Daily News from New York, New York • 1291

M0 3) Carruth news shocks Eterry By HANK GOLA DAIUf NEWS SPORTS WRITER 1 ww Cortez in Giant bid Kerry Collins expressed "shock" over the murder charges pending against his i former Panthers teammate Rae Carruth in the shooting dpath of his girlfriend. "Rae is an introverted guy and quiet but certainly riot malicious," said Collins, who played two seasons with Carruth. "It just didn't seem like it was part of his personality. It seemed like he was just kind of California laid back certainly not a guy you'd think would be capable of something like this. You don't know what's going through a person's mind but I would never have expected this." Collins described Carruth as "a friendly, upbeat guy.

He never had a bad word to say about anybody. He was quiet but not that you would look at him and think there was something wrong, something weird." Who, me? Rookie guard Mike Rosenthal was surprised to read that Mil TDs against the Saints. The Rams' average drive start of 31.4 after kickoffs leads the NFL as well. Asked what he was hoping for, MacDuff said, "Inside the 30. 1 dont want any big plays against us, whatever that means." In other words, Cortez doesn't have much to lose.

He's already beaten longer odds. His dad, Fermin, farmed his own land in El Salvador but the civil unrest sent him to California with his two older daughters, searching for a better life. Jose remained in El Salvador with his mother, Juana, and his two younger sisters until Fermin, with a job as a cook in Van Nuys, sent for them. "He was going back and forth and he would just send money every month for us. He finally just decided to come for us," Cortez explained.

"He decided that he wanted everybody here, that life was getting tough." Cortez, who knew no English, played goalkeeper for the soccer team at Van Nuys Hip-h until thp fonthall marh By HANK GOLA DAILY NEWS SPOR1S WRITER As a kid, Jose Cortez didn't know a football from a kum-quat, but he did know a car bomb when he heard one. In El Salvador, Civil War isn't 19th Century history, it is an occupational hazard of walking to school. "You'd hear them go off," Cortez explained. "You'd just get on the ground. You didn't go out.

You didn't have much of a life." But the hardships that brought Cortez to the United States with his parents and four sisters in 1990 have given him quite a life nine years later. It's not every kid from El Salvador who gets to play in the NFL. In fact, if Cortez handles the kickoff chores for the Giants in St. Louis on Sunday, he'll be the first. Cary Blanchard's short kickoffs have become such a concern that the Giants are ready to sign this rookie kicker from Oregon State off their practice squad.

Blanchard, who beat the Bills with a 48-yard field goal, will still handle that responsibility. All Cortez has to do is get the ball deep or deeper, anyway. "Hopefully, we're going to get the ball down to the goal line or the end zone with some hang time," coach Jim Fassel said. "I think it will be a better place for him to start. He's got a dome.

I'm just waiting to see that ball with a a lot of hang time." "He's not going to be lights out," special teams coach Larry MacDuff said. "If you're expecting some guy who's going to put it in the end zone every time, he's not going to do that. We feel like he'll be somewhere inside the 10 and we'll go with that." The timing is perfect. In addition to their explosive offense, the Rams have the NFLs leading kick return man in rookie Tony Home. He's averaging 32.4 yards a pop and has run two back for i 1 mmu Bills DE Bruce Smith blamed him for a strained shoulder Smith suffered Sunday.

Smith claimed that Rosenthal tackled him from behind and should have been penalized. He called it a "cheap play." Rosenthal didn't want to respond. "I don't know. He's a great player. He's been around what 16 years for them?" he said.

"So I just keep my mouth shut and go on with it." Special plans: For a guy who seemed to be taking a lot of tentative steps at practice yesterday, a lot is being expected of CB Conrad Hamilton. Coach Jim Fassel says that Hamilton, sidelined most of the season with a knee injury, has a chance to play against the Rams in a specialty role. "He did more today and it doesn't seem to be bothering him," Fassel said. "I don't think he's fully confident right now but he feels good, I know that." "It feels great, better than it has all year," Hamilton said. "Not just physically but emotionally.

"We've got one more day and if I can make it through tomorrow without any setbacks, Sunday's definitely a go," he said. Secondary education: With Phillippl Sparks' groin hurting, the Giants will start Jeremy Lincoln and Emmanuel McDaniel against the Rams' explosive passing game. saw him exhibit his powerful leg. He asked Cortez to try out for football his senior year. "They had bigger crowds so I said OK," said Cortez, who didn't know the rules and had to get used to the funny-shaped ball at first.

Two years of junior college got him noticed by Oregon State, where he continued to improve. In two seasons for the Beavers, he connected on 28-of-47 field-goal attempts with a career long of 55. Cut by the Chargers after four preseason games, he's been waiting for the call that finally came this week. Not bad for a twist of fate. Asked what he might be doing now if the family remained in El Salvador, Cortez smiled and said, "I don't even know.

Just working, who knows what? It would be hard to tell." I Jose Cortez, who escaped unrest in Salvador, could be answer to Giants' kickoff woes. Mphins' Collins arrested on burglary charge THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DAVIE, Fla. Miami Dolphins rookie Cecil Collins, I wno P'aved on'y six games in liijl B) college because of legal trou ble, was arrested yesterday trying to take the fun out of the game and make it a straight business. It's the first time I made the gesture, and now it's the last." Bills running back Thurman Thomas said the rule is silly and hypocritical. "It's a harmless type of thing." said Thomas, referring to the across-the-throat motion that had become popular with players until the league outlawed it last month.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the fine was for unsportsmanlike conduct and taunting. "He has been undergoing regular counseling ever since he joined the Dolphins, and I thought he was making progress," coach Jimmy Johnson said. Bills' Moulds fined ORCHARD PARK Bills receiver Eric Moulds criticized the NFL after the league fined him $5,000 for making the forbidden "throat slash" gesture after making a 36-yard gain last Sunday's against the Giants. "I was expecting it and the fine came down," said Moulds. "Right now they're ter being released on $10,000 bond.

The couple said Collins had been annoying the woman for the past two months, repeatedly asking her out even after she told him she was married. The alleged burglary is similar to a felony case that placed Collins on probation in Louisiana, where court records portray him as a sexual predator. If authorities determine Collins violated probation, he could face a minimum of several years in prison. The burglary charge is a second-degree felony carrying a possible 15-year prison sentence. on charges that threaten his NFL career.

A married couple accused Collins of climbing through a bedroom window into their apartment at about 5 a.m. yesterday. He was charged with burglary and suspended indefinitely by the Dolphins. "I just made a mistake," Collins said af.