Tiger Fan's Modern Day All-Sports Dynasty [Archive]

Tiger Fan

12-29-2005, 04:28 PM

GIANTS GET QB OF FUTURE IN SMITH
The New York Giants hope to have solved their woes at quarterback with the selection of Alex Smith 8th overall in the 2005 NFL draft. Smith, who in real life went first overall to the 49ers, is expected to take over the top spot on the Giants depth chart from incumbant Kerry Collins.

For the second year in a row the Detroit Lions had the first overall selection and once again they went for defense, drafting DT Travis Johnson. In the real NFL draft Johnson was taken 16th by Houston. In real life the top of the draft was dominated by running backs with Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson and Carnell Williams going 2nd, 4th and 5th. In this version of reality Brown was taken 17th by the Redskins, Benson 41st to San Francisco and Williams lasted until the middle of the third round when he was selected by Tampa. The other real life top 5 pick, WR Braylon Edwards, went to Detroit with the first pick of the second round.

2005 NFL DRAFT
#1(1) Detroit Travis Johnson DT Florida State
#2(2) Atlanta Michael Roos OT Eastern Washington
#3(3) Jacksonville Shawne Merriman OLB Maryland
#4(4) Cleveland Erasmus James DE Wisconsin
#5(5) Dallas Mike Patterson DT Southern California
#6(6) Kansas City Marcus Spears DE Louisiana State
#7(7) Chicago Thomas Davis SS Georgia
#8(8) NY Giants Alex Smith QB Utah
#9(9) San Francisco Antrel Rolle CB Miami
#10(10) Baltimore Evan Mathis OG Alabama
#11(11) Cincinnati David Pollack DE Georgia
#12(12) New Orleans Shaun Cody DT Southern California
#13(13) Indianapolis Troy Williamson WR South Carolina
#14(14) Houston Barrett Ruud ILB Nebraska
#15(15) Tampa Bay Alex Barron OT Florida State
#16(16) Carolina Aaron Rodgers QB California
#17(17) Washington Ronnie Brown RB Auburn
#18(18) Miami Chris Spencer C Mississippi
#19(19) NY Jets Lofa Tatupu ILB Southern California
#20(20) Buffalo Pacman Jones CB West Virginia
#21(21) St. Louis Jonathan Babineaux DT Iowa
#22(22) Seattle Matt Roth DE Iowa
#23(23) Oakland Derrick O Johnson OLB Texas
#24(24) Pittsburgh Matt McCoy OLB San Diego State
#25(25) Arizona Dan Cody DE Oklahoma
#26(26) Green Bay Justin Tuck DE Notre Dame
#27(27) Denver Jammal Brown OT Oklahoma
#28(28) Minnesota Carlos Rogers CB Auburn
#29(29) San Diego Brodney Pool SS Oklahoma
#30(30) Tennessee Khalif Barnes OT Washington
#31(31) New England Trai Essex OT Northwestern
#32(32) Philadelphia Charlie Frye QB Akron

THE 2005 NFL SEASON - WHERE WE STAND
To bring us up to date here is a team-by-team look at the 2005 season through the end of September.

First up the AFC EAST. I will go into a little more detail on the AFC East and North than other divisions since the Bills, Browns and Steelers will be the key focus of this paper.

CURRENT STANDINGS

NY Jets 3-0
Buffalo 2-1
Miami 1-2
New England 1-2

The New York Jets got off to a quick 3-0 start thanks to a fairly easy September schedule. With 3 straight home games the Jets beat winless Tennessee 24-17, 1-2 New England 20-11 and winless Cleveland 28-9. Offensively Chad Pennington is off to a decent start despite throwing 4 interceptions so far. Santana Moss has been his favourite target with 18 grabs already. With Lamont Jordan sidelined for at least a month, second year man Chad Hoover has taken over as the number one rushing option.

Defensively the Jets rank in the middle of the pack. The leaders are lineman John Abraham, who already has 5 sacks and is on pace to equal or better his team high total of 15 a year ago and cornerback Keiwan Ratliff, who has 4 interceptions after getting 7 as a rookie.

The Buffalo Bills beat winless Houston 22-7 in the season opener at Ralph Wilson stadium before losing in Arizona the following week. Last week the Bills hammered Cincinnati 38-10.

The big news in Buffalo this season was the signing of free agent QB Tim Rattay from San Francisco. Rattay, who forced veteran Drew Bledsoe to the bench, has the Bills offense ranked number one in the league so far. Second year back Stephen Jackson (360 yards) shares the rushing duties with Willis McGahee (102 yards). McGahee is presently sidelined with an ankle injury and that has been the story of his career in Buffalo as he has missed 16 games over the past two seasons. Eric Moulds remains the top receiver with Bobby Shaw and Josh Reed also being frequent targets of Rattay.

The Bills defense is ranked 8th in the league thanks to linebackers London Fletcher (27 tackles, 2 sacks) and Takeo Spikes (26 tackles). Nate Clements, Antoine Winfield and rookie Pacman Jones give the Bills a strong secondary.

The Miami Dolphins improved to 8-8 last season after going 7-9 in 2003. This year they hope to make the jump to the playoffs. However, they have a lot of holes to fill on defense with the loss of Sam Madison and Junior Seau to free agency and the retirement of Terrell Buckley.

Offensively the real strength lies in the line led by center Chris Spencer and tackle Robert Gallery, first round picks each of the past two seasons. Brett Favre and free agent pickup Patrick Ramsey are battling it out for the starting QB job. Ramsay started the season opening 23-13 loss to Indianapolis but was replaced by Farve for the week two win at San Francisco. After losing to Baltimore 28-3 last week Farve may be back on the bench when the Dolphins visit the Jets following the bye week. Ricky Williams has 264 yards as he guns for his third straight 1000 yard rushing season.

After two straight trips to the playoffs including a Super Bowl appearance last season the New England Patriots have fallen on hard times. The Pats started the season with losses to Jacksonville and the Jets before rebounding with a 24-13 win on Monday night at Foxboro over Pittsburgh.

It could be tough sledding for the Pats who lost QB Tom Brady to free agency and LB's Ted Johnson and Roman Phifer along with FB Larry Centers to retirement. A season ending knee injury to RB Kevin Faulk in the preseason just made matters worse. The defense, led by linebackers Teddy Bruschi and Julian Peterson along with DT Richard Seymour and DB Ty Law, is among the best in the conference but the offense will struggle. No quarterback on the Pats roster ever started a game before this season and although running back Rich Thomas gained 923 yards as a rookie last season he hardly strikes fear into opposing defenses.

The AFC North will be getting the bulk of the media coverage as Pittsburgh and Cleveland are our two 'hometown' teams.

Current Standings
Baltimore 3-0
Cincinnati 2-1
Cleveland 1-2
Pittsburgh 0-3

The Baltimore Ravens made the playoffs two years ago but were a dissappointing 6-10 last season. The Ravens got off to a quick start this year with home wins over San Diego and Miami sandwiched around a victory at the Meadowlands over the New York Giants.

The Ravens offense is performing exceptionally well now that free agent pickup Marc Bulger has replaced Kyle Boller under center. Second year receiver Larry Fitzgerald is Bulgar's favourite target while rookie RB JJ Arrington leads the team in rushing after Jamal Lewis suffered a serious ankle injury in week one. Lewis will likely be out for another month. The defense is among the best in the league led by linebacker Ray Lewis and DB Chris McAlister.

With wins over Oakland and Dallas to start the season, the Cincinnati Bengals were off to their best start in 3 years but a blowout loss against Buffalo last week brought them down to earth. Cornerback Sam Madison was added in the off-season to help stabilze the defense. Offensively the Bengals are led by running back Rudi Johnson, who rushed for nearly 1200 yards last season. Receivers Chad Johnson and Peter Warrick have helped aid the development of third year QB Carson Palmer.

The Cleveland Browns improved to 6 wins in 2004 after winning just half that many the previous season. An early season win over arch-rival Pittsburgh helped calm the rabid fans in the Dawg Pound but it is clear this team has a long ways to go before it can call itself a contender.

The Browns improved slightly in the offseason with the signing of free agent guard Mike Wahle and strong safety Will Demps. Demps is tied with linebacker Andra Davis for the team lead in tackles after 3 games. The Browns traded up in the draft to grab Wisconsin DE Erasmus James but so far the rookie has been ineffective. However, the rest of the D-Line, led by Courtney Brown and Gerard Warren has performed well. The secondary has done a decent job particularily Demps, CB Daylon McCutcheon and FS Sean Taylor.

The inconsistant Tim Couch looked good in the win over Pittsburgh but he suffered an elbow injury late in the contest and will miss the next two games. As poor as Couch has played on occassion it is hard to blame him completely for the Browns offensive woes, as the line has provided little protection. Lee Suggs may have rushed for over 1000 yards last season but he barely averages over 3 yards a carry. Quincy Morgan is the Browns only proven receiver.

After two straight trips to the postseason it is a shock to find the Pittsburgh Steelers sitting at the bottom of the AFC North with an 0-3 record. The Steelers were upset at home 23-17 by Denver in week 1 and then embarrassed by a 23-12 loss at Cleveland. Last week the Steelers lost 24-13 in New England.

The retirement of Jerome Bettis and the loss of TE Jay Riemersma in free agency hurt the Steelers offense, which has struggled this season. A preseason injury to RB Amos Zereoue did not help either although he should be set to return to action in a week or two. Second year QB Eli Manning has been steady and receivers Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress are playing well but with Bettis gone and Zereoue sidelined the offense is one-dimensional. A rookie by the name of Chuck Latin has gained just 94 yards in 3 games.

Linebackers Kendrell Bell and Joey Porter anchor a strong defense. Veteran cornerback Fred Smoot and second year FS Bob Sanders have also played well.

AFC SOUTH
STANDINGS
Jacksonville 2-1
Indianapoilis 1-2
Houston 0-3
Tennessee 0-3

At 2-1, the Jacksonville Jaguars are half way to equalling their win total for all of last season. The key to the Jags success so far has been an aggressive defense. Cornerback Fernando Bryant has 4 interceptions while linemen Tony Brackens and John Henderson have combined for 9 sacks. The defense has had to be very good to compensate for a terrible start from Byron Leftwich who has been picked off 9 times in 3 games. Running back Fred Taylor has been healthy and leads the league with 442 yards rushing including 232 gained in a week two win at Tennessee.

With Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James the Indianapolis Colts should have one of the best offenses in the league. However, two things have prevented them from hitting their peak. First is the inability of James to stay healthy. He suffered a groin injury in week one and will miss most of the season after appearing in only 5 games last year. The second issue is the lack of consistancy in the coaching staff. Newcomer Ray Rhodes is the third head coach the Colts have had in the past 3 seasons after the one year experiment with Lovie Smith failed badly. Despite all the changes Manning and Harrison have led the league in passing and receiving yards respectively each of the past two season.

With a franchise best 7 wins last season the Houston Texans hoped for big things this year. That was before franchise quarterback David Carr tore up his knee in a week three loss to Oakland. Carr is sidelined for at least 2 months meaning either second year man Harry Thomas or former baseball player Drew Henson will have to lead the offense. Thomas was intercepted 3 times in his debut and that adds to the league's worst turnover margin. The defense is adequate but in no way good enough to compensate for the hit Carr's absence gives to the offense. Domanick Davis is a decent rusher coming off back to back 1000 yard seasons.

Age and injuries have taken their toll on the Tennessee Titans who are 0-3 after winning 24 games over the previous two seasons. At age 31 Steve McNair is off to the worst start of his career with 6 interceptions in 3 games and a terrible QB rating of 53.7. The offensive line lost 3 starters from last season to retirement or free agency. The top two running backs, Eddie George and Chris Brown are both injured and even prior to the injury George appeared to be on the final stage of his career.

AFC WEST
Standings
Kansas City 3-0
Denver 2-1
San Diego 2-1
Oakland 1-2

After a 12-4 record in 2003 the Kansas City Chiefs suffered through a 5-11 campaign last year that ultimately cost coach Dick Vermeil his job. With ex-Colts coach Lovie Smith in charge the Chiefs are back on track so far this season with victories over Cleveland, Denver and Tennessee. Only Arizona is averaging more points per game than the Chiefs led by quarterback Trent Green and RB Priest Holmes.

The Denver Broncos are 2-1 with their only loss coming in a 38-36 shootout at Kansas City. Jake Plummer is off to a good start again this season and he is speading the ball around as the Broncos already have 4 players with at least 10 receptions although second year wideout Reggie Williams has emerged as Plummer's favourite target. RB Clinton Portis is on pace to surpass the 1387 yards rushing he had a year ago.

Marty Schottenheimer led the San Diego Chargers to the AFC West title last season but he will have his work cut out for him as the division is one of the toughest in the league. The Chargers defense was good last season but it is even better this year with the addition of former Charger Junior Seau and Pro Bowl CB Patrick Surtain. Both players were signed as free agents after spending the past couple of seasons in Miami. Rookie SS Brodney Pool and second year DE Kenechi Udeze have had an outstanding start to the season. While the offense revolves around 2003 NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson, who leads the team in receptions as well as rushing yards, the big surprise has been the play of quarterback Craig Krenzel. The second round pick was named Offensive rookie of the year last season and is off to another strong start this year. The Chargers only loss came in week one by a 19-16 score at Baltimore.

Bill Callahan led the Oakland Raiders to the playoffs last season but was canned by owner Al Davis. Callahan resurfaced in Buffalo as the offensive co-ordinator while Stephen Alston was given the Raiders top job. The result after 3 weeks is not very pretty as Oakland ranks 29th in the league in both total offense and total defense. The Raiders did have to start with 4 straight road games including trips to Cincinnati and Atlanta (both losses) before winning 27-19 in Houston last week. DE Kevin Carter, LB Na'il Diggs and SS Rodney Harrison were all signed to big contracts in the off-season but so far they have not had the desired impact. Offensively the running game has been virtually non-existant and Reggie Strachan, who won the QB job from Rob Johnson in training camp, has not been able to generate a passing attack. In Strachan's defense, the receiving corps of Jerry Porter, Doug Gabriel and Alvis Whitted do not strike fear in opposing secondaries and second year man Roy Williams is likely done for the year with a leg injury.

NFC EAST
STANDINGS
Washington 3-0
Philadelphia 2-1
Dallas 2-1
NY Giants 1-2

The Philadelphia Eagles return much of the same cast as they go in search of a 3rd straight Super Bowl win. The newcomers include ex-Giant CB Will Allen who replaces the retired Troy Vincent. Reigning league MVP Donovan McNabb continues to be the team leader.

The 3-0 Washington Redskins handed the Eagles their first divisional loss since 2003 and are in the process of developing a franchise QB to rival McNabb. Second year starter Ben Roethlisberger led the skins to an 8 win season last year and may have them playoff bound this time around.

A 5 win season cost Bill Parcells his job with the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys problem is it's offense has no pop, particularily with Quincy Carter under center.

Jim Fassel is on his last legs as the New York Giants coach and he has entrusted his future in the arm of rookie signal caller Alex Smith. That is likely not a bad decision since the alternative is Kerry Collins. Former Cleveland running back Jamel White is off to a quick start and if he stays healthy there may be hope for the Giants to approach the .500 mark.

NFC NORTH
Standings
Minnesota 2-1
Chicago 2-1
Green Bay 1-2
Detroit 1-2

Dante Culpepper and Randy Moss are the key to the Minnesota Vikings bid for a third straight post-season berth. The running game is also solid with Michael Bennett and Onterrio Smith spliting the duties. Former Indianapolis linebacker David Thornton was added through free agency and he, along with first round pick CB Carlos Rogers, should help strengthen an already decent defense.

The Chicago Bears are hoping to win more than the 6 games they managed each of the last two seasons. The Bears strength is their defense, led by LB's Brian Urlacher and Rosevelt Colvin, who was signed as a free agent from New England. Rex Grossman continues to be the starting QB but he is being pressured by journeyman Doug Johnson.

As a rookie Phillip Rivers led the Green Bay Packers to an 11-5 season and a playoff berth. He also hastened Brett Favre's exit to Miami. The amazing thing about Rivers is he enjoyed success without the benefit of a running game as Ahman Green missed half the season. Green is healthy again and has already enjoyed two 100-yard rushing games this season. Ex-Bear wideout David Terrell joins WR Javon Walker and TE Bubba Franks to give the offense even more push.

The Detroit Lions are 4-31 since the start of the 2003 season and the future does not look much better. Joey Harrington and Mike McMahon have spent the past two years alternating as the Lions ineffective starting QB. The running game is non-existant with Olandis Gary and while Charles Rogers is a decent receiver, the Qb's rarely get the time to find him. As bad as the offense is the Lions real weakness is probably their defense.

NFC SOUTH
STANDINGS
Atlanta 1-2
Tampa 1-2
New Orleans 1-2
Carolina 0-3

One of the weaker divisions in the league as only 1 team in the past two seasons has posted a .500 or better record. That was the 9-7 Tampa Bay Bucs a year ago. Despite the winning record head coach Jon Gruden was fired and replaced by Dick Jauron. The new coach has his work cut out for him as the Bucs lost WR Keyshawn Johnson and QB Brad Johnson to retirement. With just Koy Detmer and a second year pro by the name of Freeman Sly battling it out for the qb job it is clear the Bucs offense must revolve around free agent running back Travis Henry who was signed from Buffalo in the offseason. The defense is solid with linebacker Dwayne Rudd, lineman Simeon Rice and young defensive backs Sean Jones and Travis Williams leading the way, Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp are still in the picture as well, but their skills are eroding.

Things just have not panned out for Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons. Head Coach Dan Reeves is gone after compiling a 10-22 record over the past two seasons. T.J. Duckett has replaced the often-injured Warrick Dunn at running back while tight end Alge Crumpler and WR Peerless Price are Vick's favourite targets. The defense does not look to bad but for some reason the Falcons always seem to do just enough to barely lose a game and not quite enough to pull out victory.

The New Orleans Saints are coming off back to back 7-9 seasons. The defense is the club's strength led by terrific pass rush that includes linemen Darren Howard, Jonathan Sullivan and Charles Grant (4 sacks each thru 3 games). The offense now belongs to second year man J.P. Losman, who replaced Aaron Brooks. Deuce Mcallister has been hurt leaving the running back duties to former XFLer Rod Smart.

Like New Orleans, the Carolina Panthers were 7-9 each of the past two seasons. They started 0-3 this season as free agency and retirements decimated both the offensive line and the secondary. Their biggest strength is the defensive line led by Julius Peppers and Kris Jenkins, both Pro Bowlers last season.

NFC WEST
STANDINGS
Arizona 3-0
San Francisco 2-1
Seattle 2-1
St Louis 0-3

The biggest offseason signing clearly belonged to the Arizona Cardinals who immediately became a Super Bowl contender with the inking of Tom Brady. The ex-New England signal caller has the rapidly improving Cardinals at 3-0 with wins over Atlanta, Buffalo and Detroit. Brady has the best QB rating in the league thanks to good young group of receivers that include Anquan Boldin, Michael Clayton along with veteran TE Freddie Jones. RB Marcel Shipp is coming off back-to-back 1000 yard rushing seasons. The no-name defense is the Cardinals weak spot although they do have a budding star in DT Tommie Harris, a second year pro who has 4 sacks already.

The San Francisco 49ers dropped from 11-5 in 2003 to 6-10 last year. The defense is solid but the offense needs plenty of help. Terrell Owens caught 107 balls last season but with Jeff Garcia's skills eroding quickly the Niners have gone to second year man Brad Lane at QB. Wins over Carolina and Chicago gave 49ers fans reason for up but unless Lane matures quickly this could be another lost season for San Francisco.

Mike Holmgren's job may be on the line as the Seattle Seahawks fell to 8-8 after a 10-6 effort in 2003. The Seahawks won their first two games with Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback but he suffered a neck injury and will be sidelined for two months meaning Josh McCown will run the offense. McCown was terrible in a week 3 loss to Minnesota. There will be plenty of pressure on back Antwone Schey to duplicate his rookie season when he rushed for over 1600 yards. If Schey can carry the offense until Hasselbeck returns the Seahawks may squeeze into the playoffs.

The St Louis Rams won the division a year ago but with an aging offense led by Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk it may have been one last hurrah. This season the defense has been awful in losses at Tampa, Seattle and Green Bay. There are some positives such as a strong offensive line and Pro Bowl receiver Torry Holt but the division is far too strong for the Rams to compete this season.

Tiger Fan

12-29-2005, 04:30 PM

Since I am picking up this dynasty in October here is a quick update on how major league baseball looks.

With 2 games remaining for each team here are the standings. As you can see the American League playoff berths are all set with the Yankees, Cleveland and the Angels winning their respective divisions while Oakland claims the wildcard berth.

In the National League San Francisco and St Louis have clinched and the Mets magic number is one with both Atlanta and Florida still alive in the NL East, at least mathametically. The wildcard has the Cubs a game ahead of the Dodgers.

STANDINGS
AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST W L PCT GB
New York 91 69 .569 -
Boston 83 77 .519 8.0
Tampa Bay 78 82 .488 13.0
Toronto 78 82 .488 13.0
Baltimore 75 85 .469 16.0

Central W L PCT GB
Cleveland 87 73 .543 -
Chicago 84 76 .525 3.0
Minnesota 78 82 .488 9.0
Detroit 70 90 .438 17.0
Kansas City 68 92 .425 19.0

West W L PCT GB
Los Angeles 99 61 .619 -
Oakland 94 66 .588 5.0
Seattle 73 87 .456 24.0
Texas 64 96 .400 35.0

NATIONAL LEAGUE
EAST W L PCT GB
New York 83 77 .519 -
Atlanta 81 79 .506 2.0
Florida 81 79 .506 2.0
Philadel. 76 84 .475 7.0
Washington 72 88 .450 11.0

Central W L PCT GB
St. Louis 96 64 .600 -
Chicago 92 68 .575 4.0
Pittsburgh 86 74 .538 10.0
Cincinnati 74 86 .463 22.0
Milwaukee 73 87 .456 23.0
Houston 67 93 .419 29.0

West W L PCT GB
San Fran 103 57 .644 -
Los Angeles 91 69 .569 12.0
San Diego 73 87 .456 30.0
Arizona 72 88 .450 31.0
Colorado 58 102 .363 45.0

Tiger Fan

12-29-2005, 04:34 PM

The major focus on the college football front will center on Penn State. It was a toss up between them and Pittsburgh but I believe the Nittany Lions get more attention in the Erie area so they will be our club. I am playing the role of Joe Paterno as I will run the day to day activities at State College.

To build some history for the players in this game I began by simming out 4 seasons. Michigan finished a perfect 12-0 and was named the National Champion in 2004. Penn State ended up at 7-5 after a win in the Motor City Bowl but we were a dissappointing 3-5 in the Big 10.

The 2005 season begins with the Big Ten expected to be loaded. Defending National Champion Michigan is always strong as is Ohio State. Michigan State and Wisconsin also look poised to challenge for the conference title. We had a decent recruiting class (27th nationally) led by the signing of two Top 100 safeties in Pine Grove, Pa. native Alan Brady (#2 ranked SS in Nation) and FS John Davenport from Uniontown, Pa. Davenport is considered the 3rd best FS recruit in the country.

Before we get to the season here are the key Nittany Lions:

QB Earl McGee is just a sophomore but the Glen Gardner, NJ native is already a veteran. He started all 12 games as a true freshman and has outstanding potential.

RB Tim Collins was our offensive leader last season when he gained 1336 yards and scored 9 rushing touchdowns. The senior hails from Cumberland Center, Maine.

WR Donnie Ferguson. A true freshman, the native of Webberville, Michigan leads the club in receptions in the early going.

WR Jim Smart is our most talented wide receiver but the redshirt sophomore from Pima, Arizona cant seem to stay healthy.

Freshman tight end Mark Hoover, from Hollidaysburg, Pa., has a bright future.

The offensive line is decent but lacks depth so injuries could really hurt us.

Our defensive line is weak but we make up for it with very good linebackers and a strong secondary. Baltimore native Lamar Sullivan and Mitch Burford, from Dunellen, NJ are both great run stoppers at linebacker.

HOW THE SEASON PROGRESSED UP TO NOW

WEEK 1 - Penn State had the week off but the marquee game was Michigan State winning at home 37-24 over Notre Dame.

Other Big 10 scores
Minnesota 34 Southern Miss 24
Texas A&M 63 Illinois 10
Oregon State 24 Northwestern 13
Ohio State 28 Memphis 24
Wisconsin 38 South Florida 20

WEEK 2 - Penn State 36 Temple 32. We opened with a much closer call then we would want against the lowly Owls. Earl McGee passed for 291 yards and led a game winning drive that culminated in a 12 yard touchdown pass to Horace Walker with just over a minute to play to salvage the victory at home. Tim Collins ran for 100 yards. Our defense came up with 3 interceptions while linebackers Sullivan and Burford combined for 16 tackles.

Other Big 10 scores
Ohio State 51 Oklahoma 9
Iowa 58 Houston 0
Michigan State 14 Louisville 10
Michigan 38 UAB 10
Minnesota 40 Duke 35
Purdue 32 Cincinnati 24
Arizona State 24 Indiana 15

WEEK 3 - Earl McGee threw 3 first half touchdown passes as we cruised past 0-3 Memphis 30-16. Tim Collins had another big day as well, rushing for 132 yards.

Elsewhere in the Big 10
Michigan 42 Rutgers 7
Minnesota 45 Cincinnati 28
Ohio State 23 Houston 6
Purdue 52 Southern Miss 14
Wisconsin 23 Navy 16
Washington 24 Northwestern 20
Florida State 45 Illinois 13
Indiana 23 North Carolina 21
Iowa 36 Kent State 17
Michigan State 44 UConn 27

WEEK 4 - Another off week for the Nittany Lions. However, conference play did get underway this week with 4 in-conference games.

Wisconsin(4-0) 32 Purdue(2-1) 30
Michigan State(4-0) 37 Illinois(0-4) 19
Iowa(3-0) 57 Indiana(1-2) 50 Overtime
Minnesota(4-0) 57 Northwestern(0-4) 7
Michigan(3-0) 28 Notre Dame (2-2) 24

WEEK 5 - Our first Big 10 matchup of the season as we host 4-0 Wisconsin. It was a wild one that went to overtime before we pulled out a 33-30 victory. Earl McGee threw 3 touchdown passes including the winner to freshman wideout Donnie Ferguson in overtime.

Iowa(4-0) 13 Illinois(0-5) 0
Michigan State(5-0) 38 Indiana(1-3) 6
Michigan(4-0) 34 Minnesota(4-1) 20
Ohio State(4-0) 57 Purdue(2-2) 20

WEEK 6 - We suffer our first loss as we fall at home to unbeaten Ohio State 23-21. The Buckeyes won the game on a 38 yard field goal from Jamie Ameche with 1:49 remaining in the game. McGee threw for 3 more touchdowns but he was also picked off twice by the Buckeyes. Collins failed to surpass 100 yards rushing for the first time this season as he was held to 60 yards. Sophomore SS Alex Hood had a huge day for us with a pair of interceptions and 10 tackles.

Wisconsin(5-1) 44 Iowa(4-1) 7
Minnesota(5-1) 21 Illinois(0-6) 0
Michigan(5-0) 20 Michigan State(5-1) 3
Purdue(3-2) 45 Northwestern(0-5) 10

Which brings us to the beginning of October.

This week's Big 10 schedule

#7 Wisconsin (5-1) at #8 Michigan State (5-1)
Indiana (1-3) at Northwestern (0-5)
#14 Iowa (4-1) at #2 Michigan (5-0)
Penn State (3-1) at Purdue (3-2)

MEDIA POLL TOP 20
1- Arkansas 6-0
2- Michigan 5-0
3- Ohio State 5-0
4- Texas A&M 6-0
5- Texas 5-1
6- California 5-0
7- Wisconsin 5-1
8- Michigan State 5-1
9- Syracuse 5-0
10- Arizona State 5-0
11- Minnesota 5-1
12- Alabama 5-1
13- Mississippi 4-2
14- Iowa 4-1
15- Miami 5-1
16- Arizona 4-1
17- LSU 5-1
18- Florida 4-1
19- Georgia 4-1
20- UCLA 3-1

Tiger Fan

12-29-2005, 04:48 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Sunday October 2, 2005
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
PENN STATE FALLS TO PURDUE 16-3
The Penn State Nittany Lions suffered their second straight Big 10 loss as they fell 16-3 to the Boilermakers at Purdue. The Lions, who are 3-2 overall but 1-2 in conference action, could never get their offense going in the game.

The teams traded field goals in the first quarter before Jarious Kochmen put the Boilermakers ahead for good with a 46 yard field goal midway through the second quarter. The turning point may have been a 4th and inches on the Purdue 5 yard line with 2 minutes remaining in the half. Rather than kick the game tying field goal Nittany Lions Coach Joe Paterno elected to go for the first down. Penn State RB Tim Collins tried to get up and over the pile but he failed to gain any ground and Purdue took over possession and ran out the first half clock.

Early in the third quarter Penn State QB Earl McGee had a pass interecepted by Purdue safety Rodney Germaine, who returned it untouched 52 yards for the game's only touchdown. McGee would also have a pass picked off late in the 4th quarter as the Lions vainly tried to get back into the game.

McGee completed just 12 of 30 passes for 172 yards and was intercepted twice for the second game in a row. Collins led all rushers with 77 yards. Purdue's senior defensive end Bobby Hanner was named the player of the game. Hanner had a sack and was in McGee's face the entire contest.

The Lions visit 8th ranked Michigan State next week. The Spartans improved to 6-1 with a 37-10 drubbing of 7th ranked Wisconsin. In other Big 10 action Mike Jones had his 6th straight 100 yard-plus rushing day as Michigan dumped Iowa 38-3 while Indiana got it's first Big 10 win of the season, dropping winless Northwestern 10-6.

BIG 10 STANDINGS
CONF OVERALL
Michigan 3-0 6-0
Ohio State 2-0 5-0
Michigan State 3-1 6-1
Minnesota 2-1 5-1
Iowa 2-2 4-2
Purdue 2-2 4-2
Wisconsin 5-2 2-2
Indiana 1-2 2-3
Penn State 1-2 3-2
Illinois 0-3 0-6
Northwestern 0-3 0-6

PENN STATE 2005 SCHEDULE
WEEK OPPONENT SCORE
2 Temple W 36-32
3 Memphis W 30-16
5 #10 Wisconsin W 33-30
6 #3 Ohio State L 23-21
7 at #25 Purdue L 16-3
8 at #8 Michigan State -
9 #9 Minnesota -
10 Indiana -
11 at Northwestern -
12 at Illinois -
13 at West Virginia -

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
TOP RANKED RAZORBACKS IMPROVE TO 7-0
The number one ranked Arkansas Razorbacks continue to roll through the SEC. The Hogs got 5 field goals from Barry Mertens in a 29-20 win over Mississippi State. The schedule has been relatively easy for Arkansas so far but that changes next week when East Division leading Georgia pays a visit.

In other SEC action Fred Graham ran for 205 yards and 3 touchdowns but it wasn't enough as his Florida Gators lost at home 41-31 to Georgia. 4th year starting QB Ben Driver had 3 touchdown passes for the Bulldogs. Meanwhile, two fourth quarter field goals allowed Mississippi to upend LSU 30-24.

SEC RESULTS
Tennessee 19 Alabama 14
South Carolina 37 Vanderbilt 20
Georgia 41 Florida 31
Kentucky 30 Auburn 7
Mississippi 30 LSU 24
Arkansas 29 Mississippi State 20

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
East Division
TEAM OVER CONF PF PA
Georgia 5-1 4-0 195 164
Florida 4-2 2-2 196 152
Kentucky 4-2 2-2 142 138
South Carolina 1-4 1-2 106 142
Tennessee 4-3 1-3 178 199
Vanderbilt 0-6 0-4 96 177

West Division
TEAM OVER CONF PF PA
Arkansas 7-0 4-0 301 132
Louisiana State 5-2 3-1 202 186
Alabama 5-2 2-2 208 109
Mississippi 5-2 2-2 242 165
Miss State 4-3 1-2 205 157
Auburn 1-6 1-3 98 197

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
A&M UPSET IN BIG 12 PLAY
Turnovers proved costly as 4th ranked Texas A&M was upset 30-14 in Big 12 action. Cyclones junior safety Tarik Brackens had 2 interceptions and recovered one of two Aggie fumbles in the game. Texas A&M dominated the game offensively but their 4 turnovers led directly to 13 Iowa State points.

The A&M loss makes next week's home game against Oklahoma likely the contest that will decide the South Division. The Sooners are 3-0 in the conference with wins over Kansas, Texas and Texas Tech. 5th ranked Texas had little trouble with Nebraska as the Longhorns won in Lincoln by a 23-9 score.

BIG 12 RESULTS
Iowa State 30 Texas A&M 14
Colorado 31 Kansas State 3
Missouri 40 Kansas 25
Texas 23 Nebraska 9
Oklahoma State 27 Baylor 13
Oklahoma 33 Texas Tech 17

BIG 12 STANDINGS
North Division
TEAM W-L CONF PF PA
Missouri 5-2 3-1 177 130
Colorado 3-2 2-1 142 136
Iowa State 3-3 2-2 177 142
Nebraska 3-3 2-2 138 142
Kansas State 3-4 1-3 174 164
Kansas 1-5 1-3 154 220

South Division
TEAM W-L CONF PF PA
Oklahoma 5-1 3-0 171 140
Oklahoma State 5-2 3-1 230 219
Texas A&M 6-1 3-1 244 109
Texas 6-1 3-1 211 79
Texas Tech 1-6 0-4 146 213
Baylor 0-7 0-4 74 230

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
CAL REMAINS TEAM TO BEAT IN PAC 10
Sophomore Terry Bates has never lost as a college football starter. The quarterback from Niagara Falls has the University of California at 6-0 this season after winning both his starts as a redshirt freshman last year. Yesterday he threw a pair of touchdown passes as the Golden Bears hung on to nip Arizona 21-19.

PAC 10 RESULTS
UCLA 16 Arizona State 10
Cal 21 Arizona 19
USC 38 Oregon 0
Stanford 32 Washington 17
Washington State 39 Oregon 25

PAC 10 STANDINGS
TEAM W-L CONF PF PA
California 6-0 3-0 198 136
UCLA 4-1 2-0 142 85
Southern Cal 4-1 2-0 143 98
Arizona State 5-1 2-1 142 81
Washington St 4-2 2-1 171 152
Stanford 3-2 1-2 132 120
Arizona 4-2 1-2 160 109
Oregon State 3-3 1-2 177 114
Washington 3-3 0-3 134 169
Oregon 3-3 0-3 180 143

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
IRISH DRILL ARMY 37-7
Notre Dame running back Johnny Lukins must love to play the service academy's. After gaining a career best 204 yards in a win over Navy last week, the senior from Winsted, Connecticut, ran for 185 yards yesterday as the Irish beat Army 37-7. Lukins also had 4 receptions for 56 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. He has 5 touchdowns in his last 3 games as the Irish bounced back from a 1-2 start with victories over USC and the two service academy schools.

OTHER COLLEGE RESULTS
[b]MAC
Northern Illinois 30 Buffalo 6
Ohio 28 Miami(Oh) 24
Western Michigan 41 Bowling Green 38 (OT)
Central Michigan 42 Ball State 14
Toledo 20 Eastern Michigan 17

Mid American Standings
East Division
TEAM W-L CONF PF PA
Bowling Green 5-1 3-1 198 117
Ohio 4-3 3-1 145 156
Miami (Oh) 4-2 2-2 224 101
Buffalo 2-5 1-3 129 214
Akron 1-4 0-2 93 157
Kent State 0-6 0-3 98 247

West Division
TEAM W-L CONF PF PA
Western Michigan 5-2 4-0 298 179
Northern Illinois 4-3 3-1 157 141
Toledo 4-3 3-1 122 158
Central Michigan 3-3 2-2 160 116
Ball State 2-5 1-3 168 244
Eastern Michigan 1-4 0-3 98 162

ACC RESULTS
North Carolina 27 Clemson 11
Maryland 31 Florida State 21
N Carolina State 30 Wake Forest 24
Miami 21 Boston College 20
Georgia Tech 39 Duke 17
Virginia 31 Temple 19

Atlantic Coast Standings
Atlantic Division
TEAM W-L CONF PF PA
Clemson 4-2 3-1 158 117
Maryland 4-2 2-1 215 153
Florida State 3-3 2-2 176 149
Wake Forest 1-5 1-3 88 186
NC State 3-4 1-3 177 174
Boston College 4-3 1-3 189 169

Coastal Division
TEAM W-L CONF PF PA
Miami 6-1 4-0 227 152
North Carolina 4-2 3-1 171 138
Virginia Tech 4-2 2-1 176 144
Georgia Tech 4-2 2-2 203 159
Virginia 2-3 1-1 127 122
Duke 1-6 0-4 145 217

BIG EAST RESULTS
Syracuse 35 Cincinnati 7
Rutgers 20 West Virgina 16
South Florida 41 Louisville 19
Connecticut 17 Pittsburgh 14

Big East Standings
TEAM W-L CONF PF PA
Syracuse 6-0 3-0 224 100
Rutgers 2-4 2-0 130 204
South Florida 4-2 3-0 147 156
Connecticut 2-5 2-2 159 249
Cincinnati 1-4 1-2 90 204
West Virginia 4-3 1-3 248 143
Louisville 1-4 0-2 106 155
Pittsburgh 2-4 0-3 168 117

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
STEELERS STILL SEARCHING FOR FIRST VICTORY
The last thing Eli Manning and the Pittsburgh Steelers want to do is head into next weekend's bye week without a victory. The 0-3 Steelers will need a big performance from the second year quarterback if they are to avoid their 4th straight defeat. The 2-1 Cincinnati Bengals come to town to provide the opposition for Manning's squad.

The Bengals looked very good in wins over Oakland and Dallas to start the season but they are coming off a humiliating 36-10 loss at home against Buffalo last week. The pressure will be on Bengals QB Carson Palmer to right the ship after the loss of starting running back Rudi Johnson. Johnson is still nursing an ankle injury he suffered late in the Dallas game and is doubtful for today's contest. In his place the Bengals will start Ray Jackson at halfback. Jackson gained 54 yards against the Bills in his first NFL start last week.

The only Steeler regular who will miss the game is RB Amos Zereoue, who is likely out another 4 weeks after suffering nerve damage to his elbow in the preseason.

It has been a season of bad luck for the Steelers, who with a break or two could just as easily be 3-0. In week one the Steelers dominated the time of possession and outgained Denver only to see the Broncos turn two 4th quarter fumbles into a pair of long field goals from Jason Elam and a 23-17 win.

In week two the Steelers lost 23-12 in Cleveland after leading the game 6-0 before Manning went down with an ankle injury. Backup quarterback Brian St. Pierre was interecpted 4 times as the Browns took control of the game.

Last week in the Monday night game another interception made the difference. Trailing 10-0 Manning, despite still nursing a tender ankle, had the Steelers in the red zone as the half was winding down but instead of cutting the Pats lead Manning's pass for Plaxico Burress was tipped and intercepted by Pats DB Ty Law, who returned it 91 yards for a touchdown and a 17-0 New England lead at the break. Pittsburgh would eventually fall 24-13.

INJURY RIDDLED BROWNS FACE STIFF TEST IN RIVAL BALTIMORE
It is never an issue getting Cleveland fans fired up when the Baltimore Ravens come to town. This year there will be even more incentive than normal as the Browns attempt to knock the 3-0 Ravens from the ranks of the unbeaten. The Browns are coming off of a 28-9 loss at the Meadowlands to an unbeaten New York Jets squad while the Ravens beat Miami 28-3 in Baltimore last week.

Injuries have all but destroyed the Cleveland offense as starting quarterback Tim Couch and top rusher Lee Suggs are both sidelined for at least another month. Rookie free agent Stephen Longley gets his second career start under center. With Longley having tossed 4 interceptions in 5 quarters of NFL action it is clear Cleveland's offense must revolve around the ground game. Unfortunately 3rd year back Lee Suggs tore his ACL late in the Jets game and that means William Green will become the starting running back.

The Ravens have some injuries of their own on offense to contend with including running back Jamal Lewis so this could be a very low scoring game.

WEEK 4 SCHEDULE
Cincinnati Bengals (2-1) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0-3)
Baltimore Ravens (3-0) at Cleveland Browns (1-2)
Indianapolis Colts (1-2) at Tennessee Titans (0-3)
Oakland Raiders (1-2) at Denver Broncos (2-1)
San Diego Chargers (2-1) at Kansas City Chiefs (3-0)
New York Giants (1-2) at Washington Redskins (3-0)
Detroit Lions (1-2) at Minnesota Vikings (2-1)
Chicago Bears (2-1) at Green Bay Packers (1-2)
Atlanta Falcons (1-2) at New Orleans Saints (1-2)
Carolina Panthers (0-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-2)
San Francisco 49ers (2-1) at St. Louis Rams (0-3)
Dallas Cowboys (2-1) at Philadelphia Eagles (2-1)
Houston Texans (0-3) at Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1)

MONDAY NIGHT
Arizona Cardinals (3-0) at Seattle Seahawks (2-1)

BYE
Buffalo, Miami, New England, NY Jets

NFC STANDINGS
North W L T PCT PF PA
Minnesota 2 1 0 .667 67 54
Chicago 2 1 0 .667 49 33
Detroit 1 2 0 .333 29 53
Green Bay 1 2 0 .333 65 64

East W L T PCT PF PA
Washington 3 0 0 1.000 78 50
Dallas Cowboys 2 1 0 .667 54 33
Philadelphia 2 1 0 .667 65 53
NY Giants 1 2 0 .333 53 50

South W L T PCT PF PA
New Orleans 1 2 0 .333 48 59
Atlanta 1 2 0 .333 54 79
Tampa Bay 1 2 0 .333 56 78
Carolina 0 3 0 .000 10 66

West W L T PCT PF PA
Arizona 3 0 0 1.000 99 53
Seattle 2 1 0 .667 60 55
San Francisco 2 1 0 .667 60 40
St. Louis 0 3 0 .000 57 83

AFC STANDINGS
North W L T PCT PF PA
Baltimore 3 0 0 1.000 71 33
Cincinnati 2 1 0 .667 49 62
Cleveland 1 2 0 .333 62 71
Pittsburgh 0 3 0 .000 42 70

East W L T PCT PF PA
NY Jets 3 0 0 1.000 72 37
Buffalo 2 1 0 .667 81 44
Miami 1 2 0 .333 49 77
New England 1 2 0 .333 56 63

South W L T PCT PF PA
Jacksonville 2 1 0 .667 71 58
Indianapolis 1 2 0 .333 36 51
Houston 0 3 0 .000 28 62
Tennessee 0 3 0 .000 39 71

West W L T PCT PF PA
Kansas City 3 0 0 1.000 92 75
Denver 2 1 0 .667 83 72
San Diego 2 1 0 .667 64 42
Oakland 1 2 0 .333 57 65

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
CUBS CLINCH NL WILDCARD. JUST ONE PLAYOFF SPOT UP FOR GRABS
The Chicago Cubs punched their postseason ticket with a wild 14-13 win at Houston yesterday. The victory gives the Cubs a 2 game lead on Los Angeles in the wildcard race after the Dodgers lost 7-5 in San Diego. The only playoff spot yet to be decided is in the NL East where the New York Mets are game ahead of Atlanta heading into today's season finale.

The first place Mets fell 11-6 in Philadelphia while the Braves stayed alive with a 4-1 win on the road over the Florida Marlins. Chipper Jones hit his 27th homer to lead the Braves who must win in Florida today and hope the Mets lose to the Phillies to force a 1-game playoff. Atlanta has won the division title each of the past 14 seasons and is on a 6 game winning streak in a desperate bid to make it 15 straight NL East titles.

The Cubs spotted Houston 9 runs in the bottom of the first inning before rallying to clinch the wildcard. Corey Patterson scored the game winning run after singling to lead off the 9th inning. It capped a 2 homerun, 4-hit day for the Cubs centerfielder. In San Diego Jake Peavy held the Dodgers to just 4 hits through 7 innings as the Padres built a 6-0 lead and then hung on to beat Los Angeles 7-5 and dash the Dodgers postseason hopes.

In other National League action the Pirates blanked Milwaukee 3-0 thanks to a Ty Wigginton homerun and some strong relief pitching. The Bucs were forced to go to the pen after starter Oliver Perez was forced to leave the game when he was hit in the head by a line drive in the third inning. The injury was not as serious as it first appeared but the 24 year old lefthander did suffer a mild concussion.

Termel Sledge homered twice as Washington thumped Colorado 12-3. Pinch-hitter Hector Luna hit a walk-off homer in the 12th inning to give St Louis a 4-3 win over visiting Cincinnati while Arizona topped San Francisco 6-4. The Giants, with a major league leading 103 wins while have homefield advantage through the NL playoffs.

INDIANS FALL 4-3 TO CHISOX IN MEANINGLESS CONTEST
A day after clinching the American League Central Division title the Cleveland Indians looked lethargic in a 4-3 loss to Chicago at Jacobs Field. The Indians actually led the game 3-0 in the second inning after Ben Broussard hit his 22nd homer, a three-run shot that accounted for all of the Tribe offense. Cleveland bats went silent from that point on as winning pitcher Jon Garland and a pair of relievers limited the Indians to just 4 hits on the day.

With little more than pride to play for after having their postseason hopes dashed the night before, the White Sox displayed some character by chipping away at Kevin Millwood and the Indians. Tadahito Iguchi cut the lead to 3-2 with a 2-run double off Millwood in the 5th and Joe Crede won it with a bases loaded single in the 8th that scored a pair. The Indians wrap up the season today against the White Sox before preparing for their first postseason appearance since 2001.

Elsewhere, Jaret Wright and Felix Rodriguez combined on a 7-hit shutout as East Division leading New York blanked the Red Sox 4-0 in Boston. Alex Rodriguez's 36th homer of the season, a 2-run shot, led the Yankees attack.

Tampa scored 3 times in the bottom of the 9th to clip the Baltimore Orioles 4-3. Rookie catcher Guillermo Quiroz drove in 3 runs before leaving the game with a stomach injury in Toronto's 8-4 win over Kansas City. Minnesota nearly blew a 3-0 lead but hung on in the 9th to edge Detroit 3-2. Texas scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game and then won it in the 10th with a sac fly as the Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-4. In Seattle, 19 year old Felix Hernandez evened his record at 9-9 after pitching a 4-hitter to lead the Mariners past Oakland 5-1.

STANDINGS
AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST W L PCT GB
New York 92 69 .571 -
Boston 83 78 .516 9.0
Tampa Bay 79 82 .491 13.0
Toronto 79 82 .491 13.0
Baltimore 75 86 .466 17.0

Central W L PCT GB
Cleveland 87 74 .540 -
Chicago 85 76 .528 2.0
Minnesota 79 82 .491 8.0
Detroit 70 91 .435 17.0
Kansas City 68 93 .422 19.0

West W L PCT GB
Los Angeles 99 62 .615 -
Oakland 94 67 .584 5.0
Seattle 74 87 .460 25.0
Texas 65 96 .404 34.0

NATIONAL LEAGUE
EAST W L PCT GB
New York 83 78 .516 -
Atlanta 82 79 .509 1.0
Florida 81 80 .503 2.0
Philadel. 77 84 .478 6.0
Washington 73 88 .453 10.0

Central W L PCT GB
St. Louis 97 64 .602 -
Chicago 93 68 .578 4.0
Pittsburgh 87 74 .540 10.0
Cincinnati 74 87 .460 23.0
Milwaukee 73 88 .453 24.0
Houston 67 94 .416 30.0

West W L PCT GB
San Fran 103 58 .640 -
Los Angeles 91 70 .565 12.0
San Diego 74 87 .460 29.0
Arizona 73 88 .453 30.0
Colorado 58 103 .360 45.0

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS LOOK TO GET BACK ON TRACK WITH TRIP TO WINDSOR
After falling 4-1 to Barrie at the Tullio Arena the Erie Otters hope a trip to Windsor will get the club back on the winning path. The Otters started the season 3-0 before the loss to the unbeaten Colts. The Windsor Spitfires are 1-2 on the season after notching their first victory at home last night over Owen Sound. Philadelphia Flyer draft pick Steve Downie had a goal and two assists to lead the Spitfires to a 4-2 win.

In other games Saturday Plymouth scored 4 times in the third period to trim Guelph 5-4, Brampton spanked Sudbury 5-1, Ottawa beat Peterborough 6-5 in a shootout, St Michael's needed a shootout to beat Kingston 5-4, Saginaw dropped Sarnia 5-2, Oshawa beat Mississauga 4-3 on Peter Tsimikalis' overtime marker while Robbie Schremp had a goal and 2 assists to lead London past Sault Ste Marie 5-4.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 4 3 0 1 7
ERIE 4 3 1 0 6
Kitchener 2 2 0 0 4
Guelph 3 1 2 0 2
Owen Sound 3 1 2 0 2

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 4 3 0 1 7
Saginaw 5 2 3 0 4
Sault Ste Marie 3 1 2 0 2
Windsor 3 1 2 0 2
Sarnia 4 1 3 0 2

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Barrie 3 3 0 0 6
Brampton 4 3 1 0 6
Sudbury 3 2 1 0 4
St Michael's 3 1 1 1 3
Mississauga 4 0 3 1 1

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 4 3 1 0 6
Kingston 3 2 0 1 5
Belleville 4 1 2 1 3
Ottawa 2 1 1 0 2
Peterborough 3 0 1 2 2

TODAY'S GAMES
ERIE at Windsor
Belleville at St Michael's
Sault Ste Marie at Guelph
Plymouth at London
Barrie at Kingston
Ottawa at Peterborough
Kitchener at Owen Sound

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Cory Emmerton King 3 4 6 10
Rob Schremp Lond 4 4 6 10
David Bolland Lond 4 6 2 8
Luch Aquino Bram 4 5 3 8
Wojtek Wolski Bram 4 2 6 8
Andrew Hotham ERIE 4 2 5 7
5 others tied with 7

O'CONNOR LONE OTTER IN ISS NHL ENTRY DRAFT RANKINGS
Erie Otters right winger Sean O'Connor is considered the 188th best prospect for the 2006 NHL entry draft according to the International Scouting Service's preseason rankings. The Trenton, Michigan native has 2 assists through 4 games with the Otters this season. The 18 year old is in his third season with the Otters since being selected in the second round of the 2003 OHL priority draft. Better known for his defensive efforts, O'Connor did notch 31 points a year ago after scoring 34 as a rookie.

The number one rated prospect according to the ISS report is Czech forward Michael Frolik followed closely by Phil Kessel of the University of Minnesota. Barrie Colts center Bryan Little, who was held scoreless in Friday's game at Erie, is the top rated Ontario Hockey Leaguer and number 3 overall.

Here are the top 10 ranked players for the 2006 NHL draft

RK NAME POS TEAM LEAGUE
1 Michael Frolik RW Kladno Czech
2 Phil Kessel C/RW Minnesota NCAA
3 Bryan Little C Barrie OHL
4 Jordan Staal LW Peterborough OHL
5 Ben Maxwell C Kootenay WHL
6 Derrick Brassard C Drummondville QMJHL
7 Jesse Joensuu LW Assat Finnish
8 Nick Foligno LW Sudbury OHL
9 Cory Emmerton LW Kingston OHL
10 David Kveton RW Vsetin Czech

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
PENS WILL BE MISSING 2 BLUELINERS FOR OPENER
The Pittsburgh Penguins will be missing 2 players when they open the 2005-06 National Hockey League season in Florida against the Panthers on Wednesday night. The NHL has assessed a 1 game suspension to both Sergei Gonchar and Brooks Orpik as a result of two seperate incidents in their preseason loss to Washington last week. Gonchar, a free agent signee, will see his Penguins debut delayed until Friday when the Pens entertain Montreal. He was handed the suspension after getting a 5-minute cross-checking major in the third period while Orpik is suspended for a slash in the same game.

The National Hockey League season begins tomorrow night with three games: Toronto travels to Boston, the New York Islanders entertain Edmonton while Minnesota visits Colorado.

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
CREW IN HUNT FOR FINAL MLS PLAYOFF BERTH
The battle for the final playoff spot in the MLS East Division could well come down to the final day of the season. The Columbus Crew moved into a tie with New England in the fight for the 4th and final playoff berth. Each squad has 2 games remaining including the season ending showdown between the two sides in Foxboro on October 15th.

Yesterday, Columbus picked up three points with a 2-1 road victory over FC Dallas while New England was limited to just a single point following a 1-1 tie at home against San Jose.

The top 4 teams in each division qualify for the MLS playoffs. Chicago is the defending champion.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Chicago 2 Colorado 0
Los Angeles 2 DC United 1
Columbus 2 FC Dallas 1
Kansas City 2 MetroStars 1
New England 1 San Jose 1

STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
GP W L T PTS
Metro Stars* 28 12 6 10 46
DC United* 29 14 11 4 46
Chicago 29 9 10 10 37
Columbus 28 8 13 7 31
New England 28 7 11 10 31

WESTERN CONFERENCE
GP W L T PTS
Los Angeles* 28 13 8 7 46
San Jose* 28 11 9 8 41
Colorado* 28 10 9 9 39
FC Dallas* 29 9 11 9 36
Kansas City 29 7 12 10 31
*qualified for playoffs

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Manchester United moved into a first place tie with Arsenal atop the Premier Divison standings. Ruud van Nistelrooy found the back of the net twice at Old Trafford to lead ManU to a 3-0 shutout of Charlton. Meanwhile Arsenal, which entered the day 3 points ahead of the pack, was shocked at home 2-1 by Wolverhampton. Kenny Miller scored both goals for the Wolves who move up to 9th place in the Premier Divison standings a year after winning the Championship Division title.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Manchester United 3 Charlton 0
Wolves 2 Arsenal 1
Blackburn 2 Crystal Palace 0
Liverpool 2 Millwall 0

SUNDAY'S FIXTURES
Chelsea at Everton
Wigan at Aston Villa
Norwich at Bolton
Tottenham at Newcastle
Manchester City at Southampton
Birmingham at Fulham

Tiger Fan

12-29-2005, 04:54 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Monday October 3, 2005

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS BEAT WINDSOR IN OVERTIME
Ryan O'Marra's powerplay goal in overtime lifted the Erie Otters to a 4-3 victory over the hometown Windsor Spitfires in Ontario Hockey League play. The Otters controlled the puck in the Windsor zone for well over a minute as O'Marra, Michael Blunden, Derek Merlini and Andrew Hotham patiently waited for the perfect shot. It came with 17 seconds left in the penalty as O'Marra one-timed a nifty pass from Blunden. Windsor goaltender Kyle Knechtel, who had an outstanding game, had no chance on the play.

Blunden, who was named the game's first star, put the Otters in front just 4 minutes into the game on a power play marker. Defensemen Merlini and Hotham drew the assists. However, before the first period was over the Spitfires had a 2-1 lead thanks to goals from captain Steve Downie and Mike Bushby. Following a scoreless second period in which both goaltenders - Knechtel of Windsor and the Otters Jhase Sniderman - made some outstanding saves the Otters Chris Greene took over in the third period. Greene scored twice within a 5 minute span in the middle of the stanza to put the Otters ahead. Windsor forced overtime when Bushby scored his second goal of the game, by banging in a rebound of a Ryan Garlock shot, with just over 3 minutes to play.

The Otters outshot Windsor 30-25 and had far more good scoring chances but Knechtel, making his first appearance of the season, stole a point for the Spits. Sniderman was solid in net for the Otters and ran his record to 4-0 on the season.

Erie's next game is Thursday night when they travel to Guelph to face the Storm for the first time this season.

In other OHL action Sunday night Guelph captain Ryan Callahan had 2 goals and an assist as the Storm hammered the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 8-2. London continues to lead the way in the Midwest Division following a 4-2 win at the John Labatt Centre over Plymouth. Owen Sound beat Kitchener 7-6 in a game that was decided by a shootout. St Michael's blanked Belleville 6-0. Jamie Tardif had the hat trick has Peterborough blasted Ottawa 7-0 while in Kingston the Frontenacs handed the Barrie Colts their first loss of the season, 4-3.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 5 4 0 1 9
ERIE 5 4 1 0 8
Kitchener 3 2 0 1 5
Guelph 4 2 2 0 4
Owen Sound 4 2 2 0 4

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 5 3 1 1 7
Saginaw 5 2 3 0 4
Windsor 4 1 2 1 3
Sault Ste Marie 4 1 3 0 2
Sarnia 4 1 3 0 2

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Barrie 4 3 1 0 6
Brampton 4 3 1 0 6
St Michael's 4 2 1 1 5
Sudbury 3 2 1 0 4
Mississauga 4 0 3 1 1

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Kingston 4 3 0 1 7
Oshawa 4 3 1 0 6
Peterborough 4 1 1 2 4
Belleville 5 1 3 1 3
Ottawa 3 1 2 0 2

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
ERIE 4 Windsor 3 (OT)
St Michael's 6 Belleville 0
Guelph 8 Sault Ste Marie 2
London 4 Plymouth 2
Kingston 4 Barrie 3
Peterborough 7 Ottawa 0
Owen Sound 7 Kitchener 6 (SO)

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Guelph at Sarnia
Saginaw at Sault Ste Marie
Peterborough at St Michael's
Oshawa at Brampton
Mississauga at Kingston

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Cory Emmerton King 4 5 6 11
Rob Schremp Lond 5 4 7 11
David Bolland Lond 5 6 3 9
Andrew Hotham ERIE 5 2 7 9
Luch Aquino Bram 4 5 3 8
Radek Smolenak King 4 4 4 8
Michael Blunden ERIE 5 4 4 8
Dan Collins Plym 5 4 4 8
Kris Belan Lond 5 2 6 8
Matt Lyall Guel 4 2 6 8
Wojtek Wolski Bram 4 2 6 8

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
LAST MINUTE FIELD GOAL GIVES STEELERS FIRST WIN
The Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a 14-0 second quarter deficeit and rallied to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 19-17. The win is the first of the season for the Steelers, who had lost their first 3 games. The Bengals fall to 2-2.

Cincinnati built an early 14-0 lead on a pair of Carson Palmer touchdown passes, a 15 yarder to tight end Kevin Ware in the first quarter and a 6 yard strike to WR Kelley Washington midway through the second quarter. Immediately after the Bengals scored their second touchdown the Steelers put together their first drive of the game as second year quarterback Eli Manning completed 3 straight passes and was aided by a defensive holding call. The drive eventually stalled at the Bengal 25 yard line forcing the Steelers to settle for a 43 yard field goal from Jeff Reed.

After the Pittsburgh defense forced a 3-and-out from Cincinnati, the Steelers took over on their own 30 yard with 2:14 left in the half. A holding call against OG Kendall Simmons on third down seemed to doom the drive but Manning bailed his lineman out with a 28 yard pass to Plaxico Burress. The Steelers QB found Hines Ward behind the defense on the next play and the result was a 49 yard touchdown pass that cut the Bengals lead at the half to 14-10.

The Steelers got a huge break to start the 3rd quarter when on the Bengals second play from scrimmage Chad Johnson caught a widereceiver screen pass and was drilled by Steelers LB Joey Porter. The hit seperated Johnson from the ball and Pittsburgh DB Fred Smoot picked it up and returned it 11 yards to the Bengals 7. Two plays later Eli Manning and tight end Darnell Sanders connected on a 4 yard touchdown strike and the Steelers had their first lead of the game. Jeff Reed's extra point was blocked so the score remained Pittsburgh 16 Cincinnati 14.

Neither team could mount much offense throughout the third quarter but early in the 4th the Steelers made what could have been a costly error. Manning threw into double coverage and was picked off by Bengals cornerback Sam Madison who returned the ball 36 yards setting up a first and goal on the Pittsburgh 9. It was here the Steelers defense came up with it's biggest performance of the season, stopping RB Ray Jackson for just a 1 yard gain on two successive rushes and then forcing Palmer to throw the ball away to avoid a sack on third down. To make matters worse for Cincinnati Jose Cortez missed the 29 yard field goal attempt and the Steelers lead remained 16-14.

Cortez redeemed himself on the next series when he hit on a 42 yard field goal attempt giving the Bengals a 17-16 lead with 4:06 remaining in the 4th quarter. Manning went to work, completing 4 straight passes including 2 to Hines Ward moving the Steelers to the Bengals 28 yard line at the 2 minute warning. Three plays later it was 4th and 2 at the Cincinnati 20 with 48 seconds left setting the stage for Jeff Reed's game winning field goal. Trailing 19-17 Carson Palmer tried to get the Bengals a shot at the win but he was picked off by Kendrell Bell on the final play of the game.

Hines Ward, who had 6 catches for 87 yards, was named the player of the game. Manning completed just 14 of 31 pass attempts while Dante Brown led the Steelers with 52 yards rushing. Ray Jackson, starting at running back in place of the injured Rudi Jackson, gained a career high 121 yards.

The Steelers and Bengals both have a bye next week as do AFC Central foes Baltimore and Cleveland.

RAVENS IMPROVE TO 4-0 WITH 29-17 WIN AT CLEVELAND
Rookie running back J.J. Arrington ran for 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the visiting Baltimore Ravens to a 29-17 victory over the Browns in Cleveland. The Ravens defense, led by 8 tackles from linebacker Ray Lewis, pressured the Browns all day and forced 3 Cleveland turnovers. Undrafted rookie Stephen Longley started for the second straight game in place of the injured Tim Couch at quarterback for the Browns. He completed 19-of-33 pass attempts but threw 2 more interceptions giving him 6 picks in 9 quarters of NFL football. Browns running back Lee Suggs was also sidelined and Cleveland managed just 42 rushing yards.

The Ravens are the NFL's only 4-0 team. The Arizona Cardinals came improve to 4-0 with a Monday Night victory at Seattle. The New York Jets are also unbeaten at 3-0 after having a bye this week along with the rest of the AFC East.

AROUND THE NFL
In other NFL action Peyton Manning threw 3 touchdown passes as Indianapolis improved to 2-2 with a 21-17 victory over the winless Titans in Tennessee. Denver is 3-1 after the Broncos blasted Oakland 27-3. Ladainian Tomlinson rushed for 144 yards to San Diego hand Kansas City it's first loss 29-20. The Chargers, Chiefs and Broncos are all tied atop the AFC West at 3-1. Three fourth quarter field goals allowed Jacksonville to escape with a 12-10 victory over winless Houston.

The Washington Redskins fell from the ranks of the unbeaten after losing at home 30-23 to the New York Giants. At 3-1 the Redskins are tied with Philadelphia atop the NFC East after the Eagles flew past Dallas 37-10. Donovan McNabb threw for 307 yards and 3 touchdowns in the victory. Dante Culpepper completed 4 touchdown passes as 3-1 Minnesoita dropped Detroit 41-27. Phillip Rivers threw for over 400 yards in Green Bay's 31-7 win over the Chicago Bears. Both clubs are 2-2, a game back of Minnesota in the NFC North Division.

A pair of 4th quarter touchdowns propelled San Francisco past winless St Louis 27-10. Meanwhile Atlanta beat New Orleans 17-6 while while Tampa Bray dumped Carolina 26-6.

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Pittsburgh 19 Cincinnati 17
Baltimore 29 Cleveland 17
Indianapolis 21 Tennessee 17
Denver 27 Oakland 3
San Diego 29 Kansas City 20
New York Giants 30 Washington 23
Minnesota 41 Detroit 27
Green Bay 31 Chicago 7
Atlanta 17 New Orleans 6
Tampa 26 Carolina 6
San Francisco 27 St Louis 10
Philadelphia 37 Dallas 10
Jacksonville 12 Houston 10

MONDAY NIGHT GAME
Arizona at Seattle

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NFC STANDINGS
North W L T PCT PF PA
Minnesota 3 1 0 .750 108 81
Green Bay 2 2 0 .500 96 71
Chicago 2 2 0 .500 56 64
Detroit 1 3 0 .250 56 94

East W L T PCT PF PA
Washington 3 1 0 .750 102 63
Philadelphia 3 1 0 .750 101 80
NY Giants 2 2 0 .500 83 73
Dallas 2 2 0 .500 64 70

South W L T PCT PF PA
Atlanta 2 2 0 .500 71 85
Tampa Bay 2 2 0 .500 82 84
New Orleans 1 3 0 .250 54 76
Carolina 0 4 0 .000 16 92

West W L T PCT PF PA
Arizona 3 0 0 1.000 99 53
San Francisco 3 1 0 .750 87 50
Seattle 2 1 0 .667 60 55
St. Louis 0 4 0 .000 67 110

AFC STANDINGS
North W L T PCT PF PA
Baltimore 4 0 0 1.000 100 50
Cincinnati 2 2 0 .500 66 81
Cleveland 1 3 0 .250 79 100
Pittsburgh 1 3 0 .250 61 87

East W L T PCT PF PA
NY Jets 3 0 0 1.000 72 37
Buffalo 2 1 0 .667 81 44
Miami 1 2 0 .333 49 77
New England 1 2 0 .333 56 63

South W L T PCT PF PA
Jacksonville 3 1 0 .750 83 68
Indianapolis 2 2 0 .500 57 68
Houston 0 4 0 .000 38 74
Tennessee 0 4 0 .000 56 92

West W L T PCT PF PA
Denver 3 1 0 .750 110 75
Kansas City 3 1 0 .750 112 104
San Diego 3 1 0 .750 93 62
Oakland 1 3 0 .250 60 92

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
BRAVES WIN, METS LOSE TO FORCE 1-GAME PLAYOFF
The New York Mets missed their opportunity to end the Atlanta Braves streak of 14 consecutive National League East Division titles but they will get another chance today. The Mets entered Sunday's final day of the regular season with a 1-game lead on the Braves but while New York was losing 7-3 in Philadelphia the Braves knocked off the Marlins 4-2 in Florida to force the extra game.

TRIBE DOUBLE WHITE SOX 6-3, SET TO FACE ANGELS IN POSTSEASON
Grady Sizemore homered, doubled and drove in 4 runs to pace the Cleveland Indians past Chicago 6-3 in the regular season ending contest at Jacobs Field. The victory pushes the Tribe's record to 88-74, 3 games ahead of second place Chicago atop the American League Central Division.

Next up for the Indians will be the Los Angeles Angels in a best-of-5 series begin Wednesday in Anaheim. The other American League series will have the wildcard Oakland Athletics travelling to New York to meet the Yankees. The National League playoffs also open Wednesday with the Chicago Cubs heading west to meet San Francisco while St Louis will host the winner of Monday's playoff game between the Braves and Mets.

FINAL STANDINGS
AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST W L PCT GB
New York (A)92 70 .568 -
Boston 84 78 .519 8
Tampa Bay 79 83 .488 13
Toronto 79 83 .488 13
Baltimore 76 86 .469 16

Central W L PCT GB
Cleveland 88 74 .543 -
Chicago 85 77 .525 3
Minnesota 80 82 .494 8
Detroit 70 92 .432 18
Kansas City 69 93 .426 19

West W L PCT GB
Los Angeles 100 62 .617 -
Oakland 94 68 .580 6
Seattle 75 87 .463 25
Texas 65 97 .401 35

NATIONAL LEAGUE
EAST W L PCT GB
Atlanta 83 79 .512 -
New York 83 79 .512 -
Florida 81 81 .500 2
Philadelphia 78 84 .481 5
Washington 74 88 .457 9

Central W L PCT GB
St. Louis 97 65 .599 -
Chicago (N) 93 69 .574 4
Pittsburgh 88 74 .543 9
Cincinnati 75 87 .463 22
Milwaukee 73 89 .451 24
Houston 68 94 .420 29

West W L PCT GB
San Fran 104 58 .642 -
Los Angeles 91 71 .562 13
San Diego 75 87 .463 29
Arizona 73 89 .451 31
Colorado 58 104 .358 46

AMERICAN LEAGUE LEADERS
# TOP 10 AVG
1 V. Guerrero (LAA) .329
2 G. Anderson (LAA) .326
3 G. Sizemore (CLE) .321
4 I. Suzuki (SEA) .321
5 G. Sheffield (NYA) .319
6 M. Sweeney (KCA) .318
7 B. Abernathy (MIN) .317
8 C. Crawford (TB) .316
9 C. Guillen (DET) .315
10 E. Renteria (BOS) .315

# TOP 10 HR
1 M. Ramirez (BOS) 42
2 A. Rodriguez (NYA) 36
3 E. Chavez (OAK) 33
3 V. Guerrero (LAA) 33
3 M. Sweeney (KCA) 33
6 S. Sosa (BAL) 30
7 M. Ensberg (BAL) 28
7 R. Sexson (MIN) 28
9 G. Sheffield (NYA) 27
9 E. Durazo (OAK) 27

# TOP 10 RBI
1 V. Guerrero (LAA) 144
2 E. Chavez (OAK) 124
3 M. Ramirez (BOS) 119
4 A. Rodriguez (NYA) 117
5 M. Tejada (BAL) 114
6 A. Huff (TB) 107
7 M. Sweeney (KCA) 105
7 G. Anderson (LAA) 105
9 G. Sheffield (NYA) 103
10 E. Byrnes (BAL) 102

NATIONAL LEAGUE LEADERS
# TOP 10 AVG
1 M. Cabrera (FLO) .371
2 T. Helton (COL) .330
3 J. Drew (LAN) .320
4 T. Wigginton (PIT) .317
5 L. Overbay (MIL) .313
6 R. Weeks (MIL) .311
7 M. Lieberthal (PHI).308
8 C. Floyd (NYN) .304
9 M. Giles (ATL) .302
10 H. Stanley (LAN) .302

# TOP 10 HR
1 T. Helton (COL) 40
2 S. Green (ARI) 36
3 J. Thome (PHI) 35
4 A. Jones (ATL) 33
4 A. Kearns (CIN) 33
6 C. Patterson (CHN) 31
7 A. Dunn (CIN) 30
7 A. Pujols (STL) 30
7 J. Drew (LAN) 30
10 S. Rolen (STL) 29

# TOP 10 RBI
1 T. Helton (COL) 110
2 C. Jones (ATL) 107
2 A. Jones (ATL) 107
4 C. Patterson (CHN) 106
5 L. Overbay (MIL) 104
6 A. Pujols (STL) 103
7 C. Beltran (NYN) 100
8 J. Drew (LAN) 98
9 S. Rolen (STL) 95
10 P. Burrell (PHI) 94

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
RAZORBACKS STILL LEAD COACHES POLL
The Arkansas Razorbacks continue to hold on to top spot according to the latest College Football Coaches poll. At 7-0 Arkansas is coming off a 29-20 win over SEC rival Mississippi State. A pair of Big 10 teams, Michigan and Ohio State, remain second and third. Here is the latest Top 25 according to the NCAA Football Coaches:

TOP 25
RK SCHOOL REC PREV LAST NEXT
1 Arkansas 7-0 1 W 29-20 Miss St Georgia
2 Michigan 6-0 2 W 38-3 Iowa at Wisconsin
3 Ohio State 5-0 3 W 23-21 at Penn St at Indiana
4 California 6-0 5 W 21-19 at Ariz at USC
5 Texas 6-1 6 W 23-9 at Neb Iowa State
6 Syracuse 6-0 8 W 35-7 at Cin at Nebraska
7 Texas A&M 6-1 4 L 30-14 at Iowa St Oklahoma
8 Michigan St 6-1 9 W 37-10 Wisc Penn State
9 Wisconsin 5-2 7 L 37-10 at Mich St Michigan
10 Miami 6-1 14 W 21-20 at BostCol Clemson
11 Minnesota 5-1 11 W 21-0 at Illinois Purdue
12 Arizona St 5-1 10 L 16-10 at UCLA at Wash St
13 Mississippi 5-2 15 W 30-24 LSU Auburn
14 Georgia 5-1 20 W 41-31 at Florida at Arkansas
15 UCLA 4-1 21 W 16-10 Ariz St Washington St
16 USC 4-1 18 W 38-0 at Oregon Oregon St
17 Oklahoma 5-1 22 W 33-17 at Tex Tech at Texas A&M
18 Alabama 5-2 12 L 19-14 at Tenn Mississippi St
19 LSU 5-2 17 L 30-24 at Miss South Carolina
20 Iowa 4-2 13 L 38-3 at Michigan Michigan State
21 Arizona 4-2 16 L 21-19 Cal at Oregon
22 Florida 4-2 19 L 41-31 Georgia at Vanderbilt
23 Notre Dame 5-2 nr W 37-7 at Army Temple
24 Purdue 4-2 nr W 16-3 Penn St at Minnesota
25 Clemson 4-2 23 L 27-11 N Car at Miami

The Associated Press poll will be released later today. Arkansas should certainly remain number one in the AP poll as well.

SOCCER
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Chelsea 2 Bolton 0
Aston Villa 1 Wigan 1
Norwich 3 Bolton 2
Newcastle 2 Tottenham 0
Southampton 1 Manchester City 0
Birmingham 1 Fulham 0

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
Man Utd 8 6 1 1 17 7 19
Arsenal 8 6 1 1 13 4 19
Liverpool 7 4 2 1 11 7 14
Fulham 8 4 2 2 13 11 14
Tottenham 7 4 1 2 11 10 13
Chelsea 7 3 3 1 11 6 12
Southampton 7 2 5 0 11 9 11
Norwich 8 3 2 3 12 13 11
Man City 8 2 4 2 11 10 10
Aston Villa 7 2 3 2 10 9 9
Blackburn 7 2 3 2 8 9 9
Wolves 7 2 3 2 9 11 9
Birmingham 8 3 0 5 5 10 9
Newcastle 6 2 2 2 9 7 8
Crystal Palace 8 2 2 4 8 11 8
Wigan 8 1 4 3 8 10 7
Charlton 8 1 4 3 6 10 7
Bolton 8 1 2 5 10 13 5
Everton 8 1 2 5 5 11 5
Millwall 7 0 2 5 5 15 2

Tiger Fan

12-29-2005, 05:51 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Tuesday October 4, 2005

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
HAMPTON LEADS BRAVES TO WIN IN PLAYOFF
Mike Hampton hurled 8 innings of 5-hit ball to guide the Atlanta Braves to their 14th straight National League East Division title. Hampton's efforts led the Braves past the hometown New York Mets 3-2 in a 1-game playoff to determine the division champion. The win moves the Braves into a National League Divisional series against the Cardinals that will start in St Louis on Thursday.

The visiting Braves struck quickly with a 2-run first inning that silenced the Mets fans nearly before the capacity crowd had managed to take it's seats. Rafael Furcal greeted Mets starter Victor Zambrano with a lead-off triple and he scored on Frank Catalanotto's ground out. Chipper Jones drew a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a 2-out double from Marcus Giles.

New York had a chance to get some runs of their own in the first when Jose Reyes led off with a single and Doug Mientkiewicz worked Hampton for a free pass. However, Hampton escpaed the jam thanks to a doubleplay ball. The Mets had other chances to score such as when Reyes hit a 2-out double in the third inning or when Kazuo Matsui tripled with one out in the fourth but in each case Hampton worked out of the situation.

A Wil Cordero error in the 5th allowed the Braves to add an insurance run that would eventually prove to be the game winner. The Mets got to Hampton in the 8th when Gerald Williams hit a leadoff pinch-hit homer and Reyes hit his second double of the game. Reyes would score on a 1-out fly ball off the bat of Carlos Beltran to cut the Braves lead to 3-2. Kyle Farnsworth replaced Hampton in the 9th and the righthander retired Mike Cameron, David Wright and Mike Piazza in order to end the game.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 8 0
New York (N) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 5 1

Atlanta AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
R. Furcal SS 5 2 3 0 0 0 1 .292 6 68
F. Catalanotto RF 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 .283 9 67
C. Jones 3B 3 1 0 0 1 1 3 .280 27 107
A. Jones CF 3 0 0 0 1 1 3 .234 33 107
M. Giles 2B 3 0 2 1 1 1 2 .304 14 76
J. Barnes LF 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 .298 12 68
G. Arias 1B 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .238 13 73
J. Estrada C 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .245 13 67
M. Hampton P 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .100 0 1
R. Langerhans PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .305 7 35
K. Farnsworth P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 34 3 8 2 3 7 16

BATTING
Doubles: M. Giles (26, 1st inning off Zambrano, 1 on, 2 out.)
Triples: R. Furcal (16, 1st inning off Zambrano, 0 on, 0 out.)
Runs Batted In: F. Catalanotto (67), M. Giles (76)
Stolen Bases: F. Catalanotto (11), A. Jones (11), M. Giles (26),
R. Langerhans (11)
Caught Stealing: R. Furcal (25)
Team LOB: 7

FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Furcal-Giles-Arias)

New York (N) AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
J. Reyes 2B 4 1 3 0 0 0 1 .274 9 52
D. Mientkiewicz 1B 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .250 8 54
C. Beltran CF 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 .268 26 101
K. Matsui SS 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .259 20 88
M. Cameron RF 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .210 18 94
W. Cordero 3B 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .227 5 26
D. Wright PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .270 6 40
M. Piazza C 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .252 21 82
C. Floyd LF 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .303 16 77
V. Zambrano P 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .069 0 2
R. Castro PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .240 1 27
D. Koo P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
G. Williams PH 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .245 7 22
H. Bell P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 29 2 5 2 3 6 12

BATTING
Doubles: J. Reyes 2 (42, 3rd inning off Hampton, 0 on, 2 out,
8th inning off Hampton, 0 on, 0 out.)
Triples: K. Matsui (4, 4th inning off Hampton, 0 on, 1 out.)
Homeruns: G. Williams (7, 8th inning off Hampton, 0 on, 0 out.)
Runs Batted In: C. Beltran (101), G. Williams (22)
Sacrifice Hits: C. Floyd (1)
Sacrifice Flies: C. Beltran (6)
Team LOB: 5

FIELDING
Errors: W. Cordero (33)
Double Plays: 1 (Beltran-Mientkiewicz)

Atlanta IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
M. Hampton W 8 5 2 2 3 5 1 100 59 3.46 15-6
K. Farnsworth S 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 9 6 3.23 14 SV

New York (N) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
V. Zambrano L 5 7 3 2 1 6 0 90 55 3.05 15-8
D. Koo 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 32 15 5.45
H. Bell 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 16 9 4.29
Wild Pitches: V. Zambrano
Intentional BB: D. Koo

GAME INFO
Time: 3:07
Weather: Cloudy (61 degrees), wind blowing right to left at 9 mph
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Mike Hampton

The Divisional Playoffs schedule has been revised. It will get underway on two fronts Wednesday as Oakland visits New York while the Chicago Cubs head to San Francisco. The other two series, St Louis vs Atlanta and Cleveland vs the Los Angeles Angels, will begin
Friday. Despite a poor performance from the Cardinals offensive line, which allowed 4 sacks, Brady managed to complete 17 of 27 passes for 189 yards. His big weapon was running back Marcel Shipp, who not only caught one of Brady's 3 touchdown passes, but also ran for 113 yards and a score.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
BRADY LEADS CARDS TO MONDAY NIGHT WIN
There is no question the biggest off-season move in the NFL occurred when the Arizona Cardinals lured ex-New England quarterback Tom Brady to the desert. Since signing with Arizona, Brady has led the Cardinals to 4 straight wins and the top of the NFC West Division. His latest victim was the Seattle Seahawks as Brady threw 3 touchdown passes in a 35-10 Monday Night Football victory.

The Cardinals are the NFC's only unbeaten team. Next week Arizona travels to Chicago to meet the Bears while 2-2 Seattle will entertain Green Bay.

NFC STANDINGS
North W L T PCT PF PA
Minnesota 3 1 0 .750 108 81
Green Bay 2 2 0 .500 96 71
Chicago 2 2 0 .500 56 64
Detroit 1 3 0 .250 56 94

East W L T PCT PF PA
Washington 3 1 0 .750 102 63
Philadelphia 3 1 0 .750 101 80
NY Giants 2 2 0 .500 83 73
Dallas 2 2 0 .500 64 70

South W L T PCT PF PA
Atlanta 2 2 0 .500 71 85
Tampa Bay 2 2 0 .500 82 84
New Orleans 1 3 0 .250 54 76
Carolina 0 4 0 .000 16 92

West W L T PCT PF PA
Arizona 4 0 0 1.000 134 63
San Francisco 3 1 0 .750 87 50
Seattle 2 2 0 .500 70 90
St. Louis 0 4 0 .000 67 110

AFC STANDINGS
North W L T PCT PF PA
Baltimore 4 0 0 1.000 100 50
Cincinnati 2 2 0 .500 66 81
Cleveland 1 3 0 .250 79 100
Pittsburgh 1 3 0 .250 61 87

East W L T PCT PF PA
NY Jets 3 0 0 1.000 72 37
Buffalo 2 1 0 .667 81 44
Miami 1 2 0 .333 49 77
New England 1 2 0 .333 56 63

South W L T PCT PF PA
Jacksonville 3 1 0 .750 83 68
Indianapolis 2 2 0 .500 57 68
Houston 0 4 0 .000 38 74
Tennessee 0 4 0 .000 56 92

West W L T PCT PF PA
Denver 3 1 0 .750 110 75
Kansas City 3 1 0 .750 112 104
San Diego 3 1 0 .750 93 62
Oakland 1 3 0 .250 60 92

NEXT WEEK'S SCHEDULE
San Francisco at Detroit
Minnesota at St Louis
Green Bay at Seattle
Buffalo at New England
Miami at NY Jets
Denver at Tennessee
New Orleans at Washington
Kansas City at Jacksonville
NY Giants at Atlanta
Houston at San Diego
Indianapolis at Oakland
Tampa at Philadelphia
Arizona at Chicago

MONDAY NIGHT
Dallas at Carolina

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
LITTLE CHANGE IN AP COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL
Other than Texas A&M dropping from 4th to 6th after a loss at Iowa State little has changed atop the Associated Press College Football this week. Just like in the Coaches Poll Arkansas remains number one followed by Michigan and Ohio State. Aside from the top three only California (up to #4 from 6th) and 7th ranked Syracuse remain unbeaten through 7 weeks.

TOP 25
RK SCHOOL REC PREV PTS
1 Arkansas 7-0 1 1602
2 Michigan 6-0 2 1540
3 Ohio State 5-0 3 1472
4 California 6-0 6 1410
5 Texas 6-1 5 1350
6 Texas A&M 6-1 4 1282
7 Syracuse 6-0 9 1202
8 Michigan St 6-1 8 1142
9 Minnesota 5-1 11 1055
10 Wisconsin 5-2 7 980
11 Arizona St 5-1 10 892
12 Mississippi 5-2 13 852
13 Miami 6-1 15 780
14 Alabama 5-2 12 720
15 Georgia 5-1 19 652
16 UCLA 4-1 20 588
17 Oklahoma 5-1 23 517
18 USC 4-1 22 455
19 Arizona 4-2 16 388
20 Iowa 4-2 14 344
21 LSU 5-2 17 297
22 Notre Dame 5-2 nr 229
23 Florida 4-2 18 158
24 Bowling Green 5-1 21 99
24 Purdue 4-2 nr 75

DROPPED FROM TOP 25: Clemson, Miami(OH)

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
THE NHL IS BACK WITH 3 GAMES
After a year absence due to a labour dispute the National Hockey League returned with 3 games. In Boston, goaltender Andrew Raycroft turned aside all 26 shots he faced as the Bruins blanked the visting Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0. Boston scored three times on the power play as the referees rigidly enforced the new rules designed to speed up the game and reduce obstruction and interference infractions. The Leafs were missing four key players as Mats Sundin, Kyle Wellwood and newcomers Eric Lindros and Jason Allison were all suffering from injuries. Lindros is gone for 3 months with a partially torn ACL while Sundin and Allison are each out for a couple of weeks with groin strains.

In other action, Ryan Smyth had a goal and 2 assists while Radek Dvorak scored twice as Edmonton dumped the New York Islanders 5-1 in Uniondale. Mike Peca added two assists against his former team in his Oiler debut.

In Colorado, Joe Sakic had 3 assists to pace the Avalanche past Minnesota 5-2. Five different players scored for the Avs including newcomers Pierre Turgeon and Brad May.

NHL RESULTS
Boston 4 Toronto 0
Edmonton 5 NY Islanders 1
Colorado 5 Minnesota 2

TONIGHT'S GAMES
San Jose at Buffalo
Carolina at Montreal
Ottawa at Toronto
Tampa Bay at New Jersey
Nashville at St Louis
Chicago at Vancouver
Columbus at Phoenix
Los Angeles at Dallas

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS FAIL TO CRACK CHL TOP 10
Despite a 4-1 record to start the season the Erie Otters failed to make the Canadian Hockey League's inagural top 10 ranking of the season. The list, which estimates the 10 best teams from the 3 major junior leagues, is released every Monday. The OHL had three teams make the top 10 led by the defending Memorial Cup champion London Knights at #5.

TOP 10
1- Moncton (QMJHL)
2- Everett (WHL)
3- Kootenay (WHL)
4- Saskatoon (WHL)
5- London (OHL)
6- Kingston (OHL)
7- Victoriaville (QMJHL)
8- Kamloops (WHL)
9- Kitchener (OHL)
10- Swift Current (WHL)

While the Otters were off last night and do not play until Thursday when they travel to Guelph, there were 5 games on a busy Monday night for the Ontario Hockey League. Atlanta Thrasher draft pick Chad Painchaud had 3 goals and an assist to lead the Sarnia Sting past Guelph 5-4. Elsewhere, Sault Ste Marie scored 3 times in the third period to rally past Saginaw 3-1. Early season OHL scoring leader Cory Emmerton had 3 assists in Kingston's 5-2 win over Mississauga. Peter Franchin had a hat trick as St Michael's hammered Peterborough 8-0 while Brampton beat Oshawa 3-2 in a shootout.

One other note from the OHL. Guelph traded forward Andy Hyvarinen to Plymouth for a third round pick in next year's OHL priority draft. Hyvarinen, a 17 year old from Thunder Bay, Ontario, had 2 goals in 4 games with the Storm. He had 6 goals and 13 points last season after being selected by the Storm in the 3rd round of the 2003 priority draft.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 5 4 0 1 9
ERIE 5 4 1 0 8
Kitchener 3 2 0 1 5
Guelph 5 2 3 0 4
Owen Sound 4 2 2 0 4

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 5 3 1 1 7
Sault Ste Marie 5 2 3 0 4
Sarnia 5 2 3 0 4
Saginaw 6 2 4 0 4
Windsor 4 1 2 1 3

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 5 4 1 0 8
St Michael's 5 3 1 1 7
Barrie 4 3 1 0 6
Sudbury 3 2 1 0 4
Mississauga 5 0 4 1 1

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Kingston 5 4 0 1 9
Oshawa 5 3 1 1 7
Peterborough 5 1 2 2 4
Belleville 5 1 3 1 3
Ottawa 3 1 2 0 2

MONDAY'S RESULTS
Sarnia 5 Guelph 4
Sault Ste Marie 3 Saginaw 1
St Michael's 8 Peterborough 0
Brampton 3 Oshawa 2 (SO)
Kingston 5 Mississauga 2

UPCOMING GAMES
THURSDAY
ERIE at Guelph
Ottawa at Oshawa
Windsor at Sarnia

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Cory Emmerton King 5 5 9 14
Rob Schremp Lond 5 4 7 11
Radek Smolenak King 5 5 5 10
Matt Lyall Guel 5 4 6 10
David Bolland Lond 5 6 3 9
Chad Painchaud Sarn 5 6 3 9
Andrew Hotham ERIE 5 2 7 9

SOCCER
WORLD CUP QUALIFYING RESUMES NEXT WEEKEND
Qualifying for next July's World Cup of Soccer resumes on the weekend. The United States is in action but it is a meaningless game for the Americans who are one of 12 nations to have already qualified to join the host side Germany in the event.

In addition to the United States, Mexico has also qualified from the North American group. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay have qualified from South America. Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and South Korea have all advanced from Asian qualifiers while Mali is the lone African country to qualify thus far. Portugal and Turkey are the first two of the European countries to punch a ticket for Germany.

The biggest match in North America this week features Jamaica hosting Costa Rica. The two sides are seperated by just one point in the all important fight for fourth place. Costa Rica presently holds down the 4th spot 3 points back of Honduras. The top 3 countries qualify with the fourth place finisher advancing to a playoff against Oceania winner Australia.

NORTH AMERICA GROUP STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
USA * 8 7 0 1 22 4 21
Mexico * 8 6 1 1 25 8 19
Honduras 8 3 2 3 11 12 11
Costa Rica 8 2 2 4 8 18 8
Jamaica 8 2 1 5 11 15 7
Guatemala 8 0 2 6 3 23 2
*- qualified for World Cup

UPCOMING GAMES
SATRUDAY OCTOBER 8
Costa Rica at Jamaica
Honduras at Mexico
Guatemala at USA

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 12
Mexico at Costa Rica
Guatemala at Honduras
Jamaica at USA

end of qualifying

BOXING
BIG NIGHT IN BOXING
The tournament to unify the Heavyweight Division resumes tonight at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas with the semi-finals. The top 8 fighters in the division worldwide were seeded in a single elimination tournament that began in the spring. The ultimate goal is to crown an Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion.

One of tonight's semi-final matches pit Vitali Klitschko against Chris Byrd, who ironically defeated Klitschko's brother Wladimir in the quarters. The other has Juan Carlos Gomez facing Lamon Brewster.

Here are the previous results:

QUARTERFINALS
Vitali Klitschko KO(5) over Joe Mesi
Chris Byrd TechUD over Wladimir Klitschko
Samuel Peter vs Juan Carlos Gomez ended in a draw
Lamon Brewster KO(4) over Hasim Rahman

QUARTERFINAL REMATCH
Juan Carlos Gomez UD over Samuel Peter

SEMI FINALS - Tonight
Vitali Klitschko vs Chris Byrd
Juan Carlos Gomez vs Lamon Brewster

FINALS
Saturday November 26th in Las Vegas.

Tiger Fan

12-29-2005, 05:54 PM

The boxing story reminded me I forgot to post my lead in fights to determine champions in each weight group. Here they are:

WINKY WRIGHT WINS MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE
Winky Wright scored a 12 round unanimous decision victory over Kassim Ouma in the finals of the World Middleweight unification tournament. Wright won the championship handily over the Ugandan, who was a surprise participant in the finals. Most experts had anticipated a Wright-Bernard Hopkins showdown but the Philadelphia native fell victim to Ouma 3 months ago in the opening round.

Here are the results of the middleweight tournament:

QUARTERFINALS : June 30, 2005
Winky Wright UD over Roman Karmazin
Markus Beyer MD over Felix Strum
Kassim Ouma TKO(10) over Bernard Hopkins
Charles Brewer KO(10) over Jermain Taylor

SEMIFINALS: August 14, 2005
Winky Wright SD over Markus Beyer
Kassim Ouma UD over Charles Brewer

FINAL : September 28, 2005
Winky Wright UD over Kassim Ouma

TOP MIDDLEWEIGHT CONTENDERS
RANK NAME HOMETOWN REC
CHAMP WINKY WRIGHT Washington DC 16-0
2 Bernard Hopkins Philadelphia 13-2
3 Kassim Ouma Uganda 15-2
4 Mario Velt Germany 13-0
5 Charles Brewer Philadelphia 15-1-1
6 Fernando Vargas Oxnard, Calif 12-1
7 Verno Phillips Troy, New York 14-0
8 Markus Beyer Germany 15-1
9 Felix Sturm Germany 12-1-2
10 Librado Andrade Mexico 13-0

MENDOZA WINS FLYWEIGHT BELT
Columbia Bebis Mendoza was crowned the World Flyweight Division champion after a second round knockout of Rosendo Alvarez in the final of the 8 man elimination tournament. Mendoza won all 3 of his tourney bouts by knockout and continues his perfect record of 18 knockouts in 18 professional bouts.

QUARTERFINALS : July 27, 2005
Bebis Mendoza KO(2) over Jorge Arce
Eric Ortiz KO(2) over Omar Narvaez
Rosendo Alvarez TechUD(6) over Will Grigsby
Roberto Vasquez TKO(9) over Luis Maldonado

SEMIFINALS: Auguest 22, 2005
Bebis Mendoza KO(10) over Eric Ortiz
Rosendo Alvarez KO(3) over Robert Vasquez

FINAL : September 24, 2005
Bebis Mendoza KO(2) over Rosendo Alvarez

TOP FLYWEIGHT CONTENDERS
RANK NAME HOMETOWN REC
CHAMP Bebis Mendoza Columbia 18-0
2 Roberto Vasquez Panama 16-1
3 Omar Narvaez Argentina 14-1
4 Rosendo Alvarez Nicarauga 13-2-1
5 Jorge Arce Mexico 13-1
6 Irene Pacheco Columbia 14-1
7 Will Grigsby St Paul, Minn 12-1
8 Brahim Asloum France 13-1
9 Damaen Kelly Belfast, N Ire 15-0
10 Melchor Cob Castro Mexico 13-0

-------------------

FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR NAMED UNANIMOUS WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
A 6th round technical knockout of Kostya Tszyu allowed Floyd Mayweight Jr. to be declared the undisputed Welterweight champion of the world. Mayweather emerged victorious in an 8 man single elimination tournament to unify the belt. In the opening round 2 months ago Mayweather scored a unanimous decision over Sugar Shane Mosley and he followed that up with another unanimous decison in the semi-finals, this time against Antonio Margarito.

QUARTERFINALS
Luis Collazo MD over Zab Judah
Kostya Tszyu SD over Cory Spinks
Antonio Margarito TKO(7) over Arturo Gatti
Floyd Mayweather Jr UD over Shane Mosley

SEMI FINALS
Kostya Tszyu SD over Luis Collazo
Floyd Mayweather Jr UD over Antonio Margarito

FINALS
Floyd Mayweather Jr TKO(6) over Kostya Tsyzo

TOP LIGHTWEIGHT CONTENDERS
RANK NAME HOMETOWN REC
CHAMP Floyd Mayweather Jr Grand Rapids, Mich 15-0-1
2 Zab Judah Brooklyn, NY 13-1
3 Ricky Hatton Stockport, England 14-1
4 Kostya Tszyu Serov, Russia 17-1
5 Arturo Gatti Montreal, Canada 14-1
6 Oscar De La Hoya Los Angeles 13-1
7 Antonio Margarito Tijuna, Mexico 13-1-1
8 Miguel Angel Cotto Cagus, Puerto Rico 13-1
9 Randall Bailey Miami, Florida 13-0
10 Kendall Holt Patterson, New Jersey 15-0

JOSE LUIS CASTILLO CROWNED LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMP
Mexico native Jose Luis Castillo improved to 16-1 with a ninth round TKO win over fellow countryman Julio Diaz in the finals of the World Lightweight unification tournament.

QUARTERFINALS
Erik Morales KO(1) over Jose Cruz
Julio Diaz TKO(8) over Aceline Freitas
Jose Luis Castillo UD over Jesus Chavez
Marco Antonio Barrera TKO(1) over Juan Lezcano

SEMI FINALS
Julio Diaz SD over Erik Morales
Jose Luis Castillo KO(10) over Marco Antonio Barrera

FINALS
Jose Luis Castillo TKO(2) over Julio Diaz

TOP LIGHTWEIGHT CONTENDERS
RANK NAME HOMETOWN REC
CHAMP Jose Luis Castillo Mexico 16-1
2 Erik Morales Mexico 16-1
3 Jesus Chavez Mexico 13-1
4 Marco Antonio Barrera Mexico 14-1
5 Acelino Freitas Brazil 14-1
6 Julio Diaz Coachella, Cal 15-1-1
7 Diego Corrales Sacramento,Cal 12-2
8 Edelmiro Martinez Hillside, NJ 14-0
9 Tomas Rojas Mexico 11-1-2
10 Joel Casamayor Cuba 10-2

JAPAN'S KAWASHIMA CLAIMS BANTAMWEIGHT BELT
Katsuhige Kawashima is the World Bantamweight title holder after a 9th round TKO victory over 20 year old Mexican Rafael Marquez in the final of the unification tournament.

QUARTERFINALS
Jose Navarro SD over Luis Alberto Perez
Katsuhige Kawashima TKO(8) over Masibulele Makepula
Alexander Munoz TKO(10) over Wladimir Sidorenko
Rafael Marquez TKO(8) over Silence Mabuza

SEMI FINALS
Rafael Marquez TKO(8) over Alexander Munoz
Katsuhige Kawashima KO(9) over Jose Navarro

FINALS
Katsuhige Kawashima TKO(9) over Rafael Marquez

TOP BANTAMWEIGHT CONTENDERS
RANK NAME HOMETOWN REC
CHAMP Katsuhige Kawashima Japan 15-1-2
2 Rafael Marquez Mexico City 14-2-1
3 Masibulele Makepula South Africa 15-1
4 Simon Maludrottu Italy 13-1
5 Ivan Hernandez Mexico 13-1-1
6 Gerson Guerrero Mexico City 13-1
7 Dimitri Kirilov Russia 14-1
8 Wladimir Sidorenko Ukraine 15-1
9 Sasha Bakhtin Russia 14-1
10 Jose Navarro Los Angeles 13-3-2

HARRISON WINS FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE
Scott Harrison was crowned the unified World Featherweight champion after winning the 8 man elimination tournament. Harrison easily defeated Oscar Larios in the final but his toughest bout was an 11th round TKO over tournament favourite Juan Manuel Marquez in the quarterfinals two months ago.

QUARTERFINALS
Scott Harrison TKO(11) over Juan Manuel Marquez
Israle Vazquez TKO(10) over Ricardo Cordova
Oscar Larios TKO(10) over Victor Polo
Rocky Juarez SD over Joan Guzman

SEMI FINALS
Scott Harrison TKO(11) over Israel Vasquez
Oscar Larios TKO(10) over Rocky Juarez

FINALS
Scott Harrison UD over Oscar Larios

TOP FEATHERWEIGHT CONTENDERS
RANK NAME HOMETOWN REC
CHAMP Scott Harrison Scotland 17-1
2 Juan Manuel Marquez Mexico City 14-1
3 Oscar Larios Zapopan, Mexico 16-1
4 Joan Guzman Domincan Rep 13-1
5 Mahyar Monshipour France 14-1
6 Ricardo Cordova Panama 14-1
7 Armando Guerrero Austin, Texas 13-0-1
8 Artyom Simonyan Armenia 14-1
9 Kevin Kelley Brooklyn, NY 10-2-1
10 Alex Baba Ghana 14-0

-----------------------------------

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT SEMI-FINAL BOUTS SET FOR OCTOBER 4
The unification tournament to determine a single World Champion in the Heavyweight Division will continue on Tuesday, October 4th. A quarter-final draw in the bout between Samuel Peter and Juan Carlos Gomez in August forced the delay as they were forced to fight a rematch in early September. Gomez prevailed in the rematch and will take on Lamon Brewster in the first semi-final. The other semi-final matchup pits Vitali Klitschko against Chris Byrd. Byrd eliminated Vitali's brother Wladimir in the quarterfinals.

The finals are set for Saturday November 26 at Las Vegas.

QUARTERFINALS
Vitali Klitschko KO(5) over Joe Mesi
Chris Byrd TechUD over Wladimir Klitschko
Samuel Peter vs Juan Carlos Gomez ended in a draw
Lamon Brewster KO(4) over Hasim Rahman

QUARTERFINAL REMATCH
Juan Carlos Gomez UD over Samuel Peter

SEMI FINALS Thursdday October
Vitali Klitschko vs Chris Byrd
Juan Carlos Gomez vs Lamon Brewster

FINALS
Saturday November 26th in Las Vegas.

BRAITHWAITE CROWNED LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
Wayne Braithwaite has been named the unified World Lightheavyweight Champion after his 3rd round TKO of Orlin Norris in the finals of an 8 man elimination tournament. Braithwaite, from Guyana but now based in Brooklyn, improved to 16-0-2 with the win over the 39 year old Norris. Norris announced his retirement following the bout.

QUARTERFINALS
Fabrice Tiozzo TKO(2) over Antonio Tarver
Wayne Braithwaite TechSD(7) over Julio Gonzalez
Krysztof Wlodarczyk SD over Glen Johnson
Orlin Norris UD over Roy Jones Jr.

SEMI FINALS
Wayne Braithwaite KO(9) over Fabrice Tiozzo
Orlin Norris TKO(4) over Krysztof Wlodarczyk

FINALS
Wayne Braithwaite TKO(3) over Orlin Norris

TOP LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDERS
RANK NAME HOMETOWN REC
CHAMP WAYNE BRAITHWAITE Guyana 16-0-2
2 Glen Johnson Jamaica 14-1
3 Antonio Tarver Orlando, Fla 12-1
4 Carl Thompson Bolton, England 15-0
5 David Haye London,England 15-0-1
6 George Khalid Jones Paterson, NJ 12-0-1
7 Pavel Melkomian Moscow, Russia 13-0-1
8 Matthew Barney Fareham,England 14-0-1
9 Rico Hoye Detroit, Mich 11-0
10 O'Neil Bell Lithonia,Georgia 12-1

Tiger Fan

12-30-2005, 03:12 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Wednesday October 5, 2005

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
CROSBY MAKES HIS PENS DEBUT TONIGHT
Sidney Crosby will make his first regular season National Hockey League appearance this evening as the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Florida Panthers in the season opener for both clubs. Crosby's debut is the most highly anticipated start to a Penguins season since Mario Lemieux first suited up in Pittsburgh. In 4 preseason games Crosby had 4 goals and 3 assists.

Meanwhile, the other highly touted rookie will be on the ice against the Philadelphia Flyers. Alex Overchkin makes his debut at home as the Washington Capitals host the Flyers. Bothered in training camp by a minor knee injury, Ovechkin was held pointless in two preseason games. Philadelphia will have a number of new faces in it's lineup as well, most notably free agent signee Peter Forsberg. The Flyers will be without defenseman Derian Hatcher (suspension) and young forward Jeff Carter who will miss two weeks with an ankle injury.

The Phoenix Coyotes won in Wayne Gretzky's coaching debut. Curtis Joseph stopped all 21 Columbus shots while Shane Doan had 3 points to lead the Coyotes past the Blue Jackets 5-0. Mike Comrie scored twice for Phoenix.

Wade Redden and Mike Fisher each had a goal and an assist as Ottawa doubled Toronto 4-2. It was the Leafs second straight loss as they continue to play without their top 4 centers.

Maxim Afinogenov and Tim Connolly scored in the shootout to give Buffalo a 3-2 win over San Jose. Afinogenov also assisted on both Sabres goals in regulation time.

Jose Theodore got the shutout as Montreal blanked Carolina 2-0. Alexei Kovalev and Radek Bonk scored for the Habs who were outshot by the Hurricanes 28-26.

Patrick Elias scored twice to lead New Jersey past Tampa Bay 4-2.

Scott Walker's goal with just over a minute remaining in regulation time gave Nashville a 2-1 win over the Blues in St Louis. Paul Kariya assisted on the winner for his first point in a Predator uniform.

Tyler Arnason had 3 assists and linemate Mark Bell scored twice to pace Chicago to a 4-2 victory over the Canucks in Vancouver. Nikolai Khabibulin looked sharp in his debut with Hawks.

Bill Guerin scored once and added an assist in Dallas' 4-2 win over the visiting Los Angeles Kings. Steve Ott, Brendan Morrow and rookie BJ Crombeen also scored for the Stars.

NHL RESULTS
San Jose 2 at Buffalo 3 (SO)
Carolina 0 at Montreal 2
Ottawa 4 at Toronto 2
Tampa Bay 2 at New Jersey 4
Nashville 2 at St Louis 1
Chicago 4 at Vancouver 2
Columbus 0 at Phoenix 5
Los Angeles 2 at Dallas 4

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Pittsburgh at Florida
Philadelphia at Washington
Detroit at Anaheim

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
PLAYOFFS BEGIN TODAY
The first round of the baseball playoffs begin today with a pair of games. In the American League, the wildcard Oakland Athletics open their series with the Yankees in New York. The A's are expected to send Barry Zito to the mound against Shawn Chacon of New York. Zito compiled a 15-11 record with a 4.15 era while Chacon was 12-7 with a 4.80 era.

In the National League the San Francisco Giants, who led the majors with 104 victories this season, will host the wildcard winning Chicago Cubs. Jason Schmidt (19-6, 2.56), who led the National League in wins and earned run average, gets the start for San Francisco. He will face the Cubs Mark Prior (13-12, 2.84).

The other two series get under way tomorrow when Atlanta travels to St Louis while the Los Angeles Angels host the Cleveland Indians. The Cardinals will have to play the series without first baseman Albert Pujols (.300,30,103) who broke a bone in his hand 2 weeks agao and will be out likely for the entire postseason.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NITTANY LIONS HOPE TO END SKID AT LANSING
The Penn State football team will have it's work cut out as the Nittany Lions attempt to stop their two game losing streak. Penn State travels to Lansing to face the 8th ranked Michigan State Spartans on Saturday.

With wins over Temple, Memphis and conference rival Wisconsin the Lions started the season strong before coming up short each of the past two weeks. First the third ranked Ohio State Buckeyes shaded Penn State 23-21 and then last weekend Purdue completely handcuffed the Lions offense in a 16-3 Boilermakers victory.

The Spartans enter the game ranked 8th in both the coaches and media polls. They are 6-1 overall (3-1 in Big Ten) and boast one of the best defenses in the conference. Good news for Penn State fans is that the Spartans will be without standout freshman quarterback Reuben Wilkins, who will miss the game with an ankle injury suffered last week.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
BILLS TAKE LEAGUE'S BEST OFFENSE TO NEW ENGLAND
Most NFL fans are surprised to say the least when they hear the best offense in the league belongs to the Buffalo Bills. Believe it or not the Bills do lead the league in total offense as the prepare for a trip to Foxboro to face the New England Patriots.

The key to the rejuvinated attack for the 2-1 Bills has been the play of new quarterback Tim Rattay. The former San Francisco 49er has replaced Drew Bledsoe under center and he has the 5th best QB rating in the league. A dependable group of receivers led by Eric Moulds, Bobby Shaw and Josh Reed has made things easy for Rattay with his new club. The other big piece of the puzzle is second year running back Stephen Jackson, who has run for 360 yards through three games in place of the injured Willis McGahee.

The 1-2 Patriots have an outstanding defense but the loss of QB Tom Brady to free agency has really set Bill Belichek's offense back. Third year pro Rohan Davey has an NFL arm but he lacks the decision-making skills of his predecessor.

BOXING
Klitschko advances to World Heavyweight Title Bout
Vitali Klitschko has earned a spot in the unified World Heavyweight title fight but his opponent has yet to be determined after Juan Carlos Gomez had his bout with Lamon Brewster declared a technical draw.

In the first fight Klitschko scored a split decision victory over Chris Byrd. The bout could have gone either way as 2 judges scored it 114-113 for Klitschko and the third had Byrd ahead by the same margin. They fought almost dead even through the final 6 rounds of the 12 round bout but Klitschko had a slight advantage early in the fight. Byrd had defeated Klitschko's brother Wladimir in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, the second feature of the night ended in round 3 when doctors decided that Gomez would not be able to continue because of blood from a gash over his right eye. Gomez, who fought Samuel Peter to a draw in the quarterfinals before winning the rematch, was the victim of an accidental headbutt from Lamon Brewster midway through the opening round. All 3 judges had scored the fight even through the first two rounds. The rematch will likely take place November 26th on what was supposed to be the date of the title bout.

SEMI FINALS - Tonight
Vitali Klitschko wins split decision over Chris Byrd
Juan Carlos Gomez vs Lamon Brewster decalred technical draw

SEMI-FINAL REMATCH
Gomez vs Brewster
Saturday November 26th in Las Vegas.

FINALS
Vitali Klitschko vs TBD
date unknown at this time

Tiger Fan

12-30-2005, 03:15 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Thursday October 6, 2005

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
HILL TOO BIG FOR PENS IN CROSBY DEBUT
Sean Hill scored 3 times in the third period to lead the hometown Florida Panthers past the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 in the NHL season opener for both clubs. The Penguins blew a 4-0 second period lead in Sidney Crosby's NHL debut. Crosby had 1 point in the contest, an assist on Ryan Malone's first period goal but at the end of the game it was the Pens collapse that diverted the spotlight from the most heralded rookie debut since Mario Lemieux.

Mark Recchi had 2 goals and an assist in his first game in a Pittsburgh uniform since 1992 as the Pens built a 4-0 lead. Newcomer Ziggy Palffy also scored for Pittsburgh while team owner Mario Lemieux had 2 assists.

The Panthers did nothing for the first two periods but suddenly came alive in the third firing 23 shots at Pens goaltender Jocelyn Thibault. Hill, a defenseman who has never scored more than 13 goals in a seasons, scored the final 3 goals of the game including the game winner with 9 seconds remaining in regulation. Chris Gratton and Josef Stumpel also scored for Florida.

Next up for the Penguins will be their home opener against Montreal on Friday night. Defensemen Sergei Gonchar and Brooks Orpik are both expected to be in the line-up for Pittsburgh. They both missed last night's opener because of suspensions earned in the preseason.

Scoring Summary:
FIRST PERIOD
PIT Mark Recchi 1(Mario Lemieux, Zigmund Palffy) PP 0:30
PIT Ryan Malone 1(Sidney Crosby) 7:25
Penalties: Stumpel Fla holding 0:08, Olesz Fla holding 2:10, Pirjeta
Pit charging 8:04

SECOND PERIOD
PIT Zigmund Palffy 1(Mark Recchi, Josef Melichar) 0:37
PIT Mark Recchi 2(Ric Jackman, Mario Lemieux) 7:00
Penalty: Armstrong Pit charging 4:47

THIRD PERIOD
FLA Chris Gratton 1(Rostislav Olesz, Niklas Hagman) 5:23
FLA Jozef Stumpel 1(Joel Kwiatkowski) 12:51
FLA Sean Hill 1(Jay Bouwmeester) 14:23
FLA Sean Hill 2(Rostislav Olesz, Niklas Hagman) 18:51
FLA Sean Hill 3(Jay Bouwmeester, Nathan Horton) 19:51
Penalty: Melichar Pit slashing 7:54

Shots on Goal
Pit (on Luongo) 27
Fla (on Thibeault) 45

FLYERS LOSE IN SHOOTOUT AT WASHINGTON
The Philadelphia Flyers got their first taste of the National Hockey League's most controversial new rule and they came out on the shortend in a 2-1 shootout loss to Washington. Petr Sykora scored in the first period to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead before Mike Knuble evened things for the Flyers in the second on a nifty pass from new Flyer Peter Forsberg. The score remained 1-1 through the third period and the 5 minute overtime forcing the teams into a shootout for the extra point.

Simon Gagne was the only Flyer to beat Olaf Kolzig in the shootout while both Alexander Semin and former Flyer Dainius Zubrus scored for Washington. Rookie sensation Alexander Ovechkin took a regular shift for the Capitals but failed to earn a point or register a shot on goal.

In last night's only other contest Anaheim edged Detroit 2-1 in a shootout. The other Petr Sykora, the former New Jersey Devil, was the only shootout scorer after Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Kunitz scored in regulation. For Anaheim youngster Kunitz it was his first career goal in 22 NHL games.

NHL RESULTS
Florida 5 Pittsburgh 4
Washington 2 Philadelphia 1 (SO)
Anaheim 2 Detroit 1 (SO)

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Calgary at Phoenix
Carolina at Buffalo
Toronto at Montreal
Boston at Ottawa
St Louis at New Jersey
NY Rangers at Atlanta
San Jose at NY Islanders
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay
Nashville at Detroit
Chicago at Colorado
Los Angeles at Minnesota
Columbus at Vancouver

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS VISIT GUELPH TONIGHT
The Erie Otters begin a busy 3 game weekend with a visit to Guelph to face the Storm this evening. The Otters enter the weekend with a 4-1-0 record and are 1 point back of London for the Conference lead. Erie will play back-to-back home contests against Kitchener on Saturday and Sunday.

Guelph enters this evening's contest with a 2-3-0 record. Putting the puck in the net has not been a problem this season for the Storm, who lead the Western Conference in goals for. Center Matt Lyall, with 4 goals and 10 points, is among the league leaders in scoring. Lyall is ranked 36th in the latest ISS preliminary National Hockey League draft rankings. The Storm have 4 NHL drafted players on their roster including defenseman Ryan Parent - a first round selection of Nashville in 2003.

In other OHL news Plymouth dealt their first round pick in 2004, forward John Armstrong, to Kingston for two players. The 17 year old Armstrong had 4 points in 5 games with the Whalers this season. Heading to Plymouth are 18 year old winger Tony Rizzi and 17 year old defenseman Shawn Connors. Rizzi was in his third season with the Frontenacs while Connors had been playing junior B.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
A'S THUMP YANKS IN SERIES OPENER
Eric Chavez had 2 hits including a homerun to lead the Oakland Athletics to an 8-2 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 1 of their American League Divisional Playoff Series. Oakland scored 5 times in the first inning and never looked back as Yankee starter Shawn Chacon, a midseason pick-up from Colorado, retired just 4 batters before getting the hook.

The first three Athletics reached base as lead off man Marco Scutaro walked while Brian Stavisky and Chavez followed with singles. Two more singles and a Derek Jeter error caused the rest of the damage in the opening inning. Oakland added two more runs in the second on a home run from Chavez that sent Chacon to the showers.

Barry Zito pitched 8 innings for the victory, fanning 8 while allowing 7 hits. Game Two in the series will go tonight in New York.

CUBS MAUL GIANTS IN OPENER
Todd Walker had 3 hits and was one of 5 Chicago batters to drive in 2 runs each as the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 10-4 in the opener of their National League Divisional Playoff Series. Despite being outhit 12-10 the Cubs won the game with timely hits including 4 of them in a 6-run 7th inning.

San Francisco starter Jason Schmidt retired the first 8 Chicago hitters in order until Cubs pitcher Mark Prior hit a two-out double in the third inning. Reed Johnson reached on an error by Schmidt and then both scored on a 2-run double from Walker that put Chicago ahead 2-0. The visiting Cubs added two more in the top of the 6th on a 2-out bases loaded single off the bat of Matt Lawton. The following inning the wheels really fell off for the Giants as Schmidt, after getting a lead-off pop out, proceeded to walk Prior and then hit Reed Johnson with a pitch. Reliever Jason Chirstiansen took over on the hill for San Francisco and he was greeted with an infield single from Walker to load the bases, a 2-run single from Corey Patterson and a 2-run double off the bat of Nomar Garciaparra. Before the inning was over third baseman Aramis Ramirez had driven in 2 more runs with a triple to make the score 10-0 Chicago.

The Giants finally got on the scoresheet in the bottom of the 7th with 6 hits that led to 4 runs but it was a case of far too little, too late. Mark Prior allowed 12 hits over 7 innings for the victory. Kevin McGlinchy retired the final 6 San Francisco batters to end the game.

The second game will be Friday in San Francisco.

TODAY'S MATCHUPS
Atlanta (Tim Hudson 13-13, 4.45) at St Louis (Adam Wainwright 12-2, 2.18)
Cleveland (Francisco Crucetta 11-3, 3.44) at LA Angels (Kevin Gregg 14-9, 3.22)
Oakland (Juan Cruz 15-9, 3.57) at NY Yankees (Carl Pavano 10-8, 4.46)

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
OAKLAND vs NEW YORK YANKEES
Game 1 Oakland 8 NY Yankees 2
Game 2 Tonight at New York
Game 3 Sat Oct 8 at Oakland
Game 4 Sun Oct 9 at Oakland
Game 5 Mon Oct 10 at New York

CLEVELAND vs LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Game 1 tonight at Los Angeles
Game 2 Fri Oct 7 at LA
Game 3 Sun Oct 9 at Cle
Game 4 Mon Oct 10 at Cle
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at LA

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
ATLANTA vs ST LOUIS
Game 1 tonight at St Louis
Game 2 Fri Oct 7 at StL
Game 3 Sun Oct 9 at Atl
Game 4 Mon Oct 10 at Atl
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at StL

CHICAGO CUBS vs SAN FRANCISCO
Game 1 Cubs 10 SF 4
Game 2 Fri Oct 7 at SF
Game 3 Sun Oct 9 at Chi
Game 4 Mon Oct 10 at Chi
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at SF

SOCCER
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
With World Cup qualifying dominating the weekend soccer action most of the European Leagues had a busy Wednesday and the English Premier League was no exception. Among the highlights include co-leaders Manchester United and Arsenal each coming away with a victory. Manchester United blanked Southampton 3-0 thanks to a pair of goals from Holland international Ruud van Nistelrooy. van Nistelrooy leads the Premier League with 7 goals on the season. Arsenal won 1-0 on the road over Blackburn as Michael Owen scored the only goal. Third place Liverpool kept pace with a 3-1 win at Anfield over Manchester City.

WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
Birmingham 1 Millwall 1
Arsenal 1 Blackburn 0
Charlton 2 Everton 0
Chelsea 0 Aston Villa 0
Liverpool 3 Manchester City 1
Manchester United 3 Southampton 0
Norwich 1 Fulham 0
Tottenham 2 Crystal Palace 0
Wigan 1 Newcastle 0
Wolves 1 Bolton 1

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
Man Utd 9 7 1 1 20 7 22
Arsenal 9 7 1 1 14 4 22
Liverpool 8 5 2 1 14 8 17
Tottenham 8 5 1 2 13 10 16
Fulham 9 4 2 3 13 12 14
Norwich 9 4 2 3 13 13 14
Chelsea 8 3 4 1 11 6 13
Southampton 8 2 5 1 11 12 11
Aston Villa 8 2 4 2 10 9 10
Man City 9 2 4 3 12 13 10
Wigan 9 2 4 3 9 10 10
Wolves 8 2 4 2 10 12 10
Charlton 9 2 4 3 8 10 10
Birmingham 9 3 1 5 6 11 10
Blackburn 8 2 3 3 8 10 9
Newcastle 7 2 2 3 9 8 8
Crystal Palace 9 2 2 5 8 13 8
Bolton 9 1 3 5 11 14 6
Everton 9 1 2 6 5 13 5
Millwall 8 0 3 5 6 16 3

OTHER SOCCER NOTES
The Scottish Premier League table got a little tighter after Kilmarnock knocked off league leading Livingston 2-0 yesterday. Celtic and Dunfermline are both 3 points back of the leader thru 8 games as both won on Wednesday. Celtic topped Aberdeen 2-0 at home while Dunfermline beat Motherwell 2-1.

In France, Monaco pulled into a tie with Rennes for top spot in the First League. Monaco beat Caen 1-0 while Rennes lost 2-1 at Nantes. Both clubs have 18 points thru 9 matches.

FC Bayern and Kaiserslautern share the lead in the German First Division. Bayern beat Wolfsberg 2-1 yesterday.

Juventus beat Genoa 1-0 to retain a 3 point lead atop Italian Serie A. Finally in Spain Zaragoza and Real Sociedad are the co-leaders thru 6 rounds. Each were winners yesterday. Deportivo and Barcelona are each 1 point off the pace.

Tiger Fan

12-30-2005, 03:20 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Friday October 7, 2005

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
BULLPEN BLOWS GAME ONE FOR TRIBE
The Los Angeles Angels torched the Cleveland bullpen for 7 runs in the 7th inning enroute to an 8-1 victory in the opener of their best-of-5 American League Divisional Playoff Series.

The Angels outburst spoiled a masterful postseason debut for 24 year old Cleveland starting pitcher Francisco Cruceta, who allowed just 1 run and 5 hits in 6 innings of work. Cleveland scored first when shortstop Brandon Phillips led off the third inning with a single and promptly stole second. After Los Angeles starter Kevin Gregg retired Aaron Boone and Charles Hiser, Ben Broussard looped a single to right field to score Phillips with the game's first run.

Los Angeles got that one back in the bottom of the 4th when Cruceta made his only mistake of the game, hanging a curve ball that Vladimir Guerrero deposited in the seats down the leftfield line. After Crucetta had to work out of jams in both the 5th and the 6th inning Indians manager Eric Wedge decided to go with reliever David Riske to start the 7th.

The 28 year old Riske was 5-2 with 7 saves and a 2.81 era this season but he clearly did not have his good stuff on this day as he failed to retire a batter. Adam Kennedy led off with a single to the gap in right center and moved to third on a Garret Anderson base hit. After pinch-runner Chone Figgins stole second the Indians intentionally walked Guerrero bringing third baseman Dallas McPherson to the plate. McPherson singled to score both Kennedy and Figgins and put an end to Riske's day. Arthur Rhodes took over on the mound but he had about the same amount of success as Riske did, allowing a walk, a Ryan Howard 2-run single and a 3-run homer from SS Sean Rodriguez to make it 8-1.

Jered Weaver replaced Gregg on the mound for the Angels to start the 8th inning and retired the final 6 Cleveland batters to end the game. Game two is today in Anaheim with midseason pickup Taylor Buchholz (6-5, 4.43) starting for Cleveland against veteran Jarrod Washburn (13-10, 4.14).

YANKEES ON BRINK OF ELIMINATION
The Oakland Athletics return home one win away from eliminating the New York Yankees from the American League playoffs. A's catcher Adam Melhuse snapped a 5-5 tie with a 3-run homer in the 7th inning last night to lead Oakland to a 9-5 win and a 2-0 series lead. The A's also got homers from Marco Scutaro and Erubiel Durazo in the victory. Scutaro and Mark Kotsay each had 3 hits for the winners who chased Yankee starter Carl Pavano in the 5th inning. Rookie Yankee reliever Eric Schmitt took the loss after surrendering the Melhuse homer while another rookie, Oakland's Chris Mabeus, got the win in relief of Juan Cruz. The A's can complete the series sweep with a win at home on Saturday.

PASSED BALL GIVES CARDS GAME ONE OVER BRAVES
Atlanta catcher Johnny Estrada's passed ball with 2 out and the bases loaded in the bottom of 7th inning proved the difference as the hometown St Louis Cardinals took Game 1 of their best-of-5 National League Divisional series 3-2. The Cardinals got to Atlanta ace Tim Hudson early by scoring a pair of runs in the first inning. Adam Shabala led off with a triple and scored on a double off the bat of Bo Hart. Hudson settled down and retired the next two batters before David Eckstein singled in Hart to make it 2-0 St Louis.

Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright kept the Braves bats in check until Chipper Jones led off the 4th with a solo homerun. In the same inning Estrada tied the game on a 2-out rbi single that plated Marcus Giles.

It remained 2-2 until the 7th when Hudson, after fanning the first two St Louis hitters, walked Michael Tucker, gave up a bloop single to Shabala and walked pinch-hitter Ricky Ledee to load the bases setting up Estrada's gaffe. Relievers Tyler Johnson and Jason Isringhausen blanked the Braves over the final two innings to preserve the St Louis victory.

TODAY'S MATCHUPS
Atlanta (Mike Hampton 15-6, 3.46) at St Louis (Jason Marquis 16-3, 2.78)
Cleveland (Taylor Buchholz 6-5, 4.43) at LA Angels (Jarrod Washburn 13-10, 4.08)
Chicago Cubs (Ryan Dempster 14-3, 2.59) at San Francisco (Brandon League 2-4, 4.50)

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
OAKLAND vs NEW YORK YANKEES
Game 1 Oakland 8 NY Yankees 2
Game 2 Oakland 9 New York 5
Game 3 Sat Oct 8 at Oakland
Game 4 Sun Oct 9 at Oakland
Game 5 Mon Oct 10 at New York

CLEVELAND vs LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Game 1 Los Angeles 8 Cleveland 1
Game 2 today at LA
Game 3 Sun Oct 9 at Cle
Game 4 Mon Oct 10 at Cle
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at LA

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
ATLANTA vs ST LOUIS
Game 1 St Louis 3 Atlanta 2
Game 2 tonight at StL
Game 3 Sun Oct 9 at Atl
Game 4 Mon Oct 10 at Atl
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at StL

CHICAGO CUBS vs SAN FRANCISCO
Game 1 Cubs 10 SF 4
Game 2 tonight at SF
Game 3 Sun Oct 9 at Chi
Game 4 Mon Oct 10 at Chi
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at SF

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
THIRD PERIOD COLLAPSE SINKS OTTERS
The hometown Guelph Storm scored 4 times in the third period as they rallied to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action. The loss was the first of the season for Erie goaltender Jhase Sniderman and drops Erie to 4-2-0 on the year.

The result ruined a terrific effort from Erie defenseman Tyler McKinley who scored his first goal as an Otter and added two assists. Erie opened a 2-0 lead before the game was 6 minutes old on goals by Ryan O'Marra and Justin Hodgeman but Guelph got one back late in the first period on a power play marker from Matt D'Agostini. McKinley, who assisted on both first period markers, scored the only goal of the second period thanks to a nice setup from Erie native Nick Palmieri.

A 1 minute span early in the third did the Otters in as Guelph scored 3 times including twice with the man advantage to take a 4-3 lead. A lack of discipline was the big cause as the Otters had 3 of their top 5 defenseman in the box at the time including the top pair. First Derek Merlini took a 10 minute misconduct late in the second period for being too vocal in his objections to a charging penalty and then his partner Andrew Hotham put the Otters down a man just 38 seconds in to the third with a selfish retaliation high stick. Just 9 seconds later the Otters found themselves down two men when Josh Kidd got whistled for holding. Guelph would score with the two man advantage and then again while still up one man. Before Erie could regroup the Storm potted the what proved to be the game winner just 29 seconds after the second power play goal. The Otters did settle down and carried the play over the final 10 minutes but with Sniderman on the bench for an extra attacker late in the game Guelph put it out of reach with an empty netter from Ryan Callahan. The Storm captain and Rochester native ended up with 4 points on the night.

Otter Tales: The Otters recalled defenseman Chad Loikets from Fort Erie of the Golden Horseshoe Jr B league. The 18 year old from Yorkville, Illinois had 2 goals and 2 assists in a pair of games with the Meteors. He spent the previous two seasons with the Otters but was in Fort Erie on a conditioning stint after missing much of training camp with a leg injury. The Otters also reduced their roster to 23 by sending 4 players down to Fort Erie: defensemen Ben Gazdic and Ryan Henry along with forwards Josh Vatri and Terrence Hakli.

OTTERS BOXSCORE VS GUELPH

FIRST PERIOD
ERI O'Marra 3(Blunden, McKinley) 4:56
ERI Hodgeman 2(McKinley, Greene) 5:54
GUE D'Agostini 4(Doughty) 16:56 PP
Penalties Biggers Gue, Nolan Eri fighting majors 14:32,
Merlini Eri 15:29, Nicoletti Gue 17:40, PottruffGue 18:00

SECOND PERIOD
ERI McKinley 1(Palmieri,Greene) 8:18
Penalties: Hotham Eri 3:54,Gurtler Gue 12:50, Merlini
Eri minor,10 min misconduct 19:26

THIRD PERIOD
GUE Lyall 5(Godfrey, Callahan) 1:29 PP
GUE Doig 3(Callahan, Godfrey) 1:53 PP
GUE Callahan 5(Doig, Lyall) 2:22
GUE Callahan 6(Doughty) 18:54 EN
Penalties: Hotham Eri 0:38, Kidd Eri 0:47, Wilson Gue
15:34.

There were two other games in the Ontario Hockey League last night. In Sarnia, Chad Painchaud and Kody Musselman each scored twice as the hometown Sting dropped Windsor 5-3 while in Oshawa rookie phenom John Tavaras had one of the Generals goals in a 4-1 victory over Ottawa.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 5 4 0 1 9
ERIE 6 4 2 0 8
Guelph 6 3 3 0 6
Kitchener 3 2 0 1 5
Owen Sound 4 2 2 0 4

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 5 3 1 1 7
Sarnia 6 3 3 0 6
Sault Ste Marie 5 2 3 0 4
Saginaw 6 2 4 0 4
Windsor 5 1 3 1 3

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 5 4 1 0 8
St Michael's 5 3 1 1 7
Barrie 4 3 1 0 6
Sudbury 3 2 1 0 4
Mississauga 5 0 4 1 1

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Kingston 5 4 0 1 9
Oshawa 6 4 1 1 9
Peterborough 5 1 2 2 4
Belleville 5 1 3 1 3
Ottawa 4 1 3 0 2

THURSDAY'S RESULTS
Guelph 5 Erie 3
Sarnia 5 Windsor 3
Oshawa 4 Ottawa 1

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Belleville at Kingston
Saginaw at Owen Sound

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Cory Emmerton King 5 5 9 14
Matt Lyall Guel 6 5 7 12
Chad Painchaud Sarn 6 8 3 11
Ryan Callahan Guel 6 6 5 11
Rob Schremp Lond 5 4 7 11
Radek Smolenak King 5 5 5 10
David Bolland Lond 5 6 3 9
Michael Blunden ERIE 6 4 5 9
Andrew Hotham ERIE 6 2 7 9

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
SHOOTOUT MORE TO FLYERS LIKING THIS TIME
A day after losing to Washington in a shootout the Philadelphia Flyers found the new wrinkle in the NHL rules a little more to their liking. The Flyers used the shootout to earn a 2-1 victory over the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Simon Gagne and Peter Forsberg each scored on Tampa goalie John Grahame in the shootout while Robert Esche stopped two of the three Tampa snipers he faced to preserve the win. Branko Radivojevic scored in the first period for Philadelphia while Tampa tied it in the second on a Vaclav Prospel marker.

There were two other shootout games on a busy night in the NHL. In New Jersey the Devils beat St Louis 2-1 while San Jose beat the New York Islanders 4-3 thanks to a Patrick Marleau goal in the shootout.

In other action Shean Donovan scored twice as Calgary shaded Phoenix 3-2. The Buffalo Sabres doubled Carolina 4-2 behind a pair of Daniel Briere goals. Bryan McCabe was in on all 3 goals as Toronto ended a 2-game losing skid with a 3-1 win in Montreal. Joe Thornton's power play goal midway through the third period was the difference as Boston shaded Ottawa 4-3 at the Corel Centre. Ilya Kovalchuk's hat trick paced Atlanta past the visiting New York Rangers 4-3. Tomas Vokoun earned the shutout as Nashville blanked Detroit 2-0. Milan Hejudk's second goal of the game lifted Colorado past Chicago 4-3 in overtime. Defenseman Nick Schultz had a pair of goals in Minnesota's 5-0 win over Los Angeles. Manny Fernandez turned aside all 18 Kings shots in the game for the shutout. Finally in Vancouver the Canucks downed Columbus 4-1.

SAKIC OUT 3 MONTHS
The Colorado Avalanche suffered a serious blow in their win over Chicago last night when it was learned that Joe Sakic had suffered a knee injury. Early diagnosis is it is a partially torn ACL meaning Sakic could be lost to the club for about 3 months. The 36 year old Sakic was leading the NHL in scoring with 5 assists thru 2 games this season.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
New Jersey 2 2 0 0 4
Philadelphia 2 1 0 1 3
NY Islanders 2 0 1 1 1
Pittsburgh 1 0 1 0 0
NY Rangers 1 0 1 0 0

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Boston 2 2 0 0 4
Buffalo 2 2 0 0 4
Ottawa 2 1 1 0 2
Montreal 2 1 1 0 2
Toronto 3 1 2 0 2

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Florida 1 1 0 0 2
Atlanta 1 1 0 0 2
Washington 1 1 0 0 2
Tampa 2 0 1 1 1
Carolina 2 0 2 0 0

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 2 2 0 0 4
Chicago 2 1 0 1 3
St Louis 2 0 1 1 1
Detroit 2 0 1 1 1
Columbus 2 0 2 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Colorado 2 2 0 0 4
Edmonton 1 1 0 0 2
Minnesota 2 1 1 0 2
Vancouver 2 1 1 0 2
Calgary 1 1 0 0 2

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
San Jose 2 1 0 1 3
Phoenix 2 1 1 0 2
Dallas 1 1 0 0 2
Anaheim 1 1 0 0 2
Los Angeles 2 0 2 0 0

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Calgary 3 Phoenix 2
Buffalo 4 Carolina 2
Toronto 3 Montreal 1
Boston 4 Ottawa 3
New Jersey 2 St Louis 1 (SO)
Atlanta 4 NY Rangers 3
San Jose 4 NY Islanders 3 (SO)
Philadelphia 2 Tampa 1 (SO)
Nashville 2 Detroit 0
Colorado 4 Chicago 3 (OT)
Minnesota 5 Los Angeles 0
Vancouver 4 Columbus 1

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Montreal at Pittsburgh
Anaheim at Florida
Tampa at Washington
Calgary at Dallas

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Joe Sakic COL 2 0 5 5
Radek Dvorak EDM 1 2 2 4
Alex Tanguay COL 2 2 2 4
Ladislav Nagy PHO 2 2 2 4
Dany Heatley OTT 2 2 2 4
Rob Blake COL 2 1 3 4
Tyler Arnason CHI 2 0 4 4
Max Afinigenov BUF 2 0 4 4

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
NFL LEAGUE LEADERS

NFL PASSING LEADERS
Player TM GS AT COMP COMP% YDS TD INT RAT
Daunte Culpepper MIN 2 54 41 75.9 424 4 0 122.8
Tom Brady ARI 4 117 78 66.7 1126 9 3 112.7
Phillip Rivers GB 4 114 73 64.0 1077 7 3 104.3
Tim Rattay BUF 3 90 60 66.7 706 5 2 99.6
Tim Couch CLE 2 53 30 56.6 493 3 1 99.0
Donovan McNabb PHI 4 111 66 59.5 1103 7 4 99.0
Jake Plummer DEN 4 128 84 65.6 934 7 2 98.9
Peyton Manning IND 4 125 75 60.0 889 6 2 91.0
Michael Vick ATL 4 132 80 60.6 1177 6 5 89.1
Craig Krenzel SD 4 100 64 64.0 690 4 3 85.0

NFL RUSHING LEADERS
Player TM G ATT YDS YPG YPC TD
Fred Taylor JAX 4 98 543 135.8 5.5 3
L. Tomlinson SD 4 103 529 132.2 5.1 4
Antwone Schey SEA 4 85 452 113.0 5.3 3
Ahman Green GB 4 84 435 108.8 5.2 2
Jamel White NYG 4 87 414 103.5 4.8 3
Clinton Portis DEN 4 92 414 103.5 4.5 5
Najeh Davenport SF 4 71 370 92.5 5.2 1
Stephen Jackson BUF 3 57 360 120.0 6.3 1
Anthony Thomas CHI 3 82 359 89.8 4.4 2
Ray Jackson CIN 3 82 358 89.5 4.4 1

NFL RECEIVING YARDS LEADERS
Player TM GS REC YDS YPC TD
Corey Bradford HOU 4 21 446 21.2 1
Torry Holt STL 4 26 423 16.3 2
Robert Ferguson PHI 1 18 411 22.8 3
Tony Gonzalez KC 4 21 383 18.2 3
Plaxico Burress PIT 4 23 362 15.7 1
Anquan Boldin ARI 4 24 349 14.5 3
Javon Walker GB 4 19 322 16.9 4
Randy Moss MIN 4 29 322 11.1 3
Rod Gardner PHI 4 20 315 15.8 3
Quincy Morgan CLE 4 20 312 15.6 3

NFL LEADING TACKLERS
Player TM GS TAK SOLO AST SACK
Adam Archuleta STL 4 48 35 13 1
Kendrell Bell PIT 4 46 36 10 0
Joey Porter PIT 4 46 33 13 0
Jamie Sharper HOU 4 45 31 14 0
David Thornton MIN 4 44 28 16 3
Keith Bulluck TEN 4 42 29 13 2
Brian Urlacher CHI 4 41 31 10 4
Dexter Coakley DAL 4 41 27 14 1
Marcus Washington IND 4 41 29 12 3
Brian Dawkins PHI 4 40 31 9 4

NFL INTERCEPTION LEADERS
Player TM INT
Ray Lewis BAL 4
Fernando Bryant JAX 4
Nick Barnett GB 4
Keiwan Ratliff NYJ 4

NFL SACK LEADERS
Player TM Sacks
Tommie Harris ARI 6
Javon Kearse TEN 5
Tony Brackens JAX 5
Charles Grant NO 5
John Abraham NYJ 5

SUNDAY'S NFL GAMES
San Francisco at Detroit
Minnesota at St Louis
Green Bay at Seattle
Buffalo at New England
Miami at NY Jets
Denver at Tennessee
New Orleans at Washington
Kansas City at Jacksonville
NY Giants at Atlanta
Houston at San Diego
Indianapolis at Oakland
Tampa at Philadelphia
Arizona at Chicago

MONDAY NIGHT
Dallas at Carolina

b]COLLEGE FOOTBALL [/b]
SATURDAY'S DIVISION 1A GAMES
Penn State at #8 Michigan State
#25 Purdue at #9 Minnesota
#2 Michigan at #10 Wisconsin
#3 Ohio State at Indiana
Louisville at Pittsburgh
West Virginia at UConn
Rutgers at South Florida
#7 Syracuse at Nebraska
Clemson at #3 Miami
NC State at Virginia Tech
Maryland at Duke
Virginia at North Carolina
Iowa State at #5 Texas
Missouri at Texas Tech
Colorado at Baylor
#17 Oklahoma at #6 Texas A&M
Memphis at UTEP
Central Florida at Tulsa
East Carolina at Houston
Rice at SMU
Buffalo at Western Michigan
Ohio at Toledo
Akron at Ball State
Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois
Colorado State at Wyoming
San Diego State at TCU
BYU at Air Force
Washington State at #16 UCLA
Oregon at Washington
Oregon State at #18 USC
Tennessee at Auburn
#15 Georgia at #1 Arkansas
South Carolina at #21 LSU
Mississippi State at #14 Alabama
Troy at Florida Atlantic
Louisianna-Monroe at Florida Inter.
Arkansas State at North Texas
Boise State at San Jose State
Fresno State at Idaho
Utah State at New Mexico
Navy at Tulane
Temple at #22 Notre Dame
Middle Tennessee St at Stanford
La-Lafayette at Vanderbilt
Army at Kent State

Tiger Fan

12-30-2005, 03:21 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Saturday October 8, 2005

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
TRIBE FALL BEHIND 2-0 IN AL PLAYOFF SERIES
The Los Angeles Angels rode 3 solo homeruns to a 4-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians and a 2-0 lead in their best of five American League Divisional Playoff. The Indians were limited to just 1 run scored for the second game in a row as Angels starter Jarrod Washburn and a pair of relievers held Cleveland to 5 hits in the game.

Cleveland starter Taylor Buchholz retired the first 6 Angels batters in order before a single, a walk and a Tim Salmon sac fly in the third inning led to the game's opening run. Angels rookie third baseman Dallas McPherson, who had 2 rbi's in game one, hit a solo homerun to lead off the 4th inning making it 2-0 Los Angeles. The Angels doubled their lead with solo shots from Adam Kennedy in the 5th inning and Vladimir Guerrero in the 6th. For Guerrero it was the second straight game that he homered in.

The Indians finally got on the scoreboard in the 7th inning when Ronnie Belliard and Travis Hafner led off with back to back walks. Ryan Ludwick followed with an rbi single to score the only Cleveland run of the game. Jered Weaver replaced Washburn on the mound for the Angels and retired the two batters he faced to end the threat.

Los Angeles can complete the series sweep with a victory in Game 3 Sunday in Cleveland.

SEABOL LEADS CARDS PAST BRAVES
Steve Seabol is only in the St Louis Cardinals lineup because of an injury to Albert Pujols but the 30 year old career minor-leaguer is making the most of his opportunity. Seabol had a pair of hits including a bases-loaded triple in the 5th inning to lead the Cardinals past Atlanta 6-4. The victory gives St Louis a 2-0 lead in their best of 5 National League Divisional Series with Game 3 in Atlanta on Sunday.

CUBS WALK PAST GIANTS
Thanks 5 walks and a 4-run 6th inning the Chicago Cubs took a commanding 2-0 lead in their Divisional Series with San Francisco following a 6-3 victory yesterday. Matt Lawton and Aramis Ramierez each had 2 hits and a pair of rbi's for the Cubs who also received a strong effort from winning pitcher Ryan Dempster and three relievers.

TODAY'S MATCHUP
New York Yankees (Mike Mussina 10-15, 5.70) at Oakland (Joe Blanton 11-3, 3.70)

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
OAKLAND vs NEW YORK YANKEES
Game 1 Oakland 8 NY Yankees 2
Game 2 Oakland 9 New York 5
Game 3 tonight at Oakland
Game 4 Sun Oct 9 at Oakland
Game 5 Mon Oct 10 at New York

CLEVELAND vs LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Game 1 Los Angeles 8 Cleveland 1
Game 2 Los Angeles 4 Cleveland 1
Game 3 Sun Oct 9 at Cle
Game 4 Mon Oct 10 at Cle
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at LA

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
ATLANTA vs ST LOUIS
Game 1 St Louis 3 Atlanta 2
Game 2 St Louis 6 Atlanta 4
Game 3 Sun Oct 9 at Atl
Game 4 Mon Oct 10 at Atl
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at StL

CHICAGO CUBS vs SAN FRANCISCO
Game 1 Cubs 10 San Francisco 4
Game 2 Cubs 6 San Francisco 3
Game 3 Sun Oct 9 at Chi
Game 4 Mon Oct 10 at Chi
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at SF

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
PALFFY LEADS PENS PAST HABS
Newly acquired forward Ziggy Palffy scored a pair of power play goals to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 victory in their home opener at the Mellon Arena. Mark Recchi also had a big game for Pittsburgh, scoring once and assisting on both of Palffy's goals.

Pittsburgh coach Ed Olczyk may have struck gold when he decided to team Recchi and Palffy with club owner Mario Lemieux. The line was dominant and combined for 6 points on the evening. Recchi, who also had 3 points in the season opening loss to Florida, is the early scoring leader in the NHL.

Radek Bonk and Mike Ribeiro replied for Montreal. Jocelyn Thibault made 27 saves to earn the victory. Rookie Sidney Crosby was held pointless but played well on a line with Ryan Malone and veteran John LeClair. However, Crosby did cost the team when he took a slashing penalty late in the second period that allowed Montreal to tie the game at 2 on the power play. Next action for the Penguins is Monday night when they host the Atlanta Thrashers.

Scoring Summary:
FIRST PERIOD
PIT Recchi 3(Tarnstrom, Gonchar) 10:47
Penalties: Koivu Mon 0:13, Jackman Pit 3:21, Bouillon Mon 8:51,
Whitney Pit 10:02, Bulis Mon 18:31

SECOND PERIOD
PIT Palffy 2(Lemieux, Gonchar) 4:46 PP
MON Bonk 2(Zednick, Bouillon) 14:36
Penalties: Murray Mon minor, misconduct 4:11, Whitney Pit 7:42,
Orpik Pit 15:00, Crosby Pit 19:01

THIRD PERIOD
MON Ribeiro 1(Markov, Komisarek) 0:48 PP
PIT Palffy 3(Jackman, Recchi) 3:42 PP
Penalties: Komisarek Mon 3:01, Komisarek Mon 6:38, LeClair Pit
13:01, Souray Mon 16:33

SHOTS ON
PIT Thibault 29
MON Theodore 36

In other NHL action Sergei Federov scored his first goal of the season as Anaheim improved to 2-0-0 with a 2-1 victory over the Panthers in Florida. Dainius Zubrus had 2 assists in Washington's second straight win, 3-2 over Tampa Bay. In Dallas, Bill Guerin scored twice and assisted on the third goal as the Stars beat Calgary 3-1.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
New Jersey 2 2 0 0 4
Philadelphia 2 1 0 1 3
Pittsburgh 2 1 1 0 2
NY Islanders 2 0 1 1 1
NY Rangers 1 0 1 0 0

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Boston 2 2 0 0 4
Buffalo 2 2 0 0 4
Ottawa 2 1 1 0 2
Montreal 3 1 2 0 2
Toronto 3 1 2 0 2

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 2 2 0 0 4
Atlanta 1 1 0 0 2
Florida 2 1 1 0 2
Tampa 3 0 2 1 1
Carolina 2 0 2 0 0

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 2 2 0 0 4
Chicago 2 1 0 1 3
St Louis 2 0 1 1 1
Detroit 2 0 1 1 1
Columbus 2 0 2 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Colorado 2 2 0 0 4
Edmonton 1 1 0 0 2
Minnesota 2 1 1 0 2
Vancouver 2 1 1 0 2
Calgary 2 1 1 0 2

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Dallas 2 2 0 0 4
Anaheim 2 3 0 0 4
San Jose 2 1 0 1 3
Phoenix 2 1 1 0 2
Los Angeles 2 0 2 0 0

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Pittsburgh 3 Montreal 2
Anaheim 2 Florida 1
Washington 3 Tampa 2
Dallas 3 Calgary 1

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Atlanta at Buffalo
New Jersey at St Louis
San Jose at Boston
Los Angeles at Colorado

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Mark Recchi PIT 2 3 3 6
Bill Guerin DAL 2 3 2 5
Joe Sakic COL 2 0 5 5
Ziggy Palffy PIT 2 3 1 4
Radek Dvorak EDM 1 2 2 4
Alex Tanguay COL 2 2 2 4
Ladislav Nagy PHO 2 2 2 4
Dany Heatley OTT 2 2 2 4
Rob Blake COL 2 1 3 4
Tyler Arnason CHI 2 0 4 4
Max Afinigenov BUF 2 0 4 4
Mike Modano DAL 2 0 4 4

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
BABY PENS WIN SEASON OPENER
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins won their season opener in Norfolk beating the Admirals by a 3-2 score. Winger Jonathan Filewich had a goal and an assist in his pro debut to pace the Pens. The Pens travel to Hershey Saturday night to help the Bears play their season opener.

The Rochester Americans and Cleveland Barons also opened their seasons with victories. The Amerks beat Manitoba 3-2 at the War Memorial Arena while the Barons topped Omaha 3-2 in a shootout.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
GREENE WILL MISS TWO WEEKS
The Erie Otters got a scare in practice yesterday when 20 year old winger Chris Greene was forced to leave the ice with a knee injury. A team spokesman said the injury was less severe than originally feared and Greene will probably be sidelined about 2 weeks with a sprained knee. Greene had scored 2 points in each of the Otters last two games and had 6 points in 6 games so far this season.

Justin Fox, who had a pair of assists last week in the win over Windsor, will take Greene's place on the third line with Brett MacLean and Nick Palmieri. The Otters host Kitchener in back to back games tonight and tomorrow.

There were just two games in the Ontario Hockey League last night. In Owen Sound, the Attack hammered Saginaw 8-1 as Anaheim first round pick Bobby Ryan had a pair of goals for the winners. OHL scoring leader Cory Emmerton had a pair of assists to pace Kingston past Belleville 5-3 in the only other contest. At 5-0-1 the Frontenacs remain the only team in the Eastern Conference without a regulation time loss.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 5 4 0 1 9
ERIE 6 4 2 0 8
Guelph 6 3 3 0 6
Owen Sound 5 3 2 0 6
Kitchener 3 2 0 1 5

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 5 3 1 1 7
Sarnia 6 3 3 0 6
Sault Ste Marie 5 2 3 0 4
Saginaw 7 2 5 0 4
Windsor 5 1 3 1 3

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 5 4 1 0 8
St Michael's 5 3 1 1 7
Barrie 4 3 1 0 6
Sudbury 3 2 1 0 4
Mississauga 5 0 4 1 1

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Kingston 6 5 0 1 11
Oshawa 6 4 1 1 9
Peterborough 5 1 2 2 4
Belleville 6 1 4 1 3
Ottawa 4 1 3 0 2

THURSDAY'S RESULTS
Owen Sound 8 Saginaw 1
Kingston 5 Belleville 3

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Kitchener at Erie
Peterborough at Belleville
Owen Sound at Sault Ste Marie
London at Saginaw
Sudbury at Barrie
Kingston at Guelph
Sarnia at Plymouth
Windsor at Brampton
St Michael's at Oshawa
Mississauga at Ottawa

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Cory Emmerton King 6 5 11 16
Radek Smolenak King 6 8 5 13
Matt Lyall Guel 6 5 7 12
Chad Painchaud Sarn 6 8 3 11
Ryan Callahan Guel 6 6 5 11
Rob Schremp Lond 5 4 7 11
David Bolland Lond 5 6 3 9
Michael Blunden ERIE 6 4 5 9
Andrew Hotham ERIE 6 2 7 9

SOCCER
USA HAS WORLD CUP TUNE-UP TODAY
With their berth in the 2006 World Cup of Soccer already assured today's contest against winless Guatemala will mean little more than a friendly to the United States. The USA along with Mexico have both clinched berths in next summer's tournament but the third automatic entry from North America remains up for grabs. Honduras is in the driver's seat but faces a tough challenge against Mexico today.

It is in Europe where today's biggest matches will occur as a number of strong nation's are on the verge of failing to qualify. Included in the teams fighting to win their groups are Holland, which has a game in hand but trails Romania by two points in Group 1. France and Ireland are tied atop Group 4 with 2 games remaining. The French are +5 in goal differential between the two sides. Italy is tied with Norway for first place in Group 5 but the Italians trail on goal differential.

NORTH AMERICA GROUP STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
USA * 8 7 0 1 22 4 21
Mexico * 8 6 1 1 25 8 19
Honduras 8 3 2 3 11 12 11
Costa Rica 8 2 2 4 8 18 8
Jamaica 8 2 1 5 11 15 7
Guatemala 8 0 2 6 3 23 2
*- qualified for World Cup

UPCOMING GAMES
SATRUDAY OCTOBER 8
Costa Rica at Jamaica
Honduras at Mexico
Guatemala at USA

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 12
Mexico at Costa Rica
Guatemala at Honduras
Jamaica at USA

end of qualifying

Tiger Fan

12-30-2005, 03:22 AM

I thought it would make sense to provide a little more detail on the rosters of the key teams in this dynasty. I will focus specifically on the teams I am handling the day to day activities for, which at this stage is Penn State football using the new BBCF game and the Erie Otters using Eastside Hockey Manager. For all of the other leagues I am working in commissioner mode only and not controlling a team.

So here is your 2005 Penn State Football Media Guide.

PENN STATE FOOTBALL HISTORY
I started this sim in 2000 and simmed 5 seasons so all of the players would have a full college career history. Here are the Nittany Lions results since that time:

RANKING BIG 10
YEAR RECORD OFFENSE DEFENSE RESULT
2000 4-7(2-6) 59 75 9th place
2001 5-7(2-6) 29 60 9th place
2002 7-5(5-3) 68 64 5th place
2003 4-7(2-6) 58 50 9th place
2004 7-5(3-5) 89 34 7th place

BOWL RESULTS
2001 New Orleans Bowl Troy 20 Penn State 19
2002 Alamo Bowl Penn State 30 Colorado 10
2004 Motor City Bowl Penn State 27 Miami(Oh) 21

PENN STATE FOOTBALL 2005 ROSTER

COACHING STAFF

HEAD COACH: TIGER FAN: This is officially my 6th season at Penn State but it will be the first year I actively control the squad.

OFFENSIVE CO-ORDINATOR: BOYD BOOZER: The 48 year old Texas A&M grad enters his 4th season as the Nittany Lions offensive co-ordinator. His preferred offense is the Run 'N Gun which may not mesh the best with our personnel so there could be a change in the off-season. Boozer is a good motivator and gameplanner but really is not as good developing quarterbacks as I would like.

DEFENSIVE CO-ORDINATOR: BILLY MILLEN: A 44 year old Oregon State alum, Millen started his coaching career with the Beavers before spending 3 seasons at Iowa State. In his final year he had the Cyclones defense ranked 37th in the nation. This is is second year with Penn State. He is very good at scouting talent but does not develop players exceptionally well.

SPECIAL TEAMS: SHEDDRICK PORTER: 46 year old from Miami(Oh) made his coaching debut with us last season. He is a good motivator but below average in scouting and developing talent.

QUARTERBACKS
# NAME HT WT YR GPA STATUS High School OVR POT
2 Joe Pope 6/0 196 (Fr) 3.74 RS Bloomsburg (Bloomsburg, PA) 1 3
4 Earl McGee (S) 6/1 217 So 3.61 OK Voorhees (Glen Gardner, NJ) 3 5
9 Billy Downs 6/1 215 (Fr) 3.30 OK Ridley (Folsom, PA) 1 3
12 Randy Robinson 6/1 199 (Sr) 2.38 OK J.M. Coughlin (Wilkes Barre, PA) 2 2.5
19 Rashad Dixon 6/1 196 (Jr) 2.35 OK Serra Catholic (McKeesport, PA) 2.5 2.5

Sophomore McGee is our only real option at quarterback. He does not have the strongest arm but he is very accurate and has decent mobility. He won the starting job from Randy Robinson last season and started all 12 games as a true freshman. Robinson is just average as a passer but has tremendous speed and scrambling ability. If Downs continues to develop he may be a decent QB by the time McGee graduates but right now we are in big trouble if McGee gets hurt.

RUNNING BACKS
# POS NAME HT WT YR GPA High School OVR POT
23 RB Henry Barber 5/8 186 (Jr) 2.56 Blacklick Valley (Nanty Glo, PA) 2 3
25 RB Tim Collins (S) 5/9 184 Sr 2.04 Greely (Cumberland Center, ME) 3.5 4
38 RB Ben Anderson 5/8 209 (Sr) 3.38 Laurel Highlands (Uniontown, PA) 2 2.5
39 RB Cornell Mistler 5/10 199 (Sr) 3.04 E.L. Meyers (Wilkes Barre, PA) 2.5 3
41 RB Victor Schwedes 6/1 201 (So) 3.95 Halifax Area (Halifax, PA) 1.5 2.5
28 FB Jeb Johnson 6/2 233 Fr 3.84 North Schuylkill (Ashland, PA) 2.5 4
37 FB Jerome Walker 5/10 202 Sr 3.44 West Mifflin Area (West Mifflin, PA) 1.5 1.5
48 FB Jermaine Redmond(S)6/1 228 So 2.63 Hickory (Hermitage, PA) 2 2.5

Collins ran for over 1300 yards last season but the challenge this year might be keeping him active as his GPA has always been a problem. Recruiting a running back is a huge priority this offseason. We really like freshman fullback Jeb Johnson.

RECEIVER/TIGHT END
# POS NAME HT WT YR GPA High School OVR POT
81 WR Richard Flemons 5/10 179 Sr 2.08 Alta (Sandy, UT) 1.5 2.5
82 WR Horace Walker (S) 6/1 182 So 3.85 Colton (Colton, CA) 2.5 3
83 WR Val Taylor 6/4 177 Sr 3.75 Taylorville (Taylorville, IL) 2 2.5
84 WR John Peterson 6/5 186 Sr 3.04 Desert Ridge (Mesa, AZ) 1.5 2.5
84 WR Jim Smart (INJ) 6/3 202 (So) 2.33 Pima (Pima, AZ) 3 4.5
87 WR Donnie Ferguson(S)6/1 173 Fr 1.94 Webberville (Webberville, MI) 2 3.5
88 WR Travis Trotter 5/10 208 Jr 3.54 Solanco (Quarryville, PA) 1.5 3
89 WR Ndukwe Hanks 6/4 196 So 2.16 Bishop McDevitt(Harrisbug,PA) 1 2
80 TE David Glover 6/1 243 (Jr) 3.87 Blairsville (Blairsville, PA) 1 1.5
80 TE Gary Pease 6/3 237 (Jr) 2.44 Sherwood (Sandy Spring, MD) 3 5
85 TE Neal Brown 6/8 256 So 3.01 Souhegan (Amherst, NH) 3.5 5
86 TE Mark Hoover (S) 6/4 240 Fr 2.21 Hollidaysburg Area (PA) 3.5 5

Obviously we are loaded at tight end. Hoover and Brown compliment each other well as the freshman tight end handles most of the recieving situations while Brown is a tremendous blocker. Wide receiver is a trouble spot as Smart is injured for another month. Ferguson may run into academic trouble but he has been a pleasant surprise for us. He was not even under consideration as a recruit until he emailed us stating his desire to attend Penn State since he rooted for them as a child before moving to Michigan. He beat out Horace Walker for a starting job and leads the team in receptions.

OFFENSIVE LINE
# POS NAME HT WT YR STATUS High School OVR POT
56 C Alfred Shockey(S) 6/6 306 Jr OK West Milford Township (NJ) 3.5 4.5
59 C Pete Mitchell 6/2 284 Sr OK Bayley-Ellard Regional(Madison, NJ) 3 4
63 C Scott Robinson 6/1 281 Sr OK Meyersdale Area (Meyersdale, PA) 3 3

60 OG Tim Bailey 6/3 307 (So) Redshirt Ridgewood (Ridgewood, NJ) 2.5 4.5
62 OG Corey Niland 6/1 298 So OK Reynolds (Greenville, PA) 3.5 5
64 OG Kelly Law 6/1 294 (Jr) OK Kutztown Area (Kutztown, PA) 1 1.5
67 OG Wil Stanciel(S) 6/5 296 (So) OK Mojave (Mojave, CA) 3.5 4.5
69 OG Mike Hayes 6/6 291 (Fr)Redshirt Ben Smith (Greensboro, NC) 2 4.5
77 OG Shawn McDuffie(S) 6/2 301 (So) OK Halifax Academy (Roanoke Rapids, NC) 3 4.5

65 OT Roland Anderson 6/6 294 (Fr) Transfer Sun Valley (Aston, PA) 2.5 4
66 OT Leeland Murrell(S)6/2 300 (Fr) OK Cherokee (Marlton, NJ) 1.5 3
70 OT Ezra Brown 6/8 283 (Jr) Suspended Central Catholic (Pittsburgh, PA) 1 2.5
73 OT Reuben Richardson 6/8 298 (Sr) O(9-11 wks)Redford (Detroit, MI) 3.5 5
76 OT Willy Aikman 6/3 311 (Sr) OK Laurel (New Castle, PA) 1.5 2.5
78 OT Bob Smith (S) 6/1 317 Fr OK Wyoming Area (Exeter, PA) 2 4.5

We had enough talent on the line that I was able to redshirt guards Tim Bailey and Mike Hayes. However, we have run into trouble at tackle with the injury to Reuben Richardson. Roland Anderson, who transferred to us from Virginia Tech, will be in the picture next season but right now we are forced to make do with Shawn McDuffie and true freshman Bob Smith at tackle.

DEFENSIVE LINE
# POS NAME HT WT YR STATUS High School OVR POT
91 DE Jim Nutten 6/1 274 (Fr) Transfer Lakewood (Roseboro, NC) 2.5 4
94 DE Aaron Jordan 6/1 266 (Fr) Redshirt Line Mountain (Herndon, PA) 1 1.5
97 DE M.C. Reeves (S) 6/4 269 (Fr) OK Pelham (Pelham, NH) 1 2
98 DE LaDainian Smith 6/1 277 Fr OK Wooster (Wooster, OH) 2 3.5
99 DE Leon Mackenzie(S) 6/1 281 Sr OK Homer Center (Homer City, PA) 3 3.5

91 DT Bill Clark 6/5 270 (Sr) OK North Allegheny (Wexford, PA) 1.5 1.5
92 DT Ray Smith (S) 6/7 292 Jr OK Purchase Line (Commodore, PA) 4.5 5
93 DT Jacob Huard 6/7 291 (Sr) OK West Branch (Morrisdale, PA) 1 1
95 DT Steve Konrad 6/2 268 (Fr) OK Iowa (Iowa, LA) 1 2.5
96 DT Matt Chandois 6/2 271 So OK North Kitsap (Poulsbo, WA) 1 2

We are running a 3-4 out of necessity as you can see how thin we are on the defensive line. Ray Smith has 13 sacks in his career and does a splendid job clogging up the middle. Getting Jim Nutten to transfer to us from North Carolina was a huge coup but he can not play until next season. Leon Mackenize has been banged up a bit this season putting a lot of pressure on LaDainian Smith and MC Reeves.

LINEBACKERS
# POS NAME HT WT YR STATUS High School OVR POT
40 ILB Jim Joseph(S) 6/2 239 (Jr) OK Durant (Plant City, FL) 2.5 3.5
44 ILB Leon Davis 6/2 240 (Sr) OK HP Central (High Point, NC) 2 2
47 ILB Donnie Sualua 6/1 258 (Jr) OK Scotland County(Laurinburg,NC) 3 4
51 ILB Lamar Sullivan(S)6/1 241 (Jr) OK P.L. Dunbar (Baltimore, MD) 4 4.5
52 ILB Tracy Young 5/11 232 (Fr) OK Streetsboro (Streetsboro, OH) 2 3
55 ILB Marques Carter 6/1 235 (So) OK Forest Hills (Sidman, PA) 2.5 4
57 ILB Kelvin Wimberly 6/1 233 (Fr) OK Williams Valley(Tower City,PA) 3 4

43 OLB Kendall Newell 6/2 249 Fr OK Central Catholic(Pittsburgh) 2 4
46 OLB Ted Barber 6/2 245 (Fr) Red Simsbury (Simsbury, CT) 1.5 2.5
50 OLB Hank Freeman(S) 6/2 233 Sr OK Camden (Camden, NJ) 3.5 4.5
53 OLB Mitch Burford(S) 6/1 237 Jr OK Dunellen (Dunellen, NJ) 3.5 4.5
58 OLB Greg Carter 6/1 221 (Fr) Red Gloucester Catholic (NJ) 2 4

Burford and Sullivan are the leaders of a decent group of linebackers.

DEFENSIVE BACKS
# POS NAME HT WT YR STATUS High School OVR POT
34 CB Ike Jones 5/10 180 (Fr) OK St. Joseph's (Philadelphia) 1 2.5
21 CB Roosevelt Dorenbos 6/1 185 (So) OK South (Middletown, NJ) 2.5 3.5
29 CB Mark Tomlinson (S) 6/1 176 Jr OK Cary (Cary, NC) 2.5 3.5
49 CB Rafael McKinley 6/1 179 Fr OK Western Guilford(Greensboro, NC) 1 2
42 CB Bob Barksdale (S) 6/1 174 Sr OK Scranton Prep(Scranton, PA) 4 4
22 CB Lamar Layne 6/2 188 (Fr) Redshirt Indian Hills (Oakland, NJ) 1 2
33 FS Antwan Jackson (S)5/10 207 Sr OK Cromwell (Cromwell, CT) 4 4.5
36 FS John Davenport 5/10 178 Fr OK Uniontown Area (Uniontown,PA) 2.5 5
30 FS Thomas Carano 6/1 190 Sr OK Catholic (Lansdale,PA) 2 4
45 SS Joey Sherman 6/2 186 Jr OK Franklin Center(Franklin Grove,IL) 3 4
26 SS Alex Hood (S) 5/11 178 So OK Marple Newtown (Newtown Square, PA) 3 5
24 SS Alan Brady 6/2 197 Fr O(1-3 wks) Pine Grove Area(Pine Grove, PA) 3.5 5

The secondary received a huge upgrade thanks to a pair of top 100 recruits we signed. Alan Brady was ranked 38th in the nation and was a starter from the first day of camp until he got hurt in the Purdue game. John Davenport was another top 100 recruit but he will learn from watching senior FS Antwan Jackson this season. Dorenbos had two interceptions in the first three weeks before being sidelined but he is now healthy again and will likely return to a starting corner role alongside Bob Barksdale. Barksdale has 33 career starts and notched the 10th interception of his career earlier this season.

KICKERS/PUNTERS
# POS NAME HT WT YR STATUS High School OVR POT
1 K Jeff Jones 5/10 209 So OK Pine Grove Area (Pine Grove, PA) 1 2
17 K Brandon Gilchrist(S)5/9 177 Jr OK Charlotte Catholic (Charlotte, NC) 4 4.5
11 P Mike Bieniemy (S) 5/11 174 Fr OK Quince Orchard (Gaithersburg, MD) 2 4.5
15 P Dick Palmer 5/8 210 Sr OK Bishop McDevitt (Wyncote, PA) 3.5 3.5

Gilchrist is a steady kicker and has made 16 of 17 field goals this season. Palmer had been the starter the past two seasons but lost his job to Bieniemy after the third game this year. Since taking over Bieniemy has the best net punt yardage in the Big Ten.

OUTLOOK- The Nittany Lions definately have some weak spots but our goal is to play in a bowl game this year. We are 3-2 on the season but after we play 13th ranked Michigan State this week and #6 Minnesota next week things look pretty easy with Indiana, Northwestern and Illinois rounding out our Big Ten schedule. Those three schools are a combined 2-14 right now. We also have a non-conference game at West Virginia

Tiger Fan

12-30-2005, 03:23 AM

Now a quick look at my Erie Otters squad.

ERIE OTTERS ROSTER
No.Name Pos Hometown Born Age Height Weight
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Greenham, Scott G Nepean, Ont 4-24-87 18 6'2'' 176
40 Sniderman, Jhase G Toronto, Ont 4-3-87 18 5'11'' 174

6 Heller, Jake RD Skokie, Ill 2-13-85 20 6'2'' 218
4 Helowka, Kory LD-LW Newmarket, Ont 5-14-86 19 6'0'' 194
7 Hotham, Andrew LD Barrie, Ont 8-29-86 19 6'2'' 202
2 Kidd, Josh RD Sundridge, Ont 11-16-88 16 6'3'' 200
34 Loikets, Chad RD Yorkville, Ill 5-28-87 18 6'2'' 198
15 McKinley, Tyler LD Oldcastle, Ont 5-2-87 18 6'0'' 191
24 Merlini, Derek RD-LD Clinton, Mass 7-7-85 20 6'7'' 244
8 Regan, Eric RD Whitby, Ont 5-20-88 17 6'1'' 176

9 Bagshaw, Derrick C-LW Oshawa, Ont 5-5-86 19 6'1'' 198
21 Blunden, Michael RW-C Gloucester, Ont 12-15-86 18 6'3'' 211
87 Fox, Justin C Whitby, Ont 3-18-87 18 6'0'' 169
19 Greene, Chris RW Massena, NY 9-24-85 20 6'2'' 196
26 Hodgman, Justin C-RW Brampton, Ont 6-27-88 17 6'2'' 183
13 MacLean, Brett RW Port Elgin, Ont 12-24-88 16 6'0'' 196
29 Nolan, Jordan C St Catherines,Ont 6-23-89 16 6'2'' 200
10 O'Connor, Sean RW-C Trenton, Mich 1-31-87 18 5'10'' 167
22 O'Marra, Ryan C Tokyo, Japan 6-9-87 18 6'2'' 196
30 Palmieri, Nick RW-LW Erie, Pa 7-12-89 16 6'2'' 200
14 Peluso, Anthony RW King City, Ont 4-18-89 16 6'4'' 222
18 Scott, Vince LW Mississauga, Ont 5-21-86 19 6'0'' 189
38 Seest-Olsen, Chris LW Herlev, Denmark 10-8-87 17 6'2'' 205

KEY PLAYERS
GOALTENDING - Jhase Sniderman will be counted on to carry the team. Undrafted by the NHL he is in his third season with the Otters.

DEFENSE - Andrew Hotham was acquired from Barrie midway through last season and he will team with overager Derek Merlini as our top defensive pairing. In real life Merlini has been traded to Plymouth.

FORWARDS - The big two are Michael Blunden and Ryan O'Marra. Blunden is hard working right winger who is not afraid to bang along the boards. He was a second round pick of the Chicago Black Hawks in the 2005 draft and enters his 4th season with the Otters. Centerman O'Marra is a first round pick of the New York Islanders. He is a skilled puck handler with a good set of wheels. Born in Tokyo but grew up in Mississauga, O'Marra was an assistant captain on Team Canada for the August 2004 under 18 championships and is a candidate for the World Junior team this year. I have tried using European import Christian Seest-Olsen on the left side with this pair but results have been mixed.

ERIE OTTERS REGULAR SEASON STATS
No Name GP G A P +-- PIM SOG RATING
------------------------------------------------------------------
21 Blunden, Michael 6 4 5 9 2 0 28 8.17
7 Hotham, Andrew 6 2 7 9 2 14 14 7.83
19 Greene, Chris 6 2 4 6 6 0 9 7.50
24 Merlini, Derek 6 2 4 6 2 22 10 7.50
22 O'Marra, Ryan 6 3 2 5 E 2 23 7.50
26 Hodgman, Justin 6 2 2 4 1 2 4 6.83
15 McKinley, Tyler 6 1 3 4 -1 0 4 7.50
30 Palmieri, Nick 6 1 2 3 3 4 8 6.50
4 Helowka, Kory 5 1 1 2 1 2 5 6.80
13 MacLean, Brett 6 1 1 2 E 0 10 6.83
38 Seest-Olsen, Christian 6 1 1 2 -3 0 24 6.67
87 Fox, Justin 2 0 2 2 2 2 0 6.50
10 O'Connor, Sean 6 0 2 2 -4 0 21 7.17
8 Regan, Eric 3 0 2 2 3 2 2 7.00
6 Heller, Jake 5 1 0 1 -5 2 5 6.40
18 Scott, Vince 6 0 1 1 -1 0 11 7.00
9 Bagshaw, Derrick 6 0 1 1 -2 2 6 6.67
34 Loikets, Chad 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 7.00
1 Greenham, Scott 1 0 0 0 E 0 0 6.00
14 Peluso, Anthony 2 0 0 0 E 2 1 6.00
2 Kidd, Josh 4 0 0 0 E 2 4 7.50
29 Nolan, Jordan 4 0 0 0 E 11 1 5.50
40 Sniderman, Jhase 5 0 0 0 E 0 0 7.80

GOALTENDING STATS GP W L SOL MIN GA GAA SV%
40 Sniderman, Jhase 5 4 1 0 303 11 2.18 .914
1 Greenham, Scott 1 0 1 0 60 4 4.00 .886

2005-06 ERIE OTTERS SCHEDULE
September-October
Date Opposition Venue Competition Result Attendance Scorers
9-7-05 Plymouth H Exhibition 5-3 2600 Seest-Olsen 2, Blunden, Merlini, O'Marra
9-12-05 Saginaw H Exhibition 3-3 2565 Scott, O'Connor, Seest-Olsen
9-23-05 Belleville H OHL 4-0 4774 Merlini, Hodgman, Palmieri, MacLean
9-25-05 Saginaw A OHL 4-3 4543 O'Marra, Blunden, Hotham, Seest-Olsen
9-29-05 Mississauga A OHL 5-1 2996 Hotham, Blunden 2, Merlini, Helowka
9-30-05 Barrie H OHL 1-4 5500 Heller
10-2-05 Windsor A OHL 4-3 3907 Blunden, Greene 2, O'Marra
10-6-05 Guelph A OHL 3-5 3697 O'Marra, Hodgman, McKinley
10-8-05 Kitchener H OHL --- - -
10-9-05 Kitchener H OHL --- - -
10-11-05 Barrie A OHL --- - -
10-15-05 London H OHL --- - -
10-16-05 Plymouth A OHL --- - -
10-22-05 Sarnia H OHL --- - -
10-23-05 London A OHL --- - -
10-29-05 Owen Sound H OHL --- - -
10-30-05 Sault Ste. Marie A OHL --- - -

Tiger Fan

12-30-2005, 03:28 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Sunday October 9, 2005

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NITTANY LIONS WIN A THRILLER AT MICHIGAN STATE
Brandon Gilchrist's 5th field goal of the game with 2 seconds remaining on the clock gave the Penn State Nittany Lions (4-2) a come-from-behind 22-20 victory over Michigan State at Lansing. The Spartans had taken a 20-19 lead less than a minute before Gilchrist's game winner. The loss will certainly drop the 8th ranked Spartans out of the top 10 and keeps Penn State in the hunt for a Big 10 title.

Sophomore quarterback Earl McGee threw for a career best 411 yards in the victory as the Spartans chose to concentrate on shutting down the Penn State ground game. Defensively the Lions were led by junior nose tackle Ray Smith, who forced a pair of fumbles and had 4 tackles, along with linebacker Mitch Burford, who had a sack, an interception and 7 tackles. The game was made a little easier for the Nittany Lions as Michigan State was forced to use third string quarterback Elbie Riley for much of the game. Starter Reuben Wilkins was hurt last week and number two man Justin Stewart banged up his knee on the Spartans second series of the game.

The Spartans controlled the ball much of the first half and the two sides went into the lockerroom with Michigan State leading 13-6. The momentum seemed to swing early in the third quarter when the Spartans failed to turn a 3rd and 1 on the Penn State 9 yard line into a first down and then failed to increase their lead when kicker Gabriel Ely missed a 27 yard field goal attempt. The Lions then took over on their own 20 and McGee completed 5 straight passes, the last a 12 yard touchdown strike to freshman wideout Donnie Ferguson that tied the game at 13.

On the following possession Ely would miss another field goal attempt, this one from 40 yards. The Nittany Lions would get a pair of field goals from Gilchrist (21 yards and 40 yards) in the fourth quarter to take a 19-13 lead with 5 minutes remaining in the game. The Spartans were forced to punt on the ensuing possession but Penn State had to kick the ball back to the home side with 2:10 to play.

After a pair of incompletions, Spartan QB Riley completed a 13 yard pass to Emien Woodson on third down and 9. To make matters worse Penn State cornerback Bob Barksdale got flagged for a late hit on Riley that moved the Spartans to mid-field. On the next play Spartans receiver Dick Goebel somehow got behind the Penn State dime defense and caught a 54 yard touchdown pass that gave Michigan State a 20-19 lead and seemingly the ball game.

With 44 seconds remaining Penn State return man Mark Tomlinson caught the kickoff on his own 10 yard line and proceeded to zig and zag all the way to the Michigan State 4 yard line. Two plays later Gilchrist made it a perfect 5-for-5 in the field goal department and the Nittany Lions had a 22-20 victory.

PENN STATE 22 MICHIGAN STATE 20
TEAM 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
Penn State 3 3 7 9 22
Michigan State 3 10 0 7 20

First Quarter
PENN FG 12:37 3-0 Brandon Gilchrist 45 YD
MIST FG 07:30 3-3 Gabriel Eby 29 YD

Second Quarter
MIST FG 08:05 6-3 Gabriel Eby 28 YD
MIST TD 06:05 13-3 Blake Vander 5 YD Run (Gabriel Eby Kick).
PENN FG 00:09 13-6 Brandon Gilchrist 20 YD

Third Quarter
PENN TD 08:42 13-13 Donnie Ferguson 12 YD Pass from Earl McGee(Gilchrist Kick).

Fourth Quarter
PENN FG 12:28 16-13 Brandon Gilchrist 21 YD
PENN FG 05:12 19-13 Brandon Gilchrist 40 YD
MIST TD 00:46 20-19 Dick Goebel 54 YD Pass from Elbie Riley (Eby Kick).
PENN FG 00:02 22-20 Brandon Gilchrist 22 YD

Team Statistics PENN MIST
First Downs 18 25
***Rushing 3 8
***Passing 15 10
***Penalty 0 7
3rd-down Efficiency 7-15 10-20
4th-down Efficiency 0-0 0-0
Total Net Yards 502 448
***Total plays 69 84
***Average gain 7.3 5.3
Net Yards Rushing 91 182
***Rushes 24 42
***Average per rush 3.8 4.3
Net Yards Passing 411 266
***Completed-attempted 24-41 24-39
***Yards per pass 10 6.8
***Sacked-yards lost 4-14 3-13
***Had intercepted 1 1
Punts-average 4-47.2 5-38.2
Return Yardage 209 153
***Punts-returns 2-23 2-30
***Kickoffs-returns 5-180 6-123
***Interceptions-ret 1-6 1-0
Penalties-yards 10-90 4-35
Fumbles-lost 5-2 3-1
Touchdowns 1 2
***Rushing 0 1
***Passing 1 1
Extra Points 1-1 2-2
Field Goals 5-5 2-4
Red Zone Efficiency 4-5-80% 3-4-75%
Time Of Possession 26:47 33:13

PENN PASSING CP/AT YDS TD INT LG SACK
QB E. McGee 24/41 411 1 1 44 4/14

MSU PASSING CP/AT YDS TD INT LG SACK
QB E. Riley 22/36 254 1 1 54 3/13
QB J. Stewart 2-3 12 0 0 6 0-0

PENN RUSHING ATT YDS YPC TD LG
RB T. Collins 18 64 3.6 0 10
WR D. Ferguson 1 44 44 0 44
FB J. Redmond 1 -3 -3 0 0

MIST RUSHING ATT YDS YPC TD LG
RB R. Burruss 13 94 7.2 0 20
RB B. Vander 18 75 4.2 1 16
FB R. Carter 4 13 3.2 0 6
QB E. Riley 3 7 2.3 0 6
WR P. Mueller 1 6 6 0 6

PENN RECEIVING ATT REC YDS YPC YAC TD LG DRP
TE M. Hoover 9 6 140 23.3 51 0 43 0
WR H. Walker 12 5 92 18.4 19 0 32 0
WR D. Ferguson 9 6 56 9.3 16 1 13 1
FB J. Johnson 1 1 44 44 39 0 44 0
WR V. Taylor 5 3 33 11 4 0 22 0
RB T. Collins 3 2 33 16.5 17 0 19 0
WR T. Trotter 2 1 13 13 3 0 13 0
FB J. Redmond 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

MIST RECEIVING ATT REC YDS YPC YAC TD LG DRP
WR D. Goebel 11 7 115 16.4 7 1 54 0
WR P. Mueller 13 8 71 8.9 18 0 34 1
WR E. Woodson 11 7 61 8.7 17 0 42 0
FB R. Carter 2 1 10 10 5 0 10 0
WR G. Riley 2 1 9 9 1 0 9 0

PENN O-LINE
KRB PCK SA HLD FS
OG W. Stanciel 1 3 0 0 0
C A. Shockey 0 3 0 0 0
OG S. McDuffie 1 0 0 1 0
OT L. Murrell 0 1 3 0 0
OT B. Smith 0 0 2 0 0

MIST O-LINE KRB PCK SA HLD FS
C D. Bostic 1 2 0 0 1
OG L. VanPelt 2 0 0 0 0
OT L. VanPelt 1 0 0 0 0
OT V. Duerson 0 0 1 0 0
OT R. Bates 0 0 1 0 0
TE R. Faulk 0 0 0 0 1
OG T. Brown 0 0 1 0 0

PENN FUMBLES FUM LOST REC YDS
RB T. Collins 1 0 0 0
QB E. McGee 1 1 0 0
WR H. Walker 1 0 0 0
TE M. Hoover 1 1 0 0
WR D. Ferguson 1 0 0 0
ILB M. Carter 0 0 1 5
OG S. McDuffie 0 0 2 0
C A. Shockey 0 0 1 0

MIST FUMBLES FUM LOST REC YDS
RB R. Burruss 1 0 0 0
WR P. Mueller 1 0 0 0
CB D. James 1 1 0 0
ILB K. Bryant 0 0 1 0
QB J. Stewart 0 0 1 0
SS D. Davis 0 0 1 0
OT V. Duerson 0 0 1 0

PENN KICKING FG LONG XP PTS
K B. Gilchrist 5-5 45 1-1 16

MIST KICKING FG LONG XP PTS
K G. Eby 2-4 29 2-2 8

PENN PUNTING NO AVG NET I-20 TB LG
P M. Bieniemy 4 47.2 39.8 0 0 54

MIST PUNTING NO AVG NET I-20 TB LG
P B. Shultz 5 38.2 29.6 0 1 46

PENN KICK RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG
CB M. Tomlinson 4 36.2 0 86
WR T. Trotter 1 35 0 35

MIST KICK RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG
CB D. James 2 25.5 0 35
SS D. Davis 4 18 0 31

PENN PUNT RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG FC
SS A. Hood 2 11.5 0 13 1

MIST PUNT RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG FC
WR M. Smith 2 15 0 17 0

PENN DEFENSE T-A SCK STF HUR DP INT FF PD
ILB L. Sullivan 7/5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OLB M. Burford 7/2 1 0 1 0 1 0 0
SS A. Hood 7/1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
FS A. Jackson 4/3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
DT R. Smith 4/1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0
OLB H. Freeman 3/2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SS J. Sherman 2/2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CB B. Barksdale 2/2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
CB M. Tomlinson 2/1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
ILB J. Joseph 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
OLB K. Newell 1/1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ILB M. Carter 1/1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FS T. Carano 1/1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

MIST DEFENSE T-A SCK STF HUR DP INT FF PD
OLB D. Pears 7/4 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
ILB K. Bryant 5/1 2 0 0 0 0 3 1
SS D. Crowe 4/4 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
FS J. Hooker 4/1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
ILB J. Elliot 4/1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
CB D. James 3/1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
DT C. Sewell 2/1 0 0 2 1 0 1 0
SS D. Davis 2/1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DE J. Bradley 1/1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
DE T. Kassell 1/1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0
CB B. Brunson 1/1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
OLB D. Lavelli 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OLB C. Almanzar 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CB A. Wilkins 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BIG 10 CONFERENCE
Michigan and Ohio State will likely retain their 2nd and 3rd National Rankings after both emerged with wins on Saturday. In Madison, the visiting Wolverines knocked off 9th ranked Wisconsin 30-17. Sophomore Mike Jones ran for 126 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns to lead Michigan. The Buckeyes built up a 31 point lead at the half and cruised to a 58-0 victory at Indiana. Ohio State QB Brian Bratzke threw for 3 touchdowns as the Buckeyes improved to 6-0.

In the only other Big 10 game Minnesota made a case for moving into the top 10 with a 28-17 victory over Purdue. Gophers QB Dave Washington threw for 3 touchdowns, 2 of them in the fourth quarter to improve his team's record to 6-1 on the season.

BIG 10 STANDINGS
CONF OVERALL
Michigan 4-0 7-0
Ohio State 3-0 6-0
Minnesota 3-1 6-1
Michigan State 3-2 6-2
Penn State 2-2 4-2
Iowa 2-2 4-2
Purdue 2-3 4-3
Wisconsin 2-3 5-3
Indiana 1-3 2-4
Illinois 0-3 0-6
Northwestern 0-3 0-6

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Wisconsin at Indiana
Illinois at Michigan
Michigan State at Iowa
Minnesota at Penn State
Northwestern at Ohio State
Notre Dame at Purdue

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
TOP RANKED RAZORBACKS KNOCK OFF GEORGIA
In a possible preview of the SEC championship game the Arkansas Razorbacks retained the number one ranking with a convincing 45-10 victory at home over 14th ranked Georgia. Running back Craig Marino had his 6th straight 100 yard rushing day and scored a pair of touchdowns as the Razorbacks built a 28-0 halftime lead. Senior strong safety Bob Middleton continues to make a case for being the best defensive player in the nation. Middleton had his 6th interception of the year in the contest, plus he added a sack and forced a fumble. At 8-0 the Razorbacks have two weeks off before completing their season with 3 road games: at LSU, Kentucky and Alabama.

Elsewhere in the SEC Louisianna State stayed in the hunt for the West Division title with a tight 17-16 victory over South Carolina. The Tigers dominated the time of possession and had more than twice the net yardage of the Game****s but turned the ball over 3 times in the red zone.

A week after a loss at Tennessee seemed to derail their season, Alabama came out with a vengance against Mississippi State. The Tide rolled up over 600 yards in total offense as they coasted to a 50-10 victory.

SEC RESULTS
Tennessee 24 Auburn 3
Arkansas 45 Georgia 10
LSU 17 South Carolina 16
Alabama 50 Mississippi State 10
Vanderbilt 27 La-Lafayette 12

NEXT WEEK
Kentucky at Tennessee
Florida at Vanderbilt
South Carolina at Georgia
Auburn at Mississippi
LSU at Mississippi State

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
East Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Georgia 4-1 5-2
Florida 2-2 4-2
Kentucky 2-2 4-2
Tennessee 2-3 5-3
South Carolina 1-3 1-5
Vanderbilt 0-4 1-6

West Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Arkansas 5-0 8-0
Louisiana State 4-1 6-2
Alabama 3-2 6-2
Mississippi 2-2 5-2
Miss State 1-3 4-4
Auburn 1-4 1-7

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE ROUND UP
Miami remained unbeaten in the ACC with a 22-17 victory over Clemson that knocked the Tigers out of top spot in the Atlantic Division. Turnovers proved the difference as Hurricanes linebacker Carlos Montgomery picked off a pair of Jason Myles passes including one he returned
64 yards for a third quarter touchdown that gave the Hurricanes a 19-7 lead.

Maryland moved a half game ahead of Clemson in the Atlantic Division with a 58-16 thrashing of winless Duke.

ACC RESULTS
Miami 22 Clemson 17
Virginia Tech 45 NC State 17
Maryland 58 Duke 16
Virginia 21 North Carolina 10

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Boston College at Clemson
Wake Forest at Florida State
Maryland at North Carolina State
Miami at Georgia Tech
Duke at Virginia
Virginia Tech at North Carolina

Atlantic Coast Standings
Atlantic Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Maryland 3-1 5-2
Clemson 3-2 4-3
Florida State 2-2 3-3
Wake Forest 1-3 1-5
Boston College 1-3 4-3
NC State 1-4 3-5

Coastal Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Miami 5-0 7-1
Virginia Tech 3-1 5-2
North Carolina 3-2 4-3
Virginia 2-1 3-3
Georgia Tech 2-2 4-2
Duke 0-5 1-7

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BIG EAST CONFERENCE ROUND UP
Syracuse's quest for a perfect season came to an end with a non-conference loss to Nebraska as the Cornhuskers ground game wore down the Orangemen in a 40-37 game. Nebraska running back John Leaks was the hero as he gained 146 yards rushing and scored a pair of third quarter touchdowns.

Rutgers is tied with Syracuse atop the Big East after blasting South Florida 51-21. It was South Florida's first conference loss.

BIG EAST RESULTS
West Virginia 31 UConn 24
Pittsburgh 27 Louisville 10
Rutgers 51 South Florida 21
Nebraska 40 Syracuse 37

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Pittsburgh at Syracuse
Cincinnati at Rutgers
West Virginia at Louisville

BIG EAST STANDINGS
CONF OVERALL[/b]
Syracuse 3-0 6-1
Rutgers 3-0 3-4
South Florida 3-1 4-3
West Virginia 2-3 5-3
UConn 2-3 2-6
Cincinnati 1-2 1-4
Pittsburgh 1-3 3-4
Louisville 0-3 1-5

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BIG 12 CONFERENCE ROUND UP
Oklahoma and Texas continue to lead the way in the South Division. The Sooners scored 17 first quarter points enroute to a 28-7 victory at Texas A&M while the Longhorns had little trouble beating Iowa State 30-13 at home.

BIG 12 RESULTS
Texas 30 Iowa State 13
Oklahoma 28 Texas A&M 7
Colorado 35 Baylot 21
Texas Tech 25 Missouri 16
Nebraska 40 Syracuse 37

NEXT WEEK
Nebraska at Iowa State
Kansas at Kansas State
Colorado at Missouri
Texas at Oklahoma State
Baylor at Oklahoma
Texas Tech at Texas A&M

BIG 12 CONFERENCE
North Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Colorado 3-1 4-2
Missouri 3-2 5-3
Nebraska 2-2 4-3
Iowa State 2-3 3-4
Kansas 1-3 1-5
Kansas State 1-3 3-4

South Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Oklahoma 4-0 6-1
Texas 4-1 7-1
Oklahoma State 3-1 5-2
Texas A&M 3-2 6-2
Texas Tech 1-4 2-6
Baylor 0-5 0-8

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
IRISH SURVIVE SCARE AGAINST TEMPLE
Running back Raymond Winans nearly singlehandedly carried the winless Temple Owls to a victory at Notre Dame. In the end the Irish prevailed 30-29 but Winans scored a pair of touchdowns and ran for 171 yards. It is not the first big effort from the sophomore from Beacon Falls, Connecticut who was not even considered one of the top 1500 recruits in his senior year of high school. Three weeks ago against Navy he ran for 193 yards. On the season he has 757 yards rushing and is one of the few bright spots for the 0-8 Owls.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
MAC ROUND UP
Western Michigan moved a step closer to clinching the West Division with a 33-17 victory over Buffalo. The Broncos are 5-0 and the only undefeated team in conference play. In the East, Ohio moved a half game in front of idle Bowling Green with a 20-3 win over Toledo. The Falcons own the tiebreaker with Ohio by virtue of their 38-20 victory over the Bobcats in week 4.

MAC RESULTS
Western Michigan 33 Buffalo 17
Ohio 20 Toledo 3
Ball State 20 Akron 10
Eastern Michigan 27 Northern Illinois 16
Kent State 20 Army 10

NEXT WEEK
Bowling Green at Buffalo
Miami at Kent State
Akron at Ohio
Western Michigan at Central Michigan
Ball State at Eastern Michigan
Toledo at Northern Illinois

MAC STANDINGS
East Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Ohio 4-1 5-3
Bowling Green 3-1 5-1
Miami(Oh) 2-2 4-2
Buffalo 1-4 2-6
Akron 0-3 1-5
Kent State 0-3 1-6

West Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Western Michigan 5-0 6-2
Northern Illinois 3-2 4-4
Toledo 3-2 4-4
Central Michigan 2-2 3-3
Ball State 2-3 3-5
Eastern Michigan 1-3 2-4

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE ROUND UP
There are now just two unbeaten teams in Mountain West Conference play after San Diego State shocked TCU on the road. The Aztecs scored a convincing 35-17 win over the Horned Frogs thansk to a pair of long touchdown passes in the 4th quarter. Aztecs quarterback Webster Hadnot threw for 4 scores and 367 yards in total. The Aztec defense also held TCU running back Preston St. Pierre to just 85 yards rushing a week after he gained 302 against New Mexico.

Lew McGinest threw 3 touchdown passes as Colorado State improved to 4-0 in conference with a 24-7 win over Wyoming while Air Force is 3-0 after beating Brigham Young 30-6. In his first career start, junior back Jerry Kustok ran for 161 yards for the Falcons.

MOUTAIN WEST RESULTS
Colorado State 24 Wyoming 7
San Diego State 35 TCU 17
Air Force 30 BYU 6

NEXT WEEK
Wyoming at New Mexico
Colorado State at BYU
UNLV at San Diego State
Air Force at Utah

MOUNTAIN WEST STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
Colorado State 4-0 5-1
Air Force 3-0 5-1
TCU 3-1 5-2
Utah 2-1 3-3
BYU 2-2 3-4
Wyoming 2-2 2-4
San Diego State 1-3 4-3
UNLV 0-4 2-4
New Mexico 0-4 0-6

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
PACIFIC 10 CONFERENCE ROUND UP
The USC Trojans moved into a tie with idle Cal atop the Pac 10 standings with a 34-10 win over Oregon State. Freshman running back Lenny Ojo gained 122 yards for the Trojans. The Kearny, Arizona native has topped the 100 yard rushing in 5 of his 6 starts. The USC win sets up a showdown next week with fellow unbeaten Cal.

PAC 10 RESULTS
Washington State 31 UCLA 27
Washington 34 Oregon 27
USC 34 Oregon State 10
Stanford 45 Middle Tenn State 35

NEXT WEEK
California at USC
UCLA at Stanford
Arizona State at Washington State
Arizona at Oregon
Washington at Oregon State

PAC 10 STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
California 3-0 6-0
USC 3-0 5-1
Washington St 3-1 5-2
UCLA 2-1 4-2
Arizona State 2-1 5-1
Stanford 1-2 4-2
Arizona 1-2 4-2
Oregon State 1-3 3-4
Washington 1-3 4-3
Oregon 0-4 3-4

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
CARDS LOOK TO REMAIN UNBEATEN
The words Arizona Cardinals and "Game of the Week" are rarely heard in the same sentence but all of that has changed this season. Thanks to the offseason aquisition of free agent quarterback Tom Brady from New England the Cardinals have one of the best offenses in the NFL and are one of onlt two unbeaten teams (idle Baltimore is the other).

Brady, whohas thrown 9 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions in the 4 wins, has contributed greatly to the improvement of young receivers Anquan Boldin (24 recptions) and Michael Clayton (16 receptions). The defense, led by 6 sacks from second year lineman Tommie Harris, has also been much improved.

Today's game in Chicago, against one of the best defenses in the league, should provide a good challenge to Brady and his new team and it clearly is the 'Game of the Week'.

SUNDAY'S NFL GAMES
San Francisco at Detroit
Minnesota at St Louis
Green Bay at Seattle
Buffalo at New England
Miami at NY Jets
Denver at Tennessee
New Orleans at Washington
Kansas City at Jacksonville
NY Giants at Atlanta
Houston at San Diego
Indianapolis at Oakland
Tampa at Philadelphia
Arizona at Chicago

MONDAY NIGHT
Dallas at Carolina

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS HOLD ON TO BEAT KITCHENER 5-4
Michael Blunden had a 4 point night to lead the Erie Otters past Kitchener 5-4 in Ontario Hockey League action at Erie's Tullio Arena. The Rangers took an early 2-0 lead but Erie fought back to tie it up before the end of the first period on goals by Justin Hodgman and Christian Seest-Olsen. Erie took a 4-2 lead in the second on power play goals from defenseman Andrew Hotham and Blunden.

Special teams were key for the Otters who were 2 for 4 with the man advantage and killed off 4 of 5 shorthanded situations. Erie also added a short handed goal in the third period.

Erie played the game without center Chris Greene who suffered an injury in practice Friday. Justin Fox took Greene's spot in the lineup and earned an assist. The two clubs will meet again this afternoon in Erie.

OTTERS SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST PERIOD
KIT Rizk 2(Azevedo, Donally) 3:53
KIT Azevedo 1(Rizk, Gyenes) 14:23
ERI Hodgman 3(Fox, Palmieri) 16:13
ERI Seest-Olsen 2(McKinley, Blunden) 19:06
Penalties: Fraser Kit 4:24

SECOND PERIOD
ERI Hotham 3(Seest-Olsen, Blunden) 4:53 PP
ERI Blunden 5(O'Marra, Seest-Olsen) 17:10 PP
Penalties: Fraser Kit 4:13, Heller Eri 7:49, Palmieri Eri
8:52, Rizk Kit minor, misconduct 17:05

THIRD PERIOD
KIT Applebaum 2(Courtney) 3:05
ERI Blunden 6(Merlini) 3:37 SH
KIT McGrath 3(Duco, Fraser) 17:53 PP
Penalties: Peluso Eri 3:19, Merlini Eri 8:50, Gyenes Kit
14:09, Seest-Olsen Eri 17:08

In other Ontario Hockey League action the London Knights remained a point ahead of the Otters atop the Midwest Division with an 8-4 win over the Spirit in Saginaw. Robbie Schremp, who was named the OHL's player of the week last week, had 3 goals and 3 assists to pace the Knights.

Elsewhere, Trevor Hendreikx had 3 points in Peterborough's 4-1 win at Belleville. Andrej Sekera's second goal of the game in overtime gave Owen Sound a 4-3 win in Sault Ste Marie. Barrie improved to 4-1 on the season with a 5-3 win over Sudbury. Tyler Doig and Matt Lyall each had 3 points as Guelph doubled Kingston 6-3. Justin Garay turned aside all 19 shots as Plymouth blanked Sarnia 6-0. Colorado Avalanche draft pick Wojtek Wolski had 3 goals and 3 assists in Brampton's 8-1 win over Windsor. St Michael's needed a shootout to beat Oshawa 5-4. It was the Generals second shootout loss this season. Finally, Ottawa shaded winless Mississauga 3-2.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 6 5 0 1 11
ERIE 7 5 2 0 10
Guelph 7 4 3 0 8
Owen Sound 6 4 2 0 8
Kitchener 4 2 1 1 5

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 6 4 1 1 9
Sarnia 7 3 4 0 6
Sault Ste Marie 6 2 3 1 5
Saginaw 8 2 6 0 4
Windsor 6 1 4 1 3

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 6 5 1 0 10
St Michael's 6 4 1 1 9
Barrie 5 4 1 0 8
Sudbury 4 2 2 0 4
Mississauga 6 0 5 1 1

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Kingston 7 5 1 1 11
Oshawa 7 4 1 2 10
Peterborough 6 2 2 2 6
Ottawa 5 2 3 0 4
Belleville 7 1 5 1 3

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Erie 5 Kitchener 4
Peterborough 4 Belleville 1
Owen Sound 4 Sault Ste Marie 3 (OT)
London 8 Saginaw 4
Barrie 5 Sudbury 3
Guelph 6 Kingston 3
Plymouth 6 Sarnia 0
Brampton 8 Windsor 1
St Michael's 5 Oshawa 4 (SO)
Ottawa 3 Mississauga 2

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Kitchener at Erie
Barrie at Oshawa
Ottawa at Guelph
Belleville at Peterborough
Sault Ste Marie at Owen Sound
Plymouth at Brampton
Sarnia at London

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 6 7 10 17
Cory Emmerton King 7 5 11 16
Matt Lyall Guel 7 6 9 15
Ryan Callahan Guel 7 7 7 14
Wojtek Wolski Bram 6 5 9 14
Radek Smolenak King 6 8 5 13
Michael Blunden ERIE 7 6 7 13
David Bolland Lond 6 8 4 12
Luch Aquino Bram 6 7 5 12
Chad Painchaud Sarn 7 8 3 11
Dan Collins Plym 6 6 5 11
Tyler Doig Guel 7 4 7 11
Kris Belan Lond 6 2 9 11

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
SABRES IMPROVE TO 3-0
Martin Biron made 28 saves as the Buffalo Sabres won their third straight game, beating Atlanta 4-1. Thomas Vanek and JP Dumont led the Buffalo attack with a goal and an assist each. The win moves the Sabres into first place in the Northeast Division.

New Jersey is also 3-0 after Martin Brodeur turned aside all 24 shots in a 2-0 victory at St Louis. John Madden and Paul Martin scored for the Devils. There were two other NHL games last night. Alyn McCauley scored the tying goal in the final minute of regulation as the San Jose Sharks earned a 4-3 shoot-out victory over Boston while Mike Cammalleri had 2 points in the LA Kings 3-0 win over the Avalanche in Colorado. Jason LaBarbera earned the shutout for the Kings.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
New Jersey 3 3 0 0 6
Philadelphia 2 1 0 1 3
Pittsburgh 2 1 1 0 2
NY Islanders 2 0 1 1 1
NY Rangers 1 0 1 0 0

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Buffalo 3 3 0 0 6
Boston 3 2 0 1 5
Ottawa 2 1 1 0 2
Montreal 3 1 2 0 2
Toronto 3 1 2 0 2

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 2 2 0 0 4
Atlanta 2 1 1 0 2
Florida 2 1 1 0 2
Tampa 3 0 2 1 1
Carolina 2 0 2 0 0

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 2 2 0 0 4
Chicago 2 1 0 1 3
Detroit 2 0 1 1 1
St Louis 3 0 2 1 1
Columbus 2 0 2 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Colorado 3 2 1 0 4
Edmonton 1 1 0 0 2
Minnesota 2 1 1 0 2
Vancouver 2 1 1 0 2
Calgary 2 1 1 0 2

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
San Jose 3 2 0 1 5
Dallas 2 2 0 0 4
Anaheim 2 2 0 0 4
Phoenix 2 1 1 0 2
Los Angeles 3 1 2 0 2

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Buffalo 4 Atlanta 1
New Jersey 2 St Louis 0
San Jose 4 Boston 3 (SO)
Los Angeles 3 Colorado 0

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Toronto at Florida
San Jose at Ottawa
Vancouver at Edmonton
Dallas at Anaheim
Chicago at Minnesota

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Mark Recchi PIT 2 3 3 6
Bill Guerin DAL 2 3 2 5
Max Afinigenov BUF 3 1 4 5
Joe Sakic COL 2 0 5 5
Ziggy Palffy PIT 2 3 1 4
Ilya Kovalchuk ATL 2 3 1 4
Radek Dvorak EDM 1 2 2 4
Alex Tanguay COL 3 2 2 4
Marian Hossa ATL 2 2 2 4
Ladislav Nagy PHO 2 2 2 4
Dany Heatley OTT 2 2 2 4
S. Samsonov BOS 3 1 3 4
Rob Blake COL 3 1 3 4
Tyler Arnason CHI 2 0 4 4
Mike Modano DAL 2 0 4 4
Glen Murray BOS 3 0 4 4

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
YANKEES STAY ALIVE WITH WIN IN OAKLAND
Mike Mussina tossed a 6-hitter as the New York Yankees avoided elimination with a 3-1 victory over the Oakland A's in Game 3 of their American League Divisional Series. The A's had won the first two games in Yankee Stadium and were looking to complete the sweep with a victory at home. Mussina fanned 6 and walked just 1 batter in 8 and 2/3 innings. Colter Bean retired the final Oakland hitter for the save.

The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Hideki Matsui hit a lead-off double off of Oakland starter Joe Blanton. Matsui would score on a Jason Giambi single and Giambi would later cross the plate on a sac fly from Jorge Posada. An rbi single off the bat of Alex Rodriguez an inning later made it 3-0 New York. The A's would get one back in the 8th inning when Bubba Crosby doubled off of Mussina and scored on Marco Scutaro's base hit. It was the only extra-base hit Mussina would allow.

Tonight it is a rematch of game one as Shawn Chacon faces Barry Zito and the A's. Oakland chased Chacon with 7 runs in the first two innings of the series opener, an 8-2 Athletics victory.

TODAY'S MATCHUP
New York Yankees (Shawn Chacon 12-7, 4.80) at Oakland (Barry Zito 15-11, 4.15)
Los Angeles Angels (Jake Woods 12-10, 3.92) at Cleveland (CC Sabathia 14-11, 3.92)
San Francisco (Kevin Correia 12-10, 3.44) at Chicago Cubs (Kerry Wood 16-9, 4.11)
St Louis (Mark Mulder 13-15, 4.77) at Atlanta (Horacio Ramirez 9-7, 4.52)

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
OAKLAND vs NEW YORK YANKEES
Game 1 Oakland 8 NY Yankees 2
Game 2 Oakland 9 New York 5
Game 3 New York 3 Oakland 1
Game 4 today at Oakland
Game 5 Mon Oct 10 at New York

CLEVELAND vs LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Game 1 Los Angeles 8 Cleveland 1
Game 2 Los Angeles 4 Cleveland 1
Game 3 today at Cle
Game 4 Mon Oct 10 at Cle
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at LA

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
ATLANTA vs ST LOUIS
Game 1 St Louis 3 Atlanta 2
Game 2 St Louis 6 Atlanta 4
Game 3 today at Atl
Game 4 Mon Oct 10 at Atl
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at StL

CHICAGO CUBS vs SAN FRANCISCO
Game 1 Cubs 10 San Francisco 4
Game 2 Cubs 6 San Francisco 3
Game 3 today at Chi
Game 4 Mon Oct 10 at Chi
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at SF

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
EAST PLAYOFF PICTURE STILL WIDE OPEN
Columbus and New England both stayed alive in the MLS playoff race with victories in an exciting Saturday. With just one weekend left in the season there are 3 teams fighting for the final 2 playoff spots in the East and both Division titles remain up for grabs.

Edson Buddle snapped a 1-1 tie with a second half goal that lifted Columbus to a 2-1 upset victory over the division leading Metro Stars. That win allowed the Crew to keep pace with New England, which beat Chicago 1-0. The Revoluition and Crew are tied for the final playoff spot, three points back of defending league champion Chicago. Columbus and New England will meet in Foxboro next weekend with the playoffs on the line. By virtue of having an extra victory on the season all the Crew need is a tie to advance.

Meanwhile first place is still up for grabs in each division. The Metro Stars will host DC United next Saturday. The two clubs enter the game tied for first in the East. Out West San Jose moved to within 2 points of division leading Los Angeles by beating the Galaxy 1-0. San Jose hosts Kansas City next week while Los Angeles visits Colorado.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS
New England 1 Chicago 0
Columbus 2 Metro Stars 1
FC Dallas 1 Colorado 0
San Jose 1 Los Angeles 0

NEXT SATURDAY'S MATCHES
Los Angeles at Colorado
DC United at Metro Stars
Columbus at New England
Kansas City at San Jose

STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
GP W L T PTS
Metro Stars* 29 12 7 10 46
DC United* 29 14 11 4 46
Chicago* 30 9 11 10 37
Columbus 29 9 13 7 34
New England 29 8 11 10 34

WESTERN CONFERENCE
GP W L T PTS
Los Angeles* 29 13 9 7 46
San Jose* 29 12 9 8 44
Colorado* 29 10 10 9 39
FC Dallas* 30 10 11 9 39
Kansas City 29 7 12 10 31
*qualified for playoffs

SOCCER
WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
UNITED STATS HAMMERS GUATEMALA 5-0
DaMarcus Beasley scored twice as the United States coasted to a 5-0 victory over Guatemala before a crowd of nearly 80,000 at the Rose Bowl. The victory keeps the Americans in first place in North American qualifying for the World Cup. The win did come at a cost as defender Eddie Pope was forced to leave the game with an ankle injury.

Mexico, which like the United States has already clinched a berth in Germany, beat Honduras 7-1 which opens the door for Jamiaca. The Jamaicans doubled Costa Rica 4-2 and are a point back of Honduras with 1 game to play. Realistically the Jamaica's will not overtake Honduras for third spot and the automatic berth in the World Cup but they are in the driver's seat for fourth place and a playoff matchup.

NORTH AMERICA GROUP STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
USA * 9 8 0 1 27 4 24
Mexico * 9 7 1 1 32 9 22
Honduras 9 3 2 4 12 19 11
Jamaica 9 3 1 5 15 17 10
Costa Rica 9 2 2 5 10 22 8
Guatemala 9 0 2 7 3 28 2
*- qualified for World Cup

SATRUDAY RESULTS
Jamaica 4 Costa Rica 2
Mexico 7 Honduras 1
USA 5 Guatemala 0

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 12
Mexico at Costa Rica
Guatemala at Honduras
Jamaica at USA
end of qualifying

PLENTY REMAINS UNDECIDED IN EUROPEAN WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
With just one game remaining in the group stage competition 5 of the 8 Groups are still up for grabs.

In Group 1 Romania has completed it's slate of 12 games and must wait to see what happens on Wednesday. The Romanians are 2 points ahead of the Czech Republic and 3 up on Holland. The Czech's can advance with a victory at Finland or if the Czech's fail to win Holland will advance with a win at home over Macedonia. Romania blew a chance to clinch when they were held to a 1-1 draw with the Finns on Saturday.

Group 2 is one of the three groups where the winner has been decided. Turkey is through and has earned a berth in the World Cup. Likewise, in Group 3 Portugal has advanced.

In Group 4 Ireland has a two point lead on France with each club still having one home game to play. The Irish side takes on third place Switzerland on Wednesday while France will need a win against Cyprus and a Swiss upset.

In Group 5 Norway and Italy are deadlocked with 22 points. The Norweigans play at Belarus while Italy hosts Moldova on Wednesday. Goal differential for both clubs is the same at +10. The loser of the two should still advance as the top two second place clubs also earn a berth.

England has clinched in Group 6 with one game to play. Spain needs a win in San Marino in Group 7 to ensure a berth. Sernia & Montenegro is two points back but they will be home to Bosnia on Wednesday and they have a better goal differential than the Spainards.

Group 8 is the tightest group as 4 countries are seperated by 3 points. Bulgaria needs just a win in Malta Wednesday to ensure a spot in the World Cup. If they lose the Hungary/Croatia winner likely advances. Croatia is 1 point back and Hungary is two off the pace. Sweden is 3 back and needs a Bulgaria loss and a Croatia/Hungary tie to advance.

SOUTH AMERICA QUALIFYING
In South America the top 4 teams qualify for the World Cup while the 5th place team advances to a playoff. The top 4 spots are decided as Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Colombia have qualified but 5th spot is still open with 1 game to play.

SOUTH AMERICA GROUP STANDINGS
Team GP W D L Pts
Brazil* 17 12 1 4 37
Uruguay* 17 10 4 3 34
Argentina* 17 11 0 6 33
Colombia* 17 9 3 5 30
Chile 17 8 2 7 26
Paraguay 17 7 4 6 25
Bolivia 17 6 2 9 20
Peru 17 5 4 8 19
Venezuela 17 2 3 12 9
Ecuador 17 2 3 12 9

SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Argentina 4 Venezuela 0
Chile 4 Equador 0
Colombia 4 Bolivia 0
Paraguay 4 Peru 2
Uruguay 0 Brazil 0

WEDNESDAY'S GAMES
Colombia at Argentina
Paraguay at Bolivia
Venezuela at Brazil
Uruguay at Ecuador
Chile at Peru
end of qualifying

AFRICAN GROUP QUALIFIERS FOR WORLD CUP
Mali
South Africa
Cameroon
Nigeria
Morocco

ASIAN GROUP QUALIFIERS FOR WORLD CUP
South Korea, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Iran have all qualified for the World Cup. China and Bahrain will play a home and home series to determine the 5th qualifier from the region.

Thursday October 20th
Bahrain at China

Thursday October 27th
China at Bahrain

Tiger Fan

12-30-2005, 03:30 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Monday October 10, 2005

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
PATS DROP BILLS 21-13
Rich Thomas for a career best 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the New England Patriots to a 21-13 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Foxboro. The result evens both club's record at 2-2.

This was a game the Bills should have won were it not for costly penalties and ineffectiveness inside the red zone. Four times the Bills had a first and goal inside the Pats 5 yard line and from those four opportunities they only came away with 7 points. Late in the second quarter Tim Rattay completed a 2 yard pass to Eric Moulds for the Bills only touchdown. One other time they tried a fake field goal but the pass fell incomplete and on the other two occassions the Pats defense stuffed the Bills on 4th and goal from inside the 2 yard line.

While Thomas, a second year back from Mississippi who inherited the starting job when Kevin Faulk tore his ACL in training camp, certainly emerged as the star of the game it was the wildly inconsistant QB Rohan Davey who gave the Bills fits. Despite being picked off 3 times in the game Davey came up with some big completions at the most opportune time. He is not a player the Pats should trust their future on (exhibit A is 3 touchdown passes compared to 10 interceptions thru 4 games) but he does have a knack for making the big play.

The AFC East race is much tighter after Miami handed the New York Jets their first loss of the season. The Dolphins improved to 2-2 thanks to a 142 yard, 3 touchdown performance from Ricky Williams in a 45-21 Dolphin victory at the Meadowlands. Chad Pennington threw for over 300 yards and all 3 New York scores but the Jets running game was held to 52 yards by the Miami defense.

BEARS HAND CARDINALS THEIR FIRST LOSS
Charles Tillman picked off a Tom Brady pass on the first series of the game and returned it 98 yards for a touchdown to spur the Chicago Bears to a 34-20 victory over the previously unbeaten Arizona Cardinals. Brady would complete 18 of 40 passes including 3 touchdown strikes but was also picked off twice in his worst performance QB rating-wise as a Cardinal. The Bears Doug Johnson also threw 2 interceptions but he was aided by something Brady did not have the luxury of, a solid running game led by Anthony Thomas' season high 107 yards rushing. The smothering Bears defense sacked Brady 5 times and held the Cardinals to 32 yards rushing.

In other NFL action:
The Detroit Lions, winners of a total of 3 games over the previous two seasons, got their second win of the year by beating San Francisco 13-7. Joey Harrington's 55 yard touchdown pass to Charles Rogers in the third quarter was the difference.

It was like old times in St Louis as Marshall Faulk ran for 106 yards while Tory Holt caught 7 Kurt Warner passes as the Rams beat Minnesota 24-15.

Former Seahawk Shawn Alexander and Ahman Green each ran for a touchdown as Green Bay beat Seattle 17-14.

10 fourth quarter points including an 82 yard touchdown pass from Jake Plummer to Ashley Leslie gave the Denver Broncos a 19-12 win over Tennessee.

Deuce McAllister ran for 100 yards and a touchdown as New Orleans beat Washington 24-13 spoiling a 266 yard, 2 touchdown passing day from Redskins quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Trent Green threw for 3 scores and 280 yards as Kansas City dumped Jacksonville 31-17. Tight End Tony Gonzalez had 6 catches for 101 yards for the Chiefs while Fred Taylor ran for 114 yards for Jacksonville.

In Atlanta, New York Giants rookie quarterback Alex Smith had his best day as a pro passing for 225 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Giants past the Falcons 27-20. Ike Hilliard had 6 grabs for 101 yards while Jeremy Shockey caught 7 passes. After starting 0-2, Smith and the Giants have reeled off 3 straight victories.

It was just another day at the office for LaDainian Tomlinson. The Chargers running back rushed for 157 yards and 2 scores while adding a 65 yard touchdown reception to lead San Diego past Houston 21-12. Quarterbacks Craig Krenzel of San Diego and Houston's Harry Thomas combined to throw 7 interceptions. Thomas was starting in place of David Carr, who is out for two months with an ankle injury.

Second year Oakland quarterback Reggie Strachan outduelled Peyton Manning as the Raiders beat Indianapolis 31-24. Strachan threw for 306 yards and 3 touchdowns inlcuding a 35 yarder to Jerry Porter with just over 2 minutes to play that proved to be the difference. Still missing Edgerrin James, who may miss 3 months with a torn groin muscle, the Colts could mount no rushing attack at all and the Raiders were able to key entirely on the pass. Manning did manage to complete 25 of 39 passes for 282 yards and 1 touchdown.

Donovan McNabb and receiver Rashaun Woods connected on a 43 yard pass in the third quarter for the game's only touchdown as Philadelphia beat Tampa 16-12. Both defenses were outstanding in the game particularily veteran Eagles linebacker Carlos Emmons who had 7 tackles, a sack and 4 quarterback hurries.

The Monday Night Game has 2-2 Dallas travelling to Carolina to face the winless Panthers. Both teams have decent defenses but with Quincy Carter and Jake Delhomme at quarterback neither has had much offensive success. It should be a low scoring game.

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Detroit 13 San Francisco 7
St Louis 24 Minnesota 15
Green Bay 17 Seattle 14
New England 21 Buffalo 13
Miami 45 NY Jets 21
Denver 19 Tennessee 12
New Orleans 24 Washington 13
Kansas City 31 Jacksonville 17
NY Giants 27 Atlanta 20
San Diego 21 Houston 12
Oakland 31 Indianapolis 24
Philadelphia 16 Tampa 12
Chicago 34 Arizona 20

MONDAY NIGHT GAME
Dallas at Carolina

WEEK 6 MATCHUPS
Washington Redskins (3-2) at Baltimore Ravens (4-0)
Philadelphia Eagles (4-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (2-2)
Cleveland Browns (1-3) at New York Giants (3-2)
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2) at Indianapolis Colts (2-3)
Denver Broncos (4-1) at Atlanta Falcons (2-3)
Kansas City Chiefs (4-1) at Carolina Panthers (0-4)
New Orleans Saints (2-3) at Oakland Raiders (2-3)
New England Patriots (2-2) at Arizona Cardinals (4-1)
New York Jets (3-1) at San Francisco 49ers (3-2)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-3) at Dallas Cowboys (2-2)
St. Louis Rams (1-4) at Miami Dolphins (2-2)
Seattle Seahawks (2-3) at Buffalo Bills (2-2)
Tennessee Titans (0-5) at Houston Texans (0-5)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-3) at San Diego Chargers (4-1)

NFL STANDINGS
NFC
North W L T PCT PF PA[/b]
Minnesota 3 2 0 .600 123 105
Green Bay 3 2 0 .600 113 85
Chicago 3 2 0 .600 90 84
Detroit 2 3 0 .400 69 101

East W L T PCT PF PA
Philadelphia 4 1 0 .800 118 75
NY Giants 3 2 0 .600 110 93
Washington 3 2 0 .600 114 104
Dallas 2 2 0 .500 64 70

South W L T PCT PF PA
Atlanta 2 3 0 .400 91 112
New Orleans 2 3 0 .400 78 89
Tampa Bay 2 3 0 .400 94 100
Carolina 0 4 0 .000 16 92

West W L T PCT PF PA
Arizona 4 1 0 .800 154 97
San Francisco 3 2 0 .600 94 63
Seattle 2 3 0 .400 84 107
St. Louis 1 4 0 .200 91 125

AFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Baltimore 4 0 0 1.000 100 50
Cincinnati 2 2 0 .500 66 81
Cleveland 1 3 0 .250 79 100
Pittsburgh 1 3 0 .250 61 87

East W L T PCT PF PA
NY Jets 3 1 0 .750 93 82
Miami 2 2 0 .500 94 98
New England 2 2 0 .500 77 76
Buffalo 2 2 0 .500 94 65

South W L T PCT PF PA
Jacksonville 3 2 0 .600 100 99
Indianapolis 2 3 0 .400 81 99
Houston 0 5 0 .000 50 95
Tennessee 0 5 0 .000 68 111

West W L T PCT PF PA
Denver 4 1 0 .800 129 87
Kansas City 4 1 0 .800 143 121
San Diego 4 1 0 .800 114 74
Oakland 2 3 0 .400 91 116

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NO CHANGE ATOP THE COACHES POLL
The top 5 are unchanged in the latest College Football Coaches Poll. Number one ranked Arkansas and 2nd ranked Michigan each posted victories over ranked opponents on Saturday. With Syracuse losing 40-37 at Nebraska we are now down to just 4 undefeated teams. Looking ahead to next week two of the unbeatens will face stiff challenges. Top ranked Arkansas hosts #16 LSU while 4th ranked Cal has a Pac10 showdown with #10 USC at the Rose Bowl.

Here is the latest Top 25 according to the NCAA Football Coaches:

TOP 25
RK SCHOOL REC PREV LAST NEXT
1 Arkansas 8-0 1 W 45-10 Georgia #16 LSU
2 Michigan 7-0 2 W 30-17at Wisconsin Illinois
3 Ohio State 6-0 3 W 50-0 at Indiana Northwestern
4 California 6-0 4 idle at #10 USC
5 Texas 7-1 5 W 30-13 Iowa State at Okla State
6 Miami 7-1 10 W 22-17 Clemson at Georgia Tech
7 Minnesota 6-1 11 W 28-17 Purdue at Penn State
8 Oklahoma 6-1 17 W 28-7 at Texas A&M Baylor
9 Syracuse 6-1 6 L 40-37 at Nebraska Pittsburgh
10 USC 5-1 16 W 34-10 Oregon St #4 Cal
11 Arizona St 5-1 12 idle at #22 Wash State
12 Texas A&M 6-2 7 L 28-7 Oklahoma Texas Tech
13 Alabama 6-2 18 W 50-10 Miss St at Auburn
14 Michigan St 6-2 8 L 22-20 Penn State at #25 Iowa
15 Mississippi 5-2 13 idle at Auburn
16 LSU 6-2 19 W 17-16 South Carol. at Miss State
17 Wisconsin 5-3 9 L 30-17 Michigan at Indiana
18 Notre Dame 6-2 23 W 30-29 Temple at Purdue
19 Georgia 5-2 14 L 45-10 at Arkansas South Carolina
20 Virginia Tech 5-2 nr W 45-17 NC State at North Carolina
21 UCLA 4-2 15 L 31-27 Wash State at Stanford
22 Wash. State 5-2 nr W 31-27 UCLA #11 Arizona State
23 Florida 4-2 22 idle at Vanderbilt
24 Arizona 4-2 21 idle at Oregon
25 Iowa 4-2 20 idle Michigan State

Dropped out of top 25
24 Purdue
25 Clemson

The Associated Press poll will be released later today. Arkansas should certainly remain number one in the AP poll as well.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
TRIBE BEAT ANGELS 6-4 TO STAY ALIVE
After dropping the first two games of their best-of-5 American League Divisional Series in Anaheim the Cleveland Indians found Jacobs Field much more to their liking. Ryan Ludwick homered and C.C. Sabathia pitched 7 strong innings as the Indians prevailed 6-4.

The Indians broke a 2-2 tie with a pair of runs in both the 6th and 7th innings. With 2 out and a runner on first in the 6th Tribe catcher Victor Martinez delivered an rbi double off Jered Weaver, who had replaced Angels starter Jake Woods. Ben Broussard followed with a single to plate Martinez. It was a 2-out double that did the damage in the 7th as designated hitter Travis Hafner stroked one down the right field line to score Charles Hiser and Grady Sizemore.

Sabathia would last until Vladimir Guererro hit a one out single in the top of the 8th inning. Jose Diaz would take over and retire the next two Angels to end the threat but in the 9th Diaz surrenedered a 2-run homer to Tim Salmon to cut the Indians lead to 6-4. Chad Zerbe replaced Diaz and retired the final two Los Angeles batters to end the game.

Game 4 is today in Cleveland with Kevin Gregg on the hill for the Angels against the Indians Francisco Cruceta.

YANKS BEAT A'S TO FORCE GAME 5
Tino Martinez delivered an rbi single with 2 out in the top of the 8th inning to give the New York Yankees a 3-2 win over the Oakland and even their best of five Divisional Series at 2 games apiece. The Yankees, who dropped games 1 and 2 at home, return to Yankee Stadium tonight hoping to win their third straight game.

In Game 4 the Yankees struck first when Gary Sheffield, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada hit singles in the second inning. Sheffield scored on the Posada base hit to make it 1-0. Oakland evened things in the bottom of the third on an rbi single from 2B Marco Scutaro and the A's made it 2-1 in the 5th when Brian Stavisky's rbi double scored Scutaro. Barry Zito did not allow a New York hit from the third inning until Hideki Matsui led off the the 7th with a double. After Zito fanned Tino Martinez and Jason Giambi the Yanks tied the game on an rbi single from Bernie Williams that chased Zito.

Former St Louis Cardinal Kiko Calero took the loss in relief of Zito, who fanned 7 and allowed just 5 hits in 6 2/3 innings. Yankee reliever Felix Rodriguez got the victory after taking over for starter Shawn Chacon in the 7th. Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the series.

CUBS AND CARDS COMPLETE SWEEPS
One of the best rivalries in baseball will be renewed when the Chicago Cubs and St Louis Cardinals meet for the National League Pennant. The Cubs and Cardinals each completed 3 game sweeps in their Divisional Series' with victories yesterday.

In Chicago the Cubs trimmed San Francisco 3-2. A little known 22 year old outfielder by the name of David Gregg sent the Cubs to the NLCS with an 8th sacrifice fly that snapped a 2-2 tie. Derrek Lee had homered in the 6th inning to tie the game after the Giants built a 2-1 lead. Nomar Garciaparra and Michael Barrett each had 3 hits for the Cubs in the win. Mike Remlinger got the victory in relief of Kerry Wood while Giants reliever LaTroy Hawkins, a former Cub, took the loss.

The Cardinals scored 5 runs in the final two innings to rally from a 4-1 deficeit and beat the hometown Atlanta Braves 6-4. Rookie outfielder Adam Shabala hit a 2-run homer in the 8th inning off of Braves reliever Kyle Farnsworth to cut the Atlanta lead to 4-3. In the 9th inning Atlanta completely fell apart, committing 3 errors and allowing 3 hits as the Cards scored 3 times. Rookie reliever Tyler Johnson shut the Braves down in order in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the series.

The National League Championship Series will likely start Wednesday evening in St Louis. The Cubs are expected to send Mark Prior to the mound against Adam Wainwright of St Louis.

TODAY'S MATCHUP
Los Angeles Angels(Kevin Gregg 14-9, 3.22) at Cleveland (Francisco Cruceta 11-3, 3.44)
Oakland (Juan Cruz 15-9, 3.57) at New York Yankees (Carl Pavano 7-12, 4.24)

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
OAKLAND vs NEW YORK YANKEES
Game 1 Oakland 8 NY Yankees 2
Game 2 Oakland 9 New York 5
Game 3 New York 3 Oakland 1
Game 4 New York 3 Oakland 2
Game 5 Mon Oct 10 at New York

CLEVELAND vs LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Game 1 Los Angeles 8 Cleveland 1
Game 2 Los Angeles 4 Cleveland 1
Game 3 Cleveland 6 Los Angeles 4
Game 4 today at Cleveland
Game 5 Tue Oct 11 at LA

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
ATLANTA vs ST LOUIS
Game 1 St Louis 3 Atlanta 2
Game 2 St Louis 6 Atlanta 4
Game 3 St Louis 6 Atlanta 4
ST LOUIS WINS SERIES 3-0

CHICAGO CUBS vs SAN FRANCISCO
Game 1 Cubs 10 San Francisco 4
Game 2 Cubs 6 San Francisco 3
Game 3 Cubs 3 San Francisco 2
CHICAGO CUBS WIN SERIES 3-0

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS CAN'T GET A BREAK IN LOSS TO RANGERS
The Erie Otters dug themselves a big hole in the first period of their 4-3 loss to the Kitchener Rangers at the Tullio Arena but if they had got a bounce or two in the third period they could easily have completed a 2 game weekend sweep of the Rangers.

The Otters only really played 1 solid period but they were buzzing throughout the third period. The beat Ranger goaltender Dan Turple 5 times but 4 of the shots rang off posts and stayed out. The only goal came with goaltender Scott Greenham on the bench for an extra attacker with just 17 seconds remaining in the game.

Greenham let 3 of the first 5 shots he faced beat him before settling down and stopping 34 of the final 35 he faced. The rookie goaltender could really sue his teammates for non-support in the first period as they seemed to have no concept of how to play defense. The Erie powerplay went dead after Michael Blunden's game opening goal just over a minute into the contest. The Otters had over 5 minutes with the man advantage and 1:15 with a 2-man advantage midway through the first period but could not mount any sort of an offensive threat against Turple and the Rangers.

Otter Tails: Overage defenseman Jake Heller left the game in the second period with a shoulder injury. Heller is expected to be sidelined about a week. With Heller sidelined for at least Tuesday's game in Barrie 17 year old Eric Regan will get back in the lineup. Regan, who played 61 games for the Otters last season, has appeared in just 3 games this year and has been a healthy scratch for the past 5 games....The Otters have given up on trying to convince their 8th round pick to sign with the team. Winger Richard Manley, a 15 year old from Buffalo, has decided his goal is to play College Hockey and he will remain with the US National Development Team.

OTTERS SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST PERIOD
ERI Blunden 7(Merlini, Seest-Olsen) 1:01 PP
KIT McGrath 4(Lashoff, Davis) 4:36
KIT Thomson 1(Azevedo) 8:49 PP
KIT McGrath 5(Davis) 9:01
Penalties: Duco Kit 0:12, Blunden Eri 2:27, Fox Eri 7:01,
Kindl Kit 12:56, Lashoff Kit 13:41, Fraser Kit 16:13

SECOND PERIOD
KIT Davis 4(Duco, McGrath) 6:10
ERI MacLean 2(Bagshaw, Palmieri) 8:26
Penalties: Davis Kit 1:27, MacLean Eri 17:58

THIRD PERIOD
ERI O'Connor 1(Merlini, O'Marra) 19:43 PP
Penalties: Bagshaw Eri 4:38, Loikets Eri 10:21. Pepe Kit 18:29

SHOTS ON
Turple Kitchener 24
Greenham Erie 40

In other Ontario Hockey League action Owen Sound and Guelph both moved into a second place tie with the Otters in the Midwest Division. The Attack picked up their 4th straight victory by beating Sault Ste Marie 5-1. Matt Kang had 2 goals and an assist for Owen Sound. In Guelph, Ryan Callahan and Tyler Doig each had a goal and an assist to lead the Storm past Ottawa 5-3. London remains in top spot in the division and stretched their lead to 3 points with a 5-3 victory at the Labatt Centre over Sarnia. Jamie VanderVeeken scored twice to pace the Knights.

Elsewhere Bryan Little scored in overtime to lift Barrie past Oshawa 3-2. Evan Brophey had 2 goals and an assist in Belleville's 3-1 win at Peterborough and Wojtek Wolski's overtime marker gave Brampton a 3-2 win over Plymouth.

There was a trade in the OHL over the weekend as Barrie picked up veteran center Cal O'Reilly from Windsor. The 19 year old had 24 goals and 74 points for the Spitfires last season. In his Barrie debut against Oshawa last night he had a goal and an assist. Going to Windsor were 16 year old defenseman Blake Parlett, who was the Colts first draft pick last May, and 17 year old center Brett Oliphant as well as a third round draft pick. Parlett is the key to the deal for Windsor as he already has 5 points in 4 games this season and has the potential to be a future NHLer.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 7 6 0 1 13
Owen Sound 7 5 2 0 10
ERIE 8 5 3 0 10
Guelph 8 5 3 0 10
Kitchener 5 3 1 1 7

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 7 4 1 2 10
Sarnia 8 3 5 0 6
Sault Ste Marie 7 2 4 1 5
Saginaw 8 2 6 0 4
Windsor 6 1 4 1 3

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 7 6 1 0 12
Barrie 6 5 1 0 10
St Michael's 6 4 1 1 9
Sudbury 4 2 2 0 4
Mississauga 6 0 5 1 1

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Kingston 7 5 1 1 11
Oshawa 8 4 1 3 11
Peterborough 7 2 3 2 6
Belleville 8 2 5 1 5
Ottawa 6 2 4 0 4

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Kitchener 4 Erie 3
Barrie 3 Oshawa 2 (OT)
Guelph 5 Ottawa 3
Belleville 3 Peterborough 1
Owen Sound 5 Sault Ste Marie 1
Brampton 3 Plymouth 2 (OT)
London 5 Sarnia 3

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Sault Ste Marie at Plymouth
Windsor at London
Mississauga at St Michael's

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 7 8 10 18
Ryan Callahan Guel 8 8 8 16
Matt Lyall Guel 8 6 10 16
Cory Emmerton King 7 5 11 16
Wojtek Wolski Bram 7 6 9 15
Michael Blunden ERIE 8 7 7 14
Radek Smolenak King 7 8 5 13
Tyler Doig Guel 8 5 8 13
Kris Belan Lond 7 3 10 13
David Bolland Lond 7 8 4 12
Luch Aquino Bram 7 7 5 12
Dan Collins Plym 7 6 6 12

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
MIGHTY DUCKS OFF TO HOT START
An overtime goal by Petr Sykora gave the Anaheim Mighty Ducks a 4-3 victory over Dallas and kept the team unbeaten through 3 games. Sykora and Teemu Selanne each had a goal and an assist for the Ducks while Stanislav Chistov had a 3 point night as Anaheim improved to 3-0-0 on the season.

Toronto's woes continue as the Leafs, still missing Mats Sundin, Eric Lindros and Jason Allison fell for the third time in 4 games. Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester had a pair of assists as Florida beat Toronto 4-2.

In Ottawa, Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley each had 4 points to lead the Senators past San Jose 4-2. The third member of Ottawa's big line, Jason Spezza, had a goal and an assist.

In Edmonton Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison each had 3 points to lead visiting Vancouver past the Oilers 4-1. In the only other game last night Patrick O'Sullivan scored his first career NHL goal with 51 seconds left in regulation to give Minnesota a 2-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
New Jersey 3 3 0 0 6
Philadelphia 2 1 0 1 3
Pittsburgh 2 1 1 0 2
NY Islanders 2 0 1 1 1
NY Rangers 1 0 1 0 0

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Buffalo 3 3 0 0 6
Boston 3 2 0 1 5
Ottawa 3 2 1 0 4
Montreal 3 1 2 0 2
Toronto 4 1 3 0 2

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 2 2 0 0 4
Florida 3 2 1 0 4
Atlanta 2 1 1 0 2
Tampa 3 0 2 1 1
Carolina 2 0 2 0 0

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 2 2 0 0 4
Chicago 3 1 1 1 3
Detroit 2 0 1 1 1
St Louis 3 0 2 1 1
Columbus 2 0 2 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Minnesota 3 2 1 0 4
Vancouver 3 2 1 0 4
Colorado 3 2 1 0 4
Edmonton 2 1 1 0 2
Calgary 2 1 1 0 2

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 3 3 0 0 6
Dallas 3 2 0 1 5
San Jose 4 2 1 1 5
Phoenix 2 1 1 0 2
Los Angeles 3 1 2 0 2

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Florida 4 Toronto 2
Ottawa 4 San Jose 2
Vancouver 4 Edmonton 1
Anaheim 4 Dallas 3 (ot)
Minnesota 2 Chicago 1

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Atlanta at Pittsburgh
Philadelphia at NY Islanders
Toronto at Tampa
Colorado at Columbus
New Jersey at Montreal
Buffalo at Calgary

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 3 4 4 8
D. Alfredsson OTT 3 2 5 7
Mark Recchi PIT 2 3 3 6
B. Morrison VAN 3 1 5 6
Bill Guerin DAL 3 3 2 5
Markus Naslund VAN 3 2 3 5
Jason Spezza OTT 3 2 3 5
Max Afinigenov BUF 3 1 4 5
Tyler Arnason CHI 3 0 5 5
Joe Sakic COL 2 0 5 5
Mike Modano DAL 3 0 4 5

Tiger Fan

12-30-2005, 03:31 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Tuesday October 11, 2005

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INDIANS BLOWN OUT - LOSE SERIES
Vladimir Guerrero and Milton Bradley each had 3 rbi's as the Los Angeles Angels hammered the Cleveland Indians 12-3 at Jacobs Field to end the Tribe's season. The victory gives the Angels the best-of-5 Divisional Playoff Series in 4 games. Young Indians starter Francisco Cruceta was roughed up for 7 runs and 9 hits in 4 and two-third innings.

The teams each scored a run in the first inning but after that the Angels dominated the game getting a run in the third on a Bradley rbi single, two more in the fourth on a rbi base hit from Tim Salmon and an Adam Kennedy sac fly, 3 more in the 5th, 1 in the 6th, another 3 in the 7th inning and a final run in the 8th. The Tribe did manage to score two runs in the bottom of the 8th on a Grady Sizemore homerun but it was far too little, too late to avoid an end to the Indians season.

YANKEES HANG ON - JUST BARELY - TO COMPLETE COMEBACK VS A'S
The New York Yankees overcame a 2-0 series deficeit to rally and beat the Oakland Athletics in Game 5 but not before the Yankees almost blew an 8-run lead in the decisive game. In the end New York survived a 7-run Oakland outburst in the 7th inning and held on for a 9-8 victory and a trip to the American League Championship Series.

Jason Giambi hit a 3-run homer in the second inning against his former team to get New York off to a solid start and an inning later the Yankees added 3 more runs to chase Oakland starting pitcher Juan Cruz. Gary Sheffield hit a sac fly to score Alex Rodriguez with the first run of the inning and then with 2 out a few batters Mark Loretta drove in 2 with a bases loaded single.

Eric Chavez got Oakland on the board with a solo homer in the 4th inning but the Yankees made it 8-1 on a 2-run homer off the bat of Gary Sheffield in the bottom of the 4th. When Jason Giambi scored on a throwing error from Oakland catcher Adam Melhuse to make it 9-1 in the 6th inning few realized the importance of that run. However, it would prove the difference in the game after an amazing 7th inning that saw Oakland send 11 men to the plate and score 7 runs on just 4 hits and a pair of New York errors.

It was suddenly 9-8 but Oakland would get no closer as rookie Scott Proctor set the A's down in order in the 8th inning and Mariano Riveria would do the same in the 9th for his second save of the series.

The Yankees have a couple of days off before flying west to meet the Angels in Game 1 of the ALCS on Thursday. The pitching matchup will be confirmed Wednesday but it will likely be Mike Mussina going for New York against Jarrod Washburn. The NLCS begins Wednesday night in St Louis with the Cardinals sending Adam Wainwright to the mound against Mark Prior and the Chicago Cubs.

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
OAKLAND vs NEW YORK YANKEES
Game 1 Oakland 8 NY Yankees 2
Game 2 Oakland 9 New York 5
Game 3 New York 3 Oakland 1
Game 4 New York 3 Oakland 2
Game 5 New York 9 Oakland 8
YANKEES WIN SERIES 3-2

CLEVELAND vs LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Game 1 Los Angeles 8 Cleveland 1
Game 2 Los Angeles 4 Cleveland 1
Game 3 Cleveland 6 Los Angeles 4
Game 4 Los Angeles 12 Cleveland 3
ANGELS WIN SERIES 3-1

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
ATLANTA vs ST LOUIS
Game 1 St Louis 3 Atlanta 2
Game 2 St Louis 6 Atlanta 4
Game 3 St Louis 6 Atlanta 4
ST LOUIS WINS SERIES 3-0

CHICAGO CUBS vs SAN FRANCISCO
Game 1 Cubs 10 San Francisco 4
Game 2 Cubs 6 San Francisco 3
Game 3 Cubs 3 San Francisco 2
CHICAGO CUBS WIN SERIES 3-0

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
TEAM EFFORT LEADS PENS PAST THRASHERS
Fourteen different Pittsburgh players had at least one point as the Pens thrashed Atlanta 7-3 in National Hockey League action. The victory improves the Pens record to 2-1-0 and moves them within 2 points of first place New Jersey in the Atlantic Division.

The Pens scored the only goal of the first period on a powerplay as defenseman Richard Jackman found the back of the net following a setup from Mario Lemieux. Slava Kozlov tied the game early in the second on an Atlanta powerplay but Lasse Pirketa and Ziggy Palffy replied for the Pens to make it 3-1. Atlanta would tie the game early in the third before the Pens exploded with 4 unanswered goals. Heralded rookie Sidney Crosby assisted on the final two.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS GAME SUMMARY
FIRST PERIOD
PIT Jackman 1(Gonchar,Lemieux) 1:39 PP
Penalties: Bondra Atl 0:37, Pirjeta Pit 19:22

SECOND PERIOD
ATL Kozlov 1(Bondra, de Vries) 2:23 PP
PIT Pirjeta 1(Surovy, Armstrong) 8:23
PIT Palffy 4(Jackman, Gonchar) 9:38 PP
ATL Coburn 1(unassisted) 17:36
Penalties: Malone Pit 0:43, Stefan Atl 5:58, Holik Atl
9:27, LeClair Pit 15:12, Gonchar Pit 17:45

THIRD PERIOD
ATL Kovalchuk 4(de Vries) 3:28
PIT Audette 1(LeClair, Fata) 7:23
PIT Recchi 4(Palffy) 10:03
PIT Malone 2(Crosby) 12:00
PIT Koltsov 1(Malone, Crosby) 13:21 PP
Penalties: Lessard Atl 5:03, Sutton Atl 12:26

SHOTS ON
PIT Thibeault 22
ATL Dunham 46

In other National Hockey League action Rick DiPietro turned aside all 21 Philadelphia shots as the New York Islanders blanked the visiting Flyers 3-0. Martin St. Louis scored a pair of third period to goals to lift Tampa past Toronto 3-1. Vincent Lecavalier had a goal and an assist for the Lightning. Colorado handed the Columbus Blue Jackets their third straight loss, 3-1 was the score.

Saku Koivu assisted on a pair of Alexei Kovalev goals as Montreal beat New Jersey 4-1. Finally in Calgary Jerome Iginla had the hat trick as Calgary beat Buffalo 4-2 to hand the Sabres their first loss of the season. Damond Langkow assisted on all 3 of Iginla's goals.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
New Jersey 4 3 1 0 6
Pittsburgh 3 2 1 0 4
NY Islanders 3 1 1 1 3
Philadelphia 3 1 1 1 3
NY Rangers 1 0 1 0 0

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Buffalo 4 3 1 0 6
Boston 3 2 0 1 5
Ottawa 3 2 1 0 4
Montreal 4 2 2 0 4
Toronto 5 1 4 0 2

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 2 2 0 0 4
Florida 3 2 1 0 4
Tampa 4 1 2 1 3
Atlanta 3 1 2 0 2
Carolina 2 0 2 0 0

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 2 2 0 0 4
Chicago 3 1 1 1 3
Detroit 2 0 1 1 1
St Louis 3 0 2 1 1
Columbus 3 0 3 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Colorado 4 3 1 0 6
Minnesota 3 2 1 0 4
Vancouver 3 2 1 0 4
Calgary 3 2 1 0 4
Edmonton 2 1 1 0 2

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 3 3 0 0 6
Dallas 3 2 0 1 5
San Jose 4 2 1 1 5
Phoenix 2 1 1 0 2
Los Angeles 3 1 2 0 2

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Pittsburgh 7 Atlanta 3
NY Islanders 3 Philadelphia 0
Tampa 3 Toronto 1
Colorado 3 Columbus 1
Montreal 4 New Jersey 1
Calgary 4 Buffalo 2

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Boston at Florida
Philadelphia at NY Rangers
Dallas at Nashville
Colorado at Detroit
Los Angeles at Chicago
Vancouver at Anaheim
Edmonton at Minnesota
Washington at Phoenix

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 3 4 4 8
Mark Recchi PIT 3 4 3 7
D. Alfredsson OTT 3 2 5 7
Ziggy Palffy PIT 3 4 2 6
Max Afinigenov BUF 4 2 4 6
B. Morrison VAN 3 1 5 6
Ilya Kovalchuk ATL 4 4 1 5
Bill Guerin DAL 3 3 2 5
Markus Naslund VAN 3 2 3 5
Jason Spezza OTT 3 2 3 5
Rob Blake COL 4 1 4 5
Tyler Arnason CHI 3 0 5 5
Joe Sakic COL 2 0 5 5
Mike Modano DAL 3 0 5 5

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
LONDON HOLDS TOP SPOT IN CHL RANKINGS
The defending Memorial Cup Champion London Knights are atop the Canadian Hockey League once again, at least according to the latest CHL rankings which list the top 10 teams from the 3 Canadian Major Junior Hockey Leagues. The Erie Otters did not crack the top 10.

1- London Knights (OHL)
2- Kootenay Ice (WHL)
3- Brampton Battalion (OHL)
4- Barrie Colts (OHL)
5- Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
6- Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
7- Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
8- Victoriaville Tigres (OMJHL)
9- St Michael's Majors (OHL)
10- Kamloops Blazers (WHL)

The Knights did nothing to disprove the notion that they are the number one junior team last night as they doubled visiting Windsor 6-3. London defenseman Marc Methot had 4 assists in the game. There were 2 other Ontario Hockey League games yesterday. In Plymouth, the visiting Soo Greyhounds surprised the West Division leading Whalers 5-2. St Michael's downed Mississauga 8-4 as Justin Donati had a hat trick for the Majors.

The Erie Otters are back in action tonight as they travel to Barrie to face the Colts. The Colts are 5-1-0 on the season and feature Bryan Little, a centre presently rated third by the International Scouting Service for the 2006 NHL entry draft.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 8 7 0 1 15
Owen Sound 7 5 2 0 10
ERIE 8 5 3 0 10
Guelph 8 5 3 0 10
Kitchener 5 3 1 1 7

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 8 4 2 2 10
Sault Ste Marie 8 3 4 1 7
Sarnia 8 3 5 0 6
Saginaw 8 2 6 0 4
Windsor 7 1 5 1 3

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 7 6 1 0 12
St Michael's 7 5 1 1 11
Barrie 6 5 1 0 10
Sudbury 4 2 2 0 4
Mississauga 7 0 6 1 1

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Kingston 7 5 1 1 11
Oshawa 8 4 1 3 11
Peterborough 7 2 3 2 6
Belleville 8 2 5 1 5
Ottawa 6 2 4 0 4

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Sault Ste Marie 5 Plymouth 2
London 6 Windsor 3
St Michael's 8 Mississauga 4

TONIGHT'S GAMES
ERIE at Barrie
Saginaw at Sarnia
Brampton at Mississauga
Owen Sound at Guelph
Sudbury at St Michael's
Oshawa at Ottawa

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 8 9 11 20
Ryan Callahan Guel 8 8 8 16
Matt Lyall Guel 8 6 10 16
Cory Emmerton King 7 5 11 16
Kris Belan Lond 8 4 12 16
Wojtek Wolski Bram 7 6 9 15
Michael Blunden ERIE 8 7 7 14
David Bolland Lond 8 9 4 13
Radek Smolenak King 7 8 5 13
Dan Collins Plym 8 6 7 13
Tyler Doig Guel 8 5 8 13
Peter Franchin StM 7 7 5 12
Luch Aquino Bram 7 7 5 12
Rob Drummond Lond 8 6 6 12

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
COWBOYS BEAT WINLESS PANTHERS 17-9
Roy Williams returned a 4th quarter interception 88 yards for a touchdown to seal a 17-9 Dallas win at Carolina in Monday Night Football. The victory improves the Cowboys record to 3-2 while the winless Panthers drop to 0-5.

It was a sloppy effort from both teams as there were a total of 7 turnovers, 5 from Carolina, in the game. The Cowboys recovered 3 Panthers fumbles in the first quarter but could only get 3 points from the turnovers. Carolina actually took a 7-3 lead late in the first half on a 2 yard touchdown pass from Jake Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammad.

The Cowboys took the lead midway through the third quarter when Quincy Carter and Jason Wittan hooked up on a 29 yard touchdown pass. It was one of the few bright moments for Carter, who completed just 10 of 28 passes and was intercepted once and sacked 4 times. Carolina's defense would provide their only scoring in the second half when Kris Jenkins stuffed Dallas running back Tony Fisher for a safety early in the 4th quarter. Delhomme had a little more success than his Dallas counterpart, completing 25-of-43 for Carolina but he was under pressure all day and was sacked 5 times.

The most dominant player on the field was Dallas safety Roy Williams who, in addition to his 88 yard interception return, also forced a fumble, had two sacks and 10 tackles.

The Cowboys host Pittsburgh next week while the Panthers entertain Kansas City.

MONDAY NIGHT GAME
Dallas 17 Carolina 9

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Detroit 13 San Francisco 7
St Louis 24 Minnesota 15
Green Bay 17 Seattle 14
New England 21 Buffalo 13
Miami 45 NY Jets 21
Denver 19 Tennessee 12
New Orleans 24 Washington 13
Kansas City 31 Jacksonville 17
NY Giants 27 Atlanta 20
San Diego 21 Houston 12
Oakland 31 Indianapolis 24
Philadelphia 16 Tampa 12
Chicago 34 Arizona 20

WEEK 6 MATCHUPS
Washington Redskins (3-2) at Baltimore Ravens (4-0)
Philadelphia Eagles (4-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (2-2)
Cleveland Browns (1-3) at New York Giants (3-2)
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2) at Indianapolis Colts (2-3)
Denver Broncos (4-1) at Atlanta Falcons (2-3)
Kansas City Chiefs (4-1) at Carolina Panthers (0-5)
New Orleans Saints (2-3) at Oakland Raiders (2-3)
New England Patriots (2-2) at Arizona Cardinals (4-1)
New York Jets (3-1) at San Francisco 49ers (3-2)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-3) at Dallas Cowboys (3-2)
St. Louis Rams (1-4) at Miami Dolphins (2-2)
Seattle Seahawks (2-3) at Buffalo Bills (2-2)
Tennessee Titans (0-5) at Houston Texans (0-5)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-3) at San Diego Chargers (4-1)

NFL STANDINGS
NFC
North W L T PCT PF PA[/b]
Minnesota 3 2 0 .600 123 105
Green Bay 3 2 0 .600 113 85
Chicago 3 2 0 .600 90 84
Detroit 2 3 0 .400 69 101

East W L T PCT PF PA
Philadelphia 4 1 0 .800 118 75
NY Giants 3 2 0 .600 110 93
Washington 3 2 0 .600 114 104
Dallas 3 2 0 .600 81 79

South W L T PCT PF PA
Atlanta 2 3 0 .400 91 112
New Orleans 2 3 0 .400 78 89
Tampa Bay 2 3 0 .400 94 100
Carolina 0 5 0 .000 23 109

West W L T PCT PF PA
Arizona 4 1 0 .800 154 97
San Francisco 3 2 0 .600 94 63
Seattle 2 3 0 .400 84 107
St. Louis 1 4 0 .200 91 125

AFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Baltimore 4 0 0 1.000 100 50
Cincinnati 2 2 0 .500 66 81
Cleveland 1 3 0 .250 79 100
Pittsburgh 1 3 0 .250 61 87

East W L T PCT PF PA
NY Jets 3 1 0 .750 93 82
Miami 2 2 0 .500 94 98
New England 2 2 0 .500 77 76
Buffalo 2 2 0 .500 94 65

South W L T PCT PF PA
Jacksonville 3 2 0 .600 100 99
Indianapolis 2 3 0 .400 81 99
Houston 0 5 0 .000 50 95
Tennessee 0 5 0 .000 68 111

West W L T PCT PF PA
Denver 4 1 0 .800 129 87
Kansas City 4 1 0 .800 143 121
San Diego 4 1 0 .800 114 74
Oakland 2 3 0 .400 91 116

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
ARKANSAS STILL LEADS AP POLL
Just as with yesterday's Coaches Poll, the AP College Football Top 5 remains unchanged from last week. Arkansas and Michigan, the top two teams, both posted impressive wins over ranked opponents. The Razorbacks face another stiff test a week after beating Georgia when they host #18 LSU. The other 'big game' to watch this week will pit # 4 California at 15th ranked USC.

Here is the latest Top 25 according to the AP NCAA Football Poll:

AP TOP 25
RK SCHOOL REC PREV LAST NEXT
1 Arkansas 8-0 1 W 45-10 Georgia #18 LSU
2 Michigan 7-0 2 W 30-17at Wisconsin Illinois
3 Ohio State 6-0 3 W 50-0 at Indiana Northwestern
4 California 6-0 4 idle at #15 USC
5 Texas 7-1 5 W 30-13 Iowa State at Okla State
6 Minnesota 6-1 9 W 28-17 Purdue at Penn State
7 Miami 7-1 13 W 22-17 Clemson at Georgia Tech
8 Syracuse 6-1 7 L 40-37 at Nebraska Pittsburgh
9 Alabama 6-2 14 W 50-10 Miss St at Auburn
10 Texas A&M 6-2 6 L 28-7 Oklahoma Texas Tech
11 Oklahoma 6-1 17 W 28-7 at Texas A&M Baylor
12 Arizona St 5-1 11 idle at #22 Wash State
13 Michigan St 6-2 8 L 22-20 Penn State at #25 Iowa
14 Mississippi 5-2 12 idle at Auburn
15 USC 5-1 18 W 34-10 Oregon St #4 Cal
16 Notre Dame 6-2 22 W 30-29 Temple at Purdue
17 Wisconsin 5-3 10 L 30-17 Michigan at Indiana
18 LSU 6-2 21 W 17-16 South Carol. at Miss State
19 Virginia Tech 5-2 nr W 45-17 NC State at North Carolina
20 Georgia 5-2 15 L 45-10 at Arkansas South Carolina
21 UCLA 4-2 16 L 31-27 Wash State at Stanford
22 Arizona 4-2 19 idle at Oregon
23 Wash. State 5-2 nr W 31-27 UCLA #11 Arizona State
24 Florida 4-2 23 idle at Vanderbilt
25 Maryland 5-2 nr W 58-16 at Duke at NC State

Dropped out of top 25
20 Iowa
24 Bowling Green
25 Purdue

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
NEW LOOK CAVS HAVE BIG HOPES FOR SEASON
With 3 new free agent pickups and a key resigning, Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have big hopes for the upcoming NBA season. Last seasons 42-40 record was a major dissappointment and a waste of an outstanding second season from James.

The Cavs went on the offensive in an effort to convince James he should remain in Cleveland when his rookie contract expires. The big question is will the addition of Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones along with the resigning of Zydunas Ilgauskas be enough? This will obviously be the best supporting cast James has had in his brief NBA career but can it get Cleveland to the next level? Hughes gives Cleveland a versatile, athletic, and tremendously talented guard to play alongside James on the wing. Marshall is a steady veteran with terrific rebounding and 3-point shooting skills.

It will now be up to new head coach Mike Brown to see if he can mold the Cavs into a team that can not just make the playoffs, but do some damage once they get there. The NBA season begins in 3 weeks.

Tiger Fan

12-31-2005, 02:35 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Wednesday October 12, 2005

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS BEAT BARRIE 5-3
Sean O'Connor had a goal and 2 assists to lead the Erie Otters to a 5-3 victory over the Barrie Colts in Ontario Hockey League action. The victory improves the Otters record to 6-3-0 on the season and keeps them tied with Owen Sound for second place in the Midwest Division.

With the defensive minded Colts concentrating on shutting down Erie's big line of Ryan O'Marra, Michael Blunden and Christian Seest-Olsen it was the second line that came up big for the Otters. In addition to right winger O'Connor's 3 points, center Justin Hodgman and leftwinger Vince Scott each scored a goal.

Jhase Sniderman made 26 saves in the Erie net for his 6th victory of the season. Sniderman was quick to credit his defense which blocked 20 Barrie shots in the game. In contrast, Barrie players only managed to block 6 shots for goaltender Dan LaCosta.

The Colts big line of Bryan Little, Andrew Sweetland and newcomer Cal Reilly was involved in all 3 Barrie goals. Little, who is expected to be a top 10 NHL draft pick next June, had a goal and two assists.

The Otters are off until Saturday when they face in big test as the defending Memorial Cup Champion London Knights visit the Tullio Arena.

OTTERS SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST PERIOD
ERI O'Connor 2(Scott) 4:29
BAR Little 4(Sweetland, O'Reilly) 5:42
ERI MacLean 3(Fox, Loikets) 8:51
BAR Sweetland 2(Little, Marshall) 12:06 PP
Penalties: Bagshaw Eri 5:53, Merlini Eri 11:22, Hodgman Eri major,
misconduct, Perry Bar major 12:36, Merlini Eri 16:12

SECOND PERIOD
No scoring
Penalties: Lombardi Bar 5:11, Marshall Bar 10:52, Bagshaw Eri 12:28

THIRD PERIOD
ERI Hodgman 4(O'Connor, McKinley) 0:42
ERI Blunden 8(O'Mara, Merlini) 11:52 PP
BAR Plastino 2(Sweetland, Little) 16:44 PP
ERI Scott 1(O'Connor, McKinley) 18:50 EN
Penalties: MacArthur Bar, Nolan Eri majors 2:33, Perry Bar 6:56, Reese
Bar minor, misconduct 11:31, MacLean Eri 15:59

SHOTS ON
ERI Sniderman 29
BAR LaCosta 36

In other Ontario Hockey League action Owen Sound scored 4 unaswered goals to rally past Guelph 4-2. The win moves the Attack into a second place tie with Erie in the Midwest Division, 2 points ahead of the Storm. Ryan Daniels made 25 saves as Saginaw shutout Sarnia 2-0. Mark Mancari scored a pair of third period goals to give Ottawa a 3-1 win over Oshawa. First overall OHL draft pick John Tavares got the Generals goal, his 4th of the season. Sudbury trimmed St Michael's 3-2 while in Mississauga Daniel Carcillo scored twice to help the Ice Dogs win their first game of the season, beating Brampton 5-3.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 8 7 0 1 15
Owen Sound 8 6 2 0 12
ERIE 9 6 3 0 12
Guelph 9 5 4 0 10
Kitchener 5 3 1 1 7

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 8 4 2 2 10
Sault Ste Marie 8 3 4 1 7
Sarnia 9 3 6 0 6
Saginaw 9 3 6 0 6
Windsor 7 1 5 1 3

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 8 6 2 0 12
St Michael's 8 5 2 1 11
Barrie 7 5 2 0 10
Sudbury 5 3 2 0 6
Mississauga 8 1 6 1 3

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Kingston 7 5 1 1 11
Oshawa 9 4 2 3 11
Peterborough 7 2 3 2 6
Ottawa 7 3 4 0 6
Belleville 8 2 5 1 5

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
ERIE 5 Barrie 3
Saginaw 2 Sarnia 0
Mississauga 5 Brampton 3
Owen Sound 4 Guelph 2
Sudbury 3 St Michael's 2
Ottawa 3 Oshawa 1

UPCOMING GAMES
THURSDAY NIGHT
Ottawa at Kingston

FRIDAY
Barrie at Owen Sound
Brampton at Oshawa
Belleville at Sarnia
Mississauga at Sudbury
Saginaw at Peterborough

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 8 9 11 20
Ryan Callahan Guel 9 9 8 17
Wojtek Wolski Bram 8 8 9 17
Matt Lyall Guel 9 6 11 17
Cory Emmerton King 7 5 11 16
Kris Belan Lond 8 4 12 16
Michael Blunden ERIE 9 8 7 15
Tyler Doig Guel 9 5 9 14
David Bolland Lond 8 9 4 13
Radek Smolenak King 7 8 5 13
Peter Franchin StM 8 8 5 13
Dan Collins Plym 8 6 7 13
Justin Donati StM 8 4 9 13

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
NITTYMAKI RECORDS SHUTOUT FOR FLYERS
Antero Nittymaki turned aside all 30 New York Rangers shots as the Philadelphia Flyers blanked the Rangers 1-0 in National Hockey League action. The 25 year old Finnish rookie, who backstopped the AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms to a Calder Cup title last season, was outstanding in recording his first career shutout. Mike Knuble's second period goal accounted for all the scoring in the game as Kevin Weekes was strong in the Rangers cage.

Elsewhere, the key word last night was shoot-out as a total of 4 games had to be decided by the new penalty shot tiebreaking format. In Nashville, the Predators improved to 3-0 with a 5-4 victory over Dallas. The shootout had to go to a fourth round before Scott Hartnell of the Preds became the first goal scorer. In Detroit, it took 9 shootout rounds to determine a winner as the Red Wings beat Colorado 4-3. Brendan Shanahan scored the decisive goal in the shootout capping a tremendous game for the veteran forward. Shanahan also scored all 3 Detroit goals in regulation.

Anaheim scored twice in the final 3 minutes of regulation and then beat Vancouver in a shootout 4-3 while in Phoenix the visiting Washington Capitals won 3-2 in a shootout. Caps rookie Alexander Ovechkin picked up an assist in the game for his first NHL point.

In other games Nathan Horton scored twice to help Florida past Boston 4-2. Los Angeles scored 4 times, including 2 from Eric Belanger, in the final 19 minutes to beat Chicago 4-2 while in Minnesota the Wild doubled Edmonton 4-2.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
New Jersey 4 3 1 0 6
Philadelphia 4 2 1 1 4
Pittsburgh 3 2 1 0 4
NY Islanders 3 1 1 1 3
NY Rangers 2 0 2 0 0

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Buffalo 4 3 1 0 6
Boston 4 2 1 1 5
Ottawa 3 2 1 0 4
Montreal 4 2 2 0 4
Toronto 5 1 4 0 2

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 3 3 0 0 6
Florida 4 3 1 0 6
Tampa 4 1 2 1 3
Atlanta 3 1 2 0 2
Carolina 2 0 2 0 0

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 3 3 0 0 6
Chicago 4 1 2 1 3
Detroit 3 1 1 1 3
St Louis 3 0 2 1 1
Columbus 3 0 3 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Colorado 5 3 1 1 7
Minnesota 4 3 1 0 6
Vancouver 4 2 1 1 5
Calgary 3 2 1 0 4
Edmonton 3 1 2 0 2

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 4 4 0 0 6
Dallas 4 2 0 2 6
San Jose 4 2 1 1 5
Los Angeles 4 2 2 0 4
Phoenix 3 1 1 1 3

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Florida 4 Boston 2
Philadelphia 1 NY Rangers 0
Nashville 5 Dallas 4 (SO)
Detroit 4 Colorado 3 (SO)
Los Angeles 4 Chicago 2
Anaheim 3 Vancouver 2 (SO)
Minnesota 4 Edmonton 2
Washington 3 Phoenix 2 (SO)

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Ottawa at St Louis
Montreal at Columbus
Chicago at Calgary
Atlanta at San Jose

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 3 4 4 8
Mark Recchi PIT 3 4 3 7
D. Alfredsson OTT 3 2 5 7
B. Morrison VAN 4 2 5 7
Ziggy Palffy PIT 3 4 2 6
Teemu Selanne ANA 4 2 4 6
Max Afinigenov BUF 4 2 4 6
Tyler Arnason CHI 4 1 5 6
Ilya Kovalchuk ATL 3 4 1 5
Todd White MIN 4 3 2 5
Bill Guerin DAL 4 3 2 5
S Samsonov BOS 4 2 3 5
Markus Naslund VAN 4 2 3 5
Jason Spezza OTT 3 2 3 5
Rob Blake COL 4 1 4 5
Joe Sakic COL 2 0 5 5
Mike Modano DAL 4 0 5 5
Glen Murray BOS 4 0 5 5

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
NLCS BEGINS TONIGHT
The Chicago Cubs and St Louis Cardinals have always been rivals. That rivalry steps it up a notch tonight as the two clubs meet for the first time in a playoff to decide the National League Champion.

Unlike some other great rivalries like the Yankees-Red Sox or Giants-Dodgers the Cubs and Cards are known for being civil during their match-ups. However, just like the other two sets of foes who can point at one moment when the rivalry came to a head, the trading of Babe Ruth and the Shot Heard Round the World, the Cubs and Cards point to June 15, 1963.

On that fateful day, the Cubs gave up on a young outfielder named Lou Brock and traded him to the Cards for Ernie Broglio. The Cubs, who have been losing since the early 1900s, have not
made a World Series since trading Brock. And the Cards have been to six and won three.

Tonight the Cubs will look to end that trend. The Cubs will send Mark Prior (13-12, 2.84) to the hill in St Louis against Cards rookie Adam Wainwright (12-2, 2.18).

NLCS SCHEDULE
Tonight Chicago at St Louis
THUR OCT 13 Chicago at St Louis
SAT OCT 15 St Louis at Chicago
SUN OCT 16 St Louis at Chicago
MON OCT 17 St Louis at Chicago
TUE OCT 18 Chicago at St Louis
WED OCT 19 Chicago at St Louis

ALCS SCHEDULE
THUR OCT 13 Yankees at Angeles
SAT OCT 15 Yankees at Angeles
SUN OCT 16 Angels at Yankees
MON OCT 17 Angels at Yankees
WED OCT 19 Angels at Yankees
THUR OCT 20 Yankees at Angeles

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
NFL LEAGUE LEADERS

NFL PASSING LEADERS
Player TM GS AT COMP COMP% YDS TD INT RAT
Daunte CulpepperMIN 3 81 57 70.4 583 6 2 105.1
Tom Brady ARI 5 157 96 61.1 1405 12 5 102.5
Donovan McNabb PHI 5 134 76 56.7 1319 9 5 97.2
Jake Plummer DEN 5 155 97 62.6 1143 8 2 96.8
Tim Rattay BUF 4 120 81 67.5 915 6 3 96.4
Phillip Rivers GB 5 140 85 60.7 1234 7 4 94.2
Michael Vick ATL 5 162 98 60.5 1399 8 6 89.5
Peyton Manning IND 5 164 100 61.0 1171 7 3 89.3
Chad Pennington NYJ 4 137 93 67.9 1092 5 5 88.8
Alex Smith NYG 5 138 80 58.0 942 8 4 86.1

NFL RUSHING LEADERS
Player TM G ATT YDS YPG YPC TD
L. Tomlinson SD 5 131 686 137.2 5.2 6
Fred Taylor JAX 5 119 657 131.4 5.5 4
Ahman Green GB 5 108 535 107.0 5.0 3
Antwone Schey SEA 5 101 521 104.2 5.2 3
Clinton Portis DEN 5 113 493 98.6 4.4 5
Anthony Thomas CHI 4 110 466 93.2 4.2 3
Stephen Jackson BUF 4 76 444 111.0 5.8 1
Marshall Faulk STL 5 97 426 85.2 4.4 2
Priest Holmes KC 5 108 418 83.6 3.9 5
Jamel White NYG 4 87 414 103.5 4.8 3

NFL RECEIVING YARDS LEADERS
Player TM GS REC YDS YPC TD
Torry Holt STL 5 33 511 15.5 2
Tony Gonzalez KC 5 27 484 17.9 3
Corey Bradford HOU 5 25 482 19.3 1
Robert Ferguson PHI 2 22 467 21.2 4
Anquan Boldin ARI 5 30 429 14.3 3
Michael Clayton ARI 5 22 415 18.9 4
Charles Rogers DET 5 28 386 13.8 3
Randy Moss MIN 5 37 368 9.9 3
L. Coles WAS 5 31 366 11.8 3
Plaxico Burress PIT 4 23 362 15.7 1

NFL RECEPTION LEADERS
Player TM REC
Randy Moss MIN 37
Torry Holt STL 33
L Coles WAS 31
Anquan Boldin ARI 30
Charles Rogers DET 28
Terrell Owens SF 28
Hines Ward PIT 28

NFL LEADING TACKLERS
Player TM GS TAK SOLO AST SACK
Adam Archuleta STL 5 57 41 16 1
Jamie Sharper HOU 5 55 37 18 0
Keith Bulluck TEN 5 54 38 16 2
David Thornton MIN 5 53 35 18 3
M. Washington IND 5 51 37 14 3
Brian Dawkins PHI 5 51 38 13 4
LaVar Arrington WAS 5 51 39 12 3
Dexter Coakley DAL 5 50 33 17 2
Shaun Williams NYG 5 50 39 11 2
Brian Urlacher CHI 5 49 37 12 4

NFL INTERCEPTION LEADERS
Player TM INT
Ray Lewis BAL 4
Fernando Bryant JAX 4
Sammy Knight MIA 4
Will Allen PHI 4
Ahmed Plummer SF 4
Nick Barnett GB 4
Keiwan Ratliff NYJ 4

NFL SACK LEADERS
Player TM Sacks
Charles Grant NO 7
Rosevelt Colvin CHI 6
Tommie Harris ARI 6
Darren Howard NO 6
John Abraham NYJ 6

SUNDAY'S NFL GAMES
Washington Redskins (3-2) at Baltimore Ravens (4-0)
Philadelphia Eagles (4-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (2-2)
Cleveland Browns (1-3) at New York Giants (3-2)
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2) at Indianapolis Colts (2-3)
Denver Broncos (4-1) at Atlanta Falcons (2-3)
Kansas City Chiefs (4-1) at Carolina Panthers (0-5)
New Orleans Saints (2-3) at Oakland Raiders (2-3)
New England Patriots (2-2) at Arizona Cardinals (4-1)
New York Jets (3-1) at San Francisco 49ers (3-2)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-3) at Dallas Cowboys (3-2)
St. Louis Rams (1-4) at Miami Dolphins (2-2)
Seattle Seahawks (2-3) at Buffalo Bills (2-2)
Tennessee Titans (0-5) at Houston Texans (0-5)

MONDAY NIGHT
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-3) at San Diego Chargers (4-1)

Weden

12-31-2005, 03:47 AM

Great idea mate, and just one thing: WWSM is Football Manager 2005/06 over here right?

Edit: Whoa, just noticed, what are Wolves and Millwall doing in the Premier League!?

Tiger Fan

12-31-2005, 09:47 AM

Great idea mate, and just one thing: WWSM is Football Manager 2005/06 over here right?

Edit: Whoa, just noticed, what are Wolves and Millwall doing in the Premier League!?

Thanks. To answer your questions, yest WWSM is Football Manager for you. I am using last year's version of the game WWSM05(started my own career with it and too attached to it to upgrade as of yet)

In my replay Wigan won the Championship League last season and Wolves finished second. I do not have the final standings from the Championship League for last season but I assume Millwall finished third and that is why they were promoted.

West Brom, Portsmouth and Middlesbrough were relegated after last season.

Weden

12-31-2005, 11:47 AM

Heh, guess the game kinda differs from reality for those relegations, but just so you know, to be promoted you must have finished 1st or 2nd - OR have won the play-offs. Gaining 3rd place doesn't gurantee going to the next level :)

The play-offs are 3rd vs. 4th and 5th vs. 6th, then the winners facing off. The winner of that match is the third to gain promotion.

Tiger Fan

01-02-2006, 12:28 AM

Tiger Fan

01-02-2006, 12:31 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Thursday October 13, 2005

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
CUBS TAKE NLCS OPENER
The Chicago Cubs moved to within 3 victories of their first trip to the World Series since 1945 by winning the opener of the NLCS 4-2 in St Louis. Outfielder Reed Johnson was the offensive hero for the Cubs as he hit a 2-run homer in the third inning that would prove to provide the game winning run. Derrek Lee had 3 hits for the Cubs while Matt Lawton added a pair.

Chicago struck first when Lawton hit a two-out single in the second inning. A wild pitch from Cards starter Adam Wainwright moved Lawton to second and he scored on a single from Aramis Ramirez. In the third the Cubs lead was stretched to 3-0 when Johnson homered after Cubs starter Mark Prior had led off the inning with a single.

St Louis would get one run back in the home half of the 4th inning when Jim Edmonds worked Prior for a lead-off walk and moved to third on a 1-out single from Scott Seabol. After Prior fanned Robert Fick for the second out Bo Hart delivered an rbi single to plate Edmonds. The Cards got another run in the second when outfielder Adam Shabala singled down the third base line with two out to scored David Eckstein from second to make it 3-2.

That would be as close as St Louis would get and the Cubs would add an insurance run in the top of the ninth as catcher Michael Barrett singled in Lee to make it 4-2. Prior would give way in the bottom of the ninth to Scott Williamson who retired the 3 Cardinals hitters in order, fanning Eckstein and pinch-hitter Ben Davis to end the game.

The Cubs send Ryan Dempster (13-3, 2.59) to the mound for today's Game two. St Louis will counter with Jason Marquis (16-3, 2.78). Meanwhile the first game of the Yankees-Angels series is set for tonight in Anaheim. Mike Mussina (10-15, 5.70) of New York faces Jarrod Washburn (13-10, 4.14).

NLCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Chicago 4 St Louis 2
TONIGHT Chicago at St Louis
SAT OCT 15 St Louis at Chicago
SUN OCT 16 St Louis at Chicago
MON OCT 17 St Louis at Chicago
TUE OCT 18 Chicago at St Louis
WED OCT 19 Chicago at St Louis

ALCS SCHEDULE
TONIGHT Yankees at Angels
FRI OCT 14 Yankees at Angels
SUN OCT 16 Angels at Yankees
MON OCT 17 Angels at Yankees
TUE OCT 18 Angels at Yankees
WED OCT 19 Yankees at Angels
THUR OCT 20 Yankees at Angels

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
THRASHERS LOSE GAME AND KOVALCHUK
The Atlanta Thrashers were beaten 3-1 in San Jose but of bigger concern to the Thrashers team was the concussion suffered by winger Ilya Kovalchuk. Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart delivered a crushing body-check to Kovalchuk midway through the third period. The Atlanta star was knocked unconscious and had to be helped to the lockerroom. He will be examined tomorrow to determine how serious the injury is. As for the game, Scott Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Christian Ekman scored third period goals for the Sharks.

Patrick Lalime made 32 saves against his former club but it wasn't enough as the Ottawa Senators beat Lalime's St Louis Blues 2-1. Brandon Bochenski, with his first career NHL goal, and Peter Schaefer scored for the Sens. Keith Tkachuk was the only St Louis shooter to beat Dommink Hasek.

In Columbus, Jose Theordore turned aside all 22 Blue Jackets shots as Montreal won 2-0. Mike Komisarek assisted on both Montreal goals. Saku Koivu and Radek Bonk were the scorers. Columbus has lost all 4 of it's games this season.

In the only other game Marcus Nilson scored twice while Jerome Iginla added a goal and an assist to lead Calgary past visiting Chicago 4-1. Mikka Kiprusoff had another strong game in net for Calgary while new Chicago goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin continues to struggle.

There are 12 games on the schedule tonight including Pittsburgh at Toronto. The injury-riddled Leafs, winners just once in 5 games, may get Mats Sundin and Jason Allison back in the lineup. Both are close to being recovered from preseason groin injuries. Meanwhile Eric Lindros remains sidelined with a torn ACL. The Penguins enter the contest on a 2-game winning streak.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
New Jersey 4 3 1 0 6
Philadelphia 4 2 1 1 4
Pittsburgh 3 2 1 0 4
NY Islanders 3 1 1 1 3
NY Rangers 2 0 2 0 0

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Buffalo 4 3 1 0 6
Ottawa 4 3 1 0 6
Montreal 5 3 2 0 6
Boston 4 2 1 1 5
Toronto 5 1 4 0 2

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 3 3 0 0 6
Florida 4 3 1 0 6
Tampa 4 1 2 1 3
Atlanta 4 1 3 0 2
Carolina 2 0 2 0 0

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 3 3 0 0 6
Chicago 5 1 3 1 3
Detroit 3 1 1 1 3
St Louis 4 0 3 1 1
Columbus 4 0 4 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Colorado 5 3 1 1 7
Minnesota 4 3 1 0 6
Calgary 4 3 1 0 6
Vancouver 4 2 1 1 5
Edmonton 3 1 2 0 2

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 4 4 0 0 8
San Jose 5 3 1 1 7
Dallas 4 2 0 2 6
Los Angeles 4 2 2 0 4
Phoenix 3 1 1 1 3

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Ottawa 2 St Louis 1
Montreal 2 Columbus 0
Calgary 4 Chicago 1
San Jose 3 Atlanta 1

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Pittsburgh at Toronto
Nashville at Boston
NY Rangers at Ottawa
Columbus at Philadelphia
Florida at Carolina
New Jersey at Tampa
Minnesota at Detroit
Colorado at Anaheim
Edmonton at Vancouver
Atlanta at Los Angeles
Washington at Dallas
Buffalo at Phoenix

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 4 4 4 8
Mark Recchi PIT 3 4 3 7
D. Alfredsson OTT 4 2 5 7
B. Morrison VAN 4 2 5 7
Ziggy Palffy PIT 3 4 2 6
Ilya Kovalchuk ATL 4 4 2 6
Jerome Iginla CGY 4 4 2 6
Teemu Selanne ANA 4 2 4 6
Max Afinigenov BUF 4 2 4 6
Tyler Arnason CHI 5 1 5 6

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NITTANY LIONS LOOK FOR ANOTHER UPSET
A week after knocking Michigan State out of the top 10 the Penn State football team looks to do the same Saturday against another Big 10 rival. This time the Nittany Lions will have the benefit of home field advantage as 6th ranked Minnesota travels to State College.

The key matchup will be how the Nittany Lions handle the Minnesota passing game. Penn State gets a bit of a break with Golden Gopher starting quarterback Al Farmer sidelined due to a broken foot, so sophomore Dave Washington will make his second career start. Washington did a decent job in last week's win over Purdue and he will once again have arguably the Big 10's best receiver, senior Emmett Toefield, as his primary target. Toefield has 43 catches this year and leads the conference with 643 receiving yards. The Nittany Lions defense ranks #23 against the pass nationally but Minnesota will provide a real test.

The key for the Nittany Lions is to control the clock and that means running back Tim Collins and the offensive line need to come up big. After opening the season with 3 straight 100-yard plus rushing days, Collins has been held to 60, 77 and 64 in his last three starts.

SATURDAY'S DIVISION 1A GAMES
#6 Minnesota at Penn State
#17 Wisconsin at Indiana
Illinois at #2 Michigan
#13 Michigan State at Iowa
Northwestern at #3 Ohio State
#16 Notre Dame at Purdue
Boston College at Clemson
Wake Forest at Florida State
#25 Maryland at North Carolina State
#7 Miami at Georgia Tech
Duke at Virginia
#19 Virginia Tech at North Carolina
Pittsburgh at #8 Syracuse
Cincinnati at Rutgers
West Virginia at Louisville
Nebraska at Iowa State
Kansas at Kansas State
Colorado at Missouri
#5 Texas at Oklahoma State
Baylor at #11 Oklahoma
Texas Tech at #10 Texas A&M
Marshall at Memphis
UAB at Southern Miss
East Carolina at Central Florida
UTEP at Tulane
Tulsa at SMU
Bowling Green at Buffalo
Miami(OH) at Kent State
Akron at Ohio
Western Michigan at Central Michigan
Ball State at Eastern Michigan
Toledo at Northern Illinois
Wyoming at New Mexico
Colorado State at BYU
UNLV at San Diego State
Air Force at Utah
#12 Arizona State at #23 Washington State
#22 Arizona at Oregon
#4 California at #15 USC
#21 UCLA at Stanford
Washington at Oregon State
Kentucky at Tennessee
#24 Florida at Vanderbilt
South Carolina at #20 Georgia
Auburn at #14 Mississippi
#18 LSU at Mississippi State
FIU at Middle Tennessee
La-Lafayette at Arkansas State
Troy at La-Monroe
San Jose State at Louisiana Tech
Boise State at Utah State
Hawaii at Fresno State
New Mexico State at Nevada
Rice at Navy
Army at Temple

SOCCER
USA CONCLUDES WORLD CUP QUALIFYING WITH ANOTHER WIN
DeMarcus Beasley scored for the third time in the past two games to help the United States blank Jamaica 2-0 in their final North American qualifying match for next summer's World Cup of Soccer. Brian McBride also scored for the Americans, who entered the game having already clinched one of the 32 berth's for the tournament. The Jamaica's, desperate for a victory and a chance to move into third place in the North American Group and an automatic ticket to Germany, failed to mount any pressure on the American defense and fired just 3 shots in the direction of United States keeper Brad Friedel, with none of them on target.

The Jamaican loss allows Honduras, 2-0 winners over Guatemala yesterday, to claim 3rd place and join the USA and Mexico as North American qualifiers. 4th place Jamaica can still make the field of 32 but they will need to win a playoff against either China or Bahrain from the Asian qualifying group.

27 OF 32 TEAMS DECIDED FOR WORLD CUP
After a busy day of qualifying tournament action 27 of the 32 places in soccer's World Cup 2006 have been filled. It was in Europe where most of the final game excitement occurred.

A total of 8 sides joined Turkey and Portugal, who had clinched berths previously, in the field for the 2006 World Cup. The qualifiers include Group winners Holland, Ireland, Italy, England, Spain and Bulgaria plus second place teams Serbia & Montenegro and France.

A home-and-home playoff series will fill the final three European berths. Those matches set for November 12th and 16th have Norway playing Slovakia, Sweden meeting Denmark and Wales taking on Romania.

FINAL EUROPEAN GROUP QUALIFYING STANDINGS
GROUP 1
Team GP W T L GF GA Pts
Q Holland 12 7 3 2 34 12 24
P Romania 12 7 3 2 23 9 24
Finland 12 6 4 2 21 10 22
Czech Rep 12 7 1 4 28 15 22
FYR Macedona 12 5 1 6 15 17 6
Armenia 12 3 2 7 7 22 1
Andorra 12 0 0 12 0 43 0
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Armenia 1 Andorra 0
Finland 1 Czech Republic 0
Holland 4 FYR Macedonia 0

GROUP 2
Team GP W T L GF GA Pts
Q Turkey 12 9 2 1 22 10 29
P Denmark 12 8 1 3 23 15 25
Ukraine 12 7 2 3 19 14 23
Georgia 12 4 2 6 16 19 14
Albania 12 3 5 4 15 19 14
Greece 12 3 1 8 11 16 10
Kazakhstan 12 0 3 9 12 25 3
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Turkey 1 Albania 0
Georgia 1 Greece 0
Denmark 2 Kazakhstan 1

GROUP 3
Team GP W T L GF GA Pts
Q Portugal 12 10 2 0 27 3 32
P Slovakia 12 6 4 2 19 12 22
Russia 12 6 3 3 23 11 21
Latvia 12 5 2 5 16 16 17
Luxembourg 12 3 3 6 6 15 12
Estonia 12 2 3 7 7 19 9
Liechtenstein 12 1 1 10 2 24 4
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Slovakia 2 Russia 2
Portugal 4 Latvia 2
Luxembourg 3 Estonia 1

GROUP 4
Team GP W T L GF GA Pts
Q Ireland 10 9 0 1 29 7 27
Q France 10 8 1 1 32 3 25
Switzerland 10 4 2 4 17 11 14
Israel 10 4 0 6 10 22 12
Cyprus 10 2 0 8 9 26 6
Faroe Islands 10 1 1 8 8 36 4
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
France 5 Cyprus 0
Ireland 2 Switzerland 0

GROUP 5
Team GP W T L GF GA Pts
Q Italy 10 8 1 1 19 3 25
P Norway 10 7 2 1 18 8 23
Scotland 10 5 0 5 20 11 15
Slovenia 10 2 4 4 8 13 10
Belarus 10 3 1 6 12 18 10
Moldova 10 0 2 8 4 28 2
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Italy 6 Moldova 0
Scotland 2 Slovenia 0
Norway 1 Belarus 1

GROUP 6
Team GP W T L GF GA Pts
Q England 10 9 0 1 30 6 27
P Wales 10 7 0 3 26 14 21
Austria 10 4 2 4 14 13 14
N. Ireland 10 3 3 4 12 15 12
Poland 10 3 2 5 18 22 11
Azerbaijan 10 0 1 9 3 33 1
YESTERDAY'S GAMES
Austria 4 Azerbaijan 0
England 2 Northern Ireland 0
Wales 4 Poland 3

GROUP 7
Team GP W T L GF GA Pts
Q Spain 10 8 1 1 20 4 25
Q Serbia&Mont 10 7 2 1 24 7 23
Belgium 10 5 3 2 18 7 18
Bosnia 10 4 1 5 13 11 13
Lithuania 10 2 1 7 6 18 7
San Marino 10 0 0 10 0 34 0
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Belgium 2 Lithuania 0
Spain 3 San Marino 0
Serbia & Montenegro 3 Bosnia 1

GROUP 8
Team GP W T L GF GA Pts
Q Bulgaria 10 6 2 2 15 9 20
P Sweden 10 5 2 3 16 8 17
Croatia 10 5 2 3 16 15 17
Hungary 10 4 4 2 13 9 16
Iceland 10 2 1 7 9 17 7
Malta 10 1 3 6 6 17 6
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Hungary 1 Croatia 1
Bulgaria 2 Malta 0
Sweden 2 Iceland 0

Q- qualified for World Cup
P- qualified for playoff

Honduras joined the United States and Mexico as qualifiers from North America after they beat Guatemala 2-0 yesterday to wrap up third place in North American qualifying. Jamaica finished 4th despite a 2-0 loss to the United States. The Jamaica's can qualify for the World Cup but they will have to win a playoff against either China or Bahrain to do so.

FINAL NORTH AMERICA GROUP STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
USA * 10 9 0 1 29 4 27
Mexico * 10 8 1 1 35 10 25
Honduras * 10 4 2 4 14 19 14
Jamaica p 10 3 1 6 15 19 10
Costa Rica 10 2 2 6 11 25 8
Guatemala 10 0 2 8 3 30 2
*- qualified for World Cup
p- qualified for playoff vs Asian group

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
USA 2 Jamaica 0
Mexico 3 Costa Rica 1
Honduras 2 Guatemala 0

WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Germany - Host Nation
Argentina
Brazil
Bulgaria
Cameroon
Colombia
England
France
Holland
Honduras
Iran
Ireland
Italy
Mali
Mexico
Morocco
Nigeria
Oman
Portugal
Saudi Arabia
Serbia & Montenegro
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Turkey
United States
Uruguay

5 REMAINING BERTHS GO TO
1- winner of Norway vs Slovakia playoff
2- winner of Sweden vs Denmark playoff
3- winner of Wales vs Romania playoff
4- winner of Jamaica vs (winner of China vs Bahrain playoff)
5- winner of Australia vs Paraguay playoff

Druez

01-04-2006, 12:14 AM

This is very entertaining.

akcranker

01-04-2006, 12:35 AM

Tiger Fan

01-05-2006, 01:12 AM

Awesome idea!!! Makes for a very interesting read. I just wonder how you find the time to sim all those games and have the time & memory to write up articles for each sport.

I don't play that many sims but wouldn't mind expanding to a few others. Right now I only play MLB, NBA & NCAA Basketball

thanks. Time wise it is sporadic. Some weeks I will have a ton of time others none at all but I am a night owl and do most of it late at night after the family is sleeping. As for the memory I usually reread the last article or two on a sport if I need to get caught up. I find writing the articles a great way to really get into my leagues as I would probably miss a ton of interesting things if I just played out my club's games and moved on.

Tiger Fan

01-05-2006, 01:13 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Friday October 14, 2005

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
ANGELS WIN ALCS OPENER IN 10 INNINGS
The Los Angeles Angels rallied from a 4-2 deficeit to beat the visiting New York Yankees 5-4 in 10 innings to open the American League Championship Series. Angels rookie third baseman Dallas McPherson was the hero as his single with two out in the bottom of the 10th scored Vladimir Guererro with the game-winning run.

Shawn Chacon was a surprise starter for the Yankees after Mike Mussina came down with an undisclosed arm problem during the warm up. The Yankees made things easier on their replacement pitcher by hitting a leadoff homerun in each of the first two innings. Derek Jeter did the trick to start the game and Gary Sheffield hit one to lead off the second inning.

The Angels tied the game in the third on a 2-run single off the bat of Garrett Anderson but New York jumped back in to the lead in the 6th inning when Bernie Williams singled off of Los Angeles starter Kevin Gregg and Alex Rodriguez followed with the third Yankee homer of the game. The Angels pulled even in the 7th when pinch-hitter Kendry Morales, a 22 year old making his first postseason appearance, hit a 2-run homer off of Yankees reliever Felix Rodriguez.

The score remained 4-4 until McPherson's 10th inning heroics that came against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. The series resumes today in Los Angeles.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
CUBS TAKE 2-0 SERIES LEAD WITH WIN IN A CLASSIC PITCHERS DUEL
St Louis Cardinals pitchers Jason Marquis and Jason Isringhausen combined on a 1-hitter and still lost the game as the Chicago Cubs blanked St Louis 1-0 to take a 2 games to none lead in the NLCS.

The only run of the game came in the second inning when Cubs lead-off man Nomar Garciaparra reached base on a fielding error by Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen. After Garciaparra stole second he moved to third on a Derrek Lee groundout and scored on a ground out by Matt Lawton. The only Chicago hit in the game was a double by Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster but Dempster was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple. Marquis and Isringhausen, who pitched the 9th inning, did not allow a walk either so Garciaparra was the only baserunner the Cubs had all game.

Ryan Dempster allowed just 3 hits over 8 innings for the victory. Scott Williamson struck out the side in the 9th for his second straight save and 4th of the postseason. The series resumes tomorrow in Chicago with the Cubs just 2 wins away from their first World Series appearance since 1945.

NLCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Chicago 4 St Louis 2
GAME 2: Chicago 1 St Louis 0
SAT OCT 15 St Louis at Chicago
SUN OCT 16 St Louis at Chicago
MON OCT 17 St Louis at Chicago
TUE OCT 18 Chicago at St Louis
WED OCT 19 Chicago at St Louis

ALCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Angels 5 Yankees 4 (10 inn)
TONIGHT Yankees at Angels
SUN OCT 16 Angels at Yankees
MON OCT 17 Angels at Yankees
TUE OCT 18 Angels at Yankees
WED OCT 19 Yankees at Angels
THUR OCT 20 Yankees at Angels

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
CROSBY SCORES WINNER IN OT FOR PENS
Sidney Crosby picked a dramatic time to score his first NHL goal, notching the winner in overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 3-2 victory over the slumping Toronto Maple Leafs. The rookie phenom's first goal was a thing of beauty as he shook off Leaf defenseman Alexander Khavanov at center and came in on a 2-on-1 with winger Ziggy Palffy. Crosby dealt the puck across to Palffy who sent it right back to Crosby for a 1-timer wrist shot that eluded Leaf goaltender Ed Belfour and found a home just under the crossbar.

The win improves the Penguins record to 3-1-0 while the injury riddled Leafs have just one victory in 6 games. Toronto had hoped that Mats Sundin and Jason Allison would play last night but both were scratched for the 6th game in a row with groin injuries. The Leafs were also without Eric Lindros, who is sidelined with a torn ACL. In their place the Leafs roster was dotted with players who should be plying their trade with the American Hockey League Marlies: Roman Kukumberg, Johnny Pohl and Nathan Perrott.

The Pens took a 1-0 lead on John LeClair's first goal in a Pittsburgh uniform but the Leafs responded with goals from Marius Czerkawski and Nik Antropov before the first period was done. Rookie Colby Armstrong got his first NHL goal in the third period to tie the game and set the stage for Crosby's heroics. Jocelyn Thibault got the start in net for the 4th straight game this season.

PENGUINS SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST PERIOD
PIT LeClair 1(Orpik, Tarnstrom) 0:39
TOR Czerkawski 3(Wellwood, McCabe) 6:12 PP
TOR Antropov 1(Kukumberg, Tucker) 12:53 PP
Penalties: Malone Pit 1:08, Surovy Pit 4:52, Whitney Pit
5:40, Tucker Tor 8:22, Koltsov Pit double minor 10:24, Belak
Tor 14:28

SECOND PERIOD
No Scoring
Penalties: Recchi Pit 1:09, LeClair Pit 3:39, Crosby Pit 14:17

THIRD PERIOD
PIT Armstrong 1(Surovy, Gonchar) 12:29
Penalties: Tarnstrom Pit 7:24, Pirjeta Pit Ponikarovsky Tor 14:41

OVERTIME
PIT Crosby 1(Palffy, Tarnstrom) 3:00
Penalty: Czerkawski Tor 0:25

SHOTS ON
Belfour Tor 27
Thibault Pit 30

Elsewhere on a busy Thursday night in the NHL Peter Forsberg had a goal and an assist to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-1 victory over the winless Columbus Blue Jackets. Michael Handzus and Simon Gagne also scored for the Flyers who have won 3 of their 4 games this season.

Despite a hat trick from Patrice Bergeron the Boston Bruins lost 5-4 to Nashville in a shootout. Yanic Perreault had two goals and an assist for the winners.

The Ottawa Senators are tied for top spot in the Eastern Conference following a 5-1 victory over the winless New York Rangers. Oli Jokinen had two assists in Florida's 3-1 win over Carolina. New Jersey got third period goals from Scott Gomez and Jamie Langenbrunner to rally past Tampa 4-3.

The Washington Capitals continued there hot start to the season, beating Dallas 4-3 for their 4th straight victory. Alexander Semin score twice for the Caps. Washington rookie Alexander Ovechkin had 4 shots in the game but is still searching for his first NHL goal.

Brian Rolston scored in overtime to give Minnesota a 5-4 win over slumping Detroit. Marion Gaborik scored twice for the Wild, who have won 4 of 5 games. However, the best record in the Western Conference belongs to Anaheim after the Ducks beat Colorado 4-2 to improve to 5-0-0. Teemu Selanne had two goals and two assists in the win. It was costly for the Ducks as they lost Sandis Ozolinsh for about two months with a dislocated shoulder. The defenseman had 1 assist in 5 games but was a steadying force on the Anaheim blueline.

Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund scored in the shootout to give Vancouver a 2-1 victory over visiting Edmonton. After spotting the Thrashers an early 2-0 lead the Los Angeles Kings rallied to beat Atlanta 4-2. Alexander Frolov scored twice for the Kings. In the only other game Shane Doan had a goal and an assist as Wayne Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes beat Buffalo 4-3.

SLUMPING LEAFS DEAL STAJAN
In an effort to shore up a terrible defense the Toronto Maple Leafs dealt second year forward Matt Stajan to Carolina in exchange for blueliner Bret Hedican. The 35 year old Hedican, who had a goal and was +3 in 2 games with the Hurricanes this season, joins his 6th NHL season. One really has to question why the Leafs, with 3 centres sidelined with injury and an aging club, would deal one of their good young talents for another old player. Stajan was scoreless in 5 games this season after getting 27 points as a rookie in 2003-04.

Columbus also made a trade yesterday sending disgruntled defenseman Radoslav Suchy to Edmonton for the Oilers second round draft pick next June. The 29 year old Suchy had 1 assist in 4 games with the Blue Jackets and was -3. He scored for the Oilers in his Edmonton debut last night, a 2-1 shootout loss to Vancouver.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
New Jersey 5 4 1 0 8
Philadelphia 5 3 1 1 7
Pittsburgh 4 3 1 0 6
NY Islanders 3 1 1 1 3
NY Rangers 3 0 3 0 0

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 5 4 1 0 8
Buffalo 5 3 2 0 6
Montreal 5 3 2 0 6
Boston 5 2 1 2 6
Toronto 6 1 4 1 3

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 4 4 0 0 8
Florida 5 4 1 0 8
Tampa 5 1 3 1 3
Atlanta 5 1 4 0 2
Carolina 3 0 3 0 0

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 4 4 0 0 8
Detroit 4 1 1 2 4
Chicago 5 1 3 1 3
St Louis 4 0 3 1 1
Columbus 5 0 5 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Minnesota 5 4 1 0 8
Colorado 6 3 2 1 7
Vancouver 5 3 1 1 7
Calgary 4 3 1 0 6
Edmonton 4 1 2 1 3

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 5 5 0 0 10
San Jose 5 3 1 1 7
Dallas 5 2 1 2 6
Los Angeles 5 3 2 0 6
Phoenix 4 2 1 1 5

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Pittsburgh 3 Toronto 2 (OT)
Nashville 5 Boston 4 (SO)
Ottawa 5 NY Rangers 1
Philadelphia 3 Columbus 1
Florida 3 Carolina 1
New Jersey 4 Tampa 3
Minnesota 5 Detroit 4 (OT)
Anaheim 4 Colorado 2
Vancouver 2 Edmonton 1 (SO)
Los Angeles 4 Atlanta 2
Washington 4 Dallas 3
Phoenix 4 Buffalo 3

TONIGHT'S GAMES
NY Islanders at Montreal
Minnesota at Calgary
St Louis at Chicago
Washington at San Jose

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Teemu Selanne ANA 5 4 6 10
Dany Heatley OTT 5 4 5 9
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 5 2 7 9
Sergei Federov ANA 5 2 6 8
Mark Recchi PIT 4 4 3 7
Ziggy Palffy PIT 4 4 3 7
Patrice Bergeron BOS 5 4 3 7
Brendan Morrison VAN 5 2 5 7
Brian Rolston MIN 5 2 5 7
Mike Modano DAL 5 1 6 7

PENALTY MINUTE LEADERS TEAM PIM
Turner Stevenson PHI 38
Darcy Verot COL 36
Jim McKenzie OTT 25

GOALS AGAINST AVG LEADERS
TEAM GP GAA
Jose Theodore MON 5 1.40
Robert Esche PHI 4 1.44
Patrick Lalime STL 4 1.73
Olaf Kolzig WSH 4 1.92
JS Giguerre ANA 5 1.93
Martin Broduer NJ 5 1.97

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS PREPARE FOR CHALLENGING WEEKEND
The Erie Otters are taking advantage of a few off days to try and refine their strategy and heal up in preparation for a tough weekend that will see them face a pair of division leaders. On Saturday the defending Memorial Cup Champion London Knights pay a visit to the Tullio Arena while Sunday the Otters travel to Plymouth to face the West Division leading Whalers. The Knights, who are 7-0-1 and ranked number one in the entire CHL, will face the stiffest test for Erie.

The Otters are hopeful that both Chris Greene and Jake Heller will be ready to play on the weekend. Greene, who has 6 points in 6 games, returned to practice today after tweaking his knee a week ago. Heller, a 20 year old defenseman, hurt his shoulder against Kitchener last weekend and may not be ready until Sunday as he has not yet resumed contact drills.

There was just one game in the OHL last night. Chris Hulit had 3 goals and an assist to power Ottawa to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Kingston Frontenacs. Rookie Logan Couture, a highly touted first round pick of the 67's scored the other Ottawa goal. The 16 year old Couture is tied with Hulit for the club lead with 7 points on the season. Danny Battochio got his first shutout of the season in the game.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 8 7 0 1 15
Owen Sound 8 6 2 0 12
ERIE 9 6 3 0 12
Guelph 9 5 4 0 10
Kitchener 5 3 1 1 7

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 8 4 2 2 10
Sault Ste Marie 8 3 4 1 7
Sarnia 9 3 6 0 6
Saginaw 9 3 6 0 6
Windsor 7 1 5 1 3

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 8 6 2 0 12
St Michael's 8 5 2 1 11
Barrie 7 5 2 0 10
Sudbury 5 3 2 0 6
Mississauga 8 1 6 1 3

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Kingston 8 5 2 1 11
Oshawa 9 4 2 3 11
Ottawa 8 4 4 0 8
Peterborough 7 2 3 2 6
Belleville 8 2 5 1 5

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Ottawa 4 Kingston 0

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Barrie at Owen Sound
Brampton at Oshawa
Belleville at Sarnia
Mississauga at Sudbury
Saginaw at Peterborough

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 8 9 11 20
Ryan Callahan Guel 9 9 8 17
Wojtek Wolski Bram 8 8 9 17
Matt Lyall Guel 9 6 11 17
Cory Emmerton King 7 5 11 16
Kris Belan Lond 8 4 12 16
Michael Blunden ERIE 9 8 7 15
Tyler Doig Guel 9 5 9 14
David Bolland Lond 8 9 4 13
Radek Smolenak King 7 8 5 13
Peter Franchin StM 8 8 5 13
Dan Collins Plym 8 6 7 13
Justin Donati StM 8 4 9 13

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
STEELERS HUNGRY FOR ANOTHER W
The bye week could not have come at a worse time for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After losing their first 3 games to start the season the Steelers came up with an emotional 19-17 victory over division rival Cincinnati but instead of building on that victory the Steelers had a week off. Pittsburgh fans hope the team can pickup where it left off 2 weeks ago when they travel to Dallas to play the 3-2 Cowboys.

Amos Zereoue, who has missed the entire season with an elbow injury, is listed as probable for the game and the Steelers will be counting heavily on their leading rusher from last season. With half of the Cowboys starting defensive front four on injured reserve this looks like a game the Steelers could win. The Pittsburgh defense will need to come up with another solid effort like they did against the Bengals and second year quarterback Eli Manning will need to protect the football but if both those things happen the Steelers may start to salvage a season that started so poorly.

BROWNS OFFENSE STILL HURTING
Like the Steelers, the Cleveland Browns are 1-3 but there is far less cause for optimism on the shores of Lake Erie. With quarterback Tim Couch and number one running back Lee Suggs sidelined for much of the season the Browns look like a team on the ropes. Add in a string of 5 straight road games that begins Sunday at the Meadowlands against the 3-2 New York Giants and Cleveland could quite easily be 1-8 before their next home game.

The Giants defense has to have been salivating all week at the thought of this game. Rookie Cleveland QB Stephen Longley has thrown 6 interceptions in his two career starts. The Browns can not exactly count on the running game to take the pressure off the rookie quarterback as William Green gained just 6 yards in his start last week. The Browns ranked 30th in the league in rushing offense and that includes the 3 games Suggs was active.

For Cleveland to have any chance at all the Browns defense will need to shut down rookie Giants quarterback Alex Smith, who has won his last 3 starts after a rough first couple of weeks.

Tiger Fan

01-06-2006, 12:58 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Saturday October 15, 2005

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
GIAMBI'S HOMER LEADS YANKS TO VICTORY
Jason Giambi's 8th inning solo home run snapped a 5-5 tie and gave the New York Yankees a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The Yankees win evens the American League Championship Series at 1 game apiece as the series shifts east to New York for Sunday's Game Three.

The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Hideki Matsui and Tino Martinez hit back-to-back homers off of Los Angeles starter Jarrod Washburn. The Angels would get 1 run back in the third inning when Tim Salmon and Garrett Anderson each singled and Salmon scored on a groundout from Vladimir Guerrero. In the 6th inning the Angels loaded the bases with one out against Yankee starter Mike Mussina. Rookie catcher Michael Napoli, who had 3 hits in the opener, delivered a 3-run double to give the Angels a 4-2 lead. Tim Salmon would single in Napoli before the inning was over making the score 5-2 Los Angeles.

However, New York responded quickly with 3 runs in the 7th thanks to hits from Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Derek Jeter along with a Washburn walk and an error by Angels shortstop Sean Rodriguez. Giambi's 8th inning homer came off of Angels reliever Jered Weaver, who replaced Washburn to start that inning. It was the second straight game that the Yankees hit 3 home runs.

Mariano Rivera, who took the loss in game 1, nearly let this one get away as well. After Rivera got Adam Kennedy to ground out, Garrett Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero hit singles but Gary Sheffield made a perfect throw to gun down pinch-runner Chone Figgins, who replaced Anderson, at third. Dallas McPherson lined out to Jeter to end the game.

Game Three is tomorrow in New York. The Angels send Bartolo Colon (10-8, 4.41) to the mound against Carl Pavano (10-8, 4.46). Today it is game three of the NLCS at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Cubs will start Kerry Wood (16-9, 4.11) against Matt Morris (18-8, 3.32) of St Louis. The Cubs lead the series 2 games to none.

NLCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Chicago 4 St Louis 2
GAME 2: Chicago 1 St Louis 0
TODAY St Louis at Chicago
SUN OCT 16 St Louis at Chicago
MON OCT 17 St Louis at Chicago
TUE OCT 18 Chicago at St Louis
WED OCT 19 Chicago at St Louis

ALCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Angels 5 Yankees 4 (10 inn)
GAME 2: Yankees 6 Angels 5
SUN OCT 16 Angels at Yankees
MON OCT 17 Angels at Yankees
TUE OCT 18 Angels at Yankees
WED OCT 19 Yankees at Angels
THUR OCT 20 Yankees at Angels

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
CAPS CONTINUE TO BE SURPRISE OF THE NHL
The Washington Capitals are the talk of the National Hockey League after their hot start. The Caps improved to 5-0-0 on the young season with a 4-2 win San Jose. What is even more amazing is the Caps are off to such a strong start despite the fact that their much heralded rookie Alex Ovechkin has yet to score his first NHL goal. Ovechkin did manage to notch his second assist of the season in the victory at San Jose. The leaders for the Caps this year have been Alexander Semin and Jeff Friesen who each have 3 goals along with netminder Olaf Kolzig, who has been outstanding. The Caps did suffer a bit of a blow in the game when defenseman Brandon Witt twisted his knee. Witt will be sidelined for about a week and a half.

In other action, Mike Ribeiro and Alexei Kovalev each scored twice as Montreal beat the New York Islanders 6-3. Richard Zednick had 3 assists for the Habs in the game. In Calgary, Tony Amonte scored a pair of first period goals to help the Flames past Minnesota 4-1. In the only other game the St Louis Blues trimmed Chicago 3-2 for their first victory of the season. Eric Brewer, who came over from Edmonton in the Chris Pronger deal, had 2 assists for St Louis.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
New Jersey 5 4 1 0 8
Philadelphia 5 3 1 1 7
Pittsburgh 4 3 1 0 6
NY Islanders 4 1 2 1 3
NY Rangers 3 0 3 0 0

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 5 4 1 0 8
Montreal 6 4 2 0 8
Buffalo 5 3 2 0 6
Boston 5 2 1 2 6
Toronto 6 1 4 1 3

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 5 5 0 0 10
Florida 5 4 1 0 8
Tampa 5 1 3 1 3
Atlanta 5 1 4 0 2
Carolina 3 0 3 0 0

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 4 4 0 0 8
Detroit 4 1 1 2 4
St Louis 5 1 3 1 3
Chicago 6 1 4 1 3
Columbus 5 0 5 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 5 4 1 0 8
Minnesota 6 4 2 0 8
Colorado 6 3 2 1 7
Vancouver 5 3 1 1 7
Edmonton 4 1 2 1 3

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 5 5 0 0 10
San Jose 6 3 2 1 7
Dallas 5 2 1 2 6
Los Angeles 5 3 2 0 6
Phoenix 4 2 1 1 5

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Montreal 6 NY Islanders 3
Calgary 4 Minnesota 1
St Louis 3 Chicago 2
Washington 4 San Jose 2

TONIGHT'S GAME
Pittsburgh at Ottawa

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Teemu Selanne ANA 5 4 6 10
Dany Heatley OTT 5 4 5 9
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 5 2 7 9
Sergei Federov ANA 5 2 6 8
Richard Zednick MON 6 0 8 8
Mark Recchi PIT 4 4 3 7
Ziggy Palffy PIT 4 4 3 7
Patrice Bergeron BOS 5 4 3 7
Saku Koivu MON 6 3 4 7
Brendan Morrison VAN 5 2 5 7
Brian Rolston MIN 6 2 5 7
Tyler Arnason CHI 6 2 5 7
Mike Modano DAL 5 1 6 7

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS CALL UP PATRICK LEE
The Erie Otters will have a new player in the lineup when they host the London Knights tomorrow. Patrick Lee, a 17 year old right winger, has been called up from the Fort Erie Meteors of the Golden Horseshoe Junior B League. Lee, who was a 6th round pick of the Otters in 2004, will make his OHL debut against the Knights. The native of Simcoe, Ontario was tearing up the Golden Horseshoe League, with 6 goals and 9 assists in 5 games.

OWEN SOUND MOVES TWO POINTS AHEAD OF OTTERS
The Owen Sound Attack moved into sole possession of second place in the Midwest Division, 2 points ahead of the Erie Otters, with a 5-3 home ice victory over Barrie in one of 5 Ontario Hockey League games last night. The Attack were led by a pair of goals from European import Marek Bartanus. Bobby Ryan, the second overall pick by Anahiem in last summers NHL draft, had a goal and an assist.

In other action Mike Iafrate had a shutout as Sarnia blanked Belleville 3-0. Peterborough needed a shootout to beat Saginaw 6-5. Jamie Tardif had 2 goals and 2 assists for the Petes plus he scored one of the shootout goals. In Sudbury, Wolves captain Kevin Baker had 5 points to lead the homeside to a 6-2 win over Mississauga. Finally in Oshawa Cal Clutterbuck scored twice as the Generals beat Brampton 4-1.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 8 7 0 1 15
Owen Sound 9 7 2 0 14
ERIE 9 6 3 0 12
Guelph 9 5 4 0 10
Kitchener 5 3 1 1 7

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 8 4 2 2 10
Sarnia 10 4 6 0 8
Sault Ste Marie 8 3 4 1 7
Saginaw 10 3 6 1 7
Windsor 7 1 5 1 3

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 9 6 3 0 12
St Michael's 8 5 2 1 11
Barrie 8 5 3 0 10
Sudbury 6 4 2 0 8
Mississauga 9 1 7 1 3

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 10 5 2 3 13
Kingston 8 5 2 1 11
Ottawa 8 4 4 0 8
Peterborough 8 3 3 2 8
Belleville 9 2 6 1 5

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Owen Sound 5 Barrie 3
Oshawa 4 Brampton 1
Sarnia 3 Belleville 0
Sudbury 6 Mississauga 2
Peterborough 6 Saginaw 5 (SO)

TONIGHT'S GAMES
London at Erie
Guelph at Oshawa
Owen Sound at Windsor
Sudbury at Mississauga
Kingston at Sarnia
Sault Ste Marie at Kitchener
Plymouth at Peterborough
St Michael's at Brampton

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 8 9 11 20
Wojtek Wolski Bram 9 9 9 18
Ryan Callahan Guel 9 9 8 17
Matt Lyall Guel 9 6 11 17
Cory Emmerton King 8 5 11 16
Kris Belan Lond 8 4 12 16
Michael Blunden ERIE 9 8 7 15
Tyler Doig Guel 9 5 9 14
Joshua Bailey OS 9 5 9 14

jksander

01-08-2006, 03:34 AM

I have a lot of respect for someone who can go to all this detail, but my head's spinning from the micromanagement aspects of it.

Tiger Fan

01-09-2006, 11:46 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Sunday October 16, 2005

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NITTANY LIONS BEAT MINNESOTA
The Penn State Nittany Lions should find themselves in the Top 25 after beating a ranked opponent for the second week in a row. The Nittany Lions scored on a punt return and a fumble return as they improved to 5-2 on the season with a 27-17 victory over Minnesota, which entered the game ranked 6th in the AP poll. The victory improves Penn State's Big Ten record to 3-2.

The Lions could mount little in the way of offense in the opening quarter but they did get the game's first break. With Minnesota driving Gophers running back Gene Mucker fumbled the ball on a sweep after a hard hit from Penn State free safety Antwan Jackson. The ball bounced right into the arms of Nittany Lions defensive end M.C. Reeves who lumbered 80 yards for the game's opening score. After Minnesota missed a field goal attempt on their next possession Nittany Lions kicker Brandon Gilchrist was good from 47 yards to give Penn State a 10-0 lead.

Late in the opening half it was Minnesota that got a fortuitous bounce. Penn State tight end Neal Brown caught a tight end screen pass from Earl McGee but as Brown tucked the ball away he was belted by Gopher defensive lineman Twan Rudney. The ball squirted free and was picked up by lineman Abe Duval who ran 61 yards for a Minnesota touchdown. The normally reserved Lions offense caught the Gophers sleeping on the first play from scrimmage as McGee found freshman tight end Mark Hoover behind the secondary and he laid out a perfect pass that hit Hoover in stride. The result was an 80 yard touchdown and a 17-7 Penn State lead at the half.

The two clubs traded field goals in the third quarter and then the Nittany Lions special teams put the game away midway through the fourth when Alex Hood returned a punt 70 yards to make it 27-10. Minnesota would get a little closer with a touchdown on their next drive but the Penn State offense took over and wore down the clock.

It was not a particularily pretty effort but the Nittany Lions offense did just enough to ensure victory. Penn State tried to establish the run early but the Gopher defense, led by junior linebacker Eagle Tucker, keyed on running back Tim Collins all day limiting Collins to 2.5 yards a carry. With a home game against Indiana next week and trips to Northwestern and Illinois remaining the Nittany Lions could easily finish with a 6-2 record in the Big Ten.

TEAM 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
Minnesota 0 7 3 7 17
Penn State 7 10 3 7 27

First Quarter
PENN TD 01:34 7-0 88 YD Fumble Return by M.C. Reeves (Brandon Gilchrist Kick).
Second Quarter
PENN FG 10:14 10-0 Brandon Gilchrist 47 YD
MINN TD 02:37 10-7 61 YD Fumble Return by Abe Duval (Garrick Brown Kick).
PENN TD 01:54 17-7 Mark Hoover 80 YD Pass from Earl McGee (Brandon Gilchrist Kick).
Third Quarter
MINN FG 09:45 17-10 Garrick Brown 28 YD
PENN FG 03:36 20-10 Brandon Gilchrist 43 YD
Fourth Quarter
PENN TD 06:30 27-10 70 YD Punt Return by Alex Hood (Brandon Gilchrist Kick).
MINN TD 04:14 27-17 Emmett Toefield 20 YD Pass from Dave Washington (Garrick Brown Kick).

TEAM STATISTICS
MINN PENN
First Downs 17 12
Rushing 5 4
Passing 11 7
Penalty 1 1
3rd-down Efficiency 8-21 4-15
4th-down Efficiency 1-2 0-1
Total Net Yards 264 313
Total plays 72 62
Average gain 3.7 5.0
Net Yards Rushing 93 91
Rushes 29 37
Average per rush 3.2 2.5
Net Yards Passing 171 222
Completed-attempted 16-42 12-25
Yards per pass 4.1 8.9
Sacked-yards lost 1-12 0-0
Had intercepted 2 1
Punts-average 8-44.1 7-45.3
Return Yardage 182 194
Punts-returns 3-37 6-128
Kickoffs-returns 6-145 3-46
Interceptions-returns 1-0 2-20
Penalties-yards 6-68 3-20
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1
Touchdowns 1 2
Rushing 0 0
Passing 1 1
Extra Points 2-2 3-3
Field Goals 1-2 2-2
Red Zone Efficiency 2-4-50% 0-3-0%
Time Of Possession 30:40 29:20

MINN PASSING CP/AT YDS TD INT LG SACK
QB D. Washington 15/41 156 1 2 20 1/12
QB P. Montgomery 1-1 15 0 0 15 0-0
PENN PASSING CP/AT YDS TD INT LG SACK
QB E. McGee 12/25 222 1 1 80 0-0

MINN RUSHING ATT YDS YPC TD LG
RB G. Mucker 23 99 4.3 0 16
RB H. Rolle 3 4 1.3 0 3
QB D. Washington 2 2 1.0 0 1
PENN RUSHING ATT YDS YPC TD LG
RB T. Collins 30 79 2.6 0 12
QB E. McGee 4 8 2.0 0 6
FB J. Redmond 2 4 2.0 0 2
RB H. Barber 1 0 0.0 0 0

MINN RECEIVING ATT REC YDS YPC YAC TD LG DRP
WR E. Toefield 16 6 74 12.3 19 1 20 0
WR C. Murphy 12 6 57 9.5 8 0 15 0
WR F. Sacca 4 2 25 12.5 5 0 15 1
TE L. Adams 5 1 8 8.0 2 0 8 1
RB G. Mucker 3 1 7 7.0 3 0 7 0
WR M. Mitchell 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
PENN RECEIVING ATT REC YDS YPC YAC TD LG DRP
TE M. Hoover 1 1 80 80.0 18 1 80 0
WR H. Walker 3 1 47 47.0 0 0 47 1
TE N. Brown 6 5 41 8.2 8 0 23 0
WR J. Smart 9 3 32 10.7 4 0 16 0
RB T. Collins 1 1 12 12.0 5 0 12 0
WR D. Ferguson 5 1 10 10.0 2 0 10 0

MINN O-LINE KRB PCK SA HLD FS
OT B. Taylor 1 1 0 0 0
C T. Stief 1 0 1 0 0
OG C. Buchanon 1 0 0 0 0
OG J. McElroy 0 0 0 2 0
TE L. Adams 0 0 0 1 0
PENN O-LINE KRB PCK SA HLD FS
C A. Shockey 2 1 0 0 0
OG W. Stanciel 1 0 0 0 0
OT L. Murrell 0 1 0 0 0
OT B. Smith 1 0 0 0 0

MINN FUMBLES FUM LOST REC YDS
TE L. Adams 1 0 0 0
RB G. Mucker 1 1 0 0
OG J. McElroy 0 0 1 0
DT A. Duval 0 0 1 61
PENN FUMBLES FUM LOST REC YDS
TE N. Brown 1 1 0 0
DE M. Reeves 0 0 1 88

MINN KICKING FG LONG XP PTS
K G. Brown 1-2 28 2-2 5
PENN KICKING FG LONG XP PTS
K B. Gilchrist 2-2 47 3-3 9

MINN PUNTING NO AVG NET I-20 TB LG
P J. Rice 8 44.1 28.8 0 0 59
PENN PUNTING NO AVG NET I-20 TB LG
P M. Bieniemy 7 45.3 37.1 2 1 57

MINN KICK RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG
CB B. Smith 3 27.7 0 45
WR C. Murphy 1 27.0 0 27
WR K. Hart 2 17.5 0 23
PENN KICK RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG
CB M. Tomlinson 3 15.3 0 19

MINN PUNT RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG FC
WR C. Murphy 2 17.5 0 26 1
FS C. Faison 1 2.0 0 2 0
PENN PUNT RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG FC
WR V. Taylor 1 36.0 0 36 0
SS A. Hood 5 18.4 1 70 1

MINN DEFENSE T-A SCK STF HUR DP INT FF PD
OLB E. Tucker 9/3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
ILB J. Dudley 8/2 0 3 0 0 0 0 2
FS H. Anes 4/1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SS D. Woodson 3/2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
SS B. Peters 3/1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
ILB C.Giaquinto 2/2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
DE A. Bouggess 1/1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
DT T. Rudnay 1/1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FS M. Brown 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DE G. Kent 0-1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
DT A. Duval 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CB B. Smith 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
CB V. Gaines 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
PENN DEFENSE T-A SCK STF HUR DP INT FF PD
OLB M. Burford 8/1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
ILB L. Sullivan 6/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
SS A. Hood 5/1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
FS J. Davenport 5/1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
FS A. Jackson 3/3 0 1 0 0 0 1 1
DT R. Smith 2/1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
OLB H. Freeman 1/2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CB R. Dorenbos 1/1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
DE L. Mackenzie 1/1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
CB B. Barksdale 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
ILB T. Young 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CB M. Tomlinson 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
ILLINOIS SHOCKS MICHIGAN IN BIG TEN PLAY
Illinois pulled off the biggest upset of the season as the 0-6 Illini marched into Michigan and knocked off the second ranked and previously unbeaten Wolverines 31-30. John Craver, a redshirt freshman making his college debut, threw three touchdown passes including the game winner with 15 seconds left in regulation to lead Illinois.

Ohio State had no such stumble against winless Northwestern. The Buckeyes blasted the visitors 51-10 in Columbus. Brian Bratzke passed for 360 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win. In other Big Ten action Michigan State held off Iowa 21-18 while Wisconsin dumped Indiana 34-23.

Purdue came up with a 24-19 non-conference victory over Notre Dame. Boilermakers quarterback Dave Milligan threw for 3 touchdowns a week after being knocked out on his first pass attempt in the loss to Minnesota. A pair of second quarter interceptions thrown by Irish quarterback Jim Paxton proved the difference as Purdue scored after each of the turnovers. The loss drops Notre Dame to 6-3 while Purdue improves to 5-3.

BIG 10 STANDINGS
CONF OVERALL[/b]
Ohio State 4-0 7-0
Michigan 4-1 7-1
Michigan State 4-2 7-2
Minnesota 3-2 6-2
Penn State 3-2 5-2
Wisconsin 3-3 6-3
Iowa 2-3 4-3
Purdue 2-3 5-3
Illinois 1-3 1-6
Indiana 1-4 2-5
Northwestern 0-4 0-7

RESULTS
Wisconsin 34 Indiana 23
Illinois 31 Michigan 30
Michigan State 21 Iowa 18
Penn State 27 Minnesota 17
Ohio State 51 Northwestern 10
Purdue 24 Notre Dame 19

NEXT SATURDAY'S GAMES
Wisconsin at Illinois
Indiana at PENN STATE
Iowa at Northwestern
Purdue at Michigan
Ohio State at Minnesota

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
PACIFIC 10 CONFERENCE ROUND UP
USC has taken over sole possession of top spot in the Pac-10 with a 41-23 victory over previously unbeaten Cal. The Trojans trailed 20-17 at the half but rallied behind a pair of third quarter interception returns for touchdowns to get the victory. The Trojans running game ate up the clock as backs Keith Mathews and Lenny Ojo combined for 191 yards on the ground.

Junior wide receiver Kevin Gagliano caught 4 touchdown passes to lead Stanford past UCLA 31-17. Ellis Jackson ran for 119 yards and a touchdown to help Arizona beat Oregon 16-13.

Washington State is in a position where it could capitalize if USC stumbles. The Cougars blanked Arizona State 23-0 to improve to 4-1 in conference. There schedule is favourable with Stanford, Arizona and Washington remaining. In yesterday's other Pac-10 game Oregon State topped Washington 32-21.

PAC 10 RESULTS
USC 41 California 23
Stanford 31 UCLA 17
Washington State 23 Arizona State 0
Arizona 16 Oregon 13
Oregon State 32 Washington 21

NEXT WEEK
USC at Arizona
Arizona State at California
UCLA at Washington
Washington State at Stanford

PAC 10 STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
USC 4-0 6-1
Washington St 4-1 6-2
California 3-1 6-1
Stanford 2-2 5-2
UCLA 2-2 4-3
Arizona 2-2 5-2
Arizona State 2-2 5-2
Oregon State 2-3 4-4
Washington 1-4 4-4
Oregon 0-5 3-5

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
SEC ROUND-UP
A week after losing to number one ranked Arkansas, the Georgia Bulldogs got back on track with a 20-10 victory over South Carolina. Running back Jamal Nash gained 114 yards on the ground and another 57 yards receiving to lead Georgia.

Fred Graham scored 3 touchdowns and run for 264 yards as Florida outscored Vanderbilt 45-31. Tennessee beat Kentucky 30-20 thanks to a huge game from Volunteers senior wideout Khary Dishman. Dishman caught 7 passes for 135 yards and a ran for an 18 yard touchdown on an end around. In other SEC action Carl Alban threw 3 touchdown passes as LSU beat Mississippi 44-13 to pull within a half game of idle Arkansas in the West Division. Finally Mississippi topped struggling Auburn 22-14.

Note- In an earlier issue I mentioned Arkansas played LSU this week. Arkansas' next game is with LSU but not for 2 weeks.

SEC RESULTS
Tennessee 30 Kentucky 20
Florida 45 Vanderbilt 31
Georgia 20 South Carolina 10
Mississippi 22 Auburn 14
LSU 44 Mississippi State 13

NEXT WEEK
South Carolina at Tennessee
Vanderbilt at Georgia
Kentucky at Florida
Alabama at Auburn
Notre Dame at LSU

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
East Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Georgia 5-1 6-2
Florida 3-2 5-2
Tennessee 3-3 6-3
Kentucky 2-3 4-3
South Carolina 1-4 1-6
Vanderbilt 0-5 1-7

West Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Arkansas 5-0 8-0
Louisiana State 5-1 7-2
Alabama 3-2 6-2
Mississippi 3-2 6-2
Miss State 1-4 4-5
Auburn 1-5 1-8

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE ROUND UP
After missing a week with a concussion Miami quarterback George Hallen was on top of his game in the Hurricanes 44-32 win over Georgia Tech. Hallen passed for 464 yards and 4 touchdowns to keep his team unbeaten in ACC play.

Maryland remains a game ahead of Florida State in the Atlantic Division after both schools posted victories on Saturday. Derek Salaam threw 3 touchdown passes in the Terrapins 34-15 victory at North Carolina State while the Seminoles rallied from a 10-0 half time deficeit to beat Wake Forest 17-10.

In other ACC action Boston College trimmed Clemson 16-13, North Carolina topped Virginia Tech 44-38 and Duke needed double overtime to get it's first ACC win of the season, 33-30 over Virginia.

ACC RESULTS
Boston College 16 Clemson 13
Florida State 17 Wake Forest 10
Maryland 34 North Carolina State 15
Miami 44 Georgia Tech 32
Duke 33 Virginia 30 (OT)
North Carolina 44 Virginia Tech 38

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Maryland at Clemson
Florida State at NC State
Boston College at Wake Forest
Virginia at Georgia Tech
North Carolina at Miami

Atlantic Coast Standings
Atlantic Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Maryland 4-1 6-2
Florida State 3-2 4-3
Clemson 3-3 4-4
Boston College 2-3 5-3
Wake Forest 1-4 1-6
NC State 1-5 3-6

Coastal Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Miami 6-0 8-1
North Carolina 4-2 5-3
Virginia Tech 3-2 5-3
Virginia 2-2 3-4
Georgia Tech 2-3 4-3
Duke 1-5 2-7

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BIG EAST CONFERENCE ROUND UP
The Big East title will likely be decided next weekend when a pair of 4-0 teams meet in Syracuse. The Orangeman and Rutgers both improved to 4-0 in conference play with victories on Saturday. Dhani Woodard threw 5 touchdown passes, three of them to Aaron Hamilton, as Syracuse hammered Pittsburgh 44-17. Meanwhile Rutgers had a close call against Cincinnati. The Scarlett Knights needed two fourth quarter touchdowns to rally for a 25-24 victory.

In the only other Big East game West Virginia thumped winless Louisville 48-23.

BIG EAST RESULTS
Syracuse 44 Pittsburgh 17
Rutgers 27 Cincinnati 24
West Virginia 48 Louisville 23

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Cincinnati at Louisville
South Florida at UConn
Rutgers at Syracuse

BIG EAST STANDINGS
CONF OVERALL[/b]
Syracuse 4-0 7-1
Rutgers 4-0 4-4
South Florida 3-1 4-3
West Virginia 3-3 6-3
UConn 2-3 2-6
Cincinnati 1-3 1-5
Pittsburgh 1-4 3-5
Louisville 0-4 1-6

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BIG 12 CONFERENCE ROUND UP
Missouri moved into control of the North Division with an impressive 50-23 drubbing of Colorado in Big 12 play. The Tigers, who got 3 touchdowns and 183 yards rushing from junior running back Marlon Wiggin in the victory, are a half game ahead of the second place Buffaloes.

Oklahoma continues to lead the way in the South. The Sooners pasted winless Baylor 30-3 yesterday. Texas kept pace with a 23-10 victory at Oklahoma State while third place Texas A&M hammered Texas Tech 57-17.

BIG 12 RESULTS
Iowa State 27 Nebraska 25
Kansas 30 Kansas State 27
Missouri 50 Colorado 23
Texas 23 Oklahoma State 10
Oklahoma 30 Baylor 3
Texas A&M 57 Texas Tech 17

NEXT WEEK
Colorado at Iowa State
Kansas State at Missouri
Nebraska at Kansas

BIG 12 CONFERENCE
North Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Missouri 4-2 6-3
Colorado 3-2 4-3
Iowa State 3-3 4-4
Nebraska 2-3 4-4
Kansas 2-3 2-5
Kansas State 1-4 3-5

South Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Oklahoma 5-0 7-1
Texas 5-1 8-1
Texas A&M 4-2 7-2
Oklahoma State 3-2 5-3
Texas Tech 1-5 2-7
Baylor 0-6 0-9

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
MAC ROUND UP
Western Michigan moved a step closer to winning the West Division with a 20-13 win over Central Michigan. Junior safety Floyd Fiore returned a 4th quarter interception 63 yards for
the game winning touchdown. The Mustangs can clinch the division title with a win at home over Northern Illinois next week.

Northern Illinois beat Toledo 23-13 while Eastern Michigan topped Ball State 9-6 in the other West Division games. Ohio held off Akron 13-6 to hang on to first place in the East Division. Bowling Green is just a half game back of the Bobcats after blowing out Buffalo 42-14. The other game saw Miami thump Kent State 41-13.

MAC RESULTS
Bowling Green 42 Buffalo 14
Miami 41 Kent State 13
Ohio 13 Akron 6
Western Michigan 20 Central Michigan 13
Eastern Michigan 9 Ball State 6
Northern Illinois 23 Toledo 13

NEXT WEEK
Akron at Buffalo
Kent State at Ohio
Bowling Green at Miami
Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan
Northern Illinois at Western Michigan

MAC STANDINGS
East Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Ohio 5-1 6-3
Bowling Green 4-1 6-1
Miami(Oh) 3-2 5-2
Buffalo 1-5 2-7
Akron 0-4 1-6
Kent State 0-4 1-7

West Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Western Michigan 6-0 7-2
Northern Illinois 4-2 5-4
Toledo 3-3 4-5
Central Michigan 2-3 3-4
Eastern Michigan 2-3 3-4
Ball State 2-4 3-6

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE ROUND UP
Air Force is now alone atop the Mountain West standings after Colorado State suffered it's first loss of the season. The Falcons got 102 yards rushing from running back Jerry Kustok as they beat Utah 23-13 to improve to 4-0 in conference play. The Colorado State Rams dropped to 4-1 after they were hammered 34-0 at Brigham Young. Four turnovers and a terrible offense, that gained just 165 total yards, was the cause of Colorado State's downfall.

MOUTAIN WEST RESULTS
Wyoming 41 New Mexico 23
BYU 34 Colorado State 0
San Diego State 30 UNLV 23
Air Force 23 Utah 13

NEXT WEEK
Utah at Wyoming
Air Force at TCU
New Mexico at Colorado State
BYU at San Diego State

MOUNTAIN WEST STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
Air Force 4-0 6-1
Colorado State 4-1 5-2
TCU 3-1 5-2
BYU 3-2 4-4
Wyoming 3-2 3-4
Utah 2-2 3-4
San Diego State 2-3 5-3
UNLV 0-5 2-5
New Mexico 0-5 0-7

OTHER CONFERENCE RESULTS

CONFERENCE USA
Marshall 34 Memphis 16
UAB 30 Southern Miss 6
East Carolina 33 Central Florida 25
UTEP 31 Tulane 17
Tulsa 24 SMU 6
Navy 26 Rice 16

C-USA STANDINGS
East Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Marshall 4-1 6-2
UAB 4-1 4-3
Southern Miss 3-2 3-5
East Carolina 2-3 2-5
Central Fla 2-4 3-6
Memphis 2-4 2-7

West Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Tulane 4-1 4-4
UTEP 4-2 5-4
Rice 2-2 3-4
SMU 2-4 3-5
Tulsa 2-4 2-7
Houston 1-4 1-7

SUN BELT
Middle Tennessee St 24 FIU 9
La-Monroe 22 Troy 21
La-Lafayette 28 Arkansas State 17

SUN BELT STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
North Texas 4-0 6-1
Florida Atl. 3-1 3-4
Middle Tenn St 2-2 2-6
Troy 3-3 4-5
Florida Int. 2-2 2-5
La-Lafayette 1-3 2-6
La-Monroe 1-3 1-7
Arkansas St 1-3 2-6

WESTERN ATHLETIC
San Jose St 41 Louisiana Tech 24
Boise State 56 Utah State 16
Fresno State 42 Hawaii 30
New Mexico State 37 Nevada 25

WAC STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
Boise State 5-0 6-1
Louisiana Tech 4-1 5-2
New Mexico St 3-1 4-2
Fresno State 3-2 6-2
San Jose State 3-2 4-3
Hawaii 2-3 3-5
Utah State 1-4 1-7
Nevada 0-4 0-6
Idaho 0-4 0-7

INDEPENDANTS
Army 21 Temple 6
Navy 26 Rice 16
Purdue 24 Notre Dame 19

INDEPENDANT RECORDS
TEAM OVER
Notre Dame 6-3
Navy 6-2
Army 2-7
Temple 0-9

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS BEAT LONDON IN SHOOT-OUT
A sold out Tullio Arena crowd of 5,500 witnessed a tremendous effort by the Erie Otters in their 5-4 shoot out victory over the London Knights. The Otters tied the game with 1:30 remaining in regulation and dominated the overtime before winning the shootout on a goal by Sean O'Connor. Erie goaltender Jhase Sniderman, who was outstanding all game, stopped all 3 London players in the shoot-out.

The Otters built a 2-0 lead on goals by Michael Blunden and Chad Loikets before London rallied to tie the game midway through the third period. Erie responded immediately with a goal from Ryan O'Marra but the Knights got two goals in a 4 minute span to retake the lead 4-3 with 5 minutes remaining. Erie tied the game on Christian Seest-Olsen's 3rd goal of the season which came just as the Otters had signalled to pull their goaltender in favour of an extra-attacker.

OTTER TAILS: Seest-Olsen was named the game's first star after picking up a pair of assists to go with his game tying goal. Ryan O'Marra, who also had a goal and 2 assists for Erie was the second star while Knights forward Drew Larman was named third star....New call-up Patrick Lee had a rough OHL debut for the Otters. He was minus 3 play on the third line with O'Connor and Nick Palmieri....Chris Greene returned to the lineup after missing 2 games with an injury but the forward played sparingly....Erie travels to Plymouth tomorrow to play the West Division leading Whalers....London Knights overage defenseman Marc Methot was named the Ontario Hockey League player of the week. Methot, a Columbus Blue Jacket draft pick, had a goal and 7 assists in 3 games last week. It marked the second straight week a Knights player captured the honours as last week it went to forward Robbie Schremp.

ERIE OTTERS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
ERI Blunden 9(Seest-Olsen, O'Marra) 3:45
Penalties: Martinelli Lon 6:02, Belan Lon 9:28, Seest-Olsen
Eri 14:43

SECOND PERIOD
ERI Loikets 1(McKinley, Blunden) 3:05 PP
LON Schremp 10(Bolland, Wilkins) 9:57 PP
Penalties: Martinelli Lon 2:38, Lee Eri 5:00, Perry Lon
7:05, Fox Eri 9:14

THIRD PERIOD
LON Larman 2(Foreman, Rediker) 8:08
ERI O'Marra 4(McKinley, Seest-Olsen) 9:32
LON Martinelli 2(Syvret, Larman) 10:29
LON Gagner 3(Rediker, Perry) 14:52
ERI Seest-Olsen 3(O'Marra, Hotham) 18:30
Penalties: Loikets Eri 1:57, Gagner Lon 4:43

OVERTIME
NO SCORING
Penalties: none

SHOOT OUT
LON Schremp missed, Bolland missed, VanderVeeken missed
ERI O'Marra missed, O'Connor scored

GOALTENDER SAVES
ERI Sniderman 31
LON Spezza 32

In other Ontario Hockey League action Oshawa beat Guelph 3-1, Anthony Guadagnoio had the shutout as Windsor blanked Owen Sound 5-0, Mississauga topped Sudbury 4-1, Tomas Pospisil had 3 points in Sarnia's 4-0 win over Kingston, Dan Turple and the Kitchener Rangers shut out Sault Ste Marie 4-0, Trevor Hendrikx had a 4 point night to lead Peterborough past Plymouth 7-3 and St Michael's beat Brampton 5-4 in overtime.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 9 7 0 2 16
Owen Sound 10 7 3 0 14
ERIE 10 7 3 0 14
Guelph 10 5 5 0 10
Kitchener 6 4 1 1 9

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 9 4 3 2 10
Sarnia 11 5 6 0 10
Sault Ste Marie 9 3 5 1 7
Saginaw 10 3 6 1 7
Windsor 8 2 5 1 5

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
St Michael's 9 6 2 1 13
Brampton 10 6 3 1 13
Barrie 8 5 3 0 10
Sudbury 7 4 3 0 8
Mississauga 10 2 7 1 5

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 11 6 2 3 15
Kingston 9 5 3 1 11
Peterborough 9 4 3 2 10
Ottawa 8 4 4 0 8
Belleville 9 2 6 1 5

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Erie 5 London 4 (SO)
Oshawa 3 Guelph 1
Windsor 5 Owen Sound 0
Mississauga 4 Sudbury 1
Sarnia 4 Kingston 0
Kitchener 4 Sault Ste Marie 0
Plymouth 3 Peterborough 7
St Michael's 5 Brampton 4 (OT)

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Erie at Plymouth
Barrie at Belleville
Ottawa at Sarnia
London at Windsor
Sault Ste Marie at Peterborough
Saginaw at Kitchener

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 9 10 11 21
Wojtek Wolski Bram 10 10 9 19
Michael Blunden ERIE 10 9 8 17
Ryan Callahan Guel 10 9 8 17
Matt Lyall Guel 10 6 11 17
Cory Emmerton King 9 5 11 16
Kris Belan Lond 9 4 12 16
Jamie Tardif Pete 9 8 7 15
Dan Collins Plym 9 7 8 15
Justin Donati StM 9 5 10 15
David Boland Lond 9 9 5 14
Luch Aquino Bram 10 8 6 14
Tyler Doig Guel 10 5 9 14
Joshua Bailey OwS 10 5 9 14

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
PENGUINS FALL TO SENS IN OVERTIME
Despite a 3 point effort from Ziggy Palffy the Pittsburgh Penguins lost 4-3 to the Ottawa Senators in overtime at the Corel Centre. It was a dissappointing outcome for the Pens who built a 3-0 lead on two goals from Palffy and one from team owner Mario Lemieux. Ottawa roared back thanks to some inspired play from the line of Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS GAME SUMMARY
FIRST PERIOD
PIT Palffy 5(Jackman) 6:09
Penalties: Chara Ott 2:33, Hill Pit 11:45, Koltsov Pit
17:12, Redden Ott 19:51

SECOND PERIOD
PIT Palffy 6(Lemieux, Recchi) 0:52 PP
PIT Lemieux 1(Palffy, Gonchar) 1:58
OTT Heatley 5(Alfredsson, Pothier) 6:25
OTT Chara 2(Alfredsson, Heatley) 8:14 PP
OTT Kelly 1(Hamel, Meszaros) 18:20
Penalties: McKenzie Ott 2:26, Pirjeta Pit 7:08, Gonchar
Pit 10:52, Hill Pit 14:39

THIRD PERIOD
NO SCORING
Penalties: Hill Pit 8:46, Whitney Pit 16:03

OVERTIME
OTT Alfredsson 3(Heatley, Spezza) 0:26
Penalties: none

GOALTENDER SAVES
PIT J Thibault 34
OTT D Hasek 25

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
New Jersey 5 4 1 0 8
Philadelphia 5 3 1 1 7
Pittsburgh 5 3 1 1 7
NY Islanders 4 1 2 1 3
NY Rangers 3 0 3 0 0

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 6 5 1 0 10
Montreal 6 4 2 0 8
Buffalo 5 3 2 0 6
Boston 5 2 1 2 6
Toronto 6 1 4 1 3

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 5 5 0 0 10
Florida 5 4 1 0 8
Tampa 5 1 3 1 3
Atlanta 5 1 4 0 2
Carolina 3 0 3 0 0

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 4 4 0 0 8
Detroit 4 1 1 2 4
St Louis 5 1 3 1 3
Chicago 6 1 4 1 3
Columbus 5 0 5 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 5 4 1 0 8
Minnesota 6 4 2 0 8
Colorado 6 3 2 1 7
Vancouver 5 3 1 1 7
Edmonton 4 1 2 1 3

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 5 5 0 0 10
San Jose 6 3 2 1 7
Dallas 5 2 1 2 6
Los Angeles 5 3 2 0 6
Phoenix 4 2 1 1 5

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Ottawa 4 Pittsburgh 3 (OT)

TONIGHT'S GAME
Detroit at Montreal
Toronto at NY Islanders
New Jersey at Carolina
St Louis at Columbus
Phoenix at Calgary
Washington at Edmonton
Boston at Minnesota
Tampa Bay at Vancouver
Buffalo at Los Angeles
Atlanta at Dallas

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 6 5 7 12
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 6 3 9 12
Ziggy Palffy PIT 5 6 4 10
Teemu Selanne ANA 5 4 6 10
Mark Recchi PIT 5 4 4 8
Sergei Federov ANA 5 2 6 8
Richard Zednick MON 6 0 8 8
Patrice Bergeron BOS 5 4 3 7
Saku Koivu MON 6 3 4 7
Brendan Morrison VAN 5 2 5 7
Brian Rolston MIN 6 2 5 7
Tyler Arnason CHI 6 2 5 7
Mike Modano DAL 5 1 6 7

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
CARDS GET BACK IN SERIES WITH 4-2 WIN
After dropping the first two games of the National League Championship Series at home the St Louis Cardinals faced a must-win situation at Wrigley Field yesterday. The Cardinals Matt Morris answered with a big game, a 4-hitter over 7 plus innings to lead St Louis to a 4-2 victory. Jim Edmonds led the St Louis offense with 3 hits and three rbi's.

St Louis got to Cubs starter Kerry Wood quickly as Edmonds drove in Scott Rolen with an infield single with 2 out in the opening inning. The Cardinals added another run in the second when with runners on the corners Wood balked to score David Eckstein. In the 5th inning Edmonds hit a 2-run single to make it 4-0. The Cubs finally got to Morris in the 6th inning when with two out Reed Johnson singled and Corey Patterson drew a walk. Aramis Ramirez followed with a 2-run double that cut the Cardinals lead in half. It would be as close as Chicago would get.

Game 4 in the series is today at Wrigley. The Cardinals will start Mark Mulder (13-15, 4.77) against Carlos Zambrano (16-7, 3.11). There is also word Albert Pujols is recovering faster than expected from a broken bone in his hand and if St Louis makes the World Series he could be available.

Game 3 in the Angels-Yankees series goes tonight in New York. Bartolo Colon (10-8, 4.41) starts for Los Angeles against Carl Pavano (10-8, 4.46) for New York.

NLCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Chicago 4 St Louis 2
GAME 2: Chicago 1 St Louis 0
GAME 3: St Louis 4 Chicago 2
TODAY St Louis at Chicago
MON OCT 17 St Louis at Chicago
TUE OCT 18 Chicago at St Louis
WED OCT 19 Chicago at St Louis

ALCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Angels 5 Yankees 4 (10 inn)
GAME 2: Yankees 6 Angels 5
TODAY Angels at Yankees
MON OCT 17 Angels at Yankees
TUE OCT 18 Angels at Yankees
WED OCT 19 Yankees at Angels
THUR OCT 20 Yankees at Angels

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
REVOLUTION CLAIM FINAL PLAYOFF BERTH
Hayden Woodworth scored in the 88th minute to give New England a 2-1 victory over Columbus sending the Revolution into the MLS playoffs and ending the season for the Crew. The two teams entered the contest tied for the fourth and final playoff spot in the MLS Eastern Conference. Columbus scored first on a Brian Maisoneuve goal in the 69th minute but New England got the equalizer from Clint Dempsey just over a minute later.

The playoffs begin next Saturday.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Los Angeles 2 Colorado 0
DC United 1 Metro Stars 1
New England 2 Columbus 1
Kansas City 3 San Jose 0

NEXT SATURDAY'S MATCHES

FINAL STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
GP W L T PTS
Metro Stars* 30 12 7 11 47
DC United* 30 14 11 5 47
New England* 30 9 11 10 37
Chicago* 30 9 11 10 37
Columbus 30 9 14 7 34

WESTERN CONFERENCE
GP W L T PTS
Los Angeles* 30 14 9 7 49
San Jose* 30 12 10 8 44
Colorado* 30 10 11 9 39
FC Dallas* 30 10 11 9 39
Kansas City 30 8 12 10 34
*qualified for playoffs

FINAL GOAL SCORING LEADERS
Zizi Roberts Colorado 14
Jovan Kirovski Los Angeles 13
A Eskandarian DC United 13
Jason Kreis FC Dallas 13
Clint Mathis DC United 13
Kris Boyd San Jose 13
J.P. Peguero Kansas City 11

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal took over sole possession of top spot in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory at home over Tottenham while Manchester United lost on the road to Everton 1-0. After 10 games, Arsenal has a 3 point lead on Manchester United. Third place Liverpool is 7 points back of the leader after being forced to settle for a 2-2 against Southampton.

SATURDAY'S FIXTURES
Arsenal 3 Tottenham 1
Wigan 3 Crystal Palace 1
Everton 1 Manchester United 0
Wolves 2 Fulham 1
Manchester City 1 Birmingham 0
Newcastle 1 Chelsea 1
Southhampton 2 Liverpool 2

SUNDAY'S GAME
Norwich at Millwall

MONDAY'S GAME
Charlton at Aston Villa

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
Arsenal 10 8 1 1 17 5 25
Man Utd 10 7 1 2 20 8 22
Liverpool 9 5 3 1 16 10 18
Tottenham 9 5 1 3 14 13 16
Chelsea 9 3 5 1 12 7 14
Fulham 10 4 2 4 14 14 14
Norwich 9 4 2 3 13 13 14
Wigan 10 3 4 3 12 11 13
Man City 10 3 4 3 13 13 13
Wolves 9 3 4 2 12 13 13
Southampton 9 2 6 1 13 14 12
Aston Villa 8 2 4 2 10 9 10
Charlton 9 2 4 3 8 10 10
Birmingham 10 3 1 6 6 12 10
Newcastle 8 2 3 3 10 9 9
Blackburn 8 2 3 3 8 10 9
Crystal Palace 10 2 2 6 9 16 8
Everton 10 2 2 6 6 13 8
Bolton 9 1 3 5 11 14 6
Millwall 8 0 3 5 6 16 3

Tiger Fan

01-12-2006, 12:04 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Monday October 17, 2005

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
GIANTS HAMMER BROWNS 30-6
Turnovers once again proved costly for the Cleveland Browns as quarterback Stephen Longley was picked off 4 times in the Browns 30-6 loss to the New York Giants at The Meadowlands. The 4 Cleveland interceptions and a fumble led directly to 17 of the Giants 30 points including a 33 yard interception return for a touchdown by Giants cornerback William Peterson.

Longley completed 20 of 34 passes but has yet to throw a touchdown in the 4 games he has played since replacing the injured Tim Couch. During that time Longley has been intercepted 12 times. He can't be entirely blame though as opponents can sit back and key on the pass because the Browns are one of the worst rushing teams in the league. Cleveland gained just 26 yards on 23 carries against the Giants.

The Giants got a pair of touchdown passes from rookie quarterback Alex Smith who has led the team to 4 straight wins after dropping his first two starts. The Browns fall to 1-4 with the loss.

STEELERS FALL 23-10 IN DALLAS
Despite the return of Amos Zereoue the Pittsburgh Steelers failed to establish the running game. That and Eli Manning's inability to avoid interceptions cost the Steelers in a 23-10 loss to Dallas. With half of the Cowboys starting defensive front four sidelined this looked to be a game the Steelers could win. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh fans Zereoue was held to just 39 yards rushing and the Steelers generated little in the way of offense. When they did mount a drive it ended more often than not in an Eli Manning interception as the second year quarterback was picked off twice inside the Dallas 20 yard line.

Quincy Carter, on the other hand, threw for 239 yards and a pair of first half touchdowns to lead the Cowboys who improve to 4-2 with the win. Dallas running back Tony Fisher rushed for a career high 105 yards.

MCCOWN'S 3 TD PASSES LEADS SEAHAWKS PAST BILLS
Josh McCown threw for 340 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Seattle Seahawks to a 31-24 victory over the Buffalo Bills. James Thrash was McCown's favourite target making 6 grabs for 125 yards including a touchdown catch. The win improves Seattle to 3-3 while the visiting Bills fall to 2-3 despite a 287 yard, 2 touchdown pass day from Tim Rattay.

In other NFL action Sunday Ben Roethlisberger threw a pair of 4th quarter touchdown passes to Darnerien McCants as Washington rallied to beat Baltimore 14-10. Champ Bailey had a pair of interceptions for the Redskins. It was the Ravens first loss of the season.

The Cincinnati Bengals improved to 3-2 with a 25-11 win over Philadelphia. The Bengals defense held the Eagles to 178 yards total offense. Defensive ends Justin Smith and David Pollack each had a pair of sacks for the Bengals.

Peyton Manning threw 3 touchdown passes to lead Indianapolis to a 32-17 win over Jacksonville. Rookie RB Justin Voight, replacing the injured Edgerrin James, gained 119 yards on the ground for the Colts. The Colts victory leaves the two clubs tied for top spot in the AFC South at 3-3.

Jake Plummer threw 3 touchdown passes including a pair in the 4th quarter as Denver rallied to beat Atlanta 27-20. The win improves the Broncos record to 5-1.

Trent Green threw for 344 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Priest Holmes ran for 78 yards and a score as Kansas City had an easy time beating Carolina 28-11. Safety Jon McGraw had a pair of inteceptions for the Chiefs who join Denver at 5-1 atop the AFC West.

New Orleans beat Oakland 13-9 in a defensive struggle. The only touchdown came on a 7 yard pass from Aaron Brooks in the third quarter. Brooks entered the game after Saints starter JP Losman left with an ankle injury.

Tom Brady's return to Foxboro did not go well. The former Patriots quarterback, who signed with the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent in the offseason, was picked off twice as New England beat Arizona 24-20. Brady's replacement in New England, Rohan Davey, was picked off twice but he also threw the game winning touchdown pass with just over 5 minutes remaining. After starting the season 4-0 the Cardinals have dropped two in a row.

San Francisco built a 21-3 lead at the half and then hung on to beat the New York Jets 24-19. The 49ers improve to 4-2 while the Jets drop to 3-2.

Rickey Williams ran for 118 yards to help Miami improve to 3-2 with a 30-17 victory over the St Louis Rams. St Louis quarterback Kurt Warner continues to struggle. He was picked off twice in the game and has now thrown 11 interceptions in 6 starts.

Kris Brown's 37 yard field goal in overtime gave the Houston Texans a 13-10 win over Tennessee. Brown had tied the game with 12 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter when he kicked a 25 yarder. It was the Texans first win of the season while the Titans fall to 0-6.

The Monday night game has 4-1 San Diego home to 2-3 Tampa Bay.

MONDAY NIGHT GAME
Tampa Bay at San Diego

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Washington 14 Baltimore 10
Cincinnati 25 Philadelphia 11
NY Giants 30 Cleveland 6
Indianapolis 32 Jacksonville 17
Denver 27 Atlanta 20
Kansas City 28 Carolina 11
New Orleans 13 Oakland 9
New England 24 Arizona 20
San Francisco 24 NY Jets 19
Dallas 23 Pittsburgh 10
Miami 30 St Louis 17
Seattle 31 Buffalo 24
Houston 13 Tennessee 10 (OT)

NFL STANDINGS
NFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Minnesota 3 2 0 .600 123 105
Green Bay 3 2 0 .600 113 85
Chicago 3 2 0 .600 90 84
Detroit 2 3 0 .400 69 101

East W L T PCT PF PA
Philadelphia 4 2 0 .667 129 100
NY Giants 4 2 0 .667 140 99
Washington 4 2 0 .667 128 114
Dallas 4 2 0 .667 104 89

South W L T PCT PF PA
New Orleans 3 3 0 .500 91 98
Tampa Bay 2 3 0 .400 94 100
Atlanta 2 4 0 .333 111 139
Carolina 0 6 0 .000 36 137

West W L T PCT PF PA
Arizona 4 2 0 .667 174 121
San Francisco 4 2 0 .667 118 82
Seattle 3 3 0 .500 115 131
St. Louis 1 5 0 .167 108 155

AFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Baltimore 4 1 0 .800 110 64
Cincinnati 3 2 0 .600 91 92
Cleveland 1 4 0 .200 85 130
Pittsburgh 1 4 0 .200 71 110

East W L T PCT PF PA
NY Jets 3 2 0 .600 112 106
Miami 3 2 0 .600 124 115
New England 3 2 0 .600 101 96
Buffalo 2 3 0 .400 118 96

South W L T PCT PF PA
Jacksonville 3 3 0 .500 117 131
Indianapolis 3 3 0 .500 113 116
Houston 1 5 0 .167 63 105
Tennessee 0 6 0 .000 78 124

West W L T PCT PF PA
Denver 5 1 0 .833 156 107
Kansas City 5 1 0 .833 171 132
San Diego 4 1 0 .800 114 74
Oakland 2 4 0 .333 100 129

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
PENN STATE 19TH IN COACHES POLL
following back to back wins over top 10 teams the latest College Coaches Poll has rewarded the Penn State Nittany Lions football team with a spot in the top 20. The 5-2 Nittany Lions, who beat Minnesota Saturday and Michigan State a week ago, are 19th in this week's poll.

Arkansas, which had the week off, remains number one but Michigan, which suffered it's first loss of the season, falls from second to fourth.

Here is the latest Top 25 according to the NCAA Football Coaches:

COACHES POLL TOP 25
RK SCHOOL REC PREV LAST NEXT
1 Arkansas 8-0 1 idle idle
2 Ohio State 7-0 3 W 51-10 Northwestern at #10 Minnesota
3 Texas 8-1 5 W 23-10at Okla State idle
4 Michigan 7-1 2 L 31-30 Illinois Purdue
5 California 6-1 4 L 41-23 at USC #16 Arizona State
6 USC 6-1 10 W 41-23 Cal at Arizona
7 Miami 8-1 6 W 44-32at Ga Tech North Carolina
8 Oklahoma 7-1 8 W 30-3 Baylor idle
9 Syracuse 7-1 9 W 44-17 Pittsburgh Rutgers
10 Minnesota 6-2 7 L 27-17 at Penn State #2 Ohio State
11 Texas A&M 7-2 12 W 57-17 Texas Tech idle
12 Alabama 6-2 13 idle at Auburn
13 Michigan St 7-2 14 W 21-18 at Iowa idle
14 Wash. State 6-2 22 W 23-0 Arizona State at #24 Stanford
15 Mississippi 6-2 15 W 22-15 at Auburn idle
16 Arizona St 5-2 11 L 23-0 at Wash St at #5 Cal
17 LSU 7-2 16 W 44-13 at Miss State #21 Notre Dame
18 Wisconsin 6-3 17 W 34-23 at Indiana at Illinois
19 Penn State 5-2 NR W 27-17 Minnesota Indiana
20 Georgia 6-2 19 W 20-10 S. Carolina Vanderbilt
21 Notre Dame 6-3 18 L 24-19 at Purdue at #17 LSU
22 UCLA 4-3 21 L 31-17 at Stanford at Washington
23 VirginiaTech 5-3 20 L 44-38 at N Carolina idle
24 Stanford 5-2 NR W 31-17 UCLA at #14 Wash St
25 Florida 5-2 23 W 45-31at Vanderbilt Kentucky

Dropped out of top 25
24 Arizona
25 Iowa

The Associated Press poll will be released later today.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS FALL 4-1 IN PLYMOUTH
It took the Erie Otters 20 minutes to shake off the 'bus legs' and by then it was too late as Plymouth scored 3 first period goals en route to a 4-1 victory over the Otters in Ontario Hockey League action. It was the Otters first road loss in 5 games this season and lowers their overall record on the season to 7-4-0.

Plymouth scored three times in the first period on Erie backup goaltender Scott Greenham, who faced 17 shots in the opening stanza. Greenham has started 3 games this season and the Otters have dropped all three. Michael Blunden was the goal scorer for Erie as he notched his team leading 10th of the season.

The Otters have 6 days off before they return to action next Saturday when they host Sarnia at the Tullio Arena.

ERIE OTTERS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
PLY Collins 8(Meidl, Helmick) 7:51
PLY Stephenson 3(Ward, Letizia) 10:04
PLY Rizzi 2(unassisted) 16:31
Penalties: Neal Ply 0:31, Bagshaw Eri 11:03, Kerins
Ply 19:31

SECOND PERIOD
ERI Blunden 10(Regan, Kidd) 10:13
Penalties: Helowka Eri 14:34

THIRD PERIOD
PLY Rizzi 3(Tanaka, Stephenson) 15:23
Penalties: Lee Eri 0:15

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
ERI Greenham 36
Ply Garay 21

In other Ontario Hockey League action the London Knights suffered their first loss in regulation time this season, falling 3-1 at Windsor. Kevin Lalande got the shutout as Belleville blanked Barrie 3-0. Three first period goals allowed Ottawa to shade Sarnia 3-2. Daniel Ryder had a goal and 3 assists to lead Peterborough past Sault Ste Marie 5-3 while Mike Swift was involved in all 3 goals as Kitchener beat Saginaw 3-1. Swift was just acquired by the Rangers yesterday along with a junior B player and a pair of draft picks in exchange for forward Mike Duco.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 10 7 1 2 16
Owen Sound 10 7 3 0 14
ERIE 11 7 4 0 14
Kitchener 7 5 1 1 11
Guelph 10 5 5 0 10

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 10 5 3 2 12
Sarnia 12 5 7 0 10
Sault Ste Marie 10 3 6 1 7
Saginaw 11 3 7 1 7
Windsor 9 3 5 1 7

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
St Michael's 9 6 2 1 13
Brampton 10 6 3 1 13
Barrie 9 5 4 0 10
Sudbury 7 4 3 0 8
Mississauga 10 2 7 1 5

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 11 6 2 3 15
Peterborough 10 5 3 2 12
Kingston 9 5 3 1 11
Ottawa 9 5 4 0 10
Belleville 10 3 6 1 7

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Plymouth 4 Erie 1
Belleville 3 Barrie 0
Ottawa 3 Sarnia 2
Windsor 3 London 1
Peterborough 5 Sault Ste Marie 3
Kitchener 3 Saginaw 1

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Brampton at Barrie
Guelph at Kitchener
Sudbury at Plymouth
Kingston at Ottawa
St Michael's at Belleville
Mississauga at Owen Sound

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 10 10 11 21
Wojtek Wolski Bram 10 10 9 19
Michael Blunden ERIE 11 10 8 18
Jamie Tardif Pete 10 9 9 18
Ryan Callahan Guel 10 9 8 17
Matt Lyall Guel 10 6 11 17
Dan Collins Plym 10 8 8 16
Cory Emmerton King 9 5 11 16
Kris Belan Lond 10 4 12 16
Justin Donati StM 9 5 10 15
David Boland Lond 10 9 5 14
Luch Aquino Bram 10 8 6 14
Tyler Doig Guel 10 5 9 14
Joshua Bailey OwS 10 5 9 14

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
CAPS SUFFER FIRST LOSS OF SEASON
On the day that prized rookie Alexander Ovechkin scores his first NHL goal the Washington Capitals saw their 5-game season opening win streak come to an end. Ovechkin got the Caps only goal of the game in a 4-1 loss at Edmonton. Ryan Smith led the Oilers attack with a goal and an assist.

Prior to the game the Oilers announced that they had dealt defenseman Cory Cross to Ottawa for a third round draft pick.

In other NHL action: Tomas Holmstrom and Brendan Shanahan scored third period goals to lead Detroit past Montreal 4-2. Miroslav Satan and Alexei Zhitnick each had a goal and an assist as the New York Islanders doubled slumping Toronto 4-2. Martin Gerber was outstanding in net to lead Carolina past New Jersey 2-1. St Louis handed Columbus it's 6th straight loss by hanging on for a 4-3 victory. Calgary has 5 wins in 6 games following a 3-1 victory at home over Phoenix. Joe Thornton was the only goal scorer in the shootout as Boston beat Minnesota 4-3. Thornton also scored during regulation time. Vincent Lecavalier's third period goal lifted Tampa Bay past Vancouver 3-2. Los Angeles scored 3 times in the final 10 minutes of the game to beat Buffalo 4-2 while in Dallas Mike Modano scored with less then 3 minutes to play to lift the Stars past Atlanta 4-3.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
New Jersey 6 4 2 0 8
Philadelphia 5 3 1 1 7
Pittsburgh 5 3 1 1 7
NY Islanders 5 2 2 1 5
NY Rangers 3 0 3 0 0

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 6 5 1 0 10
Montreal 7 4 3 0 8
Boston 6 3 1 2 8
Buffalo 6 3 3 0 6
Toronto 7 1 5 1 3

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 6 5 1 0 10
Florida 5 4 1 0 8
Tampa 6 2 3 1 5
Atlanta 6 1 5 0 2
Carolina 4 1 3 0 2

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 4 4 0 0 8
Detroit 5 2 1 2 6
St Louis 6 2 3 1 5
Chicago 6 1 4 1 3
Columbus 6 0 6 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 6 5 1 0 10
Minnesota 7 4 2 1 9
Colorado 6 3 2 1 7
Vancouver 6 3 1 1 7
Edmonton 5 2 2 1 5

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 5 5 0 0 10
Dallas 6 3 1 2 8
Los Angeles 6 4 2 0 8
San Jose 6 3 2 1 7
Phoenix 5 2 2 1 5

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Detroit 4 Montreal 2
NY Islanders 4 Toronto 2
Carolina 2 New Jersey 1
St Louis 4 Columbus 3
Calgary 3 Phoenix 1
Edmonton 4 Washington 1
Boston 4 Minnesota 3 (SO)
Tampa Bay 3 Vancouver 2
Los Angeles 4 Buffalo 2
Dallas 4 Atlanta 3

TONIGHT'S GAME
Philadelphia at Florida
New York Rangers at Pittsburgh
Anaheim at Nashville
Buffalo at San Jose

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 6 5 7 12
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 6 3 9 12
Ziggy Palffy PIT 5 6 4 10
Teemu Selanne ANA 5 4 6 10
Mike Modano DAL 6 2 7 9
Alexander Frolov LA 6 4 4 8
Martin St Louis TB 6 4 4 8
Mark Recchi PIT 5 4 4 8
Patrice Bergeron BOS 6 4 4 8
Ilya Kovalchuk ATL 5 4 4 8
Bill Guerin DAL 6 3 5 8
Sergei Federov ANA 5 2 6 8
Brian Rolston MIN 7 2 6 8
Richard Zednick MON 7 0 8 8

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
CUBS ONE WIN AWAY FROM WORLD SERIES
Nomar Garciaparra hit an rbi single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Chicago Cubs a 5-4 victory over the St Louis Cardinals and a commanding 3 games to one lead in the National League Championship Series. Garciaparra's single scored Corey Patterson with the winning run just 2 innings after Patterson hit a solo homer to tie the game at 4. In all Patterson had 4 hits on the day while Garciaparra and outfielder Matt Lawton each had 3 hits.

Scott Williamson, who struck out the side in the 9th inning in relief of Carlos Zambrano, got the victory while Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen took the loss. Scott Rolen had a pair of hits including a 2 run homer in the first inning to lead the Cardinals offense. The Cubs can wrap up their first trip to the World Series since 1945 with a victory at home in Game 5 tonight. Mark Prior (13-12, 2.84) starts for the Cubs against Adam Wainwright (12-2, 2.18) of St Louis. In game one Prior and the Cubs beat Wainwright 4-2.

ANGELS HAMMER YANKS TO TAKE 2-1 SERIES LEAD
Vladimir Guerrero hit a pair of homeruns to lead the Los Angeles Angels past the New York Yankees 9-6 in Game Three of the American League Championship Series. The Angels lead 2 games to one.

The Angels took a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning on a bases loaded double from outfielder Milton Bradley. In the 5th Guerrero hit a 2-run shot and catcher Michael Napoli delivered a 2-run double to make it 7-0 and chase Yankees starter Carl Pavano. Meanwhile, Angels starter Bartolo Colon only allowed 2 New York hits through 5 innings. In the 6th inning Guerrero hit his second two-run homer of the game to increase the lead to 9-0.

The Yankees finally got some offense going in the bottom of the 6th when Bernie Williams hit a 2-run homer. New York would score 4 more times in the 8th inning to make the score a little more respectable but that would be as close as the Yankees would get. Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield hit consecutive doubles for the Yankees in the 8th inning.

Game 4 today has Jake Woods (12-10, 3.92) starting for Los Angeles against Jaret Wright (8-8, 5.03) of the Yankees

NLCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Chicago 4 St Louis 2
GAME 2: Chicago 1 St Louis 0
GAME 3: St Louis 4 Chicago 2
GAME 4: Chicago 5 St Louis 4
TODAY St Louis at Chicago
TUE OCT 18 Chicago at St Louis
WED OCT 19 Chicago at St Louis

ALCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Angels 5 Yankees 4 (10 inn)
GAME 2: Yankees 6 Angels 5
GAME 3: Angels 9 Yankees 6
TODAY Angels at Yankees
TUE OCT 18 Angels at Yankees
WED OCT 19 Yankees at Angels
THUR OCT 20 Yankees at Angels

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

SUNDAY'S RESULT
Norwich 1 Millwall 1

MONDAY'S GAME
Charlton at Aston Villa

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
Arsenal 10 8 1 1 17 5 25
Man Utd 10 7 1 2 20 8 22
Liverpool 9 5 3 1 16 10 18
Tottenham 9 5 1 3 14 13 16
Norwich 10 4 3 3 14 14 15
Chelsea 9 3 5 1 12 7 14
Fulham 10 4 2 4 14 14 14
Wigan 10 3 4 3 12 11 13
Man City 10 3 4 3 13 13 13
Wolves 9 3 4 2 12 13 13
Southampton 9 2 6 1 13 14 12
Aston Villa 8 2 4 2 10 9 10
Charlton 9 2 4 3 8 10 10
Birmingham 10 3 1 6 6 12 10
Newcastle 8 2 3 3 10 9 9
Blackburn 8 2 3 3 8 10 9
Crystal Palace 10 2 2 6 9 16 8
Everton 10 2 2 6 6 13 8
Bolton 9 1 3 5 11 14 6
Millwall 9 0 4 5 7 17 4

Tiger Fan

01-15-2006, 01:12 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Tuesday October 18, 2005

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
ANGELS TAKE 3-1 LEAD IN ALCS
Jake Woods and reliever Jerod Weaver combined on a 3-hitter to lead the Los Angeles Angels past the New York Yankees 5-1 in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. The Angels now enjoy a commanding 3-1 lead and can wrap up the series with a victory at Yankee Stadium today.

Woods, a 24 year old rookie, allowed a first inning double to Bernie Williams and a solo homerun off the bat of Jason Giambi in the 6th inning. No other Yankee made it past first base as Woods gave up just one walk. The other Yankee hit was a 5th inning single by Hideki Matsui that came after Woods had retired 12 straight Yankee batters. Weaver took over in the 8th and set down the final 6 Yankee batters in order.

The Angels would get all the offense they needed in the top of the 4th inning when Yankee starter Jaret Wright walked Vladimir Guerrero and gave up a 2-run homer to Ryan Howard. For good measure the Angels would add 3 more in the 7th inning to put the game away. Garret Anderson had 3 hits and a pair of rbi's for Los Angeles. It was Wright's first start in 17 days as he had been nursing a tender arm.

Game 5 will see the Angels send Kevin Gregg (14-9, 3.22) to the mound against Shawn Chacon (12-7, 4.80). It is a rematch of game one in which the Angels won 5-4 in 10 innings but neither starter factored in the decision.

CARDS STAY ALIVE WITH 5-4 WIN AT WRIGLEY
Scott Rolen and Brandon Berger hit rbi's doubles in a 4-run first inning outburst to lead the St Louis Cardinals past the Chicago Cubs 5-4. The win keeps the redbirds alive in the National League Championship Series as they trail Chicago 3 games to two. The Series shifts back to St Louis for game 6 today and if necessary game 7 on Wednesday.

Chicago starter Mark Prior barely survived a rocky first inning. After he retired David Eckstein to lead off the game, Prior gave up a single to outfielder Adam Shabala, an rbi double to Rolen, a walk to Jim Edmunds and a 2-run double to Berger. Robert Fick popped out but then Scott Seabol followed with a single to plate Berger and make it 4-0.

The Cubs would battle back and cut the St Louis lead to 5-4 in the 8th inning but with the tying run on second and two out in the 8th, Cardinals reliever Jason Isringhausen got Cubs catcher Michael Barrett to ground out to end the Chicago threat. Tyler Johnson pitched the 9th inning for St Louis and struck out the side to earn his second save of the series.

Game 6 in St Louis tonight has the Cardinals putting the ball in the hands of Jason Marquis (16-3, 2.78). Chicago will counter with Ryan Dempster (14-3, 2.59). The two hooked up in a tremendous duel in Game 2 that the Cubs won 1-0 despite the fact that Marquis allowed just 1 hit in 8 innings work.

NLCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Chicago 4 St Louis 2
GAME 2: Chicago 1 St Louis 0
GAME 3: St Louis 4 Chicago 2
GAME 4: Chicago 5 St Louis 4
GAME 5: St Louis 5 Chicago 4
TODAY Chicago at St Louis
WED OCT 19 Chicago at St Louis

ALCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Angels 5 Yankees 4 (10 inn)
GAME 2: Yankees 6 Angels 5
GAME 3: Angels 9 Yankees 6
GAME 4: Angels 5 Yankees 1
TODAY Angels at Yankees
WED OCT 19 Yankees at Angels
THUR OCT 20 Yankees at Angels

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
CHARGERS KEEP PACE IN AFC WEST WITH WIN OVER BUCS
With 3 teams at 5-1 the AFC West is quickly becoming the division to fear in the National Football League. The San Diego Chargers joined Denver and Kansas City in a 3-way tie atop the division by beating Tampa Bay 27-16 in Monday Night Football action.

Ladainian Tomlinson rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown while quarterback Craig Krenzel threw for a pair of scores to lead the San Diego offense. Travis Henry gained 110 yards on the ground for the visiting Bucs but Tampa could not get it's passing game going against a strong San Diego secondary. Chargers cornerback Patrick Surtain had a pair of interceptions to give him 5 on the season.

The Chargers will face a big test next week when they entertain 5-1 Denver. The 2-4 Buccaneers are off to Atlanta to meet the 2-4 Falcons.

[b]MONDAY'S RESULT
San Diego 27 Tampa Bay 16

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Washington 14 Baltimore 10
Cincinnati 25 Philadelphia 11
NY Giants 30 Cleveland 6
Indianapolis 32 Jacksonville 17
Denver 27 Atlanta 20
Kansas City 28 Carolina 11
New Orleans 13 Oakland 9
New England 24 Arizona 20
San Francisco 24 NY Jets 19
Dallas 23 Pittsburgh 10
Miami 30 St Louis 17
Seattle 31 Buffalo 24
Houston 13 Tennessee 10 (OT)

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Pittsburgh at Baltimore
Cleveland at Cincinnati
New England at Miami
Minnesota at Chicago
Green Bay at Detroit
New Orleans at Carolina
Denver at San Diego
Tampa Bay at Atlanata
Seattle at San Francisco
Kansas City at Oakland
Washington at Dallas
St Louis at Arizona
NY Jets at Buffalo
Philadelphia at NY Giants

NFL STANDINGS
NFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Minnesota 3 2 0 .600 123 105
Green Bay 3 2 0 .600 113 85
Chicago 3 2 0 .600 90 84
Detroit 2 3 0 .400 69 101

East W L T PCT PF PA
Philadelphia 4 2 0 .667 129 100
NY Giants 4 2 0 .667 140 99
Washington 4 2 0 .667 128 114
Dallas 4 2 0 .667 104 89

South W L T PCT PF PA
New Orleans 3 3 0 .500 91 98
Tampa Bay 2 4 0 .333 110 127
Atlanta 2 4 0 .333 111 139
Carolina 0 6 0 .000 36 137

West W L T PCT PF PA
Arizona 4 2 0 .667 174 121
San Francisco 4 2 0 .667 118 82
Seattle 3 3 0 .500 115 131
St. Louis 1 5 0 .167 108 155

AFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Baltimore 4 1 0 .800 110 64
Cincinnati 3 2 0 .600 91 92
Cleveland 1 4 0 .200 85 130
Pittsburgh 1 4 0 .200 71 110

East W L T PCT PF PA
NY Jets 3 2 0 .600 112 106
Miami 3 2 0 .600 124 115
New England 3 2 0 .600 101 96
Buffalo 2 3 0 .400 118 96

South W L T PCT PF PA
Jacksonville 3 3 0 .500 117 131
Indianapolis 3 3 0 .500 113 116
Houston 1 5 0 .167 63 105
Tennessee 0 6 0 .000 78 124

West W L T PCT PF PA
Denver 5 1 0 .833 156 107
Kansas City 5 1 0 .833 171 132
San Diego 5 1 0 .833 141 90
Oakland 2 4 0 .333 100 129

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NITTANY LIONS 21ST IN AP POLL
The college coaches seem to think a little higher of Penn State's football team than the media does. After learning they had moved into 19th in the Coaches poll following back to back wins over top 10 ranked teams, the Nittany Lions find themselves occupying the 21st spot in the latest AP poll.

No change at the top as idle Arkansas remains number one but Ohio State and Texas have passed last week's number 2 team - the Michigan Wolverines - after Michigan lost to lowly Illinois in Big 10 play.

Here is the latest Top 25 according to the AP Media Poll:

COACHES POLL TOP 25
RK SCHOOL REC PREV LAST NEXT
1 Arkansas 8-0 1 idle idle
2 Ohio State 7-0 3 W 51-10 Northwestern at #11 Minnesota
3 Texas 8-1 5 W 23-10at Okla State idle
4 Michigan 7-1 2 L 31-30 Illinois Purdue
5 California 6-1 4 L 41-23 at USC #16 Arizona State
6 Miami 8-1 7 W 44-32at Ga Tech North Carolina
7 USC 6-1 15 W 41-23 Cal at #22 Arizona
8 Syracuse 7-1 8 W 44-17 Pittsburgh Rutgers
9 Alabama 6-2 9 idle at Auburn
10 Texas A&M 7-2 10 W 57-17 Texas Tech idle
11 Minnesota 6-2 6 L 27-17 at Penn State #2 Ohio State
12 Oklahoma 7-1 11 W 30-3 Baylor idle
13 Michigan St 7-2 13 W 21-18 at Iowa idle
14 Mississippi 6-2 14 W 22-15 at Auburn idle
15 Wash. State 6-2 23 W 23-0 Arizona State at #24 Stanford
16 Arizona St 5-2 12 L 23-0 at Wash St at #5 Cal
17 Wisconsin 6-3 17 W 34-23 at Indiana at Illinois
18 LSU 7-2 18 W 44-13 at Miss State #19 Notre Dame
19 Notre Dame 6-3 16 L 24-19 at Purdue at #18 LSU
20 Georgia 6-2 20 W 20-10 S. Carolina Vanderbilt
21 Penn State 5-2 NR W 27-17 Minnesota Indiana
22 Arizona 5-2 22 W 16-13 at Oregon #7 USC
23 VirginiaTech 5-3 19 L 44-38 at N Carolina idle
24 Stanford 5-2 NR W 31-17 UCLA at #15 Wash St
25 UCLA 4-3 21 L 31-17 at Stanford at Washington

Dropped out of top 25
24 Florida
25 Maryland

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
LEMIEUX LEADS PENS PAST WINLESS RANGERS
Mario Lemieux had a goal and 2 assists to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the winless New York Rangers 4-2 in National Hockey League action. The hometown Pens built a 4-0 first period lead as Ryan Malone, Richard Jackman, Mark Recchi and Lemieux scored. The Rangers managed to put a pair of goals past Pens netminder Jocelyn Thibault in the second period but he shut the door the rest of the way. Ziggy Palffy had a pair of assists for the Pens, who improve to 4-1-1 on the season. Rookie Sidney Crosby assisted on Malone's goal and now has 5 points in his first 6 games.

Pittsburgh lost winger Konstantin Koltsov with a knee injury. Preliminary diagnosis indicates just a sprain to the ACL meaning he could be back in action in a couple of weeks. In 6 games the native of Belarus has 1 goal and 1 assist for the Pens.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
PIT Malone 3(Crosby, Koltsov) 5:39
PIT Lemieux 2(Palffy, Jackman) 8:50
PIT Jackman 2(Lemieux, Palffy) 15:51
PIT Recchi 5(Lemieux) 16:49 SH
Penalties: Betts NYR 3:38, Worrell NYR 10:19, Bombardier
Pit 16:24, Immonen NYR 18:15

SECOND PERIOD
NYR Ward 1(Immonen, Malik) 9:32
NYR Rucinsky 2(Kaberle, Nylander) 17:08
Penalties:Kasparitis NYR 0:18, Malone Pit 6:46, Armstrong
Pit 16:07

THIRD PERIOD
NO SCORING
Penalties: Rucchin NYR 0:17, Worrell NYR 2:52, Audette Pit
7:57

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
NYR Kevin Weeks 23
PIT Jocelyn Thibault 24

In other NHL action the Philadelphia Flyers got a pair of goals from Joni Pitkanen to help them beat Florida 3-1. The Panthers Chris Gratton suffered a shoulder injury in the game and could be sidelined for a couple of weeks. The Flyers win allows them to join Pittsburgh atop the Atlantic Division as each club has a 4-1-1 record.

Nashville remained perfect by handing Anaheim their first loss of the season. The Predators beat the Ducks 3-2 to improve to 5-0-0 while the Ducks record drops to 5-1-0. Adam Hall, Marek Zidlicky and captain Scott Walker scored for Nashville, which has been the surprise team of the season in the West. In the only other game San Jose scored twice in the final period to top Buffalo 3-2.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 6 4 1 1 9
Pittsburgh 6 4 1 1 9
New Jersey 6 4 2 0 8
NY Islanders 5 2 2 1 5
NY Rangers 4 0 4 0 0

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 6 5 1 0 10
Montreal 7 4 3 0 8
Boston 6 3 1 2 8
Buffalo 7 3 4 0 6
Toronto 7 1 5 1 3

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 6 5 1 0 10
Florida 6 4 2 0 8
Tampa 6 2 3 1 5
Atlanta 6 1 5 0 2
Carolina 4 1 3 0 2

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 5 5 0 0 10
Detroit 5 2 1 2 6
St Louis 6 2 3 1 5
Chicago 6 1 4 1 3
Columbus 6 0 6 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 6 5 1 0 10
Minnesota 7 4 2 1 9
Colorado 6 3 2 1 7
Vancouver 6 3 1 1 7
Edmonton 5 2 2 1 5

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 6 5 1 0 10
San Jose 7 4 2 1 9
Dallas 6 3 1 2 8
Los Angeles 6 4 2 0 8
Phoenix 5 2 2 1 5

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Philadelphia 3 Florida 1
Pittsburgh 4 New York Rangers 2
Nashville 3 Anaheim 2
San Jose 3 Buffalo 2

TONIGHT'S GAME
New York Islanders at Toronto
Florida at Philadelphia
Phoenix at New York Rangers
New Jersey at Columbus
Chicago at Detroit
Los Angeles at Anaheim
Minnesota at Edmonton
Tampa at Colorado
Boston at Vancouver
San Jose at Dallas

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Ziggy Palffy PIT 6 6 6 12
Dany Heatley OTT 6 5 7 12
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 6 3 9 12
Teemu Selanne ANA 6 4 6 10
Mark Recchi PIT 6 5 4 9
Sergei Federov ANA 6 3 6 9
Mario Lemieux PIT 6 2 7 9
Mike Modano DAL 6 2 7 9
Alexander Frolov LA 6 4 4 8
Martin St Louis TB 6 4 4 8
Patrice Bergeron BOS 6 4 4 8
Ilya Kovalchuk ATL 5 4 4 8
Bill Guerin DAL 6 3 5 8
Brian Rolston MIN 7 2 6 8
Richard Zednick MON 7 0 8 8

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OWEN SOUND MOVES AHEAD OF OTTERS
A shootout victory over Mississauga has allowed the Owen Sound Attack to move two points ahead of Erie in the fight for second place in the OHL's Midwest Division. Jeff Kyrzakos scored twice in regulation and once in the shootout to help the Attack to a 6-5 victory over the Ice Dogs. Scott Giles had 4 assists for Owen Sound.

In other action Barrie captain Andrew Marshall had a goal and an assist to lead the Colts past Brampton 4-1. Wayne Savage made 35 saves in the Guelph net as the Storm beat Kitchener 4-1. Plymouth scored 4 third period goals including Dan Collins' game winner with 27 seconds remaining in regulation enroute to a 6-5 win over Sudbury. Belleville beat St Michael's 4-3 on a goal with 12 seconds left in the third period while Kingston needed overtime to beat Ottawa 4-3.

The Erie Otters return to action Saturday when they host the Sarnia Sting. Erie should have defenseman Jake Heller back in the lineup on the weekend. The 20 year old defenseman has been sidelined 10 days with a shoulder injury.

KNIGHTS REMAIN #1 IN CHL
The London Knights continue to occupy top spot in the weekly Canadian Hockey League rankings of the top junior teams. The Knights are one of five Ontario Hockey League teams in this week's list.

CHL TOP 10
RK TEAM LG LW
1 London Knights OHL 1
2 Kitchener Rangers OHL NR
3 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 5
4 Moncton Wildcats QMJHL 7
5 St Michael's Majors OHL 9
6 Owen Sound Attack OHL NR
7 Oshawa Generals OHL NR
8 Victoriaville Tigres QMJHL 8
9 Swift Current Broncos WHL NR
10 Drummondville QMJHL NR

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 10 7 1 2 16
Owen Sound 11 8 3 0 16
ERIE 11 7 4 0 14
Guelph 11 6 5 0 12
Kitchener 8 5 2 1 11

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 11 6 3 2 14
Sarnia 12 5 7 0 10
Sault Ste Marie 10 3 6 1 7
Saginaw 11 3 7 1 7
Windsor 9 3 5 1 7

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
St Michael's 10 6 3 1 13
Brampton 11 6 4 1 13
Barrie 10 6 4 0 12
Sudbury 8 4 4 0 8
Mississauga 11 2 7 2 6

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 11 6 2 3 15
Kingston 10 6 3 1 13
Peterborough 10 5 3 2 12
Ottawa 10 5 4 1 11
Belleville 11 4 6 1 9

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Barrie 4 Brampton 1
Guelph 4 Kitchener 1
Plymouth 6 Sudbury 5
Kingston 4 Ottawa 3 (OT)
Belleville 4 St Michael's 3
Owen Sound 6 Mississauga 5 (SO)

THURSDAY'S GAME
Ottawa at Sudbury

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 10 10 11 21
Wojtek Wolski Bram 11 10 9 19
Dan Collins Plym 11 9 10 19
Michael Blunden ERIE 11 10 8 18
Jamie Tardif Pete 10 9 9 18
Ryan Callahan Guel 11 9 9 18
Matt Lyall Guel 11 7 11 18
Cory Emmerton King 10 6 12 18
Justin Donati StM 10 6 12 18
Vaclav Meidl Plym 11 5 12 17
Joshua Bailey OwS 11 6 10 16
Tyler Doig Guel 11 5 11 16
Kris Belan Lond 10 4 12 16
Nick Foligno Sudb 8 5 10 15

SOCCER
MLS PLAYOFF MATCHUPS SET
The draw for the MLS Conference playoff matchups has been completed. In the Eastern Conference the MetroStars will host defending league champion Chicago while DC United entertains New England. Out West the first place Los Angeles Galaxy are home to Colorado while San Jose hosts FC Dallas. Each round will be a two game total goal series with the opening matchups Saturday and the second leg the following Saturday.

TWELLMAN STARS IN ASTON VILLA TIE
American Taylor Twellman scored both goals for Aston Villa in a 2-2 tie against Charlton in the lone English Premier League game Monday. The St Louis native, who formerly played for the MLS New England Revolution opened the scoring with a goal in the first minute of the game. After a pair of Charlton goals Twellman would later add the equalizer on a penalty kick in the 76th minute of play.

A native of St Louis, Twellman will be a member of the US World Cup team. The striker had 2 goals in 5 games during World Cup qualifying. Twellman comes from a sporting family as his father played professional soccer in the old NASL and his grandfather Jim Delsing played major league baseball for the Yankees, Browns and Detroit Tigers. In addition, his uncle Jay Delsing is a member of the PGA tour.

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP PLAY RESUMES TODAY
It is a busy week in European soccer with Champions Cup action today and tomorrow and then EURO Cup play resumes on Thursday.

Today's Champions Cup schedule is as follows:
GROUP E
Gladbach at Liverpoll
Inter at Olympiakos

GROUP F
Ajax at Roma
Deportivo at Young Boys

GROUP G
Werder Bremen at Lyon
Barcelona at Porto

GROUP H
Shakhtar at Banik Ostrava
Loko at Chelsea

Weden

01-15-2006, 02:44 PM

Heh, did a double take on the Ontario Hockey League standings after I saw some of the place names.

But yeah, this is going brilliantly... definately one to watch!

Tiger Fan

01-16-2006, 11:49 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Wednesday October 19, 2005

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
CARDS WIN TO FORCE 7TH GAME
The St Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs for the second day in a row to tie their National League Championship Series at 3 games apiece and force a deciding 7th game at Busch Stadium tonight. Jason Marquis, who pitched an 8 inning 1-hitter but still lost in his previous start, had another solid outing allowing just 2 runs and 5 hits over 7 innings as the Cardinals prevailed 9-3.

St Louis took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning thanks to doubles from Scott Seabol and Bo Hart. Chicago evened the score in the 4th when Nomar Garciaparra hit a two out double off Marquis and scored on Derrek Lee's rbi single. However, the Cardinals responded quickly by scoring 3 times in the bottom of the inning. Doubles from Ben Davis and Marquis led the St Louis attack as Cubs starter Ryan Dempster retired the first two batters before allowing 4 straight hits.

In the 5th St Louis added another run as Scott Rolen tripled and scored on a Jim Edmonds single but the Cubs would answer with a run of their own in the 6th to make it 5-2. St Louis put the game away in the 7th when Mike Remlinger replaced Dempster and was greeted with 3 hits and a pair of walks that led to two more St Louis runs.

The Cubs, who had enjoyed a 3 games to one lead in the Series will get one more chance to make their first World Series appearance since 1945. Kerry Wood (16-9, 4.11) starts for Chicago against Matt Morris (18-8, 3.32) of St Louis. Morris and the Cardinals beat Wood 4-2 in Game 3 for St Louis' first win of the series.

YANKEES STAY ALIVE IN ALCS WITH 5-4 VICTORY
Bernie Williams had a pair of hits and 2 rbi's to help the New York Yankees stay alive in the American League Championship Series with a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels still enjoy a 3 games to two lead and can wrap up the series with a victory at home tonight.

The Angels took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Yankees starter Shawn Chacon loaded the bases with 2 out on a walk, a bloop single and a hit batsman. Los Angeles designated hitter Tim Salmon delivered a single to score Ryan Howard and Sean Rodriguez giving the Angels the early lead.

It remained 2-0 until the 6th inning as Angels starter Kevin Gregg was outstanding. The Angels did have chances to extend their lead but Chacon settled down enough to pitch himself out of a couple of jams including runners on second and third with one out in the top of the 5th and a runner on third with two out in the 6th inning. In both cases the Angels came away empty handed as Chacon notched a pair of key strikeouts.

Those missed opportunities came back to haunt the Angels when New York chased Gregg with 4 runs in the home half of the sixth. With one out Tino Martinez singled and scored on a Derek Jeter double. Bernie Williams followed with a single to plate Jeter. Gregg got Hideki Matsui to fly out in between giving up walks to Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield that loaded the bases. The Angels gave the ball to Jered Weaver but rookie jitters led to walks to Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada to score two more runs.

Williams would single in Jeter in the 7th to make it 5-2 New York. The Angels would make it close in the 9th inning when Garrett Anderson hit a two-run homer off of Yankees closer Mariano Rivera but Rivera got Vladimir Guerrero to fly out to end the game.

Tonight Mike Mussina (10-15, 5.70) will face Jarrod Washburn (13-10, 4.14) in a rematch of game two that was won 6-5 by Mussina and the Yankees.

NLCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Chicago 4 St Louis 2
GAME 2: Chicago 1 St Louis 0
GAME 3: St Louis 4 Chicago 2
GAME 4: Chicago 5 St Louis 4
GAME 5: St Louis 5 Chicago 4
GAME 6: St Louis 9 Chicago 3
TONIGHT: Chicago at St Louis

ALCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Angels 5 Yankees 4 (10 inn)
GAME 2: Yankees 6 Angels 5
GAME 3: Angels 9 Yankees 6
GAME 4: Angels 5 Yankees 1
GAME 5: Yankees 5 Angels 4
TODAY: Yankees at Angels
THUR OCT 20 Yankees at Angels

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
WHALERS ACQUIRE STAAL FROM PETERBOROUGH
The Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers upgraded their offense with a major trade as they acquired Jordan Staal from Peterborough. The 17 year old Staal, the younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes forward Eric Staal, was ranked 4th overall in the most recent ISS NHL scouting report. A certain first round NHL draft pick next June, Staal had been struggling this season with Petes, scoring just 1 goal and 1 assist through 10 games. The Thunder Bay native had 28 points for the Petes as a rookie last year. In return the Petes get three draft picks from Plymouth.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
FLYERS COMPLETE SWEEP OF PANTHERS
For the second night in a row the Philadelphia Flyers got the best of the Florida Panthers. This time the final was 4-1 Flyers as the two teams completed their home and home series with a game at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Peter Forsberg had a pair of assists while Turner Stevenson had a goal and a helper to pace the Flyers attack.

Elsewhere, Mats Sundin made his season debut and had an assist in Toronto's 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders. However, things did not get any better for the Leafs on the injury front as Bryan McCabe suffered a dislocated shoulder and will miss about two months. This was Sundin's first game after missing the start of the season with a groin injury. The Leafs still have Jason Allison and Eric Lindros sidelined with injuries. Kyle Wellwood, who has been the number one centre with all the injuries, led the way for Toronto with a goal and an assist.

After opening the season with 4 straight losses the New York Rangers finally got their first win of the year beating Wayne Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes 3-1 at Madison Square Garden. Martin Rucinsky, Peter Worrell and Pavel Brendl scored for the Blueshirts.

At 0-7-0 the Columbus Blue Jackets are the only winless team remaining in the league. New Jersey beat up the Jackets 4-1 last night as Alex Mogilny scored twice for the Devils with Scott Gomez getting a pair of assists.

Mathieu Schneider scored on an end to end rush in overtime to give Detroit a 4-3 win over Chicago. Detroit goaltender Manny Legace assisted on the winning goal when he hit Schneider at the Red Wing blueline with the pass while the Blackhawks were changing lines.

The Anaheim Mighty Ducks continue to be one of the NHL's hottest teams. The Ducks have won 6 of 7 games after beating cross-town rival Los Angeles 5-3. Mike Peca's second goal of the game, in overtime, gave Edmonton a 4-3 win over Minnesota. Tampa Bay built a 3-0 lead in Colorado and hung on to beat the Avalanche 3-2. Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison scored in the shootout to give Vancouver a 4-3 win over Boston. Finally, in Dallas Marty Turco had a quiet night facing just 14 shots as his Stars blanked San Jose 6-0. Bill Guerin scored twice while Mike Modano had a goal and 2 assists for Dallas.

A PAIR OF TRADES IN THE NHL
The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired promising young defenseman Ladislav Smid from Anaheim in one of two trades made yesterday. The 19 year old, who was selected 9th overall by the Ducks in the 2004 draft, will report to Syracuse of the American Hockey League. He made his North American debut last week with Portland of the AHL, recording 1 assist in two games. In return the Ducks get a third round draft pick this year and 4th rounders in the next two seasons.

Meanwhile San Jose acquired defenseman Jaroslav Modry from Atlanta. The Sharks also get the Thrashers second round pick this season and the rights to Colorado College winger Brett Sterling. In return the Thrashers receive the Sharks first round pick in the 2006 draft and defenseman Tom Preissing. The 34 year old Modry had 1 point in 6 games this seaosn while Preissing had a goal and an assist in 5 games with the Sharks. Preissing is a 27 year old from Rosemount, Minnesota. Sterling is in his senior year at Colorado College and was selected in the 5th round of the 2003 NHL entry draft.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 7 5 1 1 11
New Jersey 7 5 2 0 10
Pittsburgh 6 4 1 1 9
NY Islanders 6 2 3 1 5
NY Rangers 5 1 4 0 2

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 6 5 1 0 10
Boston 7 3 1 3 9
Montreal 7 4 3 0 8
Buffalo 7 3 4 0 6
Toronto 8 2 5 1 5

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 6 5 1 0 10
Florida 7 4 3 0 8
Tampa 7 3 3 1 7
Atlanta 6 1 5 0 2
Carolina 4 1 3 0 2

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 5 5 0 0 10
Detroit 6 3 1 2 8
St Louis 6 2 3 1 5
Chicago 7 1 4 2 4
Columbus 7 0 7 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 6 5 1 0 10
Minnesota 8 4 2 2 10
Vancouver 7 4 2 1 9
Edmonton 6 3 2 1 7
Colorado 7 3 3 1 7

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 7 6 1 0 12
Dallas 7 4 1 2 10
San Jose 8 4 3 1 9
Los Angeles 7 4 3 0 8
Phoenix 6 2 3 1 5

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Toronto 3 New York Islanders 2
Philadelphia 4 Florida 1
New York Rangers 3 Phoenix 1
New Jersey 4 Columbus 1
Detroit 4 Chicago 3 (OT)
Anaheim 5 Los Angeles 3
Edmonton 4 Minnesota 3 (OT)
Tampa 3 Colorado 2
Vancouver 4 Boston 3 (SO)
Dallas 6 San Jose 0

TONIGHT'S GAME
Pittsburgh at Carolina
St Louis at Montreal
Ottawa at Atlanta
Nashville at Calgary

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Ziggy Palffy PIT 6 6 6 12
Dany Heatley OTT 6 5 7 12
Mike Modano DAL 7 3 9 12
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 6 3 9 12
Teemu Selanne ANA 7 5 6 11
Bill Guerin DAL 7 5 5 10
Sergei Federov ANA 7 4 6 10
Brian Rolston MIN 8 2 8 10
Mark Recchi PIT 6 5 4 9
Alexander Frolov LA 7 5 4 9
Martin St Louis TB 7 4 5 9
Mario Lemieux PIT 6 2 7 9

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
NFL LEAGUE LEADERS

NFL PASSING LEADERS
Player TM GS AT COMP COMP% YDS TD INT RAT
Daunte CulpepperMIN 3 81 57 70.4 583 6 2 105.1
Jake Plummer DEN 6 184 118 64.1 1393 11 2 102.5
Patrick Ramsey MIA 4 95 62 65.3 741 5 2 97.7
Tim Rattay BUF 5 153 103 67.3 1202 8 4 97.5
Tom Brady ARI 6 188 117 62.2 1692 12 7 97.2
Peyton Manning IND 6 196 121 61.7 1534 10 4 94.6
Phillip Rivers GB 5 140 85 60.7 1234 7 4 94.2
Michael Vick ATL 6 195 118 60.5 1744 10 7 91.9
Donovan McNabb PHI 6 157 86 54.8 1499 9 6 90.7
Alex Smith NYG 6 165 99 60.0 1184 10 5 89.6

NFL RUSHING LEADERS
Player TM G ATT YDS YPG YPC TD
L. Tomlinson SD 6 159 825 137.5 5.2 7
Fred Taylor JAX 6 139 710 118.3 5.1 4
Antwone Schey SEA 6 124 597 99.5 4.8 3
Clinton Portis DEN 6 139 583 97.2 4.2 5
Ahman Green GB 5 108 535 107.0 5.0 3
Ricky Williams MIA 5 124 524 104.8 4.2 4
Stephen Jackson BUF 5 91 511 102.2 5.6 2
Travis Henry TB 6 117 508 84.7 4.3 2
Priest Holmes KC 6 132 496 82.7 3.8 6
Marshall Faulk STL 6 109 470 78.3 4.3 2

NFL RECEIVING YARDS LEADERS
Player TM GS REC YDS YPC TD
Torry Holt STL 6 41 642 15.7 2
Robert Ferguson PHI 3 24 550 22.9 4
Tony Gonzalez KC 6 31 549 17.7 3
Anquan Boldin ARI 6 38 545 14.3 3
Corey Bradford HOU 6 30 539 18.0 1
Andre Johnson HOU 6 32 477 14.9 2
Peerless Price ATL 6 26 474 18.2 3
Ashley Lelie DEN 6 28 457 16.3 4
Michael Clayton ARI 6 25 446 17.8 4
Plaxico Burress PIT 5 26 437 16.8 1

NFL RECEPTION LEADERS
Player TM REC
Torry Holt STL 41
Anquan Boldin ARZ 38
Lav. Coles WSH 38
Randy Moss MIN 37
Hines Ward PIT 35
Santana Moss NYJ 33
Terrell Owens SF 33
Andre Johnson HOU 32
Edell Shepherd TB 32
Eric Moulds BUF 32

NFL LEADING TACKLERS
Player TM GS TAK SOLO AST SACK
Adam Archuleta STL 6 68 50 18 2
Jamie Sharper HOU 6 66 46 20 0
Keith Bulluck TEN 6 64 45 19 4
Dexter Coakley DAL 6 63 43 20 2
Brian Dawkins PHI 6 63 47 16 4
Kendrell Bell PIT 5 61 47 14 0
Joey Porter PIT 5 60 41 19 0
LaVar Arrington WAS 6 60 47 13 4
Shaun Williams NYG 6 59 48 11 3
M. Washington IND 6 58 43 15 3

NFL INTERCEPTION LEADERS
Player TM INT
Fernando Bryant JAX 5
Patrick Surtain SD 5
Keiwan Ratliff NYJ 5
Ray Lewis BAL 4
Marcus Coleman HOU 4
Sammy Knight MIA 4
Dhani Jones NYG 4
Will Allen PHI 4
Will Peterson NYG 4
Ahmed Plummer SF 4

NFL SACK LEADERS
Player TM Sacks
Charles Grant NO 9
Dwight Freeney IND 7
Darren Howard NO 7
John Abraham NYJ 7
Jevon Kearse TEN 7
Rosevelt Colvin CHI 6
Tommie Harris ARZ 6
Tony Brackens JAX 6

UPCOMING NFL GAMES
SUNDAY
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-4) at Baltimore Ravens (4-1)
Cleveland Browns (1-4) at Cincinnati Bengals (3-2)
New England Patriots (3-2) at Miami Dolphins (3-2)
Minnesota Vikings (3-2) at Chicago Bears (3-2)
Green Bay Packers (3-2) at Detroit Lions (2-3)
New Orleans Saints (3-3) at Carolina Panthers (0-6)
Denver Broncos (5-1) at San Diego Chargers (5-1)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-4) at Atlanta Falcons (2-4)
Seattle Seahawks (3-3) at San Francisco 49ers (4-2)
Kansas City Chiefs (5-1) at Oakland Raiders (2-4)
Washington Redskins (4-2) at Dallas Cowboys (4-2)
St. Louis Rams (1-5) at Arizona Cardinals (4-2)
New York Jets (3-2) at Buffalo Bills (2-3)

MONDAY NIGHT
Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) at New York Giants (4-2)

SOCCER
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP RESULTS
Here are the results from yesterday's European Champions Cup action. The remaining four Groups will play today. The next set of games in the 6 match Group Stage will be contested the first week of November.

GROUP E
STANDINGS GP W D L GF GA Pts
Gladbach 3 2 0 1 5 5 6
Inter 3 2 0 1 9 7 6
Olympiakos 3 1 0 2 5 7 3
Liverpool 3 1 0 2 5 5 3

TUESDAY'S RESULTS
Liverpool 3 Gladbach 1
Inter 5 Olympiakos 3

GROUP F
STANDINGS GP W D L GF GA Pts
Deportivo 3 2 1 0 4 1 7
Roma 3 2 0 1 4 1 6
Young Boys 3 1 0 2 1 4 3
Ajax 3 0 1 2 1 4 1

TUESDAY'S RESULTS
Roma 2 Ajax 0
Deportivo 2 Young Boys 0

GROUP G
STANDINGS GP W D L GF GA Pts
Porto 3 2 0 1 3 3 6
Barcelona 3 1 1 1 4 3 4
Lyon 3 1 1 1 3 3 4
Werder Bremen 3 1 0 2 3 4 3

TUESDAY'S RESULTS
Lyon 1 Werder Bremen 0
Porto 1 Barcelona 0

GROUP H
STANDINGS GP W D L GF GA Pts
Chelsea 3 3 0 0 11 2 9
Banik Ostrava 3 1 1 1 1 4 4
Loko(Plovidv) 3 0 2 1 1 4 2
Shakhtar 3 0 1 2 3 6 1

TUESDAY'S RESULTS
Banik Ostrava 1 Shakhtar 0
Chelsea 3 Loko 0

TODAY'S GAMES

GROUP A
Rosenborg at Hamburger SV
BATE Borisov at Real Madrid

GROUP B
Betis at Fenerbahce
Anderlecht at Marseille

GROUP C
Panathinaikos at Arsenal
Sporting CP at Milan

GROUP D
Manchester United at Benfica
CSKA Moscow at Dinamo Kiev

Tiger Fan

01-17-2006, 05:53 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Thursday October 20, 2005

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
CUBS ADVANCE TO WORLD SERIES
The Chicago Cubs are about to end a 60 year drought as they prepare for their first World Series appearance since 1945. The Cubs overcame a 4-0 first inning deficeit by scoring 6 runs in the 4th inning en route to an 11-6 victory over the St Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals, who had rallied with a pair of wins after falling behind 3 games to one in the series, were unable to mount one final comeback.

Cubs starter Kerry Wood barely survived a shaky first inning. He hit lead-off batter David Eckstein with a pitch and walked Adam Shabala and Scott Rolen to load the bases. Jim Edmonds and Brandon Berger each drove in a pair of runs with singles and the Cards lead could have been larger had Berger not been called out at home on a terrific throw from Reed Johnson as Berger was trying to score on a sacrifice fly. In the third inning the Cardinals lead increased to 5-0 thanks to a solo homerun from Edmonds.

St Louis starter Mark Mulder retired the first 9 Cub batters in order before he fell apart in the fourth inning. The Cubs would get 6 hits including an rbi double from Nomar Garciaparra and a run scoring triple off the bat of Jose Valentin as they plated 6 runs in the inning to chase Mulder. Garciaparra and Matt Lawton each had rbi doubles in the 5th inning to increase the Chicago lead to 8-5. In the 6th Garciaparra drove in 2 more runs with a single to make the score 10-5 Cubs.

Chicago now waits to see whether they will head to Los Angeles or New York to open the World Series on Saturday.

RALLY KEEPS YANKS ALIVE - FORCING GAME 7
Tino Martinez hit a 2-run single with two out in the top off the 9th inning to give the New York Yankees a come from behind 8-7 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The win, New York's second straight, evens the American League Championship Series at 3 games apiece and sets the stage for tonight's 7th and deciding game. The Angels blew a 7-3 lead and now find themselves in danger of blowing a 3 games to one lead in the series.

The two clubs traded solo homers in the first inning with Alex Rodriguez going deep for New York and Adam Kennedy replying for Los Angeles. The Yankees went up 3-1 in the top of the second when Jorge Posada and Tino Martinez each hit solo shots off of Angels starter Jarrod Washburn but Los Angeles answered quickly. In the bottom of the second the Angels torched Yankee starter Mike Mussina for 5 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks. Angels catcher Michael Napoli would hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 4th to make the score 7-3 Los Angeles and many in the crowd seemed to sense a trip to the World Series was all but guaranteed.

The celebration was short-lived, however, as Alex Rodriguez hit his second homer of the game, a 2-run shot to cut the Angels lead to 7-5 in the 6th inning. In the 7th Tino Martinez doubled in Hideki Matsui to make it 7-6.

It remained 7-6 until the top of the ninth when the Angels sent young closer Francisco Rodriguez to the mound to replace Washburn. The 23 year old had 30 saves during the season but immediately got in to trouble when Alex Rodriquez singled. Rodriguez was retired when Gary Sheffield grounded into a fielder's choice that the Angels were unable to turn into a double play. A bloop single off the bat of Derek Jeter moved Sheffield to second. It looked like the game was over when Jorge Posada ripped a hard grounder right at Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy. Maybe Kennedy was a little too anxious to turn two or maybe the ball skipped on him at the last second but it ended up bouncing off the heel of his glove and by the time he retrived the ball the bases were loaded and there was still just one out.

Francisco Rodriquez settled things down by fanning Bubba Crosby but Tino Martinez roped a 2-2 pitch down the third base line for a single to score Sheffield and Jeter giving the Yankees an 8-7 lead. Rodriguez fanned Jason Giambi to end the inning but the damage was done.

Mariano Rivera took over in the bottom of the ninth and set the Angels down in order to earn his third save of the series and force Game 7. The Yankees will start Carl Pavano (10-8, 4.46) against Bartolo Colon (10-8, 4.41) in a rematch of Game 4 which was won 9-6 by the Angels.

NLCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Chicago 4 St Louis 2
GAME 2: Chicago 1 St Louis 0
GAME 3: St Louis 4 Chicago 2
GAME 4: Chicago 5 St Louis 4
GAME 5: St Louis 5 Chicago 4
GAME 6: St Louis 9 Chicago 3
GAME 7: Chicago 11 St Louis 6

ALCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Angels 5 Yankees 4 (10 inn)
GAME 2: Yankees 6 Angels 5
GAME 3: Angels 9 Yankees 6
GAME 4: Angels 5 Yankees 1
GAME 5: Yankees 5 Angels 4
GAME 6: Yankees 8 Angels 7
TODAY: Yankees at Angels

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NITTANY LIONS PREPARE FOR INDIANA
With a 5-2 record and back-to-back victories over top 10 teams the Penn State Nittany Lions should be full of confidence as they prepare for Indiana this Saturday. With games at Northwestern and Illinois to follow most Penn State fans are expecting the Nittany Lions to finish with a 5-2 record inside the Big 10. If so, that may be good enough to see Penn State finish second in the conference.

The biggest game in the conference this week takes place in Minnesota where the 3-2 Golden Gophers entertain unbeaten Ohio State. Meanwhile, Michigan will try to get back in the win column after the Wolverines suffered their first loss of the season last week against Illinois. Purdue heads to Ann Arbor to play the Wolverines. Other action as Wisconsin at Illinois and Iowa visiting winless Northwestern.

BIG 10 STANDINGS
CONF OVERALL[/b]
Ohio State 4-0 7-0
Michigan 4-1 7-1
Michigan State 4-2 7-2
Minnesota 3-2 6-2
Penn State 3-2 5-2
Wisconsin 3-3 6-3
Iowa 2-3 4-3
Purdue 2-3 5-3
Illinois 1-3 1-6
Indiana 1-4 2-5
Northwestern 0-4 0-7

BIG 10 STATISTICAL LEADERS

PASSING LEADERS
Player TM AT COMP COMP% YDS TD INT RAT
Al Farmer MIN 141 100 70.9 1339 13 3 176.9
Brian Bratzke OSU 238 163 68.5 2280 19 5 171.1
Bo Finn WIS 103 66 64.1 991 6 2 160.2
Reuben Wilkins MSU 179 114 63.7 1599 10 6 150.0
Jeff Abdullah MICH 256 162 63.3 1983 17 5 146.4
Tim Perry WIS 178 115 64.6 1534 8 5 146.2
Cornell Lane IOW 100 62 62.0 722 6 2 138.4
Earl McGee PSU 234 131 56.0 1800 12 8 130.7

RUSHING LEADERS
Player TM ATT YDS YPG YPC TD
Bryan Pagel WIS 201 1288 140.9 6.31 9
Mike Jones MICH 232 1142 142.8 4.92 7
Sid Richard OSU 203 1107 158.1 5.45 9
Ryan Herron MIN 156 805 115.0 5.16 6
Tim Collins PSU 167 621 88.7 3.72 2

RECEIVING YARDS LEADERS
Player TM REC YDS YPC TD
Grey Riley MSU 55 728 13.2 4
Emmett Toefield MIN 47 717 15.3 5
Phil Mueller MSU 45 704 15.6 5
Bob Romberg WIS 57 673 11.8 4
Hunter Turner PUR 43 641 14.9 4

RECEPTION LEADERS
Player TM REC
Bob Romberg WIS 57
Grey Riley MSU 55
Emmett Toefield MIN 47
Billy Liske OSU 46
Phil Mueller MSU 45

LEADING TACKLERS
Player TM TAK SOLO AST SACK
Jay Catcavage WIS 86 65 21 6
Damoine Pears MSU 80 57 23 7
Eagle Tucker MIN 77 54 23 4
Jameel Gilmore ILL 69 51 18 4
Mitch Burford PSU 68 54 14 2
Lamar Sullivan PSU 63 44 19 2

INTERCEPTION LEADERS
Player TM INT
Joe Theofiledes OSU 5
Rodney Germaine PUR 4
Cleveland Dubuc MICH 4
Bob Smith MIN 4
Dino Crowe MSU 4

SACK LEADERS
Player TM Sacks
Damoine Pears MSU 7
Jay Catcavage WIS 6
Al Moore IOW 6
Arther Rae WIS 6
Derek Schoebel MICH 5
Phil Hasselbeck MIN 5
Heath Jameson OSU 5

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
HURRICANES STORM PAST PENS
The Carolina Hurricanes scored once in each period and got a 25 save effort from rookie goaltender Cam Ward as they blanked the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 in National Hockey League action.

Cory Stillman put the Hurricanes ahead 1-0 in the first when he took off on a breakaway after teammate Justin Williams blocked a shot from Dick Tarnstrom at the Carolina blueline. Stillman outraced Pens defenseman Sean Hill for the loss puck and deked goaltender Jocelyn Thibault. The Penguins were furious with the work of referee Rob Shick in the second period. First defenseman Brad Bombardir was given a 10 minute misconduct for protesting a hooking call a little too vocally and then Tarnstrom was ejected and given a 5 minute major for a knee on knee collison with Justin Williams. It was during the Tarnstrom penalty that the Hurricanes increased their lead to 2-0 on a goal from Radim Vrbata

The Penguins mounted little in the way of offense in the third period as they were held to just 5 shots on goal. Cam Ward earned his first career shutout in just his 4th NHL start. It was also Ward's first victory.

The Penguins are back in action tomorrow as they travel to Washington for the first ever NHL meeting of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. In 7 games Crosby has a goal and 4 assists. Ovechkin has a goal and two assists in 6 NHL contests.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
CAR Stillman 1(Williams) 13:15
Penalties: VandenBussche Pit 7:14

SECOND PERIOD
CAR Vrbata 2(Cole) 7:08 PP
Penalties: Bombardir Pit minor, misconduct 2:21, Tarnstrom
Pit 5 min major, game misconduct 5:27, VandebBussche Pit 11:41
Brind'Amour Car 18:12

THIRD PERIOD
CAR Commodore 1(Wallin, Staal) 6:36
Penalties: Boulerice Car Jackman Pit 4:56, Nordgren Car 17:16

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
CAR Cam Ward 25
PIT Jocelyn Thibault 36

In other NHL action last night Jose Theodore got his second shutout of the season as Montreal blanked St Louis 4-0. Defenseman Mathieu Dandenault had 3 assists while Saku Koivu chipped in with a pair of points for the Habs, who move into a first place tie with Ottawa in the Northeast Division. The Senators fell 4-2 to the Thrashers in Atlanta. Slava Kozlov had a pair of goals to pace the Thrashers who won for just the second time this season.

The only other contest saw Calgary hand the Nasville Predators their first loss of the season. Daymond Langkow and Jim Wiemer scored to give the Flames a 2-0 victory. Mika Kiprusoff lowered his goals against average on the season to 1.43 as he notched his first shutout of the year.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 7 5 1 1 11
New Jersey 7 5 2 0 10
Pittsburgh 7 4 2 1 9
NY Islanders 6 2 3 1 5
NY Rangers 5 1 4 0 2

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 7 5 2 0 10
Montreal 8 5 3 0 10
Boston 7 3 1 3 9
Buffalo 7 3 4 0 6
Toronto 8 2 5 1 5

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 6 5 1 0 10
Florida 7 4 3 0 8
Tampa 7 3 3 1 7
Atlanta 7 2 5 0 4
Carolina 5 2 3 0 4

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 6 5 1 0 10
Detroit 6 3 1 2 8
St Louis 7 2 4 1 5
Chicago 7 1 4 2 4
Columbus 7 0 7 0 0

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 7 6 1 0 12
Minnesota 8 4 2 2 10
Vancouver 7 4 2 1 9
Edmonton 6 3 2 1 7
Colorado 7 3 3 1 7

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 7 6 1 0 12
Dallas 7 4 1 2 10
San Jose 8 4 3 1 9
Los Angeles 7 4 3 0 8
Phoenix 6 2 3 1 5

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Carolina 3 Pittsburgh 0
Montreal 4 St Louis 0
Atlanta 4 Ottawa 2
Calgary 2 Nashville 0

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Pittsburgh at Washington
Montreal at Ottawa
Phoenix at Philadelphia
Atlanta at New Jersey
Carolina at Florida
Edmonton at St Louis
Boston at Colorado
Toronto at NY Rangers
Dallas at Columbus
NY Islanders at Nashville
Buffalo at Detroit
Chicago at Anaheim
Tampa at Minnesota
Vancouver at Los Angeles

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Ziggy Palffy PIT 6 6 6 12
Dany Heatley OTT 6 5 7 12
Mike Modano DAL 7 3 9 12
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 6 3 9 12
Teemu Selanne ANA 7 5 6 11
Bill Guerin DAL 7 5 5 10
Sergei Federov ANA 7 4 6 10
Brian Rolston MIN 8 2 8 10
Mark Recchi PIT 6 5 4 9
Alexander Frolov LA 7 5 4 9
Martin St Louis TB 7 4 5 9
Mario Lemieux PIT 6 2 7 9

SOCCER
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP RESULTS
Here are the results from yesterday's European Champions Cup action. The next set of games in the 6 match Group Stage will be contested the first week of November.

Tonight attention turns to the Euro Cup with a full slate of games. Also on tap for today is a World Cup qualifying match between China and Bahrain. The winner of the two game total goal series will play Jamaica for a berth in next summer's World Cup.

GROUP A
STANDINGS GP W D L GF GA Pts
Real Madrid 3 2 1 0 9 2 7
HSV 3 1 1 1 6 8 4
Rosenborg 3 1 1 1 6 7 4
BATE 3 0 1 2 3 7 1

WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
Hamburger SV 4 Rosenborg 2
Real Madrid 3 BATE Borisov 0

GROUP B
STANDINGS GP W D L GF GA Pts
Betis 3 2 0 1 4 3 6
Marseille 3 2 0 1 6 2 6
Fenerbahce 3 1 1 1 3 4 4
Anderlecht 3 0 1 2 1 5 1

WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
Fenerbahce 2 Betis 1
Marseille 3 Anderlecht 0

GROUP C
STANDINGS GP W D L GF GA Pts
Arsenal 3 3 0 0 9 1 9
Milan 3 2 0 1 6 3 6
Sporting CP 3 0 1 2 2 7 1
Panathinaikos 3 0 1 2 2 8 1

WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
Arsenal 3 Panathinaikos 0
Milan 2 Sporting CP 0

GROUP D
STANDINGS GP W D L GF GA Pts
Dinamo Kiev 3 3 0 0 3 0 9
Man United 3 2 0 1 4 3 6
CSKA Moscow 3 0 1 2 2 4 1
Benfica 3 0 1 2 0 2 1

WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
Manchester United 1 Benfica 0
Dinamo Kiev 1 CSKA Moscow 0

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

WEDNESDAY'S RESULT
Bolton 2 Blackburn 1

SATURDAY'S GAMES
Fulham at Blackburn
Crystal Palace at Chelsea
Manchester City at Norwich
Bolton at Tottenham
Arsenal at Wigan
Millwall at Wolves

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
Arsenal 10 8 1 1 17 5 25
Man Utd 10 7 1 2 20 8 22
Liverpool 9 5 3 1 16 10 18
Tottenham 9 5 1 3 14 13 16
Norwich 10 4 3 3 14 14 15
Chelsea 9 3 5 1 12 7 14
Fulham 10 4 2 4 14 14 14
Wigan 10 3 4 3 12 11 13
Man City 10 3 4 3 13 13 13
Wolves 9 3 4 2 12 13 13
Southampton 9 2 6 1 13 14 12
Aston Villa 8 2 4 2 10 9 10
Charlton 9 2 4 3 8 10 10
Birmingham 10 3 1 6 6 12 10
Newcastle 8 2 3 3 10 9 9
Bolton 10 2 3 5 13 15 9
Blackburn 9 2 3 4 9 12 9
Crystal Palace 10 2 2 6 9 16 8
Everton 10 2 2 6 6 13 8
Millwall 9 0 4 5 7 17 4

Tiger Fan

01-19-2006, 10:28 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Friday October 21, 2005

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
YANKEES WIN GAME 7, ADVANCE TO WORLD SERIES
The New York Yankees advanced to the World Series with a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in Game seven of the American League Championship Series. The Yankees rallied from a 3 games to one deficeit to pull out the victory. All the New York offense in game seven came in the 6th inning when Derek Jeter blasted a home run with a runner on first and Jorge Posada delivered a 2-run single.

Yankees starter Carl Pavano pitched 6 strong innings allowing just 1 run on 2nd inning doubles from Sean Rodriguez and Adam Kennedy. Eric Schmidt pitched 2 strong innings to get the ball to closer Mariano Rivera. Rivera notched his 4th save of the series despite allowing a run in the nith inning. Coupled with a pair of saves in the Divisional Series, Rivera has been on the hill to close 6 of New York's 7 postseason victories this season.

Next up for the Yankees are the Chicago Cubs, who also needed 7 games to earn a berth in the Fall Classic. The Cubs and Yankees have met twice before in the World Series, in 1932 and 1938. On both occassions the Yankees won 4 straight.

WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Saturday October 22 at New York
GAME 2: Sunday October 23 at New York
GAME 3: Tuesday October 25 at Chicago
GAME 4: Wednesday October 26 at Chicago
GAME 5: Thursday October 27 at Chicago (if neccessary)
GAME 6: Saturday October 29 at New York (if neccessary)
GAME 7: Sunday October 30 at New York (if neccessary)

NLCS RESULTS
GAME 1: Chicago 4 St Louis 2
GAME 2: Chicago 1 St Louis 0
GAME 3: St Louis 4 Chicago 2
GAME 4: Chicago 5 St Louis 4
GAME 5: St Louis 5 Chicago 4
GAME 6: St Louis 9 Chicago 3
GAME 7: Chicago 11 St Louis 6

ALCS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: Angels 5 Yankees 4 (10 inn)
GAME 2: Yankees 6 Angels 5
GAME 3: Angels 9 Yankees 6
GAME 4: Angels 5 Yankees 1
GAME 5: Yankees 5 Angels 4
GAME 6: Yankees 8 Angels 7
GAME 7: Yankees 4 Angels 2

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
OVECHKIN SHINES AS CAPS BEAT PENS IN SHOOTOUT
Credit round one of the Alexander Ovechkin-Sidney Crosby battle to the Russian sniper. The Caps sensational rookie scored twice in regulation and added the game winner in the 5th round of the shootout to give Washington a 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ovechkin also was +3 in the game while Crosby, who managed just one assist, finished with a plus/minus of -2. There will certainly be many more battles between the two young stars but there is no denying Ovechkin took round one hands down.

Each team scored twice in the opening 20 minutes with the Pens getting a pair of powerplay markers from Mario Lemieux and Sean Hill. Dainius Zubrus and Ovechkin scored for Washington in the first period. Ovechkin's goal, the second of his NHL career, came off of a heavy wrist shot from the slot as he one-timed a pass from Scott Ferguson. The Pens took the lead early in the second on their third power play goal of the game. This time Ryan Malone was the goal scorer after Crosby made a long pass to spring him on the breakaway. Washington would respond with goals from Jared Aulin and Jeff Friesen before Dick Tarnstrom got the Penguins even with a slapshot from the point.

12 minutes into the third period Ovechkin scored the prettiest goal of the game as he outmuscled Pens forward Colby Armstrong for the puck and then split the defense of Hill and Tarnstrom before firing a low wrist shot just below the glove of Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleurry. The Penguins tied it at 5 just under 3 minutes later when Mark Recchi notched his team leading 6th goal of the season.

Neither team had a decent scoring chance in the overtime as they combined for just 3 shots on goal during the 5 minute session. Mario Lemieux went first in the shootout and he was stopped by Caps goaltender Olaf Kolzig. Alexander Semin would beat Fleury on the Caps first shot but Recchi replied for Pittsburgh after deking Kolzig. Three more Caps and a pair of Pens, including Sidney Crosby, would miss setting the stage for the 5th round of the shootout. Ryan Malone made a nifty move to fake Kolzig but his backhander bounced off the post and stayed out. Next was Ovechkin, and the rookie won the game for the Caps by faking a shot to get Fleury to drop to his knees and then roofing it over the goaltender's blocker.

The game was the first of the season for Fleury, as Pens number one goaltender Jocelyn Thibault was given the night off after playing the first 6 games. Ovechkin was named first star with Pens defenseman Dick Tarnstrom second and Mario Lemiuex third.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
WSH Zubrus (Semin, Sykora) 8:29
PIT Lemieux (Tarnstrom, Palffy) 9:10 PP
WSH Ovechkin 2(Ferguson, Morrisonn) 14:21
PIT Hill (Whitney, Lemieux) 19:11 PP
Penalties: Pirjeta Pit 3:05, Halpern Wsh 3:29, Malone
Pit 6:26, Bradley Wsh 8:54, Palffy Pit 11:38, Aulin Wsh
15:31, Sutherby Wsh 16:03, Semin Wsh 18:37

SECOND PERIOD
PIT Malone (Crosby, Audette) 2:04 PP
WSH Aulin (Eminger) 7:13
WSH Friesen (Zubrus, Eminger) 14:33
PIT Tarnstrom (Hill, Audette) 15:11
Penalties: Zubrus Wsh 1:35, Audette Pit 2:07, Morrisonn
Wsh 4:44, VandenBussche Pit major, misconduct and Bradley
Wsh major 15:12, Clark Wsh 15:42

THIRD PERIOD
WSH Ovechkin 3(Aulin) 12:26
PIT Recchi 6(Tarnstrom) 15:24
Penalties: Armstrong Pit 1:55, Sykora Wsh 7:17, Morrisonn
Wsh 12:28

OVERTIME
NO SCORING
Penalties: none

SHOOTOUT
PITTSBURGH WASHINGTON
Lemieux -miss Semin- GOAL
Recchi- GOAL Zubrus -miss
Palffy -miss Clymer -miss
Crosby- miss Friesen-miss
Malone- miss Ovechkin- GOAL

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
WSH Olaf Kolzig 39
PIT Marc-Andre Fleury 33

In other NHL action the line of Dany Heatly, Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza combined for 7 points as Ottawa blanked Montreal 4-0. Dominik Hasek made 21 saves for his first shutout in a Senators uniform.

Michael Handzus and Peter Forsberg scored in the shootout to give Philadelphia a 4-3 win over visiting Phoenix. The Wayne Gretzky led Coyotes scored twice in the final 10 minutes to tie the game.

Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez scored first period goals to lead New Jersey past Atlanta 2-1. Peter Bondra replied for the Thrashers.

A day after shutting out Pittsburgh, the Carolina Hurricanes were the one's left with a goose-egg on the scoreboard as Florida beat the canes 5-0. Roberto Luongo turned aside 25 shots for his first shutout of the season. Kristian Huselius, with 2 goals and an assist, and Jay Bouwmeester, with 3 assists, led the Florida offense.

Mike Sillinger scored in regulation and again in the shootout to lead St Louis past Edmonton 2-1. Michael Peca was the only Oiler to beat Blues goaltender Reinhard Divis.

Milan Hejduk scored twice while David Aebischer made 29 saves as Colorado blanked the Boston Bruins 3-0.

Three goals in the shootout helped the Toronto Maple Leafs win back to back games for the first time this season, beating the Rangers 4-3 in New York. Rookie Brad Leeb got his first career NHL goal to help Toronto. Both teams lineups more closely resembled AHL teams due to the rash of injuries each has suffered. The Leafs are still missing Eric Lindros and Jason Allison while Bryan McCabe was also recently added to the injured reserve list. The Rangers lost Jaromir Jagr to a torn ACL in the preseason while Tom Poti and Pavel Brendl are also sidelined.

After 7 straight losses to open the season the Columbus Blue Jackets finally got their first victory, beating Dallas 4-3 at home. Jan Hrdina's game winning goal came with just under 3 minutes remaining in regulation time.

After winning 5 straight to start the season the Nashville Predators suffered their second defeat in a row, falling 4-2 to the visiting New York Islanders. Miroslav Satan and Alexei Yashin each had a goal and an assist for New York.

Jochen Hecht set up a pair of third period goals to help Buffalo past Detroit 4-2.

In Anaheim, Tyler Arnason and Mark Bell each scored and assisted on the other's goal in a 5-1 Chicago win over the Mighty Ducks.

Brad Richards had 3 goals and Vincent Lecavalier had 4 assists as Tampa hammered Minnesota 5-1. The third member of the Lightning's big line, Martin St Louis, had a goal and a pair of helpers. Tampa lost winger Frederick Modin for a couple of weeks after he suffered a second period knee injury.

Valeri Bure scored his first two goals of the season as Los Angeles beat Vancouver 5-3.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 8 6 1 1 13
New Jersey 8 6 2 0 12
Pittsburgh 8 4 2 2 10
NY Islanders 7 3 3 1 7
NY Rangers 6 1 4 1 3

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 8 6 2 0 12
Montreal 9 5 4 0 10
Boston 8 3 2 3 9
Buffalo 8 4 4 0 8
Toronto 9 3 5 1 7

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 7 6 1 0 12
Florida 8 5 3 0 10
Tampa 8 4 3 1 9
Atlanta 8 2 6 0 4
Carolina 6 2 4 0 4

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 7 5 2 0 10
Detroit 7 3 2 2 8
St Louis 8 3 4 1 7
Chicago 8 2 4 2 6
Columbus 8 1 7 0 2

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 7 6 1 0 12
Minnesota 9 4 3 2 10
Vancouver 8 4 3 1 9
Colorado 8 4 3 1 9
Edmonton 7 3 2 2 8

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 8 6 2 0 12
Los Angeles 8 5 3 0 10
Dallas 8 4 2 2 10
San Jose 8 4 3 1 9
Phoenix 7 2 3 2 6

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Washington 6 Pittsburgh 5 (SO)
Ottawa 4 Montreal 0
Philadelphia 4 Phoenix 3 (SO)
New Jersey 2 Atlanta 1
Florida 5 Carolina 0
St Louis 2 Edmonton 1 (SO)
Colorado 3 Boston 0
Toronto 4 NY Rangers 3 (SO)
Columbus 4 Dallas 3
NY Islanders 4 Nashville 2
Buffalo 4 Detroit 2
Chicago 5 Anaheim 1
Tampa 5 Minnesota 1
Los Angeles 5 Vancouver 3

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Edmonton at Chicago
Vancouver at San Jose

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 8 6 9 15
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 8 3 11 14
Ziggy Palffy PIT 8 6 7 13
Mike Modano DAL 8 3 10 13
Teemu Selanne ANA 8 6 6 12
Martin St Louis TB 8 5 7 12
Alexander Frolov LA 8 6 5 11
Bill Guerin DAL 8 5 6 11
Sergei Federov ANA 8 4 7 11
Mario Lemieux PIT 8 3 8 11
Brian Rolston MIN 9 3 8 11
Vincent Lecavalier TB 8 3 8 11
Mark Recchi PIT 8 6 4 10
Brad Richards TB 8 5 5 10

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
WOLVES BLANK 67'S
Marc Staal and Nick Foligno each had a goal and an assist to help the Sudbury Wolves blank Ottawa 5-0 in the lone Ontario Hockey League game. Foligno, the son of Wolves GM and former NHLer Mike Foligno, has 9 points in his last 4 games. He is listed as the 8th best NHL prospect in the preliminary ISS NHL draft rankings. Staal, the younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes forward Eric Staal, was a first round pick of the New York Rangers last summer. Wolves goaltender Kevin Beech faced just 13 Ottawa shots in the game.

The Erie Otters return to action Saturday night when they host Sarnia.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 10 7 1 2 16
Owen Sound 11 8 3 0 16
ERIE 11 7 4 0 14
Guelph 11 6 5 0 12
Kitchener 8 5 2 1 11

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 11 6 3 2 14
Sarnia 12 5 7 0 10
Sault Ste Marie 10 3 6 1 7
Saginaw 11 3 7 1 7
Windsor 9 3 5 1 7

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
St Michael's 10 6 3 1 13
Brampton 11 6 4 1 13
Barrie 10 6 4 0 12
Sudbury 9 5 4 0 10
Mississauga 11 2 7 2 6

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 11 6 2 3 15
Kingston 10 6 3 1 13
Peterborough 10 5 3 2 12
Ottawa 11 5 5 1 11
Belleville 11 4 6 1 9

LAST NIGHT'S RESULS
Sudbury 5 Ottawa 0

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Barrie at Brampton
Belleville at Sault Ste Marie
Saginaw at Sarnia

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 10 10 11 21
Wojtek Wolski Bram 11 10 9 19
Dan Collins Plym 11 9 10 19
Michael Blunden ERIE 11 10 8 18
Jamie Tardif Pete 10 9 9 18
Ryan Callahan Guel 11 9 9 18
Matt Lyall Guel 11 7 11 18
Cory Emmerton King 10 6 12 18
Justin Donati StM 10 6 12 18
Nick Foligno Sudb 9 6 11 17
Vaclav Meidl Plym 11 5 12 17
Joshua Bailey OwS 11 6 10 16
Tyler Doig Guel 11 5 11 16
Kris Belan Lond 10 4 12 16

SOCCER
WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
China and Bahrain played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their World Cup qualifying playoff. Next Thursday they will complete the two game total goal series with a match at Bahrain. The winner will advance to a playoff against Jamaica with the winner of that series gaining entry to next summer's World Cup.

GROUP STAGE UNDERWAY IN EURO CUP ACTION
40 soccer teams from across Europe have begun the Group Stage of the Euro Cup. The group stage comprises eight groups of five, with each club playing four times, twice at home and twice away. The winners, runners-up and third-placed clubs from each group advance to the last 32 where they are joined by the eight third-placed clubs from the UEFA Champions League Cup. At this point, the traditional two-match knockout format is resumed, until the single-match final.

Here are the opening match results from each group. Day two will be in two weeks time on Thursday, November 3rd.

GROUP A
AEK 2 Besiktas 1
Southampton 1 CSKA(Sofia) 1
idle Feyenoord

GROUP B
Dinamo 1 Austria Vienna 1
Newcastle 2 Sochaux 0
idle AZ Alkmaar

GROUP C
Monaco 3 Panionios 0
Sheriff 1 Parma 1
idle Real Sociedad

GROUP D
Athletic Club 2 Wisla 0
Celtic 1 FC Kobenhavn
idle Servette FC

GROUP E
Udinese 2 GAK 1
Rangers 2 Litex 0
idle Valencia

GROUP F
Aston Villa 3 Leverkusen 1
PAOK 2 Rio Ave 0
idle Athletico Madrid

GROUP G
Leotar 1 Basel 1
Slavia Prague 1 PSV 1
idle Gaziantepspor

GROUP H
Juventus 1 Zeleznik 1
Heerenveen 2 Nantes 1
idle Legia

Tiger Fan

01-23-2006, 12:24 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Saturday October 22, 2005

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NITTANY LIONS SIGN TOP PENNSYLVANIA RECRUIT
Wright Rozier, who is considered by many to be the top college basketball recruit in the state, has announced he will attend Penn State next season. The 6'8" small forward from Pallisades High in Kintnersville, is rated the 78th best recruit in the nation. The Nittany Lions won out as Rozier's selection over Virginia, Georgetown and Providence. In the end Rozier said a desire to play close to home helped him decide on Penn State.

The Nittany Lions, who were just 12-17 last season, have now reached agreements with recruits to fill all five of their open scholarships for next year. All in all new Penn State head coach Tiger Fan says he is extremely happy with his first recruiting class. The Nittany Lions open their 2005-06 campaign on November 15th when Robert Morris visits the Bryce Jordan Center.

PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS HOOPS RECRUITING CLASS
POS NAME HOMETOWN NatRk PosRK PPG APG RPG SPG BPG
SF Wright Rozier Kintnersville, Pa. 78 19 17.7 2.9 3.5 1.9 1.8
SF Kevin Dent Clarksville, Md. 108 25 19.7 3.6 5.8 1.8 1.9
SG Ron Jones Rocky Gap, Va. 230 46 14.3 4.9 7.0 2.0 2.1
C Aaron Bills Radnor, Pa. 504 77 15.4 3.7 10.5 1.7 2.1
SG Maurice Day Wellsboro, Pa. 506 110 16.7 3.6 5.8 2.1 1.8

CLICK COMMITS TO PITT
The University of Pittsburgh has announced that point guard Justin Click has made a verbal committment to attend the school next season. Click, a 17 year old from Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania is considered the 4th best recruit within the state and 152nd nationally. He is the first player to committ to Pittsburgh this season.

WAKE FOREST LANDS TWO TOP 10 RECRUITS
It will be tough to top Wake Forest for the best recruiting class in the nation after the Demon Deacons signed a pair of national top 10 prospects. Point guard Bart Kante, who averaged 25 ppg at Valley City High in North Dakota, is rated number one in the country and he agreed yesterday to join Ramond Finneman at Wake Forest. Finneman, a small forward who hails from Kingston, Massachusetts and is ranked 9th in the nation, committed to Wake Forest last week. The Demon Deacons also recruited juco transfer Tyson Miller, a power forward from Northfield, Massachusetts who was ranked 30th in the nation.

TRACKING THE TOP 20
RK POS NAME HOMETOWN COLLEGE CHOICE
1 PG Bart Kante Valley City, ND Wake Forest
2 SF Steve Lane Macomb, Mich undecided
3 PG Johnny Ewing Willis, Tex UCLA
4 C Rashard Kickert Waianee, Hawaii Connecticut
5 PF Aaron Brotherson Baltimore, Md Maryland
6 SG Josh Nolan Genoa, Ohio Notre Dame
7 SF James Edwards Sheldon, Iowa Kansas
8 C Tyrhon Mouton Lucedale, Ms LSU
9 SF Ramond Finneman Kingston, Mass Wake Forest
10 PG Larry Simmons Augusta, Ill Duke
11 C Will Keown Ely, Nev Michigan State
12 C Jason Cole Brea, Cal Temple
13 PF Corsley Long Webb, Ms Syracuse
14 PF Josh Gardiner Skipperville, Al Syrcuase
15 PF Joe Ward Kenal Central, Ak Utah
16 PG Derrick Garner Jale, NM North Carolina
17 SG Thomas Jones Jackson, Wy Michigan
18 SF Mark Dwiggins Kansas City, Mo. Iowa State
19 SF Chris McDade Hampton, Iowa Oklahoma State
20 PG Jeff Dixon Anamosa, Iowa Texas

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
HAWKS TOP OILERS 3-1
Just 2 games in a light Friday night of National Hockey League action. In Chicago the Blackhawks got 29 saves from goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin as they held off Edmonton 3-1. Kyle Calder, Matthew Barnaby and rookie Brent Seabrook, with his first NHL goal, scored for the Hawks. Defenseman Jason Smith had the lone Edmonton tally.

In San Jose Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison each scored in the shoot-out to give Vancouver a 3-2 win over the Sharks. All the scoring came in the second period as Nils Ekman staked the Sharks to a 1-0 lead before the Canucks answered with power play goals from Anson Carter and Ed Jovanski. Patrick Marleau tied the game for San Jose late in the period.

PAIR OF MINOR TRADES IN NHL
The Carolina Hurricanes added 25 year old defenseman Christian Backman in one of two trades made Friday. Backman, has played 77 career NHL games and has 6 goals and 13 assists. The Swedish rearguard joins the Hurricanes in exchange for a pair of midround draft picks and minor leaguer Danny Richmond. The 21 year old native of Park Ridge, Illinois was the Hurricanes second round pick in 2003. A left defenseman, Richmond has spent his entire pro career in the AHL and will report to the Blues farm team in Peoria.

Defenseman Joel Kwaitkowski joins his fourth NHL team after being acquired by New Jersey from Florida. The 28 year old Saskatoon native has played 157 NHL games with Ottawa, Washington and the Panthers. He has 21 career points including 3 assists in 8 games this season. In return the Devils sent Florida the rights to Swedish center Alexander Sundstrom. The 18 year old was the Devils 7th round pick this past June. He is played for Bjorkloven in the Swedish second division.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 8 6 1 1 13
New Jersey 8 6 2 0 12
Pittsburgh 8 4 2 2 10
NY Islanders 7 3 3 1 7
NY Rangers 6 1 4 1 3

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 8 6 2 0 12
Montreal 9 5 4 0 10
Boston 8 3 2 3 9
Buffalo 8 4 4 0 8
Toronto 9 3 5 1 7

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 7 6 1 0 12
Florida 8 5 3 0 10
Tampa 8 4 3 1 9
Atlanta 8 2 6 0 4
Carolina 6 2 4 0 4

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 7 5 2 0 10
Detroit 7 3 2 2 8
Chicago 9 3 4 2 8
St Louis 8 3 4 1 7
Columbus 8 1 7 0 2

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 7 6 1 0 12
Vancouver 9 5 3 1 11
Minnesota 9 4 3 2 10
Colorado 8 4 3 1 9
Edmonton 8 3 3 2 8

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 8 6 2 0 12
Los Angeles 8 5 3 0 10
Dallas 8 4 2 2 10
San Jose 9 4 3 2 10
Phoenix 7 2 3 2 6

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Chicago 3 Edmonton 1
Vancouver 3 San Jose 2 (SO)

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Phoenix at Pittsburgh
Colorado at Nashville
Detroit at Minnesota

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 8 6 9 15
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 8 3 11 14
Ziggy Palffy PIT 8 6 7 13
Mike Modano DAL 8 3 10 13
Teemu Selanne ANA 8 6 6 12
Martin St Louis TB 8 5 7 12
Alexander Frolov LA 8 6 5 11
Bill Guerin DAL 8 5 6 11
Sergei Federov ANA 8 4 7 11
Mario Lemieux PIT 8 3 8 11
Brian Rolston MIN 9 3 8 11
Vincent Lecavalier TB 8 3 8 11
Mark Recchi PIT 8 6 4 10
Brad Richards TB 8 5 5 10

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
SAGINAW RALLIES PAST SARNIA
The Saginaw Spirit scored 4 unaswered third period goals to rally past the hometown Sarnia Sting in one of three Ontario Hockey League games last night. Michal Birner led the Spirit, who trailed 3-1 after the opening 20 minutes, with 2 goals and an assist. The Sting are back in action tonight as they travel to Erie to face the Otters.

In other action Kyle Gajewski got his first shutout of the season as Sault Ste Marie blanked Belleville 3-0. The Greyhounds outshot the Bulls 37-15 in the contest. David Kuchejda led the Hounds offense with a goal and an assist while Tyler Kennedy had two helpers.

Luch Aquino scored twice while linemate Wojtek Wolski added two assists as Brampton dumped Barrie 5-1. The victory snapped a 4 game losing streak for the Battalion and moves them back into top spot in the Central Division.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 10 7 1 2 16
Owen Sound 11 8 3 0 16
ERIE 11 7 4 0 14
Guelph 11 6 5 0 12
Kitchener 8 5 2 1 11

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 11 6 3 2 14
Sarnia 13 5 8 0 10
Sault Ste Marie 11 4 6 1 9
Saginaw 12 4 7 1 9
Windsor 9 3 5 1 7

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 12 7 4 1 15
St Michael's 10 6 3 1 13
Barrie 11 6 5 0 12
Sudbury 9 5 4 0 10
Mississauga 11 2 7 2 6

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 11 6 2 3 15
Kingston 10 6 3 1 13
Peterborough 10 5 3 2 12
Ottawa 11 5 5 1 11
Belleville 12 4 7 1 9

LAST NIGHT'S RESULS
Brampton 5 Barrie 1
Sault Ste Marie 3 Belleville 0
Saginaw 5 Sarnia 3

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Sarnia at Erie
Kitchener at Mississauga
Guelph at St Michael's
Peterborough at Sault Ste Marie
Owen Sound at Belleville
London at Sudbury
Oshawa at Brampton
Kingston at Barrie
Plymouth at Ottawa
Windsor at Saginaw

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Wojtek Wolski Bram 11 10 12 22
Rob Schremp Lond 10 10 11 21
Dan Collins Plym 11 9 10 19
Michael Blunden ERIE 11 10 8 18
Jamie Tardif Pete 10 9 9 18
Ryan Callahan Guel 11 9 9 18
Matt Lyall Guel 11 7 11 18
Cory Emmerton King 10 6 12 18
Justin Donati StM 10 6 12 18
Nick Foligno Sudb 9 6 11 17
Vaclav Meidl Plym 11 5 12 17
Luch Aquino Bram 12 10 6 16
Joshua Bailey OwS 11 6 10 16
Tyler Doig Guel 11 5 11 16
Kris Belan Lond 10 4 12 16

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
IRISH SEASON HINGES ON TODAY'S GAME
The Notre Dame football team finds itself ranked 19th as it travels to Louisiana to take on #18 LSU this afternoon. While in recent years Notre Dame would be happy just to be ranked in the top twenty, this season it comes as a huge dissappointment for the 6-3 Irish. With what was dubbed one of the league's best recruiting classes four years ago now in the middle of their senior season this was supposed to be the year the Notre Dame Fighting Irish challenged for a National Title.

Instead the Irish find themselves lucky to be 6-3 after barely beating winless Temple two weeks ago and losing to Purdue last week. It is essential the Irish win on the road against LSU today or Notre Dame head coach Marcus Smith could find himself on the unemployment line.

The 46 year old Smith has compiled a solid 50-19 record during his tenure at Notre Dame, not to mention the 5 straight bowl game victories. The team is loaded on offense this year led by a pair of preseason Heisman Trophy candidates in senior QB Jim Paxton and senior RB Johnny Lukins.
In all Notre Dame had 17 returning starters and, aside from Michiagan and USC, a relatively easy schedule. It was for those reason that many expected the Irish to seriously challenge for the BCS title game. A 1-loss season? Possibly. 2 losses this year...unlikely. 3 losses....unimaginable. Lose to LSU today or Boston College in the season finale and you can expect some big changes at Notre Dame.

Hopes for a National championship season ended quickly when the Irish dropped their opener 37-24 to Michigan State at Lansing. It was a game Notre Dame should have won easily, especially when you consider the Irish defense came up with 4 interceptions in the contest. However 4 Irish fumbles, all in their own territory proved the difference. Lukins ran for just 87 yards and fumbled twice. After victories over Kansas and Wake Forest the Irish fell to 2-2 after a 27-24 loss at home to Michigan.

Notre Dame did rebound the following week with their best game of the season, a 31-12 win at home over Southern California and followed it with easy wins over Navy and Army. However, the Irish were awful against an 0-7 Temple team and barely won 30-29. Last week's 24-19 loss at Purdue was another unispired effort.

Louisiana State enters the game with a 7-2 record and hopes of claiming the SEC West Division title. At 5-1 in conference the Tigers are ready for a showdown with unbeaten and number one ranked Arkansas in two weeks time. Perhaps Notre Dame's best hope is catching the Tigers unprepared as they think more about next week's game than today's contest.

TODAY'S GAMES
Indiana at #21 Penn State
#17 Wisconsin at Illinois
Iowa at Northwestern
Purdue at #4 Michigan
#2 Ohio State at #11 Minnesota
Maryland at Clemson
Florida State at North Carolina State
Boston College at Wake Forest
Virginia at Georgia Tech
North Carolina at #6 Miami
Cincinnati at Louisville
South Florida at UConn
Rutgers at #8 Syracuse
Colorado at Iowa State
Kansas State at Missouri
Nebraska at Kansas
East Carolina at Memphis
Southern Miss at Central Florida
Marshall at UAB
Rice at Tulane
SMU at UTEP
Akron at Buffalo
Kent State at Ohio
Bowling Green at Miami(Oh)
Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan
Northern Illinois at Western Michigan
Utah at Wyoming
Air Force at TCU
New Mexico at Colorado State
BYU at San Diego State
#15 Washington State at #24 Stanford
#7 USC at #22 Arizona
#16 Arizona State at #5 California
#25 UCLA at Washington
#19 Notre Dame at #18 LSU
South Carolina at Tennessee
Vanderbilt at #20 Georgia
Kentucky at Florida
#9 Alabama at Auburn
North Texas at Florida Atlantic
Arkansas State at Middle Tennessee St
Nevada at San Jose State
New Mexico State at Idaho
Louisiana Tech at Boise State
Utah State at Fresno State

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
WORLD SERIES STARTS TONIGHT
The Chicago Cubs will send Mark Prior to the mound as they make their first World Series appearance since 1945. Prior was 13-12 with a 2.84 era during the season and is 2-1 with a 4.95 era in three postseason starts this year. The Yankees will counter with ex-Colorado Rockie Shawn Chacon, who is 1-1 in 4 postseason starts with a playoff era of 5.75. During the regular season Chacon was 12-7 with a 4.80 era.

GAME 1: Tonight at New York
GAME 2: Sunday October 23 at New York
GAME 3: Tuesday October 25 at Chicago
GAME 4: Wednesday October 26 at Chicago
GAME 5: Thursday October 27 at Chicago (if neccessary)
GAME 6: Saturday October 29 at New York (if neccessary)
GAME 7: Sunday October 30 at New York (if neccessary)

Tiger Fan

01-25-2006, 09:51 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Sunday October 23, 2005

WORLD SERIES
CUBS TAKE SERIES OPENER 8-1
Matt Lawton had 5 hits as the Chicago Cubs blasted the New York Yankees 8-1 in the opening game of the World Series. The Cubs had 16 hits off of three Yankee hurlers while Mark Prior allowed just 1 run and 4 hits in 8 innings work for Chicago.

The Cubs took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Nomar Garciaparra led off with a walk and scored on a double from Lawton. Reed Johnson would add a 2-run double in the same inning. An inning later the lead was 5-0 as Garciaparra and Lawton each delivered rbi singles. Another Chicago run in the 4th inning sent New York starter Shawn Chacon to the showers.

Meanwhile Prior retired the first 9 Yankee batters before Derek Jeter doubled to lead-off the 4th inning. Jeter scored New York's only run when Hideki Matsui hit a 2-out single. Prior, who struck out 6 and walked just one, improved to 3-1 in the 2005 postseason.

Tonight the Yankees send Mike Mussina to the mound against Ryan Dempster.

GAME ONE BOXSCORE
Chicago (N) AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
R. Johnson DH 5 0 1 2 0 0 .184 1 5
T. Walker 2B 5 1 2 0 0 0 .324 0 3
C. Patterson CF 5 1 2 0 0 2 .295 1 4
D. Lee 1B 4 1 1 1 1 0 .214 1 5
N. Garciaparra SS 4 3 3 1 1 0 .356 0 9
M. Lawton RF 5 1 5 3 0 0 .439 3 11
A. Ramirez 3B 5 0 1 1 0 2 .326 0 12
J. Valentin LF 4 1 1 0 1 2 .211 0 1
M. Barrett C 5 0 0 0 0 0 .200 0 3
Totals 42 8 16 8 3 6

BATTING
Doubles: R. Johnson (2, 2nd inning off Chacon, 2 on, 2 out.)
T. Walker (2, 6th inning off Rodriguez, 0 on, 1 out.) C. Patterson
(2, 3rd inning off Chacon, 0 on, 0 out.) M. Lawton 2 (4, 2nd inning
off Chacon, 1 on, 0 out, 7th inning off Rodriguez, 1 on, 0 out.)
Runs Batted In: R. Johnson 2 (5), D. Lee (5), N. Garciaparra (9),
M. Lawton 3 (11), A. Ramirez (12)
Stolen Bases: T. Walker (1)
Team LOB: 5

FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Walker-Garciaparra-Lee)

New York (A) AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
D. Jeter SS 4 1 2 0 0 1 .269 2 5
B. Williams LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 .347 2 7
A. Rodriguez 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0 .288 3 8
H. Matsui CF 3 0 1 1 1 0 .250 1 3
G. Sheffield RF 4 0 0 0 0 3 .314 2 9
J. Giambi DH 3 0 1 0 1 1 .214 3 9
J. Posada C 4 0 0 0 0 1 .149 1 6
M. Loretta 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 .196 0 2
T. Martinez 1B 3 0 0 0 0 0 .234 2 6
Totals 31 1 5 1 2 6

BATTING
Doubles: D. Jeter (4, 4th inning off Prior, 0 on, 0 out.)
Runs Batted In: H. Matsui (3)
Team LOB: 4

FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Loretta-Jeter-Martinez)

PITCHING
Chicago (N) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
M. Prior W 8 4 1 1 1 6 0 113 65 3.86 3-1
C. Fox 0.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 21 9 3.86
T. Wellemeyer 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 0.00
Batters Faced: M. Prior 28, C. Fox 5, T. Wellemeyer 1
Inherited Runners-Scored: T. Wellemeyer 3-0
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: M. Prior 11-6, C. Fox 0-2,
T. Wellemeyer 1-0

New York (A) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
S. Chacon L 3.2 8 6 6 3 3 0 84 48 7.13 1-2
F. Rodriguez 2.2 5 1 1 0 1 0 46 29 3.86
S. Proctor 2.2 3 1 1 0 2 0 33 20 0.66
Wild Pitches: S. Chacon
Batters Faced: S. Chacon 22, F. Rodriguez 12, S. Proctor 11
Inherited Runners-Scored: F. Rodriguez 1-0, S. Proctor 1-0
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: S. Chacon 4-4, F. Rodriguez 3-3, S. Proctor 2-4

GAME INFO
Time: 3:48 Attendance: 57474 (57478) at Yankee Stadium
Weather: Clear skies (58 degrees), wind blowing right to left at 19 mph
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Matt Lawton

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
MCGEE THROWS 4 TD'S AS NITTANY LIONS HAMMER HOOSIERS
Sophomore quarterback Earl McGee threw a career high 4 touchdown passes as the Penn State football team hammered Indiana 40-9. The Nittany Lions completely dominated all facets of the game as they built a 20-3 half time lead. Penn State had more than twice as many first downs as Indiana and gained over 200 yards of offense more than the Hoosiers.

McGee was outstanding completing 29 of 37 passes for 320 yards. His favourite targets were freshman wideout Donnie Ferguson and senior Val Taylor who each made 6 catches. Fullback Jermaine Redmond hauled in a pair of touchdown catches while Ferguson and tight end Neal Brown each caught one.

The victory improves Penn State's record to 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten. Indiana drops to 2-6 (1-5 in conference). Next week the Nittany Lions began a stretch of three straight road games to end their season with a visit to Northwestern.

TEAM 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
Indiana 0 3 3 3 9
Penn State 13 7 10 10 40

First Quarter
PENN TD 11:45 6-0 Donnie Ferguson 6 YD Pass from Earl McGee (Brandon Gilchrist Kick Failed).
PENN TD 04:22 13-0 Jermaine Redmond 11 YD Pass from Earl McGee (Brandon Gilchrist Kick).
Second Quarter
IND FG 09:32 13-3 Herb Jacobs 35 YD
PENN TD 00:46 20-3 Jermaine Redmond 4 YD Pass from Earl McGee (Brandon Gilchrist Kick).
Third Quarter
PENN TD 10:55 27-3 Neal Brown 12 YD Pass from Earl McGee (Brandon Gilchrist Kick).
PENN FG 03:32 30-3 Brandon Gilchrist 27 YD
IND FG 00:28 30-6 Herb Jacobs 28 YD
Fourth Quarter
PENN TD 11:22 37-6 Tim Collins 1 YD Run (Brandon Gilchrist Kick).
IND FG 05:45 37-9 Herb Jacobs 34 YD
PENN FG 00:19 40-9 Brandon Gilchrist 33 YD

TEAM STATISTICS
IND PENN
First Downs 15 36
Rushing 9 12
Passing 5 21
Penalty 1 3
3rd-down Efficiency 1-10 8-14
4th-down Efficiency 0-0 0-0
Total Net Yards 286 494
Total plays 56 87
Average gain 5.1 5.7
Net Yards Rushing 141 174
Rushes 32 49
Average per rush 4.4 3.6
Net Yards Passing 145 320
Completed-attempted 10-22 29-37
Yards per pass 6.6 8.6
Sacked-yards lost 2-18 1-2
Had intercepted 1 1
Punts-average 4-37.2 2-37
Return Yardage 132 163
Punts-returns 2-16 1-14
Kickoffs-returns 6-110 4-126
Ints-returns 1-6 1-23
Penalties-yards 5-47 2-15
Fumbles-lost 2-0 1-0
Touchdowns 0 5
Rushing 0 1
Passing 0 4
Extra Points 0-0 4-5
Field Goals 3-5 2-3
Red Zone Efficiency 3-4-75% 7-7-100%
Time Of Possession 24:22 35:38

IND PASSING CP/AT YDS TD INT LG SACK
QB T. Warren 10/21 145 0 1 39 1-12
QB J. Vereb 0/1 0 0 0 0 1-6
PENN PASSING CP/AT YDS TD INT LG SACK
QB E. McGee 29/37 320 4 1 26 1-2

IND RUSHING ATT YDS YPC TD LG
RB B. Zellars 19 78 4.10 0 13
RB P. Fry 7 38 5.40 0 11
WR A. Kennedy 1 27 27.00 0 27
FB D. Lamar 1 16 16.00 0 16
WR E. Baldacci 1 1 1.00 0 1
QB T. Warren 1 -1 -1.00 0 0
PENN RUSHING ATT YDS YPC TD LG
RB T. Collins 34 118 3.50 1 14
RB H. Barber 11 41 3.70 0 11
FB J. Redmond 2 17 8.50 0 10
WR D. Ferguson 1 0 0.00 0 0

IND RECEIVING ATT REC YDS YPC YAC TD LG DRP
WR E. Baldacci 6 3 78 26.00 12 0 39 0
WR E. Williams 3 2 37 18.50 7 0 35 0
WR A. Kennedy 9 4 23 5.80 7 0 10 1
TE P. Ward 3 1 7 7.00 2 0 7 0
RB P. Fry 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0
RB B. Zellars 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0
PENN RECEIVING ATT REC YDS YPC YAC TD LG DRP
WR H. Walker 7 5 75 15.00 18 0 22 1
WR V. Taylor 7 6 64 10.70 5 0 26 0
WR D. Ferguson 9 6 51 8.50 15 1 15 0
TE N. Brown 6 4 41 10.20 11 1 16 0
RB T. Collins 4 4 37 9.20 23 0 15 0
FB J. Redmond 3 3 35 11.70 24 2 20 0
WR T. Trotter 1 1 17 17.00 3 0 17 0

IND O-LINE KRB PCK SA HLD FS
OT C. Buggs 2 0 0 0 1
OG K. Cavil 2 0 0 0 0
OG C. Perry 0 0 1 0 0
OT J. Smith 0 0 1 0 0
PENN O-LINE KRB PCK SA HLD FS
OG W. Stanciel 1 4 0 0 0
OG S. McDuffie 1 1 0 0 0
C A. Shockey 1 0 0 0 0
OT B. Smith 0 0 1 0 0

IND FUMBLES FUM LOST REC YDS
RB B. Zellars 1 0 0 0
WR M. Rivera 1 0 0 0
FB D. Lamar 0 0 1 0
C B. Davis 0 0 1 0
PENN FUMBLES FUM LOST REC YDS
RB T. Collins 1 0 0 0
OT B. Smith 0 0 1 0

IND KICKING FG LONG XP PTS
K H. Jacobs 3/5 35 0/0 9
PENN KICKING FG LONG XP PTS
K B. Gilchrist 2/3 33 4/5 10

IND PUNTING NO AVG NET I-20 TB LG
P E. Jones 4 37.2 33.8 1 0 50
PENN PUNTING NO AVG NET I-20 TB LG
P D. Palmer 2 37.0 29.0 0 0 38

IND KICK RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG
WR M. Rivera 5 20.2 0 28
WR K. Barnes 1 9.0 0 9
PENN KICK RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG
CB M. Tomlinson 4 31.5 0 44

IND PUNT RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG FC
WR K. Marion 2 8.0 0 18 0
PENN PUNT RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG FC
WR V. Taylor 1 14.0 0 14 0

IND DEFENSE T-A SCK STF HUR DP INT FF PD
OLB S. Brzezinski 8-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
DE C. Marino 7-2 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
ILB C. Smith 6-1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
SS D. Crowell 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ILB K. Humphrey 4-4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
CB O. Hackett 3-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OLB J. McGlockton 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FS J. Olsen 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CB F. Promuto 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DT O. Johnson 1-0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
DE E. Favre 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
ILB L. Covington 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DT C. Vick 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CB T. Faulk 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PENN DEFENSE T-A SCK STF HUR DP INT FF PD
OLB M. Burford 6-0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
ILB L. Sullivan 5-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SS A. Hood 5-0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
OLB H. Freeman 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FS A. Jackson 4-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
ILB M. Carter 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FS J. Davenport 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DT R. Smith 1-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
DE L. Mackenzie 1-0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0
SS A. Brady 1-0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
CB M. Tomlinson 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
MINNESOTA UPSETS OHIO STATE
Last week it was Michigan that fell from the unbeaten ranks. This week Ohio State's bid for a perfect season came to an end with a 21-15 loss at Minnesota. Dave Washington threw a pair of first quarter touchdowns to help the Golden Gophers build a 21-3 halftime lead and they hung on to stop the Buckeyes. Ohio State had entered the game ranked second in the nation just as Michigan was a week ago when the Wolverines lost at home to Illinois.

The Wolverines improved to 5-1 in the conference with a 51-36 victory over Purdue. Mike Jones ran for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Michigan offense. In other action the Big Ten's leading receiver Bob Romberg had 6 catches for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns to help Wisconsin destroy Illinois 40-6. Finally, Northwestern hammered Iowa 51-10 as Wildcats QB DeMond Harper threw for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns.

BIG 10 STANDINGS
CONF OVERALL[/b]
Michigan 5-1 8-1
Ohio State 4-1 7-1
Michigan State 4-2 7-2
Minnesota 4-2 7-2
Penn State 4-2 6-2
Wisconsin 4-3 7-3
Iowa 2-4 4-4
Purdue 2-4 5-4
Illinois 1-4 1-7
Northwestern 1-4 1-7
Indiana 1-5 2-6

RESULTS
Wisconsin 40 Illinois 6
PENN STATE 40 Indiana 9
Northwestern 51 Iowa 10
Michigan 51 Purdue 36
Minnesota 21 Ohio State 15

NEXT SATURDAY'S GAMES
PENN STATE at Northwestern
Illinois at Ohio State
Michigan at Indiana
Iowa at Minnesota
Michigan State at Purdue

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
MAC ROUND UP
Western Michigan clinched the West Division title with a 23-9 victory over Northern Illinois. In the East Division, Ohio moved a step closer to the title with a 33-3 victory over Kent State. The Bobcats are 6-1 in conference play with their lone loss coming against Bowling Green. The Falcons lost 22-10 to Miami(Ohio) yesterday which pretty much ends their chance at a division title.

MAC RESULTS
Buffalo 23 Akron 14
Ohio 33 Kent State 3
Miami(Oh) 22 Bowling Green 10
Eastern Michigan 30 Central Michigan 7
Western Michigan 23 Northern Illinois 9
NEXT WEEK
Kent State at Bowling Green
Ball State at Toledo
Central Michigan at Miami(Oh)
Eastern Michigan at Akron

MAC STANDINGS
East Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Ohio 6-1 7-3
Bowling Green 4-2 6-2
Miami(Oh) 4-2 6-2
Buffalo 2-5 3-7
Akron 0-5 1-7
Kent State 0-5 1-8

West Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Western Michigan 7-0 8-2
Northern Illinois 4-3 5-5
Eastern Michigan 3-3 4-4
Toledo 3-3 4-5
Central Michigan 2-4 3-5
Ball State 2-4 3-6

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
PACIFIC 10 CONFERENCE ROUND UP
The Pac-10 conference battle certainly tightened up after first place USC and third place Washington State both went down to defeat. The Trojans were the last unbeaten team in conference play until they met Ellis Jackson. The junior gained 252 yards rushing and scored a pair of touchdowns to lead Arizona past USC 37-7. That effort put Jackson first in the nation with 1370 yards rushing this season.

California is back in a first place tie with USC, although the Trojans do have the tiebreaker by virtue of a win over the Bears. The Bears beat Arizona State 37-17 thanks to a pair of 4th quarter touchdown passes from Cal quarterback Brandon Collins, a native of Carbondale, Pennsylvania.

Elmo Fischer connected on a 35 yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining in regulation time to give Stanford a 17-14 victory over Washington State. Washington also got a late score to beat UCLA 24-21 as Huskies quarterback E.J. Stryzkalski hooked up with receiver Perry Bryant for an 11 yard touchdown with a minute and half remaining in the game.

PAC 10 RESULTS
Arizona 37 USC 7
California 37 Arizona State 17
Washington 24 UCLA 21
Stanford 17 Washington State 14

NEXT WEEK
Oregon State at Arizona
USC at Arizona State
California at UCLA
Stanford at Oregon

PAC 10 STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
USC 4-1 6-2
California 4-1 7-1
Washington St 4-2 6-3
Stanford 3-2 6-2
Arizona 3-2 6-2
UCLA 2-3 4-4
Arizona State 2-3 5-3
Oregon State 2-3 4-4
Washington 2-4 5-4
Oregon 0-5 3-5

PAXTON LEADS IRISH TO BIG WIN OVER LSU
Heisman Trophy candidate Jim Paxton threw for 415 yards and a pair of touchdowns to help the Notre Dame football team to a 34-17 victory over Louisiana State. The win puts both teams at 7-3 on the season and may have saved the job of Irish coach Marcus Smith. The effort likely won't be enough to get the Irish into a BCS bowl game but it does help salvage a dissappointing season that had many expecting Notre Dame to contend for a National Championship.

Notre Dame built a 13-3 halftime lead and then put the game away in the third quarter when Paxton threw touchdown passes to Jessie Hanratty and Bob Henderson. On the day the senior quarterback completed 25 of 32 passes while running back Johnny Lukins rushed for 125 yards. On the day Notre Dame piled up 609 yards of net offense compared to 212 for LSU.

LSU, had entered the game ranked 18th nationally but the Tigers could never get their offense untracked. Only a couple of 4th quarter touchdowns that included an 89 yard punt return from Billy Van Dyke allowed LSU to make the score respectable. The Tigers may have been guilty of looking ahead to next week when they visit the number one team in the nation in Arkansas with a trip to the SEC championship game on the line.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
SEC ROUND-UP
Georgia clinched the SEC East Division with a 51-10 thrashing of Vanderbilt. Bulldogs running back Brian Nott ran for 161 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the attack. Despite missing both their first and second string quarterbacks Alabama had little trouble beating Auburn 28-6. Charlie Weinke and Sammy Pagliei split the signal-calling duties for the Tide and each threw for a pair of touchdowns.

Florida beat Kentucky 33-9 while Tennessee hammered South Carolina 41-6 in the other conference games.

SEC RESULTS
Tennessee 41 South Carolina 6
Georgia 51 Vanderbilt 10
Florida 33 Kentucky 9
Alabama 28 Auburn 6
Notre Dame 34 LSU 17

NEXT WEEK
LSU at Arkansas
Mississippi at Florida
Mississippi State at South Carolina
Vanderbilt at Kentucky

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
East Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Georgia 6-1 7-2
Florida 4-2 6-2
Tennessee 4-3 7-3
Kentucky 2-4 4-4
South Carolina 1-5 1-7
Vanderbilt 0-6 1-8

West Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Arkansas 5-0 8-0
Louisiana State 5-1 7-3
Alabama 4-2 7-2
Mississippi 3-2 6-2
Miss State 1-4 4-5
Auburn 1-6 1-9

OTHER RESULTS

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
Maryland 41 Clemson 31
NC State 24 Florida State 17
Wake Forest 24 Boston College 15
Georgia Tech 29 Virginia 13
North Carolina 28 Miami 20

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Florida State at Boston College
Duke at Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech at Wake Forest
Virginia at Maryland

Atlantic Coast Standings
Atlantic Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Maryland 5-1 7-2
Florida State 3-3 4-4
Clemson 3-4 4-5
Boston College 2-4 5-4
Wake Forest 2-4 2-6
NC State 2-5 4-6

Coastal Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Miami 6-1 8-2
North Carolina 5-2 6-3
Virginia Tech 3-2 5-3
Georgia Tech 3-3 5-3
Virginia 2-3 3-5
Duke 1-5 2-7

BIG EAST RESULTS
Louisville 30 Cincinnati 7
South Florida 28 UConn 17
Syracuse 29 Rutgers 10

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Syracuse at Louisville
South Florida at Cincinnati
Rutgers at Pittsburgh

BIG EAST STANDINGS
CONF OVERALL[/b]
Syracuse 5-0 8-1
Rutgers 4-1 4-5
South Florida 4-1 5-3
West Virginia 3-3 6-3
UConn 2-4 2-7
Cincinnati 1-4 1-6
Pittsburgh 1-4 3-5
Louisville 1-4 2-6

BIG 12 RESULTS
Colorado 12 Iowa State 10
Kansas State 28 Missouri 25
Kansas 21 Nebraska 16

NEXT WEEK
Kansas State at Nebraska
Baylor at Texas Tech
Oklahoma State at Kansas
Oklahoma at Colorado

BIG 12 CONFERENCE
North Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Colorado 4-2 5-3
Missouri 4-3 6-4
Kansas 3-3 3-5
Iowa State 3-4 4-5
Nebraska 2-4 4-5
Kansas State 2-4 4-5

South Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Oklahoma 5-0 7-1
Texas 5-1 8-1
Texas A&M 4-2 7-2
Oklahoma State 3-2 5-3
Texas Tech 1-5 2-7
Baylor 0-6 0-9

MOUTAIN WEST RESULTS
Utah 17 Wyoming 6
TCU 21 Air Force 3
Colorado State 39 New Mexico 13
San Diego State 27 BYU 20

NEXT WEEK
TCU at Wyoming
San Diego State at Utah
Colorado State at Air Force
New Mexico at UNLV

MOUNTAIN WEST STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
Colorado State 5-1 6-2
Air Force 4-1 6-2
TCU 4-1 6-2
Utah 3-2 4-4
BYU 3-3 4-5
Wyoming 3-3 3-5
San Diego State 3-3 6-3
UNLV 0-5 2-5
New Mexico 0-6 0-8

CONFERENCE USA
Memphis 30 East Carolina 9
Southern Miss 22 Central Florida 16
Marshall 33 UAB 14
Rice 28 Tulane 27
UTEP 30 SMU 16

C-USA STANDINGS
East Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Marshall 5-1 7-2
UAB 4-2 4-4
Southern Miss 4-2 4-5
Memphis 3-4 3-7
East Carolina 2-4 2-6
Central Fla 2-5 3-7

West Division
TEAM CONF OVER
UTEP 5-2 6-4
Tulane 4-2 4-5
Rice 3-2 4-4
Tulsa 2-4 2-7
SMU 2-5 3-6
Houston 1-4 1-7

SUN BELT
Florida Atlantic 17 North Texas 12
Arkansas State 34 Middle Tennessee St 17

SUN BELT STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
North Texas 4-1 6-2
Florida Atl. 4-1 4-4
Troy 3-3 4-5
Florida Int. 2-2 2-5
Arkansas St 2-3 3-6
Middle Tenn St 2-3 2-7
La-Lafayette 1-3 2-6
La-Monroe 1-3 1-7

WESTERN ATHLETIC
San Jose St 44 Nevada 17
New Mexico St 32 Idaho 10
Boise State 23 Louisiana Tech 6
Fresno State 30 Utah St 3

WAC STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
Boise State 6-0 7-1
New Mexico St 4-1 5-2
Louisiana Tech 4-2 5-3
Fresno State 4-2 7-2
San Jose State 4-2 5-3
Hawaii 2-3 3-5
Utah State 1-5 1-8
Nevada 0-5 0-7
Idaho 0-5 0-8

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS HOLD OFF SARNIA 3-2
Things got a little tense in the closing minute at the Tullio Arena but in the end the Erie Otters hung on to beat the visiting Sarnia Sting 3-2 in Ontario Hockey League action. The Otters built a 3-0 lead on goals by Michael Blunden, Vince Scott and Christian Seest-Olsen before Daniel Lombardi made things interesting. The 16 year old, who was Sarnia's second round pick in the 2005 draft, scored his first career OHL goal late in the second period to get the Sting on the board. Lombardi got his second goal of the game with 37 seconds remaining in regulation and the Sarnia net empty for an extra-attacker. Trailing 3-2 the Sting charged into Erie territory again and only a sensational glove save by Otters goaltender Jhase Sniderman with 4 seconds remaining in regulation preserved the victory.

The Otters are back in action tomorrow when they head to London to play the Midwest Division leading Knights.

ERIE OTTERS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
ERI Blunden 11(Scott, Hotham) 9:08
ERI Scott 2(Fox, Merlini) 15:31 PP
Penalties: Clune Sar 0:20, Tuzzolino Sar 13:36

SECOND PERIOD
ERI Seest-Olsen 4(McKinley, Regan) 9:40
SAR Lombardi 1(Tuzzolino, McInerney) 17:31
Penalties: Versteeg-Lytwyn Sar 5:15

THIRD PERIOD
SAR Lombardi 2(Fraser, Anger) 19:23
Penalties: Tuzzolino Sar 1:12, Regan Eri 9:08

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
ERI Sniderman 20
SAR Iafrate 31

The London Knights continue to be the class of the OHL. Knights captain Rob Schremp had a goal and 3 assists to lead his club to a 5-3 win over the Wolves in Sudbury. In other action Jadran Beljo and Justin DaCosta each had 3 points in Mississauga's 4-3 win over Kitchener. St Michael's tied the game with just over a minute remaining in regulation and then beat Guelph in a shootout 4-3. Peterborough hammered the Greyhounds 8-2 in Sault Ste Marie. Liam Reddox led the Petes with a 4 point night.

Defenseman Paul Bissonette had 2 goals and an assist as Owen Sound blanked Belleville 4-0. Attack goaltender Neil Conway made 20 saves for the shutout. Brampton scored 3 third period goals and beat Oshawa in a shootout 5-4. Cory Emmerton had 2 points as Kingston doubled Barrie 4-2. Newcomer Jordan Staal scored the game-winner in his first game in a Plymouth uniform as the Whalers beat Ottawa 3-1. Finally, Jesse Gimblett had a goal and 2 assists in Saginaw's 4-3 win over the Windsor Spitfires.

KITCHENER GOALTENDER NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dan Turple of the Kitchener Rangers has been named the Ontario Hockey League player of the week. In 2 games last week, the Rangers goaltender recorded a shutout and won both contests. He made 24 saves as the Rangers blanked Sault Ste Marie 4-0 last Saturday and then stopped 35 of 36 shots in a 3-1 win over Saginaw. The 19 year old was a 6th round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2004 NHL draft. He has a 5-1-1 record with a 2.70 goals against average this season.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 11 8 1 2 18
Owen Sound 12 9 3 0 18
ERIE 12 8 4 0 16
Guelph 12 6 5 1 13
Kitchener 9 5 3 1 11

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 12 7 3 2 16
Saginaw 13 5 7 1 11
Sarnia 14 5 9 0 10
Sault Ste Marie 12 4 7 1 9
Windsor 10 3 6 1 7

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 13 8 4 1 17
St Michael's 11 7 3 1 15
Barrie 12 6 6 0 12
Sudbury 10 5 5 0 10
Mississauga 12 3 7 2 8

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 12 6 2 4 16
Kingston 11 7 3 1 15
Peterborough 11 6 3 2 14
Ottawa 12 5 6 1 11
Belleville 13 4 8 1 9

LAST NIGHT'S RESULS
Erie 3 Sarnia 2
Mississauga 4 Kitchener 3
St Michael's 4 Guelph 3 (SO)
Peterborough 8 Sault Ste Marie 2
Owen Sound 4 Belleville 0
London 5 Sudbury 3
Brampton 5 Oshawa 4 (SO)
Kingston 4 Barrie 2
Plymouth 3 Ottawa 1
Saginaw 4 Windsor 3

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Erie at London
Sarnia at Ottawa
Kitchener at St Michael's

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 11 11 14 25
Wojtek Wolski Bram 13 10 13 23
Dan Collins Plym 12 9 12 21
Jamie Tardif Pete 11 10 10 20
Cory Emmerton King 11 7 13 20
Michael Blunden ERIE 12 11 8 19
Ryan Callahan Guel 12 10 9 19
Matt Lyall Guel 12 7 12 19
Justin Donati StM 11 6 13 19
Tyler Doig Guel 12 7 11 18
Nick Foligno Sudb 10 6 12 18
Vaclav Meidl Plym 12 6 12 18
Luch Aquino Bram 13 10 7 17
Joshua Bailey OwS 12 6 11 17
Kris Belan Lond 11 5 12 17
Liam Reddox Pete 11 6 10 16

GOALTENDING
NAME TEAM GP W L OTSOL GAA
Stefan Grauwiler Osha 11 4 3 3 2.16
Wayne Savage Guel 7 4 2 1 2.40
Kevin Beech Sudb 9 5 3 0 2.54
Jhase Sniderman Erie 9 7 1 1 2.63
Justin Garay Plym 10 6 3 1 2.68
Neil Conway OwS 9 5 2 2 2.73
Dan Turple Kitc 8 5 2 1 2.73
Danny Taylor King 9 6 2 1 2.75
Daren Machesney Bram 12 5 4 3 2.91

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
COYOTES EDGE PENS
The Phoenix Coyotes escaped the Mellon Arena with a hard earned 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in National Hockey League action. It was a game the Pens could very easily have won, or at least forced overtime as rookie Sidney Crosby hit a goal post with 40 seconds remaining and Mario Lemieux grazed the crossbar as time expired. The loss is the third in a row and 4th in 5 games for the Penguins.

The key for Phoenix was the play of their second line which featured Petr Nedved between Mike Johnson and Oleg Saprykin. The trio combined for 3 goals and 7 points. All 3 of that lines goals came while they were up against the Pens line of Rico Fata, John LeClair and Ryan VandenBussche. LeClair, in particular, has been a real dissappointment for the Pens since being signed as a free agent from Philadelphia. He has just one goal in 8 games and has constantly been a defensive liability.

Tomas Surovy, with his first of the season, Colby Armstrong and Mario Lemieux scored the Pittsburgh goals. The Penguins next game is Tuesday night in Nashville against the redhot Predators.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
PIT Surovy 1(Pirjeta) 9:52
PHO Lundmark 1(Nash, Z. Michalek) 14:25
Penalties: VandenBussche Pit 1:22, Odelein Pit 3:54, VandenBussche
Pit 6:51, Ference Pho 14:38, Mara Pho 16:47, O'Donnell Pho 19:42

SECOND PERIOD
PHO Nedved 2(Johnson, Z. Michalek) 8:46
PHO Johnson 2(Saprykin, Z. Michalek) 14:15
PIT Armstrong 2(Surovy) 14:53
Penalties: Fata Pit 11:46

THIRD PERIOD
PHO Nedved 3(Johnson, Saprykin) 4:35
PIT Lemieux 4(Palffy, R Jackman) 15:49 PP
Penalties: Comrie Pho 11:09, Johnson Pho 15:05

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
PHO B Boucher 26
PIT J Thibault 32

Nashville beat Colorado last night 3-2 to improve to 6-2-0 on the season. The Predators also took steps to improve their team defense by adding a pair of veterans in trade (see below). Nashville goaltender Tomas Vokoun had another outstanding effort in the victory. The Avalanche continue to play without injured captain Joe Sakic, who is sidelined until mid-December with a knee injury.

In the only other game Nicklas Lidstrom had 3 assists to help Detroit past Minnesota 5-0. Chris Osgood made 47 saves for the shutout. The Wings got goals from 5 different players including Steve Yzerman, who scored for just the second time this season.

PREDATORS ADD BLUELINE DEPTH
The Nashville Predators added some depth to their blueline with the aquisition of a pair of veteran defensemen in Keith Carney and Glen Wesley. Wesley was acquired from Carolina in exchange for junior prospect Vaclav Meidl while Carney comes from Anaheim with minor leaguers Shea Weber and Brian Finley going the other way.

The 35 year old Carney has over 800 career NHL games under his belt. He has played for Buffalo, Chicago and Phoenix in addition to the Mighty Ducks. This season he has 3 assists in 8 games and is +2. Finley is a 24 year old goaltender who was selected 6th overall by the Predators in the 1999 NHL draft but he has appeared in just one career NHL game. Weber, a 20 year old defenseman was Nashville's second round draft pick in 2004. He is in his first pro season after an outstanding junior career at Kelowna. In 5 games with the AHL Milwaukee Admirals, Weber has 1 goal and 3 assits.

The 37 year old Wesley had 2 assists but was -3 in 6 games with the Hurricanes this season. A veteran of over 1250 NHL games, in addition to the Hartford-Carolina organization Wesley also played for Boston and Toronto. In return the Hurricanes get Meidl. The 19 year old forward from the Czech Republic was a third round choice of the Predators in the 2004 NHL draft. He is in his third year with Plymouth of the Ontario Hockey League and has 6 goals and 18 points thru 12 games this season.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 8 6 1 1 13
New Jersey 8 6 2 0 12
Pittsburgh 9 4 3 2 10
NY Islanders 7 3 3 1 7
NY Rangers 6 1 4 1 3

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 8 6 2 0 12
Montreal 9 5 4 0 10
Boston 8 3 2 3 9
Buffalo 8 4 4 0 8
Toronto 9 3 5 1 7

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 7 6 1 0 12
Florida 8 5 3 0 10
Tampa 8 4 3 1 9
Atlanta 8 2 6 0 4
Carolina 6 2 4 0 4

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 8 6 2 0 12
Detroit 8 4 2 2 10
Chicago 9 3 4 2 8
St Louis 8 3 4 1 7
Columbus 8 1 7 0 2

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 7 6 1 0 12
Vancouver 9 5 3 1 11
Minnesota 10 4 4 2 10
Colorado 9 4 4 1 9
Edmonton 8 3 3 2 8

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 8 6 2 0 12
Los Angeles 8 5 3 0 10
Dallas 8 4 2 2 10
San Jose 9 4 3 2 10
Phoenix 8 3 3 2 8

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Phoenix 4 Pittsburgh 3
Nashville 3 Colorado 2
Detroit 5 Minnesota 0

TONIGHT'S GAMES
NY Rangers at Toronto
Dallas at St Louis
Buffalo at Boston
NY Islanders at Carolina
Atlanta at Washington
Phoenix at Montreal
Colorado at Chicago
Florida at Edmonton
Detroit at Vancouver

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 8 6 9 15
Ziggy Palffy PIT 9 6 8 14
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 8 3 11 14
Mike Modano DAL 8 3 10 13
Teemu Selanne ANA 8 6 6 12
Martin St Louis TB 8 5 7 12
Mario Lemieux PIT 9 4 8 12
Alexander Frolov LA 8 6 5 11
Bill Guerin DAL 8 5 6 11
Sergei Federov ANA 8 4 7 11
Brian Rolston MIN 10 3 8 11
Vincent Lecavalier TB 8 3 8 11
Mark Recchi PIT 9 6 4 10
Brad Richards TB 8 5 5 10

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NITTANY LIONS PROJECTED TO FINISH 10TH IN BIG TEN
The National Media expects very little from new head coach Tiger Fan and his Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team this season. The Nittany Lions, who were dead last in the conference a year ago, are picked to finish 10th in the 11 team conference this season according to the TCB Insider.

Defending regular season champ Purdue (12-4 a year ago) also gets very little credit from the Insider as the Boilermakers are pegged to finish 6th. The best team in the Big Ten according to the magazine will be the Michigan State Spartans. Here is the projected order of finish according to the TCB Insider. Last season's record is also listed.

1- Michigan State 19-14 (8-8)
2- Illinois 22-10 (9-7)
3- Indiana 18-12 (9-7)
4- Michigan 21-12 (8-8)
5- Iowa 18-14 (8-8)
6- Purdue 25-8 (12-4)
7- Ohio State 15-14 (6-10)
8- Wisconsin 20-12 (10-6)
9- Northwestern 15-14 (8-8)
10- Penn State 12-17 (4-12)
11- Minnesota 10-18 (6-10)

SOCCER
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER PLAYOFFS
Here are the results from the opening leg of the two-game total goal MLS Conference semi-finals.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Los Angeles 2 at Colorado 1
San Jose 1 at Dallas 0

EASTERN CONFERNCE
MetroStars 1 at Chicago 3
DC United 0 at New England 1

The final leg will be played next Saturday.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal stretched it's lead atop the English Premier League to 6 points over second place Manchester United with a 2-1 victory at Wigan. It took a goal by Michael Owen in the 87th minute to snap the tie and allow Arsenal to escape with full points. Manchester United does have a game in hand on Arsenal, which they will play at home today against Aston Villa.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Fulham 2 Blackburn 1
Chelsea 2 Crystal Palace 1
Manchester City 1 Norwich 0
Bolton 1 Tottenham 0
Arsenal 2 Wigan 1
Millwall 2 Wolves 1

TODAY'S GAMES
Liverpool at Birmingham
Newcastle at Charlton
Southampton at Everton
Aston Villa at Manchester United

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
Arsenal 11 9 1 1 19 6 28
Man Utd 10 7 1 2 20 8 22
Liverpool 9 5 3 1 16 10 18
Chelsea 10 4 5 1 14 8 17
Fulham 11 5 2 4 16 15 17
Man City 11 4 4 3 14 13 16
Tottenham 10 5 1 4 14 14 16
Norwich 11 4 3 4 14 15 15
Wigan 11 3 4 4 13 13 13
Wolves 10 3 4 3 13 15 13
Bolton 11 3 3 5 14 15 12
Southampton 9 2 6 1 13 14 12
Aston Villa 9 2 5 2 12 11 11
Charlton 10 2 5 3 10 12 11
Birmingham 10 3 1 6 6 12 10
Newcastle 8 2 3 3 10 9 9
Blackburn 10 2 3 5 10 14 9
Everton 10 2 2 6 6 13 8
Crystal Palace 11 2 2 7 10 18 8
Millwall 10 1 4 5 9 18 7

SOCCER NOTES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
Here is what is happening in other major leagues from around the World.

SCOTLAND Dunfermline and Livingston both won yesterday and share first place, 4 points ahead of Celtic and Dundee. However, traditional league power Celtic has 2 games in hand.

FRANCE After 11 games Rennes holds down top spot with 24 points, 5 ahead of Caen and Nancy. Rennes beat 12th place Metz 2-1 yesterday.

GERMANY Kaiserslautern drew 1-1 at lowly Wolfsburg yesterday to move 1 point clear of FC Bayern atop the table. However FC Bayern has a game in hand.

IRELAND 30 games into the season defending champion Shelbourne once again leads the way, 6 points ahead of the Shamrock Rovers and Cork City.

ITALY Thru 8 matches Juvenus has 22 points and a 3 point lead on second place Lecce. Defending champ Milan sits in the middle of the pack with 12 points.

SPAIN Defending champion Real Madrid moved into a first place tie after beating Cadiz 4-0.

Tiger Fan

01-29-2006, 12:04 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Monday October 24, 2005

WORLD SERIES
IS CUBS CURSE ALIVE AND WELL? ERROR GIVES YANKS GAME TWO!
Many in Chicago have to be wondering if the Cubs curse is back after Chicago blew a 3 run lead in the 9th inning and lost Game Two of the World Series 5-4 to the New York Yankees. The Cubs were 3 outs away from returning to Wrigley Field with a commanding 2-0 lead in their first World Series appearance since 1945. Then the Cubs fell apart.

Ryan Dempster had allowed just 4 hits thru 8 innings work as his Cubs led 4-1 entering the 9th inning. Chicago manager Dusty Baker elected to let Dempster face Yankee leadoff man Derek Jeter in the 9th and Jeter responded with a double. Todd Wellemeyer came on in relief of Dempster and he got Bernie Williams to hit a slow roller to Cubs second baseman Jose Valentin. The ball skipped under Valentin's glove and instead of being two outs away from victory there were runners on the corners with no one out. Alex Rodriguez was up next and he singled in Jeter to cut the Chicago lead to 4-2. With runners on first and second Hideki Matsui hit what looked like a tailor-made doubleplay ball back to the mound. Wellemeyer made the through to shortstop Nomar Garciaparra for the first out but the relay to first pulled Derrek Lee off the bag.

With runners on the corners Wellemeyer got Gary Sheffield to hit a short fly ball to Corey Patterson that was not deep enough to score Williams from third. Next Jason Giambi was hit by a Wellemeyer curveball to load the bases for Jorge Posada. Posada worked Wellemeyer to a full count, fouled off three pitches before finally drawing a walk to plate Williams and make it a 1 run game. For whatever reason Baker elected to leave an obviously shaken Wellemeyer on the mound and the Cubs hurler gave up a sharp single to Mark Loretta that scored two runs and gave New York the 5-4 win.

The Cubs took the lead in the first inning when Corey Patterson greeted Yankee starter Mike Mussina with a lead-off double and scored on an Aramis Ramirez single. In the third inning the Cubs increased their lead when Derrek Lee hit a two-runner homer after Ramirez led off the frame with a double. Chicago catcher Michael Barrett hit a solo homer in the 7th inning to make it 4-0 before the Yankees finally got on the scoreboard in the 7th when Gary Sheffield tripled to score Alex Rodriguez.

Today is a travel day as the series shifts to Chicago for game three on Tuesday night.

GAME TWO BOXSCORE R H E
Chicago (N) 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 10 1
New York (A) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 5 8 0

Chicago (N) AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
C. Patterson CF 5 1 2 0 0 0 .306 1 4
R. Johnson DH 4 0 1 0 0 1 .189 1 5
A. Ramirez 3B 4 1 2 1 0 1 .340 0 13
D. Lee 1B 4 1 1 2 0 2 .217 2 7
N. Garciaparra SS 4 0 2 0 0 1 .367 0 9
M. Lawton LF 3 0 0 0 1 1 .409 3 11
J. Valentin 2B 4 0 0 0 0 2 .174 0 1
T. Walker RF 2 0 0 0 2 0 .306 0 3
M. Barrett C 3 1 1 1 0 1 .209 1 4
1-T. Hollandsworth PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 1.000 0 0
2-D. Mirabelli C 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 34 4 10 4 3 9

Substitution Notes
1 - T. Hollandsworth pinch hit for M. Barrett in the 9th
2 - D. Mirabelli substituted for T. Hollandsworth in the 9th

BATTING
Doubles: C. Patterson (3, 1st inning off Mussina, 0 on, 0 out.)
A. Ramirez (6, 3rd inning off Mussina, 0 on, 0 out.) N. Garciaparra
(6, 6th inning off Mussina, 0 on, 0 out.) T. Hollandsworth (1, 9th
inning off Schmitt, 0 on, 2 out.)
Homeruns: D. Lee (2, 3rd inning off Mussina, 1 on, 0 out.) M. Barrett
(1, 7th inning off Mussina, 0 on, 0 out.)
Runs Batted In: A. Ramirez (13), D. Lee 2 (7), M. Barrett (4)
Caught Stealing: T. Walker (1)
Team LOB: 5

FIELDING
Errors: J. Valentin
Double Plays: 2 (Ramirez-Valentin-Lee, Valentin-Garciaparra-Lee)

New York (A) AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
D. Jeter SS 4 1 2 0 0 0 .286 2 5
B. Williams LF 4 1 0 0 0 0 .321 2 7
A. Rodriguez 3B 4 1 2 1 0 0 .304 3 9
H. Matsui CF 4 1 0 0 0 2 .229 1 3
G. Sheffield RF 4 0 2 1 0 0 .327 2 10
J. Giambi DH 3 0 1 0 0 1 .222 3 9
1-J. Thurston PR 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
J. Posada C 3 0 0 1 1 2 .140 1 7
M. Loretta 2B 4 0 1 2 0 0 .200 0 4
T. Martinez 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 .220 2 6
Totals 33 5 8 5 1 6

Substitution Notes
1 - J. Thurston pinch ran for J. Giambi in the 9th

BATTING
Doubles: D. Jeter (5, 9th inning off Dempster, 0 on, 0 out.)
J. Giambi (3, 2nd inning off Dempster, 0 on, 2 out.)
Triples: G. Sheffield (1, 7th inning off Dempster, 1 on, 2 out.)
Runs Batted In: A. Rodriguez (9), G. Sheffield (10), J. Posada (7),
M. Loretta 2 (4)
Stolen Bases: A. Rodriguez (1)
Team LOB: 4

FIELDING
Double Plays: 2 (Jeter-Loretta-Martinez, Mussina-Loretta-Martinez)

PITCHING
Chicago (N) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
R. Dempster 8 6 2 2 0 6 0 94 63 2.86
T. Wellemeyer L 0.2 2 3 0 1 0 0 19 12 0.00 0-1

Batters Faced: R. Dempster 28, T. Wellemeyer 7
Inherited Runners-Scored: T. Wellemeyer 1-1
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: R. Dempster 9-7, T. Wellemeyer 2-1

New York (A) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
M. Mussina 6.2 9 4 4 2 6 2 110 65 6.00
E. Schmitt W 2.1 1 0 0 1 3 0 35 21 2.81 1-1

Intentional BB: M. Mussina
Batters Faced: M. Mussina 29, E. Schmitt 8
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: M. Mussina 7-5, E. Schmitt 2-1

GAME INFO
Time: 3:13
Attendance: 57438 (57478, 99.9%) at Yankee Stadium
Weather: Clear skies (63 degrees), wind blowing in from right at 8 mph
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Alex Rodriguez

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
RAVENS RALLY TO BEAT STEELERS 19-17
Matt Stover kicked two field goals in the final five minutes to give the Baltimore Ravens a come from behind 19-17 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday NFL action. The Baltimore comeback improved the AFC North Division leaders record to 5-1 while the Steelers fall to 1-5 on the season.

Pittsburgh dominated the first half and built up a 17-10 lead at the break thanks to a pair of touchdown passes from Eli Manning. The second year Steelers quarterback threw for 210 yards in the first half but just 35 yards in the second half. The Pittsburgh running game did nothing in the second half either although the Steelers did have a chance to win the game. After Stover's third field goal of the second half gave Baltimore a 19-17 with 52 seconds remaining in the game, the Steelers got great field position when Quentin Harris returned the kick off to the Baltimore 40 yard line. The Steelers could only gain 9 yards the next 3 plays and on 4th down kicker Jeff Reed attempted a 48 yard field that could have given the Steelers the victory. It went wide and Baltimore ran out the clock to win the game.

SLOPPY PLAY COSTS BROWNS IN CINCINNATI
Turnovers proved costly as the Cleveland Browns lost 10-7 to the Bengals in Cincinnati on Sunday. Cleveland backup quarterback Stephen Longley threw 4 more interceptions, giving him 16 in 5 games, to give away what should have been a sure victory. Two of Longley's interceptions came in the Bengals endzone spoiling an outstanding effort from the Cleveland defense.

Longley completed just 13 of 29 pass attempts but did hook up with Andre' Davis for a 13 yard strike as the first quarter came to a close to give the Browns a 7-0 lead. With regular quarterback Tim Couch still injured Cleveland tried to keep the ball on the ground as much as they could but injuries at running back make that extremely difficult to do. With Lee Suggs and William Green both sidelined seldom used Arlen Harris was the only healthy halfback. He gained 57 yards on 28 carries but 27 of those yards came on his first run from scrimmage.

BILLS GROUND JETS 37-23
Scoring came in bunches at Orchard Park as Eric Moulds put on a show to lead the Buffalo Bills past division rival New York Jets 37-23. Moulds caught 6 passes for 114 yards including touchdown grabs of 62 and 16 yards. In addition to the two passing touchdowns the Bills also got an interception return for a score from Dan Crittendon and a kick return touchdown from Tom Hayes. Stephen Jackson also had a strong game for the Bills rushing for 111 yards.

New England improved to 4-2 with a 27-17 win over the Dolphins in Miami. The Dolphins built a 17-6 halftime lead but New England thanks to a pair of Rohan Davey touchdown passes. Rickey Williams ran for 106 yards and a touchdown for the Dolphins, who fall to 3-3 and are tied with the Bills and Jets a game behind the AFC East leading Pats.

In other action Doug Johnson threw for 275 yards and a pair of touchdowns to help Chicago past Minnesota 20-13. Ahman Green ran for 104 yards as Green Bay beat Detroit 21-12. Lions QB Joey Harrington threw for 213 yards but was picked off twice. Lawyer Milloy had one of the interceptions to go with a game high 16 tackles.

After scoring just 36 points in their first 6 games of the season the Carolina Panthers exploded with 37 points as they dropped New Orleans 37-3. Jake Delhomme threw 3 touchdown passes as the Panthers got their first win of the season. A touchdown and a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter snapped a tie and lifted Atlanta past Tampa 30-17. Michael Vick completed 21 of 35 passes for 342 yards.

Ken Dorsey found Brandon Lloyd on a 22 yard touchdown pass with less than a minute remaining to lift San Francisco past Seattle 21-17. It's was Dorsey's third touchdown throw of the game but he was also picked off three times. Terrell Owens had 7 catches for 110 yards to lead the Niners. Arizona snapped a 2 game losing streak with a 21-9 win over struggling St Louis. Cardinals quarterback Tom Brady threw for 265 yards.

San Diego dropped a game behind both Denver and Kansas City atop the tough AFC West Division. The Broncos beat the Chargers 10-3 with the only touchdown coming in the final 5 minutes when Broncos back Clinto Portis broke a screen pass for a 15 yard touchdown. The Broncos defense held Chargers back LaDainian Tomlinson to just 67 yards rushing - his lowest output of the season. He was also held without a touchdown for the first time this season. The Chiefs improved to 6-1 with a hardfought 24-20 victory at home over Oakland. Chiefs quarterback Trent Green threw 3 touchdown passes but was also intercepted three times while running back Priest Holmes gained 128 yards on the ground for Kansas City.

A pair of fourth quarter touchdowns allowed Washington to rally past Dallas 24-17. Redskins quarterback Ben Roethlisberger found Taylor Jacobs in the endzone with just over two minutes to play for the winning score. Champ Bailey had a big game on defense for Washington, intercepting a pair of Quincy Carter passes and forcing a fumble.

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Baltimore 19 Pittsburgh 17
Cincinnati 10 Cleveland 7
New England 27 Miami 17
Chicago 20 Minnesota 13
Green Bay 21 Detroit 12
Carolina 37 New Orleans 3
Denver 10 San Diego 3
Atlanta 30 Tampa Bay 17
San Francisco 21 Seattle 17
Kansas City 24 Oakland 20
Washington 24 Dallas 17
Arizona 21 St Louis 9
Buffalo 37 NY Jets 23

MONDAY'S GAME
Philadelphia at NY Giants

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Tennessee at Oakland
Jacksonville at San Diego
Dallas at NY Giants
Philadelphia at Washington
St Louis at Detroit
New England at Baltimore
NY Jets at Cincinnati
Cleveland at Buffalo
Pittsburgh at Miami
Kansas City at Houston
Green Bay at Arizona
Minnesota at San Francisco
Seattle at Chicago
Denver at Indianapolis

NFL STANDINGS
NFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Green Bay 4 2 0 .667 134 97
Chicago 4 2 0 .667 110 97
Minnesota 3 3 0 .500 136 125
Detroit 2 4 0 .333 81 122

East W L T PCT PF PA
Washington 5 2 0 .714 152 131
Philadelphia 4 2 0 .667 129 100
NY Giants 4 2 0 .667 140 99
Dallas 4 3 0 .571 121 113

South W L T PCT PF PA
Atlanta 3 4 0 .429 141 156
New Orleans 3 4 0 .429 94 135
Tampa Bay 2 5 0 .286 127 157
Carolina 1 6 0 .143 73 140

West W L T PCT PF PA
Arizona 5 2 0 .714 195 130
San Francisco 5 2 0 .714 139 99
Seattle 3 4 0 .429 132 152
St. Louis 1 6 0 .143 117 176

AFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Baltimore 5 1 0 .833 129 81
Cincinnati 4 2 0 .667 101 99
Cleveland 1 5 0 .167 92 140
Pittsburgh 1 5 0 .167 88 129

East W L T PCT PF PA
New England 4 2 0 .667 128 113
Buffalo 3 3 0 .500 155 119
Miami 3 3 0 .500 141 143
NY Jets 3 3 0 .500 135 143

South W L T PCT PF PA
Jacksonville 3 3 0 .500 117 131
Indianapolis 3 3 0 .500 113 116
Houston 1 5 0 .167 63 105
Tennessee 0 6 0 .000 78 124

West W L T PCT PF PA
Denver 6 1 0 .857 166 110
Kansas City 6 1 0 .857 195 152
San Diego 5 2 0 .714 144 100
Oakland 2 5 0 .286 120 153

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS FALL IN OVERTIME
A third period comeback was spoiled as David Boland scored just 29 seconds into overtime giving the hometown London Knights a 4-3 victory over the Erie Otters. The Otters overcame a 3-1 deficeit when Ryan O'Marra and Sean O'Connor each scored in the third period.

The Otters jumped out to a 1-0 lead just over 5 minutes into the game when Andrew Hotham's blast from the point found the back of the net but a foolish penalty from Michael Blunden erased the lead. Blunden was whistled for tripping Knights forward Adam Perry in the neutral zone. It was a needless penalty and matters were made worse when Blunden complained too much to referee Tyler McClellan who tacked on an unsportsmanlike minor. London scored on both ends of the power play to take a 2-1 lead into the break. In the second period league scoring leader Robbie Schremp made a dazzling pass that David Boland banged into the net to increase the Knights lead to 3-1.

Erie fought back in the third and had several good scoring chances, most notably a Chris Greene backhand that found the goal post, before Ryan O'Marra finally got one past Knights goaltender Matt Spezza. London stormed right back but Otters goaltender Jhase Sniderman made two outstanding saves before the Otters finally caught a break when Knights forward Sam Gagner was whistled for a nasty elbow to the head of O'Marra. Erie tied the game on the ensuing powerplay as O'Connor
banged the rebound of a Vince Scott shot past Spezza.

In overtime the Otters barely touched the puck as Schremp and Boland worked their magic in the Erie zone. It was one of the few shifts Erie did not have it's top defensive tandem of Andrew Hotham and Derek Merlini out against the Schremp line and it proved costly as neither Tyler McKinley nor Josh Kidd could handle Schremp and Boland. The game ended when Boland's wrist shot on a rebound from a Wilkins drive from the point trickled through the legs of Sniderman and barely crossed the goal line.

ERIE OTTERS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
ERI Hotham 4(Merlini, Blunden) 5:21
LON Wilkins 2(Methot, Schremp) 16:23 PP
LON Perry 4(Gagner, Drummond) 17:06 PP
Penalties: McCready Lon 2:43, Blunden Erie double minor 15:34,
Merlini Eri 19:03

SECOND PERIOD
LON Boland 10(Schremp, Wilkins) 2:02
Penalties: Greene Eri 12:06, Belan Lon 13:07, Regan Eri 13:38

THIRD PERIOD
ERI O'Marra 5(Seest-Olsen, Blunden) 5:50
ERI O'Connor 3(Scott, Fox) 10:05 PP
Penalties: Gagner Lon 8:12, O'Connor Eri 11:31, Wilkins Lon 14:12

OVERTIME
LON Bolland 11(Wilkins, Methot) 0:29
Penalties: none

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
ERI Sniderman 26
LON Spezza 25

There were two other games in the Ontario Hockey League last night and both required extra time to decide a winner. In Toronto, Jeff Larsh's second goal of the game came with 48 seconds remaining in overtime to give the St. Michael's Majors a 4-3 win over Kitchener. In Ottawa, the 67's needed a shootout to beat visiting Sarnia 3-2. Jamie McGinn scored both goals in regulation for Ottawa.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 12 9 1 2 20
Owen Sound 12 9 3 0 18
ERIE 13 8 4 1 17
Guelph 12 6 5 1 13
Kitchener 10 5 3 2 12

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 12 7 3 2 16
Saginaw 13 5 7 1 11
Sarnia 15 5 9 1 11
Sault Ste Marie 12 4 7 1 9
Windsor 10 3 6 1 7

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 13 8 4 1 17
St Michael's 12 8 3 1 17
Barrie 12 6 6 0 12
Sudbury 10 5 5 0 10
Mississauga 12 3 7 2 8

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 12 6 2 4 16
Kingston 11 7 3 1 15
Peterborough 11 6 3 2 14
Ottawa 13 6 6 1 13
Belleville 13 4 8 1 9

LAST NIGHT'S RESULS
London 4 Erie 3 (OT)
Ottawa 3 Sarnia 2 (SO)
St Michael's 4 Kitchener 3 (OT)

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Brampton at St Michael's
Guelph at London
Peterborough at Barrie
Owen Sound at Kitchener
Oshawa at Belleville
Kingston at Sault Ste Marie
Windsor at Plymouth
Mississauga at Sudbury

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 12 11 16 27
Wojtek Wolski Bram 13 10 13 23
Michael Blunden ERIE 13 11 10 21
Dan Collins Plym 12 9 12 21
Jamie Tardif Pete 11 10 10 20
Cory Emmerton King 11 7 13 20
Justin Donati StM 12 6 14 20
Ryan Callahan Guel 12 10 9 19
Matt Lyall Guel 12 7 12 19
Tyler Doig Guel 12 7 11 18
Nick Foligno Sudb 10 6 12 18
Vaclav Meidl Plym 12 6 12 18
David Boland Lond 12 11 6 17
Luch Aquino Bram 13 10 7 17
Joshua Bailey OwS 12 6 11 17
Kris Belan Lond 12 5 12 17
Liam Reddox Pete 11 6 10 16
Evan McGrath Kitc 10 6 10 16

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
NASLUND SCORES 4 IN CANUCKS WIN
Markus Naslund scored 4 times to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-3 victory over Detroit in NHL action. Naslund scored three times in the final 15 minutes of the game to give the Canucks their 6th win of the season and move them to the top of the Western Conference standings. Naslund's linemates Brendan Morrison and Todd Bertuzzi each had 3 assists while Pavel Datsuyk led Detroit with a goal and a pair of helpers.

The Toronto Maple Leafs won for the third straight game, beating the New York Rangers 4-1 behind a 2 goal effort from Jeff O'Neill. Defenseman Brett Hedican, an early season pickup from Carolina to replace the injured Bryan McCabe, had 3 assists for the Leafs.

In other action the line of Jere Lehtinen, Jussi Jokinen and Jason Arnott combined on a pair of goals as Dallas beat St Louis 3-1. In Boston, Toni Lydman scored twice while Martin Biron made 34 saves as Buffalo beat the Bruins 6-1. Rick DiPietro's second shutout of the season helped the New York Islanders past Carolina 3-0. Peter Bondra scored twice as Atlanta beat Washington 5-3. Third period goals from Jan Bulis and Mike Riberio lifted Montreal past Phoenix 4-3.

With Joe Sakic still sidelined the Colorado Avalanche continue to struggle. The Avalanche have dropped 5 of their last 6 games after a 4-2 defeat in Chicago. Kyle Calder scored twice for the Blackhawks. Ty Conklin stopped all 23 shots he faced in Edmonton as the Oilers blanked Florida 3-0.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 8 6 1 1 13
New Jersey 8 6 2 0 12
Pittsburgh 9 4 3 2 10
NY Islanders 8 4 3 1 9
NY Rangers 7 1 5 1 3

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 8 6 2 0 12
Montreal 10 6 4 0 12
Buffalo 9 5 4 0 10
Boston 8 3 2 3 9
Toronto 10 4 5 1 9

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 8 6 2 0 12
Florida 9 5 4 0 10
Tampa 8 4 3 1 9
Atlanta 9 3 6 0 6
Carolina 7 2 5 0 4

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 8 6 2 0 12
Detroit 9 4 3 2 10
Chicago 10 4 4 2 10
St Louis 9 3 5 1 7
Columbus 8 1 7 0 2

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Vancouver 10 6 3 1 13
Calgary 7 6 1 0 12
Edmonton 9 4 3 2 10
Minnesota 10 4 4 2 10
Colorado 10 4 5 1 9

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Dallas 9 5 2 2 12
Anaheim 8 6 2 0 12
Los Angeles 8 5 3 0 10
San Jose 9 4 3 2 10
Phoenix 9 3 4 2 8

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Toronto 4 NY Rangers 1
Dallas 3 St Louis 1
Buffalo 6 Boston 1
NY Islanders 3 Carolina 0
Atlanta 5 Washington 3
Montreal 4 Phoenix 3
Chicago 4 Colorado 2
Edmonton 3 Florida 0
Vancouver 5 Detroit 3

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Anaheim at NY Islanders
Atlanta at Tampa Bay
Minnesota at Columbus
Florida at Calgary
San Jose at Los Angeles

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 8 6 9 15
Ziggy Palffy PIT 9 6 8 14
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 8 3 11 14
Mike Modano DAL 9 3 11 14
Markus Naslund VAN 10 6 7 13
Teemu Selanne ANA 8 6 6 12
Bill Guerin DAL 9 6 6 12
Martin St Louis TB 8 5 7 12
Mario Lemieux PIT 9 4 8 12
Brendan Morrison VAN 10 3 9 12
Alexander Frolov LA 8 6 5 11
Sergei Federov ANA 8 4 7 11
Brian Rolston MIN 10 3 8 11
Vincent Lecavalier TB 8 3 8 11

SOCCER
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 87th minute to give Manchester United a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa at Old Trafford. The victory moves Manchester United back to within 3 points of Premier League leading Arsenal. Meanwhile third place Liverpool was beaten 2-0 in their game at Birmingham. Liverpool has a game in hand but sits a full 10 points behind the league leader.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Birmingham 2 Liverpool 0
Newcastle 1 Charlton 0
Southampton 1 Everton 1
Manchester United 2 Aston Villa 1

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
Arsenal 11 9 1 1 19 6 28
Man United 11 8 1 2 22 9 25
Liverpool 10 5 3 2 16 12 18
Chelsea 10 4 5 1 14 8 17
Fulham 11 5 2 4 16 15 17
Man City 11 4 4 3 14 13 16
Tottenham 10 5 1 4 14 14 16
Norwich 11 4 3 4 14 15 15
Wigan 11 3 4 4 13 13 13
Southampton 10 2 7 1 14 15 13
Wolves 10 3 4 3 13 15 13
Birmingham 11 4 1 6 8 12 13
Newcastle 9 3 3 3 11 9 12
Bolton 11 3 3 5 14 15 12
Aston Villa 10 2 5 3 13 13 11
Charlton 11 2 5 4 10 13 11
Blackburn 10 2 3 5 10 14 9
Everton 11 2 3 6 7 14 9
Crystal Palace 11 2 2 7 10 18 8
Millwall 10 1 4 5 9 18 7

Tiger Fan

01-29-2006, 07:36 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Tuesday October 25, 2005

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
EAGLES SOAR PAST GIANTS 38-24
Donovan McNabb threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for a third as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants 38-24 at the Meadowlands in Monday Night Football action. McNabb displayed why he is a back-to-back Super Bowl champion with incredible poise in the pocket down the stretch. After the Eagles had taken a 24-14 early in the third quarter McNabb engineered four straight drives of 50 yards or more as the Eagles put points on the board in each of their final four possessions. For the game McNabb completed 21 of 27 passes for 297 yards.

The Eagles comeback spoiled a career day from Giants rookie signal caller Alex Smith. The youngster, in his 7th NFL start passed for 364 yards and 3 touchdowns. However, the one mistake Smith did make was a 3rd quarter interception that allowed the Eagles to start a scoring drive. Ike Hilliard and Amani Toomer each made Smith's job much easier as Hilliard caught 8 balls for 110 yards while Toomer had a pair of touchdown receptions.

The win keeps the Eagles tied with Washington atop a very tight NFC East Division. The two clubs are 5-2, 1 game ahead of both the Giants and Dallas. Next Sunday the Eagles and Redskins will meet in Washington while the Giants entertain the Cowboys.

MONDAY'S RESULT
Philadelphia 38 NY Giants 24

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Tennessee at Oakland
Jacksonville at San Diego
Dallas at NY Giants
Philadelphia at Washington
St Louis at Detroit
New England at Baltimore
NY Jets at Cincinnati
Cleveland at Buffalo
Pittsburgh at Miami
Kansas City at Houston
Green Bay at Arizona
Minnesota at San Francisco
Seattle at Chicago
Denver at Indianapolis

NFL STANDINGS
NFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Green Bay 4 2 0 .667 134 97
Chicago 4 2 0 .667 110 97
Minnesota 3 3 0 .500 136 125
Detroit 2 4 0 .333 81 122

East W L T PCT PF PA
Washington 5 2 0 .714 152 131
Philadelphia 5 2 0 .714 167 124
NY Giants 4 3 0 .571 164 137
Dallas 4 3 0 .571 121 113

South W L T PCT PF PA
Atlanta 3 4 0 .429 141 156
New Orleans 3 4 0 .429 94 135
Tampa Bay 2 5 0 .286 127 157
Carolina 1 6 0 .143 73 140

West W L T PCT PF PA
Arizona 5 2 0 .714 195 130
San Francisco 5 2 0 .714 139 99
Seattle 3 4 0 .429 132 152
St. Louis 1 6 0 .143 117 176

AFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Baltimore 5 1 0 .833 129 81
Cincinnati 4 2 0 .667 101 99
Cleveland 1 5 0 .167 92 140
Pittsburgh 1 5 0 .167 88 129

East W L T PCT PF PA
New England 4 2 0 .667 128 113
Buffalo 3 3 0 .500 155 119
Miami 3 3 0 .500 141 143
NY Jets 3 3 0 .500 135 143

South W L T PCT PF PA
Jacksonville 3 3 0 .500 117 131
Indianapolis 3 3 0 .500 113 116
Houston 1 5 0 .167 63 105
Tennessee 0 6 0 .000 78 124

West W L T PCT PF PA
Denver 6 1 0 .857 166 110
Kansas City 6 1 0 .857 195 152
San Diego 5 2 0 .714 144 100
Oakland 2 5 0 .286 120 153

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BUCKEYES LOSS ALLOWS TEXAS TO MOVE TO #2 IN COACHES POLL
For the second week in a row a Big 10 team suffered it's first defeat of the season to drop out of the number 2 spot in the coaches ranking. This time it was Ohio State that was upset by Minnesota in Big Ten play. The loss drops the Buckeyes from 2nd to 5th in the latest poll while the Gophers leap ahead of Ohio State into the 4th spot. A week after losing and falling from 2nd to 4th the University of Michigan inched up a spot with a 51-36 win over Purdue. Idle Texas also moved up a spot with the Ohio State loss so the Longhorns now hold down second place. Arkansas remains number one but the Razorbacks face a stiff challenge Saturday when the host LSU with a trip to the SEC title game on the line.

Despite a 40-9 win over lowly Indiana the Penn State Nittany Lions fell two places and are ranked 21st by the Coaches poll.

Here is the latest Top 25 according to the NCAA Football Coaches:

COACHES POLL TOP 25
RK SCHOOL REC PREV LAST NEXT
1 Arkansas 8-0 1 idle #21 LSU
2 Texas 8-1 3 idle idle
3 Michigan 8-1 4 W 51-36 Purdue at Indiana
4 Minnesota 7-2 10 W 21-15 Ohio State Iowa
5 Ohio State 7-1 2 L 21-15 at Minnesota Illinois
6 California 7-1 5 W 37-17 at Arizona St at UCLA
7 Oklahoma 7-1 8 idle at Colorado
8 Miami 8-2 7 L 28-20 N. Carolina idle
9 Syracuse 8-1 9 W 29-10 Rutgers at Louisville
10 Texas A&M 7-2 11 idle idle
11 USC 6-2 6 L 37-7 at Arizona at Arizona State
12 Alabama 7-2 12 W 28-6 at Auburn idle
13 Michigan St 7-2 13 idle at Purdue
14 Mississippi 6-2 15 idle at Florida
15 Notre Dame 7-3 21 W 34-17 at LSU idle
16 Wash. State 6-2 14 L 17-14 Stanford idle
17 Stanford 6-2 24 W 17-14 at Wash St at Oregon
18 LSU 7-3 17 L 34-17 Notre Dame at #1 Arkansas
19 Wisconsin 7-3 18 W 40-6 at Illinois idle
20 Arizona St 5-3 16 L 37-17 at Cal #11 USC
21 Arizona 6-2 NR W 37-7 USC Oregon State
22 Penn State 6-2 19 W 40-9 Indiana at Northwestern
23 Georgia 7-2 20 W 51-10 Vanderbilt idle
24 VirginiaTech 5-3 23 idle Duke
25 Florida 6-2 25 W 33-9 Kentucky #14 Mississippi

Dropped out of top 25
22 UCLA

The Associated Press poll will be released later today.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
KNIGHTS REMAIN #1 IN CHL
The London Knights continue to occupy top spot in the weekly Canadian Hockey League rankings of the top junior teams. The Knights are one of five Ontario Hockey League teams in this week's list.

CHL TOP 10
RK TEAM LG LW
1 London Knights OHL 1
2 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 3
3 Owen Sound Attack OHL 6
4 Moncton Wildcats QMJHL 4
5 Swift Current Broncos WHL 9
6 St Michael's Majors OHL 5
7 Tri-City Americans WHL NR
8 Kootenay Ice WHL NR
9 Kingston Frontenacs OHL NR
10 Oshawa Generals OHL 7

The Knights continued their dominance of the Ontario Hockey League with a 5-3 victory over the Guelph Storm in one of 8 games last night. League scoring leader Robbie Schremp had a goal and 4 assists while David Boland add a goal and 3 helpers for the Knights.

Elsewhere, Owen Sound doubled Kitchener 6-3 allowing the Attack to move 3 points ahead of idle Erie in the fight for second place in the Midwest Division. Potential first round NHL draft pick Bob Sanguinetti had 3 points for the Attack in the victory.

Matt Beca scored twice to lead Brampton past St Michael's 5-3 in a battle between Central Division leaders. Bryan Little had 4 goals and an assist as Barrie blanked Peterborough 6-0. Underage phenom John Tavares had a goal and an assist as Oshawa shaded Belleville 4-3. Ryan Kitchen scored twice to help Sault Ste Marie past Kingston 4-3. Zach Stortini's second goal of the game in overtime gave Sudbury a 5-4 win over Mississauga while Plymouth beat Windsor 4-3 in a shootout.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 13 10 1 2 22
Owen Sound 13 10 3 0 20
ERIE 13 8 4 1 17
Guelph 13 6 6 1 13
Kitchener 11 5 4 2 12

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 13 8 3 2 18
Saginaw 13 5 7 1 11
Sarnia 15 5 9 1 11
Sault Ste Marie 13 5 7 1 11
Windsor 11 3 6 2 8

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 14 9 4 1 19
St Michael's 13 8 4 1 17
Barrie 13 7 6 0 14
Sudbury 11 6 5 0 12
Mississauga 13 3 7 3 9

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 13 7 2 4 18
Kingston 12 7 4 1 15
Peterborough 12 6 4 2 14
Ottawa 13 6 6 1 13
Belleville 14 4 9 1 9

LAST NIGHT'S RESULS
Brampton 5 St Michael's 3
London 5 Guelph 3
Barrie 6 Peterborough 0
Owen Sound 6 Kitchener 3
Oshawa 4 Belleville 3
Sault Ste Marie 4 Kingston 3
Plymouth 4 Windsor 3 (SO)
Sudbury 5 Mississauga 4 (OT)

THURSDAY'S GAMES
Ottawa at Belleville
Kitchener at Guelph

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 13 12 20 32
Wojtek Wolski Bram 14 10 13 23
Dan Collins Plym 13 10 12 22
David Boland Lond 13 12 9 21
Michael Blunden ERIE 13 11 10 21
Cory Emmerton King 12 7 14 21
Ryan Callahan Guel 13 11 9 20
Jamie Tardif Pete 12 10 10 20
Joshua Bailey OwS 13 7 13 20
Justin Donati StM 13 6 14 20
Nick Foligno Sudb 11 6 14 20
Luch Aquino Bram 14 10 9 19
Bryan Little Barr 13 9 10 19
Matt Lyall Guel 13 7 12 19
Matt Kang OwS 13 9 9 18
Peter Franchin StM 13 9 9 18
Tyler Doig Guel 13 7 11 18
Vaclav Meidl Plym 13 6 12 18

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
RICHARDS LEAD LIGHTNING PAST ATLANTA
Brad Richards had 2 goals and an assist as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat Atlanta 6-2 in one of 5 games on the NHL schedule. Vincent Lecavalier, Vinny Prospal, Tim Taylor and Norm Milley also scored for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who improve to 5-3-1 on the season.

In other action Teemu Selanne's third period goal lifted Anaheim past the New York Islanders 2-1. Minnesota needed a shootout to claim a 5-4 victory in Columbus. Jozef Stumpel scored in overtime to give Florida a 3-2 win in Calgary. Finally, in Los Angeles the visiting San Jose Sharks beat the Kings 4-3.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 8 6 1 1 13
New Jersey 8 6 2 0 12
Pittsburgh 9 4 3 2 10
NY Islanders 9 4 4 1 9
NY Rangers 7 1 5 1 3

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 8 6 2 0 12
Montreal 10 6 4 0 12
Buffalo 9 5 4 0 10
Boston 9 3 3 3 9
Toronto 10 4 5 1 9

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 8 6 2 0 12
Florida 10 6 4 0 12
Tampa 9 5 3 1 11
Atlanta 10 3 7 0 6
Carolina 7 2 5 0 4

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 8 6 2 0 12
Detroit 9 4 3 2 10
Chicago 10 4 4 2 10
St Louis 9 3 5 1 7
Columbus 9 1 7 1 3

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 8 6 1 1 13
Vancouver 10 6 3 1 13
Minnesota 11 5 4 2 12
Edmonton 9 4 3 2 10
Colorado 10 4 5 1 9

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 9 7 2 0 14
Dallas 9 5 2 2 12
San Jose 10 5 3 2 12
Los Angeles 9 5 4 0 10
Phoenix 9 3 4 2 8

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Anaheim 2 NY Islanders 1
Tampa Bay 6 Atlanta 2
Minnesota 5 Columbus 4 (SO)
Florida 3 Calgary 2 (OT)
San Jose 4 Los Angeles 3

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Pittsburgh at Nashville
Boston at Buffalo
Toronto at New Jersey
Minnesota at St Louis
Dallas at Washington
Phoenix at Chicago
Detroit at Colorado
Vancouver at Edmonton

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 8 6 9 15
Ziggy Palffy PIT 9 6 8 14
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 8 3 11 14
Mike Modano DAL 9 3 11 14
Teemu Selanne ANA 9 7 6 13
Brad Richards TB 9 7 6 13
Markus Naslund VAN 10 6 7 13
Martin St Louis TB 9 5 8 13
Vincent Lecavalier TB 9 4 9 13
Alexander Frolov LA 9 6 6 12
Bill Guerin DAL 9 6 6 12
Mario Lemieux PIT 9 4 8 12
Brian Rolston MIN 11 4 8 12
Sergei Federov ANA 9 4 8 12
Brendan Morrison VAN 10 3 9 12

ROOKIE LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Thomas Vanek BUF 9 5 4 9
Kyle Wellwood TOR 8 4 3 7
Jared Aulin WSH 8 3 3 6
Jussi Jokinen DAL 9 1 5 6
Sidney Crosby PIT 9 1 5 6
Alex Ovechkin WSH 8 3 2 5
Rostislav Olesz FLA 10 1 4 5

Tiger Fan

01-30-2006, 05:32 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Wednesday October 26, 2005

WORLD SERIES
CUBS HANG ON TO TAKE GAME 3 OF SERIES
Corey Patterson hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the 8th inning to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 3-2 victory in Game Three of the World Series. While it was Patterson's homer that sent a sold out Wrigley Field crowd home happy they left talking about the outstanding pitching performance from Kerry Wood. In 8 innings Wood allowed just 3 hits and set the Yankees down in order in 5 of the first 6 innings. With the victory, the Cubs take a two games to one lead in the series.

The Yankees had a chance to open the scoring in the second inning when Hideki Matsui doubled to lead off the frame. With one out and runners on first and second Mark Loretta delivered a single down the first base line and Matsui attempted to score from second. However, right fielder Matt Lawton threw a perfect strike to Cubs catcher Michael Barrett to gun down a sliding Matsui and keep the game scoreless.

Chicago would strike for a run in the third inning when Todd Walker hit a 2-out single and scored on a triple from Patterson. It would stay 1-0 until Lawton would increase the Chicago lead with a solo homer to lead off the 7th inning.

In the top of the 8th Jorge Posada worked Kerry Wood for a lead-off walk and he scored when Wood hung a pitch to pinch-hitter Jason Giambi that landed in the Wrigley Field bleachers to tie the game at 2-2. Wood regrouped and got out of the inning with no further damage to set the stage for Patterson's tie-breaking heroics.

Todd Wellemeyer replaced Wood in the 9th inning. When Wellemeyer hit lead off man Alex Rodriguez you can not blame many for thinking "here we go again" after Wellemeyer's collapse on Sunday but things were different this time around. Matsui hit a tailor-made doubleplay ball to Aramis Ramirez that went around the horn for two out. The game ended when Bubba Crosby lifted a weak fly ball that Corey Patterson caught on a slow jog.

Tonight in Game Four the Cubs give the ball to Mark Prior who is 3-1 in the postseason including an 8-1 victory over the Yankees in Game one. The losing pitcher from game one, Shawn Chacon, will start for the Yankees. He is 1-2 in the postseason.

GAME THREE BOXSCORE
R H E
New York (A) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 3 0
Chicago (N) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 X 3 8 0

NEW YORK (A) AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
D. Jeter SS 4 0 0 0 0 1 .267 2 5
B. Williams LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 .298 2 7
A. Rodriguez 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0 .288 3 9
H. Matsui CF 4 0 1 0 0 0 .231 1 3
G. Sheffield RF 1 0 0 0 2 1 .321 2 10
1-J. Thurston PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
2-B. Crosby RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0
J. Posada C 2 1 0 0 1 0 .135 1 7
M. Loretta 2B 2 0 1 0 0 1 .211 0 4
3-J. Giambi 1B 1 1 1 2 0 0 .239 4 11
T. Martinez 1B 2 0 0 0 0 0 .212 2 6
4-R. Freel 2B 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
C. Pavano P 2 0 0 0 0 2 .000 0 0
5-R. Hankins PH 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
S. Proctor P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 26 2 3 2 3 6

Substitution Notes
1 - J. Thurston pinch ran for G. Sheffield in the 7th
2 - B. Crosby substituted for J. Thurston in the 7th
3 - J. Giambi pinch hit for M. Loretta in the 8th
4 - R. Freel pinch ran for T. Martinez in the 8th
5 - R. Hankins pinch hit for C. Pavano in the 8th

BATTING
Doubles: H. Matsui (4, 2nd inning off Wood, 0 on, 0 out.)
Homeruns: J. Giambi (4, 8th inning off Wood, 1 on, 0 out.)
Runs Batted In: J. Giambi 2 (11)
Caught Stealing: J. Thurston (2)
Sacrifice Hits: R. Hankins (1)
Team LOB: 2

FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Jeter-Loretta-Martinez)

CHICAGO (N) AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
R. Johnson LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 .193 1 5
T. Walker 2B 3 1 1 0 1 1 .308 0 3
C. Patterson CF 4 1 2 2 0 1 .321 2 6
D. Lee 1B 4 0 2 0 0 0 .240 2 7
N. Garciaparra SS 4 0 0 0 0 1 .340 0 9
M. Lawton RF 3 1 1 1 0 2 .404 4 12
A. Ramirez 3B 3 0 1 0 0 1 .340 0 13
M. Barrett C 3 0 0 0 0 0 .196 1 4
K. Wood P 3 0 0 0 0 3 .000 0 0
T. Wellemeyer P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 31 3 8 3 1 9

BATTING
Doubles: D. Lee (2, 6th inning off Pavano, 0 on, 2 out.)
Triples: C. Patterson (1, 3rd inning off Pavano, 1 on, 2 out.)
Homeruns: C. Patterson (2, 8th inning off Proctor, 0 on, 2 out.)
M. Lawton (4, 7th inning off Pavano, 0 on, 0 out.)
Runs Batted In: C. Patterson 2 (6), M. Lawton (12)
Team LOB: 3

FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Ramirez-Walker-Lee)

PITCHING
New York (A) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
C. Pavano 7 6 2 2 1 8 1 84 54 5.40
S. Proctor L 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 20 12 1.23 1-1

Batters Faced: C. Pavano 27, S. Proctor 5
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: C. Pavano 9-3, S. Proctor 0-2

Chicago (N) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
K. Wood W 8 3 2 2 3 6 1 106 59 4.15 1-1
T. Wellemeyer S 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 4 0.00 1 SV

Batters Faced: K. Wood 29, T. Wellemeyer 3
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: K. Wood 10-5, T. Wellemeyer 1-1

GAME INFO
Time: 2:44
Attendance: 39103 (39111, 100.0%) at Wrigley Field
Weather: Partly cloudy (56 degrees), wind blowing out to
center at 9 mph
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kerry Wood

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
PENS DOUBLE NASHVILLE 4-2
The Pittsburgh Penguins got goals from 4 different players as they won for just the second time in 5 road games this season, beating Nashville 4-2. The Penguins also survived a scare when Ziggy Palffy was the victim of a knee on knee collision with the Predators Scott Walker. Walker was assessed a 5 minute major and a game misconduct on the play. He was the second Predator to be thrown out of the contest as Jeremy Yablonski was ejected in the first period for cutting Rico Fata of the Pens with a high stick. It was Yablonski's NHL debut and he got exactly 16 seconds of playing time before being sent to the showers.

Nashville opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game when David Legwand lifted a wristshot over the glove of Pens netminder Jocelyn Thibault but Pittsburgh answered less than 4 minutes later on a power play goal from Richard Jackman. Just seconds after the Yablonski major penalty ended the Penguins took the lead on a wrist shot along the ice by Lasse Pirjeta that beat Preds goaltender Chris Mason. It was Mason's first start of the season in place of Tomas Vokoun.

Power play goals from Donald Audette and Ryan Malone increased the Pens lead to 4-1. Nashville did get one back midway through the third period on a nice shorthanded effort from Yanic Perreault but that would be as close as the Predators would get.

PENS NOTES:The Penguins return to action Thursday when they visit Buffalo to play the Sabres. Pittsburgh was forced to play the game without Mark Recchi who suffered a neck strain in the pregame skate. Recchi could be sidelined up to 10 days. Brooks Orpik, Konstantin Koltsov and Sergei Gonchar are also on the injury list. Orpik and Gonchar are day-to-day while Koltsov will miss another couple of weeks with a knee sprain.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
NAS Legwand 1(Gamache, Markov) 1:50
PIT Jackman 3(Crosby, Palffy) 5:47 PP
PIT Pirjeta 2(Hill) 9:17
Penalties:Yablonski Nas major, game misconduct 4:06, Roy
Pit 13:40, Markov Nas 16:19

SECOND PERIOD
PIT Audette 2(Fata, Whitney) 14:06 PP
Penalties: Armstrong Pit 1:29, Nichol Nas 12:24, Bombardier
Pit 14:25, Berry Nas 18:44

THIRD PERIOD
PIT Malone 5(Fata, Hill) 0:30 PP
NAS Perreault 3(Hordichuk) 8:25 SH
Penalties:Armstrong Pit 2:09, Walker Nas major, game misconduct
6:10, Hordichuk Nas 13:17, Roy Pit Hordichuk Nas fighting majors
17:23, Odelein Pit 18:42

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
NAS C Mason 32
PIT J Thibault 24

In other NHL action Jochen Hecht assisted on all three Buffalo goals as the Sabres beat Boston 3-1. Three first period goals stood up as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat New Jersey 3-2. Mike Sillinger's second goal of the game, in overtime, gave St Louis a 4-3 win over Minnesota. Sillinger also added an assist in the win. In Wshington, Jeff Friesen had 3 assists as the Capitals beat Dallas 3-1. Petr Nedved got the winner in overtime as Phoenix downed Chicago 4-3. Pierre Turgeon and Milan Hejduk each had a goal and an assist in Colorado's 4-1 win on home ice over Detroit. Trevor Linden's goal midway through the third period lifted Vancouver past Edmonton 3-2.

PENS ACQUIRE VETERAN DEFENSEMAN O'DONNELL
In a move to add some depth to the blueline the Pittsburgh Penguins picked up veteran defenseman Sean O'Donnell from Phoenix. The 34 year old Ottawa native is a veteran of 697 career NHL games with Los Angeles, Minnesota, New Jersey, Boston and Phoenix. He was pointless in 4 games with the Coyotes this season. In return the Pens dealt the rights to junior center Tyler Kennedy. A former first round draft pick of the Pens, Kennedy has 12 points in 13 games with the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. The 19 year old is in his 4th season with the Greyhounds.

One other deal yesterday saw Toronto send a 6th round pick to Nashville for minor league winger Jeremey Stevenson. The 31 year old appeared in 2 games with the Predators this season but had recently been demoted to Milwaukee of the AHL. The Leafs have assigned him to the AHL Toronto Marlies.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 8 6 1 1 13
New Jersey 9 6 3 0 12
Pittsburgh 10 5 3 2 12
NY Islanders 9 4 4 1 9
NY Rangers 7 1 5 1 3

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Ottawa 8 6 2 0 12
Montreal 10 6 4 0 12
Buffalo 10 6 4 0 12
Toronto 11 5 5 1 11
Boston 10 3 4 3 9

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 9 7 2 0 14
Florida 10 6 4 0 12
Tampa 9 5 3 1 11
Atlanta 10 3 7 0 6
Carolina 7 2 5 0 4

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 9 6 3 0 12
Chicago 11 4 4 3 11
Detroit 10 4 4 2 10
St Louis 10 4 5 1 9
Columbus 9 1 7 1 3

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Vancouver 11 7 3 1 15
Calgary 8 6 1 1 13
Minnesota 12 5 4 3 13
Colorado 11 5 5 1 11
Edmonton 10 4 4 2 10

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 9 7 2 0 14
Dallas 10 5 3 2 12
San Jose 10 5 3 2 12
Los Angeles 9 5 4 0 10
Phoenix 10 4 4 2 10

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Pittsburgh 4 Nashville 2
Buffalo 3 Boston 1
Toronto 3 New Jersey 2
St Louis 4 Minnesota 3 (OT)
Washington 3 Dallas 1
Phoenix 4 Chicago 3 (OT)
Colorado 4 Detroit 1
Vancouver 3 Edmonton 2

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Ottawa at Montreal
Philadelphia at Florida
Atlanta at Carolina
Dallas at Tampa Bay
Anaheim at Columbus

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 8 6 9 15
Ziggy Palffy PIT 10 6 9 15
Markus Naslund VAN 11 7 7 14
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 8 3 11 14
Mike Modano DAL 10 3 11 14
Teemu Selanne ANA 9 7 6 13
Brad Richards TB 9 7 6 13
Martin St Louis TB 9 5 8 13
Brian Rolston MIN 12 5 8 13
Tyler Arnason CHI 11 5 8 13
Vincent Lecavalier TB 9 4 9 13
Alexander Frolov LA 9 6 6 12
Todd Bertuzzi VAN 11 6 6 12
Bill Guerin DAL 10 6 6 12
Mario Lemieux PIT 10 4 8 12
Sergei Federov ANA 9 4 8 12
Brendan Morrison VAN 11 3 9 12

PENALTY LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP PIM
Darcy Verot COL 11 46
Turner Stevenson PHI 8 44
Todd Simpson CHI 8 41
Tie Domi TOR 11 39
Matt Johnson MON 10 39
Jim McKenzie OTT 8 34
Derek Boogaard MIN 12 32
Reed Low STL 6 32

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
AP TOP 25
With a victory over Arizona State, the University of California has jumped to second in the Associated Press College Football Top 25. The 7-1 Bears replace Ohio State as the number two team after the Buckeyes lost 21-15 to Minnesota. The nations only undefeated team, Arkansas, remains first in the polls while 8-1 Texas is still ranked third. Both of those schools were off last weekend.

Here is the latest Top 25 according to the Associated Press:

AP POLL TOP 25
RK SCHOOL REC PREV LAST NEXT
1 Arkansas 8-0 1 idle #21 LSU
2 California 7-1 5 W 37-17 at Arizona St at UCLA
3 Texas 8-1 3 idle idle
4 Michigan 8-1 4 W 51-36 Purdue at Indiana
5 Ohio State 7-1 2 L 21-15 at Minnesota Illinois
6 Minnesota 7-2 11 W 21-15 Ohio State Iowa
7 Syracuse 8-1 8 W 29-10 Rutgers at Louisville
8 USC 6-2 7 L 37-7 at Arizona at Arizona State
9 Alabama 7-2 9 W 28-6 at Auburn idle
10 Texas A&M 7-2 10 idle idle
11 Oklahoma 7-1 12 idle at Colorado
12 Miami 8-2 6 L 28-20 N. Carolina idle
13 Michigan St 7-2 13 idle at Purdue
14 Mississippi 6-2 14 idle at Florida
15 Arizona 6-2 22 W 37-7 USC Oregon State
16 Notre Dame 7-3 19 W 34-17 at LSU idle
17 Wash. State 6-2 15 L 17-14 Stanford idle
18 Arizona St 5-3 16 L 37-17 at Cal #11 USC
19 Wisconsin 7-3 17 W 40-6 at Illinois idle
20 Stanford 6-2 24 W 17-14 at Wash St at Oregon
21 LSU 7-3 18 L 34-17 Notre Dame at #1 Arkansas
22 Georgia 7-2 20 W 51-10 Vanderbilt idle
23 Penn State 6-2 21 W 40-9 Indiana at Northwestern
24 VirginiaTech 5-3 23 idle Duke
25 N. Carolina 6-3 NR W 28-20 at Miami idle

Dropped out of top 25
25 UCLA

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
NFL LEAGUE LEADERS

NFL PASSING LEADERS
Player TM GS AT COMP COMP% YDS TD INT RAT
Patrick Ramsey MIA 5 125 86 68.8 1010 6 2 102.4
Tom Brady ARI 7 220 141 64.1 1957 13 7 99.0
Jake Plummer DEN 7 214 134 62.6 1581 12 3 97.9
Donovan McNabb PHI 7 184 107 58.2 1795 11 6 97.5
Peyton Manning IND 6 196 121 61.7 1534 10 4 94.6
Daunte CulpepperMIN 4 109 69 63.3 764 7 3 94.0
Michael Vick ATL 7 230 139 60.4 2086 11 7 93.5
Tim Rattay BUF 6 179 116 64.8 1383 10 6 92.9
Phillip Rivers GB 6 159 96 60.4 1397 8 5 92.7
Alex Smith NYG 7 209 127 60.8 1548 13 6 92.4

NFL RUSHING LEADERS
Player TM G ATT YDS YPG YPC TD
L. Tomlinson SD 7 179 892 127.4 5.0 7
Fred Taylor JAX 6 139 710 118.3 5.1 4
Antwone Schey SEA 7 149 664 94.9 4.5 4
Clinton Portis DEN 7 160 646 92.3 4.0 5
Ahman Green GB 6 128 639 106.5 5.0 4
Ricky Williams MIA 6 143 630 105.0 4.4 5
Priest Holmes KC 7 158 624 89.1 3.9 6
Stephen Jackson BUF 6 108 622 103.7 5.8 2
Marshall Faulk STL 7 138 613 87.6 4.4 2
Travis Henry TB 7 129 590 84.3 4.6 2

NFL RECEIVING YARDS LEADERS
Player TM GS REC YDS YPC TD
Torry Holt STL 7 45 694 15.4 2
Tony Gonzalez KC 7 36 647 18.0 4
Robert Ferguson PHI 4 29 617 21.3 5
Anquan Boldin ARI 7 43 595 13.8 3
Peerless Price ATL 7 32 586 18.3 3
Corey Bradford HOU 6 30 539 18.0 1
Ashley Lelie DEN 7 34 521 15.3 4
Michael Clayton ARI 7 30 509 17.0 4
Plaxico Burress PIT 6 30 484 16.1 1
Eric Moulds BUF 6 38 482 12.7 3

NFL RECEPTION LEADERS
Player TM REC
Torry Holt STL 45
Lav. Coles WSH 45
Anquan Boldin ARZ 43
Randy Moss MIN 43
Terrell Owens SF 40
Hines Ward PIT 39
Santana Moss NYJ 38
Eric Moulds BUF 38
Tony Gonzalez KC 36
Chad Johnson CIN 36
Edell Shepherd TB 36
Jeremy Shockey NYG 36
Travis Taylor BAL 36

NFL LEADING TACKLERS
Player TM GS TAK SOLO AST SACK
Adam Archuleta STL 7 82 61 21 3
Dexter Coakley DAL 7 76 51 25 3
Joey Porter PIT 6 73 47 26 0
Kendrell Bell PIT 6 71 51 20 0
Brian Dawkins PHI 7 70 53 17 4
Ronald McKinnon ARI 7 69 52 17 1
Mike Peterson WAS 7 68 51 17 1
Roy Williams DAL 7 67 53 14 4
Jamie Sharper HOU 6 66 46 20 0
Shaun Williams NYG 7 66 54 12 3

NFL INTERCEPTION LEADERS
Player TM INT
Champ Bailey WAS 6
Keiwan Ratliff NYJ 6
John Bollocks CAR 6
Fernando Bryant JAX 5
Patrick Surtain SD 5
Sammy Knight MIA 5
Nick Barnett GB 5
Ray Lewis BAL 4
Marcus Coleman HOU 4
Dhani Jones NYG 4

NFL SACK LEADERS
Player TM Sacks
Charles Grant NO 9
Rosevelt Colvin CHI 8
Dwight Freeney IND 7
Darren Howard NO 7
John Abraham NYJ 7
Jevon Kearse TEN 7
Vonnie Holliday KC 6
Marcelius Wiley SD 6
Tommie Harris ARZ 6
Tony Brackens JAX 6
Kevin Williams MIN 6

UPCOMING NFL GAMES
SUNDAY
Tennessee Titans (0-6) at Oakland Raiders (2-5)
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) at San Diego Chargers (5-2)
Dallas Cowboys (4-3) at New York Giants (4-3)
Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) at Washington Redskins (5-2)
St. Louis Rams (1-6) at Detroit Lions (2-4)
New England Patriots (4-2) at Baltimore Ravens (5-1)
New York Jets (3-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-2)
Cleveland Browns (1-5) at Buffalo Bills (3-3)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-5) at Miami Dolphins (3-3)
Kansas City Chiefs (6-1) at Houston Texans (1-5)
Green Bay Packers (4-2) at Arizona Cardinals (5-2)
Minnesota Vikings (3-3) at San Francisco 49ers (5-2)
Seattle Seahawks (3-4) at Chicago Bears (4-2)

MONDAY NIGHT
Denver Broncos (6-1) at Indianapolis Colts (3-3)

Tiger Fan

01-30-2006, 11:49 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Thursday October 27, 2005

WORLD SERIES
YANKEES WIN WILD ONE TO EVEN SERIES AT 2
Twelth inning rbi's from Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield allowed the New York Yankees to even the World Series at 2 games apiece with an 8-7 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game Four. It was a game the Cubs appeared to have won before the Yankees erased a 3 run deficeit in the top of the 9th to force extra innings. For the second time in three games the Yankees rallied against Chicago reliever Todd Wellemeyer.

New York took the lead in the opening inning when Matsui hit a 2 run double to score Bernie Williams and Alex Rodriguez. The Yankee outburst got started by an error from Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee. Lee did manage to redeem himself in the bottom of the first when he hit an rbi single off of Yankee starter Shawn Chacon to cut the New York lead to 2-1.

After the rocky first inning Cubs starter Mark Prior settled down and retired 11 straight Yankee batters. Meanwhile, the Cubs pulled ahead 3-2 in the 4th when Matt Lawton walked and Michael Barrett hit a 2-run homer.

In the bottom of the 5th the Cubs chased Chacon thanks to another clutch hit from Derrek Lee. The Cubs first baseman delivered a 2-run triple and then scored on a sac fly from Nomar Garciaparra to make it 6-2 Chicago.

The Yankees threatened in the sixth with runners on second and third and one out but failed to capitalize. New York did get a run back in the 7th when Mark Loretta led off with a double and eventually scored on a sac fly from pinch-hitter Tino Martinez.

It stayed 6-3 until Wellemeyer came on to relieve Prior in the 9th inning. Gary Sheffield drew a lead off walk and moved to second on a bloop single from Jorge Posada. Mark Loretta followed with a single to score Sheffield. Scott Williamson replaced Wellemeyer but gave up a 2-run double to pinch-hitter Bubba Crosby that tied the game at 6.

It stayed 6-6 until the top of the 12th when Derek Jeter led off with a single off of Mike Remlinger. After Remlinger fanned Bernie Williams, Alex Rodriguezx and Hideki Matsui followed with singles that scored Jeter. Next up was Gary Sheffield and he doubled in Rodriguez but Matsui was forced to hold at third. Remlinger would fan catcher Ryan Hankins and get Loretta to fly out to end the inning but New York had the lead 8-6.

The Yankees were down to the bottom of their bullpen for the bottom of the 12th and Colter Bean surreneder a 1 out double to Todd Walker that gave the Cubs hope. After Todd Hollandsworth popped out for the second out Derrek Lee delivered his third hit and 4th rbi of the game with a single that scored Walker. It would be as close as the Cubs would get as Nomar Garciaparra hit into a fielder's choice to end the game.

GAME FOUR BOXSCORE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
New York (A) 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 2 8 12 1
Chicago (N) 1 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 11 1

NEW YORK (A) AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
D. Jeter SS 6 1 1 0 0 2 .258 2 5
B. Williams LF 5 1 0 0 1 2 .274 2 7
A. Rodriguez 3B 5 2 1 0 1 2 .281 3 9
H. Matsui CF 6 0 3 3 0 0 .259 1 6
G. Sheffield RF 5 1 1 1 1 0 .311 2 11
J. Posada C 5 1 2 0 0 1 .158 1 7
1-J. Thurston PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
2-R. Hankins C 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0 0
M. Loretta 2B 6 2 3 1 0 1 .238 0 5
J. Giambi 1B 5 0 0 0 0 3 .216 4 11
S. Chacon P 1 0 0 0 1 0 .000 0 0
F. Rodriguez P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
3-T. Martinez PH 0 0 0 1 0 0 .212 2 7
S. Proctor P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
4-B. Crosby PH 1 0 1 2 0 0 .600 0 2
M. Rivera P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
5-M. Coleman PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0 0
C. Bean P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 47 8 12 8 4 13

Substitution Notes
1 - J. Thurston pinch ran for J. Posada in the 11th
2 - R. Hankins substituted for J. Thurston in the 11th
3 - T. Martinez pinch hit for F. Rodriguez in the 7th
4 - B. Crosby pinch hit for S. Proctor in the 9th
5 - M. Coleman pinch hit for M. Rivera in the 11th

BATTING
Doubles: H. Matsui 2 (6, 1st inning off Prior, 2 on, 1 out,
6th inning off Prior, 1 on, 1 out.) G. Sheffield (3, 12th
inning off Remlinger, 2 on, 1 out.) J. Posada (2, 11th inning
off Fox, 0 on, 0 out.) M. Loretta 2 (4, 5th inning off Prior,
0 on, 0 out, 7th inning off Prior, 0 on, 0 out.) B. Crosby (2,
9th inning off Williamson, 2 on, 1 out.)
Runs Batted In: H. Matsui 3 (6), G. Sheffield (11), M. Loretta (5),
T. Martinez (7), B. Crosby 2 (2)
Sacrifice Flies: T. Martinez (1)
Team LOB: 7

FIELDING
Errors: S. Chacon
Double Plays: 1 (Rodriguez-Loretta-Giambi)

CHICAGO (N) AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
C. Patterson CF 6 1 1 0 0 1 .305 2 6
R. Johnson LF 2 1 0 0 1 0 .186 1 5
1-T. Walker 3B 2 1 1 0 0 0 .317 0 3
A. Ramirez 3B 2 1 1 0 0 1 .346 0 13
2-T.Hollandsworth LF 3 0 0 0 0 0 .250 0 0
D. Lee 1B 6 1 3 4 0 3 .268 2 11
N. Garciaparra SS 5 0 1 1 0 0 .328 0 10
M. Lawton RF 4 1 0 0 1 0 .373 4 12
J. Valentin 2B 5 0 0 0 0 2 .143 0 1
M. Barrett C 3 1 1 2 0 1 .204 2 6
3-D. Gregg PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 .333 0 1
4-D. Mirabelli C 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
M. Prior P 3 0 2 0 0 1 .364 0 0
T. Wellemeyer P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
S. Williamson P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
5-J. Hairston PH 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429 0 1
C. Fox P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
6-A. Greenberg PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0 0
M. Remlinger P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 44 7 11 7 2 10

Substitution Notes
1 - T. Walker substituted for R. Johnson in the 8th
2 - T. Hollandsworth pinch hit for A. Ramirez in the 7th
3 - D. Gregg pinch hit for M. Barrett in the 9th
4 - D. Mirabelli substituted for D. Gregg in the 10th
5 - J. Hairston pinch hit for S. Williamson in the 9th
6 - A. Greenberg pinch hit for C. Fox in the 11th

BATTING
Doubles: T. Walker (3, 12th inning off Bean, 0 on, 1 out.)
N. Garciaparra (7, 10th inning off Rivera, 0 on, 2 out.)
Triples: D. Lee (1, 5th inning off Chacon, 2 on, 1 out.)
Homeruns: M. Barrett (2, 4th inning off Chacon, 1 on, 2 out.)
Runs Batted In: D. Lee 4 (11), N. Garciaparra (10), M. Barrett 2 (6)
Caught Stealing: R. Johnson (1)
Sacrifice Hits: J. Hairston (1)
Sacrifice Flies: N. Garciaparra (1)
Team LOB: 6

FIELDING
Errors: D. Lee
Double Plays: 1 (Valentin-Garciaparra-Lee)

PITCHING
New York (A) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
S. Chacon 4.1 6 6 6 1 4 1 92 56 7.94
F. Rodriguez 1.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 19 13 3.45
S. Proctor 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 24 15 1.08
M. Rivera 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 25 16 3.60
C. Bean W 2 2 1 1 0 2 0 31 19 3.86 1-0

Wild Pitches: S. Chacon
Batters Faced: S. Chacon 22, F. Rodriguez 6, S. Proctor 6,
M. Rivera 8, C. Bean 8
Inherited Runners-Scored: F. Rodriguez 1-1
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: S. Chacon 7-2, F. Rodriguez 3-1,
S. Proctor 2-1, M. Rivera 1-3, C. Bean 2-2

Chicago (N) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
M. Prior 8 4 3 2 3 6 0 116 73 3.50
T. Wellemeyer 0.1 2 3 3 1 1 0 12 7 5.06
S. Williamson 0.2 1 0 0 0 2 0 9 8 0.00
C. Fox 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 28 17 2.08
M. Remlinger L 1 4 2 2 0 2 0 25 14 6.75 1-1

Batters Faced: M. Prior 31, T. Wellemeyer 4, S. Williamson 3,
C. Fox 7, M. Remlinger 7
Inherited Runners-Scored: S. Williamson 2-2
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: M. Prior 11-7, T. Wellemeyer 0-0,
S. Williamson 0-0, C. Fox 2-2, M. Remlinger 0-1

GAME INFO
Time: 4:51
Attendance: 39061 (39111, 99.9%) at Wrigley Field
Weather: Partly cloudy (55 degrees), wind blowing in from left at 12 mph
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Hideki Matsui

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
PANTHERS STOP FLYERS 5-2
The Philadelphia Flyers 5-game winning streak came to an end with a 5-2 loss to the Panthers in Sunrise, Florida. Olli Jokinen scored twice to lead the Florida attack. Simon Gagne and Joni Pitkanen replied for the Flyers, who remain in first place in the Atlantic Division one point ahead of both New Jersey and Pittsburgh.

Montreal has taken over sole possession of first place in the Northeast Division with a 4-2 home ice victory over the Ottawa Senators. Saku Koivu led the Habs attack with 2 goals and an assist.

Back-up goaltender Martin Gerber stopped all 22 shots he faced to lead Carolina to a 4-0 win over Atlanta. Eric Staal had a goal, his first of the season, and an assist to pace the Hurricanes.

Dallas needed a shootout to beat Tampa Bay 3-2. Martin St Louis scored both goals in regulation for the Lightning while Jason Arnott and Steve Ott replied for the Stars.

Anaheim leads the entire NHL in points after a 3-1 victory over struggling Columbus. The 8-2 Ducks got a pair of goals from Stanislav Chistov and a 30 save performance from goaltender J.S. Giguere. Columbus has the worst record in the league.

In off ice news the league announced that Nashville forward Scott Walker has been suspended 1 game for his knee on knee hit to Ziggy Palffy of Pittsburgh in Tuesday night's game.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 9 6 2 1 13
New Jersey 9 6 3 0 12
Pittsburgh 10 5 3 2 12
NY Islanders 9 4 4 1 9
NY Rangers 7 1 5 1 3

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Montreal 11 7 4 0 14
Ottawa 9 6 3 0 12
Buffalo 10 6 4 0 12
Toronto 11 5 5 1 11
Boston 10 3 4 3 9

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 9 7 2 0 14
Florida 11 7 4 0 14
Tampa 10 5 3 2 12
Carolina 8 3 5 0 6
Atlanta 11 3 8 0 6

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 9 6 3 0 12
Chicago 11 4 4 3 11
Detroit 10 4 4 2 10
St Louis 10 4 5 1 9
Columbus 10 1 8 1 3

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Vancouver 11 7 3 1 15
Calgary 8 6 1 1 13
Minnesota 12 5 4 3 13
Colorado 11 5 5 1 11
Edmonton 10 4 4 2 10

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 10 8 2 0 16
Dallas 11 6 3 2 14
San Jose 10 5 3 2 12
Los Angeles 9 5 4 0 10
Phoenix 10 4 4 2 10

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Montreal 4 Ottawa 2
Florida 5 Philadelphia 2
Carolina 4 Atlanta 0
Dallas 3 Tampa Bay 2 (SO)
Anaheim 3 Columbus 1

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Pittsburgh at Buffalo
NY Islanders at Boston
New Jersey at Ottawa
Nashville at Toronto
Washington at Carolina
Montreal at NY Rangers
Columbus at Detroit
Edmonton at Los Angeles
Calgary at Colorado
Vancouver at Minnesota
St Louis at Phoenix

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Dany Heatley OTT 9 6 10 16
Brad Richards TB 10 7 8 15
Martin St Louis TB 10 7 8 15
Ziggy Palffy PIT 10 6 9 15
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 9 4 11 15
Vincent Lecavalier TB 10 4 11 15
Teemu Selanne ANA 10 7 7 14
Markus Naslund VAN 11 7 7 14
Mike Modano DAL 11 3 11 14
Saku Koivu MON 11 6 7 13
Brian Rolston MIN 12 5 8 13
Tyler Arnason CHI 11 5 8 13
Sergei Federov ANA 10 4 9 13
Alexander Frolov LA 9 6 6 12
Todd Bertuzzi VAN 11 6 6 12
Bill Guerin DAL 11 6 6 12
Mario Lemieux PIT 10 4 8 12
Brendan Morrison VAN 11 3 9 12

GOALTENDING SAVE PERCENTAGE LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP GAA SV%
Mikka Kiprusoff CGY 8 1.61 .940
Jose Theodore MON 10 1.90 .935
Martin Broduer NJ 8 1.74 .934
Tomas Vokoun NAS 8 2.21 .931
Ty Conklin EDM 9 1.96 .930
Roberto Luongo FLA 10 1.99 .930
Robert Esche PHI 7 2.07 .928
John Grahame TB 8 1.96 .926
Martin Biron BUF 9 2.10 .925
Olaf Kolzig WSH 8 2.42 .925

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS BACK IN ACTION ON THE WEEKEND
The Erie Otters face a stiff test Saturday night at the Tulio Arena when the meet the Owen Sound Attack for the first time this season. The Attack are expected to the Otters chief rival in the fight to finish second behind London in the OHL's Midwest Division. The Attack are led by 18 year old winger Bobby Ryan, who was selected second overall behind Sidney Crosby by Anaheim in the NHL entry draft. Ryan has 9 goals and 16 points in 13 games this season but the surprise scoring leader for Owen Sound has been 16 year old Joshua Bailey. The young centre has 7 goals and 20 points after being draft 19th overall in last June's OHL priority draft.

On Sunday the Otters take a long bus ride up to Sault Ste Marie to face the Greyhounds. Sault Ste. Marie is tied for second in the West Division with a 5-9-1 record.

ERIE OTTERS REGULAR SEASON STATS

No Name GP G A P +-- PIM SOG Sh% RATING
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

21 Blunden, Michael 13 11 10 21 10 6 68 16.2 8.15
7 Hotham, Andrew 13 4 9 13 -3 14 35 11.4 7.54
22 O'Marra, Ryan 13 5 7 12 6 2 38 13.2 7.62
24 Merlini, Derek 13 2 10 12 E 30 29 6.9 7.54
38 Seest-Olsen, Christian 13 4 7 11 5 4 45 8.9 7.23
15 McKinley, Tyler 12 1 9 10 3 0 8 12.5 7.33
10 O'Connor, Sean 13 3 4 7 -8 2 41 7.3 7.08
26 Hodgman, Justin 12 4 2 6 4 17 10 40.0 6.42
19 Greene, Chris 10 2 4 6 3 2 16 12.5 7.20
18 Scott, Vince 13 2 4 6 -1 0 18 11.1 6.92
87 Fox, Justin 8 0 6 6 E 6 5 - 6.88
30 Palmieri, Nick 12 1 4 5 -1 6 14 7.1 6.67
13 MacLean, Brett 13 3 1 4 -2 4 17 17.6 6.62
8 Regan, Eric 8 0 4 4 5 6 8 - 6.75
4 Helowka, Kory 8 1 1 2 -3 4 5 20.0 6.63
34 Loikets, Chad 6 1 1 2 3 4 10 10.0 6.83
9 Bagshaw, Derrick 13 0 2 2 -3 10 10 - 6.54
6 Heller, Jake 9 1 0 1 -6 4 6 16.7 6.56
2 Kidd, Josh 11 0 1 1 -1 2 6 - 7.00
11 Lee, Patrick 3 0 0 0 -5 4 2 - 5.67
14 Peluso, Anthony 6 0 0 0 -5 4 1 - 5.50
29 Nolan, Jordan 8 0 0 0 -3 16 2 - 5.63
1 Greenham, Scott 3 0 0 0 - 0 - - 6.67
40 Sniderman, Jhase 10 0 0 0 - 0 - - 7.10

GOALTENDING STATS GP W L SOL MIN GAA SV% ShO
40 Sniderman, Jhase 10 7 2 1 608 2.76 .895 1
1 Greenham, Scott 3 0 3 0 179 4.02 .892 0

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 13 10 1 2 22
Owen Sound 13 10 3 0 20
ERIE 13 8 4 1 17
Guelph 13 6 6 1 13
Kitchener 11 5 4 2 12

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 13 8 3 2 18
Saginaw 13 5 7 1 11
Sarnia 15 5 9 1 11
Sault Ste Marie 13 5 7 1 11
Windsor 11 3 6 2 8

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 14 9 4 1 19
St Michael's 13 8 4 1 17
Barrie 13 7 6 0 14
Sudbury 11 6 5 0 12
Mississauga 13 3 7 3 9

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 13 7 2 4 18
Kingston 12 7 4 1 15
Peterborough 12 6 4 2 14
Ottawa 13 6 6 1 13
Belleville 14 4 9 1 9

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Ottawa at Belleville
Kitchener at Guelph

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
CAVS SET TO OPEN SEASON SUNDAY
The Cleveland Cavaliers tip off the 2005-06 National Basketball Association season this Sunday when they travel to Dallas to face the Mavericks. LeBron James will again be counted on to lead the Cavs but there are plenty of new faces in the supporting cast including new starters Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall. Hughes, a point guard, spent last season with Washington while power forward Marshall comes over from Toronto.

Other games opening night include Houston at Golden State and Denver entertaining the Los Angeles Lakers.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
THREE PITT PANTHERS UP FOR NORTON AWARD
The list of 50 candidates eligible for college basketball's Norton Award has been released and it includes three college athletes from the University of Pittsburgh.

Senior forward Dee Lawson is ranked 6th in the preseason list, while teammates John Regis and Dave Neal are 25th and 41st respectively. Lawson is a 4th year starter and has averaged 11.5 ppg over his career. Regis is a freshman from Bunnell, Florida and has a 3.7 GPA. He is a 6'11" power forward. Neal, also a freshman, is a 6'11" center from Esmond, Rhode Island.

The favourite for the Norton Award is North Carolina sophomore shooting guard Larry King. The native of Fairpoint, New York was named the ACC player of the year and a second team All-American as a freshman. He averaged 21.2 ppg last season.

The Norton Award is the most prestigious award given out each year to the player who best demonstrates excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community. The Norton Committee named the following 50 players as candidates for the award this season.

1. SG Larry King (North Carolina)
2. C Patrick Ely (Cincinnati)
3. SF Demond Watkins (Gonzaga)
4. SF Jermaine Miller (Oklahoma)
5. SG Robert Fleming (Duke)
6. SF Dee Lawson (Pittsburgh)
7. PF James Thomas (Arkansas)
8. SG Lance Perry (Illinois)
9. PG Kenton Bland (Louisiana St.)
10. PG David Acani (Kentucky)
11. PF Xavier Ammons (Duke)
12. PG Nashon Baker (Florida)
13. SF Tarise Stanley (Wake Forest)
14. C Patrick Reese (Kansas)
15. SF Henry Crumble (Michigan St.)
16. C Terrell Jackson (Duke)
17. PF Aaron Goodwyn (Notre Dame)
18. SG Shahar Reese (Kentucky)
19. PF Kareem Bayless (Syracuse)
20. C Patrick Shell (Arizona)
21. SF Kareem Lumpkin (Notre Dame)
22. C James Metcalfe (Oklahoma St.)
23. SF David Wright (Syracuse)
24. C Peter Tiago (Illinois)
25. PF John Regis (Pittsburgh)
26. SG Brian Wright (Connecticut)
27. PG Dan Postell (Wake Forest)
28. SF Andre Williamson (Illinois)
29. PF Justin Phillips (Oklahoma)
30. SF DeWayne Inge (Iowa)
31. PF Tory Gunder (Arkansas)
32. SG Andre Richerson (Gonzaga)
33. SF Myron Fry (Stanford)
34. PF Scott Moore (Connecticut)
35. SG Trenton Barnes (Georgia Southern)
36. SF Steve English (North Carolina)
37. SG Kenny Hollis (Kentucky)
38. SF Peter Martin (Michigan St.)
39. PF Eric Knight (Florida)
40. PG Mike Patterson (St. John's)
41. C Dave Neal (Pittsburgh)
42. SF Brooks Williamson (Boston College)
43. SG Mike Pruitt (Wake Forest)
44. PF Kenton Greenwalt (Duke)
45. PF Tony McIntosh (Kentucky)
46. C Steve Robinson (Texas Tech)
47. PF Andre Green (Georgetown)
48. SG Donny Taylor (North Carolina)
49. PG Will Frost (Oklahoma)
50. SG DeJuan Carr (Gonzaga)

WORLD CUP SOCCER
CHINA ADVANCES IN ASIAN QUALIFYING
China defeated Bahrain 3-0 to win their two match total goal series 4-1 and move a step closer to a berth in next summer's World Cup. Next up for the Chinesse squad will be a home and home series with Jamaica that begins next month. The winner qualifies for the World Cup.

Tiger Fan

01-31-2006, 06:12 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Friday October 28, 2005

WORLD SERIES
YANKEES ONE WIN AWAY FROM SERIES VICTORY
Gary Sheffield hit two homeruns including a grand slam to lead the New York Yankees to a 9-6 victory in Game 5 of the World Series. The victory gives the Yankees a 3 games to two series lead as they shift back to Yankee Stadium for the final weekend.

Once again Cubs reliever Todd Wellemeyer was the goat as he surrendered the 7th inning grand slam. Wellemeyer did earn a save in game three but has been tagged with the loss twice in the series, surrendering 9 runs (6 earned) in 2 and a third innings over 4 games.

The Cubs took a 1-0 lead on a Derrek Lee sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning but the Yankees evened things up in the third when Jason Giambi hit a solo homer off of Cubs starter Ryan Dempster. In the bottom of the third the Cubs again took the lead as Reed Johnson's 2 run homer off of Mike Mussina made it 3-1. New York quickly answered with a run in the top of the 4th inning when Alex Rodriguez hit a lead off double and scored on a Sheffield single. The Yankees tied the game in the 6th on an rbi single from Mark Loretta off of Chad Fox, who had replaced Dempster on the hill for the Cubs.

After Derek Jeter singled to lead off the 7th inning for New York, the Cubs yanked Fox and gave the ball to Wellemeyer. Bernie Williams singled before Wellemeyer struck out Alex Rodriguez. Hideki Matsui worked Wellemeyer for a walk to load the bases setting the stage for Sheffield's heroics. Mike Remlinger replaced Wellemeyer but he gave up a solo homer to Mark Loretta to make the score 8-4 Yankees.

Chicago pulled closer in the bottom of the 7th when Todd Walker and Corey Patterson hit back-to-back solo homers off of New York reliever Colter Bean but Sheffield added an insurance run with his second homerun of the night in the 9th inning.

Today is a travel day with Game Six set for Yankee Stadium tomorrow evening. If necessary Game 7 will be Sunday night in New York.

GAME FIVE BOXSCORE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York (A) 0 0 1 1 0 1 5 0 1 9 16 2
Chicago (N) 1 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 6 11 0

NEW YORK (A) AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
D. Jeter SS 6 1 2 0 0 2 .264 2 5
B. Williams LF 4 1 1 0 1 0 .273 2 7
A. Rodriguez 3B 5 2 2 0 0 1 .290 3 9
H. Matsui CF 3 1 1 0 2 0 .262 1 6
G. Sheffield RF 5 2 3 6 0 0 .333 4 17
J. Posada C 5 0 0 0 0 2 .145 1 7
M. Loretta 2B 5 1 3 2 0 0 .265 1 7
J. Giambi 1B 2 1 2 1 2 0 .245 5 12
1-J. Thurston PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 .500 0 0
2-M. Jones 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
M. Mussina P 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
3-B. Crosby PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 2
A. Graman P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
4-T. Martinez PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 .208 2 7
E. Schmitt P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
5-M. Coleman PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 .500 0 0
C. Bean P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
M. Rivera P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
6-R. Hankins PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
F. Rodriguez P 0 0 0 0 0 00 .000 0 0
Totals 41 9 16 9 5 5

Substitution Notes
1 - J. Thurston pinch hit for J. Giambi in the 9th
2 - M. Jones substituted for J. Thurston in the 9th
3 - B. Crosby pinch hit for M. Mussina in the 5th
4 - T. Martinez pinch hit for A. Graman in the 6th
5 - M. Coleman pinch hit for E. Schmitt in the 7th
6 - R. Hankins pinch hit for M. Rivera in the 9th
BATTING
Doubles: A. Rodriguez (5, 4th inning off Dempster, 0 on, 0 out.)
Homeruns: G. Sheffield 2 (4, 7th inning off Wellemeyer, 3 on, 1 out,
9th inning off Koronka, 0 on, 0 out.) M. Loretta (1, 7th inning off
Remlinger, 0 on, 2 out.) J. Giambi (5, 3rd inning off Dempster, 0 on, 0 out.)
Runs Batted In: G. Sheffield 6 (17), M. Loretta 2 (7), J. Giambi (12)
Stolen Bases: B. Williams (4)
Caught Stealing: D. Jeter (2)
Team LOB: 7

FIELDING
Errors: M. Loretta, M. Jones
Double Plays: 1 (Mussina-Jeter-Giambi)

CHICAGO (N) AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
C. Patterson CF 5 1 1 1 0 1 .297 3 7
R. Johnson LF 4 2 4 2 0 0 .238 2 7
1-D. Kelton 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
A. Ramirez 3B 2 0 1 1 1 0 .352 0 14
2-T.Hollandsworth LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 .200 0 0
J. Koronka P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
D. Lee 1B 3 0 0 1 1 2 .254 2 12
N. Garciaparra SS 4 0 1 0 0 1 .323 0 10
M. Lawton RF 4 0 0 0 0 0 .345 4 12
J. Valentin 2B 3 0 1 0 1 0 .161 0 1
M. Barrett C 4 0 0 0 0 0 .189 2 6
R. Dempster P 2 2 1 0 0 0 .222 0 0
C. Fox P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
T. Wellemeyer P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
M. Remlinger P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
3-T. Walker LF 2 1 2 1 0 0 .349 1 4
Totals 35 6 11 6 3 4

Substitution Notes
1 - D. Kelton substituted for R. Johnson in the 8th
2 - T. Hollandsworth pinch hit for A. Ramirez in the 7th
3 - T. Walker pinch hit for M. Remlinger in the 7th

BATTING
Doubles: A. Ramirez (7, 5th inning off Graman, 1 on, 2 out.)
R. Dempster (2, 5th inning off Graman, 0 on, 0 out.)
Homeruns: C. Patterson (3, 7th inning off Bean, 0 on, 1 out.)
R. Johnson (2, 3rd inning off Mussina, 1 on, 1 out.) T. Walker
(1, 7th inning off Bean, 0 on, 1 out.)
Runs Batted In: C. Patterson (7), R. Johnson 2 (7), A. Ramirez (14)
D. Lee (12), T. Walker (4)
Stolen Bases: R. Johnson (2), A. Ramirez (1)
Caught Stealing: R. Johnson (2), J. Valentin (1)
Sacrifice Hits: J. Koronka (1)
Sacrifice Flies: D. Lee (1)
Team LOB: 6

FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Ramirez-Valentin-Lee)

PITCHING
New York (A) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
M. Mussina 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 79 46 5.79
A. Graman 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 25 14 9.00
E. Schmitt W 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 12 7 2.65 2-1
C. Bean 0.1 2 2 2 0 0 2 8 6 10.13
M. Rivera H 1.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 22 14 3.09
F. Rodriguez S 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 18 10 3.24 1 SV

Wild Pitches: M. Rivera, F. Rodriguez
Batters Faced: M. Mussina 17, A. Graman 5, E. Schmitt 3,
C. Bean 3, M. Rivera 7, F. Rodriguez 5
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: M. Mussina 5-5, A. Graman 1-1,
E. Schmitt 1-1, C. Bean 0-1, M. Rivera 3-2, F. Rodriguez 1-0

Chicago (N) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
R. Dempster 5.2 6 3 3 3 3 1 97 51 3.18
C. Fox 0.1 2 1 1 1 0 0 17 7 3.86
T. Wellemeyer L 0.1 2 3 3 1 1 1 24 12 9.53 0-2
M. Remlinger 0.2 3 1 1 0 1 1 13 8 7.50
J. Koronka 2 3 1 1 0 0 1 21 15 4.50

Batters Faced: R. Dempster 24, C. Fox 4, T. Wellemeyer 4,
M. Remlinger 5, J. Koronka 9
Inherited Runners-Scored: C. Fox 2-1, T. Wellemeyer 1-1
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: R. Dempster 4-8, C. Fox 0-1,
T. Wellemeyer 0-0, M. Remlinger 0-1, J. Koronka 3-3

GAME INFO
Time: 4:24
Attendance: 39083 (39111, 99.9%) at Wrigley Field
Weather: Partly cloudy (59 degrees), wind blowing out to right at 18 mph
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Gary Sheffield

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
PRESEASON TOP 25 UNVEILED
Duke may have been second best a year ago but the Associated Press preseason college basketball poll has the Blue Devils ranked number one in the nation. In addition to returning 4 starters the Blue Devils also have what is considered the nation's best recruiting class. Defending National Champion Syracuse is ranked 4th.

Locally, Pittsburgh is rated 16th in the preseason poll. Illinois, at #9, is the top Big Ten team with Michigan State and Indiana also cracking the top 25.

AP PRESEASON TOP 25
1- Duke
2- Notre Dame
3- North Carolina
4- Syracuse
5- Kentucky
6- Gonzaga
7- Connecticut
8- Kansas
9- Illinois
10- Arizona
11- Cincinnati
12- Louisville
13- Wake Forest
14- Louisiana State
15- Michigan State
16- Pittsburgh
17- Arkansas
18- Florida
19- Oklahoma
20- Indiana
21- Temple
22- Oklahoma State
23- Maryland
24- UCLA
25- Utah

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NITTANY LIONS TRAVEL TO NORTHWESTERN
The Penn State football team can guarantee itself a bowl game with a victory at Northwestern this week. The Nittany Lions are 6-2 (4-2 in Big Ten) on the season and still have an outside chance at the Big Ten title. With trips to Illinois (1-7) and West Virginia (6-3) remaining on the schedule an 8 win season seems a certainty with a chance to finish the campaign at 9-2. First up though are the 1-7 Wildcats. Northwestern is on a high, coming off a 51-10 thrashing of Iowa for their first win of the season.

PENN STATE 2005 SCHEDULE
WIN 36-32 Temple
WIN 30-16 Memphis
WIN 33-30 Wisconsin
Loss 23-21 Ohio State
Loss 16-3 at Purdue
WIN 22-20 at Michigan State
WIN 21-17 Minnesota
WIN 40-9 Indiana

October 30 at Northwestern
November 5 at Illinois
November 12 at West Virginia

BIG 10 STANDINGS
CONF OVERALL[/b]
Michigan 5-1 8-1
Ohio State 4-1 7-1
Michigan State 4-2 7-2
Minnesota 4-2 7-2
Penn State 4-2 6-2
Wisconsin 4-3 7-3
Iowa 2-4 4-4
Purdue 2-4 5-4
Illinois 1-4 1-7
Northwestern 1-4 1-7
Indiana 1-5 2-6

SATURDAY'S GAMES
PENN STATE at Northwestern
Illinois at Ohio State
Michigan at Indiana
Iowa at Minnesota
Michigan State at Purdue

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
PENS FALL IN SHOOTOUT AT BUFFALO
The Buffalo Sabres beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 in a game that went to a shootout to decide a winner. Mario Lemieux, who had a goal and 2 assists in regulation time, was the only Penguin to score in the shootout while the Sabres put a pair of shots past Jocelyn Thibault. The Pens goalie can not be blamed though, as he was the main reason that Pittsburgh managed to steal a point by taking the game to the shootout. Thibault faced 38 shots, many of them excellent scoring opportunities.

The Pittsburgh power play was outstanding as it led to 3 goals from the Penguins. However, Pittsburgh once again mounted very little offense while playing at even strength. Only Rico Fata, with his first of the season, managed to score at even strength. It was the second straight game in which Fata made the scoresheet after getting a pair of assists in Nashville. Sidney Crosby also had a strong game, picking up a goal and an assist as he was moved to the top powerplay unit with Mario Lemieux and Ziggy Palffy in place of the injured Mark Recchi. Lemieux was involved in all 3 power play goals.

NOES: The Penguins are back in action Saturday night when they host Anaheim. Pens forward Ryan Malone is listed as questionable for the Anaheim game after leaving in the second period with a shoulder injury.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
BUF Dumont 5(Vanek, Numminen) 7:13 PP
PIT Lemiuex 5(Crosby, Whitney) 8:51 PP
PIT Fata 1(Hill, Tarnstrom) 11:11
BUF Afinogenov 5(McKee) 16:29
BUF Kotalik 3(Connolly) 19:34
Penalties: Odelein Pit double minor 2:35, O'Donnell Pit double
minor 5:00, Connolly Buf 8:45

SECOND PERIOD
PIT Crosby 2(Palffy, Lemieux) 9:51 PP
PIT Palffy 7(Hill, Lemieux) 11:30 PP
Penalties: Kalinien Buf 9:13, Hecht Buf 10:12, Mair Buf 14:45

THIRD PERIOD
BUF Afinogenov 6(Drury, Jillson) 9:11
Penalties: Kotalik Buf 1:31, Hill Pit 12:23

OVERTIME
no scoring
Penalties: Drury Buf 4:45

SHOOTOUT
PITTSBURGH BUFFALO
Lemieux goal Briere goal
Palffy miss Afinogenov miss
Armstrong miss Connolly goal

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
BUF M Biron 26
PIT J Thibault 38

Shootouts were all the rage last night as two other games were decided by penalty shots. In Kanata, the Ottawa Senators beat New Jersey 4-3 in a shootout that took 6 rounds to decide a winner. Bryan Smolinski finally ended it with the winner for the Senators. Meanwhile, Toronto extended it's winning streak to 5 games with a 4-3 shootout win at home over Nashville.

In Boston, Patrice Bergeron scored twice to lead the Bruins past the New York Islanders 3-1. Eric Staal got the winner for the second game in a row as Carolina trimmed Washington 3-2. Martin Rucinsky scored in overtime to give the New York Rangers a 3-2 victory over Montreal spoiling a two goal effort by Claude Lapointe for the Habs. Robert Lang scored twice as Detroit beat hapless Columbus 5-3. Two third period goals from Valeri Bure lifted Los Angeles past Edmonton 4-2. Jerome Iginla had a 3 point night as Calgary beat the Avalanche in Colorado 4-2. Marian Gaborik had a goal and an assist to power Minnesota past Vancouver 2-1. Finally in Phoenix Curtis Joseph and the Coyotes shut out St Louis 4-0. It was Joseph's second shutout of the season.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 9 6 2 1 13
New Jersey 10 6 3 1 13
Pittsburgh 11 5 3 3 13
NY Islanders 10 4 5 1 9
NY Rangers 8 2 5 1 5

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Montreal 12 7 4 1 15
Ottawa 10 7 3 0 14
Buffalo 11 7 4 0 14
Toronto 12 6 5 1 13
Boston 11 4 4 3 11

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Washington 10 7 3 0 14
Florida 11 7 4 0 14
Tampa 10 5 3 2 12
Carolina 9 4 5 0 8
Atlanta 11 3 8 0 6

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 10 6 3 1 13
Detroit 11 5 4 2 12
Chicago 11 4 4 3 11
St Louis 11 4 6 1 9
Columbus 11 1 9 1 3

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Vancouver 12 7 4 1 15
Calgary 9 7 1 1 15
Minnesota 13 6 4 3 15
Colorado 12 5 6 1 11
Edmonton 11 4 5 2 10

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 10 8 2 0 16
Dallas 11 6 3 2 14
San Jose 10 5 3 2 12
Los Angeles 10 6 4 0 12
Phoenix 11 5 4 2 12

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Buffalo 5 Pittsburgh 4 (SO)
Boston 3 NY Islanders 1
Ottawa 4 New Jersey 3 (SO)
Toronto 4 Nashville 3 (SO)
Carolina 3 Washington 2
NY Rangers 3 Montreal 2 (OT)
Detroit 5 Columbus 3
Los Angeles 4 Edmonton 2
Calgary 4 Colorado 2
Minnesota 2 Vancouver 1
Phoenix 4 St Louis 0

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Anaheim at Philadelphia
Dallas at Florida
Tampa Bay at NY Islanders
Buffalo at Chicago
Edmonton at San Jose

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Ziggy Palffy PIT 11 7 10 17
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 10 5 12 17
Dany Heatley OTT 10 6 10 16
Brad Richards TB 10 7 8 15
Martin St Louis TB 10 7 8 15
Markus Naslund VAN 12 7 8 15
Mario Lemieux PIT 11 5 10 15
Vincent Lecavalier TB 10 4 11 15
Teemu Selanne ANA 10 7 7 14
Saku Koivu MON 12 6 8 14
Brian Rolston MIN 13 5 9 14
Mike Modano DAL 11 3 11 14
Tyler Arnason CHI 11 5 8 13
Sergei Federov ANA 10 4 9 13
Alexander Frolov LA 10 6 6 12
Maxim Afinogenov BUF 11 6 6 12
Marian Gaborik MIN 13 6 6 12
Todd Bertuzzi VAN 12 6 6 12
Bill Guerin DAL 11 6 6 12
Ladislav Nagy PHO 11 5 7 12
Brendan Morrison VAN 12 3 9 12

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
KITCHENER WEATHERS STORM
The Kitchener Rangers scored three unaswered third period goals to beat the Guelph Storm 6-4 in Ontario Hockey League play. Defenseman Boris Valabik, an Atlanta Thrasher draft pick, led the comeback with a goal and an assist in the final stanza. The victory moves the Rangers out of the basement of the Midwest Division and a point ahead of Guelph.

In the only other game last night Belleville beat Ottawa 4-1.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 13 10 1 2 22
Owen Sound 13 10 3 0 20
ERIE 13 8 4 1 17
Kitchener 12 6 4 2 14
Guelph 14 6 7 1 13

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 13 8 3 2 18
Saginaw 13 5 7 1 11
Sarnia 15 5 9 1 11
Sault Ste Marie 13 5 7 1 11
Windsor 11 3 6 2 8

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 14 9 4 1 19
St Michael's 13 8 4 1 17
Barrie 13 7 6 0 14
Sudbury 11 6 5 0 12
Mississauga 13 3 7 3 9

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 13 7 2 4 18
Kingston 12 7 4 1 15
Peterborough 12 6 4 2 14
Ottawa 14 6 7 1 13
Belleville 15 5 9 1 11

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Belleville 4 Ottawa 1
Kitchener 6 Guelph 4

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Barrie at Sudbury
Belleville at Mississauga
Sarnia at Kingston

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 13 12 20 32
Wojtek Wolski Bram 14 10 13 23
Dan Collins Plym 13 10 12 22
David Boland Lond 13 12 9 21
Michael Blunden ERIE 13 11 10 21
Cory Emmerton King 12 7 14 21
Ryan Callahan Guel 14 11 9 20
Jamie Tardif Pete 12 10 10 20
Tyler Doig Guel 14 8 12 20
Joshua Bailey OwS 13 7 13 20
Justin Donati StM 13 6 14 20
Nick Foligno Sudb 11 6 14 20
Luch Aquino Bram 14 10 9 19
Bryan Little Barr 13 9 10 19
Matt Lyall Guel 14 7 12 19
Matt Kang OwS 13 9 9 18
Peter Franchin StM 13 9 9 18
Tyler Doig Guel 13 7 11 18
Vaclav Meidl Plym 13 6 12 18

Tiger Fan

02-02-2006, 11:58 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Saturday October 29, 2005

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
DUCKS FLYING HIGH
The Anaheim Mighty Ducks love the shoot-out, but then again there isn't much the Ducks don't love about the new NHL season. The Ducks improved to 3-0 in shootouts and a league best 9-2 overall with a 4-3 win over the Flyers in Philadelphia. Teemu Selanne scored twice with center Sergei Federov assisting on both goals th lead Anaheim. In overtime both Selanne and Federov managed to put the puck past Philadelphia goaltender Robert Esche while JS Giguerre stopped both Flyers shots he faced. Next up for the Ducks will be a trip to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins tonight.

In other action the Panthers and Sabres are tied at the top of the Eastern Conference after both won last night. In Florida, Rostislav Olesz scored twice to lead the Panthers past Dallas 4-3 while in Chicago Maxim Afinogenov scored once and added an assist in a 4-1 Buffalo victory.

Tampa Bay's big line led the Lightning past the New York Islanders 5-3. Martin St Louis scored twice while Brad Richards earned 3 assists and Vincent Lecavalier added a pair of helpers. In the only other game Raffi Torres scored with less than 4 minutes remaining in regulation to give Edmonton a 3-2 win over San Jose.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 10 6 2 2 14
New Jersey 10 6 3 1 13
Pittsburgh 11 5 3 3 13
NY Islanders 11 4 6 1 9
NY Rangers 8 2 5 1 5

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Buffalo 12 8 4 0 16
Montreal 12 7 4 1 15
Ottawa 10 7 3 0 14
Toronto 12 6 5 1 13
Boston 11 4 4 3 11

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Florida 12 8 4 0 16
Washington 10 7 3 0 14
Tampa 11 6 3 2 14
Carolina 9 4 5 0 8
Atlanta 11 3 8 0 6

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 10 6 3 1 13
Detroit 11 5 4 2 12
Chicago 12 4 5 3 11
St Louis 11 4 6 1 9
Columbus 11 1 9 1 3

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 9 7 1 1 15
Vancouver 12 7 4 1 15
Minnesota 13 6 4 3 15
Edmonton 12 5 5 2 12
Colorado 12 5 6 1 11

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 11 9 2 0 18
Dallas 12 6 4 2 14
San Jose 11 5 4 2 12
Los Angeles 10 6 4 0 12
Phoenix 11 5 4 2 12

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Anaheim 4 Philadelphia 3 (SO)
Florida 4 Dallas 3
Tampa Bay 5 NY Islanders 3
Buffalo 4 Chicago 1
Edmonton 3 San Jose 2

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Anaheim at Pittsburgh

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Brad Richards TB 11 7 11 18
Martin St Louis TB 11 9 8 17
Ziggy Palffy PIT 11 7 10 17
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 10 5 12 17
Vincent Lecavalier TB 11 4 13 17
Teemu Selanne ANA 11 9 7 16
Dany Heatley OTT 10 6 10 16
Markus Naslund VAN 12 7 8 15
Mario Lemieux PIT 11 5 10 15
Sergei Federov ANA 11 4 11 15
Maxim Afinogenov BUF 12 7 7 14
Saku Koivu MON 12 6 8 14
Brian Rolston MIN 13 5 9 14
Mike Modano DAL 12 3 11 14
Tyler Arnason CHI 12 5 8 13

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
ICE DOGS CONTINUE HOT STREAK
After a 1-7-1 start the Mississauga Ice Dogs are on a roll, picking up points in the fifth straight game with a 6-3 win on home ice over Belleville. The Ice Dogs have 3 wins and a pair of overtime losses in that span. Last night the Ice Dogs scored 4 times in the third period to rally for the win. Jordan Owens and Mike Duco each scored twice for the winners. Duco, an 18 year old forward, has 5 goals and two assists since being acquired from Kitchener 4 games ago.

Saginaw doubled Kingston 4-2 as Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick Marek Kvapil had a goal and an assist for the Spirit. In the only other game Barrie beat Sudbury 4-3 in a shootout. Highly touted 17 year old Bryan Little had a pair of assists and scored in the shootout for the Colts.

The Erie Otters return to action this evening when they host Owen Sound in one of 9 games on the schedule.

LONDON'S SCHREMP NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Rob Schremp of the London Knights was named the OHL's top performer for the past 7 days after he picked up 11 points in 3 games including a pair of assists in a win over Erie. Schremp is the league's leading scorer by a wide margin and wins the player of the week award for the second time this season. The 19 year old Syracuse native was a first round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2004 NHL draft.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 13 10 1 2 22
Owen Sound 13 10 3 0 20
ERIE 13 8 4 1 17
Kitchener 12 6 4 2 14
Guelph 14 6 7 1 13

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 13 8 3 2 18
Saginaw 14 6 7 1 13
Sarnia 15 5 9 1 11
Sault Ste Marie 13 5 7 1 11
Windsor 11 3 6 2 8

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 14 9 4 1 19
St Michael's 13 8 4 1 17
Barrie 14 8 6 0 16
Sudbury 12 6 5 1 13
Mississauga 14 4 7 3 11

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 13 7 2 4 18
Kingston 13 7 5 1 15
Peterborough 12 6 4 2 14
Ottawa 14 6 7 1 13
Belleville 16 5 10 1 11

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Barrie 4 Sudbury 3 (SO)
Belleville 3 Mississauga 6
Saginaw 4 Kingston 2

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Owen Sound at ERIE
Guelph at Belleville
Peterborough at Ottawa
London at Plymouth
Sudbury at Ottawa
Sault Ste Marie at Kingston
Sarnia at Kitchener
St Michael's at Windsor
Mississauga at Brampton

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 13 12 20 32
Wojtek Wolski Bram 14 10 13 23
Dan Collins Plym 13 10 12 22
Cory Emmerton King 13 8 14 22
David Boland Lond 13 12 9 21
Michael Blunden ERIE 13 11 10 21
Bryan Little Barr 14 9 12 21
Nick Foligno Sudb 12 7 14 21
Ryan Callahan Guel 14 11 9 20
Jamie Tardif Pete 12 10 10 20
Tyler Doig Guel 14 8 12 20
Joshua Bailey OwS 13 7 13 20
Justin Donati StM 13 6 14 20
Luch Aquino Bram 14 10 9 19
Evan McGrath Kitc 12 7 12 19
Matt Lyall Guel 14 7 12 19
Matt Kang OwS 13 9 9 18
Peter Franchin StM 13 9 9 18
Vaclav Meidl Plym 13 6 12 18

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
TODAY'S COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
#23 Penn State at Northwestern
Illinois at #5 Ohio State
#4 Michigan at Indiana
Iowa at #6 Minnesota
#13 Michigan State at Purdue
Florida State at Boston College
Duke at #24 Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech at Wake Forest
Virginia at Maryland
#7 Syracuse at Louisville
South Florida at Cincinnati
Rutgers at Pittsburgh
Kansas State at Nebraska
Baylor at Texas Tech
Oklahoma State at Kansas
#11 Oklahoma at Colorado
Southern Miss at Marshall
Houston at Tulsa
Tulane at UAB
Rice at East Carolina
Kent State at Bowling Green
Ball State at Toledo
Central Michigan at Miami(Oh)
Eastern Michigan at Akron
TCU at Wyoming
San Diego State at Utah
Colorado State at Air Force
New Mexico at UNLV
Oregon State at #15 Arizona
#8 USC at #18 Arizona State
#2 California at UCLA
#20 Stanford at Oregon
Vanderbilt at Kentucky
#21 LSU at #1 Arkansas
#14 Mississippi at Florida
Mississippi State at South Carolina
Middle Tenn State at La-Monroe
North Texas at La-Lafayette
Arkansas State at Florida International
Idaho at San Jose State
Fresno State at Nevada
Boise State at New Mexico State
Louisiana Tech at Hawaii

Tiger Fan

02-09-2006, 09:31 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Sunday October 30, 2005

WORLD SERIES
YANKEES WIN SERIES
The New York Yankees beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 last night to win the 2005 World Series 4 games to two. Carl Pavano allowed just 1 earned run over 7 plus innings work and Hideki Matsui hit a two run homer to pace the Yankees to victory.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the 4th when Jason Giambi hit an rbi double to score Gary Sheffield and give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Giambi's double was the first hit of the game allowed by Cubs starter Kerry Wood. In the fifth the Yankees would get 3 more hits and, aided by an error from Cubs second baseman Todd Walker, 4 more runs. Mark Loretta led off the home half of the fifth with a single but he was retired when Tino Martinez hit into a fielder's choice. Derek Jeter than hit a grounder to Walker that could easily have been an inning-ending doubleplay ball. Instead, Walker booted it to put runners on first and second. After Bernie Williams popped out for out number two Alex Rodriguez delivered a 2-run double and than Matsui followed with a 2-run homer to make it 5-0 Yankees. The Cubs never recovered.

Chicago did get one run in the 8th on an Aramis Ramirez rbi double but Pavano would get out of the inning with no further damage. Felix Rodriguez came on in relief to retire the final 5 batters and clinch the series.

GAME SIX BOXSCORE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Chicago (N) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 6 2
New York (A) 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 X 5 5 0

CHICAGO (N) AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
R. Johnson DH 4 0 2 0 0 0 .254 2 7
D. Gregg LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 .143 0 1
C. Patterson CF 3 0 0 0 1 0 .284 3 7
D. Lee 1B 4 0 0 0 0 2 .238 2 12
N. Garciaparra SS 4 0 0 0 0 1 .303 0 10
T. Walker 2B 4 1 1 0 0 0 .340 1 4
M. Lawton RF 3 0 1 0 0 2 .345 4 12
A. Ramirez 3B 3 0 1 1 0 0 .351 0 15
M. Barrett C 3 0 1 0 0 0 .196 2 6
Totals 32 1 6 1 1 6

BATTING
Doubles: A. Ramirez (8, 7th inning off Pavano, 1 on, 2 out.)
Runs Batted In: A. Ramirez (15)
Stolen Bases: R. Johnson (3), C. Patterson (5), M. Lawton (1)
Caught Stealing: R. Johnson (3)
Team LOB: 4

FIELDING
Errors: T. Walker, A. Ramirez
Double Plays: 1 (Wood-Walker-Lee)

NEW YORK (A) AB R H RBI BB K AVG HR RBI
D. Jeter SS 4 1 0 0 0 0 .250 2 5
B. Williams LF 4 0 0 0 0 0 .257 2 7
A. Rodriguez 3B 4 1 2 2 0 0 .301 3 11
H. Matsui CF 3 1 1 2 0 0 .266 2 8
G. Sheffield RF 4 1 0 0 0 1 .314 4 17
J. Giambi DH 2 0 1 1 1 0 .255 5 13
J. Posada C 2 0 0 0 1 0 .141 1 7
M. Loretta 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0 .268 1 7
T. Martinez 1B 3 1 0 0 0 0 .196 2 7
Totals 29 5 5 5 2 1

BATTING
Doubles: A. Rodriguez (6, 5th inning off Wood, 2 on, 2 out.)
J. Giambi (4, 4th inning off Wood, 1 on, 2 out.)
Homeruns: H. Matsui (2, 5th inning off Wood, 1 on, 2 out.)
Runs Batted In: A. Rodriguez 2 (11), H. Matsui 2 (8), J. Giambi (13)
Stolen Bases: A. Rodriguez (2)
Team LOB: 4

PITCHING
CHICAGO (N) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
K. Wood L 8 5 5 1 2 1 1 106 62 3.44 1-2

Batters Faced: K. Wood 33
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: K. Wood 12-11

NEW YORK (A) IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
C. Pavano W 7.1 6 1 1 1 6 0 104 66 4.45 2-1
F. Rodriguez 1.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 6 2.95

Batters Faced: C. Pavano 28, F. Rodriguez 5
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: C. Pavano 10-5, F. Rodriguez 4-1

GAME INFO
Time: 2:43
Attendance: 57468 (57478, 100.0%) at Yankee Stadium
Weather: Partly cloudy (56 degrees), wind blowing in from left at 9 mph
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Carl Pavano

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
DEFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS LEAD NITTANY LIONS PAST NORTHWESTERN
Despite a subpar game from their offense the Penn State Nittany Lions football team had a very easy time Saturday, winning by a 47-14 count at Northwestern. The Nittany Lions won handily despite giving up 355 net yards to the Wildcats while racking up just 305 of their own.

The difference was 6 turnovers committed by the Wildcats including two that were returned for defensive touchdowns. Penn State junior defensive tackle had a career day recording 2 sacks including one for a safety as well as forcing 2 fumbles and recovering 3. Smith also returned one of the 3 fumbles 22 yards for a touchdown. Senior linebacker Hank Freeman also scored a defensive touchdown, the first of his career, on an 83 yard interception return late in the game.

The only dissappointing facet of Penn State's game was the inability of the offense to score from the red zone. Six of the Penn State drives ended in Brandon Gilchrist field goals, including three times when the Nittany Lions had a first and goal inside the Northwestern 5 yard line.

Next up for Penn State is their final conference game of the season when they visit Illinois next Saturday.

TEAM 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
Penn State 15 16 0 16 47
Northwestern 7 0 0 7 14

First Quarter
PENN TD 13:10 7-0 79 YD Punt Return by Alex Hood (Gilchrist Kick).
NW TD 10:33 7-7 Todd Harper 20 YD Pass from De'Mond Harper(Mitchell Kick).
PENN FG 5:53 10-7 Brandon Gilchrist 33 YD
PENN SAF 4:47 12-7 Ray Smith sacked De'Mond Harper in the end zone for a safety.
PENN FG 0:32 15-7 Brandon Gilchrist 26 YD
Second Quarter
PENN FG 09:50 18-7 Brandon Gilchrist 22 YD
PENN FG 05:44 21-7 Brandon Gilchrist 26 YD
PENN FG 02:41 24-7 Brandon Gilchrist 42 YD
PENN TD 01:40 31-7 22 YD Fumble Return by Ray Smith (Gilchrist Kick)
Third Quarter
no scoring
Fourth Quarter
PENN TD 12:53 37-7 Val Taylor 3 YD Pass from Earl McGee(Gilchrist Kick Failed)
NW TD 10:28 37-14 Larry Edmunds 48 YD Pass from A.D. Sheriff(Mitchell Kick)
PENN FG 05:29 40-14 Brandon Gilchrist 33 YD
PENN TD 01:51 47-14 83 YD Int Return by Hank Freeman (Gilchrist Kick).

TEAM STATISTICS
PENN NW
First Downs 21 19
Rushing 7 5
Passing 12 13
Penalty 2 1
3rd-down Efficiency 7-20 6-13
4th-down Efficiency 0-1 0-0
Total Net Yards 302 355
Total plays 74 73
Average gain 4.1 4.9
Net Yards Rushing 106 75
Rushes 41 30
Average per rush 2.6 2.5
Net Yards Passing 196 280
Completed-attempted 18-32 21-39
Yards per pass 6.1 7.2
Sacked-yards lost 1-3 4-29
Had intercepted 0 3
Punts-average 4-41.5 3-43.3
Return Yardage 281 201
Punts-returns 2-86 3-52
Kickoffs-returns 3-94 7-149
Ints-returns 3-101 0-0
Penalties-yards 3-55 9-65
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-3
Touchdowns 3 2
Rushing 0 0
Passing 1 2
Extra Points 3-4 2-2
Field Goals 6-6 0-1
Red Zone Efficiency 6-6 100% 1-1 100%
Time Of Possession 35:40 24:20

NW PASSING CP/AT YDS TD INT LG SACK
QB D. Harper 13/25 162 1 1 42 4-29
QB A. Sheriff 5/10 89 1 2 48 0-0
QB W. Harris 3/4 29 0 0 15 0-0
PENN PASSING CP/AT YDS TD INT LG SACK
QB E. McGee 16/27 151 1 0 19 1-3
QB R. Dixon 2/4 45 0 0 26 0-0
QB B. Downs 0/1 0 0 0 0 0-0

NW RUSHING ATT YDS YPC TD LG
RB L. Ross 10 72 7.20 0 20
RB T. Franklin 8 16 2.00 0 5
WR T. Harper 1 9 9.00 0 9
QB D. Harper 4 7 1.80 0 6
WR L. Edmunds 1 1 1.00 0 1
FB S. Sidle 2 -1 -0.50 0 0
PENN RUSHING ATT YDS YPC TD LG
RB T. Collins 22 95 4.30 0 19
QB E. McGee 4 7 1.80 0 2
RB H. Barber 5 4 0.80 0 3
RB C. Mistler 4 3 0.80 0 4
FB J. Redmond 2 2 1.00 0 3
WR V. Taylor 1 0 0.00 0 0
QB B. Downs 2 -2 -1.00 0 0

NW RECEIVING ATT REC YDS YPC YAC TD LG DRP
WR L. Edmunds 14 7 97 13.90 24 1 48 0
RB L. Ross 4 3 56 18.70 40 0 42 0
TE T. Reaves 5 4 38 9.50 4 0 15 0
WR T. Harper 6 2 35 17.50 4 1 20 0
WR W. Warrick 10 3 32 10.70 4 0 17 0
TE S. Berry 1 1 14 14.00 3 0 14 0
WR J. Spinney 1 1 8 8.00 1 0 8 0
FB S. Sidle 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FB B. Ayanbadejo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PENN RECEIVING ATT REC YDS YPC YAC TD LG DRP
TE N. Brown 4 2 43 21.50 9 0 26 0
RB T. Collins 5 3 42 14.00 30 0 19 1
WR V. Taylor 6 5 31 6.20 3 1 9 0
WR D. Ferguson 6 4 31 7.80 7 0 17 0
WR H. Walker 9 3 30 10.00 7 0 13 2
WR J. Peterson 3 1 19 19.00 3 0 19 0

NW O-LINE KRB PCK SA HLD FS
OT M. Carpenter 0 2 0 0 0
OG M. Blanks 0 1 1 0 1
OT W. Williams 0 0 1 0 0
OG J. Henry 0 0 1 0 0
TE T. Reaves 0 0 0 1 0
C D. Carter 0 0 1 0 1
PENN O-LINE KRB PCK SA HLD FS
OG W. Stanciel 3 0 0 0 0
C A. Shockey 1 0 0 0 0
C S. Robinson 0 1 0 0 0
TE N. Brown 0 1 0 0 0
OG C. Niland 0 1 0 0 0
OT B. Smith 0 0 1 0 0

NW FUMBLES FUM LOST REC YDS
FB S. Sidle 2 2 0 0
WR L. Edmunds 1 1 0 0
PENN FUMBLES FUM LOST REC YDS
DT R. Smith 0 0 3 52

NW KICKING FG LONG XP PTS
K D. Mitchell 0/1 0 2/2 2
PENN KICKING FG LONG XP PTS
K B. Gilchrist 6/6 42 3/4 21

NW PUNTING NO AVG NET I-20 TB LG
P P. Smith 3 43.3 16.3 0 0 48
PENN PUNTING NO AVG NET I-20 TB LG
P D. Palmer 4 41.5 28.5 0 0 52

NW KICK RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG
FS D. Sauerbrun 6 22.2 0 35
WR J. Spinney 1 16.0 0 16
PENN KICK RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG
CB M. Tomlinson 3 31.3 0 35

NW PUNT RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG FC
CB A. Smith 3 17.3 0 26 0
PENN PUNT RETURNS NO AVG TD LONG FC
SS A. Hood 2 43.0 1 79 1

NW DEFENSE T-A SCK STF HUR DP INT FF PD
FS D. Sauerbrun 7-3 0 2 0 0 0 0 1
ILB B. Spilis 5-2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
DE H. Parker 5-0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0
SS D. MacKinnon 4-3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
OLB J. Porter 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SS D. Franckowiak 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DE H. Barnard 3-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
CB K. Pearson 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OLB R. Torkelson 1-3 0 0 2 0 0 0 1
CB D. Banks 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DE B. Schweickert 1-0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
DT L. Manumaleuna 1-0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0
CB A. Smith 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
PENN DEFENSE T-A SCK STF HUR DP INT FF PD
ILB L. Sullivan 5-2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
FS A. Jackson 5-1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
DT R. Smith 5-0 2 2 1 2 0 2 0
SS A. Hood 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
OLB M. Burford 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ILB K. Wimberly 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
OLB H. Freeman 2-0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
FS J. Davenport 2-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
SS A. Brady 1-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DE L. Mackenzie 1-0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0
DT S. Konrad 1-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
CB M. Tomlinson 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
CB B. Barksdale 0-1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BUCKEYES AND WOLVERINES POST EASY WINS
The Big Ten co-leaders had an easy time of things on Saturday as both Michigan and Ohio State cruised to victory. In Columbus, the Buckeyes improved to 5-1 in conference play with a 58-7 pounding of Illinois. Michigan had no trouble on the road beating Indiana 31-14 to improve to 6-1. As is the case most seasons the Big Ten title will likely be decided when Michigan and Ohio State meet in three weeks time. The Buckeyes just need to beat Iowa next weekend to join Michigan at 6-1 heading into the season ending contest.

Elsewhere, Purdue needed overtime to beat Michigan State 37-31. The loss drops the Spartans out of a tie for 3rd place with Minnesota and Penn State. The Golden Gophers kept pace with the Nittany Lions at 5-2 by beating Iowa 24-16.

BIG 10 STANDINGS
CONF OVERALL[/b]
Michigan 6-1 9-1
Ohio State 5-1 8-1
Minnesota 5-2 8-2
Penn State 5-2 7-2
Michigan State 4-3 7-3
Wisconsin 4-3 7-3
Purdue 3-4 6-4
Iowa 2-5 4-5
Illinois 1-5 1-8
Northwestern 1-5 1-8
Indiana 1-6 2-7

RESULTS
PENN STATE 47 Northwestern 14
Ohio State 58 Illinois 7
Michigan 31 Indiana 14
Minnesota 24 Iowa 16
Purdue 37 Michigan State 31 (OT)

NEXT SATURDAY'S GAMES
PENN STATE at Illinois
Minnesota at Wisconsin
Ohio State at Iowa
Northwestern at Michigan State
Indiana at Temple

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
SEC ROUND-UP
Craig Marino ran for 205 yards and a touchdown to help the number one ranked Arkansas Razorbacks to an easy win over Louisiana State. The improves Arkansas to 6-0 in SEC play and helps them remain the only unbeaten team in the nation.

A successful onside kick and a pair of touchdowns in the final two minutes of the game gave Kentucky a 30-29 come from behind victory over Vanderbilt. Mississippi nearly rallied against Georgia but their onside kick attempt in the closing minute failed as the Gators prevailed 28-26. Elsewhere South Carolina beat Mississippi State 19-6.

SEC RESULTS
Arkansas 34 LSU 3
Florida 28 Mississippi 26
South Carolina 19 Mississippi State 6
Kentucky 30 Vanderbilt 29

NEXT WEEK
Tennessee at Vanderbilt
Florida at South Carolina
Georgia at Mississippi State
Arkansas at Kentucky
Mississippi at Alabama
Auburn at LSU

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
East Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Georgia 6-1 7-2
Florida 5-2 7-2
Tennessee 4-3 7-3
Kentucky 3-4 5-4
South Carolina 2-5 2-7
Vanderbilt 0-7 1-9

West Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Arkansas 6-0 9-0
Louisiana State 5-2 7-4
Alabama 4-2 7-2
Mississippi 3-3 6-3
Miss State 1-5 4-6
Auburn 1-6 1-9

OTHER RESULTS

MAC RESULTS
Bowling Green 44 Kent State 22
Ball State 19 Toledo 13
Miami(Oh) 31 Central Michigan 17
Akron 33 Eastern Michigan 32 (OT)
NEXT WEEK
Central Michigan at Troy
North Texas at Eastern Michigan

MAC STANDINGS
East Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Ohio 6-1 7-3
Bowling Green 5-2 7-2
Miami(Oh) 5-2 7-2
Buffalo 2-5 3-7
Akron 1-5 2-7
Kent State 0-6 1-9

West Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Western Michigan 7-0 8-2
Northern Illinois 4-3 5-5
Eastern Michigan 3-4 4-5
Toledo 3-4 4-6
Ball State 3-4 4-6
Central Michigan 2-5 3-6

PAC 10 RESULTS
Oregon State 52 Arizona 7
USC 21 Arizona State 19
UCLA 34 California 13
Oregon 24 Stanford 17

NEXT WEEK
Arizona at Washington State
Stanford at Arizona State
Oregon at California
UCLA at Oregon State
Washington at USC

PAC 10 STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
USC 5-1 7-2
California 4-2 7-2
Washington St 4-2 6-3
Oregon State 3-3 5-4
Stanford 3-3 6-3
Arizona 3-3 6-3
UCLA 3-3 5-4
Arizona State 2-4 5-4
Washington 2-4 5-4
Oregon 1-5 4-5

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
Boston College 27 Florida State 24
Virginia Tech 48 Duke 17
Georgia Tech 38 Wake Forest 20
Maryland 48 Virginia 17

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Clemson at Florida State
Wake Forest at Maryland
NC State at Virginia
Virginia Tech at Boston College
Georgia Tech at North Carolina
Miami at Duke

Atlantic Coast Standings
Atlantic Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Maryland 6-1 8-2
Florida State 3-4 4-5
Clemson 3-4 4-5
Boston College 3-4 6-4
Wake Forest 2-5 2-7
NC State 2-5 4-6

Coastal Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Miami 6-1 8-2
North Carolina 5-2 6-3
Virginia Tech 4-2 6-3
Georgia Tech 4-3 6-3
Virginia 2-4 3-6
Duke 1-6 2-8

BIG EAST RESULTS
Syracuse 31 Louisville 17
South Florida 19 Cincinnati 14
Rutgers 29 Pittsburgh 23

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Syracuse at South Florida
Pittsburgh at West Virginia
Cincinnati at UConn
Louisville at Rutgers

BIG EAST STANDINGS
CONF OVERALL[/b]
Syracuse 6-0 9-1
Rutgers 5-1 5-5
South Florida 5-1 6-3
West Virginia 3-3 6-3
UConn 2-4 2-7
Cincinnati 1-5 1-7
Pittsburgh 1-5 3-6
Louisville 1-5 2-7

BIG 12 RESULTS
Nebraska 31 Kansas State 16
Texas Tech 19 Baylor 3
Oklahoma State 23 Kansas 21
Colorado 27 Oklahoma 22

NEXT WEEK
Iowa State at Kansas State
Kansas at Colorado
Missouri at Oklahoma
Texas Tech at Nebraska
Oklahoma State at Texas A&M
Texas at Baylor

BIG 12 CONFERENCE
North Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Colorado 5-2 6-3
Missouri 4-3 6-4
Kansas 3-4 3-6
Iowa State 3-4 4-5
Nebraska 3-4 5-5
Kansas State 2-5 4-6

South Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Oklahoma 5-1 7-2
Texas 5-1 8-1
Texas A&M 4-2 7-2
Oklahoma State 4-2 6-3
Texas Tech 2-5 3-7
Baylor 0-7 0-10

MOUTAIN WEST RESULTS
TCU 32 Wyoming 14
Utah 20 San Diego State 16
Colorado State 13 Air Force 10
UNLV 43 New Mexico 3

NEXT WEEK
TCU at Colorado State
Air Force at UNLV
BYU at Utah

MOUNTAIN WEST STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
Colorado State 6-1 7-2
TCU 5-1 7-2
Air Force 4-2 6-3
Utah 4-2 5-4
BYU 3-3 4-5
Wyoming 3-4 3-6
San Diego State 3-4 6-4
UNLV 1-5 3-5
New Mexico 0-7 0-9

CONFERENCE USA
Marshall 45 Southern Miss 21
Tulsa 19 Houston 17
UAB 16 Tulane 10
Rice 30 East Carolina 13

C-USA STANDINGS
East Division
TEAM CONF OVER
Marshall 6-1 8-2
UAB 5-2 5-4
Southern Miss 4-3 4-6
Memphis 3-4 3-7
East Carolina 2-5 2-7
Central Fla 2-5 3-7

West Division
TEAM CONF OVER
UTEP 5-2 6-4
Rice 4-2 5-4
Tulane 4-3 4-6
Tulsa 3-4 3-7
SMU 2-5 3-6
Houston 1-5 1-8

SUN BELT
La-Monroe 35 Middle Tenn State 10
North Texas 24 La-Lafayette 17
Arkansas State 24 Florida International 13

SUN BELT STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
North Texas 5-1 7-2
Florida Atl. 4-1 4-4
Arkansas St 3-3 4-6
Troy 3-3 4-5
Florida Int. 2-3 2-6
La-Monroe 2-3 2-7
Middle Tenn St 2-4 2-8
La-Lafayette 1-4 2-7

WESTERN ATHLETIC
San Jose State 20 Idaho 14
Fresno State 36 Nevada 7
Boise State 29 New Mexico 20
Hawaii 31 Louisiana Tech 3

WAC STANDINGS
TEAM CONF OVER
Boise State 7-0 8-1
Fresno State 5-2 8-2
San Jose State 5-2 6-3
New Mexico St 4-2 5-3
Louisiana Tech 4-3 5-4
Hawaii 3-3 4-5
Utah State 1-5 1-8
Nevada 0-6 0-8
Idaho 0-6 0-9

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS WIN IN OVERTIME
Ryan O'Marra scored 16 seconds in to overtime to give the Erie Otters a 3-2 victory over the visiting Owen Sound Attack in Ontario Hockey League action. The game winner capped a terrific game from the Otters big line of O'Marra, Michael Blunden and Christian Seest-Olsen as the trio was on the ice for all 3 Otter goals. Blunden scored the first two of the game and added an assist on the game winner to increase his point total on the season to 24, good for second in the league.

A collapse in the final minute of the second period was the only down moment for the Otters as winger Chris Greene coughed the puck up in his own zone in the closing seconds allowing Attack defenseman Kyle Lamb to get his first goal of the season with just 7 seconds remaining in the period. Other than that the otters were in control of the game and, despite being outshot 28-25, rarely allowed the Attack any decent scoring chances.

The win moves the Otters to within 2 points of the Attack in the fight for second place in the Midwest Division.

OTTER TALES - 16 year old forward Anthony Peluso was reassigned to Fort Erie of the Golden Horseshoe Junior B league. In 6 games with the Otters the youngster failed to record a point and was -5. He was the Otters first round pick in last summer's OHL draft. Meanwhile the Otters recalled goaltender Mickey Thistel from Fort Erie. The 17 year old had a 2.30 goals against average in 10 games for the Junior B Meteors.

ERIE OTTERS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
ERI Blunden 12(Seest-Olsen, O'Marra) 11:48
Penalties: Nolan Eri minor, misconduct 3:15, Grant OS
7:32, Merlini Eri 7:32, Lamb OS 13:10, Ouellet OS 18:43

SECOND PERIOD
ERI Blunden 13(McKinley, O'Marra) 0:14 PP
OS Ryan 10(Giles) 15:23
OS Lamb 1(Ryan, Conway) 19:53
Penalties: Rowe OS 6:42, Merlini Eri 6:42, Rowe OS 15:02
Hotham Eri 15:02, Seest-Olsen Eri 15:34

THIRD PERIOD
no scoring
Penalties: MacLean Eri 9:37

OVERTIME
ERI O'Marra 6(Blunden, Hotham) 0:16
Penalties: none

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
ERI Jhase Sniderman 28
OS Neil Conway 25

In other Ontario Hockey League action defenseman Josh Godfrey scored twice to help Guelph past Belleville 4-2. Trevor Hendrikx had a 3 point night as Peterborough dumped East Division leading Oshawa 5-1. David Boland had a goal and two assists while Robbie Schremp added two points as London won 4-3 in Plymouth. Rookie Logan Couture had a goal and an assist as Ottawa downed Sudbury 3-1. Cody Thornton's overtime goal lifted Sault Ste Marie past Kingston 4-3. The Greyhounds scored twice in the final 8 minutes of regulation to tie the game.

Boris Valabik had 5 assists while Evan McGrath had 2 goals and 2 helpers as Kitchener had little trouble beating Sarnia 6-2. In Windsor, David Lomas had 4 points as the Spitfires beat St Michael's 5-2. Finally 7 different players scored for Brampton as the Battalion edged Mississauga 7-6.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 14 11 1 2 24
Owen Sound 14 10 3 1 21
ERIE 14 9 4 1 19
Kitchener 13 7 4 2 16
Guelph 15 7 7 1 15

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 14 8 4 2 18
Saginaw 14 6 7 1 13
Sault Ste Marie 14 6 7 1 13
Sarnia 16 5 10 1 11
Windsor 12 4 6 2 10

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 15 10 4 1 21
St Michael's 14 8 5 1 17
Barrie 14 8 6 0 16
Sudbury 13 6 6 1 13
Mississauga 15 4 8 3 11

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Oshawa 14 7 3 4 18
Kingston 14 7 5 2 16
Peterborough 13 7 4 2 16
Ottawa 15 7 7 1 15
Belleville 17 5 11 1 11

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
ERIE 3 Owen Sound 2 (OT)
Guelph 4 Belleville 2
Peterborough 5 Oshawa 1
London 4 Plymouth 3
Ottawa 3 Sudbury 1
Sault Ste Marie 4 Kingston 3 (OT)
Kitchener 6 Sarnia 2
Windsor 5 St Michael's 2
Brampton 7 Mississauga 6

TONIGHT'S GAMES
ERIE at Sault Ste Marie
Barrie at Windsor
Ottawa at Peterborough
London at Kitchener
Plymouth at Kingston
Saginaw at Brampton

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 14 13 21 34
Michael Blunden ERIE 14 13 11 24
David Boland Lond 14 13 11 24
Wojtek Wolski Bram 15 10 14 24
Evan McGrath Kitc 13 9 14 23
Ryan Callahan Guel 15 11 11 22
Jamie Tardif Pete 13 10 12 22
Dan Collins Plym 14 10 12 22
Cory Emmerton King 14 8 14 22
Tyler Doig Guel 15 9 12 21
Bryan Little Barr 14 9 12 21
Justin Donati StM 14 7 14 21
Nick Foligno Sudb 13 7 14 21
Luch Aquino Bram 15 11 9 20
Patrick Davis Kitc 13 10 10 20
Joshua Bailey OwS 14 7 13 20
Peter Franchin StM 14 9 10 19
Matt Lyall Guel 15 7 12 19
Kris Belan Lond 13 6 13 19

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
PENS FALL 4-3 TO RED HOT DUCKS
The Pittsburgh Penguins played one of their best games of the season but they still ended up with a loss as their opponent was the league's hottest team. The Anaheim Mighty Ducks improved to 10-2-0 on the season after scoring a pair of third period goals to trim the Pens 4-3.

Sergei Federov had a goal and two assists while free agent pickup Scott Niedermayer scored twice for the winners. Mario Lemieux had 3 assists for the Pens to move the team owner into a 4 way tie for the NHL scoring lead with teammate Ziggy Palffy, Federov and Brad Richards of Tampa Bay. Rookie Sidney Crosby also had a strong game playing alongside Lemieux in place of the injured Mark Recchi. Crosby had a goal and an assist to raise his point total to 11 in 12 games this season.

The Penguins return to action Monday night when they host Tampa Bay. The injury bug continues to work it's way through the organization as the Pens are expected to again be without 6 regulars including Recchi, Ryan Malone and Sergei Gonchar.

NOTES: With all of the injuries Ben Eaves made his NHL debut for the Pens against the Ducks. The rightwinger had a rough start, ending up -2 while taking a pair of penalties. The Pens also recalled left winger Matt Murley from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the game. It was Murley's second game of the season with the Pens and 20th of his NHL career.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
PIT Crosby 3(Lemieux, Hill) 0:32
ANA S Niedermayer 2(Federov, Weber) 9:14 PP
Penalties: Palffy Pit 5:51, Roy Pit 9:04, Salei Ana 9:43,
S Niedermayer Ana 10:26, Jackman Pit 15:49, Eaves Pit 18:28

SECOND PERIOD
PIT Hill 2(Tarnstrom, Lemieux) 5:30 PP
ANA Sykora 5(Weber, S. Niedermayer) 8:28
PIT Palffy 8(Lemieux, Crosby) 12:49 PP
Penalties: McDonald Ana 2:26, McDonald Ana 5:27, R Niedermayer
Ana 12:15, Audette Pit 16:20, Brennan Ana 19:59

THIRD PERIOD
ANA S Niedermayer 3(Weber, Fedorov) 4:58 PP
ANA Federov 5(Chistov) 16:54
Penalties: Eaves Pit 4:15, Vishnevski Ana 5:11, Tarnstrom Pit
13:31, Sykora Ana 17:25

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
ANA JS Giguere 27
PIT Jocelyn Thibault 33

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 10 6 2 2 14
New Jersey 10 6 3 1 13
Pittsburgh 12 5 4 3 13
NY Islanders 11 4 6 1 9
NY Rangers 8 2 5 1 5

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Buffalo 12 8 4 0 16
Montreal 12 7 4 1 15
Ottawa 10 7 3 0 14
Toronto 12 6 5 1 13
Boston 11 4 4 3 11

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Florida 12 8 4 0 16
Washington 10 7 3 0 14
Tampa 11 6 3 2 14
Carolina 9 4 5 0 8
Atlanta 11 3 8 0 6

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Nashville 10 6 3 1 13
Detroit 11 5 4 2 12
Chicago 12 4 5 3 11
St Louis 11 4 6 1 9
Columbus 11 1 9 1 3

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 9 7 1 1 15
Vancouver 12 7 4 1 15
Minnesota 13 6 4 3 15
Edmonton 12 5 5 2 12
Colorado 12 5 6 1 11

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 12 10 2 0 20
Dallas 12 6 4 2 14
San Jose 11 5 4 2 12
Los Angeles 10 6 4 0 12
Phoenix 11 5 4 2 12

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Anaheim 4 Pittsburgh 3

TONIGHT'S GAMES
NY Rangers at Buffalo
Los Angeles at Montreal
Tampa Bay at Philadelphia
New Jersey at Atlanta
Columbus at Florida
Washington at Boston
Toronto at Carolina
Calgary at Detroit
Dallas at Chicago
Ottawa at Minnesota
St Louis at Vancouver

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Ziggy Palffy PIT 12 8 10 18
Brad Richards TB 11 7 11 18
Mario Lemieux PIT 12 5 13 18
Sergei Federov ANA 12 5 13 18
Martin St Louis TB 11 9 8 17
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 10 5 12 17
Vincent Lecavalier TB 11 4 13 17
Teemu Selanne ANA 12 9 7 16
Dany Heatley OTT 10 6 10 16
Markus Naslund VAN 12 7 8 15
Maxim Afinogenov BUF 12 7 7 14
Saku Koivu MON 12 6 8 14
Brian Rolston MIN 13 5 9 14
Mike Modano DAL 12 3 11 14
Tyler Arnason CHI 12 5 8 13

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
NBA SEASON BEGINS TONIGHT
There are 3 games on the docket as the NBA season tips off this evening. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavs are in Dallas to open against the Mavericks. The other two games have Houston visiting the Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets entertaining Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Cleveland at Dallas
Houston at Golden State
LA Lakers at Denver

MONDAY'S GAMES
Toronto at Dallas
Miami at Milwaukee
Detroit at Indiana
Boston at Philadelphia
New York at Orlando
Memphis at Washington
New Orleans at Houston
Minnesota at New Jersey
San Antonio at Golden State
Phoenix at Atlanta
Utah at LA Lakers
Sacramento at Seattle
LA Clippers at Portland

SOCCER
MLS PLAYOFFS
New England advanced to the MLS Eastern Conference final with a penalty kick victory over DC United in their conference semi-final series. DC United won the second leg 1-0 at RFK Stadium after New England had taken last week's opener by the same score. All 5 of New England's shooters scored on penalty kick's but young phenom Freddy Adu missed his kick for DC United. New England will face Chicago in the Eastern Final after the Fire beat the Metro Stars 5-2 in the two game total goal series.

The Western Conference Final will pit Los Angeles against San Jose. The Galaxy drew 1-1 at Colorado yesterday to win the series 3-2 while the Earthquake beat FC Dallas 1-0 for the second game in a row.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal stretched it's lead over Manchester United to 6 points in English Premier League soccer action over the weekend. The league leaders beat Chelsea 2-1 while second place Manchester United fell 3-0 at Newcastle. Manchester City moved into third place with a victory.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Arsenal 2 Chelsea 1
Aston Villa 2 Everton 0
Norwich 2 Liverpool 1
Manchester City 1 Wolves 0
Millwall 1 Blackburn 1
Newcastle 3 Manchester United 0
Birmingham 2 Southampton 0

TODAY'S MATCHES
Tottenham at Fulham
Charlton at Crystal Palace

MONDAY'S MATCH
Wigan at Bolton

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
Arsenal 12 10 1 1 21 7 31
Man United 12 8 1 3 22 12 25
Man City 12 5 4 3 15 13 19
Liverpool 11 5 3 3 17 14 18
Norwich 12 5 3 4 16 16 18
Chelsea 11 4 5 2 15 10 17
Fulham 11 5 2 4 16 15 17
Tottenham 10 5 1 4 14 14 16
Birmingham 12 5 1 6 10 12 16
Newcastle 10 4 3 3 14 9 15
Aston Villa 11 3 5 3 15 13 14
Wigan 11 3 4 4 13 13 13
Southampton 11 2 7 2 14 17 13
Wolves 11 3 4 4 13 16 13
Bolton 11 3 3 5 14 15 12
Charlton 11 2 5 4 10 13 11
Blackburn 11 2 4 5 11 15 10
Everton 12 2 3 7 7 16 9
Crystal Palace 11 2 2 7 10 18 8
Millwall 11 1 5 5 10 19 8

Tiger Fan

02-17-2006, 08:56 AM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Monday October 31, 2005

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
BROWNS THROW ANOTHER ONE AWAY
Cleveland Browns fans probably never imagined they would miss Tim Couch as much as they do. Since the Cleveland starting quarterback has been sidelined, backup Stephen Longley has gone 0-5 and thrown 18 interceptions. Yesterday he was picked off 4 times for the third game in a row as the Buffalo Bills beat the Browns 30-21. Couch and both the first and second string running backs for the Browns are injured and doubtful to return this season.

Yesterday Buffalo quarterback Tim Rattay threw for 279 yards and a pair of touchdowns while running back Stephen Jackson gained 123 yards on the ground to pace the Buffalo offense. With 2 straight wins the Bills are now 4-3 and in a 3-way tie for top spot in the AFC East Division.

AFC North Division leader Baltimore beat New England 30-21 to drop the Patriots into the tie for first. JJ Arrington ran for 113 yards to lead the Ravens who got two defensive touchdowns in the win. Chris McAlister had a pair of interceptions including one he returned for a score. Ray Lewis recovered a fumble in the Patriots endzone for the other one.

Ricky Williams ran for 150 yards and a touchdown to help Miami thump Pittsburgh 37-13. Steelers sophomore quarterback Eli Manning had a terrible day as he was picked off 3 times.

In other action Cincinnati kept pace with Baltimore by beating the New York Jets 16-7. Carson Palmer threw for over 300 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bengals who improve to 5-2, one game back of the Ravens.

Elsewhere, Oakland held off a late charge from Tennessee but hung on to beat the winless Titans 21-18. In San Diego, league rushing leader LaDainian Tomlinson was held under a hundred yards rushing (he had 93) but caught a touchdown pass as the Chargers beat Jacksonville 7-3.

Trent Green threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns while Priest Holmes rushed for 106 yards as Kansas City topped Houston 33-21 spoiling a solid effort from Texans quarterback David Carr.

The two time defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles needed overtime to beat Washington 31-25. Cornell Buckhalter scored on a 12 yard run 5 minutes into the extra period after Donovan McNabb hit Robert Ferguson with a 6 yard pass in the final minute of regulation to tie the game.

William Peterson returned a first quarter interception 38 yards for the game's only touchdown as the New York Giants beat Dallas 10-3. The two teams combined for less than 300 net yards in the game.

Charles Rogers had 136 yards receiving including an 85 yard touchdown reception in Detroit's 23-13 win over St Louis. The loss spoiled a 4 sack day from Rams lineman Grant Wistrom.

Phillip Rivers threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns but it was not enough as his Green Bay Packers fell 27-23 in the desert to the Arizona Cardinals. Tom Brady had 267 yards passing for the winners who are tied with San Francisco for top spot in the NFC West.

The 49ers kept pace with a 31-14 victory at home over Minnesota. Vikings quarterback Dante Culpepper was intercepted 3 times in the loss. Terrell Owens had a pair of touchdown catches for San Francisco.

Finally the Seattle Seahawks defense manhandled Doug Johnson and the Chicago Bears in a 26-3 victory in the Windy City. Linebacker Anthony Simmons returned a pair of interceptions for Seattle touchdowns while the Seahawks sacked Johnson 6 times in the game.

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Oakland 21 Tennessee 18
San Diego 7 Jacksonville 3
NY Giants 10 Dallas 3
Philadelphia 31 Washington 25 (OT)
Detroit 23 St Louis 13
Baltimore 30 New England 21
Cincinnati 16 NY Jets 7
Buffalo 30 Cleveland 21
Miami 37 Pittsburgh 13
Kansas City 33 Houston 21
Arizona 27 Green Bay 23
San Francisco 31 Minnesota 14
Seattle 26 Chicago 3

MONDAY NIGHT GAME
Denver at Indianapolis

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Detroit at Chicago
Indianapolis at Houston
NY Jets at New England
Cleveland at Pittsburgh
Miami at Buffalo
San Diego at Oakland
Minnesota at Green Bay
New Orleans at Tampa Bay
Baltimore at Cincinnati
Atlanta at Carolina
Arizona at San Francisco
Seattle at St Louis
Kansas City at Denver
Tennessee at Jacksonville

NFL STANDINGS
NFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Green Bay 4 3 0 .571 157 124
Chicago 4 3 0 .571 113 123
Minnesota 3 4 0 .429 150 156
Detroit 3 4 0 .429 104 135

East W L T PCT PF PA
Philadelphia 6 2 0 .750 198 149
NY Giants 5 3 0 .625 174 140
Washington 5 3 0 .625 177 162
Dallas 4 4 0 .500 124 123

South W L T PCT PF PA
Atlanta 3 4 0 .429 141 156
New Orleans 3 4 0 .429 94 135
Tampa Bay 2 5 0 .286 127 157
Carolina 1 6 0 .143 73 140

West W L T PCT PF PA
Arizona 6 2 0 .750 222 153
San Francisco 6 2 0 .750 170 113
Seattle 4 4 0 .500 158 155
St. Louis 1 7 0 .125 130 199

AFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Baltimore 6 1 0 .857 159 102
Cincinnati 5 2 0 .714 117 106
Cleveland 1 6 0 .143 113 170
Pittsburgh 1 6 0 .143 101 166

East W L T PCT PF PA
New England 4 3 0 .571 149 143
Buffalo 4 3 0 .571 185 140
Miami 4 3 0 .571 178 155
NY Jets 3 4 0 .429 142 159

South W L T PCT PF PA
Indianapolis 3 3 0 .500 113 116
Jacksonville 3 4 0 .429 120 138
Houston 1 6 0 .143 84 138
Tennessee 0 7 0 .000 96 145

West W L T PCT PF PA
Kansas City 7 1 0 .875 228 173
Denver 6 1 0 .857 166 110
San Diego 6 2 0 .750 151 103
Oakland 3 5 0 .375 141 171

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS BLANK SAULT STE. MARIE
Derek Merlini scored twice while goaltender Jhase Sniderman turned aside all 29 shots he faced as the Erie Otters blanked the Greyhounds in Sault Ste. Marie 4-0. Christian Seest-Olsen and Sean O'Connor also scored for Erie, which improves to 10-4-1 with the victory. The Otters are now tied with Owen Sound for second place in the Midwest Division, 3 points back of the London Knights.

Otter Tales: In an effort to shore up their back-up goaltending the Otters have announced the signing of Pat McGann. The 18 year old Illinois native had been playing for Cedar Rapids of the USHL. Current backup Scott Greenham has lost all 3 of his starts.

ERIE OTTERS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
no scoring
Penalties: Solomon SSM 1:12, Greene Eri double minor 5:51,
Kuchejda SSM double minor 14:01

SECOND PERIOD
ERI Seest-Olsen 5(O'Marra) 0:31
ERI O'Connor 4(McKinley, Sniderman) 12:55
Penalties: McKinley Eri double minor 3:11, Cuthbert SSM 10:29,
O'Connor Eri 15:40

THIRD PERIOD
ERI Merlini 3(Hotham, Scott) 11:08
ERI Merlini 4(Hotham, Fox) 13:22 PP
Penalties: Solomon SSM 5:25, Blunden Eri 5:46, Kuchejda SSM 6:48,
Kitchen SSM minor, game misconduct 12:23, Hodgman Eri 14:39, Hotham
Eri 14:42, Hotham Eri 16:57, Lalonde SSM 19:21

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
SSM Louie George 26
ERI Jhase Sniderman 29

In other OHL action Kitchener beat London 4-3 in a shootout. OHL scoring leader Robbie Schremp assisted on all 3 London goals. Steve Downie scored twice to lead Windsor past Barrie 4-1. Fredrik Naslund had a 4 point night in Peterborough's 5-2 win over visiting Ottawa. Dan Collins had a hat trick and James Neal scored a pair as Plymouth downed Kingston 6-4. Finally, a 2 goal effort from Luke Lynes helped Brampton defeat Saginaw 5-1.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 15 11 1 3 24
Owen Sound 14 10 3 1 21
ERIE 15 10 4 1 21
Kitchener 14 8 4 2 18
Guelph 15 7 7 1 15

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 15 9 4 2 20
Saginaw 15 6 8 1 13
Sault Ste Marie 15 6 8 1 13
Windsor 13 5 6 2 12
Sarnia 16 5 10 1 11

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 16 11 4 1 23
St Michael's 14 8 5 1 17
Barrie 15 8 7 0 16
Sudbury 13 6 6 1 13
Mississauga 15 4 8 3 11

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Peterborough 14 8 4 2 18
Oshawa 14 7 3 4 18
Kingston 15 7 6 2 16
Ottawa 16 7 8 1 15
Belleville 17 5 11 1 11

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
ERIE 4 Sault Ste Marie 0
Windsor 4 Barrie 1
Peterborough 5 Ottawa 2
Kitchener 4 London 3
Plymouth 6 Kingston 4
Saginaw 1 Brampton 5

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Brampton at Sault Ste Marie
Guelph at Peterborough
Sudbury at Windsor
Plymouth at Saginaw
Sarnia at Kingston
Mississauga at Barrie

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 15 13 24 37
Dan Collins Plym 15 13 13 26
David Boland Lond 15 14 11 25
Wojtek Wolski Bram 16 10 15 25
Cory Emmerton King 15 9 16 25
Michael Blunden ERIE 15 13 11 24
Evan McGrath Kitc 14 10 14 24
Jamie Tardif Pete 14 10 13 23
Ryan Callahan Guel 15 11 11 22
Bryan Little Barr 15 9 13 22
Patrick Davis Kitc 14 10 11 21
Tyler Doig Guel 15 9 12 21
Justin Donati StM 14 7 14 21
Nick Foligno Sudb 13 7 14 21
Kris Belan Lond 14 6 15 21
Luch Aquino Bram 16 11 9 20
Joshua Bailey OwS 14 7 13 20
Peter Franchin StM 14 9 10 19
Matt Lyall Guel 15 7 12 19
Vaclav Meidl Plym 15 6 13 19

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
LEAFS WIN SIXTH IN A ROW
Despite having 3 key players sidelined the Toronto Maple Leafs have become the hottest team in the National Hockey League. The Leafs rallied from a 3-1 second period deficiet to beat the Hurricanes in Carolina 6-3 last night for their 6th straight victory. Mats Sundin had a goal and two assists while ex-Hurricane Jeff O'Neill added 3 assists against his old club. Marius Czerkawski chipped in a pair of goals for the Leafs while Kyle Wellwood had 3 points as he filled in for Jason Allison on the second line. Allison was lost to the Leafs on his first shift of the game when he suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for 4 months. He had previously missed the Leafs first 8 games with groin problems. Meanwhile Eric Lindros has yet to play a game for Toronto as he is out with a torn ACL. Defenseman Bryan McCabe is also sidelined with a dislocated shoulder.

In other action JP Dumont scored twice while Chris Drury added a goal and two assists in Buffalo's 5-1 win over the New York Rangers. The win keeps the Sabres two points ahead of Ottawa and 3 up on Toronto in the Eastern Conference's most competitive division: the Northeast. The Senators kept pace with a 4-0 win over Minnesota as Dominik Hasek recorded the shutout. Bryan Smolinski scored twice for the winners. Montreal is tied with Ottawa after the Canadiens lost in a shootout 3-2 to Los Angeles.

Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble each scored twice to give Philadelphia a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Wachovia Center. Gagne and Knuble each added an assist in the victory while their centerman, Peter Forsberg, notched a pair of helpers. Michael Handzus scored the other Philadelphia goal as the Flyers snapped a two-game losing skid.

The Atlanta Thrashers won for just the fourth time this season as they needed a shootout to defeat visiting New Jersey 4-3. Marc Savard had a goal and an assist in regulation plus scored the game winner in the shootout for the Thrashers.

Florida handed Columbus it's 10th loss of the season as the Panthers prevailed 3-1 on home ice. Olli Jokinen scored twice for the winners. The Bluejackets are 1-10-1 on the season while Florida is tied with Buffalo for the best record in the East.

Washington beat Boston 4-3 in a shootout as all 3 Caps shooters scored in the shootout.

Detroit won the opener of a home-and-home series with Calgary, blanking the Flames 2-0 at the Joe Louis Arena. Tomas Holmstrom and Robert Lang scored for the Wings who got a 28 save performance from goaltender Manny Legace.

Third period goals from Mike Modano and Brendan Morrow lifted Dallas past Chicago 3-1. Finally in Vancouver the Sedin twins each had a goal and an assist as the Canucks topped St Louis 3-1. Henrik and Daniel's linemate Anson Carter assisted on both of the twins' goals.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 11 7 2 2 16
New Jersey 11 6 3 2 14
Pittsburgh 12 5 4 3 13
NY Islanders 11 4 6 1 9
NY Rangers 9 2 6 1 5

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Buffalo 13 9 4 0 18
Montreal 13 7 4 2 16
Ottawa 11 8 3 0 16
Toronto 13 7 5 1 15
Boston 12 4 4 4 12

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Florida 13 9 4 0 18
Washington 11 8 3 0 16
Tampa 12 6 4 2 14
Carolina 10 4 6 0 8
Atlanta 12 4 8 0 8

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Detroit 12 6 4 2 14
Nashville 10 6 3 1 13
Chicago 13 4 6 3 11
St Louis 12 4 7 1 9
Columbus 12 1 10 1 3

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Vancouver 13 8 4 1 17
Calgary 10 7 2 1 15
Minnesota 14 6 5 3 15
Edmonton 12 5 5 2 12
Colorado 12 5 6 1 11

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 12 10 2 0 20
Dallas 13 7 4 2 16
Los Angeles 11 7 4 0 14
Phoenix 11 5 4 2 12
San Jose 11 5 4 2 12

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Buffalo 5 NY Rangers 1
Los Angeles 3 Montreal 2 (SO)
Philadelphia 5 Tampa Bay 2
Atlanta 4 New Jersey 3
Florida 3 Columbus 1
Washington 4 Boston 3 (SO)
Toronto 6 Carolina 3
Detroit 2 Calgary 0
Dallas 3 Chicago 1
Ottawa 4 Minnesota 0
Vancouver 3 St Louis 1

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh
NY Islanders at New Jersey
Detroit at Calgary
Nashville at Edmonton
Columbus at Anaheim
Phoenix at San Jose

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Brad Richards TB 12 7 12 19
Ziggy Palffy PIT 12 8 10 18
Mario Lemieux PIT 12 5 13 18
Sergei Federov ANA 12 5 13 18
Vincent Lecavalier TB 12 4 14 18
Martin St Louis TB 12 9 8 17
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 11 5 12 17
Teemu Selanne ANA 12 9 7 16
Dany Heatley OTT 11 6 10 16
Maxim Afinogenov BUF 13 8 7 15
Markus Naslund VAN 13 7 8 15
Mike Modano DAL 13 4 11 15
Saku Koivu MON 13 6 8 14
Kristian Huselius FLA 13 5 9 14
Brian Rolston MIN 14 5 9 14
Chris Drury BUF 13 3 11 14
Tyler Arnason CHI 12 5 8 13

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
CAVS DROP SEASON OPENER IN DALLAS
LeBron James had a triple double but shot just 22% from the floor as the Cleveland Cavaliers fell 89-833 to Dallas in the season opener. James hit just 4 of 18 shots and was held to 14 points but he did add 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Donyell Marshall and Zydrunas Ilgauskas led Cleveland with 15 points each. Dirk Nowitski paced the Mavs 19 points and 13 boards. Keith Van Horn also had 19 for Dallas.

There were two other games on opening night. In Denver, Kenyon Martin had 26 points and Carmelo Anthony added 23 as the Nuggets outscored the Los Angeles Lakers 126-114. Kobe Bryant led LA with 26 points. Meanwhile in California, Yao Ming had 27 points and 15 boards to power Houston past the Golden State Warriors 90-80. The Warriors led at the half but were done in by a terrible third quarter in which they were outscored 24-8.

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Dallas 89 Cleveland 83
Houston 90 Golden State 80
Denver 126 LA Lakers 114

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Toronto at Dallas
Miami at Milwaukee
Detroit at Indiana
Boston at Philadelphia
New York at Orlando
Memphis at Washington
New Orleans at Houston
Minnesota at New Jersey
San Antonio at Golden State
Phoenix at Atlanta
Utah at LA Lakers
Sacramento at Seattle
LA Clippers at Portland

SOCCER
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Tottenham 1 Fulham 1
Charlton 1 Crystal Palace 1

TODAY'S MATCH
Wigan at Bolton

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
Arsenal 12 10 1 1 21 7 31
Man United 12 8 1 3 22 12 25
Man City 12 5 4 3 15 13 19
Liverpool 11 5 3 3 17 14 18
Fulham 12 5 3 4 17 16 18
Norwich 12 5 3 4 16 16 18
Chelsea 11 4 5 2 15 10 17
Tottenham 11 5 2 4 15 15 17
Birmingham 12 5 1 6 10 12 16
Newcastle 10 4 3 3 14 9 15
Aston Villa 11 3 5 3 15 13 14
Wigan 11 3 4 4 13 13 13
Southampton 11 2 7 2 14 17 13
Wolves 11 3 4 4 13 16 13
Bolton 11 3 3 5 14 15 12
Charlton 12 2 6 4 11 14 12
Blackburn 11 2 4 5 11 15 10
Everton 12 2 3 7 7 16 9
Crystal Palace 12 2 3 7 11 19 9
Millwall 11 1 5 5 10 19 8

Tiger Fan

03-04-2006, 10:11 PM

ERIE TIMES NEWS
Tuesday November 1, 2005

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
COLTS HOLD OFF BRONCOS 22-17
The Indianapolis Colts beat the Denver Broncos 22-17 in Monday Night Football action but if not for a late Denver penalty the Colts would have blown a 22-7 fourth quarter lead. The Broncos pulled to within 5 points in the fourth quarter thanks to a 47 yard Jason Elam field goal and an 87 yard touchdown pass from Jake Plummer to Kendall Newson. The Broncos appeared to take the lead when Plummer scrambled for a 2 yard touchdown run with 1:02 remaining in the game but the score was negated by an illegal motion penalty on the Broncos. Backed up to the Indianpolis 7 yard line Plummer proceeded to throw a pair of incomplete passes and then was sacked by Dwight Freeney on 4th down allowing the Colts to run out the clock.

Freeney had a huge game for the Colts as the defensive end sacked Plummer twice and pressured him on countless occasions. He also forced a fumble and recorded 6 tackles. Offensively, Peyton Manning threw for 275 yards with WR Marvin Harrison and TE Dallas Clark leading the way with 6 grabs each. Denver got 236 yards passing from Plummer and 76 yards on the ground from running back Clinton Portis.

Denver took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 2-yard Portis run before the Colts took over - reeling off 22 unaswered points. Colts running back Tatum Bell, starting in place of the injured Edgerrin James, ran for a pair of touchdowns while Manning hit Kevin Johnson on a 4 yard pass play for the other touchdown. Mike Vanderjagt connected on a 44 yard field goal but missed an extra point attempt.

The victory moves the 4-3 Colts into top spot in the weak AFC South Division. The Broncos fall to 6-2 and are tied with San Diego a game back of Kansas City in the AFC West. Denver entertains the Chiefs next Sunday.

MONDAY NIGHT GAME
Indianapolis 22 Denver 17

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Oakland 21 Tennessee 18
San Diego 7 Jacksonville 3
NY Giants 10 Dallas 3
Philadelphia 31 Washington 25 (OT)
Detroit 23 St Louis 13
Baltimore 30 New England 21
Cincinnati 16 NY Jets 7
Buffalo 30 Cleveland 21
Miami 37 Pittsburgh 13
Kansas City 33 Houston 21
Arizona 27 Green Bay 23
San Francisco 31 Minnesota 14
Seattle 26 Chicago 3

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Detroit at Chicago
Indianapolis at Houston
NY Jets at New England
Cleveland at Pittsburgh
Miami at Buffalo
San Diego at Oakland
Minnesota at Green Bay
New Orleans at Tampa Bay
Baltimore at Cincinnati
Atlanta at Carolina
Arizona at San Francisco
Seattle at St Louis
Kansas City at Denver
Tennessee at Jacksonville

NFL STANDINGS
NFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Green Bay 4 3 0 .571 157 124
Chicago 4 3 0 .571 113 123
Minnesota 3 4 0 .429 150 156
Detroit 3 4 0 .429 104 135

East W L T PCT PF PA
Philadelphia 6 2 0 .750 198 149
NY Giants 5 3 0 .625 174 140
Washington 5 3 0 .625 177 162
Dallas 4 4 0 .500 124 123

South W L T PCT PF PA
Atlanta 3 4 0 .429 141 156
New Orleans 3 4 0 .429 94 135
Tampa Bay 2 5 0 .286 127 157
Carolina 1 6 0 .143 73 140

West W L T PCT PF PA
Arizona 6 2 0 .750 222 153
San Francisco 6 2 0 .750 170 113
Seattle 4 4 0 .500 158 155
St. Louis 1 7 0 .125 130 199

AFC
North W L T PCT PF PA
Baltimore 6 1 0 .857 159 102
Cincinnati 5 2 0 .714 117 106
Cleveland 1 6 0 .143 113 170
Pittsburgh 1 6 0 .143 101 166

East W L T PCT PF PA
New England 4 3 0 .571 149 143
Buffalo 4 3 0 .571 185 140
Miami 4 3 0 .571 178 155
NY Jets 3 4 0 .429 142 159

South W L T PCT PF PA
Indianapolis 4 3 0 .571 135 133
Jacksonville 3 4 0 .429 120 138
Houston 1 6 0 .143 84 138
Tennessee 0 7 0 .000 96 145

West W L T PCT PF PA
Kansas City 7 1 0 .875 228 173
Denver 6 2 0 .750 183 132
San Diego 6 2 0 .750 151 103
Oakland 3 5 0 .375 141 171

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NITTANY LIONS CREEP UP TO 21st IN LATEST COACHES POLL
Riding a 4 game Big Ten winning streak, the Penn State football team has moved up a spot to number 21 in the latest College Football Coaches poll. The Nittany Lions beat Northwestern 47-14 to improve to 7-2 on the season.

The only change in the top 4 has Ohio State and Minnesota swapping places with the Buckeyes claiming the number 4 spot. Arkansas remains number one and the only unbeaten team in the nation after the Razorbacks hammered LSU 34-3 on Saturday.

Here is the latest Top 25 according to the NCAA Football Coaches:


COACHES POLL TOP 25
RK SCHOOL REC PREV LAST NEXT
1 Arkansas 9-0 1 W 34-3 LSU at Kentucky
2 Texas 8-1 2 idle at Baylor
3 Michigan 9-1 3 W 31-14 at Indiana idle
4 Ohio State 8-1 5 W 58-7 Illinois at Iowa
5 Minnesota 8-2 10 W 24-16 Iowa at Wisconsin
6 Miami 8-2 8 idle at Duke
7 USC 7-2 11 W 22-19 at Ariz St Washington
8 Oklahoma 7-2 7 L 27-22 at Colorado Missouri
9 Syracuse 9-1 9 W 31-17 at Louisville at South Florida
10 Texas A&M 7-2 10 idle Oklahoma State
11 Alabama 7-2 12 idle Mississippi
12 California 7-2 6 L 34-13 at UCLA Oregon
13 Notre Dame 7-3 15 idle idle
14 Wash. State 6-3 16 idle Arizona
15 Michigan St 7-3 13 L 37-31 at Purdue Northwestern
16 Florida 7-2 25 W 28-26 Mississippi at South Carolina
17 Mississippi 6-3 14 L 28-26 at Florida at Alabama
18 Wisconsin 7-3 19 idle Minnesota
19 LSU 7-4 18 L 34-3 at #1 Arkansas Auburn
20 Stanford 6-3 17 L 24-17 at Oregon at Arizona St
21 Penn State 7-2 22 W 47-14 at N'western at Illinois
22 Georgia 7-2 23 idle at Miss State
23 Colorado 6-3 NR W 27-22 Oklahoma Kansas
24 Arizona 6-3 21 L 52-7 Oregon St at Wash St
25 Maryland 8-2 NR W 48-17 Virginia Wake Forest

Dropped out of top 25
20 Arizona State
24 Virginia Tech

The Associated Press poll will be released later today.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
OTTERS RANKED 8TH BEST IN CHL WEEKLY POLL
For the first time this season the Erie Otters find themselves in the Canadian Hockey League top ten. The Otters debut at the number 8 spot after earning points in 6 of their last 7 games (5 wins and an overtime loss). The London Knights remain the top ranked team in the 3 major junior leagues while Owen Sound and Brampton also represent the Ontario Hockey League in the top 10.

CHL TOP 10
RK TEAM LG LW
1 London Knights OHL 1
2 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 2
3 Kootenay Ice WHL 8
4 Moncton Wildcats QMJHL 4
5 Owen Sound Attack OHL 3
6 Brampton Battalion OHL NR
7 Victoriaville Tigres QMJHL NR
8 Erie Otters OHL NR
9 Tri-City Americans WHL 7
10 Saskatoon Blades WHL NR

In other Otters news the club has announced the demotion of goaltender Scott Greenham to Fort Erie of the Golden Horseshoe Junior B league. The 18 year old from Nepean, Ontario had a 4.02 goals against average in 3 games, all losses, for the Otters. Mickey Thistel has been recalled from Fort Erie where he was 7-2-1 with a 2.30 goals against average. The 17 year old from Ajax, Ontario will battle newly signed free agent Pat McGann for the right to back up Jhase Sniderman. McGann, an Evergreen Park, Illinois native, had played one game this season for Cedar Rapids of the United States Hockey League.

The Otters return to action Saturday night when they host the Sudbury Wolves. On Sunday, they visit Plymouth for a game with the West Division leading Whalers.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE ROUND-UP
There were 6 games in the OHL on Halloween night including the West Division leading Plymouth Whalers winning 5-3 at Saginaw. Whalers forward Dan Collins had a pair of assists in the game to give him 28 points on the season, good for second in the league.

Jon D'Aversa scored in overtime to lift Sudbury past Windsor 4-3 but the loss was even more costly for the Spitfires who learned they lost their second leading scorer - Ryan Garlock - for 4 months with a knee injury.

Elsewhere, Wojtek Wolski scored twice to lead Brampton past Sault Ste Marie 6-4. Jamie Tardif and Liam Reddox each had 3 points as Peterborough doubled Guelph 4-2. Danny Anger's first career OHL goal lifted Sarnia to a rare road victory, 2-1 over Kingston. Bryan Little had 2 goals and an assist as Barrie shaded Mississauga 5-4.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
WESTERN CONFERENCE

MIDWEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
London 15 11 1 3 24
Owen Sound 14 10 3 1 21
ERIE 15 10 4 1 21
Kitchener 14 8 4 2 18
Guelph 16 7 8 1 15

WEST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Plymouth 16 10 4 2 22
Windsor 14 5 6 3 13
Saginaw 16 6 9 1 13
Sault Ste Marie 16 6 9 1 13
Sarnia 17 6 10 1 13

EASTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL DIV GP W L OL PTS
Brampton 17 12 4 1 25
Barrie 16 9 7 0 18
St Michael's 14 8 5 1 17
Sudbury 14 7 6 1 15
Mississauga 16 4 9 3 11

EAST DIV GP W L OL PTS
Peterborough 15 9 4 2 20
Oshawa 14 7 3 4 18
Kingston 16 7 7 2 16
Ottawa 16 7 8 1 15
Belleville 17 5 11 1 11

LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
Brampton 6 Sault Ste Marie 4
Peterborough 4 Guelph 2
Sudbury 4 Windsor 3 (OT)
Plymouth 5 Saginaw 3
Sarnia 2 Kingston 1
Barrie 5 Mississauga 4

WEDNESDAY'S GAME
Oshawa at Owen Sound

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Rob Schremp Lond 15 13 24 37
Dan Collins Plym 16 13 15 28
Wojtek Wolski Bram 17 12 15 27
Jamie Tardif Pete 15 12 14 26
Cory Emmerton King 16 10 16 26
David Boland Lond 15 14 11 25
Bryan Little Barr 16 11 14 25
Michael Blunden ERIE 15 13 11 24
Evan McGrath Kitc 14 10 14 24
Ryan Callahan Guel 16 11 11 22
Nick Foligno Sudb 14 7 15 22
Luch Aquino Bram 17 11 10 21
Patrick Davis Kitc 14 10 11 21
Tyler Doig Guel 16 9 12 21
Justin Donati StM 14 7 14 21
Kris Belan Lond 14 6 15 21
Liam Reddox Pete 15 8 12 20
Joshua Bailey OwS 14 7 13 20
Mike Roelofsen Barr 16 7 13 20
Vaclav Meidl Plym 16 6 14 20

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
PENGUINS BEAT LIGHTNING 2-1 IN SHOOTOUT
Mario Lemieux scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in National Hockey League action. The game was scoreless for nearly 2 and a half periods as netminders Sean Burke of the visiting Lightning and the Pens Jocelyn Thibault both put on a goaltending clinic.

Tampa finally snapped the scoreless drought when struggling veteran Dave Andreychuk banged home the rebound of a Ruslan Fedotenko shot at the 7 minute mark. It looked like the game would end 1-0 as Burke made several key saves as the Pens pressed for the equalizer until Ziggy Palffy found rookie Sidney Crosby alone in the slot. Crosby made no mistake whistling a wrister along the ice to the glove side past Burke. It was the rookie's 4th goal and 12th point in 13 games this season.

The two clubs tightened up defensively and there was little in the way of a scoring chance through the final 4 minutes of regulation or the overtime.


PITTSBURGH PENGUINS GAME SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD
no scoring
Penalties: Taylor TB double minor 1:16, Roy Pit 12:58, Roy Pit
15:26, Boyle TB 15:26, VandenBussche Pit 15:37, Lemieux Pit 18:14

SECOND PERIOD
no scoring
Penalties: Sarich TB double minor 3:51, Gonchar Pit 9:29, Pirjeta
Pit 16:27

THIRD PERIOD
TB Andreychuk 1(Fedotenko) 7:09
PIT Crosby 4(Palffy, Tarnstrom) 15:36
Penalties: Sarich TB 17:44

OVERTIME
no scoring
Penalties: none

SHOOT-OUT
TAMPA BAY PITTSBURGH
Roach miss Lemieux goal
Richards miss Gonchar miss
Lecavalier miss Crosby shot not needed

GOALTENDER SHOTS FACED
TB S Burke 30
PIT J Thibault 34

In other action Martin Brodeur stopped all 30 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season as the New Jersey Devils blanked the visiting New York Islanders 3-0. John Madden had a goal and an assist to lead the Devils offense with Scott Gomez and Paul Martin also scoring. The win moves the Devils into a first place tie with Philadelphia, 1 point ahead of Pittsburgh atop the Atlantic Division.

Marcus Nilson had a goal and an assist as the Calgary Flames salvaged a split of their home and home series with Detroit, beating the Red Wings 3-2 at the Saddledome. Staying in Alberta, Radek Dvorak scored twice while Mike Peca and captain Ryan Smith added singles in Edmonton's 4-2 win over Nashville.

The Western Conference's worst team surprised it's best as Columbus upset the Mighty Ducks in Anaheim 3-0. Marc Denis faced just 17 shots in the Bluejackets net but was perfect for his first shutout of the season. Rick Nash, Rostislav Klesla and Peter Sarno scored for the Bluejackets, who won for just the second time in 13 games this season. The Ducks lost both Teemu Selanne and Sergei Federov to injury in the game but neither is expected to be out for more than a couple of days.

Finally in San Jose Nils Ekman scored twice to help the Sharks past Phoenix 5-3. Ekman, who scored 22 goals in 82 games in 2003-04 with San Jose, already has 6 goals in 12 games this season.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Philadelphia 11 7 2 2 16
New Jersey 12 7 3 2 16
Pittsburgh 13 6 4 3 15
NY Islanders 12 4 7 1 9
NY Rangers 9 2 6 1 5

NORTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Buffalo 13 9 4 0 18
Montreal 13 7 4 2 16
Ottawa 11 8 3 0 16
Toronto 13 7 5 1 15
Boston 12 4 4 4 12

SOUTHEAST GP W L O/SL PTS
Florida 13 9 4 0 18
Washington 11 8 3 0 16
Tampa 13 6 4 3 15
Carolina 10 4 6 0 8
Atlanta 12 4 8 0 8

WESTERN CONFERNCE
CENTRAL GP W L O/SL PTS
Detroit 13 6 5 2 14
Nashville 11 6 4 1 13
Chicago 13 4 6 3 11
St Louis 12 4 7 1 9
Columbus 13 2 10 1 5

NORTHWEST GP W L O/SL PTS
Calgary 11 8 2 1 17
Vancouver 13 8 4 1 17
Minnesota 14 6 5 3 15
Edmonton 13 6 5 2 14
Colorado 12 5 6 1 11

PACIFIC GP W L O/SL PTS
Anaheim 13 10 3 0 20
Dallas 13 7 4 2 16
Los Angeles 11 7 4 0 14
San Jose 12 6 4 2 14
Phoenix 12 5 5 2 12

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Pittsburgh 2 Tampa Bay 1 (SO)
New Jersey 3 NY Islanders 0
Calgary 3 Detroit 2
Edmonton 4 Nashville 2
Columbus 3 Anaheim 0
San Jose 5 Phoenix 2

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Boston at NY Islanders
Los Angeles at NY Rangers
Florida at Nashville
St Louis at Colorado
Ottawa at Vancouver
Chicago at Dallas
Carolina at Phoenix

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Ziggy Palffy PIT 13 8 11 19
Brad Richards TB 13 7 12 19
Mario Lemieux PIT 13 5 13 18
Sergei Federov ANA 13 5 13 18
Vincent Lecavalier TB 13 4 14 18
Martin St Louis TB 13 9 8 17
Daniel Alfredsson OTT 11 5 12 17
Teemu Selanne ANA 13 9 7 16
Dany Heatley OTT 11 6 10 16
Maxim Afinogenov BUF 13 8 7 15
Markus Naslund VAN 13 7 8 15
Mike Modano DAL 13 4 11 15
Saku Koivu MON 13 6 8 14
Kristian Huselius FLA 13 5 9 14
Brian Rolston MIN 14 5 9 14
Chris Drury BUF 13 3 11 14
Marcus Nilson CGY 11 6 7 13
Tyler Arnason CHI 13 5 8 13

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
IVERSON'S 38 NOT ENOUGH FOR SIXERS
Allen Iverson scored a game high 38 points but it was not enough to prevent the Philadelphia 76ers from coming out on the short-end of a 95-88 score in their home opener against the Boston Celtics. Paul Pierce led the Celtics attack with 34 points. The downfall of the 76ers was their starters terrible shooting percentage, a combined .328 including Iverson hitting just 12 of 29 attempts. Chris Webber was the only other 76er in double figures as he had 17 points to go along with a game high 11 rebounds.

In other action Jermaine O'Neal scored 30 points and Stephen Jackson added 21 as the Indiana Pacers beat visiting Detroit 79-77.

The Toronto Raptors shocked the Mavericks in Dallas 104-97 as Jalen Rose had 35 points for the winners. Dirk Nowitzki had 40 points for Dallas.

Milwaukee got a 33 point effort from Michael Redd in a 98-93 win over Miami. Shaquille O'Neal had 16 for the Heat.

Orlando hammered the New York Knicks 103-76. Magic guard Steve Francis led all players with 25 points while Kelvin Cato had 14 rebounds for Orlando.

Antawn Jamieson scored 34 points and Gilbert Arenas added 19 as the Washington Wizards topped Memphis 99-94 in the nation's capital.

Houston beat New Orleans 106-82 behind a 26 point effort from Tracy McGrady and 21 points from Yao Ming and Juwan Howard. Ming also had 14 rebounds in the game. Hornets rookie Chris Paul had 18 points in his NBA debut.

The New Jersey Nets held off a late charge from Minnesota to beat the Timberwolves 98-94. Richard Jefferson led the Nets with 24 points while Wally Szczerbiak had 28 to lead Minnesota.

San Antonio destroyed Golden State 102-63. Tim Duncan had 14 rebounds and 17 points for the Spurs while Manu Ginobili led all scorers with 21 points.

Steve Nash had 9 assists as the Phoenix Suns had little trouble winning in Atlanta by a 114-78 score.

Kobe Bryant had 28 points and Lamar Odom added 22 as the Los Angeles Lakers beat Utah 110-88 to even their record at 1-1.

Peja Stojakovic got 2 of his 18 points at the buzzer to give Sacramento a 97-96 victory over the Sonics in Seattle.

Zach Randolph had 17 points as Portland beat the Los Angeles Clippers 85-76.

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Toronto 104 Dallas 97
Milwaukee 98 Miami 93
Indiana 79 Detroit 77
Boston 95 Philadelphia 88
Orlando 103 New York 76
Washington 99 Memphis 94
Houston 106 New Orleans 82
New Jersey 98 Minnesota 94
San Antonio 102 Golden State 63
Phoenix 114 Atlanta 78
LA Lakers 110 Utah 88
Sacramento 97 Seattle 96
Portland 85 LA Clippers 76

TONIGHT'S GAMES
Charlotte at Washington
Orlando at Detroit
Denver at Minnesota

NBA STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
W L Win % GB
Boston Celtics 1 0 1.000 -
New Jersey Nets 1 0 1.000 -
Toronto Raptors 1 0 1.000 -
New York Knicks 0 1 .000 1
Philadelphia 76ers 0 1 .000 1

Central Division
W L Win % GB
Indiana Pacers 1 0 1.000 -
Milwaukee Bucks 1 0 1.000 -
Chicago Bulls 0 0 .000 0.5
Cleveland Cavaliers 0 1 .000 1
Detroit Pistons 0 1 .000 1

Southeast Division
W L Win % GB
Orlando Magic 1 0 1.000 -
Washington Wizards 1 0 1.000 0
Charlotte Bobcats 0 0 .000 0.5
Atlanta Hawks 0 1 .000 1
Miami Heat 0 1 .000 1

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest Division
W L Win % GB
Houston Rockets 2 0 1.000 -
San Antonio Spurs 1 0 1.000 0.5
Dallas Mavericks 1 1 .500 1
Memphis Grizzlies 0 1 .000 1.5
New Orleans Hornets 0 1 .000 1.5

Northwest Division
W L Win % GB
Denver Nuggets 1 0 1.000 -
Portland Trail Blazers 1 0 1.000 0
Minnesota Timberwolves 0 1 .000 1
Seattle Sonics 0 1 .000 1
Utah Jazz 0 1 .000 1

Pacific Division
W L Win % GB
Phoenix Suns 1 0 1.000 -
Sacramento Kings 1 0 1.000 0
Los Angeles Lakers 1 1 .500 0.5
Los Angeles Clippers 0 1 .000 1
Golden State Warriors 0 2 .000 1.5

SCORING LEADERS
NAME TM PPG
1 Allen Iverson PHI 38.0
2 Jalen Rose TOR 35.0
3 Antawn Jamison WSH 34.0
4 Paul Pierce BOS 34.0
5 Michael Redd MIL 33.0
6 Jermaine O'Neal IND 30.0
7 Dirk Nowitzki DAL 29.5
8 Kobe Bryant LAL 27.0
9 Kenyon Martin DEN 26.0
10 Kurt Thomas PHO 25.0