INDIANAPOLIS -- Elite and Eli. One and the same.
And now there are two Super Bowl championships and two MVPs to prove it.
Eli Manning is the big man in the NFL after one-upping Tom Brady and leading the New York Giants to a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots in Sunday's Super Bowl -- in older brother Peyton's house, at that.
"This isn't about one person," Manning insisted. "This is about a team coming together."
A team led by a quarterback who months ago claimed -- to snickers throughout the league -- that he belonged in the same stratosphere as Brady, and then proved it.
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For the second straight night, the Rush got on the board first, this time with the 100th career goal by veteran Jeff Kyrzakos. An excellent stretch pass by Mike Vaskivuo set up Kyrzakos for the breakaway, and the veteran sent a wrist shot over the glove of IceMen goaltender Pier-Olivier Pelletier. Evansville responded with a pair of goals to take their first lead of the game, the first coming on a breakaway by Brian Bicek at 11:08. Veteran Philippe Plante potted a second-straight powerplay goal at 15:14 to give the IceMen a 2-1 lead heading into the second.
The Atlantic Coast Conference's two best defensive teams combined to force 39 turnovers -- 19 by the Seminoles and 20 by the Cavaliers -- and the game needed every bit of its 40 minutes to determine a winner. When the final buzzer did sound, FSU emerged victorious over UVa, 58-55, thanks to its ability to withstand a second-half rally that had erased a 13-point 'Noles (16-6, 7-1 ACC) lead. By beating Virginia (18-4, 5-3), FSU not only upset another top-20 opponent but it extended its school-record streak of conference victories to seven.
Both teams exchanged leads in the first period, finishing with a 2-2 tie after 20 minutes. Just 2:21 into the game, excellent passing between Konrad Reeder and Scott Wray set up Blake Forsyth on the backdoor for his first goal of the season. The IceMen responded with a pair of goals, taking their first and only lead of the game. Malcolm Gwilliam capitalized on a 2-on-1 before John Ronan rifled home a shot to the short side for a 2-1 lead at the 11:54 mark. The Rush tied the score on a powerplay goal from Scott Wray who blasted a shot from the high slot at the 16:09 mark.
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(Evansville, IN) – Trailing by one goal in the second period, the Rapid City Rush set a season record with three goals in a 1:19 span to topple the Evansville IceMen by a 5-2 margin on Saturday night. The win not only completes the weekend sweep over the top team in the Turner Conference, but gives the Rush a perfect 4-0-0 record on the week. The surging Rush are now within five points of first place in the Turner Conference with just one game left on the current seven-game road trip.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A capacity crowd at the Donald L. Tucker got exactly what it expected Saturday afternoon from No. 16 Virginia and No. 21 Florida State.




