Cardinals ‘shocked the world’ to clinch Series

Weaver stymies Detroit in Game 5; St. Louis wins 10th crown, 1st since ’82

ST. LOUIS - No Fall Classic, for sure.

Flatter than the Midwestern heartland and a flop in the TV ratings, this World Series crowned a champion that barely made it to the postseason and then had to survive rain and cold as much as the bumbling Detroit Tigers.

The St. Louis Cardinals will take it, though.

They beat the Tigers 4-2 in Game 5 on Friday night behind castoffs Jeff Weaver and David Eckstein and sore-shouldered Scott Rolen to wrap up their first Series title in nearly a quarter-century and 10th overall.

“I think we shocked the world,” Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds said.

Manager Tony La Russa’s team had just 83 regular-season wins, the fewest by a World Series champion, and nearly missed the playoffs after a late-season slump.

But St. Louis beat San Diego and the New York Mets in the first two rounds, then won their first title since 1982 by taming a heavily favored Tigers team that entered the Series with six days’ rest and looked as stale as unharvested corn — Tigers pitchers made five errors, two more than the previous Series record.

After closer Adam Wainwright struck out Brandon Inge for the final out, the ballpark erupted. Wainwright raised his arms in triumph, catcher Yadier Molina ran to the mound and the pair bounced off toward second base, where they were joined by teammates running from the dugout and the bullpen. Ace starter Chris Carpenter and injured closer Jason Isringhausen gave La Russa bear hugs.

Minutes later, fireworks filled the sky above the ballpark as the Cardinals prepared to receive the gold-colored Tiffany trophy.

“No one believed in us, but we believed in ourselves,” said Eckstein, the 5-foot-7 shortstop who won selected Series MVP after batting .364

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Chelsea bests Barça 1-0; Inter, Bayern, Liverpool win

LONDON (AP) -- Inter Milan finally won a game in the Champions League on Wednesday. Chelsea won another.

Inter scored its first goals in this year's competition, getting two from Julio Cruz in a 2-1 win over Spartak Moscow in Group B.

Didier Drogba got Chelsea's lone goal in the 47th minute, scoring from the edge of the penalty area to give the English Premier League champions a 1-0 win over defending champion FC Barcelona.

Chelsea is perfect with nine points in Group A, five more than the Spanish champions

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Steaua 1 – 4 Real Madrid

Steaua 1 – 4 Real Madrid

64' Badea - 9' Sergio Ramos 34' Raúl 56' Robinho 76' Van Nistelrooy

Ruud van Nistelrooy became only the third player to score 50 goals in the European
Champion Clubs' Cup with an astute chip as Real Madrid CF moved to within striking
distance of a place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League with
a commanding victory at FC Steaua Bucuresti.

Masterful Madrid
Madrid took an iron grip on the Group E game with first-half goals from Sergio
Ramos and Raúl González before Robinho effectively settled the
match as a contest shortly after the restart. Valentin Badea offered Steaua
faint hope when he reduced the deficit on 64 minutes but Van Nistelrooy crowned
an excellent performance from the visitors when he chipped superbly over Carlos
Fernandes with 14 minutes remaining.

Expectant crowd
The Steaua Stadium was packed long before kick-off and the expectations of a
raucous home crowd were close to being met straight from the start as Iker Casillas
rushed from his line to punch clear from Banel Nicolita. Madrid, though, soon
took the game to the Romanian champions. Robinho, in for the injured José
Antonio Reyes, forced Carlos into a save before the visitors produced the riposte
they so needed following Saturday's defeat by Getafe CF. Guti sent in a corner
from the left on nine minutes and Ramos climbed highest to head Madrid in front.

Dica chance
Somewhat surprisingly this was the first meeting between these two illustrious
sides and they were putting on a show worthy of the occasion. Carlos again saved
well from Robinho before Casillas produced an even better stop at the other
end, spectacularly clawing away Nicolae Dica's curling shot. Robinho's deft
touches and clever flicks were a joy to watch and it was the Brazilian's delicate
pass infield to Emerson that led to Madrid's second goal eleven minutes before
half-time. His compatriot fed Van Nistelrooy and though Carlos again blocked
his effort, Raúl was on hand to turn the rebound into an open goal.

Robinho class
Even Steaua fans stood to applaud when Robinho curled in Madrid's third eleven
minutes into the second half. Coach Fabio Capello's decision to leave Ronaldo
on the bench was thorougly vindicated as the 22-year-old calmly sidestepped
Rahamin Klemi Saban before firing beyond Carlos, albeit with the help of a deflection
off Dorin Goian. Eight minutes later Badea had the home support back on their
feet, this time in celebration of a Steaua goal as he made the most of some
uncertainty in the Madrid defence to turn in substitute Cyril Thereau's low
cross.

Perfect chip
Unexpectedly Steaua were back in contention, but their hopes were dashed by
Van Nistelrooy, the Dutchman somehow digging the ball up and over Carlos from
eight metres to join Raúl and Andriy Shevchenko on 50 European Cup goals.
On a night of milestones, David Beckham came on to make his 100th UEFA Champions
League appearance as Madrid rounded off the evening in style. They have now
scored nine times in two continental outings and will qualify with another victory
against Steaua in a fortnight's time

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Star Chelsea goalie has procedure for fractured skull

LONDON (AP) -- Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech had surgery for a depressed skull fracture after being hit in the face by Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt's knee.

Chelsea said Sunday it was too early to assess the Czech's condition.

"Chelsea Football Club can confirm that Petr Cech was transferred to the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford last night to the specialist neuro-surgical unit," the team said Sunday in a statement. "He underwent surgery for a depressed fracture of the skull.

"The operation was successful but it is too early to give an accurate assessment of his condition."

Cech was hurt in the opening minute of Saturday's English Premier League match against Reading, which Chelsea won 1-0.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said after the match that Cech was lucky to survive and called on the Football Association to take disciplinary action against Hunt.

"You see players avoiding the keeper by jumping or going with the foot for the ball, but when a player goes with the knee direct to the face he doesn't want to avoid him," Mourinho said. "After that he turned, came back and was laughing right in front of us. He was motivating his people but gave not one single sign that he was worried about the situation."

Reading manager Steve Coppell defended his player.

"Jose will have his views but I don't believe there was any intent in the challenge," Coppell said. "There was a heavy collision, but there is no way Hunty went in to damage the keeper. Referee Mike Riley was 10 yards away and he didn't book him. That tells me a lot."

Cech's replacement, Carlo Cudicini, also was taken to the hospital after he was injured in a collision with Reading defender Ibrahima Sonko while jumping to catch the ball in the 89th minute. He was released Saturday night.

Chelsea defender John Terry finished the match as the goalkeeper.

"Naturally, everybody at Chelsea wishes Petr, and Carlo Cudicini -- who was discharged last night after being knocked unconscious -- a speedy recovery from their injuries," Chelsea said.

Third-choice goalkeeper Hilario, who moved from Nacional in June and is yet to make his competitive debut for Chelsea, is almost certain to play Wednesday against FC Barcelona in the Champions League.

Mourinho said he was more concerned about the health of his goalkeepers than playing Barcelona.

"I don't care about football. I care about my two friends," Mourinho said. "Barcelona is Barcelona, football is football, and I don't care about it. I care, but for me other things are more important.

"I want Petr and Carlo out of the hospital. Barcelona is a football game, an important one, but I care more about my players.




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Tigers roar into World Series

DETROIT (AP) -- All those people who kept doubting the Detroit Tigers, take a week off and think again.

Jim Leyland, Magglio Ordonez and the rest of Tigers will be spending that time getting ready for the World Series.

Written off by the entire baseball world only three years ago, the Tigers made it official Saturday. They're back, and on the prowl.

Ordonez hit his second homer of the game, connecting for a three-run shot with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning that lifted Leyland's team over the Oakland Athletics 6-3 for a startling four-game sweep of the AL championship series.

"I think early on in spring training we had a lot of good players. We didn't have a good team," Leyland said. "And today I can make the statement that we've got a good team, and that's the thing that I'm proudest of."

With the crowd of 42,967 at Comerica Park in delirium, joined by fans watching from distant downtown buildings and all over Michigan, the Tigers rejoiced after their seventh straight postseason win.

The wild-card Tigers now get to rest up for Game 1, at home next Saturday night against either the New York Mets or St. Louis Cardinals. It will be their first Series appearance since winning it all exactly 22 years ago Saturday on Oct. 14, 1984




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