Times-Advocate from Escondido, California • 25

Vikes take tip from Chargers Last-minute loss puts San Diego two back of AFC West leaders on 3rd-and-4 at the San Diego 29, Minnesota rallied, eventually scoring when Kramer beat a blitz for the winning touchdown. I was trying to catch it, Walters said of the winning pass to Lewis, Winslows roommate in college (Missouri). I got my hands on it and was just bringing it down. Then he (Lewis) got his hand underneath and poked the ball straight up in the air and stayed with it. Said Jim Wagstaff, the Chargers secondary coach: Danny played the thing as well as you could play it.

It was just one of those fluke things. If he made the catch and we werent around, then Id be unhappy. But I cant be unhappy with the way (Walters) played it. What the Chargers were unhappy about was: 1) blowing a prime chance to win a game and keep pace in the AFC West and 2) the officiating. First things first.

The loss dropped the Chargers to 3-4 on the season (Minnesota is 4-3), two games behind co-leaders Denver and the L.A. Raiders and one game behind third-place Seattle. Of course, the Chargers play their next four games against the Raiders and Broncos, so theyre not dead yet In this next month, we still have a chance to make an impact in our division," Fouts said but playoff hopefuls cant afford to lose games like Sundays. Especially after Fouts courageous return from the torn knee ligament he suffered just three weeks ago. He sparked the team into the lead after it had floundered offensively since the games opening drive, which ended in a two-yard touchdown run by Spencer.

Fouts entered the game in the fourth quarter after Kramers 51-yard scoring pass to Mike Mular-key had given the Vikings a 14-10 lead. He struggled at first, but wound up completing seven of 10 Please see Chargers, page D5 By Jay Posner Times Advocate Sportswriter MINNEAPOLIS Kellen Winslow returned. So did Wes Chandler. Even Dan Fouts made a surprisingly early reappearance. But it mattered only for a few minutes.

Long enough to give the Chargers a 17-14 lead over the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth quarter of Sundays game at the Metro-dome, but not long enough to give the Chargers a much-needed victory. It was close. Excruciatingly close, in fact. But, needing just one defensive stand in the final six minutes, the Chargers instead came up 21-17 losers when Leo Lewis caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Kramer with 19 seconds remaining. To be sure, the pass was deflected almost intercepted, even by hard-luck cornerback Danny Walters, but as Walters admitted afterwards, He came up with the play.

I didnt. Put another way, the Vikings came up with the big offensive play and earned a victory. The Chargers didnt come up with the big defensive play and suffered a defeat. Thus ended a day that had all the makings of a well-scripted victory for the Chargers. The heart and soul of Air Coryell Fouts, Winslow and Chandler all returned from injuries, and the Chargers were just six minutes away from victory after Fouts led them 48 yards in 11 plays for the go-ahead touchdown, which came on Tim Spencers 1-yard run, the rookies second score of the day.

I had a good feeling after that touchdown, Chargers Coach Don Coryell said. I thought wed win it. Added safety Gill Byrd: I felt we had the game won. The defense was fired up. But, with the help of a one-yard run on 4th-and-l by Allen Rice and a crucial offsides penalty on San Diegos Keith Ferguson after the Chargers had stepped the Vikings Raiders deja vu defeats Browns CLEVELAND (AP) Marc Wilson figured he had a tradition to uphold.

Ive seen Jim Plunkett do it before. Ive seen Ken Stabler do it before, Wilson said after he threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Todd Christensen with 29 seconds left Sunday to give the Los Angeles Raiders a 21-20 National Football League victory over the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders, 5-2 after their fourth straight triumph, led throughout much of the game but fell behind 20-14 when Browns rookie Bernie Kosar threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Mack with 7:07 to play. After the teams traded punts, Los Angeles took the ball at its own 40 with 2:53 left, and Wilson got hot. He completed passes of 12 and 9 yards to Jessie Hester and a 17-yarder to Dokie Williams, and Marcus Allen ran 12 yards for a first down at the Cleveland 13 with 62 seconds to go.

The Cleveland defense then stiffened, forcing six straight incomplete passes, although a holding penalty by Hanford Dixon on third down gave the Raiders a first-and-goal at the Browns 8. The touchdown pass came on fourth down as Wilson hurled a low bullet that barely slipped past diving defensive back A1 Gross, giving Wilson a 4-0 record since he re- Please see Raiders, page D5 Rams capitalize on Chiefs offense KANSAS CITY (AP) The Los Angeles Rams secondary and Todd Blackledge had their pass routes coordinated perfectly. They didnt disguise their defense a whole lot. They just did a real good job of reading the quarterback, said Blackledge, the quarterback in question. Blackledge stepped in for the injured Bill Kenney on Sunday and threw six interceptions, a team record, as the Rams shut out the Kansas City Chiefs 16-0.

It was a dominating effort by a defense that has carried the Rams all season. On Sunday, it carried them to their first shutout since 1979 and their seventh victory without a loss this year. As one of two National Football League unbeatens along with the Chicago Bears, the Rams are four games in front of Super Bowl champion San Francisco in the NFC West. In addition to the six interceptions, including two by Leroy Irvin, the Rams defense also recovered a fumble to set up one of Mike Lansfords three field goals and didnt allow the Chiefs to come Please see Rams, page D3 Vikings Leo Lewis watches winning TD pass fall into his hands after it is tipped by Danny Walters. Fouts and Winslow It felt like old times gone.

Added team physician Dr. Gary Losse, who reconstructed Winslows anterior cruciate ligament last October: Kellen passed his test. He told me in the second half he was ready to play like old times. Next for Fouts and Winslow, of course, is next Monday nights game against the Raiders. The game should be particularly interesting for Winslow, since it was L.A.s Jeff Barnes who inflicted the damaging blow to Winslows knee one year ago today.

No, it wont be anything special, other than the fact its a Monday night game on national television, Winslow said. I hold no animosity toward them I felt Dan could give us the spark we needed to pull it out, Coryell said, and he almost did. It was good to see him back in there. The same applied for Winslow, who actually made more news Sunday with his blocking than his receiving. Blocking is something Ive done for awhile, I just never got any notice, Winslow said.

Why today? I dont know. I guess because I didnt catch anything. Still, Winslow was pleased with his performance. It felt like old times, he said. I went on the field with a sense of confidence and I guess as the game went on, it came through more and more.

After the first quarter, it felt like Id never been Winslows return had been expected, but Fouts was considered a doubtful participant even at game time. He had suffered a torn knee ligament just three weeks ago and figured to return next Monday against the L.A. Raiders. But, when the offense sputtered under Mark Herrmann and Herrmann started feeling woozy after hitting his head on the As-troTurf, Coach Don Coryell turned to Fouts. When Mark hit his head, Don told me to be ready, Fouts said.

Ive been ready all my life. Fouts said he had no problems with his knee. Its a little tight, he said, but the doctors checked it out and theres no further damage. The ligament is healing fine. I felt good backpedaling I had a little trouble crossing over, but in the flow of the game, you tend to forget the little things.

The Chargers didnt forget Fouts was in the game. He brings a certain guidance and leadership, said wide receiver Wes Chandler, who returned to action after missing last weeks game with a laceration near his Achilles tendon. Chandler had one catch for 17 yards, and an apparent 45-yard touchdown reception from Fouts was nullified by a holding penalty. His presence makes all the difference in the world sometimes, Chandler added. That was what Coryell had in mind when he sent his star quarterback into the game.

By Jay Posner Times Advocate Sportswriter MINNEAPOLIS Medically speaking, the returns of both Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow Sunday were an unqualified success. And, although the Chargers lost 21-17 to Minnesota, Fouts and Winslow didnt hurt from a team standpoint, either. Fouts, who entered the game in the fourth quarter, completed seven of 10 passes for 64 yards and led the Chargers to a touchdown that gave them a short-lived 17-14 lead. Winslow, meanwhile, appeared to get stronger as the game went on, finishing with two catches for 14 yards. He also provided excellent blocks on two short touchdown runs by Tim Spencer.

Royals victory not in the cards Howser stays still as Royals blow lead WbRLD SERIES" 'EFT By Tom Melody Knight Ridder News Service KANSAS CITY, Mo. Dick Howser. Now theres a manager who can stay still for defeat. There, too, is a manager who can take defeat without blinking an eye. Or shuffling his feet.

Because of all of that, his Kansas City Royals might be, well, dead in their tracks in this World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals. More stories, D6 Herrs smash that third baseman George Brett turned into an out with a heroic diving stop and throw to first. Lcubrandt was in such tight command, it seetned a certainty that the Royals undernourished attack, which has produced three runs in two World Series games, would hold up. But as KC catcher Jim Sundberg noted, The ninth inning started out strangely.

Maybe he sensed what was coming. McGee started the inning with a slashing ground ball that hit in front of the third base bag and bounded down the line for a double. But Ozzie Smith and Herr went out quickly, giving rise to what is becoming a weekly question: Do you walk Jack Clark or do you pitch to him? Tommy Lasorda didnt walk him last week and Clark beat the Dodgers with a three-run homer in the playoffs. Dick Howser didnt walk him Sunday night, and Clark singled on a 3-0 pitch to score McGee. Still, Leibrandt had only to retire one Please see Series, page D6 By Sheldon Ocker Knight Ridder News Service KANSAS CITY, Mo.

It was the kind of crushing defeat that sends its victims running for the privacy of the trainers room before the reporters can intercept them. More than just being the guys who finished second in a ballgame, the Royals were the victims Sunday night after absorbing a 4-2 loss to the Cardinals to trail two games to none in the World Series. This was no ordinary defeat, even if it had not occurred in a championship setting. Blowing a 2-0 lead with two outs in the ninth would make an insomniac of Rip Van Winkle. The game was all but over, wrapped up in a tidy package by an astounding performance from lefthander Charlie Leibrandt, who for 8 innings held St.

Louis to three measly hits, only one of hich was stroked with authority. Six of the Cardinals had gone down on strikes and 12 had beat the ball into the dirt for outs. The hardest hit balls were a fly ball by Willie McGee, caught in deep center by Willie Wilson, and Tommy The count against him was four when finally he arose but it was rather identical to 10 in another sport. The Royals were down, the Royals were out on their feet. I never considered taking out Charlie Leibrandt, he testified later on.

The game was his to either win or lose. He lost it, all right, although he had sauntered into that last inning having permitted merely a couple of hits, a single in the second inning and a single in the third inning. So he deserved to lose it, could that be the case, Dick Howser? Maybe so. Charlie Leibrandt chose not to discuss it afterward. Others did, however, and what they said was that Dick Howsers Please see Howser, page D6 The Royals, you see, accomplished a wrong-way sweep here over the weekend, losing twice.

A Royal flush of a sort it was, and Dick Howser was doing the dealing Sunday evening as the team miraculously escaped victory by 4-2. That because the Cardinals batted around in the ninth, that because Dick Howor was not the least bit inclined to see what he could do about it. Just sat there, he did. Through a double, a single, a double, a walk, another double..