Giants' Pierce Charged With Dog Neglect

New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce was accused of neglecting one of his dogs in the days leading up to the Super Bowl. The Middlesex County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals issued a summons Wednesday. The group said Pierce's two pit bulls escaped from a fenced enclosure in his yard on Jan. 30 -- just days before the game. Pierce was issued the summons because one of the dogs was found to be underweight and suffering from a respiratory illness, officials said. SPCA chief Walt Mychal stressed that Pierce was not charged with anything related to dogfighting and could face only a fine, not jail time, if convicted. In New Jersey, the SPCA has authority to bring charges in animal cruelty cases. Pierce and the team would not comment, Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon said Thursday.

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GIANTS WIN!

There was a palpable expectation of history here on chilly night in the Arizona desert. Super Bowl XLII delivered on that score, but history of a different sort was made Sunday. The Giants, 12-point underdogs, ruined the New England Patriots' quest for a perfect season. New York, which lost six of 16 games during the regular season, prevailed 17-14 at University of Phoenix Stadium. Quarterback Eli Manning, the game's MVP, lofted a regal, floating 25-yard pass to Plaxico Burress -- over Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs -- to put the Giants over the top with 35 seconds left. Wild, Wild BestThe Lombardi Trophy has landed in the hands of the Giants. Eli Manning and New York took the long playoff route, becoming the fifth wild-card team to win the Super Bowl. "The guys on this team and the run we've made, it's hard to believe -- it really is," Manning said. "The drive at the end there were so many clutch plays by so many guys. It is an unbelievable game and an unbelievable feeling." Said Burress: "This is the greatest feeling in professional sports. For us to come out and win a world championship tonight -- nobody gave us a shot." Somewhere, the 1972 Miami Dolphins (17-0) are popping their long-awaited champagne. The Giants are nothing if not resilient. Because they were technically the visiting team, they won their 11th consecutive game on the road, including all four playoff games. It was the second straight Super Bowl victory for a son of Archie and Olivia Manning, a tribute to good genes and diligent film study. The Colts' Peyton Manning won his first Super Bowl last season at the age of 30. Eli, who was also a No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, is three years younger. Manning completed 19 of 34 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. This was especially sweet for defensive end Michael Strahan and wide receiver Amani Toomer, the only holdovers from the 34-7 strafing by the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. In addition, it was the third Super Bowl victory for one of the league's most venerable franchises, to go with the Vince Lombardi trophies won at the end of the 1986 and 1990 seasons. "We shocked the world but not ourselves," Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce said.

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Giants Head To Glendale

Manning repeatedly put the Giants in position to win the NFC championship Sunday, and when Lawrence Tynes came through at last with a 47-yard field goal in overtime, New York had itself an improbable 23-20 victory over the Green Bay Packers at frostbitten Lambeau Field. Now comes Mission Impossible: beating the undefeated New England Patriots in two weeks in a Super Bowl matchup hardly anyone saw coming. "We haven't been given a shot, but we're here and I think we're deserving of it," Manning said. "Right now I'm excited as I can be." Manning wasn't the only Giant who came through. Tynes had two earlier misses -- a 36-yarder at the end of regulation following a bad snap, and a 43-yarder with 6:49 to go -- before nailing his long winner 2:35 into OT. He got a reprieve in overtime after Corey Webster intercepted a struggling Brett Favre -- the kind of mistake Manning often has made before his recent turnaround.
"I screwed it up twice," said Tynes, who sprinted straight to the locker room after his decisive kick, leaving his frozen teammates to celebrate outside. "Thank God we got another opportunity." Eli's arrival comes one year after older brother Peyton won a Super Bowl for the Indianapolis Colts, earning MVP honors to boot. Peyton stayed away Sunday, but father Archie was on hand for the biggest moment of his youngest son's career. "We knew we could compete with anybody," Manning said. "It's just a matter of getting hot at the right time." Nobody, not even league MVP Tom Brady, is hotter than Eli. Just a month ago, Eli's moxie was being questioned as the Giants struggled to clinch a wild-card berth. He responded with the best work of his four-year career, including four touchdown passes in the season finale against the Patriots.
He and the Giants are getting another shot at New England, the first team to go 18-0. The Patriots will be after their fourth Super Bowl title in seven years on Feb. 3, as well as the league's first perfect season since Miami went 17-0 in 1972. But don't discount New York, which led the Patriots by 12 points in the third quarter before falling 38-35 on Dec. 29. "Heck, they could win two weeks from now," Favre said. "I wouldn't put it past them." The Giants (13-6) had a handful of opportunities to put away the Packers (14-4) as Favre struggled with the minus-3 degrees temperatures and wind-chill of minus-24. Along with Tynes' misses after making two first-half kicks, the Giants fumbled their first interception, allowed a long kickoff return after taking a lead, and had some critical penalties that kept Green Bay closer than it probably deserved to be. AP

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Giants Headed To NFC Championship

Tony Romo can go wherever he wants with Jessica Simpson now. Eli Manning and the New York Giants knocked him and the Dallas Cowboys into the offseason Sunday. Having to wait out long, slow drives by Dallas, Manning made his few chances count, throwing two touchdown passes to Amani Toomer and getting a 1-yard touchdown run from Brandon Jacobs for a 21-17 victory that put New York into the NFC championship game for the first time since the 2000 season. Cornerback R.W. McQuarters intercepted a pass into the end zone with 9 seconds left, ending the Cowboys' final drive and marking Romo's second straight last-minute goof to cost Dallas a playoff game. His flubbed hold of a short field goal in Seattle ended the Cowboys' season last year. Manning is heading to his first NFC championship game, at Green Bay next Sunday. Manning had a much better day than his brother, Peyton, whose Indianapolis Colts were stunned by the San Diego Chargers. Dallas' failure is huge, much bigger than last season's flop in Seattle when Romo botched the hold on a go-ahead field goal in the final minutes. The Cowboys just wasted a 13-3 season, which matched the best in team history. They're the first No. 1 seed in the NFC to lose in this round since the NFL went to the 12-team playoff format in 1990. They also became the seventh team to lose a playoff game against a team they'd beaten twice in the regular season -- joining Dallas' 1998 club. Worst of all is the extension of all the skids: Romo now 0-2 in the playoffs, coach Wade Phillips 0-4 and the team 0-for-the-postseason since winning a wild-card game in 1996. The Cowboys have dropped five games since then. The Cowboys might be headed into a stormy offseason. Team owner Jerry Jones said Thursday he would keep Phillips regardless of what happened in the playoffs. Now that will be tested, especially with highly valued assistant coaches Jason Garrett and Tony Sparano interviewing for jobs elsewhere. Critics may point to Romo's trip to Mexico last weekend with his latest celebrity girlfriend as a disruption, but the problems went a lot deeper. There were all kinds of penalties that hurt Dallas drives and helped New York's, sloppy tackling on defense and special teams, dropped passes and wasted timeouts. The Giants loved every bit of it. AP

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Giants Won't Fall For Cowboy's Tricks

The New York Daily News reported Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Ownes didn't come close to practicing Wednesday, and coach Wade Phillips, who didn't even set eyes on his star wideout, could offer little hope that he will be able to suit up, a signal the New York Giants interpreted as pure and simple smoke. As defensive end Justin Tuck put it, they are not buying the head fake. "He will play," Tom Coughlin said. "There is no doubt in my mind he will play." Source: New York Daily News

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Where's Michael Strahan Going?

According to associated press releases, the Giants are searching for teams out of their division to trade for Michael Strahan. One team reportedly in the hunt for Strahan is the Washington Redskins who lack a major impact defensive player on their team.

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