 21-17 with 1:55 to play in the first half. AJolt From The Bolts No Stopping Tomlinson By JOHN ALTAVILLA COURANT STAFF WRITER PLEASE SEE BURRESS PAGE C9 CHARGERS 45 GIANTS 23 PITTSBURGH Tom Brady entered the narrow hallway that led to the Patriots locker room, let loose a little whoop and shouted out a joyful soliloquy. they hate us Brady yelled, throwing back his head after the game. hate us here. you hate us? They hate us How can they not? The stunning come-from-behind 23-20 victory made possible by the usual fourth-quarter Brady heroics and Adam last-second 43-yard field goal was the fourth in five games against the Steelers, in- cluding victories at Heinz Field in the 2001 and 2004 AFC Championship Games.

victory, which prevented the Patriots (2-1) from losing back-to- back games for the first time in three years, ended the 16-game regular season winning streak two short of the record. And the Patriots pulled it off despite again being unable to run the ball effectively (30 carries for 71 yards). And they pulled it off despite having 10 penalties for 118 yards and three killer turnovers, two inside the Pittsburgh 10-yard line and one at their own 28. Both fumbles were Kevin killing one would-be Patriots touchdown drive at the Pittsburgh 8 in THE PATRIOTS get more of the good stuff from Adam Vinatieri, whose last-second, 43-yard field goal wins it to the dismay of the Deshea Townsend. ASSOCIATED PRESS Vin-Win Situation Last-Second Field Goal Ends Streak By ALAN GREENBERG COURANT STAFF WRITER PATRIOTS 23 STEELERS 20 PLEASE SEE PATRIOTS PAGE C10 ITTSBURGH This Super Bowl XXXVI.

saying it was. Nobody is that stupid. only Week Tom Brady said after the Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers23-20on a 43-yard Adam Vinatieri field goal with 1 second remaining. what more could you ask? a 1:21 left. left.

seen that before. I looked up the game and said, what more could you If we may paraphrase from Don performance in the 1956 World Series and the famous lead about an imperfect man throwing a perfect game, well, just say the perfect quarterback saved the imperfect game Sunday at Heinz Field. Brady completed all 12 passes he threw for 169 yards during three drives in the fourth quarter. All three drives ended with scores. The last one ended with an inspired victory over what Brady termed a most heated rival.

And the fact that he took the ball with 1:21 remaining the way he did against the St. Louis Rams in the New Orleans Superdome? Well, just say the poetry lost on Give Brady Just 1:21, Deliver Once Again JEFF JACOBS PLEASE SEE JACOBS PAGE C11.