The Herald-News from Passaic, New Jersey • D1

Herald News Red Black Sports SECTION HERALDNEWS Monday, November 14, 2005 Rams get tough Resilient Lodi preparing for semifinals in football playoffs. D3 Hall has a point Marshall ready to take reins for Pirates. D7 MLS CUP LM OTEROThe Associated Press Los Angeles' Guillermo Ramirez celebrates after netting an overtime goal in Sunday's MLS Cup. Unlikely hero lifts Galaxy Ramirez comes off bench to score game-winner in overtime By IVES GALARCEP Herald News wm FRISCO, Texas- Guillermo 'Pando' Ramirez sat on the end of the Los Angeles Galaxy bench, Revs in that span. With the match scoreless after 105 minutes of soccer, the Galaxy struck when Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis punched away a corner from Landon Donovan, only to have the clearance fall to a wide-open Ramirez at the top of the penalty area.

Ramirez blasted the rebound over Reis to give Los Angeles the lead. The goal was a shocking piece of skill from a player who hadn't played in a game for the Please see MLS, D6 person Galaxy coach Steve Sampson would call on to help win a championship. Sampson did call on Ramirez and the improbable decision provided a result few could have imagined. The Guatamalan striker entered overtime of MLS Cup and broke a scoreless tie by delivering a perfect right-footed shot from 18 yards out to help give the Galaxy a 1-0 victory against New England in front of 21,193 at Pizza Hut Park. The game-winner helped Los Angeles win its second MLS Cup title in four years and second title-game victory against the looking for all the world like a player ready to end his short career in MLS in anonymous fashion.

After Galaxy Revolution 1 0 struggling through a terrible year in which he failed to score a goal, Ramirez seemed like the last NFL Giveaway day Manning's poor play catches up with him EAST RUTHERFORD Eli Manning has been so erratic recently, this was bound to happen. He couldn't continue misfiring, making one terrible throw after another, and have him or his teammates mask so many mistakes by winning. So Sunday, with the supposedly vulnerable Vikings in town, Manning and the Giants paid dearly for his transgressions throughout a game that they just Keith Idee Turnovers, special teams miscues doom Giants ByVINNY DiTRANI Special to the Herald News EAST RUTHERFORD There was a lot of anger and some annoyance sprinkled with disbelief throughout the Giants locker room Sunday following the bizarre 24-21 loss to the Minnesota VikingS 24 Vildngs. Bizarre is 51 the only way to ex-(i I aMS plain what took place in Giants Complete Stadium on a day NFL coverage when the home D4-5 team figured to add to its winning streak and its dominance of the visitors. Before the day was done, the Giants would become the first team in NFL history and that goes back to 1920 to allow a touchdown via a kickoff return, punt return and interception return in the same game.

The Giants' defense stretched its streak of not allowing a TD to 193 minutes, 26 seconds, encompassing nearly 14 quarters, and actually held the Vikings to one yard less (137) than they allowed the inept 49ers last week. The only real drive the defense permitted came in the final 1:21. But it resulted in Paul Edinger's game-winning 48-yard field goal with 10 seconds left to play. Meanwhile the error-plagued Giants offense, led by an erratic Eli Manning, put things together for a final drive to a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game, only to see the Vikings win it at the end. It certainly was a bizarre game, but that's not what the Giants were talking about afterwards.

It was the missed opportunity, the coming up small in a game where they could have taken a huge step toward securing their NFC East lead that dominated their talk. "We shot ourselves in the foot so many times," said center Shaun Please see GIANTS, D5 simply should not have lost. Granted, the special teams troubles didn't make matters easy on the Giants, while Plaxico Burress, Tim Carter and Ja-maar Taylor all dropped well-thrown balls by their "$54 Million Man." Still, Manning's alarming numbers four interceptions, 23-of-48 and a hideous 39.5 quarterback rating -were more responsible for the Giants failing to reach 7-2 than anything. Manning guided the first-place Giants to a game-tying touchdown with less than two minutes to play again, but his four picks prevented them from capitalizing on their numerous offensive opportunities in a game their defense dominated. They all knew it, but refrained from coming down hard on their struggling young quarterback, who had thrown only five interceptions in the Giants' first eight games.

Manning made sure to hold himself completely accountable, though. "I understand that you're going to have bad games," Manning said after Minnesota stopped the Giants' three-game winning streak, 24-21. "That's part of football. But obviously that doesn't make it any easier. You don't want to go in there and play that way.

I've got a lot to learn. I'm still young. I'm going to make mistakes. But I can't make that many mistakes in a game and hurt this team." Manning's most expensive error BILL KOSTROUNThe Associated Press Eli Manning didn't do the Giants any favors in Sunday's loss to Minnesota, tossing four interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown. Please see IDEC, D5 Jets 'O' downright offensive Six turnovers later, team falls to an unsightly 2-7 By RANDY LANGE Special to the Herald News CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Stick some forte in the Jets. Their season is done. Thankfully, the Jets Danhorc 1fl did not try to convince raniners anyone they could JCtS 3 win their last seven games and still take the AFC East. Six turnovers five on consecutive possessions, the first time that's happened to them in more than a decade and their largest losing margin in the last three seasons under Herm Edwards will have that kind of chill a lead away from home. "They are playing as hard as they can play," Edwards said, his voice rising during an otherwise calm postgame news conference.

"If you have a problem with that, then that's too bad because they are playing as hard as they can play. That's all I can ask them to do. God's given them a lot of talent, and they're using all the talent they have." Things were going to be different this game. The Jets' offense was going to get a Brooks Bollinger bounce, with the third-year quarterback making his second pro start. And the defense was going to be more ag- Please see JETS, D9 ing effect on a locker room.

"It's hard, really hard. Two-and-seven's ugly," center Pete Kendall said, citing the Jets' record their worst after nine games since the Rich Kotite Jets went 2-7 in 1995 and 1-8 in 1996 after their 30-3 loss to the Panthers on Sunday. "There's no way to sug-arcoat it and make it look any better than it is. It's nasty." "It's kind of hurtful," defensive end John Abraham said. "I feel bad for everyone on the team right now." So does Edwards, who launched into an emotional defense of his team even after they lost their fourth game in a row and their fifth straight road game and have yet to hold RICK HAVNERThe Associated Press Justin Miller coughs up one of the Jets' six turnovers.

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