National Digest

Super upset GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Giants had the perfect answer for the suddenly imperfect Patriots: a big, bad defense and an improbable comeback led by their own Mr. Cool quarterback, Eli Manning. In one of football’s biggest shockers, New York shattered New England’s unbeaten season as Manning hit Plaxico Burress on a 13-yard fade with 35 seconds left in the Super Bowl. Sunday’s 17-14 win was the Giants’ 11th straight on the road, and the first time the Patriots tasted defeat in more than a year. It was the most bitter of losses, too, because New England (18-1) was one play from winning, but its defense couldn’t stop a 12-play, 83-yard drive that featured a spectacular leaping catch by David Tyree, who scored New York’s first touchdown. Tom Brady, the league’s Most Valuable Player and winner of his first three Super Bowls, was battered all game. He was sacked five times, and hurried a dozen more. “Even when my parents were telling me, ’You’re going to win,’ I don’t know if I believed them,” said defensive end Michael Strahan, who postponed retirement in late August to try for this trophy. The previously unbeaten Pats? They finally felt the pressure. Not from their gaudy record, but from the kind applied by the Giants’ relentless pass rush. “Tonight doesn’t take away from anything we have done over the course of the season,” New England quarterback Tom Brady said. “We had a great year. It’s just unfortunate that tonight turned out the way it did.” The 1972 Miami Dolphins didn’t seem to mind too much. They’re protective of their 17-0 mark that season and don’t want anyone to match their unblemished record. “The Patriots had a great season, but it shows just how difficult it is to go undefeated,” said then-coach Don Shula, who was in attendance. “Our players and our fans feel that much more proud of our accomplishment.” Gone was the Patriots’ chance to be the first team to finish 19-0. Also lost was their chance to win their fourth title in seven seasons. Instead, they found another way to be marked. While many Super Bowl losers simply are forgotten, a few are destined to be a part of NFL lore. Almost 40 years ago, the mighty Baltimore Colts fell victim to that other New York team and its poolside prognosticator, the Jets and Joe Namath. “We had an opportunity to be special, and we let it slip away,” Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour. “We came so close to being special. Now, we’re second class.” Burress saw the Giants’ third Super Bowl title coming. Last week, he predicted New York would win 23-17. That guess drew Brady’s attention. “We’re only going to score 17 points?” he said then. “OK. Is Plax playing defense? I wish he had said 45-42 and gave us a little credit for scoring more points.” Manning and the wild-card Giants (14-6) knocked off the Brady bunch, pulling off a frenzied, 12-play drive that covered 83 yards in the last 2 1/2 minutes. Included was Brandon Jacobs’ plunge on fourth-and-1, plus a circus catch by David Tyree. Tyree, who began the game with more special teams tackles than catches this season, outjumped Rodney Harrison for a 32-yard grab on third-and-5 to the Patriots’ 24 with 59 seconds left. Harrison tried to pull the ball free and one point had it pinned to Tyree’s helmet. “I don’t know that there’s ever been a bigger play in the Super Bowl than that play,” praised Giants coach Tom Coughlin. Early in the fourth quarter, Tyree caught a 5-yard strike from Manning for his first TD of the season and a 10-7 lead. “I am a man that really has to capitalize on his few opportunities,” Tyree said. “Some things just don’t make sense and I guess you can just put that catch there with them.” Amazing, for more than one reason. “Unbelievable,” Giants receiver Amani Toomer said. “In Friday’s practice, he was dropping everything.” When this game ended, the Giants had their 11th straight road win and Manning was the MVP, the same award brother Peyton earned last year by leading Indianapolis over Chicago. “That’s a position you want to be in,” Eli said. “You want to have the ball in your hands ... down, where you’ve got to score a touchdown.” Maybe easier to do than watch. Peyton was in a private box and punctuated each key play by his kid brother with a clap, shout or a wave of his arms. “You are pulling so hard for Eli,” he said. “I guarantee you I am more involved in the game he is playing than any other NFL game. I was pumped, and I got a lot of messages telling me to calm down because I was excited.” Brady, Patriots coach Bill Belichick and several others on the New England side were gone by the very end. Brady’s last pass fell incomplete with 1 second left, and Belichick ran across the field to congratulate Coughlin. The officials determined there was one more play left. With many Patriots off to the locker room, Manning took a final kneeldown in New England territory. As for how difficult the loss was, Belichick said: “I don’t rank them. It’s disappointing.” Fined for spying on the Jets’ coaches in the season opener, Belichick and the Patriots had every right to believe they would win this time. Even though the Giants played them tough in a 38-35 loss at the Meadowlands in their last game of the regular season, New England was a two-touchdown favorite. But Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, never quite got into a rhythm. With girlfriend Gisele Bundchen tucked away in a suite, Brady went 29-for-48 and 266 yards. He was under pressure all game, as Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck kept pounding him. “There is a way to get to anybody,” Strahan said. “And for us today, the way to win this game was to get to Tom Brady. Stop the run and get to Brady. “As Mike Tyson would say, ’Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.’ And today, we wanted to punch them in the face.” Brady was sacked five times and the highest-scoring team in league history was held to its lowest point total of the season. He did not show any ill effects from a sprained ankle that recently put him in a protective boot. GOLF DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Tiger Woods made a 25-foot putt to win the Dubai Desert Open, then he skipped backward and punched the desert air in celebration. So ended his spectacular charge Sunday to beat Ernie Els. Woods birdied his last two holes, and five of his last seven, for a 7-under 65 to start his season with two victories that looked nothing alike. One week was an eight-shot victory at the Buick Invitational. The next week was his largest comeback in eight years when Woods rallied from a four-shot deficit with an array of impressive shots that make him look tougher to beat than he already is. It was the third time Woods has started his season 2-0, another sign that he could be headed for a big year. He has won his last four official tournaments, and six of his last seven dating to the Bridgestone Invitational in early August. Woods also won his unofficial Target World Challenge by seven shots in December. Woods finished at 14-under 274 for a one-shot victory over Martin Kaymer of Germany. Woods had already posted his score when Kaymer, who won two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, closed birdie-birdie-eagle for a 66. Els started the round with a one-shot lead over Henrik Stenson and was four shots clear of Woods. The South African missed par putts inside 5 feet on the 11th and 12th holes to lose the lead, but he still had a chance to force a playoff with a birdie on the par-5 18th. Instead, Els hit 5-wood that came up well short and ended up in the water. He finished with a bogey for a 71 and tied for third at 12 under. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — J.B. Holmes came back from the brink of defeat to win the FBR Open for the second time in three years, beating Phil Mickelson on the first hole of a playoff. Holmes birdied the 18th twice in a matter of minutes, first with a 13-foot putt to force the playoff, then with an 8-footer after a monster, 359-yard drive. Mickelson, who birdied three of the final six holes of regulation, just missed a 28-foot birdie putt before Holmes made the winner. The victory was worth $1.08 million. It was the first playoff in the event since Mickelson beat Justin Leonard in a three-hole playoff in 1996. That, coincidentally, was the other weekend that the Super Bowl was held in Arizona. MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian star Karrie Webb won her fourth Women’s Australian Open title, beating South Korea’s Shin Ji-yai with a 10-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole. Webb, the winner last year at Royal Sydney, and Shin closed with a 6-under 67s at Kingston Heath to finish at 8-under 284. Webb birdied the 16th and 17th holes in regulation to force the playoff. ATHLETICS BEIJING (AP) — Former Olympic sprinter Maurice Greene announced his retirement on Monday. The 33-year-old Greene made the announcement in Beijing, which is hosting this summer’s Olympic Games. The American has been one of the sport’s dominant figures of the past decade, winning both the 100 meters and 200 at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain. He won a third gold medal in the 100 relay, placing him alongside Tyson Gay and Carl Lewis as one of only three men to win triple gold. He said he planned to pursue coaching and business interests in the United States. TENNIS SAN DIEGO (AP) — Steady rain washed out Sunday’s matches at the Fed Cup quarterfinal between Germany and the United States, forcing organizers to try again on Monday. Officials waited four hours past the scheduled starting time before calling it a day. The rain let up for about an hour and workers attempted to dry off the court at La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club before the rain resumed and the match was postponed. The rain was supposed to clear out by Monday. The best-of-5 series was tied at 1-1. When it resumes, Lindsay Davenport is to play Tatjana Malek in the first reverse singles match, followed by Ashley Harkleroad against Sabine Lisicki. The doubles match is scheduled to be Davenport and Lisa Raymond against Julia Goerges and Anna-Lena Groenefeld. The winner will move on to face defending champion Russia, which reached the semifinals behind Maria Sharapova. China and Spain also reached the semifinals. HORSE RACING ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — Santa Anita canceled racing because of wet weather Sunday for the eighth time this season, but repairs on the venue’s problematic synthetic track were set to begin by the end of the day. Monday and Thursday racing had already been canceled so that the track’s drainage problems could be worked on, and officials hoped to resume racing on Friday. Workers on Sunday night will begin mixing a stabilizing binder into the synthetic surface that will allow water to drain through the seven inches of Cushion Track that lies atop a porous asphalt base.