| Plucky Giants persevere and Patriots, Giants to meet again for ulimate prize |
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SAN FRANCISCO -- The game is hard enough without the constant barrage of doubt and criticism. But has anyone, anywhere faced down the skeptics and so consistently won over the non-believers as Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin during their years together in New York?The Giants are Super Bowl-bound once again -- for the second time in five seasons -- because Manning and Coughlin never believe what they hear. They have confidence in their abilities, resiliency in their nature, and an iron-clad belief in how they go about their business of playing quarterback and coaching a football team.There's nothing particularly tricky about their success. No secret formula behind their approach. They just don't give up, and don't give in, even in the face of failure or pessimism. They're both basically grinders, and if they're not getting the results they want, they keep grinding until they do. They don't know any other way, and it's a very good thing for Giants fans that they never learned. [Read the full article] MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- All Serena Williams had to do was look at the numbers for an explanation of her stunning loss in the fourth round at the Australian Open.Seven double-faults, including four in one game; 37 unforced errors, and a first-serve percentage of just over 50 percent Monday that had her convinced "maybe I should have started serving lefty."Some other numbers indicated why her 6-2, 6-3 loss to Russia's Ekaterina Makarova on what she admitted was a still-sore left ankle was more of a shock, particularly at this stage of the year's first major.She has played 43 singles matches at Melbourne Park since she won the first of her five Australian Open titles in 2003, and Monday's loss was just her third. She's 54-7 since playing here for the first time in 1998, and she hasn't gone out this early here since 2006."I'm not physically 100 percent, so I can't be so angry at myself, even though I'm very unhappy," Williams said. [Read the full article] Sunday was a perfect example of why you shouldn't put a nickel down on big football games. Or any football games, really. These four players had huge parts in the Patriots and Giants making the Super Bowl for the second time in five seasons:Many of you never heard of three of those four before Sunday. Some of you still haven't. But the Patriots and Giants are meeting in Super Bowl 46, a reunion of Super Bowl 42, because their 53 men are better -- at least more reliable -- than the teams they vanquished Sunday.In the AFC Championship Game, an unknown cornerback from New England (cut off the Raiders practice squad early in the season) and Baltimore's kicker made the two decisive plays of the game. The corner slapped the potential winning touchdown pass out of wideout Lee Evans' hands. Billy Cundiff shanked a chip shot. In the NFC, punt returner Ted Ginn Jr. not playing cost the 49ers 10 points and likely a trip to the Super Bowl. [Read the full article] 
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